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1956 Fender Esquire Pre-CBS Vintage Guitar Blonde w/ Tweed Case

$27,499.99

+ shipping

Up for sale, a 1956 Fender Esquire in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original tweed "knucklebuster" hardshell case. This early "Whiteguard" Esquire retains the original hardware, plastics and electronics, and the finish is largely original as well, with very old nitro lacquer overspray on the back/sides of the slab body.

The classic Tele/Esquire tonewood complement comprises an ash body and a one-piece maple neck, and this Esquire weighs 7lbs 11oz. The original bridge pickup meters at 7.2k ohms, featuring unbeveled, staggered pole pieces and a black fiber bobbin complete with copper baseplate. The pickup is throaty and fat, delivering plenty of quintessential Fender twang and punchy low-mids. This Esquire retains the original wiring configuration, with the third position Dark Circuit sound enabling (as the name would imply) a rounded tone with spongy, sweeping harmonics, significantly broadening the overall tonal range of the instrument, and toggling to the Tone bypass position delivers a immediate kick with added bite and snarl. This Esquire has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

-Wood: Maple
-Shape: Substantial soft V, measuring .910” 1st fret, .985” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Maple, 7 1/4” radius
-Frets: Slender, leveled and crowned, very faint wear beneath the G and B strings on frets 2-6
-Scale Length: 25 1/2”
-Nut: 1.650”
-Tuners: Kluson Deluxe single-line
-Serialization: Five-digit stamp on neck plate, neck heel retains grease pencil 6-56 date

Body Specs:

-Wood: Ash
-Pickups: Pickup meters 7.2k ohms
-Harness: Original Stackpole pots (1956 dates, week obscured by solder) and Tone cap, two aged reproduction caps for dark Tone switch (position 3)
-Controls: Volume, Tone, Three-way Tone selector (Tone Bypass, Standard Volume/Tone, Dark Circuit)
-Hardware: “Pat. Pend” bridge base with steel barrel saddles (‘55/’56-style offset saddle screws), dome-top knurled knobs, “ashtray” bridge cover
-Plastics: Original one-ply five-screw pickguard, “top hat” selector switch

A well-kept example, the neck is 100% original including the fretwire, finish, hardware, and waterslide decal. Similarly, the hardware, plastics, and electronics are all original as well, save for two tone caps. The Blonde nitro lacquer on the body has been oversprayed on the back and perimeter, and this overspray extends minimally to the face of the instrument adjacent to the control plate. The overspray exhibits more yellowing in the clear coat than the stock finish on the instrument's face, and the two factory nail holes are present beneath the pickguard.

The Blonde nitro lacquer gloss exhibits prominent checking, and cosmetic wear is limited to a few small chips along the edges of the slab body, faint forearm wear, and a few expected finish scratches and marks from careful use on the body as a whole. The neck profile retains its original gloss, with a worn-in, satin-esque feel from decades of usage on the profile, and similar light fingerwear on the fretboard.

The original tweed "knucklebuster" hardshell case is included. The case features the original latches and handle, with well-kept brown leather ends and the usual ambering/scuffing of the tweed exterior.