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Vintage 1954 Fender Telecaster "Gloria"
$35,000.00
During our 50 years in business, occasionally something really stands out as uniquely special. This late 1954 Telecaster serial number 6900 has everything. The narrow nut width and the rounded V neck shape fits your hand like you never want to let go. The wear marks on the back of the neck are smoothed out from playing and the old wood resonates even when it is not plugged in. There is a full frequency articulation even on the neck pickup with what is usually referred to as a muddy unusable tone, and the bridge pickup has a rounded high end as well as a remarkable amount of bass.
Late 1954 was a period of change for the Telecaster. They changed the color from a Butterscotch Blonde Blackguard, to a White Blonde with White pickguard (they probably experimented with variations) and they changed the bridge saddles from brass to smooth steel. During this switch they did a few with approximately 45 degree forward slant of the height adjusting screws. Some people call it a skating bridge, and this gives more downward torque pressure on the strings.
Inside the control cavity is a piece of masking tape with the name "Gloria" in pencil. Gloria Fuentes was a final assembly worker and was responsible for the final tweaks that put the magic into this Tele. Abigail Ybarra, who started with Fender in 1956, remembers Gloria as a fun loving dedicated employee and said her spirit showed in her work.