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@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.🤔
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!
I have a refin 1963 Esquire and I just love it. I got it back in like 2005 from Nashville session ace Kenny Vaughn. I broke down and put a Lindy Fralin in the neck and even with that it only weighs 6.8 pounds....it just sings. Thanks for doing this video!
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.
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.
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.
Your information is prised and a necessary deseminanation to us all. What you show and speak of I have seen over the years. But demands on my time did not me this depth of study. You present and invaluable persuite to us all that know and love the instrument. Remembering Leo!
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.
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.
I'm not surprised by anything that you shared in this video. Everything was as it should be in a Fender of this vintage. Anyone who has studied Fender guitars can list exactly what you would expect to see when you take a Esquire or Telecaster apart.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!! 👌
I owned a 1956 tele that I bought from a NC tobacco farmer in 1974. The neck plate serial number confirmed 1956. A hand-written date in the bridge pickup cavity read 1955. Pots dated to 56. The neck butt, however, was undated, though the position of the Fender headstock logo and string tree was period correct, and body paint stuck to the sides of the neck butt matched. That missing neck date cost me when I sold it last year but I still did OK with the sale.
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.
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
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
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.
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...
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 myself have no particular expertise in these vintage Fender instruments, but there IS a guy here in England who might be able to shed a bit of light on any questions you may have about either Fender or Gibson vintage guitars. He has worked as a repair man for both of these companies and is an eminent writer on all aspects of the electric guitar, as well as being a fabulous blues guitarist. He is editor of Guitarist Magazine, his name is Neville Marten. He is a thoroughly nice guy and may well be interested in some of the questions these fascinating and important pieces throw up when you get the pickguard off.. I missed the usual recital at the end, Matthew. Your playing is good for my soul. We still hope for peace! 🎶❤️
on other hand, he played it acoustically at the end, and you could hear how acoustically live it is -- I have a refinished 68 maple cap telecaster that has quite a strong, trebley sustaining acoustic sound; I think that's part of the reason for the great sound when amped.
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!
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. 😊🎸
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.
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.
Nooo, thank YOU so much for being here.👍 That esquire sounds awesome, congrats 🥳👌 lolol just had to sneeze and now all the snot is hanging on my smartphone 😄😄😄
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.
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:)
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?
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
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.
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.
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 ?
I would love to see your recording setup (microphones, placement, EQing, etc). Your recorded tones are full and dynamic, we would love to see your setup and approach!
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.
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.
✌️✨🤌👌😞
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.
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!
I have a refin 1963 Esquire and I just love it. I got it back in like 2005 from Nashville session ace Kenny Vaughn. I broke down and put a Lindy Fralin in the neck and even with that it only weighs 6.8 pounds....it just sings. Thanks for doing this video!
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.
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.
Intro tone was AMAZING!
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
Awesome video Matt as they all are. This one I found especially interesting as hope to purchase something similar. Love Esquires.
love the historical aspect and your thorough knowledge.
So good to see all those dates lining up and completing the picture. Great to have such an original, untouched instrument like that.
Thanks for the tour of that very sweet 1956 esquire! Matthew you’re the best!
That neck looks extremely comfortable to play. Well done as always. Keep them coming.
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.
Wow that intro jam was wonderful. Love those tones
The tone of this guitar is everything!
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 👌😄
Thanks Matthew! Another great video of looking deeper into the vintage!
Your information is prised and a necessary deseminanation to us all. What you show and speak of I have seen over the years. But demands on my time did not me this depth of study. You present and invaluable persuite to us all that know and love the instrument. Remembering Leo!
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.
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.
It's like visiting a museum every time you open up one of these classics.
The sound you manage to get, blows me away. Just incredible dude. Greeting from over the pond in Wales.
Great walk thru, Matthew. Always interesting to see the little details of these vintage guitars.
Definitely a keeper there! Thanks for the look inside I'm always ready to learn more about these amazing guitars.
Great episode, thanks for the playing!
I'm not surprised by anything that you shared in this video. Everything was as it should be in a Fender of this vintage. Anyone who has studied Fender guitars can list exactly what you would expect to see when you take a Esquire or Telecaster apart.
Thanks for another great video. It is cool or see the inside of the esquire and date the components. I always learn something new from your videos!!
That thing sounds amazing.
