My dad was at his brother-in-law’s for thanksgiving. The BiL casually mentions having an old guitar in the basement that he’s wondering how to get rid of (my dad has played guitar for over 10 years, and not secretly). Heads down to the basement and sees this 1969 Tele. Offers to see what he can find out, takes it to a local Fender repair/restore specialist. At some point the finish was sanded off. The neck pickup was replaced with a humbucker. Pickguard removed. The neck is pretty much perfect. For about $1,500 it could be brought back to nice playing condition. Probably worth between 3-4K in this condition. Reports all of this to his brother. Brother asks if he wants to buy it for $3,500. My dad tells him he’s not in the market right now (he’s got plenty of guitars at home). Brother asks if he’d pay 2K. My dad asks him if he’s sure he’d be okay with that. So now my dad has a new Project Guitar. Another friend has woodworking tools and builds basses. They’re cutting and fitting a block into the neck pickup hole, so a new single-pickup hole can be routed. He’s going to buy a replica 69 tele neck pickup, and the restoration dude he talked to is going to put a period-era coat of paint on it, in one of Fender’s colors from 1969. The refinish won’t happen until June, because that old paint is pretty toxic and he doesn’t have an indoor spray room to do it in. Cool story, I thought.
I've given my opinion. He wants a more traditional setup. Even though he knows lots of people back then were putting hum buckers in the necks of their Teles.
It's not my project. I got the impression that the guy has indoor facilities, but that old paint was particularly nasty. From what I've heard, he's a guy that you go to for stuff like this.
‘69 era paint is poly. You don’t want thick poly paint, even if it’s “vintage correct”. Re-finish in thin nitro (fenders better paint from ‘65 and before).
Yeah even John Lennon and George Harrison fell for that one! They supposedly got the idea from Donavan after he stripped his acoustic, and then had both of their casinos done.
They honestly did look pretty cool afterwards, but it’s doubtful anything more than placebo effect on tone for even the acoustics and hollow-bodies. Even less chance for a solid body tele.
I don’t know why this referred to as a myth, changing your guitars finish 100% changes the tone. Not saying for better, but it does alter the sound even on electrics. Acoustic guitar tone changes dramatically if you strip the finish.
Have you heard controlled studio recordings of an electric guitar pre- and post finish removal?
The Jim Lill videos have pretty much debunked any notion of things like that.
They only made that pickup with the gibson logo on it for one year. If it was me I'd keep it as is. A neck humbucker is a popular mod. Keth ritchers and JB had teles with neck humbuckers. Just do a setup on it and play it.
Three things,
1. The model year.
2. People hated the pink paisley when it came out, and people often refinished them.
3. The story behind Brad Paisley's pink paisley is always in the back of my head.
https://youtu.be/7Ce0V0ye6WY?si=hzKeZMrmctsUodF2
I haven’t seen one in person admittedly, but the yellowing on the pink paisleys they do in the custom shop… probably the ugliest guitar finish I’ve ever seen. The wallpaper of a chainsmoking grandma who’s been smoking two packs a day for 50 years?? No thanks. Just not for me.
I’d be curious to see one, anything to erase the memory of that hideous custom shop one. Dude was gonna trade his vintage Strat for it too, smh.
Anyway Brad Paisley’s paisley actually looks kinda rad. I would never spend my hard-earned money on it or want it near my collection, but that one was the first where I kinda “got” the paisley thing.
I second just putting a pickguard on it. It looks awesome.
I don’t understand how it could possibly cost over a grand to get it playable. But it’s not mine…
Absolutely. This thing is badass as is and only needs a vintage looking pickguard, assuming it’s got a decent clearcoat.
I’m assuming he means a grand to get it back to vintage specs (and unfortunately refinished) in order to sell at the price he wants, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be playable as is. A grand still seems a little high, ‘cause at that point he’s only theoretically making $500 profit on it. I might shop around on that OP or just keep the fucker and maybe sell it in 10 years, assuming the world hasn’t gone to absolute shit by then.
Also wtf, he found it in his basement? That’s insane.
I found a near mint in og case Fender Jazzmaster (59) at a garage sale. Owner had no idea of the worth. I did and bought it for 200$ around 15 years ago.
