Phil O'Keefe Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 A thread about my own personal Telecaster? Why not? Anyway, some of you may remember I mentioned picking up a CIJ bound body recently, but that's only part of the story behind my Custom Tele... so along with the obligatory pics, here's the rest of the details... ------- Some think it's a Cabronita, and for other people it's an original Broadcaster, or maybe even a Deluxe, but for me, the classiest, sexiest looking Teles are the original '60s era double-bound Custom Telecasters. There's something about the binding that just sets them apart. Fender also made the similarly-named 1970s era Telecaster Custom, which is a cool guitar in some respects, but with the wide range humbucker in the neck, the expanded controls and its much larger pickguard, it departs from the classic Telecaster cosmetics a bit too much for my tastes. No, for me, the winners of the Tele beauty contest are definitely the earlier Customs. [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tWhole guitar - front 2.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t89.2 KB ID:\t32247370","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247370","data-size":"full","title":"Whole guitar - front 2.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tWhole guitar - rear 1.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t69.0 KB ID:\t32247371","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247371","data-size":"full","title":"Whole guitar - rear 1.JPG"}[/ATTACH] My current '62 RI Custom Telecaster has a bit of a story behind it. It starts back in 1985. At the time, I had a really good early '70s era Telecaster - it had a rather unique walnut finish; it was not too dark - you could see some wood grain in the top and back, but the sides were completely opaque - and a much darker, chocolate brown color. With a rosewood fretboard and a black pickguard, it was a real looker. The only modification it had were some Schaller tuners - I really dislike the old '70s era Fender F-stamped tuners. Outside of the tuners, and dipping the pickups in some melted Mr Zogs surfboard wax to kill the squealing issue it had when I first got the guitar, it was bone stock. It was an amazing sounding and good playing guitar, but it was in need of a fret job, and as fate would have it, sometime in late 1985 a new temptation came into my life courtesy of the local music store; I walked in, and hanging on the wall was one of the coolest looking guitars I had ever seen - a MIJ (FujiGen Gakki) '62 RI Custom Telecaster in Candy Apple Red (CAR). I had to have it. Come on, if you're a guitarist, admit it - you know what I'm talking about. [video=youtube;a7jJnwEeiU0] You've probably heard Wayne's World's classic "it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine!" quote a zillion times, but it's true - sometimes a guitarist spots an instrument and we just go completely stupid. All logic and reason goes out the window. I already had a very unique looking and cool sounding Tele - the logical thing to do would have been to get it re-fretted, but like I said, sometimes a guitar makes a guitarist go all stupid and logic goes out the window. I played both the walnut Tele and the '62 Custom Tele reissue side by side on a few occasions, and the walnut Tele smoked the '62 RI sonically. It wasn't even close. But in addition to the gorgeous cosmetics, that CAR beauty had another ace in the hole - it had the slimmest, most comfortable neck of any Tele I had ever played. And it was extensively flamed too. I have fairly small hands and short fingers, so neck profiles and dimensions are really important to me. I had to have it. Yes, I knew the MIJ just didn't sound good in comparison to my early 70s walnut Tele, but I convinced myself that it just needed some brass saddles and a pickup swap. So I traded in my walnut Tele, and took that MIJ Custom Tele home. Over the next couple of years, I tried everything to get that guitar to sound as good as it looked, but nothing seemed to work. I tried a few different pickup sets, added new saddles, and eventually, I even replaced the entire bridge for a six saddle unit. I also replaced all of the electronics. Nothing really helped - it still never sounded quite right. In fact, it sounded like a wet sponge. Eventually I grew tired of it and sold it - but by this time, I had replaced a lot of the original parts (which got set aside into my parts box...), including the bridge, pickups, electronics, even the nut. I finally chalked it up to a bad basswood body. Even though I have played other basswood bodied guitars since then that have sounded pretty darned good, that MIJ '62 Custom Telecaster RI kind of turned me off on that wood - or at least made me suspicious of it. If nothing else, that particular piece of basswood was just not good sounding wood at all; regardless of whatever else I replaced, the guitar still had a thin, weak sound with little sustain and none of the classic Telecaster attributes that I was looking for. Fast forward to a few years ago. My cousin wanted a Tele, and my aunt and I teamed up to help him get one. I wound up buying a used '85 MIJ '62 RI neck from someone on Harmony Central, and mated that to a MIM CAR alder body I picked up on Ebay. The neck was only slightly flamed, and not quite as trim as the one I used to have, but still plenty comfortable. I put a set of Fender's Bill Lawrence-designed SCN pickups into it, and I used the original bridge from my old MIJ '62 RI along with some other old parts I still