Fender Telecaster, Olympic White (1966)

Mojo meter is pegged, folks!

This 1966 Fender Telecaster in custom color Olympic White has more vibe than you could ever imagine, with decades of honest play wear to prove it. Featuring the first-year (and highly desired) "Maple cap" and a superb sounding set of original pickups, this Tele is the personification of the mid 60s single-cut in our book.

Recently acquired from what's believed to be the second owner who purchased it in Ireland in the early 1980s, this guitar clearly hit the 10,000 Hour mark early on in its life. Despite all that natural wear, lacquer checking, yellowing of the top coat, and hardware patina, it continues to perform incredibly well, with nearly unfettered playability thanks to fantastic refret.

At just about 7.5 lbs, it's right in the sweet spot of Tele weight - not a featherweight, but not even close to boat anchor territory. It's very balanced, and acoustically has some excellent resonance that great old (and sometimes new) Teles exhibit. Plugged in, it's classic Tele tonality, with a warm neck pickup and a robust, lively bridge pickup.

Popping off the original 3-ply pickguard reveals the 'ES' stamp, which has been commonly referred to as the acronym for 'Enter Special', a possible custom color factory designation. While Olympic White isn't the rarest color offered, it represents one of the classic colors that was a defining aesthetic for Fender in the 1960s.

The guitar's electronics have remained almost entirely original, with the exception of two changes. First, the guitar was slightly modified from its original "dark circuit" wiring (found stock on all vintage Telecasters before 1968). A small toggle switch was installed between the volume and tone controls, and the tone capacitor network responsible for the darker tone settings was sent to a leg of the switch. Bypassing this setting gave access to what we know as 'modern' Tele wiring - neck, both pickups, and bridge.

What's really cool about this old mod is that the dark circuit works in conjunction with the modern wiring configuration. Think of it like how Jazzmasters work with their Rhythm/Lead circuits. It's very cool to have access to those tones in each pickup position, and simply toggle out of them for your standard operating Tele tones.

Secondly, the original 3-way switch suffered some damage at one point. The switch leg broke off, impacting the ability to comfortably change pickup positions and keep a proper switch tip in place. While still functional, we felt a proper replacement was more practical. The original switch is included with the sale of the guitar.

We recently refretted the guitar in-house, and we've got to say that it completely transformed the guitar's playability. Clearer, louder, and stronger than ever, with strong acoustic resonance, increased harmonic content, and improved intonation.

This could easily be a benchmark for Fender's Custom Shop relic work, so much so that we've sent photos over in hopes of exploring an opportunity to recreate the look of this very guitar!