Authenticating the 1950's Fender StratoTele - Fake?

[@PsychedelicMind67]

It's Xavier Armenta. He worked at Fender from '56 to '72.

[@gamjammer]

I had one from the 60’s and his name was on a Mustang

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thank you. I have still have heard conflicting information if that's the same guy.

[@Brian-ji7mx]

He actually retired later than that. I have a 79 anniversary with his stamp on it. His son chimed in on this thread saying he retired from Fender in the late seventies www.strat-talk.com/threads/who´s-this-70´s-dude.347364/

[@mojavedesert-ul3jo]

Circles in the neck mounting holes looks like it was made when the drill press is pushed down to touch the chuck.

[@raindogred]

makes no sense unless they used really short bits. the thickness they are drilling on a normal bit you would not go anywhere near driving it through to the chuck

[@raindogred]

@@FirstLast-xn8ic gotcha.. . that makes more sense

[@raindogred]

@@FirstLast-xn8ic sure they could have replaced that drilling rig with a cnc decades ago but I think its part marketing and good business to keep things as close to how things were done back in the day. Its those old guitar we all lust over, so to know they still using same build techniques makes them unique in that respect. and the old saying "if it ain't broke , don't fix it" certainly applies here :)

[@okgo8315]

Not necessarily chuck marks, but certainly some sort of stop guide marks. Great guitar.👍🇬🇧

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Maybe so!

[@saginawdan]

FYI - The audio quality on this video is spot on. Whatever you're doin'...you're doin' it right. 😎

[@Dylan90210]

Probably just using a SM-57

[@j_freed]

@@Dylan90210 - excellent guitar speaker mic.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks a lot. Moved to an SM7B and corrected most of my issues.

[@trav_mill]

Definitely document the repairs and show us, love this stuff!

[@michaelcullen5955]

my best guess is that they wanted to intonate all 6 strings individually, so the only/best option around at the time was the strat hardtail (?)

[@okgo8315]

Yes, also, with the Strat neck perhaps the intonation necessitated a slightly different bridge position.👍🇬🇧

[@YoureNowOnTV]

The missing wood has been done with a curved chisel. Probably for wire clearance as the owner/modifier wanted lower pickup height. 🤷‍♂️ Installed a replacement neck without shims, pickup too high, won’t screw down more, so they cut out the area below the pickup leads and grounding solder on the base plate of the pickup.

[@jeffweller4878]

Or when they put the wonkey bridge on there decided to run the new bridge ground wire under the pick-up because it wasn't gun drilled that way.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks probably right.

[@op-z]

spot on.

[@kennymathieson2674]

Doubt it was cut with a wood turning chisel or gouge chisel more than likely made a template and used a router for the cavity and block hense the nice tight fit as a carpenter that is what i would domyself.

[@op-z]

@@kennymathieson2674 I think you are misunderstanding what is mentioned here. Yes, the main pickup cavity is of course is done with the template with the router at the Fender factory. But what is being discussed are a few millimeters of the wood taken away at the bottom of the route, done with some simple hand tool, knife, or a chisel ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@hotglassbottles]

The decal on the neck is surely mid 60's and those frets look wider than usual. So perhaps a refinish in the mid 60s along wit the refret?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I think the decal is a later one-off.

[@TheFalcro1234]

I love the way you tease the story from the guitar just excellent preservation mind set.. Thank you for caring about these old guitars

[@flyer26]

Anyone else watching the coffee mug the whole time? My anxiety was through the roof seeing it almost spill. 😭

[@robertjohnson1681]

I saw an episode of Trogly's guitar show where he had a $10K+ guitar sitting ON A GUITAR STAND ON TOP OF A DESK while he was unboxing something else on the same desk!

[@flyer26]

@@robertjohnson1681 That hurts just to hear about it haha. I guess it's different when you are the one unboxing/working on the guitar, but I know with how clumsy I am, I would have spilled it.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I'm very careful, and my coffee is important to me👍🏻😆

[@flyer26]

@@MatthewScottmusic I knew you had it under control, I just had my own inner anxiety about it spilling ;)

[@TranceMasterJack]

Mere fractions of an inch away from bumping the coffee cup.🤣

[@agcacustoms2852]

It has that Eric Clapton vibe, his most famous Fender guitar were parts guitars with necks, bodies and pickups from different guitars. And one of his most famous guitars was a double bound sunburst Telecaster with a Stratocaster neck.

