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A particularly attractive early-1980s Made in USA Fender Standard Telecaster, finished in classic Black with a beautifully figured maple neck and fingerboard.
This is an interesting example from Fender’s early-1980s USA production, dating from the period immediately preceding the company’s transition away from CBS ownership.
Serial number E315994 places the instrument within Fender’s E3 serial-number period. As Fender used these serial-number decals across more than a single calendar year, we conservatively date the guitar to circa 1983–1985 rather than claiming an exact production year without confirming the internal neck and body date markings.
The specifications are consistent with Fender’s early-1980s USA Standard Telecaster, including the 21-fret maple neck, six-saddle bridge and traditional two-single-coil Telecaster pickup configuration.
One particularly attractive feature of this example is the highly figured maple neck and fingerboard. The maple displays distinctive birdseye-style figuring throughout, giving this particular guitar considerably more visual character than a typical plain maple neck.
The guitar appears to have been modified from the traditional Telecaster switching arrangement and is currently fitted with what appears to be a 5-way pickup selector switch.
This may provide additional pickup combinations beyond the conventional Telecaster settings. We have not represented the switching modification as factory original.
The guitar presents remarkably well considering its age.
The body, neck and hardware show normal signs of use associated with a pre-owned instrument of this vintage, including surface marks and scratches visible under close inspection. The frets show normal playing wear.
Importantly, much of the variation visible in the maple neck and fingerboard is natural figuring in the wood rather than excessive playing wear.
Please refer to the detailed photographs, which form part of the condition description.
Early-1980s USA Fender instruments occupy an interesting place in the company’s history. This guitar predates the later American Standard Telecaster series and comes from the closing years of Fender’s CBS era.
With its classic Black and white Telecaster appearance, figured maple neck and decades of natural character, this is a distinctive older USA Fender for the player or collector looking for something considerably more interesting than a modern production instrument.
Please note: The circa 1983–1985 dating is based on the serial number and visible specifications. Removal of the neck to inspect the factory date markings may allow the production date to be narrowed further.
