This guitar has undergone some restoration. Please read the full listing for all the details.
I have any more photos available. Please message me if you want them.
This black guard telecaster features 99% original or era correct parts. It has been restored so please read the details.
Keep in mind that all-original examples are above 40 K now. This is priced at about nearly half of retail.
I’ll cut to the chase since if you’re looking at this you know how great the sound and how awesome they play. They are legendary and this is your chance to get your hands on a very nice restored example at a big discount.
There are no routes, breaks, repairs, etc. to the body in the neck. They were just a couple extra pick guard screw holes that were filled. There was no oversanding, either
What is original on this guitar? By “original” I mean what originally came on the guitar from the factory. The following parts are original: the body, the neck, five tuners (ultra rare closed back Klusons found only in circa 1950-1951), bushings, tuner screws, string tree, decal, nut, neck pick up, bridge, bridge screws, saddles, saddle screws, bridge cover, control plate, lower strap button, body ferrules, neck plate, neck screws, and neck pickup mounting screws.
What is era correct? By “era correct“ I mean original, vintage, early 1950s Fender parts acquired from other guitars and instruments. The high E tuner (circa 1954 no line Kluson), upper strap button, pickguard, pick guard screws, control plate screws, switch, pots, knobs, jack cup and output jack, and bridge pickup.
Again, these are all vintage, early 1950s fender parts that I acquired that were taken from other guitars and instruments. They are the right parts for this instrument, although they did not originally come on it from the factory. The knobs are the exact ones you will find on telecasters, although they were also used on lap steels.
What parts are reproduction? The frets, neck pick up cover, and the case. That’s it. The neck pickup came to me without a cover, so I had my pickup guy put on an exact spec replacement.
Some more details on all of these parts.
Altogihether the neck pick up is original it has been rewound because it was dead when I acquired it. The bridge pickup was taken from an early 1950s Fender lap steel and converted for use in a telecaster. The switch is in NOS parts still in the original box. I have not installed it, and the guitar currently has what I think is a 1960 switch in there. You will get both in the sale. Likewise it has modern pots at present, But a 1950s era-correct set with a black and white cap is included if you wish to install them. They are date stamped to 1952.
The decal is original, although there is still some overspray on the headstock. We left it as is to preserve the decal.
The body and neck have been refinished in era correct nitro lacquer by Joe Riggio of Riggio Custom Guitars in Tacoma, Washington. Joe owns his own 1952 telecaster and was able to get an exact match in terms of transparency, color, and use with this beautiful butterscotch refinish. It’s also been given a nice subtle relic match the wear on the parts. The finish is definitely see-through blonde, and the ash green clearly shows through. Please note that the lighting and the camera obscure this in some shots.
It is a bit of a myth that black guard telecasters all had huge necks. That’s simply not the case. This one is not a baseball bat, but definitely in a modern C-shape territory. There is some rounding to the edges of the fretboard, especially by the first and second fret. But it still has full playing area and there are no issues with it.
Sonically, the telecaster sounds simply amazing. I am happy to provide a demo video.
The case is a custom ordered brown thermometer case from G & G. for some reason they have not really made thermometer cases that have the right look to match the early black guards. Thankfully I was able to get my hands on one of these.
I can include the little telecaster poster in the sale, but it is a repro.
Please note that some of the pictures were taken with an aged repro pit guard I had custom-made for this. It will come with an era correct black guard telecaster from another instrument. Note that this pick guard had a small area filed away in order to attempt to access the Truss rod, which doesn’t really work even though folks have tried it in the past. There’s a small split right in that area that has been reglued. It’s structurally sound and fully intact. At one point it looks like a piece of scotch tape was placed over the neck pick up area, and you can see some “ghosting” in the lacquer. I’m not sure why but perhaps because a previous owner remove the neck pick up and strong it up like an esquire, and then covered the hole with some tape. These aren’t huge deals. But I like to try to disclose everything :-). When the guitar was refinished, the bushings for the tuners were removed. When this happened, there was some modest “chipping“ that occurred to the wood. That’s all been repaired but you can see it in the photos.
Also, when the photos were taken the pick guard control plate had reproduction slot head screws. I acquired an era correct set of Phillips head black guard screws that are now with the guitar.
Unfortunately, when the guitar was first stripped the hand written date on the back of the neck was lost. You can still see original finish in the cavities and the neck pocket. Unfortunately, although you can see the proper writing where are the neck date and signature of the builder would be, it’s not fully legible. Based on the serial number, specs, decal placement/style, presence of very early 1950-51 closed back tuners, and a few other factors, we would estimate that this is a very early telecaster from late 1951 to early 1952. It’s definitely no later than 1952
Payment is to be through bank wire transfer.
My price is firm on this so I am not accepting offers.
If you are located internationally outside the USA, you must contact me Prior to purchasing in order to make shipping arrangements.