Calling All '69 Thinline Fans

Hi Everyone,

One tele that I have always had a soft spot for is the '69 thinline and any '69 thinline reissue.

Are there any other '69 thinline fans/owners out there? feel free to post pics of your favourites if you wish. What is it about the '69 thinline that you love and why? Discuss... haha

Cheers all,

D.

My first real guitar. Traded it for a regular left handed mid 60s vintage Tele because it was a right handed one I'd turned upside-down. Nice guitar!

I have a 69ish Tele. They're on this thread http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/169689-69-72-thinline-telecaster-club.html

Really it's one of the best kept secrets for a sweet Telel...one of the best set of pups in a Tele ever.

I have a 69ish Tele. They're on this thread http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/169689-69-72-thinline-telecaster-club.html

Nice guitars Telechaser!! Which one of your thinlines is your favourite? Do you have a favourite?

:)

D.

Nice guitars Telechaser!! Which one of your thinlines is your favourite? Do you have a favourite?

:)

D.

The '72 Thinline RI is my favourite, next is the 69ish partscaster then
Highway 1
Epi Sheraton II
My acoustics
Thinline Tele with single humbucker
Squier Affinity Tele

I just scored this guitar. Serial #110. The story is that it is one from the very first batch of reissues (of 11 made) built by Chris Flemming in the late 1980's. I love it. It's a little fatter sounding than my '67 which is fine because I'm more of a rock/blues player than country. Supposedly the neck was built to James Burton's specs...... Still trying to find out what it's really worth. It's in great shape, has a couple of small nicks and a fineline crack in the varnish on the neck. The original color was metallic Teal that faded to green. Not even sure if it's the "69 Thinline Reissue." Still looking for info.http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/zbcustom1/DaveCrop.jpg

I have the artic white special edition with the matching headstock. It's not my number one tele, but I love the light weight. I did change the bridge pickup for one that has a plate on it and changed the pots to 250k. It is a nice tele.

Here's mine. It's a great guitar.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o67/echorrigan/Black_Thinline_Close_Front.jpg

i'm a thinline pirate! i loved the neck so much on mine i pirated it for another tele that already had better pickups, electronics, body wood, etc. (well, IMHO)

but now i'm searching ebay for another '69 thinline neck. they're just my favorite shape and size...perfect for me.

Here's mine. It's a great guitar.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o67/echorrigan/Black_Thinline_Close_Front.jpg

Awesome! What sort of neck pickup is that??

D.

I just scored this guitar. Serial #110. The story is that it is one from the very first batch of reissues (of 11 made) built by Chris Flemming in the late 1980's. I love it. It's a little fatter sounding than my '67 which is fine because I'm more of a rock/blues player than country. Supposedly the neck was built to James Burton's specs...... Still trying to find out what it's really worth. It's in great shape, has a couple of small nicks and a fineline crack in the varnish on the neck. The original color was metallic Teal that faded to green. Not even sure if it's the "69 Thinline Reissue." Still looking for info.[IMG]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/zbcustom1/DaveCrop.jpg

You definitely have a great guitar there zirbman! nice colour and rare!!

D.

fullertonfan83;

Thanks. The neck pickup is a Lollar Charlie Christian. The bridge is a Lollar Special T. I swapped out the original 1 meg pots for 250k and get great tone.

Its my number one guitar! I really want to get another one and keep it bone stock though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/bootroots/DSC02409.jpg

...besides the Fender re-issues ( i have one of the Mahogany '69 RI), Fernandes also made a good copy(i have one that looks like its made of ash(?) natural wood colour with a rather thick poly(?) finish ) ..i changed out the bridge for a Callaham (it came with a repro stamped steel, with steel saddles) with brass saddles, and retained the original ceramic pickups...sounds beautiful through my little Behringer GMX110..

You definitely have a great guitar there zirbman! nice colour and rare!!

D.

i agree fuller. green is not my color, but dang, that is one of the nicest tele's i have ever seen. love it!

fullertonfan83;

Thanks. The neck pickup is a Lollar Charlie Christian. The bridge is a Lollar Special T. I swapped out the original 1 meg pots for 250k and get great tone.
I dig mine and plan to do basically the same mods to the pots and maybe go with a 4 or 5 way switch setup.

Not sure of the pickup setup i want yet, but i really like the look of that CC in your neck position. Did you have to mod the pick guard for it?

