Here is an absolute KILLER vintage 1971 Fender Telecaster Thinline in 3-color Sunburst finish with a rare Rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was produced at the original Fender factory in Fullerton California, U.S.A. The guitar has been set up, it is solid and ready to play-needs nothing.
The body is the familiar Telecaster silhouette with single cutaway and slab contour. The F-hole provides a nice weight reduction and the body is made of Swamp ash, so it is very lightweight and comfortable. The finish has a nice soft vintage shine to it with a really nice touch of patina here and there. There is some rub wear through the finish on the edges of the sides-see photos. The grain looks really cool through the translucent finish. The red is bright and looks great-not faded out like so many Fenders from this era were. It is prominent and looks just like a 60's Fender sunburst. It is the original nitrocellulose finish-which Fender continued to use alongside Poly for several years in the 1970's (the backside of the neck is poly, headstock is nitrocellulose). There is some faint line checking here and there-see photos. There is a touch up on the side of the body, underneath the neck. It blends in pretty good, but I thought it should be mentioned. The pickguard is a replacement Fender unit which has been aged to match the era. It looks really nice and correct. The neck pickup position was routed for a hum bucker-but I'm not sure that project was ever competed. It is a cosmetic, and underneath the pickguard so it can only be seen if the pickguard is removed. The neck slot is a good fitment and nice neck angle. Someone added a thin, factory-style trapezoid shim, not sure if it is necessary but the guitar plays so good that I left it in. Overall-the guitar body looks really nice with a perfect vintage vibe.
The neck is smooth and straight. It has the typical vintage C-shape profile. The ink stamp on the end reads November 1970 with a standard "B" width. The nut measures 1.57" wide. The neck depth measures .822" at the 1st fret and .931" at the 12th fret. The original Tuners all function and the guitar stays in tune perfectly. The headstock and logo have excellent vintage patina and displays awesome. The super-rare Rosewood fingerboard has a pronounced grain and it feels and looks stellar! The fingerboard is clean and has a nice soft feel. The frets are original and have been professionally leveled, crowned and polished. They appear close to new condition with a nice medium height-see photos. The action is set low for an easy playing experience, although it is easily raised if you prefer a more aggressive tele-tone. Currently the string height is .010" at the 1st fret and .055" at the 12th fret. The guitar plays great up and down the fingerboard with no dead spots anywhere.
The tone is that wicked Tele spank and sparkle. The neck pickup reads 6.53 ohms and bridge position reads 7.33 ohms. They both sound great and balanced. The bridge has an exceptional Fender brilliance and chime, and the neck is full and throaty. The middle position provides the typical "woody" tone that Thinlines are sometimes known for. The Rosewood fingerboard really adds a lot of depth to the tone in all positions. The controls function smoothly and quietly. The original CTS pots date to the 14th week of 1971. They have split shafts and the weird 1/2 moon recess in the backside of the casing ( Fender apparently ran low of the solid shaft pots during this era and used these in Telecasters and Precision Basses as well as some Mustangs). The bridge pickup is original and dates to 39th week of 1969. The neck pickup is certainly a Fender product with correct purple wire-it does not have a date so I can't authenticate what year it is. The original bridge and saddles are in good condition and function well.
The guitar is super lightweight, it only weighs 6.26 lbs! It is lots of fun to play and super-comfortable. Forget all about neck-fatigue, You can play this baby all night long and feel great! Comes with a newer Fender hard shell case.
