1980s MIJ Telecaster

[webberpond11]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about this Tele. I got it a few days ago at a local pawn shop for $600.

I've heard that these Teles have hand written dates on the neck, but I couldn't find one. I've attached a few pictures.

It has the old open switch instead of the newer plastic switch and the wiring is the old cloth covered type.

Thanks!

 

[webberpond11]

Here are some more pictures.

 

[webberpond11]

And some more.

 

[Telenut62]

33K code on pots means it's just after the JV era, Texas Special pickups if original, switch is an upgrade....good score.

 

[webberpond11]

Texas Special pickups if original

Did the Texas Specials have the two raised poles?

 

[Telenut62]

Yes and white ribbon....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391116120307?rmvSB=true

 

[flyswatter]

You have a very nice example of a mid to late 80s MIJ Tele Custom, 62 "Reissue" (which is actually more a tribute than a true reissue). The stamp in the neck pocket (ESQ) suggests the body might have been an Esquire RI originally (although since the Esqs were routed for a neck pickup there's not much difference once you install one).

Switch is definitely non-original (which is common as the cheap electronics on the MIJs were the one major weak point).

Beyond the mods to yours and the extensive wear and tear on mine after 26 years of use, my guitar is basically identical.

 

[Chris H.]

Welcome to the club! here's my 80's MIJ

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[goonie]

You have a very nice example of a mid to late 80s MIJ Tele Custom, 62 "Reissue" (which is actually more a tribute than a true reissue).

Very true, and why Fender Japan never marketed them as reissues. Sadly the term seems to have stuck.

OP -- beautiful guitar, I have always gassed for a CAR TL62B. $600 is a good deal too.

 

[webberpond11]

Thanks for all the replies! Does anyone have any idea of what year this could be? I was thinking it was a 1985.

 

[Tonemonkey]

Guitar Dater Project_

Your guitar was made at the
Fuji-gen Plant (for Fender Japan), Japan
in the Year(s): 1985 - 1986

 

[flyswatter]

Thanks for all the replies! Does anyone have any idea of what year this could be? I was thinking it was a 1985.

These models with these attributes began in early 1985 and ran to around '89 or '90, though they were parted together from stockpiles, which means you can find the same bridge or neck on a later guitar.

I read somewhere that having slotted adjustment screws on your saddles dates the guitar (or at least its bridge) to the mid 80s, whereas hex key screws came later. Can't confirm or deny that, but mine has the slotted screws and is date stamped July 1985 on the neck heel.

You normally should have a stamped date on the heel that tells you exactly what month/ year your guitar was made.

The stockpiled parts thing would also explain why you have a TL62 neck on an ESQ body.

 

[flyswatter]

Very true, and why Fender Japan never marketed them as reissues. Sadly the term seems to have stuck.

OP -- beautiful guitar, I have always gassed for a CAR TL62B. $600 is a good deal too.

Yeah, bought mine as a kid in 1989 and I remember the dealer specifically calling it "a 62 reissue". Only later, when I got to hold real 60s Teles a couple of times and learned the difference between poly/ nitro, import/ U.S. switches, etc. did I realize the "reissue" tag was a misnomer. Still, beautiful guitars in their own right -- and ironically they now have had a longer legacy than the real 62s themselves had had by the mid-1980s.