History of sunburst Telecasters and Esquires

[theprofessor]

Hi all -

Since I don't have a vintage Telecaster but am simply discussing them (perhaps along with more modern ones), I thought it best to post here rather than in the vintage forum.

I've recently acquired a Baja classic player (now called classic 50's version) Telecaster body in a two-tone sunburst, and I'm just about done putting a Tele together using it as the base. That got me interested in sunburst Telecasters (and Esquires) and their particular aesthetic.

In addition to looking online, I went down to Songbirds this morning, just to take some pictures. I'm offering these here with a few comments, in hopes that others will post more and will talk about what they like or don't like about certain sunburst Teles.

Of the ones I saw this morning, the sunburst pattern that looks most like my Baja Tele body is a '57 Esquire:

This '57 Telecaster right behind it is very similar. Note the steel saddles.

And here's the pattern on my Baja two-tone sunburst. It has still more contrast and is more golden than the examples above, but it's also possible that the nitro on those '57s has faded some.

 

[theprofessor]

The '57s above have the one-ply, five-hole white pickguard, as one would expect.

Note this '59 three-tone sunburst Esquire, which has the more "mint"-looking guard. You can use the Strat next to it to contrast a pure white guard (Strat) with the more mint-looking Tele guard. And of course, the '59 is also three-ply.

This '60 three-tone sunburst double-bound Esquire also has a 3-ply "mint"-looking guard. I think this guard looks the most like a 2017 Baja three-ply eight-hole guard I have.

Since I've started putting partscasters together just recently, I've started to pay more attention to fitment of the pickguard at the horn. Here's a close-up of the '60 Esquire horn above. I actually noticed this on several Teles, some of which are fairly assymetrical there. I don't ever recall seeing this phenomenon on Strats.

 

[theprofessor]

Finally, here's a '66 three-tone double-bound sunburst Telecaster. Note that the red stands out much more than in previous iterations. I read in the Duchossoir book that it took the Fender company a while to perfect the 3-tone burst, since the red would fade quickly, resulting in something that is effectively a two-tone burst that used to be three. Personally, I much prefer the two-tone burst to the three-tone.

Note also that the three-ply guard is much more pure white than any of the previous ones.

And just for fun, here's a check Leo wrote at his local hardware store, Fullerton Hardware Co., on June 10 of 1967. I like the little subtraction problem he did at the top. It seems awfully easy math to have to write it out!

 

[theprofessor]

And then, of course, there are the 1955 sunburst Teles that Joe Bonamassa owns and that the Fender custom shop used as models to make replicas of. The two on the left look more typical of the era, at least from the small sample I took pictures of this morning. I'd say that the three-tone one on the right, if it is indeed from 1955, would be very rare, since it has survived as a three-tone sunburst.

 

[theprofessor]

I almost forgot: Here is a not-so-good picture I took a while back of a 1951 two-pickup Esquire in two-tone burst. It's one of eight two-pickup Esquires in existence. One of the others is a blonde one from 1950 in the case right next to it. I really like how much black this one has around the edges. In fact, I like this color scheme best of all of them.

 

[orangeblossom]

Cool pic’s. I like the two tone best as well.

 

[archetype]

Sunburst finishes varied in the way they were sprayed and sometimes dyed. The following is from http://guitarhq.com/fender.html which is an outstanding reference. I've summarized the sunburst thing as described for Strats:

March 1954 Fender Stratocaster introduction specs:
Sunburst finish very crude. In fact, it's a "one color" sunburst finish. The center part of the sunburst is natural ash with no yellow - Fender only sprayed the dark brown around the edges of the body to give the sunburst look. This type of sunburst only appears on early Strats with the serial number on the rear plastic tremolo cover.

May/June 1954 Fender Stratocaster specs:
Two-color ("Canary yellow" to "Amber brown") sunburst finish with the center yellow color sprayed.

Mid 1956 Fender Stratocaster specs:
Alder body replaces Ash on sunburst finished Strats (blond Strats still use Ash). Also the body finishing procedure changes because of the change to alder - Now the yellow in the sunburst is dyed into the wood, instead of being sprayed (as was done on Ash body sunburst Strats).

1958 Fender Stratocaster specs:
Sunburst finish changed to three colors (red added), going yellow to red to dark brown.

Mid 1959 Fender Statocaster specs:
Fender used a very photo-reactive red dye in their sunburst finish, causing many 1959 Strats to fade from a 3-color sunburst to a 2-colors (the photo-reactive nature of the red caused fading from ultra-violet light). This is typically seen on the front of the body, where the back often still has the red in the sunburst. If the pickguard is lifted, the original red finish in the sunburst can still be seen.

