Fender American Tele owners - a quick question

romac · December 2020

Anyone's USA serial number look like this, please?

Looks like an obvious addition to me, but I'd be happy to be wrong.

Cheers

SteveRobinson · December 2020

I think that's legit.

Looks like it's delaminating though which is why you can see the outline of the transfer

romac · December 2020

Thanks. The rest of the guitar checks out, so this does seem out of place.

Is delamination just one of those things that can happen, or a likely indicator of storage humidity/temperature?

gazrichards · December 2020

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

SteveRobinson · December 2020

romac said:

Thanks. The rest of the guitar checks out, so this does seem out of place.

Is delamination just one of those things that can happen, or a likely indicator of storage humidity/temperature?

I've seen it sometimes on the mid-90s to mid-00s guitars, including the whole headstock face finish flaking off taking the logo with it.

romac · December 2020

gazrichards said:

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

I'd asked, but no response so far.

vanlooy1 · December 2020

This is how mine looked (no longer own it!) - 2001 standard.

gazrichards · December 2020

romac said:

gazrichards said:

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

I'd asked, but no response so far.

So judging by that I assume this is t your guitar but one you are interested in buying? The fender website has a serial number search. It should bring up the model and colour etc which will certainly help

Eski · December 2020

I’m not sure but I have an ‘02 Tele that looks like vanlooy1’s, i.e. serial number on the back and made in USA on the front of the headstock. To be honest I don’t know if it’s legit or not but it may be worth doing a bit more checking?

poopot · December 2020

Pic of the front of the headstock will help

Funkfingers · December 2020

romac said:

gazrichards said:

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

I'd asked, but no response so far.

The bar code and number self-adhesive paper labels in the body cavities and neck heel areas relate to QA inspections and finish colours.

romac · December 2020

gazrichards said:

romac said:

gazrichards said:

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

I'd asked, but no response so far.

So judging by that I assume this is t your guitar but one you are interested in buying? The fender website has a serial number search. It should bring up the model and colour etc which will certainly help

Yes, exactly that. Had checked the Fender reg and it came back as expected, but unfortunately that doesn't exclude them having been clever enough to use a number that matches the claimed spec. Maybe I'm just cynical

Everything else about it smells right, hence the visible transfer seeming so out of place, but if that's what delamination looks like, it would all add up.

romac · December 2020

poopot said:

Pic of the front of the headstock will help

Looks good to my eye - the (walnut?) truss rod plug looks right for the American Series to me - but there might be a red flag I'm missing.

vanlooy1 · December 2020

Is it a standard? 2003?

gazrichards · December 2020

Funkfingers said:

romac said:

gazrichards said:

Shouldnt the same serial number also be on the barcode in the pickup cavity or neck pocket?

I'd asked, but no response so far.

The bar code and number self-adhesive paper labels in the body cavities and neck heel areas relate to QA inspections and finish colours.

Ok but if it’s a fender they will be there still. And a fender routing pattern is a good indication of authenticity. As it’s not his guitar though, that’s not possible.

romac · December 2020

vanlooy1 said:

Is it a standard? 2003?

'03 American Ash apparently. I've played a couple of other American Series and everything else looks consistent from what I recall.

vanlooy1 · December 2020

romac said:

vanlooy1 said:

Is it a standard? 2003?

'03 American Ash apparently. I've played a couple of other American Series and everything else looks consistent from what I recall.

Not sure if American Ash was a model, however I’m by no means anywhere approaching knowledgeable!!! This was the front of the headstock on my Standard (Swamp Ash).
Not the best photo, mine had staggered tuners.

Devil#20 · December 2020

Whip the control plate off and have a look in there. That will provide your biggest indicators if it's fake or not. I don't like the look of the serial number. Usually the Z3 would be a different font to the rest of the serial number for a tele of that age I think. If it's an Oak Grigsby switch (which it should be) then Fender of that vintage will have earthed to the body of the switch rather than one of the pots probably. Are they proper CTS or full size pots. What's the standard of the soldering. Does it have a tone cap? What's the resistance of the pick ups? Do they look legit? Opening the control plate is the easiest way to spot a fake.

Funkfingers · December 2020

romac said:

Looks good to my eye - the (walnut?) truss rod plug looks right for the American Series to me - but there might be a red flag I'm missing.

Er, why is the decal in the "Fifties" position and typefaces? It would normally be like the photograph posted by vanlooy1.

Similarly, the round string guide is in the wrong location compared to the modern type. If this were a modification, there ought to be two holes where the original wood screw and locator peg went.

Voxman · December 2020

Funkfingers said:

romac said:

Looks good to my eye - the (walnut?) truss rod plug looks right for the American Series to me - but there might be a red flag I'm missing.

Er, why is the decal in the "Fifties" position and typefaces? It would normally be like the photograph posted by vanlooy1.

Similarly, the round string guide is in the wrong location compared to the modern type. If this were a modification, there ought to be two holes where the original wood screw and locator peg went.

There are Tele's with a single screw T-bar (as per the pics, and mine's the same - pic below is from EBay, & not my Tele), but the transfer isn't in the right place. Combined with the lifting transfer in the original pic, and the round string retainer (which is in the wrong position - it should be more or less opposite the A Tuner, not the D Tuner) I'm afraid this just doesn't look right to me.

Image: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/EkIAAOSwHHxfl-VU/s-l1600.jpg

Funkfingers · December 2020

Voxman said:
There are Tele's with a single screw T-bar (as per the pics, and mine's the same - pic below is from EBay, & not my Tele)

Yes but the guide should cover two holes; a larger, threaded one for the screw and a narrower, shallower, smooth one for the location peg.

IMO, the Fifties style "spaghetti" decal could not disguise both of these holes.

The modern "spaghetti" logo is slightly different. e.g. The ends of the bar across the F are rounded where the originals were very straight.

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Fender American Tele owners - a quick question

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