Hello everyone! A spammer has infiltrated the comment section and I have tried to remove/block the person and UA-cam can't seem to get it handled. Please be careful! Thanks for watching.
@1:29 you say you "don't go taking apart old fender guitars" which you do, a lot but it's also clear you took your shirt apart just a little bit before filming this video !? 🤣 I bet you ever did a little footage test and told yourself "yeah, that's gonna make me look sexy" and went with it !?🤷🏻♀️
Hey Matthew @ 2:45 you say "indentions" 🤔 is that a proper word !? Was the word you were looking for maybe "receded" area or something like that ? I've never heard indentions until you said it.🤔
The #2 is neck size/shape there was 1-3 til 60-61 then they went to letters so it’s a b neck shape/size even tho I have big hands I love the a necks it feels like a jazz bass
Couldn't the "Esquire" on the tape on the pickup have been written by someone who had the guitar apart in the shop and wanted to make sure that the pickup got back to the right guitar? Just a thought. Thanks for doing these videos. I learn so much. 😎
Agreed saxophool, maybe when the humbucker neck route was repaired the Luthier had more than one Tele in the Shop, you'd most certainly want to keep the parts sorted and the tape fits that scenario perfectly.
Take a digital photo of the neck pocket, then go into an editing app and play with contrast etc. and I'm confident that you will see the writing much better.
Each neck shaper was assigned a number (i.e. 2). After shaping, the necks were inspected. Since shapers were paid by the piece, the numbers or stamps would tell whom gets paid. This info comes from Ken Krausfeldt who worked for fender.
Regarding the neck pickup thing, i would suggest you not to. I know i shouldn't talk sh_t about others guitars. But an esquire/ nocaster/ broadcaster have it own sound because of the simplicity. So, i personally wouldn't do it.
8:46 - It seems likely to me that THIS pick up was considered a little bit special and so a Tele that was only having one pick up from the factory, an Esquire, perhaps would have had a special sounding pickup reserved for that Guitar because that one pickup had to come up with three different sounds and therefore someone, the winder(?), Considered this pick up too good for a multi pick up Guitar, maybe…?🤔
Interesting, although I think very, very unlikely. Even as early as the mid-‘50s, production was already at a fast pace at the factory. Leo’s pickup winding ladies were probably no-nonsense, crank-em out machines with high daily outputs apiece. Plus (and a very big plus) an Esquire was almost certainly viewed by assembly and marketing/sales personnel back then as nothing different than a slightly more affordable Tele because of the absence of the neck pup. Only in recent years have players and collectors theorized and opined about the “magic” of the single pickup guitar without the presence of a neck pickup to influence the sound. I wasn’t there, but I’ll cite the several highly researched books by Fender historians and insiders who paint a very specific picture of life at the company/factory beyond the public eye.
@@anthonyc1883 Of course, you may well be right… May I suggest then maybe a repair person much later in this guitars life was switching pickups around in it and just wanted to label the original pick up that came with it “Esquire“ so that when they finished their test or wanted to resell they could put it back to original & it would have the original fixtures and fittings, as it were? 🤔
@@anthonyc1883 - I believe Fender co. switched from a 42 to a thinner 43 gauge wire towards the mid 50s, so this could easily be an experimental or a “B stock” pick up using the different new wire! Imagine if it was one of a handful that Leo Fender tested with the new wire, and with some of them he said “ahh, these are off spec a bit but still fine sounding to put in an Esquire, and it doesn’t need to match the output of any Tele neck pick up.” This is cost efficient. Also at least for historical interest, note that ALL the very first Fender T-style guitars were Esquires, and soon after Fender added a neck pickup creating the Broadcaster cum Telecaster… the Esquire was not actually a student or budget model, but Fender found Telecasters were much easier to sell in greater numbers therefore to sell some Esquires they made them a little cheaper. So the motive for using a low output pickup wouldn’t be to make an inferior guitar, simply one where this particular solo pickup with a unique sound would work fine.
Dude that neck looks like a dang California Redwood. LOL! If you wanna see a SWEET Esquire go and check out this band called Blackberry Smoke and the video for their song Hey Delilah. Their singer is named Charlie Starr and he's a stickler for vintage gear and he plays an incredible black Esquire with a rosewood board and it's flat out one of the most glorious looking guitars I've ever seen. Does anyone know if Fender ever made black Esquires with rosewood boards or is it possible it's a partscaster?
Hey Matt, dig the channel and videos. If I am not mistaken (and I could be), but I think the #2 circled on the neck identifies the shape of the neck. #1- U-Shaped, # 2 - Soft V Shape, #3 - C-Shaped, #4 - Hard V Shape, # 5 Modern (flat oval) Shape.
Unlikely that a humbucker would have been in that neck area. The finish cracks are preserved. No way you could replicate that. The neck pocket is as is.
The number on the neck represents the builder. At different times the builders at Fender wrote their names by hand, used stamps or even numbers to mark their builds.
Hi Matt, after looking at that front route, and the original state of the wiring in the control cavity, I very much doubt that guitar was ever fitted with a front humbucker..
IIRC, GE Smith has a similar Esquire...with two pickups. He said that in the '50's, Fender would add a second pickup for $15 if you mailed the guitar to them. This would only be possible if that rout was placed when the guitar was made.
I bet this pickup was accidentally a bit underwound at the factory, so to avoid an unmatched set of pickups in a Tele it was instead designated for a single pickup Esquire. It makes sense for: the ‘waste not, use everything’ thinking of Fender in the early days of hand built with more attention to each detail.
According to A.J. Duchossoir, Tele bridge PUs in the early 50's were wound with 9200 turns of 42ga. wire and meant to be 7k - 7.8k. That might explain the tape.
@@davidreineke1758 Electrical resistance measured in copper wire per however many feet, is a constant. If we have no constants, we have no science. Do you mean to suggest the decreased magnetic field measurements in gauss affect the resistance of the wire measured in ohms?
That extra hole in the neck pocket isn't a router hole. Its a drilled hole that was used to hang the guitar up for painting. I think the 4 mounting plate holes are drilled after the paint porocess is dry.
