The Fattest Neck, The Hottest Pickup, The Wildest Color

This possibly 'unique' 1971 Orange Wildwood Telecaster weighs just 7.40 lbs. Solid alder body with a veneer on the top and back of Orange Wildwood (dyed beechwood). One-piece maple neck with a huge profile, a comfortable nut width of just over 1 9/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Maple fretboard with 21 medium frets and inlaid black dot position markers. Individual Fender "F" tuners with octagonal metal buttons. Headstock decal with "Fender" logo in black with gold trim, "Telecaster" in black beside it, and two patent numbers ("2,573,254" and "3,143,028") beneath "Fender." Single "butterfly" string tree. Four-bolt neck plate with large Fender "F" logo and serial number ("322524") between the top two screws. One plain metal-cover pickup (at neck) with an absolutely amazing output of 6.99k and one black six-polepiece pickup (angled in bridgeplate) with an output of 5.94k. Three-layer (white/black/white) plastic pickguard with eight screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way selector switch (with black plastic "Top-Hat" tip) all on metal plate adjoining pickguard. Chrome knobs with flat tops and knurled sides. Fender combined bridge/tailpiece with three smooth saddles and original chrome "ashtray" bridge cover. The neck is stamped in green "3 AUG 71B" and the pots are stamped "137 6636" (CTS September 1966). This thirty-eight year old Telecaster has one of the fattest necks we have ever seen and the hottest neck pickup ever!!! The guitar is in near mint (9.25) condition with just the bare minimum of finish checking on the top and back and two very small surface chips, one on the top bass edge (3/16 inch) and the other on the lower edge (5/16 inch) near the strap button. The neck is virtually unplayed… if it were not for the two tiny surface chips we would have given this guitar the 9.50 rating that it actually deserves. Complete with the original 'ashtray' bridge cover. Housed in its original Fender black hardshell case with the "tail" on the Fender logo and with reddish orange plush lining (9.25).

Fender’s legendary “Wildwood” finish was originally created by injecting various dye colors directly into growing beech trees. First introduced in 1966 on the flat-top acoustic Fender Wildwood which was a variation on the Freddie King guitar. The unique color patterns were achieved by injecting living beech trees with dye prior to being harvested to make the veneer for the back, sides, top and headstock. "Wildwood" guitars were available in gold, brown, purple, dark blue, purple-blue, green or blue-green. Fender offered other acoustic and electric models with the same veneer option, adding "Wildwood" to the model name (often noted on the pick guard) as with the "Wildwood" Coronado Bass guitar.

And now for the best part - early seventies Tele's are notorious for being rather heavy - NOT THIS ONE! A real lightweight at just 7.40 lbs. And the neck… early seventies Teles usually have necks with medium profiles - NOT THIS ONE! This is similar to a '52… and finally the neck pickup on a late sixties / early seventies Tele usually reads around 6.50k - 6.70k - NOT THIS ONE! This bridge pickup reads a thumping 6.99k and therefore gives a much fuller sound in the neck and middle positions. To sum up - this is a fantastic feeling, playing, sounding guitar in a unique Fender 'Custom Color'… a once in a lifetime opportunity…