1982 Fender Collector's Edition Telecaster Black w/ Gold Hardware & Case, Fullerton USA, Dan Smith Era

Up for sale, a 1982 Fender Collector’s Edition Telecaster in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original tweed hardshell case. 100% original save for a new three-way pickup selector, this Collector's Edition Tele was limited to just 500 instruments, produced in Fender's Fullerton, CA factory during the era where Dan Smith was reinventing the Fender brand for the modern era. Features include a gloss Black finish with matching peghead, and 18k gold-plated hardware, including the heavy-duty solid brass bridge, only seen on a select few Telecasters due to the cost-prohibitive nature of its design.Weighing 9lbs, tonewoods include an ash body, maple neck, and rosewood fretboard, yielding a resonant sound with both treble immediacy and singing sustain. The pickups capture the midrange heft of ash as a tonewood, with plenty of twang and bite in the bridge position and percussive, bell-like roundness at the neck. This Tele has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.The maple neck has a U-shaped profile carve, bordering on a very soft V yet with notable shoulder and rolled edges, measuring .855” deep at the 1st fret and .930” at the 12th. The rosewood fretboard has a 7 1/4“ radius, and the stock slender fretwire is practically perfect, lightly leveled and crowned in the guitar's lifetime. This guitar plays cleanly up the 25 1/2“ scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 1 5/8“ in width, and on the Black-finished headstock, the gold-plated F-stamped tuners turn smoothly and hold accurate pitch, with wear through the plating on the octagonal buttons.All of the electronics function as intended, and both pickups have just been professionally rewound, mated with the stock wiring harness and CTS pots which date to the 9th week of ‘82. The gold-plated hardware has plenty of shine, including the knurled knobs, Fender USA-embossed control plate, Strat-style switch tip, neck pickup cover, strap buttons, and even the screws, with a light dusting of patina on the six individual saddles. The Fender USA-embossed bridge is crafted from a solid piece of brass with a string-through design, offering exceptional sustain and articulation. Plastics include the stock three-ply black pickguard.The gloss Black finish is 100% original with no touch-up or overspray. Cosmetic wear includes some small dings and finish scuffs on the body as a whole, largely on the back and where the forearm crosses the top, a sliver of strap-related finish wear through the gloss adjacent to the rear strap button, and some very faint finish scratches in the clear coat on the back. The gloss finish is extremely smooth on the neck profile, with a tiny amount of palm wear through the finish on the edges of the rosewood fingerboard.The original tweed hardshell case with orange plush interior is included.