SOLD - Vintage Original Fender Telecaster 'Blackguard' - USA 1954

This is an early, all original example of one of the most significant instruments in the history of the electric guitar. At risk of stating the obvious, this is a special instrument. Born out of the mind of Leo Fender and his guitar playing friends in the country and jazz music scene out in California. The Telecaster (originally named the Broadcaster) was designed to be the most practical, functional and user-friendly guitar that it could be. They got this guitar right. So right, that the design has barely changed since the first Broadcasters rolled out of the little Fullerton workshop in 1950. This instrument, made only a short few years after the guitars inception, is one of the nicest examples you are likely to find. All original, from the frets, finish, pickups and electronics, down to the original wiring configuration, with the forward most position acting as a high pass “bass” setting, with the middle position being the neck, and rearward position engaging the bridge pickup. Many of these early examples have had the wiring reconfigured to the modern ‘neck/both pickups/bridge’ type arrangement. This is a testament to how well this guitar has been preserved. That is not to say this guitar hasn’t been played. The patina, light coloration on the back of the neck, and observable (albeit light) fret wear in the ‘cowboy zone’ shows this guitar has been truly loved and played by someone who knew how to take care of such a fine instrument.  

Looking inside the guitar we have a neck and body date of April 1954 clearly marked on the neck base and body pocket cavity. The base of the neck also reads the legendary initials ‘T.G.’ - arguably the most famous builder in the golden age of 1950s Fender guitars. These initials have been verified as authentic by a reputable Australian Fender historian. Tadeo Gomez labeled his work differently over the years. Early work sees his full name written on the neck base, with his pencil markings getting progressively simpler over time.   

This blonde telecaster was made just one month before Forrest White joined Fender. Forrest was praised for his efforts in regulating the quality control of Fenders guitars and amps. Before his influence, Leo Fender was known to often make modifications to the design of his products with no warning. Early Fender Telecasters and Broadcasters were produced in various shades of blonde, with varying levels of translucency. Add to this the varying levels of nitro thickness and progressive yellowing with age and you’ll see a broad spectrum of different appearances. Some early Teles look better than others. This one is about the nicest looking blondes we’ve seen with beautiful straight grain, and just the right level amount of translucency to really showcase the ash grain beneath. Looking all over the body, even with aid of a blacklight, it is impossible to see any evidence of grain matching and we believe this body to be a single piece of ash! 

The sound of this Tele is woody and warm, almost jazzy, but still with plenty of Tele spank. We’ve observed a number of early Fender electrics to have this unique quality, which we believe is a combination of the smaller fret wire, scatterwound pickups with 42-gauge wire, high quality of metals and electrical components and of course the aged tone woods that combine to make this guitar sing.  

With plenty of life on the frets, this is one of the more playable guitars of this vintage we’ve been fortunate enough to pick out some tunes on. The neck is considerably less meaty than a lot of modern iterations of the early 50s Blackguard. It seems a common misconception that 50s guitars all have overly chunky necks. This simply isn’t so, and this ‘54 is a fine example of this. Comes with its original Fender ‘Poodle’ case which is in reasonable condition. 

This is a wonderful piece of history and would take pride of place in any collection. Truly one of the great blackguards.  

Specs: 

Scale length: 25.5” 

Fretboard Radius: 7 ¼" 

Action at 1st fret: 0.5mm 

Action at 12th fret: 2mm 

Neck depth at 1st fret: 23.3mm 

Neck depth at 12th fret: 25.1mm 

Nut Width: 41.5 

12 fret width: 50.8 

Neck material: Maple 

Fretboard inlays: Black dot 

Body: Ash 

Front Pickup: Original 5.42k ohms  

Bridge Pickup: 5.83k ohms 

Tuners: Single line, no logo 

Pickguard: Bakelite 

Bridge: Ashtray ‘Pat. Pend’ with three brass saddles 

Electronics: Original  

Hardware: Nickel/chrome 

Case: OHSC