An Early Sixties "Sonic Blue" Telecaster

This super rare early-sixties "Sonic Blue" L series Telecaster weighs just 7.70 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid alder body, one-piece maple neck with a medium profile, and a veneer rosewood fretboard with 21 frets and clay dot position markers. Headstock with Fender "spaghetti" logo in silver with black trim and "Telecaster" in black beneath it, and "DES 164,227 PAT 2,573,254 2,784,631" beneath that. Single "butterfly" string tree with no spacer. Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons (stamped inside "D-169400 / PATENT NO"). The neck is stamped "3 NOV 63B". Four-bolt neck plate with serial number ("L31439") between the top two screws. One plain metal-cover pickup at neck with an output of 6.78k and one black six-polepiece pickup angled in bridge plate with an output of 6.68k. Single-layer white plastic pickguard (.080 inch thick) with eight screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch, all on metal plate adjoining pickguard. Chrome knobs with gently curved tops and knurled sides. Fender combined bridge/tailpiece with three adjustable threaded saddles. The pots are dated "304 6315" (Stackpole April 1963). There is some fine body checking and a small area (approximately 3/4 x 5/8 inch) on the back of the guitar where the blue finish is off and the primer is showing through, a few areas of edge wear, including a few dings on the edges. There is a also a small additional strap button hole on the heel of the body. Overall, this extremely rare guitar is in excellent plus (8.75) condition. Complete with the original "ash-tray" bridge cover. Housed in its original Fender cream hardshell case with black leather ends and orange plush lining (8.50).

With the pickguard removed, examination under ultraviolet light revealed that at some time (a long time time ago) a small area around the bridge pickup cavity has had some refinish work…we cannot explain why! This is the only one small area on the guitar where the original Sonic Blue finish has been touched.

The success of the Telecaster needs no explanation, with players from Muddy Waters to Bruce Springsteen, Steve Cropper to Keith Richards, Eric Clapton to David Gilmour, and so many others, including one of my favorite players of all time, the legendary Mickey Green of Johnny Kid and The Pirates.