Fender Telecaster 1970s

About the Fender Telecaster 1970s

Built in Fullerton, California, the standard Telecaster changed little through the 1970s. Most bodies are ash, with a skunk-striped maple neck and a maple or rosewood board: 21 frets, a 25.5 inch scale, a 7.25 inch radius and a 1 5/8 inch nut (measured at about 41 mm). Necks measure 0.88 to 0.93 inch deep at the first fret, 0.94 to 0.97 inch at the twelfth. Four bolts hold the neck through an F-stamped plate, tuners are F-stamped, and the string-through bridge has three barrel saddles; one volume, one tone and a three-way switch sit on a chrome plate. Most finishes are polyester; blonde and natural are usual, with sunburst, black and Olympic White too, and blonde yellows toward butterscotch.

To date one: up to about 1976 the serial is on the neck plate, later on the headstock face with a matching sticker on the body (1978 serials start S8). Early 1970s necks carry a date stamp such as 3 Oct 71 B; CTS pot codes give year and week after 137 (1377609 is week 9 of 1976), and original pots are 1 meg. Serial, neck and pots can be a year or more apart. Weights vary: 1971 to 1974 guitars weigh 6.5 to 9.6 lb (2.9 to 4.4 kg), 1975 to 1979 ones 7.4 to 10 lb (3.4 to 4.5 kg).

The original case is black tolex; the ashtray bridge cover is often missing. Expect refrets and new nuts, often with a re-lacquered neck, and swapped tuners, pots, pickups and pickguards, refinishes and extra routing.

In one paragraph

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Sellers are asking a median of €4,221 for the Fender Telecaster 1970s today, 84% over the €2,300 it actually sells for (9 recorded sales, last 90 days; most sold between €1,650 and €2,500). The sale median is down 33% on the €3,437 of the 90 days before. There are 81 listings live right now across Reverb, eBay United States, eBay Germany, from €1,998 asking. Figures computed 17 October 2026 by Doirado from cross-platform listing data.