1974 Fender Telecaster Custom Mocha Brown

Very good condition featuring single cutaway ash body with Mocha Brown finish, large multi-ply black and white plastic pickguard, single coil Telecaster pickup in the bridge position, Fender Wide Range humbucking pickup in the neck position, two volume and two tone controls with black plastic skirted Fender “amp” knobs, three way pickup selector switch with black plastic switch tip, Fender Pat # stamped Telecaster bridge with three adjustable steel barrel saddles, bolt on maple neck with walnut skunk stripe, maple fingerboard with black dot inlays starting at the third fret, bone nut, Fender Telecaster peghead shape, black and gold Fender logo and black Telecaster Custom logo, two butterfly string trees, six in a line Fender F stamped tuning machines, three bolt neck fastening plate with F stamp and serial number engraving, string through body construction with six individual metal string ferrules, two metal strap buttons, chrome plated metal hardware and 1980s Fender black plastic molded hardshell case. This Telecaster weighs 7lb 11oz. 

This 1974 Fender Telecaster Custom is in very good vintage cosmetic condition. This instrument shows signs of play wear and age throughout including some small nicks and dings in the body finish, fine finish checking throughout, forearm wear through on the top body edge, a cigarette burn on the peghead face, pick scratches on the pickguard and one changed tone pot (see photos). The original pot is included. Otherwise, this Telecaster is original throughout and is in nice played-in condition. This Telecaster has a great feeling medium D shaped neck profile that is comfortable in hand and is very easy to play. The original fret wire on this guitar shows some play wear but has plenty of life left. This guitar has been setup and it plays excellent up and down the maple fingerboard with low action and great intonation. This example is very lightweight, especially for the era in which it was built, and weighs 7lb 11oz. The guitar is very resonant and rings out well when played unplugged. The electronics have been cleaned and are working properly without any excess noise and the potentiometers date to the 46th week of 1973. Both original pickups sound exceptional and have a strong output. The bridge pickup delivers a very traditional, articulate, spanky vintage Tele tone - it is not overly bright or “ice picky” and it is perfectly suitable for country picking but also sounds stellar with overdrive and nails some of those classic rock and roll sounds. The Wide Range humbucker delivers a warmer, fuller tone that works exceptionally well for pretty, jazzy clean tones, chordal blues rhythms and thick creamy overdriven leads. The pickup configuration in the Telecaster Custom is ideal for anyone wanting a variety of classic Fender tones. This guitar just has a really killer lived in vibe with the looks and tone to match. In my experience, some of these models from this era can be extremely heavy and “dead” - this is one of the better examples that I have come across so if you are after a Vintage Telecaster Custom, this one should be seriously considered. This guitar is housed in a non original 1980s Fender black molded plastic hardshell case that fits like a glove and has a cool Cobra sticker on it. The original ashtray bridge cover is also included.