Description
This Fender Telecaster Blonde Refinish was built during 1968 in Fullerton, California and has several common 1970's modifications, the addition of a humbucker in the neck position and a six-saddle bridge, possibly by Mighty Mite, and the installation of Schaller 'double tab' mini tuners.
The Maple neck was refretted years ago with wider wire which has light to significant wear, and the fingerboard finish shows honest wear from years of playing. It looks great, has plenty of snap and brightness.
Sold with a non-original, rectangular, metal edged 'flight' style case.
Construction, Materials and Modifications
This guitar follows Fender's classic pairing of a one-piece Maple neck with Walnut 'skunk stripe' insert and an Ash body. The body, neck, pickguard and controls appear to be from the original set.
The neck is stamped 3 MAY 68 B, indicating a Telecaster (3), produced during May of 1968, and 1 5/8 inch nut width. The control plate, switching and volume/tone controls match the original wiring pattern.
While adding a humbucking pickup in a Telecaster's neck position became a popular modification, this guitar is nearly unique because the added pickup is an original Fender Wide Range humbucker, made from 1972 until 1979.
The humbucker modification was apparently first done in 1957 by Bob Bain, a guitarist for both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. Bain added one of Gibson's new humbuckers to his Telecaster, and used that guitar to record Henry Mancini's classic theme for the 1968 - 1961 'Peter Gunn' television series. Many others followed, including Keith Richards and Andy Summers - and then in 1972, Fender themselves.
With Fender pickups, this particular configuration was only available in the 1972 - 1980 Telecaster Custom and its reissues; the 1972 - 1978 Telecaster Thinline and its reissues used a pair of Wide Ranging Humbuckers. On all reissue Wide Range pickups, the construction and materials differ from the original in several ways, from magnet type and location to wiring style.
The specific pickup installed to this guitar has an ink stamp on the base reading '82276', with the last two digits suggesting 1976 production. Consequently, the guitar's pickup modification would likely have occurred in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
The Wide Range Humbucker is a model designed for Fender by Seth Lover, named on the June 22, 1955 patent application for Gibson's new hum cancelling pickup. He was careful to make the Fender pickup in such a way as to not infringe on the Gibson patents! The core of the design uses threaded CuNiFe (Copper, Nickel, Iron) magnets rather than the bar magnets used in the Gibson design. By 1979, the use of CuNiFe became a problem because its primary use was in automotive speedometers, and that industry had moved on. After some less successful attempts to reissue the design with other types of magnets, the Wide Range Humbucker was discontinued. In 2020, Fender found CuNiFe sources and a plant capable of producing the components, and began reissuing the original design.
This refinish is partial and was done years ago. It seems that the refinisher stripped off the clear coats, not an easy task, and lightened the yellowness of the original colour. A newer clear coat was then applied. The Fender Wide Range Humbucker is considerably larger than other pickups and so routing was required, and unusually this was done very cleanly. The original three-layer pickguard was cut to accommodate the new pickup; the treble end of the original pickup cutout can just be seen.
The original colour can be seen under the pickguard, and in the undisturbed neck pocket which has a stamp of B805, likely a lot number, and a '3' written in red ink as a code for a Telecaster. There's also a faded initial that we can't read.
The late Seth Lover was quietly influential and designed many significant electronic devices, amplifiers, effects, and guitar components - including being an inventor of two different humbucking pickup designs and the first fuzztone! His primary employers were the US Navy, Gibson, Fender and in his later years, Seymour Duncan.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: Telecaster
- Instrument Manufacturer: Fender
- Instrument year: 1968
- Instrument Finish: Blonde, Partially Refinished
- Instrument Class: Solidbody Electric Guitars
- Instrument serial number: 220652, built during 1968 at Fullerton CA
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Good
- Playing Condition: 220652, built during 1968 at Fullerton CA
- Right-handed
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 8.404 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 3.82 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 25.5 in
- Scale Length Metric: 647.7 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.609 in
- Nut Width Metric: 40.87 mm
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: No
- Case Type: Hard Shell Rectangular, 'Flight Case' style
- Items in Case: Strings
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 190652
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |