Fender Vintera 50s Telecaster – Guitar Center Mislabels Used Guitar AGAIN #Fender #fendertelecaster

I periodically will go on the Guitar Center used gear site. I have over the years picked up some good gear and oddly enough at a below market price. The interface is horrible. The photos or I should say the lack of photos is ridiculous. Also, they do not put ANY information about the instrument on the site. You have to call them and good luck with that getting someone to answer the phone. Then do not even get me started on their packing of your purchase. I have gotten at least two guitars upside down without a gig bag or case just resting on the headstock in the box.

I must have a short memory because I found myself on the site the other day. I was looking for two different types of telecasters. One was the Vintera ‘50s Telecaster Modified and the other was the Baja Telecaster. The quality of both Mexican made guitars rivals Fender US Custom shop guitars and in fact has Custom Shop pickups installed in both. Both guitars are hard to find and when you do find them you are paying US made Fender prices.

I thought I had struck pay dirt. I found a Red Vintera ‘50s Telecaster Modified for $800 which is a really good price. The only issue is they do not come in red. I called the store and actually got to talk to someone. They told me the guitar in fact had the four-selector switch and they were pretty sure. I figured even if it was just a plain Vintera ‘50s Telecaster the price was still good for an excellent to mint guitar. You see you can buy a new Vintera ‘50s Telecaster for just under $900. For a similar condition guitar to what I got the prices start at $700 and go up. They really are a good investment and hold value. That is how much they are thought of by folks that own them.

Too be honest if I had the choice to buy an American Vintage II Fender version of this guitar and the Vintera ‘50s Telecaster I would buy the Vintera. I have owned many of both and one thing I will tell you is the American Vintage II guitars do not hold value in the same way. If you buy one and then attempt to resell good luck getting anywhere close to what you paid for it. You buy the Vintera, and you will almost make back what you initially invested.

The guitar showed up quickly which was a plus and when I opened it, it was actually packed well.

It did in fact have the four-position selector switch, but to my dismay did not have the SW switch. It was not a Modified version of the Vintera. When I looked up the serial number it was just a Vintera. I was a little pissed but then I decided to take a look at the guitar.

Here is what I found:

BODY

Body Material Alder
Body Finish Gloss Polyester

NECK

Neck Material Maple, 4-Bolt, Gloss Urethane front and back
Neck Shape Early ’50s “U”
Scale Length 25.5″
Fingerboard Radius 7.25″
Number of Frets 21
Fret Size Vintage
Nut Material Synthetic Bone
Nut Width 1.650″
Truss Rod Vintage-Style

ELECTRONICS

Bridge Pickup Vintage-Style ’50s Telecaster* Single-Coil
Neck Pickup Vintage-Style ’50s Single-Coil Tele*
Controls Master Volume, Master Tone
3-Position Blade:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup,
Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups,
Position 3. Neck Pickup

The pickups actually are a custom set of pickups from Bootstrap Pickups in Ohio. I have never used them in a build before and had not played them prior. I emailed the company and asked some questions. They were very nice and replied back to me with answers in very short order.

Here is a description of the pickups –

With slightly taller ALNICO 5 poles for the neck position, we’re able to fit all the 42 AWG winds of our ’54 Vintage Pros in a Tele ® neck pickup form factor. Paired with a signal-transparent nickel- silver cover, the neck position delivers a sparkling clean, dynamic tone. The bridge pup with A5 magnets is wound hot for a distinct T-style growl.

Features
• Forbon® vulcanized fiber bobbins
• 42/43 AWG pure copper wire with ruby enamel insulation
• AlNiCo 5 magnets, flat top
• Push-back cloth leads with 22 AWG pre-tinned wire for easy installation
• Vacuum potted in beeswax and paraffin
• Height adjustment screws and spring
• Copper-clad steel baseplate
• Nickel-silver cover
• Resistance Bridge: – 10.5k0hm*
• Resistance Neck: -5.6kOhm*

Onto the wiring harness.

Golden Age Pre-wired Harness for Telecaster
Assembled and soldered in Ohio using top components like Oak Grigsby switches and CTS pots for the best quality and sound.

4-way Oak Grigsby lever switch, CTS pots, Orange Drop® caps, Switchcraft™ output
jack and cloth push-back wire.

1 Bridge Pickup
2 Neck & Bridge in Parallel (standard configuration)
3 Neck Pickup
4 Neck & Bridge in series

Almost like the modified Vintera. I don’t particularly like the S1 functionality anyways.

One last modification is they installed Wilkinson compensated brass saddles into the bridge.

Normally I will ask for the original parts but this person probably did not tell the Guitar Center folks what he had done to the guitar when he sold or traded it in to them.