had and came up with a nice little Tele partscaster. The next time my cousin came over, I gave him a choice of guitars - the partscaster, or my slightly modified mid-90s Tele Special. He picked the Special, leaving the partscaster for me. Frankly, I would have been happy with either guitar - that Tele Special was indeed pretty special. I kept the guitar pretty much as it was until just recently. Even though the alder MIM body had the type of sound I like, and even though it was candy apple red, I kept longing for that classic double bound Custom Telecaster look. I knew that the Japanese had switched from using basswood to alder for the bodies of the '62 Custom reissues sometime in the 90s, and I figured an alder body would be less risky - I've never had a total dud alder-bodied Tele… so when a used two-piece CIJ '62 Custom Tele reissue body showed up on Ebay for a great price, I jumped on it. This one is in good condition, and is finished in cherry instead of CAR, and I suspect it was made in 2005, making it twenty years younger than the neck it's now mated to. Depending on the lighting, it can be hard to tell the two colors apart since CAR is basically just this same transparent cherry color sprayed over either a metallic gold or metallic silver base coat. Which brings us up to date. I put that '85 'MIJ '62 RI neck and bridge on the '05 CIJ '62 RI body, and sure enough, it gave me exactly what I wanted - the beautiful Custom Tele cosmetics along with that classic Tele sound... So that's the story of my Telecaster. Oh, here's a few other details - the nut's been replaced with a GraphTech, the tone control is a TBX, the output jack is a nickel Electrosocket, the saddles are compensated brass, and the stock tuners were swapped for some white button Gotohs - I also have a set on my Duo Sonic II and really like them a lot, and I think the white buttons look good on a Custom Tele. The pickguard is mint, and I think the slight green tint works well with the yellowing binding and the cherry paint job. Now for the rest of the pics... 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Phil O'Keefe Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 And a few more... [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tBack of neck 2.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t124.2 KB ID:\t32247378","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247378","data-size":"full","title":"Back of neck 2.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tBridge and compensated brass saddles.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t151.3 KB ID:\t32247379","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247379","data-size":"full","title":"Bridge and compensated brass saddles.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tControl plate.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t123.6 KB ID:\t32247380","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247380","data-size":"full","title":"Control plate.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tHeadstock front 1.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t99.6 KB ID:\t32247381","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247381","data-size":"full","title":"Headstock front 1.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tMIJ neck stamp.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t183.8 KB ID:\t32247382","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247382","data-size":"full","title":"MIJ neck stamp.JPG"}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted June 5, 2018 Members Share Posted June 5, 2018 I'm sucker for double bound tele's too, especially with a RW board. Very nice Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 Thank you mrbrown! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buckwalder Posted June 5, 2018 Members Share Posted June 5, 2018 And a few more... [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tBack of neck 2.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t124.2 KB ID:\t32247378","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247378","data-size":"full","title":"Back of neck 2.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tBridge and compensated brass saddles.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t151.3 KB ID:\t32247379","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247379","data-size":"full","title":"Bridge and compensated brass saddles.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tControl plate.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t123.6 KB ID:\t32247380","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247380","data-size":"full","title":"Control plate.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tHeadstock front 1.