1968 Fender Telecaster Vintage Electric Guitar Olympic White w/ Case, Rosewood Board

Up for sale, a 1968 Fender Telecaster in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. Featuring a body-only nitro lacquer refinish in Olympic White courtesy of Eric Daw, this Telecaster features a notably lightweight ash body, maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard (an uncommon feature for  the '68 model year).The ash body offers a distinctive midrange complexity and punch, and the gray bobbin bridge pickup delivers plenty of sparkle and chewy twang, while the neck pickup is bell-like and round. In the middle position on the three-way switch, the guitar delivers both percussive cut and shimmering snap. Featherweight at just 7lbs 1oz, this Telecaster is emblematic of the best Teles of the late ‘60s, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.The maple neck has a medium C-shaped profile carve with well-rounded shoulders and rolled fretboard edges, measuring .835” deep at the 1st fret and .905” at the 12th. The rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4“ radius, refretted with pristine vintage-spec slender fretwire. This guitar plays cleanly in every register up the 25 1/2” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. Measuring 1 5/8“ in width, the upgraded hand-carved bone nut offers optimal note clarity and sustain. The headstock face has been refinished and sports a new block logo, and the original set of F tuners turn smoothly and hold pitch as they should, with notably clean chrome plating. The neck heel retains its bold March, 1968 date stamp, with all of the original factory stamps and markings present in the pocket and on the heel.All of the electronics function as intended, with the original bridge pickup and an era-correct neck pickup with black bobbin, original windings and cloth-covered leads. The neck pickup cavity was previously routed for a humbucker, professionally fitted with a new piece of ash and rerouted pre-finish for the correct vintage pickup cavity shape (the repair is virtually invisible). The wiring harness features cloth-covered leads, one original Stackpole pot with a date code from the 17th week of ‘66, and one replacement CTS pot from 1977. The original chrome-plated hardware is intact, including the control plate with flat-top knurled knobs, bridge with barrel saddles and patent number base, and four-bolt serialized F neck plate. A replacement lightly aged three-ply white pickguard rounds out the plastics.The body has been recently refinished by Eric Daw in a lighty relic’d nitro lacquer Olympic White gloss, with horizontal checking and a few simulated marks of light wear. The original smooth nitro lacquer finish on the neck has been worn through from contact with the palm on much of the profile, offering an extremely fast, silky feel.The original black tolex hardshell case with orange plush interior is included. The case has clean black leather ends, functional latches and the original handle, retaining the majority of the original tail-less Fender badge.