I also have Glendale compensated "twang" saddles to put on it. I have the Aluminum/Brass combo set, i just haven't done it yet.
These guitars really have awesome necks and i love the sound profile of the mahogany body on mine.......it's just a little different from the rest of my pack.
Hers mine as it sits right now:

I just scored this guitar. Serial #110. The story is that it is one from the very first batch of reissues (of 11 made) built by Chris Flemming in the late 1980's. I love it. It's a little fatter sounding than my '67 which is fine because I'm more of a rock/blues player than country. Supposedly the neck was built to James Burton's specs...... Still trying to find out what it's really worth. It's in great shape, has a couple of small nicks and a fineline crack in the varnish on the neck. The original color was metallic Teal that faded to green. Not even sure if it's the "69 Thinline Reissue." Still looking for info.http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/zbcustom1/DaveCrop.jpg


I can hear that guitar screamin' MOJO :cool:

That ranks right up there with best of the best IMHO......Lucky man!

Honestly I wouldn't have picked green if I was out shopping for one but this deal kind of came to me. After the first note I knew this Tele needed to be mine. It sounds fantastic.

Nice to see some other nice Thinlines on here. I played a '67 solid body Fender Tele for years but that's going to stay in the closet for awhile!

I just scored this guitar. Serial #110. The story is that it is one from the very first batch of reissues (of 11 made) built by Chris Flemming in the late 1980's. I love it. It's a little fatter sounding than my '67 which is fine because I'm more of a rock/blues player than country. Supposedly the neck was built to James Burton's specs...... Still trying to find out what it's really worth. It's in great shape, has a couple of small nicks and a fineline crack in the varnish on the neck. The original color was metallic Teal that faded to green. Not even sure if it's the "69 Thinline Reissue." Still looking for info.http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk190/zbcustom1/DaveCrop.jpg

Whether it is or isn't a '69RI, it is a very cool looking thinline. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f399/Csapo/Avatars/AOK.gif Congrats.

I like 'em and they are all still with me. Are you guys sick of this pic yet?

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f399/Csapo/02MIM69RIThinlineCollection-500p-1.jpg

First time I've seen that pic so no, I'm not sick of it!

You could never get sick of that pic!! Ok, I'm officially jealous!

:)

D.

fullertonfan83;

Thanks. The neck pickup is a Lollar Charlie Christian. The bridge is a Lollar Special T. I swapped out the original 1 meg pots for 250k and get great tone.

Thanks for the extra info caliban335...that pickup I'm sure sounds fantastic, but it also just looks really, really cool!! I could see myself installing a neck pickup like that in a future thinline...I will look into learning more about that pickup for sure. I have Lollars in my Bill Nash built Esquire (the neck pickup is hidden under the guard) and they sound awesome!

Yes, I have to ask, was any extra room needed to be made in your pickguard to fit it in? On the Lollar site it says installing the pickup may require routing and minor pickguard modification. Was this the case with your guitar?

Thanks again.

D.

Its my number one guitar! I really want to get another one and keep it bone stock though.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/bootroots/DSC02409.jpg


That is BEAUTIFUL BootRoots!! If I had one THAT nice, I would want 2 as well!! haha

D.

I dig mine and plan to do basically the same mods to the pots and maybe go with a 4 or 5 way switch setup.

Not sure of the pickup setup i want yet, but i really like the look of that CC in your neck position. Did you have to mod the pick guard for it?

I also have Glendale compensated "twang" saddles to put on it. I have the Aluminum/Brass combo set, i just haven't done it yet.
These guitars really have awesome necks and i love the sound profile of the mahogany body on mine.......it's just a little different from the rest of my pack.
Hers mine as it sits right now:

Hi bfgz, I would love to be able to own a '69 thinline RI just like yours!! I have heard that the necks are really nice, and I really like the tone from mahogany and think that natural finish is the definitive '69 thinline look!

I dig mine and plan to do basically the same mods to the pots and maybe go with a 4 or 5 way switch setup.

Not sure of the pickup setup i want yet, but i really like the look of that CC in your neck position. Did you have to mod the pick guard for it?

I also have Glendale compensated "twang" saddles to put on it. I have the Aluminum/Brass combo set, i just haven't done it yet.
These guitars really have awesome necks and i love the sound profile of the mahogany body on mine.......it's just a little different from the rest of my pack.
Hers mine as it sits right now:

Hi! Has that one got the remains of a screw-hole for the strap on the horn by the cutaway???

This is my 68-ish style Thinline. I love this guitar, but I'm currently using a 72RI Thinline because I need a thicker sound with the current band

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Rumbletweed/Gear/Able1.jpg

The pickguard had to be modified to accommodate the CC. Lollar includes a template with the pickup. I don't know whether or not the pickup required routing in the guitar, as the work was done by a talented local guitar tech.

