Fender / Esquire / 1956 / Blonde / Guitar For Sale
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This fifty-one-year-old Blond beauty weighs just 7.20 lbs. and has a huge '57 style V "boat-neck" with a nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid ash body and one-piece fretted maple neck with 21 frets and black dot position markers. "Transitional" single "butterfly" string tree in the same position as the round string tree. Headstock decal with Fender "spaghetti" logo in silver with black trim and "Esquire" in black below it (just below the "butterfly" string tree). Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. The tuning keys are stamped "2356766/PAT. APPLD." on the bottom base. The neck is dated "10-56" in pencil. Four-bolt neck plate with serial number ("16829") between the top two screws. One black six-polepiece "copper-coated metal plate bottom" pickup (with "Esquire" written in blue pencil on the bottom) with staggered polepieces (angled in bridgeplate) and an output of 5.78k. White single-layer ABS plastic pickguard (.060 inches thick) with five screws. On the face of the body, underneath the pickguard, "Esq" is written in blue pencil; in the bridge pickup cavity "Esq" is written in blue pencil; and there is an indecipherable blue marking in the neck pocket. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way "CRL 1452" "blender" switch and original Daka-Ware black plastic "Top-Hat" tip, all on metal plate adjoining pickguard. Shorter chrome knobs with flat tops and knurled sides. The potentiometers are stamped "304 620" (Stackpole May 1956) and the three capacitors between the switch and the volume control are stamped "ZSW .05 MFD 150 VDC." Telecaster combined bridge/tailpiece with three 1/4-inch steel smooth saddles, the screws angled at 45 degrees. This guitar is in excellent (8.50) condition. There is a very small "surface-only" crack on the back of the headstock just below the low "E" tuner (caused by overtightening of the lower screw), but this is merely a cosmetic mark and does not affect the integrity of the headstock in any way. In addition, a tiny piece of the white plastic pickguard by the bass waist has broken away, once again through overtightening of the screw. There is some light playing wear on the maple fretboard and some wear to the first ten frets (most noticeable on the first seven), but there is still life in these original fifty-year-old frets. The varnish on the back of the neck is nicely worn away from being lovingly played and there is some playing wear on the body, mainly on the edges, where the guitar has rubbed against the player's body. There are also a few surface marks on the body. Overall, this fifty-two year-old gem is one of the nicest transitional "white guard" Esquires that we have ever seen! The Blond finish has mellowed to a rich, creamy color and the lovely grain of the ash body shows well through the finish. Housed in an eighties Fender black molded form-fit case with black plush lining (9.00).
"Leo Fender's new solidbody was the instrument that we know now as the Fender Telecaster, effectively the world's first commercially successful solidbody electric guitar...The guitar was originally named the Fender Esquire and then the Fender Broadcaster, and it first went into production in 1950. It was a simple, effective instrument. It had a basic, single-cutaway, solid slab of ash for a body, with a screwed-on maple neck. Everything was geared to easy production. It had a slanted pickup mounted into a steel bridge-plate carrying three adjustable bridge-saddles, and the body was finished in a yellowish color known as blond. It was unadorned and like nothing else. It was ahead of its time" (Tony Bacon, 50 Years of Fender, p. 10).
"After a false start the Esquire reappeared...in 1951, now with Fender's new adjustable truss-rod. It was offered in single-pickup format only, but otherwise was virtually identical to the two-pickup Telecaster. However, the Esquire's three-way selector functioned as a preset tone control or bypass switch, offering wide versatility from a one-pickup guitar. Perhaps surprisingly, the Esquire stayed in the line for 20 years" (Tony Bacon and Paul Day, The Fender Book, p. 10).
Fretted Americana , USA 
We specialize in acquiring and offering the finest specimens of American vintage electric guitars with particular attention to those in their complete, original state. We are the only dealer to embrace a written code of ethics (in Terms & Conditions). We encourage you to read it.
HOW WE WORK
We want to inspire and win your trust and confidence. You don't want to have any negative surprises upon receipt of an instrument that you've invested yourself as well as your money into. Nor do you want any untoward surprises should you decide to sell it in the future.
To that end, every guitar that we offer is catalogued to a degree and depth of detail that is fast becoming the standard in the trade. When we declare an instrument to be completely original, it is. If it is not, we tell you exactly in what manner it has been altered.
We photograph each guitar at many angles to provide you with the broadest, clearest sense of its appearance. We will, upon request, provide you with images of all electronic components, inside and out.
Each guitar we acquire is skillfully and painstakingly dissected by David Brass, who is a trained luthier as well as a dealer and collector. All parts, no matter how small, are meticulously examined. We have an enviable reference library of wide breadth and scope that we refer to when necessary for crucial facts. The instrument is put under a black-light: original finish or refin? Even the most skillfully masked ding is uncovered. David then fastidiously reassembles the instrument. It is then cleaned with the finest products available for wood and metal.
An inspection certificate of authenticity signed by David is provided with every guitar you purchase.
We keep our inventory relatively small and highly select. We choose our guitars with extreme care so we can offer you the finest examples of the finest rare guitars in the world.
We are client focused to an extraordinary degree. If you expect or would like to be surprised by courteous, professional client service, we will pleased to accommodate that desire.
It is our fervent wish to establish a long-term relationship with you.
CODE OF ETHICS
We wish to establish an ongoing relationship with you based upon your trust in our knowledge and judgment.
To that end:
We meticulously inspect in detail every guitar that we offer. We check the finish, all of the electrical components, serial numbers, etc. With over thirty years of experience collecting and handling vintage guitars and our enormous reference library, we bring to bear all that is known about guitar manufacturers, models, and annual production.
We provide full, detailed descriptions and specs to each guitar.
We openly disclose any and all flaws we discover in writing. If the instrument is not completely “straight,” we will tell you so and why.
We endeavor to conduct ourselves to the highest standard of professional behavior.
We will deal fairly and ethically; no surprises, flim-flam, dubious business practices or shenanigans.
We value your sense of privacy and uphold the highest standards of discretion and respect
We allow a full 48 hour honeymoon period when you buy a guitar from us. If you are not 100% satisfied with it we will refund the purchase price in full, less shipping, upon return of the guitar in the same condition as sold. Please call us before returning the instrument.
Please inspect your new guitar immediately upon receiving it. If any guitar we offer is found to be not as described, we will happily refund the full purchase price, less shipping, upon return of the guitar in the same condition as sold. Please call us before returning the instrument.