A daily guest at the pub i work at has a 1950 Broadcaster with "Broad" written onto the body under the pickguard with a pencil before painting, he names the guitar "Broad". That guitar has more twang than the entire state of Texas
Im a long time subscriber and big fan of your UA-cam channel. This is another wonderful video Matthew! Decades ago when I was an adult beginner I swore to myself that I would never become a gearhead who caused non guitarists' eyes to glsze over. I caught myself at the office this week talking to a non guitarist about bumblebee capacitors, vintage guitars and old pots that still function and taper correctly. @$%*%@!!!!! Damn you!.......not that there's anything wrong with it. 😊🎸
I think bridge pickups were the same for esquire or telecaster, but maybe on brighter ones, or for whatever reason they were taped because of more "esquirish" features ?
Beautiful tele matty and its amazing the different tones you can get with just one pickup. I'm a telly man through and through I just love them and have 9! But I bought a SG p90 junior in lock down and it blew me away how different they can sound rolling off the tone or volume and it's light as a feather... so jealous that you guys in the US can pick up cool guitars without having to sell a kidney....
Oh dude trust me the vintage guitar market over here is absolutely out of control. Even the new market is out of control because the supply can't meet the demand.
mathew it sure would be a treat if you drew up a wiring schematic of the controls i did make out they where using .05 MF capacitors thanks so much for your time in sharing
The circle around the screw hole is from where there drill-bit was pushed into the drill for the right height. When the drill goes down, the spinning claw touches the wood, causing the circle around the hole.
- if you meant "Jacobs Chuck's jaws" that's wrong, because the chuck nose diameter of 1-3/4" could not possibly fit inside the pocket, and the edges would have chewed up the wood. More likely scenario is: if a template were used using DRILL BUSHINGS in a neck pocket guide block that full 11/16" length, that somebody DID FORCE DOWN onto the bushing, they could then spin and make a sufficient mark like that. What I think we see here, is the use of tuner bushings or teenuts upside down used as spacers on the end of a paint paddle, mounted too tightly. Using 2 bushings are seen this way in original Charvels Mighty Mites and early pre-Van Nuys Schecter and DiMarzio replacement bodies, but never four. Four is like, somebody who has too much time on their hands to overdo a thing - such as is common to this entire fake Fender Vintage market and - it is disgusting and should be condemned in cases as that. Which isn't clear to me this is here the case except: I never seen four impression marks on all 4 neck bolt holes, and the paint paddle or paintstick never requires "Engine Block Level Footpounds of Torque" force to counteract the weight of the neck in the spray booth rotisserie rig. Let the naysayer trolls commence...
@@VictitiousStudios I do agree, what you mentioned is a possibility. Only the circles I’m talking about aren’t in the neck pocket, they’re on the neck itself. The result I was talking about has occurred multiple times when I’ve been doing exactly as described. If I want to drill a hole of a certain length, I’ll leave that length of the drill bit exposed. Then when you drill all the way in, the spinning jaws create the little circle indentation. It doesn’t chew the wood up, just leaves a little circle. It’d also make sense as to why it’s on all 4 holes.
I wish you would have shown a close up on the selector switch to see the solder joints. Those tone caps all look stock...if there was a humbucker installed at some point the original solder joints would have been disturbed. If a mod was undone, the original tone caps must have been saved...or they were really lucky to find period replacements. Maybe the humbucker that was installed was not a PAF style but rather a single coil sized one (Seymour Duncan hot rails, Joe Barden, etc)??
Yes. Scott should get a Pro to look for possible signs of invisibly done wood replacement, perfectly blended period-correct re-routing and seamless finish matching that includes the identical crazing lines on the finish. (!) That’s ludicrously good restoration (can you do a blacklight test Matthew?) and Steve has a good hypothesis.
@@j_freed I was wondering when the humbucker mod would have been done. In the 70s, I don't think that someone would have cared enough to save the original caps- I could be wrong. But someone who was carving up a '56 fender might not care about that. The guitar would only have been 15-23 years old at the time.
That's a beauty, I have an Esquire 70th anniversary and it is fantastic. The sticky-tape might mean that a different version was made for that year? Measure the width of the magnet poles to see if they vary? I love guitar detective work.
Yeah that’s so AMAZING Matt!! Finding the tape on the pickup bottom is very intriguing!! You’ve got a real winner right there, it sounds awesome and looks they way I would want it to!! Great Find brother!! 👌
From all your videos, this guitar seems to be aged in the most beautiful way. Previous owner really took good care of the instrument. It's a keeper. Love your work!
It's a repaint: The beneath-pickguard paint crackle is fake with aging dinks and doinks! It's made in such a way as to suggest to the eye upon inspection that any pickup hole plugging where the inlaid block is gonna shrink, is part of an original aging proces which is worser in the middle. Thereby your having been completely fooled, it is an excellent job and done as intended... to fool the naked eye. And if anyone doubts this? Look at the "obvious tell" where the plunge router following the top template, went about 0.055" too deep in the between-neck-pickup pass, and the slot tells it all right there. Restoring the neck pocket to hide that one, would require surgical-level template making and possibly the last straw oopsie that blew a near-perfect "vintage" aging finish.
Also two brilliantly simple solutions for adding versatility to one pickup - the underrated dark circuit and the genius of skipping the tone pot. Such a great guitar.
great video! Not many of us will get the chance to examine a 50's Telecaster in this detail, but you made it possible for us to see it up close, which is the next best thing -- thank you!
Wait, how can the electrics be untouched if there was a neck pickup added at some stage. Surely something must've been done to the electrics during that mod. Gorgeous guitar regardless.
