Fender American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline Lake Placid Blue (946)

Created with the aim of producing light instruments from heavy ash, the Telecaster Thinline debuted in July of 1968 as Fender’s first semi-hollow body guitar. For its second generation of factory production, Fender souped up this guitar in late 1971 with a pair of Wide-Range Humbucking pickups mounted to a reshaped curvy pearloid pickguard.

The American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline recreates the first Fender six-string models to come equipped with Wide-Range Humbucking pickups—an essential element in recreating the sonics of the originals—as well six individual adjustable bridge saddles, which was yet another first for the Telecaster. It also features the three bolt neck plate with a Micro-Tilt mechanism introduced on guitars produced during Fender’s CBS era, which replaced the traditional four from the ’50s and ’60s.

The Wide-Range Humbucking pickups used in the American Vintage II series feature CuNiFe (like AlNiCo, this abbreviation stands for the alloys that comprise the magnets—copper/nickel/iron), which is a unique material that can be machined into screws to be used as adjustable pole pieces. These humbucking pickups, originally designed in the early ’70s by famed pickup designer Seth Lover, are exact reproductions of the originals.

Body: Semi-Hollow Ash
Body Finish: Gloss Polyurethane
Body Shape: Telecaster®
Control Knobs: Knurled Flat-Top
Fingerboard: Maple
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Pickguard: 4-Ply Aged White Pearloid
Position Inlays: Black Dot
Neck Finish: Gloss Polyurethane
Neck Construction: 3-Bolt
Neck Pickup: Authentic CuNiFe Wide-Range Humbucking
Side Dots: Black
Headstock: Telecaster®
Bridge Cover/Tailpiece: Includes Chrome Bridge Cover
String Nut: Bone
Bridge Pickup: Authentic CuNiFe Wide-Range Humbucking
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Pickup Configuration: HH
Bridge: Pure Vintage 6-Saddle String-Through Body Hardtail with Bent Steel Saddles
Tuning Machines: Pure Vintage Fender® “F” Stamped
Case/Gig Bag: Vintage-Style Black (Orange Interior)
Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" (184.1 mm)
Fret Size: Vintage Tall
Neck Material: 1-Piece Maple
Refinement Neck Material: Maple
Number of Frets: 21
Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (64.77 cm)
Truss Rod: Bullet Style