We've seen our fair share of rarity around these parts over the years, but a guitar like this really puts things in perspective for us. When something like this walks through our doors, it feels almost as if we've been chosen by the gear gods for a higher purpose. Getting to exist in the same space as a guitar of such distinction, it's an honor second to few.
The Telecaster Thinline is a model that I first became aware of in my teenage years thanks to, of all places, Weezer's second album Pinkerton. I caught the "El Scorcho" video by chance on MTV one day and couldn't help but notice that strange Tele that Brian Bell was playing therein. I tried out a few Japanese reissues and decided it wasn't for me, but I'm happy to say I came back around to the model later in life with a newfound appreciation.
I've grown to really dig the vibe of the Telecaster Thinline's semi-hollow character, which imparts a woodiness to the Tele "thing" that sets it apart from the old standard model. It's got a vocal, sing-songy quality that's hard to put into words, yet immediately apparent when you spend some time with one through a great amp. It's a liveliness that I associate with 330s and 335s, but in Fender form.
If you want to hear this green one for yourself, check out the video above. Mike did a great job on these demos.
Now let's talk about that color. I'm sure some of you out there might initially balk at the green-and-purple color combo as it evokes images of a certain Batman villain and garish funhouse interiors from your childhood county fair. Personally I love it, but taste is, of course, subjective.
We discuss the body color in the video posted above, but that purple pearloid guard is the real star of the show for me. I'd call it more pinkish whereas Mike says purple, but whatever side of this debate you take, that material is extremely cool.
This material has more of a propensity to warp in our experience than the infinitely more common white material, which is why instruments with the purple-pink variant often have more screws sunk into them than usual.
Compare these two Competition Mustang Basses, one we sold some time ago and the other from Garrett Park Guitars.
Notice how the screw patters vary! This is entirely common on just about every purple pearloid guard we can find, but to be fair you can also find some white pearloid with too many screws. Whatever works, I suppose!
It's a pleasure to be able to steward guitars like this rare Joker of ours for as long as we have them, and being able to view them up close gives us a window of insight into what was going on at the Fender factory as do relationships with Fender historians like the great Terry Foster, who provided us with a handwritten note by Freddie Tavares cataloging the custom colors for this particular run. We're grateful we got to use that in the video, so thank you Terry!