NGD: 50's Baja Telecaster

drofluf

I blame my wife. I wasn't looking for another guitar and then she sent me a link for a Tele' in an auction room. I didn't get that but it did start an itch that needed scratching. Then I saw this in the classifieds:

https://i.postimg.cc/zvyRW5Nw/Headstock.jpg

After some hassle with UPS - which was partly my fault but they also gave me a lot of misinformation - it arrived today

https://i.postimg.cc/26cZVys8/50-s-Baja-Telecaster.jpg

Nice chunky neck and that classic Tele "twang"

Henrytwang

Looks like the bridge has been changed, the Baja Telecaster had three brass saddles which were flat on the bottom. I used to have a Baja Telecaster, it was well made and sounded good but it weighed more than an old Les Paul.

drofluf

@Henrytwang yes bridge has been changed, but I was aware before I bought it. Thanks for the heads up though. 

DiscoStu

Yip, definitely not the original saddles, the stock bridge plate is a three-saddle job. I think yours has been swapped to the American Standard bridge plate. Did the seller include the original?
The only thing I changed on my Baja is swapping out the Fender saddles to Wilkinson compensated ones, but still just 3 of them.

Johnnyseven

DiscoStu said:

Yip, definitely not the original saddles, the stock bridge plate is a three-saddle job. I think yours has been swapped to the American Standard bridge plate. Did the seller include the original?
The only thing I changed on my Baja is swapping out the Fender saddles to Wilkinson compensated ones, but still just 3 of them.

That looks like a Gotoh to me, or possibly a Mex Fender. US Standard bridges have 3 screws and the Baja has 4 bridge screw holes.

TTBZ

Nice, been looking at these again as I love those soft V neck profiles on a Fender but don't like 7.25" radius as you usually get on a V shape for some reason. 

Musicwolf

DiscoStu said:

The only thing I changed on my Baja is swapping out the Fender saddles to Wilkinson compensated ones, but still just 3 of them.

I did exactly the same.  Cheap, easy, mod but benefits the guitar greatly in my opinion.  Doesn't make me any more likely to hit the right notes but at least the notes that I do play are correctly intoned.

Arktik83

Fender Baja tele's are great instruments, punching well above their price point IMO.  HNGD!

elkay

Musicwolf said:

DiscoStu said:

The only thing I changed on my Baja is swapping out the Fender saddles to Wilkinson compensated ones, but still just 3 of them.

I did exactly the same.  Cheap, easy, mod but benefits the guitar greatly in my opinion.  Doesn't make me any more likely to hit the right notes but at least the notes that I do play are correctly intoned.

Ditto ... but, as the great Eric Morecambe once said, all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order!

thegummy

I've had to heavily resist buying this model because they just look so great.

chris78

TTBZ said:

Nice, been looking at these again as I love those soft V neck profiles on a Fender but don't like 7.25" radius as you usually get on a V shape for some reason. 

The baja is 9.5