Fender '72 Tele, olympic white, made in Japan 1985-6. Well, this is cool, no qualms there. This dates to pretty early in the piece of Fender Japan: the first ever Fenders made outside USA were the JV-serial instruments, made at Fujigen Gakki in Japan 1982-4, and these A-serial examples followed basically straight after in 1985-6 and made by the same hands. It's a stellar piece of craftsmanship: the neck is a gorgeous piece of maple, arrow straight with tasty wavy grain, capped with a lux dark choc open-pore rosewood board, attached to a zingy ash body and put together with a whole heap of love and care. You can feel the natural resonance straight away, this feels very lively and complete in the hands. The bridge pickup is full and warm while maintaining a very healthy dose of 'Tele twang'. The neck pickup has a nice mix of sparkle and punch, it's very convincing. The middle position on this has been wired to be out of phase, perfect for quacky dub style rhythms or lo-fi surf leads. The neck pocket of this is stamped 'order made', so this must've been part of a small run in the non-catalog olympic white finish... looks great, no? 

Model: Fender Telecaster '72 Reissue (TL72-55)
Made: Japan, Fujigen plant, 1985-6 (serial A009950)
Finish: olympic white (OWH), 1-ply black guard
Body: sen ash
Weight: 3.750kg
Neck: maple with rosewood board, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius, 42mm nut, modern C shape
Mods: guard replaced, re-wired with USA pots/switch and paper-in-oil capacitor, middle position wired as out of phase, saddles replaced
Pickups: Fender Japan 'TL-Single' x2
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has some minor marks on the end and bottom edge. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has minor scuffs and dimples around the body, nothing nasty. The sides have minor dimples on the top side from the top horn to the rear strap pin, as well as a chip and some scuffs near the jack and a chip and some surface scratches on the bottom horn. The front has some dimples near the knobs and behind the bridge, as well as light scuffs in the elbow area and play wear on the guard and top horn. Overall: good condition (7/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have some normal wear but look to have been recently dressed and levelled, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/46 strings.