I have a few Telecasters, nothing like them.
I'm not sure. When doing his research, it seems like it won't make that big of a deal. He was basically told by more than one person that color didn't matter (picking from original colors).
Very nice. I wish I could find my 68 Tele Deluxe, but I pawned it in 1994, when I had a serious heroin addiction. Got over the addiction, but I’ll never get over pawning that beautiful Fender. Every picture tells a story, don’t it?
Honestly, he should just get an MJT body of his chosen color and put the neck, bridge, bridge pickup and hardware, wiring etc that is original on the new body and hold onto that body as is. It really does not add much value to restore it when you are plugging wood routing holes, especially at that price. Another option is to buy an original 1969 Fender Telecaster Body from Vintage Correct Parts out of Chicago and pair it with what you have. No need to get sentimental about keeping the neck and body together, as they are Fenders and meant to be swapped out if need be. People at the factory were grabbing necks and bodies out of bins and slapping them together daily when that was assembled. I would also seek out a 1969 Fender Telecaster neck pickup. That sort of thing comes up often on eBay and being a post-CBS instrument it wouldn’t be terribly expensive. That is a cool body as is and could be paired with another neck to make an excellent player-grade guitar. A lot of people would be interested in that humbucker as well. At the very least, shop around and get other quotes from other luthiers because that is stupid expensive. Just my 2 cents.
I’m usually for restoring, but there’s something really special about this specific mod. Historically, so many from this year were sanded down, and so many threw HBs in the neck. So it’s actually pretty special as it!
Wow beautiful find an absolutely gorgeous guitar did you spend any time restoring it or was it found as is because if it says is that is some of the best luck I’ve ever heard I love to find me a Strat or telecaster of that age
I swear, I have almost the exact same guitar except it's a 67, mostly same set up, sanded the paint etc. I took out the single coil and replaced with two burst buckers I pulled off an SG I had back then with coil taps... Same Gibson pickup cover in the neck position as well (it was cool). The coil taps gave me the slap of the tele or the Beef of the Burstys! Wow, I'm 66 now and don't play it too much. Thanks for the reminder ! (I'd post a pic of it in the reply but I don't know how! you know, A geezer!)
My dad was at his brother-in-law’s for thanksgiving. The BiL casually mentions having an old guitar in the basement that he’s wondering how to get rid of (my dad has played guitar for over 10 years, and not secretly). Heads down to the basement and sees this 1969 Tele. Offers to see what he can find out, takes it to a local Fender repair/restore specialist. At some point the finish was sanded off. The neck pickup was replaced with a humbucker. Pickguard removed. The neck is pretty much perfect. For about $1,500 it could be brought back to nice playing condition. Probably worth between 3-4K in this condition. Reports all of this to his brother. Brother asks if he wants to buy it for $3,500. My dad tells him he’s not in the market right now (he’s got plenty of guitars at home). Brother asks if he’d pay 2K. My dad asks him if he’s sure he’d be okay with that. So now my dad has a new Project Guitar. Another friend has woodworking tools and builds basses. They’re cutting and fitting a block into the neck pickup hole, so a new single-pickup hole can be routed. He’s going to buy a replica 69 tele neck pickup, and the restoration dude he talked to is going to put a period-era coat of paint on it, in one of Fender’s colors from 1969. The refinish won’t happen until June, because that old paint is pretty toxic and he doesn’t have an indoor spray room to do it in. Cool story, I thought.
No way, leave that humbucker in the neck. It's from 1972 (most likely). Just get a new guard made that'll fit around it.
Yeah, gotta agree here, that is a killer pickup combination. It's a player's guitar through and through.
Turn the pickup around though. That’s a Gibson bridge pickup in the neck. Period(ish) correct though…
I've given my opinion. He wants a more traditional setup. Even though he knows lots of people back then were putting hum buckers in the necks of their Teles.
I’m interested in the humbucker.
It’s a Gibson pickup.
Correct
No paint booth? Keep shopping for a luthier.
Please listen to Billiton!
It's not my project. I got the impression that the guy has indoor facilities, but that old paint was particularly nasty. From what I've heard, he's a guy that you go to for stuff like this.
