Fender Telecaster, Blonde 110871 (1965)

1965 Fender Telecaster just in on consignment!

We had the distinct pleasure of selling this guitar nearly a decade ago, and it finds its way back to us with some degree of reluctance by the consignor. We can understand why!

This late '65 build features a great Blonde finish over Ash body along with a figured Maple neck featuring a Rosewood veneer fingerboard. With a delightfully aged finish earned after decades of working with a former Danish blues musician-turned-professor Søren Buus, this tele has got all the mojo to match the playability and tone we all hope to encounter in a vintage 60s Fender.

The neck profile is typical of the era, with a bit of the zero taper feel often found on necks from late '65 through 1966. This neck is particularly fatter in the first position, feeling a bit more '50s in its depth than 60s. It's been refretted with vintage sized wire seemingly long ago, although it's held up quite well and maintains great vintage feel. There's evidence of overspray on the neck as well, likely done during the refret. The Kluson double line tuners all remain with the exception of the low E, which is a transplant from a Mustang or Duo Sonic of the same era.

The neck pickup was replaced along the way, and we'd just had the original bridge pickup rewound by Tom Brantley after identifying a (fairly common) short in the coil. The pickups are beautifully matched, yielding those great 60s tele tones we often associate with the likes of Steve Cropper and Robbie Robertson. The harness is original, with CTS pots dating from the 42nd week of the production year. Though it would've left the factory with the original "dark circuit", this one's been modified for modern tele wiring while still using the original ceramic disk tone capacitor.

It's been wonderfully set up here by our repair technicians, and has a great feel that's slightly more forgiving. Maybe the years of whole-step bends and blazing leads Søren worked through in the Mindcrushing Blues Experience as noted on the pickguard actually softened up this old slab of a singlecut?! No complaints here! It's a total blast to play that has a look most expertly relic'ed guitars still can't approach.

Paired with a vintage export hardshell case. Expedited Shipping Required.