Authenticating a 1951 Fender Telecaster
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ส.ค. 2022
- David Davidson from Wellstrung Guitars walks through the process of authenticating a vintage guitar using a 1951 Fender Telecaster. For more information, reach out to Davidson's Wellstrung Guitars www.wellstrungguitars.com
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We do everything the same! Except with putting back metal screws in old wood I always handturn counter clockwise a bit until you hear a click and the screw sinks in a tiny bit.. at this point you made sure you are using the old threads. Otherwise after screwing in and out a couple of times you will make the holes larger.
Thanks for the amazing video!
Greeting from the Netherlands.
I do this too. I have been a luthier for over thirty years. I always do this even when drilling new holes to ensure a smooth hole.
This can't be overstated enough
This video deserves many more views. Very detailed, super interesting, and none of the usual pretentiousness or arrogance that is so common with this kind of material. Cheers.
Your historical knowledge is impressive! I never knew how "factory" those early instruments were - we romanticize the artistry we see now.
First of all, great video of a wonderful guitar. Small contention about the nail holes:
Unless I'm missing something about very early Teles, the nail holes were NOT used for any purpose involving pin routing. The holes from where the router templates were attached (similar to the ones on the neck described earlier in the video) were plugged with a small dowel before finish. On some models of Fender guitar, these dowels can actually be seen under the final finish, or if covered by color, might create a halo effect around them where the clearcoat is at odds between face-grain body and end-grain dowel.
As for the nail holes under the pickguard, those were used exclusively for raising the body up off the surface while being sprayed. First, the body was put on a lazy-susan and the front was sprayed. It was then flipped and the nails acted as 'legs' to keep the wet surface from touching anything. The back and sides were then sprayed and it was set aside to cure. As far as I know, the nail holes used for this painting method were never used for anything to do with shaping the body. In fact, if they WERE used for pin routing, then one WOULD expect paint to fill the holes, contrary to the (correct) point made about not wanting to find paint in those holes.
I was going to say the same thing. Thank you for saving me the trouble. Yes the pin router holes are always on the backside of the neck and body. This is where they were placed when Fender routed both the front of the guitar and the routes into the body surface on the front. After being band sawed these went on to being routed to the proper shape. A wooden template that had the routes already in it would be placed on the backside. It was screwed down where you see those dowels. Then the body was turned over and the pattern would transfer to the front of the body. This was guided by a pin under the body that traced the routes in the pattern. The router could be adjusted for height and route all the holes to the same depth.
This way it was accurate and no one got hurt trying to route it with the pattern bolted to the front of the body while holding a hand router. The only thing that was routed with the front of the body without a pattern was the the control cavity which was placed on a different router table as the bearing bit would cut it to the final depth. This is because it would trace out the hole that had already been routed for the controls. There's a really good video of it here on TH-cam. I can't remember what's it called or I would post it here. Thank you for sharing this with the rest of us.
This is fantastic. I loved all the extra info like the pickguard on a paint can tidbit. Fantastic.
Love this detailed look at a great guitar. Doing the same for a burst would be equally awesome!
TG is always great to see on those early Fenders!
Thank you ! As a budding guitar builder the insight of what a curator looks for in an historic guitar is extremely valuable. I encourage you to continue making these videos. Best, TG
Lots of good info, but the hole at the end of the control plate isn’t from a pin router, but is the hole left from one of the four nails used to elevate the body for painting purposes. Great guitar. Love your work..👍
This is one the most straightforward and competent guitar tech videos I have seen in a while. It's awesome and I actually learned something. I have been a professional guitar tech since the age of 19. I have over 25 years of experience in guitar repair and setup. (as well as building) Well done.
Thanks David for that detailed look at a vintage Tele, it is invaluable in dealing with these elder graybeards! And thanks Dagan too for bringing David in with that no-nonsense real shop video. Cheers.
Wonderful video with excellent info! Thank you!
Absolutely perfect, excellent video, doesn't get any better than this, period. Nice, nice job
The smell factor oyeah. I had the privledge of opening a few early 60's strats at my shop in the 80's. the special smell was a thrill to behold.
Great video dude... I know everything you talked about in this video and yet I saw the entire video until the end. The good thing is I can recommend this video to some of my clients because it seems like people have a hard time believing anything unless they see a video "confirmation" on TH-cam first. We live in a strange world these days.
Anyway, great video.
👍
You´re so good!Thank you very much for your work from Germany!!!
WoW!! What a fantastic, Well descripted, Detailed and informative video.. Some awesome top tips too, Thank you
I understand that smell thing too . Thank you loved your tutorial. Please make more .
I got a buddy with a '52 tele and he treats it like a beater. His uncle refinished it before he gave it to him anyway, but still.