Top 3 surprises found in a 1956 Fender Esquire: 1) mysterious scribbling in neck pocket, 2) pickup labeled "Esquire", 3) ...body cavity sticker "made in China"
I had an original 1952, and the neck pocket was dated, and signed... it said "Davis" and I can't remember the date, but it was written very boldly in probably carpenters pencil... It had a repro neck unfortunately... but the body was 100% legit 52, as I got it from a guy who had no clue... it had been passed around so much that no one knew where it came from... I noticed the bridge plate and pickup... plus the neck plate... and even then I thought it was maybe a counterfeit... until I got the whole thing apart... I refinished it and got the right style neck on it and did the humbucker repair that whoever did that one did... and I used the epoxy based, tinted, polyester bubble type wood filler and found a guy with a template for the original route markings... then assembled the things that would have been used to paint it butterscotch blonde, in 1952. Amber shellac (the real stuff made from flakes), Genuine HIDE glue (again, the real stuff made from... well... granules... lol). Nitro lacquer, vintage formula with trade secret oils added, titanium dioxide for the blonde white... the swamp ask is very course grained, but Fender thought it would make a well chambered wood for a solid body electric guitar, and allegedly thought the wood itself would possibly react with the magnetic pickups, that there would be higher iron content in swamp ash... these are things I heard anecdotally as a lot of things are... but basically dip the body in the hide glue, if you happen to have a heated barrel full, as they did at that time/// OR coat the swamp ash body with liberal amounts of the hide glue quickly and allow it to drip off as hung from the strap button screw... you may consider using a heated room, to bring it up to about 140-180 degrees, so it dries evenly. once the hide glue dries for 24 hours... look for any drips or runs... there may be or should be a drip mark at the lowest point. Sand that down flush... coat with titanium dioxide nitro mixture until the dark grain is peeking through... and then spray with the amber shellac 2/3 to 1/3 nitro until you get the desired color. It should look more yellow and lighter than a standard 52... age and patina makes them darker.
Its quite a late Esquire as the first ones came out in 1950 or 1949 depending who you ask , still this design basically revolutionised Rock guitar as before the Esquire , musicians used to use really large semi hollow body Jazz guitars like The Gibson Es 150 jazz guitar which was huge by todays standards , The Esquire made the electric guitar more portable on stage and gave a better sound thanks to the solid body design =more sustain and also it was the first electric guitar to have a modern pickup system.
Matt, I've been in the antique business for a long time. We use UV light to detect defects, cracks or repairs that the naked eye can't see. I carry one on my key chain. 👍😎👍
It Could be the first one made with that date Jan,2,56 for the new year , being that new years was the day before I'm sure no one worked that day , well except for "Leo"🤔 maybe...
Since the number 2 appears twice on the neck, it's not referencing the day of the month but the width of the neck. #2 was the standard size. I have a 1964 Strat; the neck is stamped "2 DEC 63". I thought for a long time that meant December 2nd. but it doesn't. Stands to reason that Fender would use the same number code all through the Leo era, even if they did change from handwritten to stamped circa 1960.
From my eye, the faint writing on the neck pocket looks to be a B and a C. Could be a reference to something or a person's initials, you're guess is as good as mine. I hope that this could help you find something about the Esquire.
The first Steppenwolf album with Born to be Wild was recorded with a Fender Esquire through a Fender Concert amp. I`m not sure if he used a fuzztone or just the amp on full blast. Also it`s not clear if the pre 1964 Fender Concert with the presence control was used or post 65 was used. The presense control would give an upper midrange boost.
Looks like (BC) in the neck pocket. Not sure what it stands for? Maybe the builders initials, or B for Blonde, and C for cutaway. Just a guess, I'm not an expert.
Mathew, Adam here, been watching you since the beginning, ikeep posting the same question... whT happened to the video of the junior?? That was my favourite guitar of yours
wow, rare to find a vintage esquire that is so clean, those caps make me cry so cool and totally add to your tone.. the only thing that bugged me was the pickguard screws,, get some vintage ones...
I'll bet the "Esquire" tape was due to some sort of supply crisis. They were running low on pickups, so hey decided to "ration" the remaining pickups lol
Love your channel! I’ve been collecting gear for a very long time so it’s nice to see a young kid like yourself showcasing vintage gear that’s been around since before you were born! I think it’s great that you take these guitars apart! People forget that Leo designed these guitars to be able to do that specifically! The necks were bolt on because they were designed to be able to change them if need be:). I’m going to give you a hint on an amp you should try and find because it’s a very unknown sleeper! Look for a 60’s Gibson Atlas head and cabinet. It was designed for bass but, like the Bassman, sounds best with a guitar. Would love to see you run one down and do a vid on it. I have one and run it into a 2 x 12 cab and it sounds ungodly! BTW, Hendrix is known to have played through an Atlas:)
Matt, I sit in front of the computer with your videos up in .5x speed looping your intros probably 2-3 hours a day. You are carrying on the flame. Can NOT wait for the debut album.
Wow Mat! Geez what a great find, definitely one of the best Tele’s I’ve heard and seen. That pickup is magical brother…. Great playing and showcasing as usual.
FYI ' the #2 on the neck is' When the assembly line workers went to the rest room They had necks at the entrance of the rest rooms marked #1 and #2 So they would hang them up on a nail beside the door while they were using the restrooms ' it was supposed to be a joke between the employees ' those necks would make their way back to the assembly line to be assembled. That joke was played several times that's why on some you be will see those numbers. My grandmother worked for fender back in the 50's up until 1960 same year I was born. That's the story she is would tell us as kids and laugh about it. Now that I'm older I have no reason to doubt it what is she is said was true especially after watching your video. How many have you ran across all with numbers on them and have you ever ran across one with the #1 on it? Chances are my grandmother had her hands on that very neck.
Hey Matt what's up bro hope ur good.not sure but watching this I was thinking maybe the tape on the bottom was to remind whoever that the wiring is for a esquire not a tele that's my guess cause doesn't it have the dark circuit lmk ok cause that's a good question.i love your show I watch it everyday I'm a new player only been playing for a year and change but I'm pretty dam good I can't believe how fast I have Learned so much watching u play has helped me as far as hand and thumb positioning so thank u .also I was wondering around how much is an early 60s player grade strat generally run
Just a thought. How about to demarcate a part for assembly so it would not be confused with another assembly project. we all know one of the first things you do is assemble all your parts. as in this case you would be working on multiple projects at the same time. At this time fender was more like what Gibson was doing at it's staying custom shop. It was not one person one prosses. Same person was involved in motetable prosses. Like saying this a shop as apposed to a factory. This just a though but from a logical line. .
Sweet guitar. You have amazing gear. The likes of a seasoned pro. But you've recorded just one song. And it took you a year to do so. Sounds like a lot of coin spend on studio time for just one song. What are we missing here? How has all this come to be?
Seymour Duncan has a neck pickup that’s made to be under the pickgaurd for esquires. So u can have a hidden neck pickup if you’re thinking about putting a neck pickup in it might be a decent option
Funny, when I was younger I never cared for the Telecaster body type, but just over the last 10 or 12 years I've come to love them. The Esquire is one of my bucket list guitars, along with a vintage Firebird (I've always been a Gibson guy). Love your vids, always informative and entertaining, plus you're a damn good player.