1961 Fender Stratocaster specs:
Fender now using a more robust red in their sunburst finish. Hence 1961 and later Strats don't have sunburst finished with a faded out red. The dark "Amber brown" part of the sunburst finish is now changed to "black". Hence the dark part of the sunburst is more striking and does not blend as well as prior sunburst finishes. It is a subtle change.

Mid 1964 Fender Stratocaster specs:
The finish on the sunburst changes (especially the yellow, which is now sprayed in addition to the yellow body dye, and is far less translucent). See the Fender Colors article for more details. Sunburst finish has a more "target" look with a more dramatic change of the three colors, with less blending between colors.

 

[black_doug]

Here's my Am Standard with an ash body from 2008.

 

[Ebidis]

Here's my Baja '50s which I like very much.

 

[theprofessor]

Here's my Am Standard with an ash body from 2008.


View attachment 515167

Here's my Baja '50s which I like very much.

View attachment 515168 View attachment 515169 View attachment 515170 View attachment 515171

Nice! It's interesting that my Baja Classic Player (which would now be called a Baja 50's) looks more like @black_doug 's American Tele than @Ebidis 's Baja 50's. At least in the light of those photos.

Here's mine again:

Does anyone know when a sunburst Telecaster was first issued with a black pickguard, as the Baja 50's and American Tele examples here? I've not seen a vintage one with a black guard.

 

[trep53]

Ahhh, those are all very nice. I enjoy sunburst guitars.

 

[AndrewG]

Nice! It's interesting that my Baja Classic Player (which would now be called a Baja 50's) looks more like @black_doug 's American Tele than @Ebidis 's Baja 50's. At least in the light of those photos.

Here's mine again:

View attachment 515194

Does anyone know when a sunburst Telecaster was first issued with a black pickguard, as the Baja 50's and American Tele examples here? I've not seen a vintage one with a black guard.

Well, seeing as it was only for the first couple of years (up to '55?), into the Telecaster that black guards were used, and from then white was the stock pickguard colour until the early 70s when black was used on the Deluxe and Custom, I would suggest that '76 would be a good place to start from. Regular Telecasters were fitted with three-ply black guards then, so I guess it's possibly the same for Esquires.

 

[telex76]

Here is my Fender Custom Shop 54 Tele that I got from Dave's at the Arlington Guitar Show back in 2007 or 2008.

When I first got it home with the white PG, then after I put a black PG on about a year ago.
It's my favorite Sunburst finish that I've ever seen.

 

[Ebidis]

Nice! It's interesting that my Baja Classic Player (which would now be called a Baja 50's) looks more like @black_doug 's American Tele than @Ebidis 's Baja 50's. At least in the light of those photos.

Here's mine again:

View attachment 515194

Does anyone know when a sunburst Telecaster was first issued with a black pickguard, as the Baja 50's and American Tele examples here? I've not seen a vintage one with a black guard.

Different lighting makes a HUGE difference in photographs, but yours does look more "golden" than mine does.

Yours is gorgeous BTW.

 

[Steve_U1S]

I happen to think that the 2-tone sunburst finish is just tops as far as that style of finish goes.
The 2-tone Hwy 1 Texas Tele I have in 2-tone is, to my eye, just stunningly lovely. A perfect amount of 'banding' for my liking.

Here's a photo I took some time back, which honestly doesn't truly capture it as well as I might in daylight etc.

Hwy1TT-2TB

• Steve_U1S
• May 18, 2018

 

[Bristlehound]

I love 2-tone 'burst. I've got an '82 JV Strat which is a copy of a '57 Strat that's 2-tone, and it was interesting to see the history that '56 to '58 were alder bodies with the yellow dyed in the wood and the black sprayed. This looks to be exactly like my JV is.

I'd love a matching Tele.

 

[theprofessor]

I happen to think that the 2-tone sunburst finish is just tops as far as that style of finish goes.
The 2-tone Hwy 1 Texas Tele I have in 2-tone is, to my eye, just stunningly lovely. A perfect amount of 'banding' for my liking.

Here's a photo I took some time back, which honestly doesn't truly capture it as well as I might in daylight etc.

Hwy1TT-2TB

• Steve_U1S
• May 18, 2018

Yes, that's very, very nice!

 

[theprofessor]

Yours is gorgeous BTW.

Thanks, Ebidis! Heavy for a Tele (unloaded body is 7 lbs) but gorgeous!

 

[Togman]

Here's my 68 Tele and 2009 CV50 Strat. I'm using pictures taken outside to try and show the colours correctly.

And a closer shot of the Tele from a year earlier.

 

[theprofessor]

Here's my 68 Tele and 2009 CV50 Strat. I'm using pictures taken outside to try and show the colours correctly.

View attachment 515366

And a closer shot of the Tele from a year earlier.
View attachment 515367

OOOOOh, thanks very much for posting! Those guitars are gorgeous. That '68 looks a bit like the '66 above, but without the binding and a bit less red. I like yours better.