[@ericbgordon1575]

Beat me to it.

[@kevinricesr.9903]

I would like to see the fret work done so I could see how to regret my 70 tele good buy

[@okgo8315]

AGCA customs, my friend (many years ago) Lee D. was Eric's guit tech for 32 years. He'd know.👍🇬🇧

[@ksharpe10]

That is known as the Blind Faith guitar, just like Brownie is known as 1st solo album/Layla guitar. Blackie he used the longest though.

[@derekclacton]

That neck was borrowed from ‘Brownie’.

[@aurora3655]

You know what's even more interesting, the wear pattern on the freatboard. It's similar to the one on Clapton's guitar.

[@tylerskott4903]

Well when you spend a few endless nights tryin to learn clapton bound to happen

[@aurora3655]

@@tylerskott4903 yeah, that's one possibility. But, players wear through guitars in very specific finger print sort'v ways.

[@aurora3655]

You could always contact his team', but then you run the risk of losing said guitar lol!

[@garyhighley9022]

i noticed that too.

[@graftongodofmemes]

I think this guy is full of shit...too mAny "coincidences" to be authentic

[@Sammywhat]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us! The workbench / camera is an enviable addition to an already enviable channel! That guitar is beautiful - flaws and all. It has a story. And that's why these old guitars are so remarkable. Looking forward to hearing it again!! 👍🏻

[@Osmorales90]

Dude... It is great to see your channel grow like this.. New camera set up, new work bench and some brand new old guitars to show us, so we can learn and see some cool stuff with you!!!

[@romanhed]

Coffee on the work table. I, too, like to live dangerously.

[@tedruybalid2262]

Hahaha ! I knew that comment was coming!

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Why not👍🏻

[@peepsibhoy]

@@MatthewScottmusic water and electricity.

[@jan-michaelnelson6571]

Yes, allow us to follow along with the whole process, please!!!! Well done!!!

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Alright then there shall be a refret video😃👍🏻

[@jan-michaelnelson6571]

@@MatthewScottmusic Hello!!! My apologies, I was off and running, errands!!!!! Looking forward to it all, Thanks!!!!!

[@saginawdan]

@@MatthewScottmusic Never be afraid of putting out more content. I look forward to it. 👍

[@qynNL]

I think the guitar looks amazing as is. That guitar definitely has a history to it, and I think it's awesome that it's unknown. Whoever owned that before you made that guitar into their own thing. It looks played in, which to me, means it was loved! Such a cool guitar!

[@curbmassa]

The string ferrules on the back of the body would not have lined up with the hardtail bridge, so the body was routed , plugged with wood and new holes drilled to move the ferrules. That's my guess. Those 6 plugged holes on top of the body is where the strings originally came through. The other plugged 4 holes were screw holes that held the original bridge on. I'd guess the neck was a '58-'59, the lacquer Fender used for those years checked the way yours is. Also, the grain orientation in the neck is very similar to my 4/59 Tele neck: quarter-sawn on the flat, very stable: I adjusted my neck one time around '83 when I first got the guitar and never had to touch it again. If you carefully move the copper plate on the neck PU there will be a piece of masking tape covering the magnets and there may be a pencil date there on the tape. Try heating the plate with a hair drier before you move it.

[@jomamma1750]

Nice! Xa neck on a 61 tele body. My guess is that she wouldn't intonate so they moved the bridge forward a bit and plugged the holes. The plate in the back hides the plugs. Good old-fashioned hotrod 'ala Clapton. Built at a time when you could pick a new one up for a couple of hundred bucks. Probably had a P-90 for a bridge pup, and routered it out for clearance. Awesome find Matt! Keeper?

[@footnotedrummer]

I play drums, and I'd still watch you repair this neck. I love musical instruments and the history.

