Fender Telecaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966)
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Item # 10167
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Fender Telecaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 125272, Candy Apple Red finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This very rare original Custom Color Telecaster was built just over a year after Fender became CBS/Fender, and is still a wonderful instrument in the grand Leo tradition. The body is finished in Candy Apple Red, one of Fender's more common hot rod colors but not often applied to the humble Tele! Based on surviving examples the fairly inexpensive Telecaster was only rarely ordered with any custom finishes in this period. Jaguars, Jazzmasters and Strats, yes, but most Tele players were generally content with the standard Blonde look. There's no denying the eye appeal of a red Telecaster, however, and of course its signature twang is unaffected! This one has no routs or major disfigurement, but does have an odd set of screwholes hidden under an apparently original pickguard.
This guitar's neck date is FEB 66, with pots dating to the 9th week of that year. The evolving features of the Telecaster in this specific era include a 3-ply laminated white plastic pickguard (replacing the earlier white single-layer and subsequent green nitro versions) with the thin-lam rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dots. The headstock has the new-in-1966 "transition" logo decal but retains the old-style Kluson tuners. The bridge has the old threaded saddles and all wiring is still cloth-covered. Of course the special feature on this guitar is the very rare original Candy Apple Red body, with the correct gold metallic and white primer undercoats. "Dan" is written on the wood in the "paint stick" mark in the neck pocket; we can't tell if this is a factory mark or an owner by that name added it later.
The electronics are still the original pre-1967 pattern; like all Telecasters since 1952 this guitar is wired with a "deep bass" cap engaged in the front switch position. The middle position selects the neck pickup alone, while the back switch setting selects the bridge unit. The pickups can be combined by carefully positioning the lever between settings, which works fairly well on this guitar. Many of these have been rewired in subsequent years to the now-standard configuration, but this one remains original.
This Tele has a relatively light body that handles perfectly and resonates for days, and a very comfortable slim round-backed neck. At just over 7 pounds Lbs. (With the bridge cover ON!) this is one of the lightest, handiest Telecasters we have encountered in a while. This is simply a delightful mid-'60s Tele gem, a rare find from the last year they retain their real Pre-CBS character before the F-tuners and heavier finishes begin to arrive. It offers excellent playability and a slightly smoother less spikey tone than many later '60s examples. It is still housed in its original black Tolex HSC, also clean for its age.
Overall length is 37 3/4 in. (95.9 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.)., 7.1 lbs.
Overall this is a nicely preserved Custom Color Tele, with mostly some typical wear. The original Candy apple Red lacquer finish on the body has some chipping on the edges (typical for slab-sided Fenders) going down to both undercoats. The back has one noticeably deep ding and some chips and scuffs, but less heavy belt buckle wear than some. The bulk of the face is relatively clean except for small scuffs, dings and dents; most of the lacquer chipping is concentrated on the edges. A few spots appear to have had light attempts at touch-up.
There is also that one oddity, which we are a bit at a loss to explain. Under the original pickguard (or an EXACT correct period one, if it is not specifically original to this guitar) there are 8 small extra screw holes into the face, where it looks like an attempt was made to attach something. The most likely thing we can posit is someone (was that you, Dan?) tried to attach one of those small DeArmond model 55 pickups with the attached output box for some sort of stereo concept, it appears with the pickguard removed as a mark from the casing flange (?) is evident in the paint. Whatever the case, the guard on the guitar is exactly period correct and covers all this, but this is one of those weird inexplicable surprises that sometimes await when one investigates old guitars. The pickguard has the correct shrinkage typical of 1966 with one slightly popped upper screw hole.
The hardware is all original and relatively clean overall; the most notable wear is the tone knob has some chrome flaked off the top. The internal wiring appears original and undisturbed; it was never re-wired to "modern" spec. The neck finish has some wear to the wood on the edges and in the lower positions, with couple of deep dings on the bass edge of the fingerboard around the 10th fret. A lot of the gold has worn off the "Fender" part of the decal, which is oddly typical of some 1965 examples. The original larger 1966 frets show some wear and have been crowned down a bit, but are still quite playable. This is a very nice playing and sounding Telecaster, flashier than most in its gleaming red livery and as a custom-ordered instrument quite hard to find now in the 2020s! Whatever questionable experiment happened to the top is conveniently completely hidden under the pickguard. The original black Tolex Fender case is included, with some external wear but very nice overall. Very Good + Condition.