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?
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!
Thanks for doing these videos, love them.
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.
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.
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.
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!! 👌
I owned a 1956 tele that I bought from a NC tobacco farmer in 1974. The neck plate serial number confirmed 1956. A hand-written date in the bridge pickup cavity read 1955. Pots dated to 56. The neck butt, however, was undated, though the position of the Fender headstock logo and string tree was period correct, and body paint stuck to the sides of the neck butt matched. That missing neck date cost me when I sold it last year but I still did OK with the sale.
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
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
Way cool! Love these old fenders! The stories they could tell.
that s NOT the old fender!
Nice collection of Fender amps in the background man . Beautiful. 😎
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
Great content as always. Interesting sticker on that pickup. Looking forward to more discussion.
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 🤔
Nice video. Old players are the greatest for that simple reason.
Interesting video. Thanks.
Very nice fender guitar 1956 guitar by Fender all original is valuable
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
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.
These videos are always fascinating.
Absolutely love your vids, your guitars and mostly.....your playing !
Again another great video, informative and you sure can play! Love seeing old guitars being played correctly. 🙏🏼❤️
The Jan. 2 date is cool. I've got a '63 Strat with Jan. 2. neck date. Somehow makes 'em seem kinda special.
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...
Great look at that Esquire. Love your channel
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.
Damn I love these vids…. Keep ‘em comin man!
Beautiful old Esquire Matt! Sounds as nice as it looks.
its NOT
Definitely a keeper!
I myself have no particular expertise in these vintage Fender instruments, but there IS a guy here in England who might be able to shed a bit of light on any questions you may have about either Fender or Gibson vintage guitars. He has worked as a repair man for both of these companies and is an eminent writer on all aspects of the electric guitar, as well as being a fabulous blues guitarist. He is editor of Guitarist Magazine, his name is Neville Marten. He is a thoroughly nice guy and may well be interested in some of the questions these fascinating and important pieces throw up when you get the pickguard off..
I missed the usual recital at the end, Matthew. Your playing is good for my soul.
We still hope for peace! 🎶❤️
on other hand, he played it acoustically at the end, and you could hear how acoustically live it is -- I have a refinished 68 maple cap telecaster that has quite a strong, trebley sustaining acoustic sound; I think that's part of the reason for the great sound when amped.
Thanks William, perhaps I will reach out to him!
Thank you sir for your video’s..
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!
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 love your opening playing. Really bold and musical. I guess I'll have to subscribe, now.
Fantastic Content Matthew, Thank You
Sounds so good
no its suound not good
Love Esquires. Thanks
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.
Such a cool guitar, and great playing, as always.
Great video Matthew! Esquire sounds amazing. Love it.
Cool! Love that you got it for a good price, especially since it doesn't have a bucker route under the guard
I'm a Strat lover myself but Hot Damn that Tele is SPECTACULAR!!! Definitely a "never sell" guitar!
Sounds fantastic. Really incredible.
its NOT
really??
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.
Nooo, thank YOU so much for being here.👍
That esquire sounds awesome, congrats 🥳👌
lolol just had to sneeze and now all the snot is hanging on my smartphone 😄😄😄
Thanks Matthew , love your channel
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.
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:)
That is the ultimate dirty Tele tone in the beginning, absolutely killer!
Dude that one sounds amazing
Literally my dream guitar, man... so cool!!
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?
In the Duchossoir Strat book I recall him saying that the numbers on necks, as your #2, refers to neck shape.
great video Mathew thanks for Sharing!
Great find! Hang on to that one.
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
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 👍
Very cool guitar. Thanks for sharing it.
What a sound 👍
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.
Mi guitarra favorita son las Telecaster las amo suenan espectacular saludos desde Colombia amo tus vídeos
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 ?
GREAT FIND, GREAT VIDEO...SEE YOU NEXT TIME...
a class act all the way, best youtuber
Phenomenal guitar and another excellent job!! Thanks Matt! Oh yeah..leo could have been working on an Esquire pickup variation!?? Love that guitar
I would love to see your recording setup (microphones, placement, EQing, etc). Your recorded tones are full and dynamic, we would love to see your setup and approach!
the mysterious writing in the neck socket looks like "DOS" (two) to me and makes a match with the 2 on the neck
Really nice guitar.
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.
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.