1967 Telecaster: Do y'all think this is real and further more, worth it?

[thisisnickpaige]

So there is a guy in Cali sellin his guitar thats an 80's japanese tele body but the point i care about the most is the fact the neck is a 1967 Fender American maple neck... 0=) He is selling this for $750 with case because the neck is showin it's age lol I'm just worried A. its a fake and B. is it even worth it? Also what the heck are those plugs on the back? Those from the floyd rose locking system someone installed? ( you can see the holes were filled in ontop just not sure if those plugs are related) What do you guys all think? Obviously the tuners are not original but what about the rest of it? I'm new to this vintage guitar game so i long for your replies =) Thank you

[thisisnickpaige]

more pictures... =)

[Frank]

I just cringed at the thought of a Floyd Rose on a Telecaster :(

The neck's got no skunk stripe which is correct for a '67 tele.

[38thBeatle]

If genuine then the neck was made after CBS bought Fender and therefore to the purists might not be as sought after however that doesn't necessarily mean the neck is good or bad in itself. I would have thought that it would be worth more because of its age though.

[Frank]

True, it's post-CBS so it's not a massively valuable or collectible neck but we live in an age when even 1970s Fenders are going for silly money.

If it gets any sillier I might think about cashing in my 1983 strat.

[hunter]

Play it, and if it feels special and sounds great to you, get it. Could be a killer guitar for a reasonable price.

But it's not an investment of any kind, don't expect the value to go up if the guitar or neck don't play and sound right.

[Stevepage]

Looks real enough. If you don't like the neck when you get it, you could always sell it on.

[Twinfan]

I don't know if that's any 'better' than a new neck to be honest.  Unless you need it complete the rest of your original '67 Tele I wouldn't pay any extra for it....

[thisisnickpaige]

hmm all very true. Yeah floyd rose on anything sucks, on a 67 tele? Heart breaking. Yeah i live in New York, he's in Cali so there lies my problem. So im not sure. Originally i thought get someone in LA to test it for me but alas i know no one so yeah do i guess and try for it or give up? ya know? it's a hard decision.

[Philly Q]

Assuming it is a '67 Tele neck, if it was clean (or at least all original) it would be worth more than $750 on its own.

But if it's been drilled for a Floyd nut, they must also have routed off the end of the fingerboard, behind the nut (then replaced it later).  And it's been drilled for Schaller tuners.  All that means it must be devalued, I would guess by quite a lot.

Do you want it as a player or an investment?  As a player, you'd probably be better off with a new MIJ Tele.  As an investment, I doubt it's worth it.

[thisisnickpaige]

Well Philly Q it's definitely not an investment as it's not clean my any means but as a player and historian ive always wanted a vintage american but have never had the money for anything over a mexican. So this excited me. I dont know why i just have always longed for and wanted one. And i KNOW the longer i wait the hard to find one and the more and more expensive they are gunna get (thanks trillion dollar debt America) so thats why i feel like i should jump on this.  It's more as a player then a collector. and an idealist then a pessimist. And ive always been a fan of making ugly beautiful and making ridiculous work though i'm also not trying to get ripped off ya know? Decisions,decisions....

[Frank]

if you're buying it to use on a guitar (as opposed to an investment) then it's worth remembering that older Fender necks aren't like the slim, wide and flat modern necks. This could have a much more rounded fingerboard radius than you're used to and that would mean you'd need to use a higher action/more neck relief to allow for string bending without the strings choking - although it's possible that the Floyd Rose/fat frets user had it planed to a flatter radius, that's worth checking with the seller.

Obviously the neck's had a fair amount of use and necks do not last forever, if the wood has been worn down around the high E string then you may end end up with a very narrow neck indeed.

With all that in mind, the neck's obviously got a lot of genuine "road worn" character and the price seems reasonable with all the caveats mentioned in this thread.

[Prawnik]

I tried to respond yesterday but something wasn't working right. I am kind of a student of 1966-1971 Fenders, if anyone cares.

1. Maple boards are kind of rare in 1967. I don't think they were "officially" offered again as an option until that year, but they are seen on guitars, starting around 1965. From 1959-1965 they are extremely rare, almost unobtanium. I have only seen a photo of one true factory example.

I cannot tell from the photos, but check the neck to see if it is a veneer board. If not, something is amiss for a 1967. Only somewhere in early 1969 do you see the one-piece maple neck with skunk stripe again.

2. Someone added a second string tree at some point.

3. Check the peghead decal and count the number of patents. In 1967 there should be two. The decal appears to be a transition decal, which would be correct for 1967.

It is hard to tell authenticity from the photos, but I think that the seller is at least sincere. If there seller were to go through the trouble of faking (as opposed to being geniunely mistaken about) a 1967 neck, you'd think he'd fake an unmolested (and much more valuable) example.

Of course, I do the same thing when building the early CBS guitars I love, but I am not trying to fool anyone but myself.

[Copperhead]

I just cringed at the thought of a Floyd Rose on a Telecaster :(

[Frank]