Vintage Tele (1960) Case Question...

[bradavic]

Hello!

I'm hoping to tap into some of the immense knowledge on this forum to find a somewhat definitive answer to this question:

What kind of G&G case would a 1960 Telecaster have come in?

I have a 1960 tele being made for me in the Custom Shop (should be ready soon!), and in conversations with Casino Guitars, through whom I ordered the guitar, it sounds like the guitar will be coming with a G&G deluxe brown tolex case with a plush, gold lining and a Custom Shop logo. The interior layout also seems a bit different than the vintage cases. Through my research, it seems like a 1960 tele would have had a brown case, but the lining would have been G&G's "60's amber satin."

Do any of you know if that's actually true? I'm thinking of trying to order that original configuration from G&G (once they take custom orders again) and selling the Custom Shop case.

Cheers!

 

[EsquireOK]

Brown with short gold lining.

Fender does not offer this sort of case lining any more. It's one of the several bad changes they made with the switch from AV to AO.

Neither the Custom Shop guitar nor the custom spec'd G&G case that you are thinking about ordering will be particularly vintage accurate anyhow. The G&G case will likely run you $350 or more (and they aren't even very well made these days), not to mention that selling off the original Custom Shop case will devalue your guitar by several hundred dollars. In other words, you're talking about ditching perhaps $600–$700 just to have a case that isn't even THAT correct anyhow.

By all means, use the more vintage accurate case, but I would suggest: 1) Keep the original, and 2) track down the case you want on the used market.

 

[bradavic]

Brown with short gold lining.

Fender does not offer this sort of case lining any more. It's one of the several bad changes they made with the switch from AV to AO.

Thanks! So the "short gold" is different than the "60's Amber Satin" listed on the G&G site? It looks like the configuration of the inside of the case is a bit different too. Casino guitars said that Fender say that the new lining and config are more "secure," which they probably are, but I'm weird enough to want the original spec.

 

[EsquireOK]

Thanks! So the "short gold" is different than the "60's Amber Satin" listed on the G&G site? It looks like the configuration of the inside of the case is a bit different too. Casino guitars said that Fender say that the new lining and config are more "secure," which they probably are, but I'm weird enough to want the original spec.

What they call "'60s Amber Satin" is what I meant by "short gold."

I understand wanting the "right" case, but your plan is a bad one. See my post above for why.

 

[bradavic]

What they call "'60s Amber Satin" is what I meant by "short gold."

I understand wanting the "right" case, but your plan is a bad one. See my post above for why.

Ah, interesting. Thanks for the info! This is what's available on G&G:

Does that seem pretty close to the original?

 

[EsquireOK]

Ah, interesting. Thanks for the info! This is what's available on G&G:

Does that seem pretty close to the original?

Sort of, but not really.

Again, G&G cases are not all that vintage accurate, and the quality of their hardware and coverings is crap, compared to the old days. None of the components are truly vintage accurate (vinyl texture and thickness, leather, hardware, etc.) – just the general look. They're extremely overpriced for the quality of hardware and other materials that you get.

What you want is the far right case exterior, with the interior of the tweed case second from the right. The rightmost case here is a brown case with the later short orange interior. Notice that none of them have snaps to secure the lid of the accessory compartment, nor do they have the same interior padding as the G&G case.

You're not going to get that accurate anyhow, and you're going to devalue your guitar. I would highly suggest just keeping what comes with the guitar. It's close enough from the outside, and keeps things original.

 

[bradavic]

Sort of, but not really.

Again, G&G cases are not all that vintage accurate, and the quality of their hardware and coverings is crap, compared to the old days. None of the components are truly vintage accurate (vinyl texture and thickness, leather, hardware, etc.) – just the general look. They're extremely overpriced for the quality of hardware and other materials that you get.

What you want is the far right case exterior, with the interior of the tweed case second from the right. The rightmost case here is a brown case with the later short orange interior. Notice that none of them have snaps to secure the lid of the accessory compartment, nor do they have the same interior padding as the G&G case.