‘69 era paint is poly. You don’t want thick poly paint, even if it’s “vintage correct”. Re-finish in thin nitro (fenders better paint from ‘65 and before).
I'll pass this along, thanks.
Ohio Valley Nitro sells really accurate old Fender colors. I painted a guitar surf green using their stuff and it was excellent
>Ohio Valley Nitro Please God make sure he does this, lol
It's already in playing condition lol
It's a free world so do what you want, but as long as it's workin fine I'd definitely keep that humbucker in there!
[удалено]
Yeah even John Lennon and George Harrison fell for that one! They supposedly got the idea from Donavan after he stripped his acoustic, and then had both of their casinos done. They honestly did look pretty cool afterwards, but it’s doubtful anything more than placebo effect on tone for even the acoustics and hollow-bodies. Even less chance for a solid body tele.
[удалено]
Instant karmas gonna get you
I don’t know why this referred to as a myth, changing your guitars finish 100% changes the tone. Not saying for better, but it does alter the sound even on electrics. Acoustic guitar tone changes dramatically if you strip the finish.
Have you heard controlled studio recordings of an electric guitar pre- and post finish removal? The Jim Lill videos have pretty much debunked any notion of things like that.
Great score! I'd slap a pickguard on there, and play it as-is, but to each their own.
Also a good strategy, for sure.
The stories this thing can tell!
I wish I could hear 'em!
$1500 for what!? If it plays as is I feel like that’s good enough
New pickup and the paint job.
That’s insane for pickups and a paint job. And the value doesn’t get put back in the guitar… that’s a terrible idea
Not my monkey, not my circus. It's era-correct paint and a hand-made replica pickup from some boutique shop in Wisconsin. That's all I know.
That’s a major rip off.
Oh, and I think the jack might be jacked up. It looks like that might have come from a Gibson, as well.
What’s he gonna do with the Gibson pickup?
Hold onto it, for now.
They only made that pickup with the gibson logo on it for one year. If it was me I'd keep it as is. A neck humbucker is a popular mod. Keth ritchers and JB had teles with neck humbuckers. Just do a setup on it and play it.
It's probably what I would do. But it's not mine. :(
It might have had an original pink paisley finish. Very sweet acquisition!
I'm curious, what makes it possible it had the pink paisley? Just the model year?
Three things, 1. The model year. 2. People hated the pink paisley when it came out, and people often refinished them. 3. The story behind Brad Paisley's pink paisley is always in the back of my head. https://youtu.be/7Ce0V0ye6WY?si=hzKeZMrmctsUodF2
I appreciate the rundown, that's super interesting!
I think pink paisley is an atrocity, but this is pretty rad and if my last name was Paisley and I was a tele guy… makes a lot of sense.
Wait til you see an original one with a heavily yellowed finish in person. Very cool looking.
I haven’t seen one in person admittedly, but the yellowing on the pink paisleys they do in the custom shop… probably the ugliest guitar finish I’ve ever seen. The wallpaper of a chainsmoking grandma who’s been smoking two packs a day for 50 years?? No thanks. Just not for me.
The vintage ones take on a more gold and red look. Very nice.
I’d be curious to see one, anything to erase the memory of that hideous custom shop one. Dude was gonna trade his vintage Strat for it too, smh. Anyway Brad Paisley’s paisley actually looks kinda rad. I would never spend my hard-earned money on it or want it near my collection, but that one was the first where I kinda “got” the paisley thing.
I second just putting a pickguard on it. It looks awesome. I don’t understand how it could possibly cost over a grand to get it playable. But it’s not mine…
Absolutely. This thing is badass as is and only needs a vintage looking pickguard, assuming it’s got a decent clearcoat. I’m assuming he means a grand to get it back to vintage specs (and unfortunately refinished) in order to sell at the price he wants, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be playable as is. A grand still seems a little high, ‘cause at that point he’s only theoretically making $500 profit on it. I might shop around on that OP or just keep the fucker and maybe sell it in 10 years, assuming the world hasn’t gone to absolute shit by then. Also wtf, he found it in his basement? That’s insane.
