Used Vintage 1977 Fender Telecaster

Condition Report

This '77 Tele looks great! It has fewer dings, scuffs, and scrapes than you'd expect for an instrument of its vintage, and it's previous owners clearly played the heck out of it but took care of it, too. The frets look original, and have been re-crowned. They show virtually no wear, and they measure .083 inches by .033 inches. A previous owner replaced the tuners with modern Fender, and the pots and tone cap have been replaced, too (although the 3-way is original).

The electronics have also been modded. The pickups are mysterious aftermarket single-coils that look sort of like Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders but are not. They measure 15.47k in the bridge and 9.81k in the neck, and the sound killer. One of this instrument's previous caretakers also added a switch to the bridge plate to put the middle position out-of-phase, which gives you another super-useful tone.

All in all, it's a fantastic player-grade vintage Tele! It sounds as cool as it looks, so if you don't mind a few non-original parts, this is a great opportunity to experience the magic of a vintage Fender at a player-friendly price. It comes with its original hardshell case, too!

Sonic Evaluation

As far as tone goes, this modded '77 Tele is tough to beat if you want a raw, in-your-face Tele sound. We don't know what pickups are in it (they're some sort of overwound aftermarket single-coils), and after sitting down with this thing for a few minutes, I don't much care because who I am to question greatness? Let's backtrack and talk about acoustic resonance, though. This thing sounds open, lively, rich, and three-dimensional before an instrument cable even enters the equation. All those qualities are magnified when you do plug in!

The way this guitar responds to your attack is a big part of its appeal. Though it still has plenty of twang, it's springier than a typical Tele, with faster note bloom. Nevertheless, it has a snappy percussiveness that smacks you in the face in the best possible way. It's like a Tele and a piano had a baby! EQ-wise, The lows are meaty, the highs sizzle and sparkle like nobody's business, and the midrange is rich and complex. Simply put, there's a LOT here, and by that I mean this guitar has tons of overtones. If you choke up on the pick, you can hit some really cool different harmonics by pinching each note slightly differently.

But let's leave all the concrete sonic descriptors behind for a sec. Simply put, this guitar has a snarling, nasty disposition that makes me want to break stuff. As we speak, I'm fighting the urge to throw my coworkers coffee cup at the wall as hard as I can because I'm so charged up after playing this guitar. I think it's the kind of Tele both Joe Strummer and Roy Buchanan would approve of. And although it's a rock machine, it also performs at an elite level in the country arena, as the hotter pickups make it easier to get an even, consistent sound for fast licks.

Basically, if you're looking for a vintage Tele with the soul of angry junkyard dawg, check this Tele out! I have no doubt it will make you want to throw stuff at the wall, too!