1953 Fender Telecaster, enough said…

This guitar is in great condition. Body shows some signs of wear but still looking great approaching its 70th birthday. The lacquer has remarkably kept the light shade that is  much closer to the original than what we’ve come to expect. Again there is fade but nothing substantial.

The neck is in great shape too, the lacquer having worn comfortably and the fretboard only showing slight signs of wear. The frets have some life left in them.

Plastics and hardware are in good condition and look to be all correct.

Serial number is 3948, neck date is 7-24-53, body is dated at 7-8-53. Pots are both original and difficult to make the date codes out as the blue ink is covered in solder. Finally, the person who did the wiring assembly has written her name on tape inside the cavity and dated it 7-22-1953. 

Both pickups have been rewound. The bridge by Lindy Fralin himself in the 90s and the neck more recently by Montys. The guitar arrived here with a non original neck pickup but we had an original 53 in our parts drawer waiting for a new home so a happy union was made. As such, some solder joints have been disturbed as has the joint for the woof-tone capacitor which seems to have been disconnected at some stage and then reinstated. 

It is quickly becoming a store favourite here right now as it is a real joy to play with a nice weight of just 3.28Kg.. Pickups sound just as you would expect a blisteringly good black guard Tele to sound i.e. the pinnacle of classic Tele bite in the best possible vintage way. There is a reason, and it is not just for their collectability, why original black guards are so sought after…

Comes with original poodle case which like the guitar, is in very good condition.  

Truly one of the greats, I do not think this Tele will disappoint anyone out there who tries it out and everyone who has so far, has had a big grin on their face…