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As already said there is no difference between a Tele and an Esquire body. The only way to tell an original Esquire body is if there are no screw holes for the neck pickup in the cavity - Bruce Springsteen’s old Esquire is a good example... he says it’s an Esquire neck on a Tele body, but it could just as easily be an original Esquire later fitted with the neck pickup.
"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
Makes a change from the likes of Sound Control taking the cases off the US Fenders and making you pay more for them separately when they were supposed to be included!
In fact, the moulded case may be a USA Standard case, I don't think there was a MIJ one (although I could be wrong).
"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
It was a buy it now/best offer and I was on top of it pretty quick. IMHO, after watching these specific specification dribble through every now and then, they have been quite a bit more.
As I say, it’s the Esquire, mid-eighties, double bound MIJ’s that seem to pop up for eyebrow raising amounts.
Personally i’d never really considered MIJ Esquire.
It’s interesting to ask a different peer group such as this one.
I have seen one of these on eBay for a while now, why it hasn't sold is beyond me, if I had the money I would snap it up.
This looks like the original ad;
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1985-Fender-Japan-Esquire-Telecaster-/173957064346?hash=item2880a6269a%3Ag%3Aq5cAAOSwOnJbt0J2&nma=true&si=%252FNzuUCffjVCHXj%252FTBzNuon3k1so%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Value-wise, £600 seems to be the quoted value for MIJ Teles in general (the Andertons one was a later model with a different bridge - possibly Crafted In Japan era), although I'm waiting patiently for values to rise for these early models - have you seen the asking prices on JV Squires these days? These are AFAIK the same factory and build quality. No idea how much the Esquire name adds in terms of value. A collector probably wouldn't be chuffed with the absence of the original pickup and wiring. The wiring was indeed cheap plastic-covered stuff but the original bridge pickups are pretty good.
Case-wise mine came with the Fender moulded case as a few above, so maybe there was some deal with them coming with this case back in the day.
I would recommend checking the pencil date on the neck heel - according to this page an A serial on the bridge doesn't guarantee a 1985 date as the bridges were from a parts bin and used randomly. Mine is A016xxx so not too far away from your A020xxx.
Anyway, a fine-looking guitar which really should be returned to Esquire spec for it to fulfil its potential.
Yes, the price point on the Tele’s seems to differ for some reason I would say though.
I may well return it to original spec. I’m a little hesitant to remove the neck unless it’s specifically required so the exact date shall remain a mystery for the time being. That said, I may be tempted to take a peek on the next string change.
Sorry to be a pain, do you think you’d mind editing your post to remove the full serial number please?
i know it’s visible elsewhere right now but once those pictures become offline it would be good not to broadcast the whole thing if that’s okay?
On the case front, these were dealer specific promotions. The Mid-80’s Esquires were not offered with cases back then.
I’ll definitely be hanging on to this guitar for a while as, asides from it being a stunning guitar, it was recently played at a special gig by one of my favourite guitarists.
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/japanese-tele-no-serial-number.645879/
The chap on TDPRI that Rob linked to above was asking if anyone could beat 19th April 1985 as a neck date - there's a chance yours could! I might have another look at mine as well, I can't find the pics I took of it now.
I've edited my original post to remove the serial number, you'll need to edit your quote of it as well!
Go on, spill the beans, who played it? As we know from Essex Recording Studios, a vaguely famous guitarist once having played a couple of licks on a guitar instantly doubles its value!
Serial number on mine A021687 so slightly later - just popped the neck off to have a look and indeed it is dated Feb 86 so not the 85 model I had remembered it as.
Body is stamped tlc62 and the neck stamped tlc54 which I’d have thought meant a maple neck but apparently they labelled rosewood models like that.
There is no difference between an "85" and an "86" of the same spec. It makes no difference to its value as a guitar.
Sorry, a bit of a pet peeve... every damn thing is sold as a "xx" (year) these days, as if that's more important than what it actually is.
"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
Doesnt the 62 donate the reissue year and the 54 was how much it cost in Yen?