Offered for sale is this killer ’70 Fender Telecaster, serial number 292895. I came across this piece a few months back and was immediately impressed. With its nice light weight (7.2 pounds), relatively chunky neck (.875” -.960”) and its incredibly clean condition, I liked it immediately!
As I contemplate the late stages of my guitar life, I find myself gravitating back to where I started. If you can find a late 60’s or early 70’s Fender Tele that is reasonably light in weight, hasn’t been abused and is still in all/mostly original condition, you should give it serious consideration. Even Teles built during the CBS years can be great playing and sounding guitars and they can also be a very good investment. Like the guitar offered here and the several others from this era that I currently have in my inventory.
I was so impressed with this Tele that I invested in the cost of new frets. The guitar’s original vintage style frets were still playable but were not worthy of what I thought this guitar could be (see the “old/new pic of the frets). Luthier, Matt Hayden gave her new medium/jumbo frets (.050” x .100”) and a new handmade bone nut. Matt did NOT overspray the fingerboard, so the guitar’s original finish remains intact. Only the fret wire and nut are other than original; everything else, including the finish, wiring, electrical components, solder joints and hardware, are original. The neck has no date stamp (common during this period), but the serial number and spec details date to 1970 and the pots date back to the 34th week of 1966.
The work Matt did was transformative, turning an what was already an excellent playing vintage Tele into something special. The frets are big and beautiful to play and the guitar has a vintage T voice that is just what you would hope for. Pickup outputs measure 5.8 ohms and 6.3 ohms on the bridge and neck, respectively. Please check out the brief sound sample included below for a taste.
This is a one owner guitar and it has been treated with amazing care. The original owner even modified the original black tolex case to include an additional latch and installed (color-matched) supplemental padding to the interior. These case mods may explain, at least partially, why this 52 year old beauty remains in such marvelous original condition. There is very limited paint loss, primarily around the back edges and a bit of case dye stain on the back. See the detailed photos. This thing is in really nice shape!
There are few electric guitars more elemental to the sounds of the music we love than a Fender Telecaster, particularly one that is over 50 years old. Early 70’s or not, there is something about old wood that feels and sounds special. Make this beautiful old Tele yours while it is still available at a “reasonable” price. It will soon be your best friend!