“I have no concept why Gillie desired his guitars to look like1950s kitchen area cabinets. Possibly it matched his character or the band’s phase attire”: Walnut brown, super-rare, these custom-order ’50s Fender Telecasters ask the concern– who was Gillie

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One of a kind would be overemphasizing it due to the fact that I really have 2 of these 1950s Telecasters with this custom-made walnut surface, however I’ve never ever seen any others.

These guitars were bought new as an embeded in 1956 and, besides the condition, they resemble clones. The one with all the wear and tear has lettering spelling the name ‘Gillie’ on the pickguard. The apparent concern is, who the heck was Gillie?

We do not understand, however the pictures that came with these guitars reveal us he was a singing cowboy who played in a band with other singing cowboys.Having actually purchased these guitars, he needs to have chosen which was the one for him and he never ever utilized the other one and it stays in brand-new old stock condition. It’s covered in the tissue paper it was delivered in and it still has the factory strings on it.

We have not been able to determine Gillie, it’s most likely that Fender did understand who he was since they concurred to construct him a matching set of guitars with a special surface and custom-feeling necks.

I believe that Gillie might have been somebody in your area popular in the Southern California location evaluating by the appearance of atrioventricular bundle images and the method they were dressed. Or maybe he understood someone who operated at the factory. In any case, he should have had an in someplace with Fender for them to make him 2 unique guitars.

The necks are essentially similar and they feel wonderful with an actually thick V profile. The neck and nut widths are basic, they are rather large– practically like Fender turned U-shaped ’52 Tele necks into soft Vs. Gillie should have had huge mitts on him, however they do feel comfy.

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(Image credit: Paige davidson/ Well Strung Guitars)The one he played weighs around 7lb 4oz and, besides the pickguard lettering, it has actually never ever been changed and it still has its battered initial case. The actually tidy guitar’s case remains in mint condition and still consists of all the documentation from Fender.

I need to state that for my taste, this is not the most beautiful colour and it’s the sort of brown that’s similar to something else. You ‘d be the only kid on your block to have one if you owned these guitars since I’ve never ever seen this surface on any other 1950s Fender guitar which indicates it was specifically purchased.

If it was simply the one guitar, I may be less particular that it’s a factory surface. Due to the fact that the tidy one is in mint and totally unmolested condition, it verifies that it is initial

I have no concept why Gillie desired his guitars to appear like 1950s cooking area cabinets. Perhaps it matched his character or the band’s phase clothing, however for whatever weird factor, he believed this was cool. It is rather clear so you can see grain through it. The lacquer is simply nontransparent enough that it’s nearly a transparent walnut colour.

If it was simply the one guitar, I may be less specific that it’s a factory surface. Due to the fact that the tidy one is in mint and entirely unmolested condition, it validates that it is initial. Neither guitar has actually been changed in any method and even the solder joints are beautiful so this is Fender paint.

The one Gillie played has actually got monitoring and a couple of dings and damages. The edges are bumped and bruised and there’s a huge wear area from a huge buckle. You can distinguish the buckle rash that he played the guitar high up, which indicates he was playing it early on. It’s been liked on and Gillie had a profession with it.


(Image credit: Paige davidson/ Well Strung Guitars)As you ‘d anticipate for ’56 Telecasters, they have smooth steel saddles and bridge pickups with staggered slugs. On Gillie’s playing guitar the pickups check out 7.5 k and 6.6 k at the neck and bridge respectively. The played one sounds especially excellent, however given that the other one has initial strings, we can’t truly compare them at this moment.

The bodies aren’t dated, however the neck dates are September 1956 and the pots are from the 20th week of 1956. The electrical wiring is the same, so the guitars still have their ‘mud’ settings, and although the played one does not have a bridge cover, the mint one does.

The guitars feature 2 truly cool old images. In one image you can see a Fender double-neck pedal steel and the other guitar player in the band looks a bit horrified. Perhaps he’s kicking himself since he might have had a Fender, however he wound up purchasing a Gretsch. We would enjoy to speak with Gillie or perhaps his kids or grandkids. If you understand who he is, please advance.

  • Classic guitar veteran David Davidson ownsWell Strung Guitarsin Farmingdale, New York/ 001 (516) 221-0563
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