{"product_id":"fender-telecaster-solid-body-electric-guitar-1952-13961","title":"Fender Telecaster Solid Body Electric Guitar (1952)","description":"Fender Telecaster Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1952), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 0691, blonde lacquer finish, ash body, maple neck, original brown hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a really super example of a \"Blackguard\" Telecaster -- the guitar that put Leo Fender on the map for all time -- assembled at the company's original cinder-block factory in Fullerton, California towards the end of 1952. It has all the classic '52 Tele features: the one-piece maple neck, thin lacquer \"butterscotch\" blonde-finished ash body, lacquered black pickguard, brass bridge saddles, and of course the original black-bobbin hand wound pickups with a sound for the ages! At 7.88 pounds, this is not one of the lighter \"Blackguards\" we have had but has a great solid feel and a truly killer sound.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar carries the serial number 0691 stamped into the bridgeplate; while this is a very low number for a later 1952 guitar, these bridges were not installed in any particular order and the sequence varies widely. The famous Werner list noted #0697 as being on an August 1952 blackguard. The neck is inscribed \"Tadeo 10-30-52\" in very small pencil lettering on the heel by Tadeo Gomez, who left his mark -- literally -- on most of the Telecasters from this period. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe body is made from grained ash with more figure than some. It carries a date mark of 8-25-52 in the neck cavity, with a penciled \"Jones\" beside, one of the more obscure names at Fender in 1952. The 2-month gap between these parts is not unusual on early Fenders, which were assembled from a stash of pre-finished parts as needed. One of the pot date codes can be read by peering under a capacitor and reads 304-221 designating a piece made by Stackpole during the 21st week of 1952; the other code is soldered over. The knobs are taller than some from this period with a fairly heavy knurl pattern.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar has been played but not abused since it was shipped out in late 1952. All parts remain original including the wiring rig; unlike many, it has never been re-wired to \"modern\" Telecaster switching. This is the mid-1952 and onward scheme with a \"deep bass\" capacitor on the neck pickup in switch position # 1; position #2 is the neck pickup in normal mode, and #3 is the bridge pickup with a master tone control. The neck and bridge pickups can be combined by carefully lodging the selector between positions #2 and #3, which works better on this guitar than some, giving a nice Strat-like ring. This one has a particularly great-sounding lead pickup, bright and powerful with plenty of body never getting shrill even when cranked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe very comfortable neck has a fairly deep rounded profile with more dress-away to the sides in the lower positions than some '52s, getting rounder and chunkier as it approaches the body. These necks were all handmade and are somewhat variable even in a given year. The tuners are the standard Kluson Deluxe, with the patent markings under the base. The original Silver decal and round string tree adorn the headstock face. As is customary for 1952 the screws are mixed flat and Phillips-head; the neck, bridge, strap button and control plate screws are Phillips while the pickguard, string tree and tuner screws are slot-head.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor many players and Blackguard fans, this is THE classic Telecaster year. '52s have the look and feel of the earliest Fender Broadcaster and \"No-Caster\" guitars from 1950-51 but more consistent production standards. Many of the fine details of the instrument continued to gradually evolve as the decade went along, but '52 is the benchmark year for comparison to all later Fender guitars, and the year Fender has generally selected for basing its re-issues on. Over the years decades many players and collectors have come to consider the 1952 Telecaster the finest electric guitar ever made -- and one of the most important as well.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his authoritative and beautiful book \"The Blackguard\", author Nachos Banos references this, calling '52s \"a personal favorite\" and stating, \"The neck feel and lead pickup sounds from these ... make them some of the best Fenders ever made\". The early Fender Telecasters of this period are universally considered as one of the most collectible and historic of all electric guitars, and this is a very nice original example.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall length is 38 3\/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 12 5\/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3\/4 in. (4.4 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.)., 7.88 lbs. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a nicely original guitar, with the only notable alteration being a replaced nut; it has some typical play wear but even the small-wire original frets are still intact. The completely original thin lacquer body finish is less \"smoked\" than many, maintaining a lighter blonde shade with fine linear checking mostly along the grain lines. The lighter \"shadows\" of where the bridge cover sat and under the pickguard are visible but less distinct than on more heavily ambered guitars. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs is common with these slab-sided instruments some lacquer is rubbed away on the edges of the body and there are dings and dents scattered around, including several small \"case bites\" to the top. The upper back has a decent sized area of belt buckle wear down to the wood; the person who played this one the most wore it lower than some! The back finish has typical dings and dents and some small random spots of red pigment that leeched in scattered around the area below the string ferrules, source unknown. The lacquered pickguard is still shiny above the string line but has mostly been worn through in the area below. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe all-original clear lacquer neck finish shows a decent amount of wear to the wood on the back and lower edge, and on the fingerboard down to around the 12th fret from play. There is some divoting to the fingerboard in the \"Cowboy Chord\" position. Putting your hand on the neck you can literally trace where then original owner played by the pattern of wear. The headstock is clean with some small dings and chips and the original decal fully intact. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll hardware is original including the Kluson tuners, black-bobbin pickups, wiring rig, knobs, and bridge components; the original solder joints appear intact. Much of the chrome is still shiny with some typical scratching and wear mostly to the control plate. The lead pickup has some scratching on the top of the coil while the bridge baseplate shows scarring from saddle adjustment; the saddles themselves are weathered but all the screws still turn freely. The \"ashtray\" snap-on bridge cover is missing, but some fade line is visible where it once sat. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar has been played but never substantially altered over the last nearly 75 years. The original small-wire frets remain intact with some wear in the lower positions but still play well; as noted the bone nut is a modern replacement. So many of these early Telecasters were literally played into the ground, refinished, fitted with humbuckers, and generally abused it is always a treat to find a nicely original example. This one SOUNDS fantastic too, even when not plugged in it rings exactly as it should. An original shaped \"Thermometer\" hardshell case is included, very heavily worn externally with a patched-in lower edge on the lid but still fairly clean inside. An modern tweed HSC is also provided. We have handled a number of \"Blackguards\" over the last few decades and each has its own unique character; This is a great straightforward example used but never abused with the absolute classic feel. Very Good + Condition.","brand":"Fender","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50733824442508,"sku":"13961","price":79500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_c57ea038-5575-4fa7-94a7-0e9343cc2031.jpg?v=1781555593","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/fender-telecaster-solid-body-electric-guitar-1952-13961","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}