Most probably the rarest and the most unique Fender Japan guitar we've ever had! Meet TLAC - Telecaster Acoustic! This is the grandpa of the ever-so popular modern day Fender Acoustasonic series.
Wizards at Fender Japan were always well-known for their experimental models and fearless approach to innovation (as opposed to quite conservative Fender USA). This unique guitar was built in Japan in the first year of production - 1991. Only produced for a few years, these guitars are high on the Fender Japan collectors' list.
Truly unique body construction with acoustic chambers on both sides of the bridge makes this guitar very resonant. Spruce top and mahogany back and sides - classic combo for so many acoustic guitars and some of the semi-hollows, but never seen on electrics. Beautifully executed 3-tone sunburst finish is accentuated very well by the classic cream top binding. Body has some wear from years of active use, but nothing too dramatic and no structural damage.
Rosewood acoustic bridge has a string-through-body anchoring, just like a classic Telecaster - no need to deal with those annoying bridge pins! Bone saddle has a precise compensated design that allows for really great intonation across the fretboard - but only if you are using wound G-string. This guitar was built for acoustic strings where the G-string is always wound.
The neck has a 1970s style with a very comfortable U-shape, classic Telecaster headstock and dark rosewood fretboard with pearl dot markers. The maple wood figuring on the back is very attractive and the recessed neck plate allows for easier access to higher frets. Flatter 12-inch fretboard radius and medium jumbo frets make this very easy to play. Despite being 32 years old, the neck exhibits minimal wear and is straight as an arrow. Original Gotoh tuners are stable and the truss-rod is conveniently adjusted at the headstock.
Electric voice is provided by a very versatile combination of iconic Lace Sensor neck pickup and a under-the-saddle piezo element, just like on an acoustic guitar. Controls include a master volume, a Tone control for the piezo pickups and a Blend pot. This is actually very clever: you will never need to roll of high-end from the dark and full-sounding neck pickup anyway, but the piezo can get pretty bright, so having a tone control just for the piezo makes perfect sense. The blend pot provides a truly endless palette of sonic goodness. Piezo is powered by an active preamp and an 9V battery, conveniently installed behind the back panel.
This instrument received a full professional setup with deep body cleaning, body polish, neck deep clean, lemon oil fretboard treatment, full electronics check, truss-rod and action and intonation adjustment. Restringed with D'addario 10-47 Phosphor Bronze 80/20 strings.
This guitar will be shipped around UK and EU with Parcelforce courier, safely packed into a sturdy guitar cardboard box. 24h courier service provided to UK customers. Worldwide shipping available as well!
Fender Telecaster - Semi-hollow acoustic - Japan - Lace+Piezo - Sunburst (1991)
SPECS:
MODEL: Fender Japan Acoustic Telecaster Thinline TLAC-950
YEAR: 1991
COLOUR: 3-tone Sunburst top, black back, cream binding, gloss finish
NECK: C-shape figured maple neck, honey amber gloss finish, 1970s headstock logo, Deluxe-style neck heel for easier access to high frets, MicroTilt neck heel adjuster
NUT: bone
NUT WIDTH: 42.5 mm
NECK THICKNESS: 1st fret - 20.2 mm; 22.4 mm
FRETBOARD: rosewood, 12-inch radius
FRETS: 22 medium jumbo frets with moderate wear
TUNERS: Gotoh Japan tuners, nickel finish
BODY: semi-hollow body with spruce top and mahogany back and sides, cream top binding, original back-load body routing, factory shielding and grounding
TOTAL WEIGHT: 3.2 kg
BRIDGE: acoustic style rosewood bridge with compensated saddle for spot-on intonation
WEAR: small dents on the body, surface scratches, minimal neck wear
PICKUPS: original Lace Sensor Silver neck pickup, active piezo element bridge under-saddle pickup
WIRING: all original wiring with 1 master volume, 1 master tone with TBX stacked pot for passive bass and treble boost, 1 Blend knob to control the volume of each pickup in the mix, active preamp for the piezo element
DISCLAIMER
Please note that although we put our heart and soul and also all our knowledge into every single guitar we sell, a setup is a personal preference. However, we try to get the best playability out of every guitar and set them up so you can play both rhythm and lead. We also pull them all apart to clean and check every single component and replace all unreliable parts with new ones, from dodgy pots to the whole wiring, tuners, string trees, nuts and etc. All the work done is described in detail in the listing.
We make sure that every guitar we sell is problem free and take full responsibility for the accuracy of our listing descriptions. All photographs are done by a professional photographer and processed on a calibrated monitor. Some colours might look slightly different on your monitor, but we will always put the official Fender colour name in the listing description, so please study pictures of other guitars with the same colour if you are unsure. We focus on finding great quality guitars and making them reliable and inspiring to play.