[@tkbyd]

oddly the decal on the neck is a CBS style; date would be 1965....hmmm

[@marshallmason1621]

And even then, it’s not a very good looking CBS style logo.

[@connorsmith1295]

With the fretboard planing and whatnot, it could very possibly be a replacement logo.

[@heymrguitarman7637]

All easy enough to repair. Damn why can't we ever get stuff like this in the UK. And if we did it would cost the earth.

[@BeefNEggs057]

Probably did cost the moon though.

[@nitroxylictv]

because Fender is American lol

[@KaosII1968]

I have read that the oldest most sought after Fenders are in Japan ... for whatever reason.

[@hkguitar1984]

Love the overhead camera, thank you. I would imagine you've handled enough vintage instruments (especially the Fenders) to spot a potential fake instrument just by the tint/feel of the lacquer. You've had some really exceptional instruments, thank you for sharing as well as the great content.

[@scottski51]

To add... I really appreciate you getting the camera in close when you've talked about a barely legible mark or to see checking, etc. Quality video Matthew.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

No need to thank me. I thank you all for watching 😀👍🏻

[@robertnunn9074]

I really appreciate how the guitar was modded way back in the day. covering the old string ferrule holes from the tele bridge with a plate and adding the new strat ones. I also love the pickup mount and jack relocation. If it was mine, I would only modify it to make it playabe. Keep as much 60's mod vibe as possible. One cool guitar.

[@SeaOrcRonnie]

Definitely would love to see your work on that neck, always up for a good lesson!

[@helixworld]

Vintage tele bridges and hardtail strat bridges have different string hole locations, so they need to be re-drilled when the bridge is swapped. Nothing surprising about it IMO.

[@AnthonyMoon_]

Exactly

[@MatthewScottmusic]

I see that now. Whats surprising to me is that they would do the amount of work needed to swap bridges.

[@helixworld]

@@MatthewScottmusic While its not a popular mod, to me it seems like an upgrade to get better intonation adjustment.

[@MiguelLumberto]

I'll be the weirdo in the room: I'd put the Tele body back to its original configuration.

[@tonycannata7241]

Matt, you're the Sherlock Holmes of modified or orphaned vintage guitars! Enjoy all of your posts, keep em' coming!

[@rockinguitar101]

I thought I saw a 59 on the neck heel, Great content and digging you're new overhead set-up Matthew.

[@guiart1553]

I saw that as well...

[@ralphwest8156]

Yes 59 ...I took a screenshot apart in Adobe Photoshop, when looking in CMYK in the yellow channel with mid range dialled in, it becomes a clear 59. I'd check other neck photos for his signature to see Xavier's handwriting style. Great video.

[@t3r080]

I think I saw 59 there too. But then those headstock decals are definitely, definitely not 50s nor early 60s decals. Actually those decals on headstock look very DIY. Those '64-65 decals had all four patent numbers in single line under the Synchronized Tremolo text. '61-62 necks had two patent numbers but they were in similar fashion in single line under the Synchronized Tremolo line. Original '61-62 would have Spaghetti logo too. And the whole Fender logo is misplaced. And if it is '56 or '59 neck... it wouldn't have any patent numbers. Those decals are definitely a poor DIY-job.

[@srsanders455]

Matthew, good stuff man. Its fun to see a guitar this old torn apart. It cracks me up how little has changed in the constructions of bolt on neck guitars. Agree with the comments below about parts guitars. In the end its about the feel and sound of the guitar not the pedigree. Fix that guitar and play the hell out of it... :) Good job on you videos.

[@tylerstockrahm3570]

I'll make this easy for you. If you're wondering if you should make a video. Ask yourself "Will this video have a guitar in it or an amp in it?" If you answer yes. Then make the video. Well all enjoy all your videos

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Great idea😆

[@mikeholbrook5084]

Actually, I don't know anything about guitars, but I really like your work. You are a pretty damn good detective too as exhibited in previous videos. Keep up the good work. Very informative.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Thanks very much Mike.

[@infectionsman]

Pickguard doesnt look cracked, it looks like they hacked it up for easy trussrod acess. You should clean up the edges of that part of the guard so they are shaped to the trussrod rout.

