Have a look at this fine example of the last year for Fender's Telecaster Custom! This 1971 Fender Telecaster Custom in original Sunburst finish with double white plastic body edge binding has just come through the shop. It's not only fun to look at but also a spectacular playing vintage Fender guitar. The Sunburst finish and double edge bound body are a perfect combination.
As a Fender guitar collector, I'm always looking for the nicest examples of vintage Fender Telecaster guitars like this '71 Telecaster Custom. If you've inherited a Telecaster and are looking for the year by serial number then check out Fender Serial Numbers. Or if you're interested in finding a passionate buyer for your vintage Telecaster then you can contact me here: Sell a Fender.
Fender Telecaster Custom
Fender's Telecaster Custom model debuted in 1959 with an attractive Sunburst finish on a Telecaster body with top and back edge binding and a thick slab Rosewood fretboard. There's an interesting anecdote regarding the Telecaster Custom model in Fender General Manager Forrest White's book Fender: The Inside Story. White describes how they had a difficult time with the Custom's white plastic edge binding because the glue would fail causing the binding to come loose from the body. White claims a friendship with then Martin guitar CEO "Fred" Martin (III) who helped them resolve the problems they were having with the binding. Martin was manufacturing guitars with binding for over 60 years by then so they had plenty of practice.
You can check out some other examples here: 1960 Fender Telecaster Custom and 1968 Fender Telecaster Custom Blond.
The original version of Fender's Telecaster Custom model lasted until the end of 1971. This example has a neck date indicating the the manufacturing was in process in November of 1971. It features the typical four bolt neck joint, polyurethane neck finish with nitro on the headstock, and an attractive Sunburst body finish. By mid 1972, a new version of the Telecaster Custom was completely different than what had come before it. Gone was the double edge bound body, the four bolt neck joint, and the classic Telecaster neck pickup. The new Telecaster Custom had a three bolt neck joint with micro tilt adjustment, no body binding, bullet truss rod adjustment at the top of the fretboard, and a large humbucking pickup in the neck position. You can check out the next version of the Tele Custom here: 1973 Fender Telecaster Custom Black.