I feel you. When I was a kid, the Strat was the epitome of cool for me, but as I got older, the allure of the Telecaster kept coming to me. Something about it being a pretty simple (by comparison) guitar. Now my main guitar is a T-type guitar, albeit it is a modern guitar (Strandberg Salen Jazz), but it's still scratches that itch for me.
@@wonnie yeah, my first guitar was a cheap Japanese strat type shredder (it was the early 80's), then I started playing Gibsons', my main being a LP & a 335. Then the tele started appealing to me more & more, especially the vintage Esquire, which is now my dream axe. I do have a telecaster in my possession now, it needs LOTS of work, but I'll get it there sooner or later. I may try to convert it into an Esquire if I could find the right pickup.
Love your channel… maybe looking at the body under blacklight would help with reading the writing in the neck pocket? Also might help verify if there is a repaired humbucker pickup rout… but that body looks 100% original to me!
I had a '51 esquire that had Tadeo Gomez' signature. Not completely sure what wood was in the body. The finish was odd, more opaque than finishes that came only a year later. It did have the route for the neck pickup like a Tele but it was definitely an Esquire, original bakelite pickguard and all slotted screws, even the truss rod. It was really primitive, like it was made in a high school wood shop ! I sold all my '50's fenders in 1997 to put a down payment on a house- no regrets. Those worn in '50's fenders are beautifully simple and they can be really light and resonant.
Cool. I had to sell my prized 54 Strat to help pay for a heart attack. Neck 5-54, T G. 0209 stamped on the spring plate with a crooked 9. Electric cavity 6-1-54 Gloria. Glad to be alive. Wonderful neck, yummy. It was refinished before I got. Fools.
@@elkennedystrat7894 Why dom't you have a health-insurance? In Germany (EU) it is mandatory to have such trivial things, like a health- and invalidity- insurance! And it is one of the best things you can have, it will rescue your house and a lot of money! I never regret, to gave a lot of my hard earned money, for such things! Now that I am not able to work anymore, I am in a save harbour ... ! This is the stupid "American way of life" (or 'die'!) Sorry to say that, but you would have your old Fender beside you, by now! I am 60 years old, and not going very well, but my 'early retirement' and my "health-cost's" are paied by the two different insurances we "must" have! If not, i have lost our house, ... and don't know, how to live right now! I have all the time, to play my Fender Stratocaster, ... and doing a lot of HAM-radio, during the day, ... ! Greeting from DL, 73 de db9pz ; Markus
There’s a Christine (as in Christ Almighty ! it’s so pristine) ‘57 esquire at Music Emporium in Lexx Mass that’s going for something like two-six k! These are special instruments. I had no idea how valuable some of Matt’s finds are, the Mary Kay aside. That one was a crazy once in a lifetime find.
Hello everyone! A spammer has infiltrated the comment section and I have tried to remove/block the person and UA-cam can't seem to get it handled. Please be careful! Thanks for watching.
@1:29 you say you "don't go taking apart old fender guitars" which you do, a lot but it's also clear you took your shirt apart just a little bit before filming this video !?
🤣 I bet you ever did a little footage test and told yourself "yeah, that's gonna make me look sexy" and went with it !?🤷🏻♀️
Hey Matthew @ 2:45 you say "indentions" 🤔 is that a proper word !? Was the word you were looking for maybe "receded" area or something like that ?
I've never heard indentions until you said it.🤔
Fl area code number starting with 666? A not too bright spammer I guess...
Yeah, this scam has been all over YT for half a year now. UA-cam can’t or won’t take action.
✌️✨🤌👌😞
The #2 is neck size/shape there was 1-3 til 60-61 then they went to letters so it’s a b neck shape/size even tho I have big hands I love the a necks it feels like a jazz bass
Those Circles around the neck screw holes are cause by a stop on the drill bit to control the depth.
good point -- I was thinking it was just the chuck of the drill press pressing down, but I think you're right.
Couldn't the "Esquire" on the tape on the pickup have been written by someone who had the guitar apart in the shop and wanted to make sure that the pickup got back to the right guitar? Just a thought. Thanks for doing these videos. I learn so much. 😎
Agreed saxophool, maybe when the humbucker neck route was repaired the Luthier had more than one Tele in the Shop, you'd most certainly want to keep the parts sorted and the tape fits that scenario perfectly.
How? Original solder . . Seems pickup has never been removed
That was definitely the old Fender factory tape..
@@MrTom1468 Yes. Missed that. 😎
that tape was maybe to separate esquire pickup in the factory from telecaster pickup in the factory
Take a digital photo of the neck pocket, then go into an editing app and play with contrast etc. and I'm confident that you will see the writing much better.
Each neck shaper was assigned a number (i.e. 2). After shaping, the necks were inspected. Since shapers were paid by the piece, the numbers or stamps would tell whom gets paid. This info comes from Ken Krausfeldt who worked for fender.
Love seeing a man who can really play built an incredible vintage guitar collection. Is there an update on the Jazzmaster in the works? Rock on!!
Thanks Kelly. Still thinking about the Jazzmaster 🤔
Regarding the neck pickup thing, i would suggest you not to.
I know i shouldn't talk sh_t about others guitars. But an esquire/ nocaster/ broadcaster have it own sound because of the simplicity.
So, i personally wouldn't do it.
Did you know Esquire where supplying Leo Fenders guitar strings?
Based on what I saw, that body never had a humbucker in it.
8:46 - It seems likely to me that THIS pick up was considered a little bit special and so a Tele that was only having one pick up from the factory, an Esquire, perhaps would have had a special sounding pickup reserved for that Guitar because that one pickup had to come up with three different sounds and therefore someone, the winder(?), Considered this pick up too good for a multi pick up Guitar, maybe…?🤔
Interesting, although I think very, very unlikely. Even as early as the mid-‘50s, production was already at a fast pace at the factory. Leo’s pickup winding ladies were probably no-nonsense, crank-em out machines with high daily outputs apiece.
Plus (and a very big plus) an Esquire was almost certainly viewed by assembly and marketing/sales personnel back then as nothing different than a slightly more affordable Tele because of the absence of the neck pup. Only in recent years have players and collectors theorized and opined about the “magic” of the single pickup guitar without the presence of a neck pickup to influence the sound.
