Vintage - 1966 Fender Telecaster

1966 Fender Telecaster Black, Serial Number 115881

Key Features and Details

Neck

• Original Fender maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
• Heel stamp reads: “3 NOV 65 B”
  • “3”: Fender model code for Telecaster/Esquire neck
  • “NOV 65”: Dates the neck to November 1965
  • “B”: Indicates Fender’s standard 1⅝-inch nut width
• Kluson Deluxe double-line machine heads: Period-correct tuners with no evidence of alternative tuner holes or conversions
• Frets have been dressed; no grooves, but some finger divots in the rosewood

Body

• Traditional solid-body Telecaster construction
• Currently finished in black (refinished long ago)
• Original finish/sealer visible in several cavities
• Routing and construction consistent with a mid-1960s Fender Telecaster
  • Correct-style bridge pickup rout
  • Correct neck pickup rout
  • Correct elongated control cavity
  • Period-correct diagonal wiring channel
  • Neck pocket with period-style manufacturing/inspection markings
  • Flush/countersunk rear string ferrules
• All construction and routing consistent with an original 1966 Fender body

Pickups

• Bridge Pickup

  • Traditional Fender Telecaster single coil with metal baseplate
  • Cloth-covered leads
  • DC resistance: approximately 5.5kΩ
  • Rewound by Bareknuckle Pickups roughly 10–12 years ago

• Neck Pickup

  • Traditional Fender Telecaster single coil with chrome cover
  • Cloth-covered leads
  • DC resistance: approximately 7.4kΩ

Overall: Telecaster pickups and construction are consistent with the mid-1960s period.

Electronics

• Vintage-style cloth-covered wiring
• Period-correct 3-way selector switch
• Vintage-style capacitor/components
• Some historical soldering work evident
• One potentiometer replaced before 1976 (original part retained)
• Output jack replaced (original part retained)
• Surviving electronics and wiring consistent with mid-1960s Fender construction

Hardware

• Fender F-logo neck plate, serial number 115881 (matches 1966 production range)
• Fender patent-number Telecaster bridge plate
• Traditional three threaded-saddle bridge
• Flush rear string ferrules
• Chrome neck pickup cover
• Traditional Telecaster control plate with knurled metal control knobs
• Kluson Deluxe double-line tuners

Dating Evidence

The various dating points align:

• November 1965 neck
• 1966-range F-logo neck plate, serial 115881
• Period-correct electronics and hardware
• Mid-1960s pickups and wiring
• Body routing and ferrule arrangement consistent with the era

It’s normal for a Fender completed in 1966 to feature a neck made in late 1965.

Known Alterations

• Body refinished (long ago)
• One potentiometer replaced (original retained)
• Output jack replaced (original retained)
• Associated soldering/electrical work

No evidence of major structural modifications to the body or neck.

Overall Assessment

This instrument is consistent with being a 1966 Fender Telecaster fitted with its November 1965 Fender neck and period-correct hardware, pickups, and major components.

Though the body has been refinished, its routing, construction, neck pocket, wiring channel, and rear ferrule arrangement are all consistent with an original mid-1960s Fender Telecaster body.

The combination of:

• NOV 65 neck date
• Serial 115881
• Period Kluson tuners
• Period-correct bridge and hardware
• Vintage electronics
• 5.5kΩ / 7.4kΩ pickup readings
• 7.24 lb weight (3.28 kg)

...presents a coherent 1965/66 Fender instrument.

Additional Details

• Comes with the original Fender hard case
• This guitar is a great player:
  • Perfectly set up
  • Great tones
  • Low action
  • Lovely old-guitar broken-in feel

A real piece of Fender history.

Purchase Information

As with all high-end, vintage, and collectible instruments, this guitar is only available for purchase in-store or via direct bank transfer.

We’re happy to ship anywhere, but only fully insured and at your cost.