[@michaelolz]

The overhead is the way to go. It leaves room for lower thirds and crawlers and other graphics. As for that incredible treasure of a neck, it’d be great to see what you can do to fix it. That instrument is downright wonderful. Congratulations on such an amazing find!

[@benpowersguitar]

Wow, I thought it was going to be so much worse. That's awesome man. OF COURSE we want to see the neck work. Love the new camera setup.

[@mckayuk]

Subscribed today after watching several videos although (smiling) I am not sure if they make me feel good or bad, happy or sad to never have been able to beg steal or borrow and certainly not afford to buy my dream Fender Stratocaster which would have been a 1958er and same year I was born in Scotland. I am sure my first words out of the womb to mum & dad were to do exactly that but unfortunately not decipherable. Still next best thing is to enjoy the pleasure you have with guitars in general and sharing this with us. Keep up the good work.

[@RQCK0N]

Matthew this is a great video - your set up is fab - it's so cool to be 'with you' when unveiling 60 year old details on a classic guitar like this - a musical antiques roadshow - excellent.

[@sunnyray7819]

The circle marks could be from washers during a process at the factory. Or a drill press . I would say if the circles aren't perfectly centered around the holes that they were marks from washers, if not then drill press.

[@mikeellis9720]

The grain of the wood on the body is absolutely stunning.

[@barrywilson871]

Hi I have a tele deluxe with strat style neck, totally original , people say is a fake not true, is how they were made, one of many of my favorites

[@neilpaterson526]

Great vid Matt as always...I've built my first guitar..a 'strelecaster' in lockdown so I'm definitely interested in the repair work !!

[@itaintmebabe714]

Yes on showing us the neck work. I love these videos!

[@davedekay9620]

They still make a brass ferrule "bar" for telecasters. It was a quick search. Part of the description of the item was that Leo did something similar at G&L out of different material. Maybe it was part of the later "brass craze." Enjoyed the video and the new bench. The neck is the interesting part!

[@jc6721]

Yep, I’ve got a Tele with a brass sustain block in it that looks very similar to that string bar in this one.

[@KaosII1968]

My Fender rep once told me that drilling the through holes on Tele's was/is near impossible to keep straight. I just looked at my 82 tele and they are far from even. I never noticed it before but makes sense that a small bit would tend to wander.

[@edouarddecouz7402]

Oh man, I absolutely want to see a video on the neck especially the truss rod

[@gregwilson2721]

the color of the wood on the body and the neck mach perfectly. its a great looking guitar

[@willygee8436]

I just purchased a new vintage '56 RI neck in the box, never used and it had one of those circle indents in it and threads in that hole. Other holes were untouched, so I believe it's from the factory mount/fixture for spray finishing it

[@michael.davides]

You are becoming one of my favorite "hangout and learn" KZbin channels. Great stuff! Call me crazy, but I don't hate the bridge pickup mounting solution!

[@garyjohn316]

I like the overhead view, it reminds me of Daves world of fun stuff, he calls it his sky cam. If you have never checked this channel out its worth it.

[@Jester-Riddle]

... just don't Gooch the repair !

[@smokepeddler]

The heel route on the body is squared for a tele neck. Meaning the guitar was not originally routed for a strat neck. A lot of people would put strat and jazzmaster necks on teles. However, you can NOT use a squared heel tele neck on a curved heel route which is every other Fender model.

[@peterburi2727]

The heel of that neck has been shaved to flatten the radius that is used for Stratocasters. That may be contributing to the adjustment piece sticking out.

[@greghenderson4582]

I did that same bridge pickup mount system on two of my favorite tele style guitars ....that bridge that holds the traditional tele bridge pickup all leads to some of the squeal at high gain settings ! it also makes for much faster pickup swaps !!!

[@jamesdonahue6466]

Since you seem to be able to find vintage Strats behind rocks and trees, I'd personally, put the neck on a vintage strat body and try to find a tele neck for that body. In the demo video I thought the neck pickup was absolutely beautiful, but I didn't find the bridge pickup all that dynamic. Am I the only one? I'd be curious to hear it in the original pickguard or with a top loader tele saddle or whatever is period correct. Whatever happens that's all good stuff!