The kids' an amazing player and he gigs around with the guitar but it's not so whooped that he couldn't get some ridiculous boukoo for it.
He's just keepin it in the family and I respect that.
Great video man!
Wow! That is a beautiful guitar!!
Excellent video! Thank you for sharing
I am blown away. You are the man. I will never afford an early early Fender, but I will never be fooled by a phoney one now.
These guitars are an important part of not only music history, but American history
A wealth of great tips! 😄The ONLY thing I'd add would be to put each screw back in the hole it came out of.
My OCD is raging.
I learned a lot including the Phillips screw ban till 51. thanks
Love your honesty.
I like that statement 'if somebody could cut out a body in 45 seconds they got the job -- not craftsmen, they were labourers". I get the antique value of old guitars, but when people spend big on a reissue I wonder if they know Leo Fender was like the Henry Ford of guitars.
Unless you are wanting an exact clone of an old mass produced guitar, one made the same way where it really counts should get you more or less the same results regarding playing feel and tone. I do not know about other folks and their level of pedantry, but near enough is good enough down under here in laid back NZ, e.g., I have played some '80s Squire guitars that do the Strat thing pretty bloody well.
Another Kiwi here. I pretty much agree. I was impressed when I found out that Mr Fender's vision was an assembly-line product that a musician could feel free to maintain on the road with replaceable standardised parts.
I have learned a lot in the last few years since 2016, when I thought to buy myself a decent electric guitar to celebrate turning 65. I thought, modestly, that even a used old one would do, and just to be appropriate, maybe one from 1951?
The joke was on me! I found this iconic guitar design was introduced in 1951. Models from that year are sought-after collectors' items. Waaay out of my budget.
It seems strange, like paying big money for a vintage 1930s State house.
Thank you! That was awesome. I felt like a treasure hunter. I gotta go play one of my Teles. 😸👍🏼
Excellent video. And, fascinating facts regarding Phillips screws and their availability post WWII.
Oh, and gorgeous Tele too!
It was the KOREAN War in 1951.
@@guitarman11000 What was, Bill? Research on Henry F. Phillips, the inventor states ‘By 1940, 85% of U.S. screw manufacturers had a license for the (Phillips) design’.
Is it not more likely that (the WWII and beyond) heavy industry manufacturing boom in the US created a demand that outstripped supply until 1951 than that distribution to some types of business was withheld in case there was a war in Korea?
Just a hypothesis.
@@rob_in_stowmarket_uk Phillips screws were NOT saved for the WWII war effort ( my other hobby is Willys jeeps) all WWII vehicles were slot head screws . Korean War some vehicles were some weren't . My best guess with Fender would be , although they were available ,there were none available as surplus or cheap . Love Leo but by everything I've heard he was very ......uhhhh, let's say "frugal " .
Interesting video, thank you for that!
PS: Very nice watch. Sky Dweller. Very nice.
Great video, clear and easy to follow. This info applies to any vintage guitar, the Gibson were a bit sloppy with their ser.#, but they do have other markings that can authenticate a time line. 👍
Great piece of history, and a Halloween production date !
You're brilliant! Thank you.
great video, really interesting man giving the presentation.
Great run down.
That's right , use all your senses. My pals thought I was a mental case because I used to sniff the guitars and even the amps before even playing a note. Not snobbery , just a sensible way to "detect" . Great viddy thanks.
Couple of things you missed regarding the bridge pickup ..around the pole pieces there are little rings from the arbor press that forced the magnets into the flatwork also on the yellow hook up lead there should be a black stain about an inch long from where the pickup was dipped in black wax yes a bit pedantic but a good tell tale sign of an original pickup
That was very cool!!👍👍
Awesome video. 🤘
Great video!
Super interesting. Thumbs up buddies!
Great video
“I know I’m moving quickly but I do this every…single…day,” (screwdriver slips and scours the wood on the back) 😮.
“We can always pass that off as buckle rash. This guitar has a lot of character.”
The skydweller is quite a flex!
Brill loved it and a amazing guitar to strip down .must still be some in lofts nobody knows about .
so cool!!
If this guy had a deeper voice he'd sound just like Mike Ermentrout 😁
On Helium he’d sound like Brian Blessed!
Waltuh
Miss my 1951 Esquire. Bought it for $100.00 in 1978 with Original Poodle Case.
My '58 Stringmaster T8 is a Gloria guitar... wonderful to get in the controls pocket and find that masking tape! And Fender steel guitars are still the cheapest way to get into '50's Fender collecting... same wood, same electronics, same paint... in fact, parts are often robbed from them to restore armpit Fenders. So don't let me catch anyone doing this!
