Is this '76 Fender Tele authentic?

i would say there's much less of a dice roll for 3k in a new instrument, that one can potentially vet in the meat space, than a late 70s fender. if you find a good one in person, and you just have to have it, fine. but i think paying that kind of money for one from that era sight unseen is crazy.

 

This is a different topic. Up until fairly recently in terms of my 40 years of playing, I used to think vintage or nothing--who can blame me: My formative time was the early 80s when the only guitars available to the uninformed as I was then were Kramers and Charvels; I had a definite look and sound in mind and these guitars didn't comport with it. It is a bias I developed that had to die hard.

Today, my brother has an American Original Telecaster and it just smokes. Seriously, he put his 50s teles in their cases and the AO is the go to guitar. Better specs than my 70s one and the 9.5 radius is a Godsend to arthritic hands. So yes, I agree with you, but if someone here wants a 70s Telecaster, I'll try to help if I can and hold back my opinion on old versus new. The right 70s guitar can be awesome, I've gotten lucky a few times with that decade and it's the perfect blend of made in USA goodness and nothing even approaching 5 figure prices.

 

As others pointed out: Replacement bridge, pots, switch and it weighs a ton (>10lbs!). Standard color, refret and worn frets. Price is high.. I 'd pass.

 

I think that for the past 20 or 30 years we have been unusually preoccupied with authenticity. In every market, goes way bigger than just guitars. Golden eras are for sure declared in any age, but the past few decades there’s been a lot of grabbing for or a premium placed on whatever last shred of perceived authenticity one can possibly find. Sign of the times I guess.

 

That looks correct and also looks like it lived in a smokey environment.

 

First, that is a cool Guitar.
Second, I'd pass.
Why? Because I don't think that it would be a player for me. I might wonder, if it is indeed everything it is claimed to be, about possible investment potential but that is always up in the air.
As a long time owner of a '70s Fender, albeit a Strat, I tend to recommend against them in general. Too many better guitars for a lot less money.

 

This is a 1976 model, am tele

 

Not to rain on your plan, but I owned a '77 Tele once upon a time and played a bunch of them back in the day. The mid/late-'70s Teles were pretty uninspiring instruments, relative to what you can get now, or even from the '80's and '90's. Just my two cents.

 

This.

Headstock face is legit, my '76 Tele looks similar but more evenly colored. Bridge looks like a later replacement to me. Looks pretty nicotine drenched. Mine was when I got it too. I thought it was blonde; turns out it was natural and needed a reeeeeally deep cleaning.

For nearly twenty years it was my main guitar. I love it dearly. It's really heavy but resonant and sounds great.

There is no way in hell I would pay $3750 USD for it if I were shopping today. Maybe $2500 for a great one tops.

Mine is a fine (if painfully heavy) instrument but for that kind of coin, I would probably opt for a new Swope or Seuf, or maybe an Abernathy, but I lean toward offsets these days. I think the anti-70s hype for Teles is often largely ******** other than weight concerns, but that said I wouldn't pay much more than decent new guitar prices for one unless maaaaaybe it was a goldilocks example just too good to pass on.

 

And in much better shape than Rockchick’s prospective purchase. Hers is a little to beat up, at that price, to my taste. And, I would never consider paying “vintage” prices for a CBS Fender, with all their known quality control issues. To my mind, vintage Fenders are preCBS. Buy a new one, instead.

 

I had a '78 olympic white, ash body w/ rosewood board that was a wonder, but I would never say it should command more than $3K.

 

I don't know, but I'll see you at the crossroads (crossroads, crossroads...)

 

That's NEW Custom Shop money, no thanks.

 

It seems pretty authentic to me. I had one except it was off white. I sold it a long time ago and always kicked myself for doing so but l'm sure a lot of us did that. I'm not sure but when l bought it l payed 499 or 599. Now yes it would be worth in the 2k if original. I miss that one.

 

To the OP:

Hard pass, on that one. Way too much money, with that amount of replacement hardware.

If at all possible, try to hold an old Tele in your hands, before parting with the cash. I realise that's harder to do, in some locations but still.....the difference between a really good '76 and a big money pit is huge- but not always obvious, in photographs.

This is a really good one, from '76. Seven pounds, bone stock- albeit a different flavour of Tele. Be patient, if you are determined to go this route- and don't allow your emotions to take over. (I know, I know....). Good luck, for next time.

 

nice looking ‘70s Tele. I will observe that the serial number means nothing as to putting these guitars in any sort of serial order with regards to date of build. The serial numbers were never used in a controlled and serialized manner.

 

One of the things that drives me nuts with these threads is that when an "all-original" guitar is proven to have some non-original part, people tend to say "Well they replaced the bridge, price should be lower" instead of "well they lied or were wrong about the bridge, a bunch of other parts may be non-original, maybe all of them".

Fakes are so good now - you can't just say "well I know a 76 Tele has (blah blah) type of pot, and this one does, so it's real" - all the people creating fake vintage instruments have ALL the same info that everyone here has. Some people faking them run guitar stores and have constant access to old instruments to go off, and they WILL spend the time to get every detail right. So many of the instruments posted here have 1 or 2 details which contradict what the seller says - clearly there are WAY more of them out there where the faker didn't screw up those 1 or 2 things, and got everything right.

If you want a genuine vintage Fender, for the sake of it being vintage, you need provenance, that's it. You need a pic of someone playing it in the 70s with some way of identifying the exact guitar, you need to get it from a dealer who REALLY checked the guitar's history and not that it is stamped in the right locations. Otherwise, you're probably just going to get scammed, period.

People here like to be really nice and diplomatic, which is admirable, but not realistic. Saying "That's overpriced anyway for a 76" shouldn't the main thing - it's fake.

There's a guitar store near me that has a big repair business, and they create their own custom line of faux-Fenders that look impeccable, but they also just magically have a constant stream of 50s and 60s Fenders - I looked once a while ago and counted five 50s "original" Strats and Teles, all in amazing condition (and this isn't LA, Nashville or NYC) - maybe they were all completely real, yeah, but also maybe the owner said "Hey let's knock out some of those repros but stick Fender decals on them and grab a quick $100K" - I know which scenario I find more likely.

 

As to the value, I would have to play the guitar first. Secondly, I have not played very many 1970s Fenders that impressed in a positive manner. Thirdly, this is a perilous time to speculate on the value of such a guitar. Ommv.....and if you have the money and have to have such a guitar, go for it. Ime, a MIM Tele with a good neck as well as some good pickups and electronics would serve my purposes better. Ommv

 

Looks right to me. I bought a new Tele in 1978. It was a S7 serial number. In my opinion, that vintage are not worth the money being asked right now. Unless you are viewing it as a investment. That sort of money could get you a super guitar.

 

There's just nothing special about 70's Telecasters, especially for $5000.

There are so many incredible Teles you could buy for even $3000 and still have $2000 left to buy an insanely great amp.

Several years ago, I went on a 3 year search for my "vintage Strat." In 3 years I learned that most vintage guitars are essentially firewood when compared with modern guitars, even relics, for half the money. In 3 years, I couldn't find a vintage Strat that excited me, and I had $15,000 to spend.

New guitars are just plain better.