Fender guitars are all well storied, from the players side certainly, but down to era of the production of each and every instrument. That said, some early 1980's Fenders are absolute sleepers in the guitar market. Dan Smith of Yamaha glory, arrived at Fender in 1981 to improve the quality control that had slipped during the CBS ownership. Not to knock a 70's Fender either, but Fender had clearly hit a problem with quality control and needed a boost. Necessity is the mother of invention, and interestingly Fender would find their invention by looking back at what had worked for them initially in the 1950's. The "Vintage" series would debut a small spread of their most famous instruments, all harkening back to their initial Leo roots. Building reissues of the guitars that players had come to love was just the thing the brand needed, and has gone on to being their flagship market amongst players and collectors alike. Here we have one such instrument that likely dates among the first of the reissues, which were all stamped "VINTAGE" in block letters at the heel. While there is no serial number stamp, it is clear that this would be their reissue of a '52 style Telecaster, albeit with some simple changes. A butterscotch blonde finish over an ash body, it has the simple control layout and two grey bobbin'd single coils that we all know and love. A great bite with thick tone, the versatility of a Fender Telecaster is not to be stifled, from the thick tones of Jimmy Page to the country twang of Brad Paisley, these are some versatile machines. This particular example comes to us in good shape, with a real now 40 year old charm. The body is finished with a poly over nitro approach, and has checking throughout, but overall has maintained in very good condition with only mild dings otherwise. The pickups appear original, complete with grey bobbins. The pots accurately date to early '82. The bridge, uniquely on these instruments design, has no serial stamp present, and has 6 separate barrel tuners - not the cork screw style, but real saddles, seen here with rust present but overall in good shape likely with replaced height adjustment screws. The pickguard was replaced, and is slightly oversized at the horn, but fits the bill in a classic "White guard" kind of way. The guard has a small piece missing near the cutaway. A replacement vintage style bridge is included with brass saddles, if one would like to bring it closer to its original intentions. The maple neck feels great with a slim C profile and even taper, which measures .84" thick at the first position tapering up to .9" at the twelfth. It has a standard 25.5" scale length and a 1 5/8" nut width. The frets have mild wear, but all in all are in good shape without need for a recrown currently. The action is low, with a blue tape shim in the neck pocket, measuring about 4/64" in height at the twelfth fret, setup with 10's. A now vintage, unique reimagining of a classic - one that could be your favorite telecaster of the bunch with a comfortable neck and great tone. Includes original tweed hardshell case. Weighs 8.5lbs.