The Fender Electric Instrument Company's catalogs offered standard finishes only at no additional cost until 1957. Until then, only popular artists and people with friends at the Fullerton factory were able to get a Telecaster in anything other than Blonde/Blond and a Stratocaster in Sunburst. The 1957 catalog added a new phrase that wasn't offered before, "TELECASTER AND ESQUIRE GUITARS ARE AVAILABLE IN CUSTOM COLOR FINISHES AT AN ADDITIONAL 5% COST." The catalogs didn't feature a standardized color chart until the 1961.
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1961 Fender Custom Color Chart[/caption]
"Black" as a custom color was always listed on the charts although it must have been unpopular since clean examples are difficult to find. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars in Black came with an odd clipped decal on the front of the headstock that listed only "Fender." This is likely because the standard headstock decals featured a thick gold Fender logo and the model name printed in plain black. This would make the model name look more like a smudge on the black headstock and not very legible.
Instead of making a new decal for a small number of instruments, Fender clipped off the black printed model name. We are proud to have offered four custom color Black Fender guitars this year: a 1971 Jazzmaster and three Jags: 1965, and two from 1966. We are always looking to buy custom color Fenders so feel free to reach out if you have one to sell or would like to buy.
1961 Fender Custom Color Chart[/caption]
"Black" as a custom color was always listed on the charts although it must have been unpopular since clean examples are difficult to find. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars in Black came with an odd clipped decal on the front of the headstock that listed only "Fender." This is likely because the standard headstock decals featured a thick gold Fender logo and the model name printed in plain black. This would make the model name look more like a smudge on the black headstock and not very legible.
Instead of making a new decal for a small number of instruments, Fender clipped off the black printed model name. We are proud to have offered four custom color Black Fender guitars this year: a 1971 Jazzmaster and three Jags: 1965, and two from 1966. We are always looking to buy custom color Fenders so feel free to reach out if you have one to sell or would like to buy.
