This is a situation where words really won't do this guitar justice. If you've never seen a real one of these out in the wild, we were right there with you until this guitar showed up at our shop.

This is an original 1968 Fender Telecaster in factory Red Paisley finish...yes, Red Paisley, just as advertised by Fender upon its release. Historically referred to as Pink Paisley due to the UV fading that occurred on the top coat, this late 60s unicorn showcases the well-preserved paper laminated Paisley wrap in all its glory, complete with a factory Maple-cap neck! It's arguably the most-sought after CBS-era Telecaster, and certainly the most collectible outside a super rare custom color variant.

Looking beyond collectability and cool-factor, it's just a downright excellent playing and sounding Telecaster. The neck has a great rounded C/U carve with a fresh set of frets and a new nut thanks to Laurent Brondel. It's also sporting its original factory nitrocellulose neck finish that shows some nice fingerboard wear. The original pickups deliver classic 60s tele tones with strong, snappy fundamental response and great presence. The original 1 Meg Ohm volume and tone pots function great and actually pair quite well with the pickups - the tone is not too strident or shrill in the top end. The original bridge and saddles are clean and fully functional, and the control plate, knobs, and switch tip are also original to the guitar.

The Red Paisley finish is a true marvel - incredible depth and color from the original Paisley paper material, with a beautiful textured metallic base that's graduated from the more pale hue as seen under the clear pickguard to a slightly ambered/golden color. The top coat shows light to moderate wear throughout, with the majority of the finish checking/cracking found on the back of the body. This is fairly common with these models, where the paper lifts from the body itself and causes stress on the top coat. It's quite stable as it currently is and doesn't show signs of having changed in recent years.

Accompanied by its original black hardshell case, this is about as "no excuses" of a rare Telecaster as it gets.

• Alder Body with original Paisley paper wrap and finish
• Original Maple cap neck 2 JULY 68 B neck stamp
• Original F-stamped tuners (bent but functioning high E shaft)
• Refret with Jescar 55090 by Laurent Brondel, December 2022
  
• Replaced nut (done during the refret)
• Original wiring harness - tone pot 304-6617 1 Meg
• Medium C/U neck profile: .85" @ 1st fret / .93" @ 12th fret
  
• Original pickups: 6.64k ohm neck / 5.90k ohm bridge
  
• Original wiring harness: 1 Meg ohm volume and tone pots / visible pot code on the tone pot dates 17th week of 1966
• Weight: 7lb 9oz