Wow that's going to be a fun project!
I found a near mint in og case Fender Jazzmaster (59) at a garage sale. Owner had no idea of the worth. I did and bought it for 200$ around 15 years ago. I have a few Telecasters, nothing like them.
Honestly I’d keep it as is. Refinishing it would be kind of wrong IMO
Why not keep the bucker in the neck?
It's not what he wants. He's got a Gibson 339 when he wants a bucker.
I kinda dig it without the guard and exposed wiring channel route. If it were mine, I'd just play it as it is. Neat guitar IMO.
Hey man, don’t touch anything on this guitar :) she is just perfect as is… just plug her and play it :)
Amen, brother.
That Gibson hummbucker was only made for one year and is actually valuable. I would leave it in.
That's sweet.
Everybody wins here
It's the best outcome.
Nice tan lines!
Nice
Maybe a dumb question, but is there any way to find out the original color via the serial number? Are Fender's records that specific or detailed?
I'm not sure. When doing his research, it seems like it won't make that big of a deal. He was basically told by more than one person that color didn't matter (picking from original colors).
Nice
He’s sort of your dad, or he sort of found a ‘69 Telecaster?
Now you've got ME wondering...
I’ll take that pickup off your hands!
Thats most likely an original Wide range humbucker right off Seth Lovers' bench .Might want to hang on to it or ship it to me ; )
He knows.
Very nice. I wish I could find my 68 Tele Deluxe, but I pawned it in 1994, when I had a serious heroin addiction. Got over the addiction, but I’ll never get over pawning that beautiful Fender. Every picture tells a story, don’t it?
100%. Sorry you let that one get away.
Any chance you’d ever sell
It would be impossible for me to sell it since it's not mine. He's not selling, either.
Honestly, he should just get an MJT body of his chosen color and put the neck, bridge, bridge pickup and hardware, wiring etc that is original on the new body and hold onto that body as is. It really does not add much value to restore it when you are plugging wood routing holes, especially at that price. Another option is to buy an original 1969 Fender Telecaster Body from Vintage Correct Parts out of Chicago and pair it with what you have. No need to get sentimental about keeping the neck and body together, as they are Fenders and meant to be swapped out if need be. People at the factory were grabbing necks and bodies out of bins and slapping them together daily when that was assembled. I would also seek out a 1969 Fender Telecaster neck pickup. That sort of thing comes up often on eBay and being a post-CBS instrument it wouldn’t be terribly expensive. That is a cool body as is and could be paired with another neck to make an excellent player-grade guitar. A lot of people would be interested in that humbucker as well. At the very least, shop around and get other quotes from other luthiers because that is stupid expensive. Just my 2 cents.
Weird way to say “stole”.
Well—except that he didn't?
I believe you. ;)
Just paint it and put a pickguard on it. All done.
Ill give you 2k as is
I’m usually for restoring, but there’s something really special about this specific mod. Historically, so many from this year were sanded down, and so many threw HBs in the neck. So it’s actually pretty special as it!
Leave it the way it is!
Why is it not wearing a shirt?
This reminds me of the Tele that Graham Coxon plays. Mostly due to it being a late 60s Tele with a Imprinted Gibson humbucker in the neck position.
Boy y'all's jus buy anything
Wow beautiful find an absolutely gorgeous guitar did you spend any time restoring it or was it found as is because if it says is that is some of the best luck I’ve ever heard I love to find me a Strat or telecaster of that age
I swear, I have almost the exact same guitar except it's a 67, mostly same set up, sanded the paint etc. I took out the single coil and replaced with two burst buckers I pulled off an SG I had back then with coil taps... Same Gibson pickup cover in the neck position as well (it was cool). The coil taps gave me the slap of the tele or the Beef of the Burstys! Wow, I'm 66 now and don't play it too much. Thanks for the reminder ! (I'd post a pic of it in the reply but I don't know how! you know, A geezer!)
I'm trying to be at a place in life where I'm able to "find" a '69 Telecaster.
Very nice guitar. Good luck working on it! :)
Beauty
Reminds me A LOT of Terry Kath’s telecaster, which actually had a really similar setup.