I strongly recommend the CC/Special T combination. It's not a traditional Tele tone, but it's a great tone.

I really like the '69. But I decided to build my own.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Thinlines086a.JPG

Hi! Has that one got the remains of a screw-hole for the strap on the horn by the cutaway???
Hey Teleman55 - Nice to hear from you neighbor. I'm not too far away from you in Mundelein.

No this guitar doesn't have any marks anywhere on it that i can find. I picked it up in Downtown Chicago. :smile:

I really like the '69. But I decided to build my own.

http://lyonshome.org/guitars/Thinlines086a.JPG


Those are amazing Ironwolf!!! Wow Nice Job :cool:

Those are amazing Ironwolf!!! Wow Nice Job :cool:

i agree - except for the guitar center picks :shock:

just kidding!!!:razz:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y165/Rumbletweed/Gear/Able1.jpg

That guitar is just gorgeous!! I'm in love with the look of it :)

The pickguard had to be modified to accommodate the CC. Lollar includes a template with the pickup. I don't know whether or not the pickup required routing in the guitar, as the work was done by a talented local guitar tech.

I strongly recommend the CC/Special T combination. It's not a traditional Tele tone, but it's a great tone.

Thanks for the info and recommendation on the pickups. Cheers.

My first real guitar. Traded it for a regular left handed mid 60s vintage Tele because it was a right handed one I'd turned upside-down. Nice guitar!

Wow, I want a lefty thinline!

posted before...
however, here is my all original 1969 thinline

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/516/medium/thinline.JPG

That guitar is just gorgeous!! I'm in love with the look of it :)

Thanks. It's a lot more grungy and beat up than it looks in that picture (which is from probably 5 years ago)

I love the sound of the '69 reissue. a couple questions. can anyone speak to the differences between the mahogany and ash bodies? my pickups are pretty microphonic at high volume, anyone else with this problem?

Here are a couple of sweethearts. A '95 CS with stock Bardens and a Frankencaster with Toneriders and El Dorado hardware.

Here are a couple of sweethearts. A '95 CS with stock Bardens and a Frankencaster with Toneriders and El Dorado hardware.

Very nice guitars!!

Wow...There are a lot of beautiful Thinlines in the prior posts.

I never even liked Teles until I picked up a 69RI in a store one day. I didn't even plug it in and knew I had a new main guitar. I drug my feet for a couple of days but had to go pick it up. After playing it (the black one) for a few years I felt it needed a sister, so I bought a surf green one. It sounds good but just doesn't have the mojo of my black one. Some of my friends like the green one better though.

a couple more photos

Does anyone else use Strat switch tips?

I set my guitars up for playing live in a three piece band. I usually don't have time to dial in the exact tone I am looking for in the middle of a song, so I make a few changes to help keep things as simple as can be.
I like to wire my switch backwards. I use my front pickup for most of my lead work and it makes it easier for me to switch down for leads and pull up the volume on the guitar in one quick motion. It also screws wit a lot of peoples heads. People wonder how I get such a fat lead sound from the bridge pickup.:wink:

Another thing I like to do is, take the front pickup out of the tone circuit. I usually pull the tone back on the bridge pickup and like to have the tone wide open on the front pickup. This saves time when playing live, and when the tone is out of the circuit the pickup is more alive. The tone only works on the bridge pickup.

I am open to any other suggestions!!! Anything that makes playing live easier.

can anyone speak to the differences between the mahogany and ash bodies?

Not much differences from what I remember, but I never compared both with the same set-up. At the time I bought the ash one, I had already customized the mahogany one with better pickups, compensated saddles and even a new neck...

Practically, the ash body one is lighter (2.6 kg vs 3 kg) and I remember that the original pups sounded better on the ash body - but both sets had not identical specs when I compared them with the multimeter. The ash body seemed a bit brighter acoustically but with its new quartersawn baseball bat neck the mahogany body thinline seems now a bit more resonant.

Thanks fullertonfan83.

"Blanca" has a really fat Warmouth neck on a MIM body with Stellartone Tonestyler pot and tandem Vol/Tone control. The pickups are the lower impedance Toneriders which are wonderful. Aluminum compensated saddles, SD straplocks, and the Hipshot round out the package. This fiddle is tons of fun.

"Nueve" is simply a dream come true guitar. She's pretty much stock save for the Hipshot and SD straplocks. It took a little time to figure out the Bardens, but they are amazing.