You're not going to get that accurate anyhow, and you're going to devalue your guitar. I would highly suggest just keeping what comes with the guitar. It's close enough from the outside, and keeps things original.

View attachment 928298

Thanks so much for all the info! It definitely sounds like I should just live with the case that the Custom Shop send it in.

 

[milocj]

Another thing worth noting is that the more modern G&H cases are a bit larger and have more padding all around. If you look closely at a current case compared to the pictures above you'll see that the newer cases have more padding around the sides of the guitar and at the headstock and base of the guitar.

The case for my 1973 Custom is about 2 inches narrower and maybe two inches shorter than the modern era cases. I don't know when they changed but the case that I got with my 1982 Tele has the modern dimensions.

 

[fernieite]

Fwiw, some 1960 Telecasters were originally sold with the (knuckle-buster) tweed case. (with orange/gold interior) It seems that it depended on whatever a shop had in stock, or perhaps what the customer preferred, if there was an option at the time.

So, either case for your reissue wouldn't be out of place.

 

[Telekarster]

Might be a crazy thought but.... if you really want as close to historic as possible (BTW - I totally get it cause I'm the same way), you could perhaps buy an original 1960 case and put your CS in it? Sure... it ain't gonna be cheap but look at it this way - the case will probably never be worth less than what you paid for it and will add value to the CS, especially if you still have the original CS case too? Again, just a thought and FWIW

Here's an example of one that was a available:

https://reverb.com/item/22036736-vi...9-1960-brown-tolex-knucklebuster-pre-cbs-rare

 

[Danman]

Fwiw, some 1960 Telecasters were originally sold with the (knuckle-buster) tweed case. (with orange/gold interior) It seems that it depended on whatever a shop had in stock, or perhaps what the customer preferred, if there was an option at the time.

So, either case for your reissue wouldn't be out of place.

Exactly, my 1960 Tele came in a tweed case. I don't think stores always were very exact or organized in that sense. And I'm sure you could order any case you wanted from Fender. Of course there also always was a transition period...

 

[Telelover1]

My 61 Esquire bought in 62 had a grey case with black specks randomly placed. Black leather trim on edges. I think the lining was black . Hope this adds clairity.

 

[Fretting out]

My 61 Esquire bought in 62 had a grey case with black specks randomly placed. Black leather trim on edges. I think the lining was black . Hope this adds clairity.

Sounds bizarre, like a music master duo sonic case? But even those matched the other case’s at the time

Are you sure it’s fender?

I wasn’t around at the time but as far as I know cases were always a extra and didn’t necessarily come with them

Someone can correct me if I’m wrong

 

[d barham]

As stated above, fender cases were fender cases and stores weren’t usually particular about what color case went out with a sold guitar.

I don’t think I’ve seen a fender case from that vintage like Telelover1 described. I’d like to see a picture.

My ‘60 tele is in a white (blonde) case with black end caps, but I know that my case is not original to the guitar.

 

[Telelover1]

Cheers to All

Yep....that case i described came with that Esquire and an ugly chocolate Princeton Amp for the outrageous price of 125 dollars. Ive only seen a couple in the 60yrs hence.
Don't remember what i had for breakfast this morning but that case is indelibly etched.
I'm assuming that it wss a fender case as it was bought new by the friend i bought it from. The black color on the Esquire was not cool for surfin music so it got a metalic blue paint job at the local body shop. Later i took it to Semi Mosely in Bakersfield and he put a Mosrite pickup in the neck position. Also, it had a rosewood fretboard and was super light....will look for a picture. Those blond cases were usef for Jags,jazzmasters and strats.

 

[bterry]

Fender cases were sold separately from the guitars, so it’s not uncommon to see a guitar in a case that was issued 6 months to a year before or after.

For a 1960 Tele, you’d most-likely see three different case options. A tweed knucklebuster with gold lining, a brown tolex knucklebuster with gold lining, or a brown tolex with orange lining.

 

[aardvark]

I would keep the Custom Shop case... it is original.