1968 Fender Telecaster Blonde: Fifty Years With One Owner
BLAST FROM THE PAST. A guitar that came through our shop at 316 E 84th St, sold, and moved on. This instrument is no longer available.
Most vintage Telecasters arrive with the story sanded off. Refinished, refretted, rewired, flipped four times in ten years.
This one arrived with its story still attached. It was consigned by its second owner, who had played it since the late 1970s.
Fifty years. One pair of hands.
What it was
A 1968 Fender Telecaster in original blonde, listed at $10,000.
- Weight: 7 lbs, light even for a Tele
- Neck: two piece maple
- Fingerboard radius: 7.25 inches, the vintage spec
- Frets: roughly 70 percent worn and very low
- Truss rod: fully functional
- Parts: all original to our knowledge
- Included: original hardshell case with the original ash tray bridge cover inside
The two things we refused to do
We did not clean it. Fifty years of grime had settled into this guitar and it would have come off in an afternoon. It was not our dirt to remove. It was the record of somebody's playing life. We set the guitar up, left the grime, and told the next owner it was their call.
We did not take the strap off. It belonged to the second owner and it had effectively fused to the guitar over the decades. Removing it would have destroyed it. On a consignment piece that felt like vandalism, so we left that decision to whoever came next too.
How it played
Here is the part that surprises people about worn vintage frets. It played like a modern guitar.
We set the action as low as a 7.25 inch radius will physically allow and found no choking and no fretting out anywhere on the neck. On a fifty year old board with 70 percent of the fret left, that is genuinely rare. That is a straight neck and a working truss rod doing their job.
At 7 lbs it is light enough to wear for a three hour set without thinking about it.
Common questions about the 1968 Telecaster
What did this 1968 Fender Telecaster sell for?
It was listed at $10,000 at Bros Guitar Shop in New York City. Vintage prices move constantly and depend on originality, finish and condition. For a current figure on your own guitar, ask us for an appraisal.
How much does a 1968 Telecaster weigh?
This one was 7 lbs. Late sixties Teles vary, but anything under about 7.5 lbs is on the light and desirable end.
What is the fingerboard radius on a 1968 Telecaster?
7.25 inches, the vintage Fender spec. It limits how low the action can go before high fret notes choke out, which is why setup matters so much on these.
Are worn frets a dealbreaker on a vintage Telecaster?
Not automatically. This guitar's frets were about 70 percent gone and very low, and it still played cleanly across the whole neck with no fretting out. A straight neck and a working truss rod matter more than fret height.
Should you clean the grime off a vintage guitar?
That is the owner's call, not the shop's. Original finish wear and dirt are part of a fifty year old instrument's history and cannot be put back once removed. We leave it and let the next owner decide.
Does Bros Guitar Shop buy vintage guitars?
Yes. We buy outright, take trades, and take consignments, and we are in Manhattan on the Upper East Side. Details below.
Where it went
Sold. It shipped in its original hardshell case with the ash tray bridge cover tucked inside, grime and strap intact, exactly as its second owner handed it to us.
Come see us at Bros Guitar Shop
We are a family owned guitar shop on the Upper East Side, and we do more than sell instruments:
- Buying, trades and consignment on used and vintage gear
- Repairs and setups at our bench
- Appraisals. Bring it in or send photos and we will tell you what you have
- Guitar lessons in the studio downstairs
- Pickup and delivery available for a fee. Give us a call and we will sort it out
Bros Guitar Shop
316 E 84th St, New York, NY 10028
646-559-8771 and brosguitarshop@gmail.com
Mon to Fri 12 to 8, Sat 10 to 8, closed Sunday
Got something in a case under the bed? That is usually how the good ones turn up.
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