I wasn’t there, but I’ll cite the several highly researched books by Fender historians and insiders who paint a very specific picture of life at the company/factory beyond the public eye.
@@anthonyc1883
Of course, you may well be right…
May I suggest then maybe a repair person much later in this guitars life was switching pickups around in it and just wanted to label the original pick up that came with it “Esquire“ so that when they finished their test or wanted to resell they could put it back to original & it would have the original fixtures and fittings, as it were? 🤔
@@anthonyc1883 - I believe Fender co. switched from a 42 to a thinner 43 gauge wire towards the mid 50s, so this could easily be an experimental or a “B stock” pick up using the different new wire!
Imagine if it was one of a handful that Leo Fender tested with the new wire, and with some of them he said “ahh, these are off spec a bit but still fine sounding to put in an Esquire, and it doesn’t need to match the output of any Tele neck pick up.” This is cost efficient.
Also at least for historical interest, note that ALL the very first Fender T-style guitars were Esquires, and soon after Fender added a neck pickup creating the Broadcaster cum Telecaster… the Esquire was not actually a student or budget model, but Fender found Telecasters were much easier to sell in greater numbers therefore to sell some Esquires they made them a little cheaper.
So the motive for using a low output pickup wouldn’t be to make an inferior guitar, simply one where this particular solo pickup with a unique sound would work fine.
@@j_freed 👍
Dude that neck looks like a dang California Redwood. LOL! If you wanna see a SWEET Esquire go and check out this band called Blackberry Smoke and the video for their song Hey Delilah. Their singer is named Charlie Starr and he's a stickler for vintage gear and he plays an incredible black Esquire with a rosewood board and it's flat out one of the most glorious looking guitars I've ever seen. Does anyone know if Fender ever made black Esquires with rosewood boards or is it possible it's a partscaster?
Im getting a little annoyed at these $40,000 guitars you buy every month! Ridiculous
Next will do a deep dive on a Squier
Hey Matt, dig the channel and videos. If I am not mistaken (and I could be), but I think the #2 circled on the neck identifies the shape of the neck. #1- U-Shaped, # 2 - Soft V Shape, #3 - C-Shaped, #4 - Hard V Shape, # 5 Modern (flat oval) Shape.
Should put a Seymour Duncan Brad Paisley Secret Agent Esquire Neck Pickup in there.
Really cool. I also do not see evidence of a humbucker which is a good thing.
Unlikely that a humbucker would have been in that neck area. The finish cracks are preserved. No way you could replicate that. The neck pocket is as is.
Haha! You got fooled too.
SO WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL !!! EVERYTHING MADE BACK THEN WAS SHIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST LOOK AT THE PAPER CAPACITORS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The number on the neck represents the builder. At different times the builders at Fender wrote their names by hand, used stamps or even numbers to mark their builds.
or could it be a factory 'second' ? .. a blemish or a dent .. as for the tape .. possibly a different string spacing for a strat ?
I've heard it could represent the builder or neck size, can't confirm either.
@@MatthewScottmusic To me it looked like a script "DO" with the top of the D looping over to start to O at the top.
@@OrinBuck1 ... thought I saw a little more shadow and it looked like "DOUG" meaning someone's name?
'Esquire', not Telecaster - is that like the cheaper student-model perhaps? Is it related to the Squire brand in some way?
Hi Matt, after looking at that front route, and the original state of the wiring in the control cavity, I very much doubt that guitar was ever fitted with a front humbucker..
I agree as there is a route between the neck pu hole and the neck pocket which would have been half flattened..
I'm with you my friend!!
@@ferraridinoman nope that is vintage, no repair there..
That's what I thought. The only way I'd believe that guitar ever had a humbucker would be if the original owner told me so themselves.
IIRC, GE Smith has a similar Esquire...with two pickups. He said that in the '50's, Fender would add a second pickup for $15 if you mailed the guitar to them. This would only be possible if that rout was placed when the guitar was made.
I guess I don’t understand why it’s a player grade guitar. I never seen any humbucker route.
You look like my friends mom in the thumbnail pic
I don't think there were any mods made where the neck pick up would be - that looks like original routing to me.
I bet this pickup was accidentally a bit underwound at the factory, so to avoid an unmatched set of pickups in a Tele it was instead designated for a single pickup Esquire.
It makes sense for: the ‘waste not, use everything’ thinking of Fender in the early days of hand built with more attention to each detail.
According to A.J. Duchossoir, Tele bridge PUs in the early 50's were wound with 9200 turns of 42ga. wire and meant to be 7k - 7.8k. That might explain the tape.
Or the drop in R value could be age.
A.R. Duchossoir. Whoops!
Plausible idea for sure!
@@davidreineke1758 Electrical resistance measured in copper wire per however many feet, is a constant. If we have no constants, we have no science. Do you mean to suggest the decreased magnetic field measurements in gauss affect the resistance of the wire measured in ohms?
That extra hole in the neck pocket isn't a router hole. Its a drilled hole that was used to hang the guitar up for painting. I think the 4 mounting plate holes are drilled after the paint porocess is dry.
A daily guest at the pub i work at has a 1950 Broadcaster with "Broad" written onto the body under the pickguard with a pencil before painting, he names the guitar "Broad". That guitar has more twang than the entire state of Texas
Im a long time subscriber and big fan of your UA-cam channel. This is another wonderful video Matthew!
Decades ago when I was an adult beginner I swore to myself that I would never become a gearhead who caused non guitarists' eyes to glsze over.
I caught myself at the office this week talking to a non guitarist about bumblebee capacitors, vintage guitars and old pots that still function and taper correctly.
@$%*%@!!!!! Damn you!.......not that there's anything wrong with it. 😊🎸
Great to see inside this original vintage guitar. I love the simplicity of the Esquire. Thanks Matthew. ✌🏼
LOLZ! So much fun, everybody thinks is original. Best laughs I've had in a decade reading viewer reaction comments.
I think bridge pickups were the same for esquire or telecaster, but maybe on brighter ones, or for whatever reason they were taped because of more "esquirish" features ?
Beautiful tele matty and its amazing the different tones you can get with just one pickup. I'm a telly man through and through I just love them and have 9! But I bought a SG p90 junior in lock down and it blew me away how different they can sound rolling off the tone or volume and it's light as a feather... so jealous that you guys in the US can pick up cool guitars without having to sell a kidney....
