Fender '62 Tele, natural flame maple, made in Japan 1985-6. Fender Japan have done a whole stack of factory limited runs over the years, but here's one I've never seen before. First up, it's a mid 1980s 'A serial' Tele... if you're familiar with the iconic 1982-4 JV serial instruments, the first Fender guitars ever made outside the USA, this was made at the same Fujigen Gakki facility by the same hands just a year or two later. These 80s Japanese examples are famous for amazing wood selection and extremely precise build quality, and this is no exception. The neck is a gorgeous piece of tightly grained quartersawn maple and very dark rosewood, carved to a very agreeable slim C. It feels superb in the hands, it has that particular majesty that folks who know these guitars will be familiar with. The body is made from alder, capped with a solid piece of flame maple, around 8mm thick. Generally a flame maple top these days is a veneer, around 1mm thick... not the case here, they weren't mucking around. The alder on the back looks good, the caramel colouring is attractive and there's some cute little knots in the wood. The flame maple top... phwoar, that's nice. There's some lovely depth and detail in the grain, the more you look the more little nuances you notice. The slight difference in colour between the maple cap and alder body give the body the illusion of binding, it's a very good look. But, you ask: how does it sound? It's very good: warm and gooey with a shimmery top end and a weighty, tuneful low end. The middle position is especially satisfying, chords come to life in brilliant detail and hang in the air with sweet buttery complexity. Yum.

Model: Fender Telecaster (neck stamp TL62-DTD)
Made: Japan, Fujigen plant, 1985-6 (serial A069030)
Finish: vintage natural (VNT) over alder and flame maple, gloss poly
Body: alder, 8mm solid flame maple cap
Neck: maple, rosewood board, slim C profile, 7.25" radius, 25.5" scale
Weight: 3.400kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Fender Japan TL-Vintage single coil x2
Case: basic non-original gig bag

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor dimples on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has no major marks, but there's widespread minor dimples and light scuffs around the whole body, most notably in the elbow area and near the neck plate. The sides have no major marks, but there's minor dimples around the whole body, most notably near the jack and in the elbow area. The front has a little bald patch around 2cm across near the tone knob, a few dents in the elbow area, widespread minor dimples around the whole body and some light play wear on the guard and horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets are in great condition, 8/10 for fret life left. Setup with fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.