Help ID which Japan Tele this is?

[Kitchen Guitars]

I am going back n forth with a seller. He has a Japan Tele Custom for sale. I look up info on google and it is confusing. It looks like there are Japan Tele Customs for $300 to $998. Which one is this one? What do you feel street price on this used is?


I would like a good ol' Tele. Should I just stay USA Standard?

[David Eastwood]

That's a rather odd bird. Standard Tele pickup config, but in a Deluxe style? Seymour Duncans? A pickguard that clearly doesn't fit with the bridge?

And the headstock logo is just plain weird.

I'd be a bit suspicious, myself. But, I'm no expert. What do others think?

[wade63]

Sorry I cant answer your question except to say I like the looks of it and bet it plays nice. I suspect if it were under five It'd be nice for the price but I'll leave that to the more knowledgeable.

[BTF]

It would be interesting to see- with the pickguard removed- if there's a large hole in the body for the 70's Fender 'bucker, or if the body is routed for a Tele neck pickup.

Japanese Teles make superb mod platforms. Perhaps this is modded.

[maxtheaxe]

That pickguard appears to be shaped to accommodate the footprint of the bridge that came with those older Fender-branded Bigsbys. Must have been re-fitted at some point, or possibly they just put it out that way...mix-up on the specs or something at the Japanese mfgr?

A bit strange but easily remedied if it bugs you...new pickguards aren't all that much money or trouble.

[Gypsyblue]

That's a bizarre guitar. The neck pickup is moved closer to the bridge than is normal.

I like the pole pieces of the neck pickup to be where a 24th fret would be if the neck had 24 frets.

Looks like maybe that one has a new pickguard and they mounted the neck single coil where the second bobbin of the humbucker (which was removed?) would be?

I dunno.

I suspect that it's been customized, but what did it start out as?

Is it even a real Fender Japan guitar?

The case is also weird.

Like I said: bizarre.

I'd pass.

[Kitchen Guitars]

Thanks all for pointing out the odds and ends of this guitar. I looked at dozens of Japan Tele's on google and did not find this exact model. The pickguard looks like the one they put on the one with humbucker at the neck. But, that one has 4 knobs. The Symore duncan pickup is too low compaired to a "standard" tele. BTW his asking price is $700
Bailed out on the deal. I'll keep looking for a USA.

[Pualee]

partscaster?

[rmp]

sort of what I'm thinking too.

I'd be wary of this one as it may not be what it's supposed to be.

[Acoustigator]

Steering clear of this is a good idea. The pickups at least have been swapped to Seymour Duncans (or maybe the lower end Duncan Designs). Not a bad thing in itself, but the switch is non-original. Also, I've never seen a Fender Tele with a large trussrod nib sticking out on the headstock like that. Japanese Teles normally have the truss rod adjustment at the heel end of the neck; MIMs have a black plastic trussrod plug; USAs have a walnut plug.

My thoughts is that this is some type of partscaster, or an off-brand copy that's been tagged with a Fender decal.

[BTF]

That silver nib is the repro-Bullet Truss Rod designed by Leo himself, I believe, before he finally left Fender. It and the 3-bolt tilting angle neck were introduced in the CBS years. The Bullet was easier to get to and harder to round out than the traditional recessed hex, but ugly as sin. It had to be put there (where the earlier models had rod access at the neck's heel) to stay clear of the tilt-adjustment feature of the 3-bolt neck.

Also, the body has the less-scooped upper horn that Teles exhibited in the CBS years. Supposedly, the bits of the routers CBS used were unable to do the traditional deep scoop on the upper horn (where the horn comes down into the neck). Here's a CBS-era ad I've cropped which-unfortunately for CBS- shows the less graceful curve of the upper horn on the 70's models:



The pickguard has that weird bridge cutout for the ashtray bridge cover.

My guess is that it's a Japanese Tele Custom which someone has modded with a custom pickguard, and new pickups. They have replaced the big 'bucker with a traditional Tele neck pickup.