NGD - 2004 Telecaster Burst MIM

[Ianashdown]

Hi,

Just picked up what seems to be a nice, but neglected, 2004 MIM Telecaster. The story is it was bought for a son who just never took to guitar, now he's in medical school so much too busy. It's been kicking around a bedroom or whatever since new so shows signs of that, but no signs of being played at all!

She needs a good clean, polish some chrome, new strings, check out the electronics etc. There is a crack in the normal corner of the neck pocket and I took a chance that its finish only. I'll know later today when I get her apart. There a few nicks and scratches from handling and one small chip which I may try to touch-up/fill. More on that later. She has nicely mellowed out plastics, which look great to me!

What should I know about this guitar and year? Any red flags here?

More details to follow.

Thanks,

Ian
SoCal

 

[LPTyler]

Nice score! Hopefully you will love it more than the previous owner did.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Congrats, Ian!

No red flags I can see. Now, the body is veneer over pieces parts, but that doesn't change how it will perform. The fretwork, from the factory, may be a little rustic by today's standards, but nothing a good fret level, crown and polish cannot fix. Don't let anyone convince you to rip out the stock nut. That's Cyclovac, and a little adjustment of the nut slots may be needed but unless it is visibly damaged, I suggest keeping it.

 

[Crobbins]

Congrats.

 

[brookdalebill]

Goid, solid guitar!
Congratulations!

 

[stnmtthw]

I have a 2007 that was identical when it was new, and it's my favorite Tele. Good score.

 

[Ianashdown]

Whats market price on one of these?

Ian

 

[Ianashdown]

A few more pics.

The crack is definitely just a finish crack.

So did these really come with CTS Pots?
Everything looks pretty legit so far. Truss rod works OK. I’m just going to clean and polish, put some strings on it and make some noise!

Ian
SoCal

 

[Ianashdown]

3/16” Truss Rod? Really? On a Mexican Tele.

Who‘da thunk it?

Ian

 

[Southpaw Tele]

I had a black ‘07 and I loved the ceramic pickups in that thing. Sounded really good to me. I had to strip the finish off when I banged it on something by accident. The finish was coming off in large pieces. Mine was a LOT of pieces body. Like 7. I had to refinish it in a solid color. I ended up parting it all out but picked up a 2020 Player series last year and am back in the MIM Tele business again. Love ‘em!

 

[Dan R]

That's a nice axe. I have a friend who has one just like it. He was asking me about upgrading pickups, bridge, saddles, tuners, etc. I told him to leave it alone. The MIM is just fine the way it is. I modified one to my specs one time. I spent over 200 bucks and wish I hadn't.

 

[Fenderdad1950]

Very nice buy

 

[mimmo]

Congratulations.

 

[blue metalflake]

A good buy - enjoy

 

[Ianashdown]

Looking for some advice here.

There is a small but visible chip in the black part of the burst finish. Does anyone make a specific touch-up for these finishes? I assume it’s ’black’, but there are many shades of black!

TIA

Ian
SoCal

 

[derekwarner]

Without further investigation, that cracking [two?] from the neck pocket appears to be cosmetic cracking in the Polyurathane during drying rather than a structural crack in the timber

Most automotive car polishing waxes are based upon a whiteish/cream fluid carrier, and will dry with that same whitish haze finish. When used on a black finish, those two cosmetic cracks from the arm pocket will attract the polish & highlight the cracking as you can see....you are seeing dried polish in the cracks, not the cracks themselves

I believe tinted automotive car polishes are available, and naturally the existing white residue polish must be removed [ISO prop & soft brush] will clean the residue polish rom the cracking, then use a black tint based polish......a home-backyard touchup would worse than the current status

Same with the small chip.......

Derek

 

[Fendereedo]

Very nice, congratulations.

 

[sjtalon]

HNGD ! A beauty for sure.

>The story is it was bought for a son who just never took to guitar<

Nor doing a nice string job

Common paint stress cracks there...........very common... no biggie other than the cosmetics of it.

 

[Ianashdown]

Without further investigation, that cracking [two?]

No, just two shots of the same crack. Having taken the neck off and looked at the pocket with lupe, very carefully, I can say that the crack is totally cosmetic.

Everything seems to be factory stock.

Ian

 

[Old Plank]

Looks great, enjoy it!