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t99.6 KB ID:\t32247381","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247381","data-size":"full","title":"Headstock front 1.JPG"}[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=JSON]{"alt":"Click image for larger version Name:\tMIJ neck stamp.JPG Views:\t1 Size:\t183.8 KB ID:\t32247382","data-align":"none","data-attachmentid":"32247382","data-size":"full","title":"MIJ neck stamp.JPG"}[/ATTACH] I like it. I like it a lot. I love the attention that you give to the details. congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flemtone Posted June 5, 2018 Members Share Posted June 5, 2018 My my my...! My shipping address is... That's a beauty, Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wasgtrjones Posted June 5, 2018 Members Share Posted June 5, 2018 I'm a tele person. I've never seen a translucent red custom before - that's a pretty rare finish. If it were mine, I'd put a single-layer, slightly yellowed white pickguard, to match the binding and the buttons, but it's cool... I had a MIJ 62 Custom RI in sunburst for a while... purchased used in 93 or 94. I eventually sold it as I played more and more and discovered I like THICK necks. Had a Jerry Donahue, which is essentially a thicker maple neck on a double-bound custom body for a while, too... I think I sold that when somebody made me a really nice offer. The tele I'm playing the most lately is a partscaster - FAT maple neck, 2-color sunburst pine body, and a Charlie Christian pickup in the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harrycox1 Posted June 5, 2018 Members Share Posted June 5, 2018 Beautiful. The double body binding is extra fancy. Now I'm jonesing for a Tele with a rosewood board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 I'm a tele person. I've never seen a translucent red custom before - that's a pretty rare finish. I think you're right - while I've seen a few of them in other rare colors like Ice Blue Metallic, black, white and LPB too, the transparent blue and transparent cherry models seem to be pretty rare - the vast majority of the MIJ / CIJ '62 Custom Tele reissues I've seen have been either CAR or 3 tone sunburst, which I believe were the only two colors that were made for export to the USA - the other colors were all made for the Japanese domestic market and not really for export. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlamoJoe Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 It's a real beauty Phil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 Sweet. I keep saying I think Teles are butt ugly and then I keep finding examples that aren't. Yours is one of those. For that matter, there's a red Nashville Deluxe on the local Craigslist that I find intriguing but I don't need another electric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 Nice guitar Phil. My personal jury is still out - some how a nice looking tele seems wrong. And that one does look nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Telecasters with rosewood boards are highly under-rated IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Thanks Joe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harrycox1 Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 I'm finding that out. I recently acquired a strat with a rosewood fretboard and I really like it, So now I want a Tele with a rosewood board. The new strat is the first Fender I have ever owned with a rosewood board. For some reason when I think Fender I have always thought maple. I probably shouldn't have done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 I'd love to see some pics of your Strat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 not my cup of tea, but a really nice looking guitar.... my CIJ72 tele custom is an orphan, which is nice but gets very seldom played...it plays ok, the neck is great, but the humbucker in the neck is imho in the wrong postion, if it should be only one HB it should be at the bridge and so i never invested in the bigsby i thnik would be cool with it.... again phil yours looks like a simple piece of art, very well composed, but not for my living room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 That's a really nice one! Thanks for sharing your story and pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 Aren't those adjustable saddles nice? I tend to be somewhat "traditionalist" about Teles, but that is a very worthwhile update/mod. Just keep it away from the mud daubers, ok Phil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 I have the same guitar that I purchased back in the day. [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","title":"DCP_1125a.jpg","data-attachmentid":32247979}[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harrycox1 Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 No problem. I'll take some pictures tonight when I get home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 not my cup of tea, but a really nice looking guitar.... my CIJ72 tele custom is an orphan, which is nice but gets very seldom played... it plays ok, the neck is great, but the humbucker in the neck is imho in the wrong postion, if it should be only one HB it should be at the bridge and so i never invested in the bigsby i thnik would be cool with it.... again phil yours looks like a simple piece of art, very well composed, but not for my living room I had an original Tele Thinline back in the day, and I really like the sound of WRHB's, but I don't care for the "reproductions" that Fender has used in various reissues over the years - visually they look similar, but internally they're significantly different. In your shoes, I'd look for a good replacement that actually captures the sound of the original CuNiFe-based pups, or would look for a vintage original pup to put into it. IMO, it will make all the difference in the world in how it sounds... Thanks for the comments about my Tele, t_e_l_e! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gubu Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 A beaut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted June 6, 2018 Members Share Posted June 6, 2018 Phil, the only thing missing on that Tele is my hands . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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