Oh dude trust me the vintage guitar market over here is absolutely out of control. Even the new market is out of control because the supply can't meet the demand.
Incredible to have 9 Teles man! But the vintage market here is absolutely out of this world.
@@MatthewScottmusic the UK market is even worse! If you can find anything decent
I had a 1957 esquire swamp ash body sold it in 1977 for $250.00 . I think i am gonna cry , really miss that guitar . Kick me Matthew! LOL
Very nice fender guitar 1956 guitar by Fender all original is valuable
Why are the flat pole pickups more desirable?
mathew it sure would be a treat if you drew up a wiring schematic of the controls i did make out they where using .05 MF capacitors thanks so much for your time in sharing
The circle around the screw hole is from where there drill-bit was pushed into the drill for the right height. When the drill goes down, the spinning claw touches the wood, causing the circle around the hole.
- if you meant "Jacobs Chuck's jaws" that's wrong, because the chuck nose diameter of 1-3/4" could not possibly fit inside the pocket, and the edges would have chewed up the wood. More likely scenario is: if a template were used using DRILL BUSHINGS in a neck pocket guide block that full 11/16" length, that somebody DID FORCE DOWN onto the bushing, they could then spin and make a sufficient mark like that.
What I think we see here, is the use of tuner bushings or teenuts upside down used as spacers on the end of a paint paddle, mounted too tightly. Using 2 bushings are seen this way in original Charvels Mighty Mites and early pre-Van Nuys Schecter and DiMarzio replacement bodies, but never four. Four is like, somebody who has too much time on their hands to overdo a thing - such as is common to this entire fake Fender Vintage market and - it is disgusting and should be condemned in cases as that. Which isn't clear to me this is here the case except: I never seen four impression marks on all 4 neck bolt holes, and the paint paddle or paintstick never requires "Engine Block Level Footpounds of Torque" force to counteract the weight of the neck in the spray booth rotisserie rig.
Let the naysayer trolls commence...
@@VictitiousStudios I do agree, what you mentioned is a possibility. Only the circles I’m talking about aren’t in the neck pocket, they’re on the neck itself.
The result I was talking about has occurred multiple times when I’ve been doing exactly as described. If I want to drill a hole of a certain length, I’ll leave that length of the drill bit exposed. Then when you drill all the way in, the spinning jaws create the little circle indentation. It doesn’t chew the wood up, just leaves a little circle. It’d also make sense as to why it’s on all 4 holes.
Just Google any mid 50s Fender neck and you will see these exact marks. It's probably from a press or stop of some kind. These marks ended by the 60s.
I wish you would have shown a close up on the selector switch to see the solder joints. Those tone caps all look stock...if there was a humbucker installed at some point the original solder joints would have been disturbed. If a mod was undone, the original tone caps must have been saved...or they were really lucky to find period replacements. Maybe the humbucker that was installed was not a PAF style but rather a single coil sized one (Seymour Duncan hot rails, Joe Barden, etc)??
Yes. Scott should get a Pro to look for possible signs of invisibly done wood replacement, perfectly blended period-correct re-routing and seamless finish matching that includes the identical crazing lines on the finish. (!)
That’s ludicrously good restoration (can you do a blacklight test Matthew?) and Steve has a good hypothesis.
@@j_freed I was wondering when the humbucker mod would have been done. In the 70s, I don't think that someone would have cared enough to save the original caps- I could be wrong. But someone who was carving up a '56 fender might not care about that. The guitar would only have been 15-23 years old at the time.
The wiring has been messed with for sure.
the mysterious writing in the neck socket looks like "DOS" (two) to me and makes a match with the 2 on the neck
That's a beauty, I have an Esquire 70th anniversary and it is fantastic. The sticky-tape might mean that a different version was made for that year? Measure the width of the magnet poles to see if they vary? I love guitar detective work.
Yeah that’s so AMAZING Matt!! Finding the tape on the pickup bottom is very intriguing!! You’ve got a real winner right there, it sounds awesome and looks they way I would want it to!! Great Find brother!! 👌
The Jan. 2 date is cool. I've got a '63 Strat with Jan. 2. neck date. Somehow makes 'em seem kinda special.
yo hair looks cool
Thanks man!!
From all your videos, this guitar seems to be aged in the most beautiful way. Previous owner really took good care of the instrument. It's a keeper. Love your work!
It's a repaint: The beneath-pickguard paint crackle is fake with aging dinks and doinks! It's made in such a way as to suggest to the eye upon inspection that any pickup hole plugging where the inlaid block is gonna shrink, is part of an original aging proces which is worser in the middle. Thereby your having been completely fooled, it is an excellent job and done as intended... to fool the naked eye. And if anyone doubts this? Look at the "obvious tell" where the plunge router following the top template, went about 0.055" too deep in the between-neck-pickup pass, and the slot tells it all right there. Restoring the neck pocket to hide that one, would require surgical-level template making and possibly the last straw oopsie that blew a near-perfect "vintage" aging finish.
A Fender oddity: Esquires could be ordered with a neck pickup for an extra charge. The routing looks original to me.
I think Mike Campbell or someone said you could add the neck pickup for an extra $15 bucks back in the day
An Esquire is a Telecaster without the neck pickup.
Nothing more.
Not quite. It has a completely different 3 way switch capacitor setup.
man the Esquire is perfection. Not one component that isn't needed
Also two brilliantly simple solutions for adding versatility to one pickup - the underrated dark circuit and the genius of skipping the tone pot. Such a great guitar.
great video! Not many of us will get the chance to examine a 50's Telecaster in this detail, but you made it possible for us to see it up close, which is the next best thing -- thank you!
Another great find! Try blacklighting the body under the pickguard. You may see evidence of the humbucker tomfoolery.
Goood idea! Hard to believe it was cut up.
that's what a guitar should sound like.
No possible way there was ever a hum route.lol
Wait, how can the electrics be untouched if there was a neck pickup added at some stage. Surely something must've been done to the electrics during that mod. Gorgeous guitar regardless.
You'd only need to solder it to the switch & that'd be it so it'd be real easy to remove too.
You could put one of those pickups that go under the pickguard
It looks like the neck pocket says "2 56" to me. There's a black something on the upper bout of the 5?