[@jddavison5585]

Probably moved the bridge to compensate for the difference of the neck heel. Didn't look like the body was altered at the neck pocket. Round heel of neck in a square neck pocket would explain bridge mod for proper intonation!

[@jaecenwhite2590]

I’ve got a 63 Jaguar body with a 65 Musicmaster II neck, a tele switch and mustang bridge. I think some of there guitars were assembled from “worn out” thrift shop guitars when these things didn’t have any value. Unfortunately I didn’t get the original neck plate with mine and I think it has mustang pickups in it. How much do you want to bet that hard tail bridge you have there is from the 56 strat the neck came from?

[@Rski1234]

That neck is so cool. I like the overhead view.

[@ArbiterBrick]

A great looking guitar. Edit: have you ever thought about a Jazzmaster or Jaguar?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

Tried to buy both. Hasn't worked out thus far. Not too upset about it honestly

[@ArbiterBrick]

@@MatthewScottmusic I see, well good luck on your collecting!

[@TheMikesylv]

The round marks are most likely a stop color on the drill bit when the holes were drilled on a drill press during its manufacturing, not a fancy answer but probably true. I have left similar marks on countless things

[@kennygoody5862]

Hello, the neck mounting screws appear to have been plugged with a dowel rod for probably stripped threads.

[@stevepi1]

My guess :Neck change made the intonation impossible with the standard bridge.The 6 plugged holes are the original string holes and the 4 plugged holes in front are the original bridge mounting screws. The rear ferrules have been moved foreward to align with the new bridge position and that new piece covers the old holes(It will need some surgery here if you were to return it to tele neck and bridge). No idea why the pickup rout tho.

[@j_freed]

Would have been far easier to router trim the neck pocket to accommodate the butt of the neck. Then the 21st fret is exactly where it would be with a Tele neck and yer done.

[@michaeld.mcclish]

With the Tele bridgeplate out, the pickup would have sat lower, flat on the wood surface, so he probably had to route enough space for the wiring. In the back he may have been experimenting with trying to get more sustain/twang.

[@kenbash2951]

Bridge PU with copper plated bottom plate and raised D and G magnets is consistent with 1956 -1965 dating.

[@ziggylayneable]

I have a telecaster from the '80s. I took a Stratocaster neck from the '70s and put it on the tele body. It made the telly play and feel a million times better!!!.. one of the most simple yet it contributed to my playing style more than any other mod I've ever done!!

[@georgebentley-ricardo9445]

The overhead camera is excellent and works very well indeed. Loved your dissection and commentary about the guitar. Great stuff Matthew. PEACE 🤠🎸

[@touchthesun2448]

the overhead camera is really a cool touch. Very informative...good job

[@RobertLandrum13]

How can you tell the saddles were re chromed?

[@justinguitarcia]

The shims, moved bridge, spacers on saddles seems to indicate that the neck wasnt a perfect match and they had intonation/angle issues. Super cool instrument and "Blind Faith" tribute

[@thijs199]

Like pure black ebony is most valuable, because it's rare. But frankly, for looks, I'd suggest ebony which has some brownish tints

[@alextheguitarist7282]

This teardown was very interesting. Good call with the camera angle. The XA signature is definitely an awesome find. I think, as someone in the comments suggested, the owner had a humbucker installed before and switched it back.

[@dixiefallas7799]

I was at the Blind Faith concert at Hyde Park Matthew. Nice guitar 🎸🇬🇧

[@koolten6684]

I love coming here and seeing what kind of crazy vintage Frankenstein players guitars you find and document. they remind me of the early 70's SG my uncle gave me for my birthday because he doesn't play anymore lol.

[@briano.5746]

I'm digging the new work bench and camera set up Matthew! Definitely a guitar that's been through some changes in its life. Oh the stories it could tell. PEACE from Southwest Michigan! 🐉💀👽🎸🎶🎵🧠

[@stevengonzalez4957]

Love the overhead cam! Okay, hopefully, one of your upcoming guitars is a player's grade pre-CBS Strat. I'm patiently waiting to pull the trigger. Keep up with the cool vids!

