two mim telecasters i bought today

[brock532]

First off I would like to say I bought these both with intentions of one being my very first guitar. I have always wanted to learn and decided why the hell not. My buddy played both and said they both played very nice. I am including pics. A lil concerned with some of the spacing to where the neck meets the body on the honey blondish color one. If you are wondering why I bought 2 its bc.i felt like $400 for the pair was a decent deal. Can you guys with more knowledge than myself tell if these were modded? Thanks in advance for your help!

[StratBluesRock]

$400 for the pair is definitely a good deal. HNGDx2!

[sotob]

If I was to guess for the first one - different pickguard,neck pu and bridge plate. Shim in the neck pocket?

2nd one - different bridge and pickguard.

200 for each sounds nice!

[Boyd]

Interesting. I have had two MIM telecasters - a 2003 Classic 72 custom and a 2011 Classic 72 thinline. Neither one said "made in Mexico" on the front like yours. Only on the back, next to the serial number.

Sounds like you got a good deal!

[ataylor8287]

Thats a heck of a deal!

I don't see anything wrong with the neck joint on the blondie.

The black one appears to have a Seymour Duncan 'Lil 59 in the bridge.

[brock532]

Wow thanks for the quick replies guys! What a helpful forum. Im gonna take them to a small local guitar shop and get their opion on which one i should keep for a learner.

[brock532]

It does say seymour duncan on it. The pickups on the blonde one say rio grande, if that means anything. She also had a made in japan squier strat.

[dsutton24]

For the money you did very well. You might want to make sure the neck screws are tight, but other than that don't sweat the gap. Believe it or not there are a lot of very valuable vintage USA guitars that have much worse gaps.

Welcome to the forum, and check in now and then to let everyone know how you're progressing.

[brock532]

Will do!

[Rich_S]

Keep 'em both. Set up one with a vintage-voiced 2-pickup traditional Tele set, adn the other one as a hot, rockin' Esquire. It'll be educational. LOL

$400 for a pair of MIMs is a great deal.

[Hiker]

Congrats, you did great! That's a fine pair.

[brock532]

What language are you speaking to me haha i am newbie remember haha

[Boyd]

According to this, the one with the MN4xxxxx serial number was made in 1994-95 and MZ4xxxxx dates to 2004-2005. http://www.fender.com/support/articl...product-dating

[brock532]

Thanks boyd! Now which year is the better of the two haha

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by brock532

Thanks boyd! Now which year is the better of the two haha

The mid 90's were great years for MIM Tele's. I have a 95 I won't part with. But both those have been modded a bit especially that 94-95 since that's not the original bridge but for what you paid for them I'd keep both of them.

You got a steal. If they're in as good a condition as they appear in those pics they're worth at least $100 more each than you paid for them.

[brock532]

Originally Posted by soulman969

The mid 90's were great years for MIM Tele's. I have a 95 I won't part with. But both those have been modded a bit especially that 94-95 since that's not the original bridge but for what you paid for them I'd keep both of them.

You got a steal. If they're in as good a condition as they appear in those pics they're worth at least $100 more each than you paid for them.

Thanks for info sir

[brock532]

Are the mods a good thing?

[rebelwoclue]

Hi brock,
The mods are due to someone wanting a certain sound. The SD and rio grandes are upgrade aftermarket pickups that give you a little different sound than an original Fender pup. On a MIM it doesn't affect value at all either way, in my opinion- it's just a personal preference on the sound it gives you. Many would say upgraded pups enhances the value but some might wish for the originals...
Nice catch!

[PineBomb]

which one to keep is a good question, assuming you must part with one. if you're just starting out you might not even know what tone you're going for.

do you have an amp yet? you really have to listen to them plugged in before you decide. the blonde has a non-traditional humbucker at the bridge position, which will sound very different from the black one. Rio Grande is also a well regarded pickup, but they have a spread of different types. hard to say which you have. I'm curious what kind of neck pickups they both have.

let's say hypothetically you prefer the sound of one, but the appearance of the other. you could always swap the pickups.

I say hold on to both for a little while until you figure things out.

and check out the retail prices on those pickups. you did good alright.

[iowacarver]

Awesome NGD x2 !! Very cool, i really enjoy playing my MIM. Great guitars.

corey