My current top G is a 2013 butterscotch roadworn mexican tele which I love. I didn't buy for the relicing, not really my thing and its very light anyway. I've always wanted an older fender with 'mojo' but 60s 70s US guitars are out of my reach. I've been offered an 85 MIJ tele custom in sunburst. I've always had a thing for sunburst bound teles so I'm interested but yet to try it.
Financially even if I can sell my roadworn for what I want I will probably have to put maybe £100 on top unless I can haggle a better deal.
Anyone got any opinions on the sanity of the deal, I have a doubt about rosewood but if I like it as much as my roadworn I will seriously consider it.
My thinking at the moment is that if I like them the same then getting a roadworn in the future will be easier than a 33 year old guitar, the japanese might go up in value (might not!) the roadworn I guess will hold its value. My niggle is the roadworn is so good I begrudge adding money to it!
I realise there are ageing issues with MIJ teles which
@samothy01 has given me some help with.
Thoughts, musings etc?
Comments
Are finances really that bad you have to sell to buy? Raid the savings?
Is the MIJ to be an investment or a player? Think about it. One precludes the other.
If you could only have one, then the sensible choice is to choose the one that feels better hanging on a strap, in the hands, and gives YOU that mojo when you play it.
The MIJ would definitely be a player.
If that makes it unaffordable then don’t do it. Also make sure it doesn’t need a refret.
I doubt a MIJ Fender will ever be a real investment for collectors, so don’t have any fear of changing it, at least as long as you don’t modify the woodwork.
Personally I think a sunburst Custom in one of the nicest Teles, but if you don’t like rosewood boards then it may not be the right choice for you...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
You might have to make some compromises.
The MIJ is apparently totally mint and unchanged @ICBM I would expect to put in top spec wiring and pickups in it if it was a keeper.
The 2013 roadworn looked to be an improvement over previous versions. Probably worth the same as the custom, unless prices have gone up.
The rosewood thing is because i always picture maple boards on fenders, i have a rosewood board on my semi hollow and that's fine.
EBay are doing a £3 selling fees promotion at the minute, might be worth jumping on that.
Might struggle to achieve 650 clear profit though.
750 for the custom sounds ok for a shop if it's truly a minter, but am not sure of prices these days. Used to be sub 500 all day long.
I'd be looking to get less for the RW, easier sale, and then wait for a better priced Custom to show up.
Or simply pop a trade ad in the classifieds.
I love mij fenders but I couldn't go over 500 for one unless it was other worldly.
As mentioned above the stock electrics are garbage so you need to factor in those changes. Also things like the control plate on a tele would need to be redrilled/filed to accommodate cts pots
It sounds like you have a nice Tele that could be swapped for a no better or lesser guitar.
Silly as it sounds the binding really used to dig into my forearm on mine.