[@ozzy2434]

Can you do a video/video series on the full restoration of this tele? That would be super interesting!

[@hiddenguitarlessonstutoria8085]

Looks like a 59 neck date to me, more consistent with a thin profile than a 56 I think. Great guitar!

[@3GCMusic]

But also, since the fretboard been planed...there’s no telling how much thickness was removed.

[@MatthewScottmusic]

XA did not sign any 59 necks, also a pre-57 string tree with no spacer. And the truss rod nut is another sign which i discovered after the video.

[@hiddenguitarlessonstutoria8085]

@@MatthewScottmusic The thin profile should then come from the "reshape" of the neck. In any case 59 and 56 are both wonderfull to me. Very nice "player" guitar👍 Cheers from France.

[@dp9550]

Excellent finds Matt!! This is why I don't like tiny neck shims at the back of the pocket , this over time will ramp up the heel of the neck causing a ski slope up around 19 and 21 fret markers , this neck as Matt said was planed and as you can see those fret markers are almost gone in that area a lot of material was removed reason the neck is so thin ( and then they put the tiny shims back in .. ) , this will happen again over time with temp and humidity changes a full tapered neck shim is the only way to go that I can see to keep that heel from being pushed up like a tiny shim will do. Please my fellow strat players take out the little shims. Peace!!

[@kentpierce9910]

I agree with growing up gold about checking out an old jaguar. Keep up the good work maestro.

[@thebestian]

Any explanation on the weird neck decal?

[@MatthewScottmusic]

No clue. Not original though.

[@bryantcrawford214]

That's not a fake neck because of the skunk stripe.a fake one don't end like a real vintage strat neck does at the heal.a real one looks just like this one,a fake one is a little short and you can see epoxy in the gap.its legit

[@1965Gindy]

I've been enjoying your videos because I am a huge fan of 50s to 70s fenders and gibson. I just found out about your channel and appreciate the information.

[@williamwaltonmusic]

Love the new setup! Looking forward to seeing more of this guitar

[@EvilUnderTone]

Very cool. I'd rather own a very used guitar with history than a mint one that never did or still doesn't get used and lives in its display box.

[@j_freed]

Unused guitars are unloved and shiny.

[@ksharpe10]

Alot of commenters have mentioned the 65 transition logo, I spotted that one minute in the video. But looked thru most of the comments, but not all. NO ONE has mentioned the ONE glaring item. on the control plate is the plug in Phono jack. As far as I can remember all Tele Jacks plug in on the lower side Bout. RIGHT???

[@MarcusBrannon]

I have a Japanese strat with a nice thin neck. The body is banged up, the original bridge (floyd rose style thing) was replaced with a traditional bridge. It's not an amazing playing instrument as it is.. but I love the neck. I need to get that guitar set up properly.

[@gabrielvelloso9834]

don't replace the logo please, it's so cool! It might be weird, but it shows that it is a one of a kind guitar just from giving it one look.

[@fb1767]

Wait a minute, just grabbing my pencil and signing XA on my guitar, be right back!

[@secretdaisy6484]

I agree with you about the neck. I think that neck is fabulous & as far as I’m concerned, I wouldn’t be very concerned about what guitar it was on as long as I liked playing it & I like a slim neck. 👍☮️🌞🎸

[@Montmarcey]

I think the block makes it more unique.

[@markdouglas1994]

Would like to see more on the tele pick-ups- history of old versus new and the electronics set-up --- enjoyed this a lot - now I want to go build my own tele! Nice work, Matthew!

[@tonyp1313]

I've had a few early 1970s Fender necks with X. Armenta stamped on the heel, and currently own a 1974 Jazz bass dating to the 11th week of 1974 with X. Armenta stamped on the heel. Same guy? I don't think 18 years is a stretch to work at the same company. My understanding is his name was Xavier Armenta. Maybe I'm wrong. There is a 1971 Tele neck on Reverb right now with the same stamp.

[@cardbored_]

There's no way that neck is a '56 or '57... the headstock logos and size are a dead giveaway.