MIM makes me feliz 😂 I hang it proudly on my wall en rojo color y blanca 😊
Hello, very interesting. I have a question for an expert: I have a 67-68 tele custom. Originally it had that silly switch 3 position bass-neck-bridge. I had it changed because the bass one was just useless. I understand that was an original set up, but nobody talks about that (including you when you open the switch cavity). Did everybody change the set up as I did and just forgot about it. What's the story behind that?
Also, when removing pickups, be extremely careful not to touch the sides of the bobbins where the coils are; they can become fragile with age and if the windings get damaged, then the pickup will need to be repaired or rewound and lose a lot of value.
I’m looking at that gold Sky Dweller
Did that telecaster have the blender wiring, and was there a half watt resistor? I’d like to know more about the wiring and its exact specs.
What does that 51Fender Telecaster go for theses days?
Very interesting, thanks. Just one thing, I don’t get why you leave the strings on, clearly they are in the way (you mention that a couple of times) and for what little cost a new set of strings is, wouldn’t it be right to fit a new set after the work?
Please put screws back in by turning them backwards first, finding the thread.
Those are not pin router holes on the front of the body. They are nail holes left over from the painting process. Pin router holes are in the back and are plugged.
Those wonderful Fender vintage guitars being " authenticated" over and over....
Philips head screws transitioning that early?
I've never understood why Fender used wood screws to attach the neck rather than threaded bolts. Surely every time the neck is removed adn replaced the neck pocket screw holes are going t get bigger and less secure;
Do those screwdrivers have rubber coated tips
to help keep from scratching the screws?
No no--you must use a vintage-era screw driver whenever possible: if you haven't got a '51, better to just put the instrument away until you can do it right.
Not the TG you were referring to.
Cool video, I have a quick question though. Being this gem is an original there’s most probably a very high chance the strings were replaced at sometime ( of course unless it was a closet queen the entire time ), would it have just been easier to simply replace the strings?
Thanks for the in depth video.
Exactly. And even if the strings are original, they wouldn't add any value to it (especially since they'd likely be filthy and rusty).
Personally, I wouldn't buy a vintage guitar that does not have original strings on. It's a part of the legacy. True collectors understand this.
@@amslu and you’d know they were the actual factory originals?
Quick example, you have a 71’ LP you just purchased. Let’s just say the instrument was only played it’s first two years since it’s birth, the original owner replaced the strings once in 72’ and then soon after became the closet queen for the ‘True Collector’ like yourself….
You’d know they were replaced at all ( This of course considering they were installed properly of course )?
Unlikely.
@@amslu Hahahaha. Yeah, right.
The strings looked pretty fresh. How is it easier to replace a set of perfectly good strings than to simply put on a capo and then loosen them a bit?
wouldn't it be flat head screws in a pre-52?.
Didn’t these guitars have flat head screws?
any real 51 will have SLOTTED screws not Phillips
my man has been smoking 3 packs a day for 45 years
He should have relic'd it with a screwdriver a little bit, make even more authentic looking.
The irony is the Phillips head strips out easier
Didn't want to look at the bass pick up ?
Great Rolex watch.
Dragan ??? Jeli si Srb?
The only way Leo could have made it better is covering the body with Tweed. A TWEED TELE, that would be the ultimate cool guitar.
Make one?
I thought a 51 telecaster had flat head screws
I would name that guitar Wednesday as that was day of week body was made
Am I the only one here who thought he was going to say, "Smells like grandma's a**"?
Still in better condition than all those over hyped over priced fake aged guitars
Personally, I would never remove the neck with strings attached. Especially one as valuable as this.
Buying a 51 telecaster wont ever be an issue. $$$
What if it smell,s like butter scotch
some nigga took neck off and wrote date on. this is def real lol
I thought Fender made broadcasters in 1951 and switched to making telecasters in 1952/53.
Nothing at fender ever happened January 1st. Best estimate, the Nocasters existed from April 51-Oct 51.
Very detailed video, sadly lets the fraudsters easily mimic and make a fake vintage
Tons of fakes out there that even "experts" can't tell the difference. Telling someone that's never taken a guitar apart to take a vintage guitar apart to authentic it? Bad advice.
Not sure why you're bothering to keep the strings strung during disassembly. Seems totally unnecessary to me and invites a mishap. And putting the neck plate back in with all four screws at one time? You're just asking to scrape the back of the body. I do not understand your techniques at all. They make no sense to me.
He doesn't care, getting paid by some idiot to do this...
A shorter screwdriver
😂
Shame it has had that small shim in there this tends to ramp the neck up over time.
Never crack the neck off an untouc hed vintage guitar. Big mistake,loss of tone
These people don't care, they just want more money to waste...