QUESTION

I see that this is the right time to buy a Fender black guard Telecaster. I see alot if ones for sale now at a a good price

( well compared to 3 years ago). I am a player so originality does not matter to me as much but what parts of the Telecaster are the most important parts that I should care about when buying one and also secondly how about a wood only guitar is that a good idea?

REPLY

That is alot to cover in a short blog post but here we go. First as always i am an advocate of all original guitar both for the collectors value and for aesthetically. If you can afford it go for it you will be happy in the long run. for me the two most important parts are the wood and the electronics. Having said that i would emphasis that if you are buying a guitar in whatever state it is in make sure the body is not modified if you can help it. That means no sanding , over spray or refinishing. and the decal is the most important parts for the value and to authenticate the guitar.

Old wood sounds great but not if it is covered in a thick poly finish or 10 coats of paint. On the other hand if they are stripped they may sound good but most of the value is gone. if you have to go this route make sure the body and neck dates are in tack and make sure there original. they are easy to fake. The electronics being pickups , pots and caps are the next most important things make sure they are original and that the pickups are original windings and not rewound . This plays out as follows the old electronics with the old wood if your lucky will have that magic sound and tone . These are the key players in the guitar in my opinion.

The pick guard plates , bridge, saddles, knobs , tuners  frets and so on are secondary and have nothing to due wit the tone factor. So if you are looking for a player there you go and you have to pay accordingly the more changed parts obviously the less you pay. For me i would try to get an original finished guitar with lets say changed pickuard and tuners and bridge . this way you have a real finish and a real guitar worth real electronics and the other parts you can buy over time . this way you can save  10k or more and little by little bring it back to stock and you can still get an original finish guitar that has a real value or potential value depending on how much you restore it.

The wood only scenario is your last resort and has a few dangerous speed bumps  you have to pay attention to. first the decal has to be original if it is not the neck value is worth 70% yes 70% less!!!!  original decal with over spray are hard to tell if not and expert but they are 50% less. so wait and get one with an untouched decal and the neck date should also be there

THE DECAL IS STILL THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO LOOK FOR.  The stripped body should have and original date in the neck pocket  or under lead pickup cavity.If it does not  that body is worth 70% less too. becosue there are so many fakes who can tell??? again make sure body is not routed this too is important. if you follow these two steps atleast the wood of the guitar will have some value and you always have something to fall back on. a refinished  neck and body  without a decal and body dates are usuless and i woldl not even consider buying at all. I hope this helps if you have any other questions please feel free e mail me at THE PARTSDRAWER

Thank you

Jim pasch