[@deanallen927]

My 56 strat heel had x 3-56. Also also medium sized soft V at the 2nf fret and a mildly thick C at the 14th.

[@scottvalk]

As previously mentioned guessing also the change from a tele bridge to a strat hard tail is due to intonation involving the neck switch to the strat, but thats a guess and maybe personal preference of whomever owned it at the time which could involve the sound or tone of the original tele type bridge. They possibly did not like the way the bridge pickup interacted with the bridge plate as a tele bridge pickup has a pretty unique type of reverberating tone due to the interaction of the that pickup being screwed into a solid plate that is shared by the bridge saddles, this also debatedly involves or not the brass plate thats on the bottom of most tele bridge pickups. Before you took the bridge off I was struggling to determine why someone would "dowel out" a huge area around where the original string thru thimbles are, it makes sense since the hard tail bridge placement and string saddles are in a different place... but thats alot of work that I question being worth the time and effort and value, but as we all know people do strange things!

[@tymills6170]

Measure the length from the nut to the butt end of the neck. Then measure a different strat neck. Im thinking the neck was reshaped at the butt to fit in the tele pocket. which shortened the scale length, so they had to move the bridge around. They must of had intonation problems with the messed up scale length thats why they did the strat hardtail swap. Also ran into a problem with the ground, and got the idea to ground it to the pickup plate. Weird copper tape strip on that basepalte too. Sounds good tho, and has that mojo for sure!!

[@Jester-Riddle]

Just a thought : If those are the original standard electronic pots dated '61, then the guitar must surely be later, maybe quite a lot later ... The pots would have been mass-produced then distributed to stockists I guess, as it's unlikely Fender bought direct from Factory. Stocks of standard electrical components could have sat around a while before being bought for Fender stock and then maybe more time before being finally installed in a guitar. I'm uncertain what Fender was like at purchasing logistics at the time, but just-in-time type logistics didn't apply way back then (!), so unless I'm missing something the guitar itself could be way younger ... Only my opinion ... anyone care to help out here ?

[@lennyw2892]

Maybe the truss rod nut is out a little because they had to flatten the curved end of the strat neck to fit the tele body ? And maybe they had to change the position of the bridge because as a result the intonation was off ? Love your videos Matthew, cheers

[@wcray3684]

YES...please show us the complete restore!

[@tommymills326]

I think my safe bet is the body was originally a Top loader that was converted. I seem to remember most top loaders were from '59, but '60 or '61 isn't too much of a stretch to consider. I also firmly Agree, That neck is a '56. I think in the early/mid '60s, Some fender's exported to Europe and the U.K. had decal/logos like that.... I'm not quite sure why or how this one ended up with it, But I think it's a very big clue to the guitar's history.

[@tyleryoungblood2276]

I’d definitely like to see a series on your guitar restoration process.. re-frets.. soldering.. amp work.. etc. I think it would really take off. I recommend you check out Lars Dalin’s channel and check out some of his work!

[@bluesingmusic3443]

That solid slab of wood for the body, is long gone now, the only Tele I know of that still has it is their Custom Classic(They cost $4k in 04 when I checked). Mine is 2 piece alder.

[@j_freed]

2:55 - neck pocket must have been routed back to fit the deeper rounded Strat neck heel... Plus that truss rod access rout of course... they hacked the pickguard there as well, for convenience.

[@tonyp1313]

j freed...a Strat neck will fit fine in a Tele pocket but not a Tele neck into a Strat pocket...

[@timaves1504]

@@tonyp1313 Correct. It's only if you want to fit a Tele neck in a Strat pocket you need to modify the pocket. Interestingly, though, it looks as if he's reshaped the pickguard where the neck end meets to fit the rounded Strat neck end...that appears to have moved the whole pickguard forward a couple of mm, which is , presumably, why it no longer fits the control plate properly. You can see a gap at the end of the control plate before Matthew removed the pickguard.

[@ZacVaper]

Awesome find on the guitar...you lucky bast...Nice studio setup. looking forward to your videos; and wish you the best.

[@michaelreese6954]

Definitely want content of the neck work. Awesome videos btw.