Top 3 surprises found in a 1956 Fender Esquire:
1) mysterious scribbling in neck pocket,
2) pickup labeled "Esquire",
3) ...body cavity sticker "made in China"
I had an original 1952, and the neck pocket was dated, and signed... it said "Davis" and I can't remember the date, but it was written very boldly in probably carpenters pencil... It had a repro neck unfortunately... but the body was 100% legit 52, as I got it from a guy who had no clue... it had been passed around so much that no one knew where it came from... I noticed the bridge plate and pickup... plus the neck plate... and even then I thought it was maybe a counterfeit... until I got the whole thing apart... I refinished it and got the right style neck on it and did the humbucker repair that whoever did that one did... and I used the epoxy based, tinted, polyester bubble type wood filler and found a guy with a template for the original route markings... then assembled the things that would have been used to paint it butterscotch blonde, in 1952. Amber shellac (the real stuff made from flakes), Genuine HIDE glue (again, the real stuff made from... well... granules... lol). Nitro lacquer, vintage formula with trade secret oils added, titanium dioxide for the blonde white... the swamp ask is very course grained, but Fender thought it would make a well chambered wood for a solid body electric guitar, and allegedly thought the wood itself would possibly react with the magnetic pickups, that there would be higher iron content in swamp ash... these are things I heard anecdotally as a lot of things are... but basically dip the body in the hide glue, if you happen to have a heated barrel full, as they did at that time/// OR coat the swamp ash body with liberal amounts of the hide glue quickly and allow it to drip off as hung from the strap button screw... you may consider using a heated room, to bring it up to about 140-180 degrees, so it dries evenly. once the hide glue dries for 24 hours... look for any drips or runs... there may be or should be a drip mark at the lowest point. Sand that down flush... coat with titanium dioxide nitro mixture until the dark grain is peeking through... and then spray with the amber shellac 2/3 to 1/3 nitro until you get the desired color. It should look more yellow and lighter than a standard 52... age and patina makes them darker.
Its quite a late Esquire as the first ones came out in 1950 or 1949 depending who you ask , still this design basically revolutionised Rock guitar as before the Esquire , musicians used to use really large semi hollow body Jazz guitars like The Gibson Es 150 jazz guitar which was huge by todays standards , The Esquire made the electric guitar more portable on stage and gave a better sound thanks to the solid body design =more sustain and also it was the first electric guitar to have a modern pickup system.
Could the (2) mean a factory second or was that a thing that only Gibson did?
I wondered that as well
The sound of that thing is freeking amazing! Anybody got any idea what kind of currently made pickup could replicate that sound??
Awesome video Matt as they all are. This one I found especially interesting as hope to purchase something similar. Love Esquires.
Matt, I've been in the antique business for a long time. We use UV light to detect defects, cracks or repairs that the naked eye can't see. I carry one on my key chain. 👍😎👍
I should have tried that! Forgot about having one.
It Could be the first one made with that date Jan,2,56 for the new year , being that new years was the day before I'm sure no one worked that day , well except for "Leo"🤔 maybe...
Since the number 2 appears twice on the neck, it's not referencing the day of the month but the width of the neck. #2 was the standard size. I have a 1964 Strat; the neck is stamped "2 DEC 63". I thought for a long time that meant December 2nd. but it doesn't. Stands to reason that Fender would use the same number code all through the Leo era, even if they did change from handwritten to stamped circa 1960.
The part you couldn't read I think says "eat at Luigi's" glad to help! Lol! Thanks Matt! I love this kind of stuff!
Hmmmmmm Luigi's pizza prostitutione 👌😄
You can photograph indistinct writing, copy it to your computer and then use software to brighten, modify contrast, etc. Most times, it'll jump out.
From my eye, the faint writing on the neck pocket looks to be a B and a C. Could be a reference to something or a person's initials, you're guess is as good as mine. I hope that this could help you find something about the Esquire.
Hi Matthew, maybe is Eugenia written on pickup not Esquier? I have heard that some pickup winders (girls) wrote their names on it.
The first Steppenwolf album with Born to be Wild was recorded with a Fender Esquire through a Fender Concert amp. I`m not sure if he used a fuzztone or just the amp on full blast. Also it`s not clear if the pre 1964 Fender Concert with the presence control was used or post 65 was used. The presense control would give an upper midrange boost.
Looks like (BC) in the neck pocket. Not sure what it stands for? Maybe the builders initials, or B for Blonde, and C for cutaway. Just a guess, I'm not an expert.
Check out the Dual Showman Reverb back there? One of the loudest, baddest clean amps ever, with JBL's
Mathew, Adam here, been watching you since the beginning, ikeep posting the same question... whT happened to the video of the junior?? That was my favourite guitar of yours
@matthew I would love for you to let us in on your signal change... i think you are most often direct to amp but would love to know
I know you know a lot more than I do, but I don’t consider that a player grade guitar. That’s a gold mine.
wow, rare to find a vintage esquire that is so clean, those caps make me cry so cool and totally add to your tone.. the only thing that bugged me was the pickguard screws,, get some vintage ones...
I'll bet the "Esquire" tape was due to some sort of supply crisis. They were running low on pickups, so hey decided to "ration" the remaining pickups lol
Love your channel! I’ve been collecting gear for a very long time so it’s nice to see a young kid like yourself showcasing vintage gear that’s been around since before you were born! I think it’s great that you take these guitars apart! People forget that Leo designed these guitars to be able to do that specifically! The necks were bolt on because they were designed to be able to change them if need be:). I’m going to give you a hint on an amp you should try and find because it’s a very unknown sleeper! Look for a 60’s Gibson Atlas head and cabinet. It was designed for bass but, like the Bassman, sounds best with a guitar. Would love to see you run one down and do a vid on it. I have one and run it into a 2 x 12 cab and it sounds ungodly! BTW, Hendrix is known to have played through an Atlas:)
Matt, I sit in front of the computer with your videos up in .5x speed looping your intros probably 2-3 hours a day. You are carrying on the flame. Can NOT wait for the debut album.
No one has figured out what the number 2 was for.
Wow Mat! Geez what a great find, definitely one of the best Tele’s I’ve heard and seen. That pickup is magical brother…. Great playing and showcasing as usual.
FYI ' the #2 on the neck is' When the assembly line workers went to the rest room They had necks at the entrance of the rest rooms marked #1 and #2
So they would hang them up on a nail beside the door while they were using the restrooms ' it was supposed to be a joke between the employees ' those necks would make their way back to the assembly line to be assembled. That joke was played several times that's why on some you be will see those numbers.
