The Fender Telecaster is probably the most successful musical instrument design in history. It’s brilliantly simple yet highly versatile, extremely durable, and the fact that it’s easy to configure and customize has made it one of the most produced and copied guitar concepts.
This 1974 Fender Telecaster has the classic blonde finish on an ash body, and is in very good condition with just a little belt buckle marking and a small chip near the output jack.
The maple neck, a B profile, dates to March 2, 1973, but as the codes on the control pots date to 1974, this instrument had its final assembly in 1974. All the hardware is original. The ‘ashtray’ cover for the bridge is include in the case. The pickguard is black/white/black.
Electronically, the components are in good shape. The pickups are wound and polarized in the same direction, so the middle pickup position is not hum cancelling. This means that a hum-cancelling device like the Illitch pickguard could easily be installed to convert the electronics to fully hum cancelling, without affecting the single-coil tone.
This guitar has been played, so there is fretwear. During this period, Fender used a fairly heavy polyester coating on the fingerboard, applied after the frets were installed, and this is not worn through.
Overall, this is a very good example of mid-1970s Fender production.
Serial Number: 392135, finally built during 1974 at the Fender plant in Fullerton, California. While the neck date reads 2MAR73B, the pot codes date to 1974, indicating final assembly in that year.
Pricing: $2,999.99 Canadian with black Fender rectangular case.
Status: SOLD
