1955 Fender Blackguard Telecaster

Just back from a fresh setup and fret dress by our luthier! 
 
This killer 1955 Tele has the super cool vibe of Roy Buchanan’s legendary 1953 Telecaster “Nancy”, currently on display at the Fullerton Museum Center in Fullerton, California.

The serial number is stamped on the neck plate and leads off with a "0", a new feature having just moved there from the bridgeplate when Fender harmonized all their electric guitars into one number series earlier in 1955. The knobs are a smoother-sided knurl with a dome top and the switch tip is the new "top hat" style just introduced (in '55 that is). The body date is 11-55 in the bridge pickup cavity and the neck dates 2-55. It has the original 304515 stackpole pots (week 15, 1955), CRL1452 3-way switch, original capacitor with an added  treble bleed, Fender Pat Pend bridge, Kluson Pat Appld 2356766 single line tuners, original saddles and the original pickups with original wire.

The birdseye Maple neck with black dots has a super sweet and chunky soft V-shape neck that feels right at home when you hold it! On the back of the headstock there are the period classic cracks underneath the tuners, not visible on the front of the heastock with the exception of 1 filled patch. The front of the headstock was refinished and has a repro decal as is the fretboard. The back of the neck still has the worn but original finish. The body was sanded and refinished a few times before we got it and the remains of its past life are still visible in the pinholes and cavities. It has all the period correct pin dowels used to mount the body for routing at the factory. The 11-55 body date is still visible and has not been removed in the process of refinishing this guitar. All hardware seems prtiod correct for 1955, only the pickguard is a high end bakelite repro that looks very convicing. Comes in a recent Fender Tweed case.

But most importantly: this guitar rings like a belltower when played unplugged, once plugged in a nice tube amp, it has the big sound of a 50's Les Paul when pushed, but with all the classic twang of a mid 50's Telecaster one can wish for! It is a a wonderful resonant instrument, and there’s a reason these white- and blackguard instruments are so revered in their own right. It's what we call magic.
 
Oh, and if you would want this beauty refinished in a stellar looking vintage style Blackguard butterscotch blonde, we can arrange that for you. It's up to you!