Colors:
STANDARD: Blonde
CUSTOM: Sunburst - Lake Placid Blue - Ocean Turquoise - Sonic Blue - Seafoam Green - Candy Apple Red - Olympic White - Black - Blue Ice Metallic - Charcoal Frost Metallic - Dakota Red - Fiesta Red - Teal Green Metallic - Firemist Gold - Firemist Silver- Natural - Walnut - Wine - Antigua - Tobacco Sunburst
(Please check color chart for timeline Availability)
BODY
Wood: Ash or Alder
Lacquer: Thick Skin Polyester/Polyurethane
Shape: Telecaster Standard
Pickguard: 8 Hole / 3-Ply Laminated Plastic Guard
Serial: Stamped on Neckplate / Front of Headstock / S-serial (Since 1976)
NECK
Wood: Maple
Decal: Black CBS Logo w/ Gold Trim + "Telecaster" Made in USA
Fretboard Wood: Rosewood or Maple (One Piece since 1969)
Lacquer: Polyurethane (Nitro on Headstock)
Profile: Medium "C"
Headstock: Standard Tele
Nut Width: 1.650" (42mm) +/-
Scale: 25.5"
Radius: 7.25"
#Frets: 21
Fretwire: 6230 Vintage Frets
Trussrod: Vintage Heel Adjust
Bolt-On Type: 4-Bolt w/ Plastic Bracket
HARDWARE
Bridge Type: 3-Saddle Vintage String-trough Bridge / Ashtray Cover
Bridge Marking: "FENDER Pat.No DES.164227 / 2.573.254"
Saddle: Slotted Steel Saddles
Tuners: "F" Tuners
String Tree: 2 X Butterfly (Since 1971)
Neckplate: Blank Plate
Knobs: Knurled Flat-Top
ELECTRONICS
Switch: 3-Way CRL / Barrel Switch-Tip
Wiring: Standard B/BN/N (PVC wires)
Capacitor: 50V / .05uf Dime Capacitor
Pickup Config: SS
Neck Pickup: Vintage Single Coil Staggered Machine Wound w/ Cover
Bridge Pickup: Vintage Single Coil Staggered Machine Wound
INFO
CASE: Fender Black Hardshell Plush lined Case (for additional charge)
By 1968, The CBS-era Telecaster transformation had become almost full-circle
- Polyurethane instead of Nitro
- Modern Wiring
- F-Tuners
- Slotted Steel Saddles
- Machine wound pickups (Gradually) on Grey Bobbins
- PVC Plastic wires replaces Cloth wires
From 1968 onwards, it remained virtually unchanged. Blonde was the default color if you ordered one and custom color was only by request for an up-charge. The amount of Custom colors dwindled to half what they started with at the end. Colors like Natural and Walnut came in as replacements instead.
CHANGES: 68-79
1969: One-piece Maple Neck offered with Skunk Stripe (Maple Cap discontinued)
1971: Fender starts to use Two Butterfly String Retainers
1976: serial on neckplate ended and moved to the headstock instead
1973: Custom ordering colors was discontinued