What can you tell me about this guitar

Webizul · #1 06-08-2014, 04:27 PM

So, a 1978 Tele popped up on my local craigslist. As a fan of the tele and having been born in 78, this interests me. However, I don't know enough about 70s Fenders to know if its worth going after. I can't pay for it outright, but have a 2012 American Standard Tele and Strat that I could sell to come up with the funds. In y'alls opinion, is a 70s Tele worth potentially two current Fender models?

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/msg/4509383696.html

Mbroady · #2 06-08-2014, 05:14 PM

1974-1982 are said to not be their finest years.
But I have played both dogs and great fenders of that era.
Price seems a little bit high considering they are consistently making better guitars for less now. if it is one of the good ones and it is your birth year..........is it worth the premium. Just have to play it to see if you like it better then you current Tele. Do love the ebony fret board.

zabdart · #3 06-08-2014, 06:19 PM

From 1974-1984 were the peak of the CBS era (which began when they acquired the company back in 1965). Like another poster said, there were some good Fender guitars built in that era and some DOGS. The decade in question is the era of the "notchless Teles," but that's a cosmetic thing. There were some very creative things done with the Telecaster during the CBS period, like the developement of the Thinline Telecaster, humbucking pickups on the Telecaster Custom, etc. To their credit, CBS began standardizing the output levels on their pickups, which were all over the map during the Leo Fender years, but they standardized them at lower output levels, robbing them of midrange and making them thin-sounding.
Telecasters didn't suffer as much during this period as much as Stratocasters did. This was the era of the 3-bolt neck connection on Stratocasters, which were not as stable as the original 4-bolt connection. The 4-bolt connection was retained on Telecasters.