My grandmother worked for fender back in the 50's up until 1960 same year I was born. That's the story she is would tell us as kids and laugh about it.
Now that I'm older I have no reason to doubt it what is she is said was true especially after watching your video.
How many have you ran across all with numbers on them and have you ever ran across one with the #1 on it? Chances are my grandmother had her hands on that very neck.
Hey Matt what's up bro hope ur good.not sure but watching this I was thinking maybe the tape on the bottom was to remind whoever that the wiring is for a esquire not a tele that's my guess cause doesn't it have the dark circuit lmk ok cause that's a good question.i love your show I watch it everyday I'm a new player only been playing for a year and change but I'm pretty dam good I can't believe how fast I have Learned so much watching u play has helped me as far as hand and thumb positioning so thank u .also I was wondering around how much is an early 60s player grade strat generally run
Just a thought. How about to demarcate a part for assembly so it would not be confused with another assembly project. we all know one of the first things you do is assemble all your parts. as in this case you would be working on multiple projects at the same time. At this time fender was more like what Gibson was doing at it's staying custom shop. It was not one person one prosses. Same person was involved in motetable prosses. Like saying this a shop as apposed to a factory. This just a though but from a logical line.
.
Did they have a variety of neck profiles that far back? Maybe the 2 refers to that.
Sweet guitar. You have amazing gear. The likes of a seasoned pro. But you've recorded just one song. And it took you a year to do so. Sounds like a lot of coin spend on studio time for just one song. What are we missing here? How has all this come to be?
Guess keef wasn't digging the humbucker mod n put it back together.....till later
Seymour Duncan has a neck pickup that’s made to be under the pickgaurd for esquires. So u can have a hidden neck pickup if you’re thinking about putting a neck pickup in it might be a decent option
Funny, when I was younger I never cared for the Telecaster body type, but just over the last 10 or 12 years I've come to love them. The Esquire is one of my bucket list guitars, along with a vintage Firebird (I've always been a Gibson guy). Love your vids, always informative and entertaining, plus you're a damn good player.
I feel you. When I was a kid, the Strat was the epitome of cool for me, but as I got older, the allure of the Telecaster kept coming to me. Something about it being a pretty simple (by comparison) guitar. Now my main guitar is a T-type guitar, albeit it is a modern guitar (Strandberg Salen Jazz), but it's still scratches that itch for me.
@@wonnie yeah, my first guitar was a cheap Japanese strat type shredder (it was the early 80's), then I started playing Gibsons', my main being a LP & a 335. Then the tele started appealing to me more & more, especially the vintage Esquire, which is now my dream axe. I do have a telecaster in my possession now, it needs LOTS of work, but I'll get it there sooner or later. I may try to convert it into an Esquire if I could find the right pickup.
Man Matthew your style has gone places that I couldn’t even imagine. Rock on man thanks for these mind blowing heart warming videos.
Thanks so much Gavin!
Something about that guitar doesn't seem right.
Correct, I mentioned a number of things in the video.
Pro tip: Keep your fingers at the tip of a screw driver. If you slip you won't gouge the guitar.....
Great walk thru, Matthew. Always interesting to see the little details of these vintage guitars.
Love your channel… maybe looking at the body under blacklight would help with reading the writing in the neck pocket? Also might help verify if there is a repaired humbucker pickup rout… but that body looks 100% original to me!
beautiful guitar! I'm curious to know how much it weighs.
A mere 6.5 lbs
Don't get rid of that Esquire Matthew. It's got the sound and fits your playing.
Let’s be honest, most of the guitars he plays have a sound that fits his playing ;)
@@CraftSized true but that guitar is 🔥
@@CraftSized 👍😎👍
I really like the guitar, It has a very large neck however.
I think it sounds better ( richer harmonically ) than the usual Tele bridge pickup , but that could be you and your amp settings too ..?
I had a '51 esquire that had Tadeo Gomez' signature. Not completely sure what wood was in the body. The finish was odd, more opaque than finishes that came only a year later. It did have the route for the neck pickup like a Tele but it was definitely an Esquire, original bakelite pickguard and all slotted screws, even the truss rod. It was really primitive, like it was made in a high school wood shop ! I sold all my '50's fenders in 1997 to put a down payment on a house- no regrets. Those worn in '50's fenders are beautifully simple and they can be really light and resonant.
Cool. I had to sell my prized 54 Strat to help pay for a heart attack. Neck 5-54, T G. 0209 stamped on the spring plate with a crooked 9. Electric cavity 6-1-54 Gloria. Glad to be alive. Wonderful neck, yummy. It was refinished before I got. Fools.
@@elkennedystrat7894 Why dom't you have a health-insurance?
In Germany (EU) it is mandatory to have such trivial things, like a health- and invalidity- insurance! And it is one of the best things you can have, it will rescue your house and a lot of money!
I never regret, to gave a lot of my hard earned money, for such things! Now that I am not able to work anymore, I am in a save harbour ... !
This is the stupid "American way of life" (or 'die'!)
Sorry to say that, but you would have your old Fender beside you, by now!
I am 60 years old, and not going very well, but my 'early retirement' and my "health-cost's" are paied by the two different insurances we "must" have!
If not, i have lost our house, ... and don't know, how to live right now!
I have all the time, to play my Fender Stratocaster, ... and doing a lot of HAM-radio, during the day, ... !
Greeting from DL,
73 de db9pz ; Markus
January 1956. Wow, it's older than me. I wasn't borne until April 1956 :-) ;-) :-)
Definitely a keeper there! Thanks for the look inside I'm always ready to learn more about these amazing guitars.
"BC" in the pocket = Broadcaster?
Before Christ
I'm a Strat lover myself but Hot Damn that Tele is SPECTACULAR!!! Definitely a "never sell" guitar!
There’s a Christine (as in Christ Almighty ! it’s so pristine) ‘57 esquire at Music Emporium in Lexx Mass that’s going for something like two-six k! These are special instruments. I had no idea how valuable some of Matt’s finds are, the Mary Kay aside. That one was a crazy once in a lifetime find.
What makes that an Esquire? to me it looks exactly like a Telecaster. I am sure there is some defining difference, I am very curious.