This very rare original Custom Color Telecaster was built just over a year after Fender became CBS/Fender, and is still a wonderful instrument in the grand Leo tradition. The body is finished in Candy Apple Red, one of Fender's more common hot rod colors but not often applied to the humble Tele! Based on surviving examples the fairly inexpensive Telecaster was only rarely ordered with any custom finishes in this period. Jaguars, Jazzmasters and Strats, yes, but most Tele players were generally content with the standard Blonde look. There's no denying the eye appeal of a red Telecaster, however, and of course its signature twang is unaffected! This one has no routs or major disfigurement, but does have an odd set of screwholes hidden under an apparently original pickguard.
This guitar's neck date is FEB 66, with pots dating to the 9th week of that year. The evolving features of the Telecaster in this specific era include a 3-ply laminated white plastic pickguard (replacing the earlier white single-layer and subsequent green nitro versions) with the thin-lam rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dots. The headstock has the new-in-1966 "transition" logo decal but retains the old-style Kluson tuners. The bridge has the old threaded saddles and all wiring is still cloth-covered. Of course the special feature on this guitar is the very rare original Candy Apple Red body, with the correct gold metallic and white primer undercoats. "Dan" is written on the wood in the "paint stick" mark in the neck pocket; we can't tell if this is a factory mark or an owner by that name added it later.
The electronics are still the original pre-1967 pattern; like all Telecasters since 1952 this guitar is wired with a "deep bass" cap engaged in the front switch position. The middle position selects the neck pickup alone, while the back switch setting selects the bridge unit. The pickups can be combined by carefully positioning the lever between settings, which works fairly well on this guitar. Many of these have been rewired in subsequent years to the now-standard configuration, but this one remains original.
This Tele has a relatively light body that handles perfectly and resonates for days, and a very comfortable slim round-backed neck. At just over 7 pounds Lbs. (With the bridge cover ON!) this is one of the lightest, handiest Telecasters we have encountered in a while. This is simply a delightful mid-'60s Tele gem, a rare find from the last year they retain their real Pre-CBS character before the F-tuners and heavier finishes begin to arrive. It offers excellent playability and a slightly smoother less spikey tone than many later '60s examples. It is still housed in its original black Tolex HSC, also clean for its age.
Overall length is 37 3/4 in. (95.9 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.)., 7.1 lbs.
Overall this is a nicely preserved Custom Color Tele, with mostly some typical wear. The original Candy apple Red lacquer finish on the body has some chipping on the edges (typical for slab-sided Fenders) going down to both undercoats. The back has one noticeably deep ding and some chips and scuffs, but less heavy belt buckle wear than some. The bulk of the face is relatively clean except for small scuffs, dings and dents; most of the lacquer chipping is concentrated on the edges. A few spots appear to have had light attempts at touch-up.
There is also that one oddity, which we are a bit at a loss to explain. Under the original pickguard (or an EXACT correct period one, if it is not specifically original to this guitar) there are 8 small extra screw holes into the face, where it looks like an attempt was made to attach something. The most likely thing we can posit is someone (was that you, Dan?) tried to attach one of those small DeArmond model 55 pickups with the attached output box for some sort of stereo concept, it appears with the pickguard removed as a mark from the casing flange (?) is evident in the paint. Whatever the case, the guard on the guitar is exactly period correct and covers all this, but this is one of those weird inexplicable surprises that sometimes await when one investigates old guitars. The pickguard has the correct shrinkage typical of 1966 with one slightly popped upper screw hole.
The hardware is all original and relatively clean overall; the most notable wear is the tone knob has some chrome flaked off the top. The internal wiring appears original and undisturbed; it was never re-wired to "modern" spec. The neck finish has some wear to the wood on the edges and in the lower positions, with couple of deep dings on the bass edge of the fingerboard around the 10th fret. A lot of the gold has worn off the "Fender" part of the decal, which is oddly typical of some 1965 examples. The original larger 1966 frets show some wear and have been crowned down a bit, but are still quite playable. This is a very nice playing and sounding Telecaster, flashier than most in its gleaming red livery and as a custom-ordered instrument quite hard to find now in the 2020s! Whatever questionable experiment happened to the top is conveniently completely hidden under the pickguard. The original black Tolex Fender case is included, with some external wear but very nice overall. Very Good + Condition.