A genuinely rare 1968 Fender Telecaster in original Lake Placid Blue, one of Fender’s most desirable custom colours of the period.

This guitar has the highly desirable maple-cap neck: a separate maple fingerboard laminated onto the maple neck, rather than Fender’s earlier one-piece maple-neck construction. As expected with a maple-cap neck, there is no skunk stripe on the back of the neck. These necks were produced for a relatively short period and are particularly sought after by collectors.

Combined with the original Lake Placid Blue custom-colour finish, this makes for an exceptionally uncommon late-1960s Telecaster.

Specifications

• Year: 1968
• Model: Fender Telecaster
• Finish: Original Lake Placid Blue custom colour
• Neck: Maple cap
• Neck depth: .87” at the 1st fret / .97” at the 12th fret
• Weight: 6 lb 10.5 oz
• Case: Period European case

At just 6 lb 10.5 oz, this is also an unusually light vintage Telecaster.

Condition & Important Disclosure

The guitar presents extremely well for an instrument approaching 60 years old, with the checking, wear and natural aging expected of a genuine vintage Fender.

There is one significant historical modification that should be clearly disclosed: the neck-pickup cavity was previously routed to accommodate a humbucker and was subsequently filled and returned to the standard Telecaster pickup configuration. The repair is beneath the pickguard when the guitar is assembled, but it is an important part of the guitar’s history and has been taken into account in the asking price.

Please examine the photographs carefully. Detailed photographs of the routing, neck pocket, electronics, hardware, dates and other internal details can be supplied to serious buyers.

Case

The guitar comes with a period European case rather than a Fender-branded case. Fender guitars exported to Europe during this era could be paired with cases supplied by local distributors rather than American Fender cases.

The case is included with the guitar, but it is not being represented as an original Fender case.

A Rare Custom-Colour Telecaster

Original custom-colour Telecasters from this period are scarce, and Lake Placid Blue is among the most desirable Fender custom colours. The combination of Lake Placid Blue, a maple-cap neck and exceptionally light weight makes this a particularly unusual example.

For market context, a comparable late-1960s Lake Placid Blue Telecaster recently sold for approximately US$18,000, despite being, in our assessment, a less desirable example. This guitar has been priced accordingly while taking the repaired neck-pickup route fully into consideration.

This is a serious vintage Fender for the collector or player looking for a genuinely uncommon late-1960s Telecaster rather than another standard-finish example.

Serious inquiries and reasonable offers welcome.

Additional detailed photographs are available on request. The guitar will be professionally packed and fully insured for shipping.