Fender Telecaster Deluxe, Antigua (1980)

1980 Fender Telecaster Deluxe in original Antigua finish just into the shop!

Well it's time to scribe this one into the walls of our shop! Our very first original Antigua-finished Fender has just come in, and could it be on a cooler model?!!?

One of the wildest and most polarizing guitar finishes in Fender's history, Antigua debuted on the Coronado model in the late 60s. But it wasn't until 1977 that it made its way across Fender's entire electric lineup. Sort of a Gray "burst" into Olympic White, Antigua was not only a body finish, but paint applied to the pickguard as well! Depending on how it aged, the finish could turn more yellow or green, which is likely what caused so much division in its popularity as years went on. This '80 actually rocks a 1978 serial number, but in true Fender fashion, the Fullerton plant was slapping on their excess stock of serialized decals from prior years through at least 1981 in our experience. That's why you can never just rely on a Fender serial number for definitive dating practices. The original wide range humbuckers and accompanying CTS harness show date codes/stamps that place the guitar in 1980 production.

While the finish is certainly the talk of the town, let's not forget that we're still talking about a great vintage Telecaster Deluxe here. The original wide range pickups sound phenomenal, with strong output and equally impressive clarity that separate them from their Gibson and Guild contemporaries. The recently refretted Maple neck and long scale adds the snap and definition of a tele with more LP-like attitude.

The guitar has been nicely maintained through the years, but also played regularly based on the wear. The aforementioned refret included some light overspray on the neck (likely in an effort to even out the appearance). The neck pickup lead was spliced at some point, with some reflowed solder on a couple of the original pots. The ground wire to the bridge may have been replaced as well. There's a hole drilled through the neck plate that once attached to the neck- our guess is that someone felt it added more support to the 3-bolt design.

All in all, it's a super fun player with a truly unique look. And if it was good enough for one of the most accomplished guitar-playing record producers on planet earth - Dave Cobb - then you know it's gotta be good for its next owner!