Compare weight of '67 and '68 Telecaster, taking neck weight in consideration

[gmanella]

After I got my second tele last week I a was curius how much of the
weight difference of the two guitars depends on the neck weight.

The blonde weighs 6,61lbs (3.0kg) and the CAR weighs 7.94lbs (3,6kg).

Since I wanted to restring them anyway I did a little research of the neck weights.
Since the CAR has a much fatter neck profile and bigger frets I thought some
of the weight difference must come from the neck.

But the oposit is the case.
The '68 weighs 668gr (1,47 lbs) and the '67 weighs 644gr (1,42 lbs).
I'm quite sure the tuners should not make a difference.

Some pics of the deattached necks and bodies.
Note the finsih marks and matching laquer patterns to evaluate originality:

Matching color pattern of neck heel and neck cavity

 

[gmanella]

More pics of the '68:

 

[gmanella]

And of the '67:

again a useful pattern to evaluate originality:

 

[Telekarster]

Man.... I really LOVE your Tele's! Really nice finds. Beautiful! Did you get that oddness worked out on em sound wise?

 

[Paul G.]

Guitars are made of wood. The weight of wood varies greatly. Some species are fairly consistent (i.e. poplar), but good hardwoods are all over the place. Love your guitars, BTW, so nice to see the real thing sometimes.

 

[gmanella]

After sitting for a while the volumepot is working as it should.
It rolls of the volume correctely with the treble quite present
all the way. Tried a little and found a way I could work in a live situation with it.
With quite some meet for solo when full up and more trebly and
less gain when turned down a little, for rhythm.
I use the screw hole of the knob as a optical scale to get that done quickly.
In this configuration it's also usefull to use the tone control to dime the
trebles if too much.
The guys at Fender had thought of something back then.

Thanks all for your help.
The next post about my two Telies is about to come.

Man.... I really LOVE your Tele's! Really nice finds. Beautiful! Did you get that oddness worked out on em sound wise?

 

[gmanella]

Some history about the guitars:

The '67 CAR I bought two years ago from the original owner who bought it new out of
the store window of a large store in Stuttgart Germany named Radio Barth, in the early seventies.
Radio Barth imported Fender merchandise direct from the Fender Factory since
the early sixties. I used to work with a guy who worked there back then.
if you want to have a Fender guitar or amp back then in Germany you might have to travel to Stuttgart.
He told me about guitarplayers camping in front of the store after Barth has
placed ads in newspapers nationwide.

He also told me how they drove their truck to concerts and sold stuff direct to the musicians
from the tuck bed.

Most of the pre-CBS guitars found in the south of Germany are bearing a
Radio-Barth sticker. So did mine, but it fell off at some point along the way.

The guy I bought it from sought it was early seventies tele since he bought it then.
The CAR has allready faded to copper on the front when he bought it.

Since it didn't have the original bridge pickup I had some room to negoiate his
asking price. He also liked the idea that I would use it live, which I do, in a Elvis Tribute Band,
which is so only way I can afford a guitar like that and didn't want to press every cent
out of the deal.

I suposed quite early it could be older that he thought, since the finish had faded so dramaticaly and
I had a rough knowledge of the year Fernder switched from Nitro to Polyurethan.

When I got it, the frets has been played into the neck and I got it refretted with medium jumbo frets.
Had a set Häussels (german pickup koryphäe) lying around (large magnets) which I got per accident
shortely befor the Tele showed about. Thought they were intended to be put in there.

Might change my mind about that since I like the sound of the pups in the '68 better.

Still have the neck pickup and might search for a matching bridge pickup.
Proposals welcome.

 

[gmanella]

BTW...this bridge-pickup came in the CAR.
Any idea what it could be?

 

[skunqesh]

BTW...this bridge-pickup came in the CAR.
Any idea what it could be?

best I can figure - it may be a modern Fender Squier bridge pup.
definitely not a 60s or 70s original part.

thanks for posting all those pics! those are a pair of real beauties.

 

[charlie chitlin]

Cool guitars.
My '69 was a hefty 9.2#!

 

[Crashbelt]

Love those Teles.

My new blonde 67 is 7.7lbs - ash body of course. Guess I'd better post a NGD thread!.

 

[slack]

It's highly unlikely that a NOV 68 stamped neck went on a 68 Tele. More likely a circa Feb 1969 Tele. That neck stamp was applied to a rectangular blank about 3+ mos before it was shaped and installed on a guitar. And, that would make sense here, as early 69 Teles had capped necks, and the markings we associate with 69 Teles; on the neck and in the neck pocket, came in later 69.

I've seen OCT 68 and later maple cap necks on spring and summer 69 Teles. Normal.

I certainly couldn't ethically call an all original Tele with a NOV 68 neck stamp a 68 Tele. It makes no sense.

 

[msalama]

A belle pair of babes you've got there man, yir quite the caliph actually! Congrats!

 

[stretford]

Guitars are made of wood. The weight of wood varies greatly. Some species are fairly consistent (i.e. poplar), but good hardwoods are all over the place. Love your guitars, BTW, so nice to see the real thing sometimes.

Wrong! Let's generalize about the weights and therefore the tones of Telecasters based only on the year. Every year the weight changed! and we will graph the weight as a function of the year using a sample size of two. Science!

 

[msalama]

Science!

Eh...

 

[stretford]

I certainly couldn't ethically call an all original Tele with a NOV 68 neck stamp a 68 Tele. It makes no sense.

I bought a Jaguar from an old guy once. He told me it was a 1964 and he still had the receipt from the music shop for his birthday in March 1964 to prove it. The guitar had flatpole pickups, clay dots and a neck date from 1962

In the original owner's mind he bought a 1964 guitar, but it was built to 1962 model year specs in 1962, probably got to the music store some time in 1963 where it sat around until someone bought it. What year is it?

To me, if the factory stamped the neck on Dec 31, 1967 it is a 1967 model year part made to those specs. I don't have a problem with calling it a 1967 because today we all know a lot of time could pass between stamping those dates on the parts and somebody taking it home. It's still a 1967 model year guitar that didn't make it onto the lot until 1968.

 

[slack]

To me, if the factory stamped the neck on Dec 31, 1967 it is a 1967 model year part made to those specs. I don't have a problem with calling it a 1967 because today we all know a lot of time could pass between stamping those dates on the parts and somebody taking it home. It's still a 1967 model year guitar that didn't make it onto the lot until 1968.

But a 3 DEC 67 neck stamp on a Tele neck was applied well before it was even a neck. It's not a completed part. There is no such thing as an all original 1967 Telecaster with with a DEC neck stamp. The neck was shaped in 1968.

 

[stretford]

But a 3 DEC 67 neck stamp on a Tele neck was applied well before it was even a neck. It's not a completed part. There is no such thing as an all original 1967 Telecaster with with a DEC neck stamp. The neck was shaped in 1968.

I hear you, and that guitar might not have reached the customer until 1969 or possibly even later. Where would you place the cutoff point for a year? It's harder to pin that down than the lazier and more obvious convention of using the date stamps for the year, which is customary in my experience. That doesn't make it technically correct, which I believe is your very sensible point

 

[slack]

Where would you place the cutoff point for a year?

On an all original Tele, I take the totality of evidence. Not the neck date, and not the sale date. All the clues on the guitar, and common sense. I don't think dating vintage Teles is particularly difficult. They've been extensively discussed and documented for a long time.