This is Casper, my Special Edition 69 RI Thinline. Light as a feather.
http://home.mchsi.com/~slr-ebay/69RITele.jpg

How rare is a bigsby on a thinline??? (like fullertonfan83's)

Got 4 of them in "Proto-Esquire" form while I decide what to do with pickguards:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/26DEC142008001.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/26DEC032008002.jpg

Not much stock here:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/28OCT272008001.jpg

Ordered the Schaller trapezoidal tuners for the original neck - looking forward to trying those, even though they are not split shaft. I'd love to see Gotoh do a top of the line replacement for the F tuner. It surely is needed.

Update:

The "S" nickel covers are a different shape and cannot interchange with the MIM "F" tuners most of ya'll know about. There may be an early "F" tuner they can replace - but not this one. The machine cover fasteners are 1 + 1/16ths apart on the 'S" tuners and just under 1 inch on the "F"s. So you are out of luck.


Unless you are crazy.

I bought the S tuners, exchanged the covers, and installed the actual S machines in the guitar with some 10.5 mm conversion bushes in nickel. That means, the chrome "F" outer machine cover is still on there. Yeah, chrome mixed with nickel. Oh well. :roll:

Anyway, the "action" on these German made "S" machines is very firm and almost like the action on the Gotoh split shaft tuners.

So, making the best of a botched situation, I'll give this dog's breakfast a try.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/19AUG132009005.jpg

Oh, listen. The posts on these "S" tuners are taller than the stock ones. I may need a second string tree. I don't know yet.

I sure miss my usual split shaft, but I've got the old neck back on the 69, restrung and tuned up and it seems many many times better than the "F" tuners do.

Maybe they're worn out. The guitar was used, a 1999 model. But I have played other RI guitars with these "F" for MIM tuners. Sloppy messes. These "S" machines seem to be the same guts, and yet the function is so nice. ????

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/19AUG132009004.jpg

I really could use a string tree; the break over the nut slot for the D and G just don't appear to be enough. Plays very nice, tho. Not much fret left on this neck.:shock:

'06 Thinline Flame, '69 reissue

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c341/faawrenchbndr/TeleThinlineFlameheadstock.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c341/faawrenchbndr/TeleThinlineFlameneckpupshot.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c341/faawrenchbndr/TeleThinlineFlamebridgeshot.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c341/faawrenchbndr/TeleThinlineFlamebody.jpg

This is Casper, my Special Edition 69 RI Thinline. Light as a feather.
http://home.mchsi.com/~slr-ebay/69RITele.jpg

I have the same exact model.replaced all the pots ,switch,wiring and put in a set of Samarium noiseless pickup's.Replaced pickguard with a black paisley . Hated the original pickup's made way to much noise.Look's and plays killer now. Mind if I ask your serial number on yours?

Wow,...... never thought about it, never looked it up before.
It's a MZ6............. 60th Anniversary.

A 2002 "car color" Thinline in Candy Apple Red.

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o67/echorrigan/CAR_Thinline_Front_Full.jpg

Here's my replica '69 Thinline by Danocaster. Best Tele I've ever owned. All mahogany body.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z56/f5joe/2009%20Danocaster%20Thinline/69_standing-a.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z56/f5joe/2009%20Danocaster%20Thinline/69_full_case-a.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z56/f5joe/2009%20Danocaster%20Thinline/69_back-a.jpg

Here's my #1...painted out the mother-of-toilet-seat...Duncan 5/2s and a 4-way switch.
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk107/morroben/100_0168.jpg
http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk107/morroben/100_0167-1.jpg

Here's my replica '69 Thinline by Danocaster. Best Tele I've ever owned. All mahogany body.

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z56/f5joe/2009%20Danocaster%20Thinline/69_standing-a.jpg



That Danocaster is awesome. I remember when it popped up for sale on TGP. I was a little too late though. If you ever tire of it give me shout. :cool:

You've probably already seen these.

Mine...

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f399/Csapo/02MIM69RIThinlineCollection-500p-1.jpg

Wow,...... never thought about it, never looked it up before.
It's a MZ6............. 60th Anniversary.


Just means it is a 2006 model.

There are some 2006 specific models, with special Designation as "Anniversary Models". The rest are just "2006" guitars, basses and amps. Every child that went to the party got the same birthday hat. Except Custom Shop items, and things like AV57 or 62 Strats, AV 52 or 62 Telecasters, Special Edition (Korean) offerings.