Menu
@malonzi5150’s new Early 90s #MIJ #Fender ‘62 Reissue Custom #Telecaster in CandyApple Red. I had one of these back in 1988 and sold it when moved out West in the mid 90s and missed it ever since. Mine was 3-Tone #sunburst tho. Still. Miss...

@malonzi5150’s new Early 90s #MIJ #Fender ‘62 Reissue Custom #Telecaster in CandyApple Red. I had one of these back in 1988 and sold it when moved out West in the mid 90s and missed it ever since. Mine was 3-Tone #sunburst tho. Still. Miss it.

Photographed at #guitarsummit2018 at @marshalllespaulfan’s place.

#teletuesday #tele #madeinjapan #guitar #guitars #guitarra #chitarra #guitarre #electricguitar #vintageguitars #fenderguitars #tone #guitargear #guitarsofinstagram #geartalk #guitargear #vintagegear #guitarsdaily #fendersofinstagram #guitarphotography

geartalk guitarra sunburst vintagegear chitarra guitarsdaily guitarsummit2018 guitarsofinstagram electricguitar telecaster guitargear guitarphotography guitars guitar tone fender fendersofinstagram guitarre mij madeinjapan vintageguitars fenderguitars tele teletuesday

Mar 27, 2018
1988 #MIJ #Fender #Floral #Stratocaster spotted moments ago at @capsulemusic. Yes it’s Canada Day 🇨🇦, but they are open for business! Get on down there and buy a #guitar. Buy THIS guitar…it’s not expensive! 😁 #guitar #guitars #guitarra #chitarra...

1988 #MIJ #Fender #Floral #Stratocaster spotted moments ago at @capsulemusic. Yes it’s Canada Day 🇨🇦, but they are open for business! Get on down there and buy a #guitar. Buy THIS guitar…it’s not expensive! 😁

#guitar #guitars #guitarra #chitarra #guitarre #rockstarguitar #electricguitar #vintageguitars #fenderguitars #tone #guitargear #guitarporn #guitarsofinstagram #geartalk #guitargear #vintagegear #guitarsdaily #fendersofinstagram #guitarphotography

tone guitars vintageguitars guitarporn guitarre fender stratocaster guitarsdaily electricguitar guitarphotography geartalk guitarra floral fendersofinstagram guitar guitarsofinstagram chitarra fenderguitars mij vintagegear guitargear rockstarguitar

Jul 01, 2017
I went to see #LesterMcLean’s #funk band in #Toronto the other day and the guitar player had a late 80s/early 90s #MIJ #Fender ‘62 Custom #Telecaster #reissue #lefty in #sunburst. Man…I had one of these back in the late 80s but foolishly sold it to...

I went to see #LesterMcLean’s #funk band in #Toronto the other day and the guitar player had a late 80s/early 90s #MIJ #Fender ‘62 Custom #Telecaster #reissue #lefty in #sunburst.

Man…I had one of these back in the late 80s but foolishly sold it to @pauldeslauriers (who made a lot better use of it than I ever could have!) when I got married, and have missed it ever since. This one looks to have been modified with a neck #humbucker, but I’d still take it. It was because I missed my #Japanese #Tele so much that I ended up buying @desmo_damo’s #CustomShop version…But now I don’t have that one either because he bought it back from me last year! Maybe that’s why I impulse-bought the 2015 #Journeyman #Relic at @folkwaymusic a few weeks ago?? Maybe it was a subconscious longing to recoup my MIJ #CustomTelecaster and, by extension, my long lost youth…?

Jeez…I. am. messed. up. 😁

#guitars #guitar #fenderguitars #cij #madeinjapan #teletuesday #guitarphotography

fenderguitars japanese telecaster sunburst funk guitars customtelecaster humbucker tele cij guitarphotography teletuesday reissue lefty customshop toronto fender madeinjapan relic mij journeyman guitar lestermclean

Mar 21, 2017
For #TeleTuesday this week: the #Tele that got away! 1998 #Fender #CustomShop ‘60 #CustomTelecaster. The story behind this one is incredible. I will keep it in point form for the sake of brevity: 1) I used to own an #MIJ 1988 #sunburst #CustomTele...

For #TeleTuesday this week: the #Tele that got away!

1998 #Fender #CustomShop ‘60 #CustomTelecaster.

The story behind this one is incredible. I will keep it in point form for the sake of brevity:

1) I used to own an #MIJ 1988 #sunburst #CustomTele #reissue that I sold in the 90s and always regretted selling.
2) I found this beautiful (and far superior!) replacement on Kijiji in 2011 (or 2012?) and snapped it up.
3) a few years later the fellow I bought it from, @desmo_damo (aka Mr. #Cottageaf), found me on social media, and told me how he regretted selling it, and vowed to one day buy it back from me…or die trying!
4) He sounded serious…and not a little unbalanced…but over the last couple of years my focus has shifted to #vintageguitars, so as beautiful as this #Tele is, I needed to free up cash to pursue my #vintageguitar #collecting activities!
5) Just when I least expected it, Damien messaged me and said he was ready to buy the guitar back!
6) the revenue generated allowed me to buy my new 1966 #Fender #Musicmaster!
7) Damien got his #guitar back and I got another vintage guitar for my collection! Everyone’s a winner, baby - that’s the truth! 😆

I will still miss it though…it was honestly the most beautiful non vintage #Telecaster I have ever seen. But it is where it belongs again…so deep down i am happy!

#guitarphotography

reissue collecting mij telecaster customshop vintageguitars fender guitar customtelecaster vintageguitar customtele tele teletuesday musicmaster cottageaf sunburst guitarphotography

Aug 30, 2016
A special request, photographed for @nicklalonde98 - the #guitar that started it all for me: 1987 #Fender #AmericanStandard #Stratocaster. Some notes for nerds: 1) you are right…those are not the original #trem/#bridge/bridgeplate/#saddles. I always...

A special request, photographed for @nicklalonde98 - the #guitar that started it all for me: 1987 #Fender #AmericanStandard #Stratocaster.

Some notes for nerds:
1) you are right…those are not the original #trem/#bridge/bridgeplate/#saddles. I always wanted to change the stock “block” saddles, so when I got the chance to recently, I went for it!

2) the #pickguard is newer too…#mint goes so well with #OlympicWhite, n'est pas?

3) don’t worry - the originals are in the case!

4) it is, however, a myth that this was my very first guitar…it was my 5th actually. A early 80s #Vantage #Avenger (which I still have!), a mid-80s #Ibanez #Roadstar II (which I sold to a friend), another ‘87 American Standard #Strat (which I gave away to the same friend to make up for selling him the crappy Ibanez!), and a #MIJ '62 #reissue Custom #Telecaster (which I sold to friend waaay back in '94) came first…but this here is the guitar that I used almost every night for the 5-ish years I played music full time.

#straturday #guitars #fenderguitars #guitarphotography

bridge mij fender reissue saddles mint guitarphotography americanstandard vantage roadstar olympicwhite avenger telecaster guitar stratocaster fenderguitars ibanez trem strat pickguard guitars straturday

May 14, 2016
Speaking of #Fender #Mustangs… (PS: I know we weren’t speaking at all about Fender Mustangs, but I couldn’t think of another way to start this off without it getting all awkward, which it has done now anyway, so whatever…) Here’s a new ‘65 #Reissue...

Speaking of #Fender #Mustangs… (PS: I know we weren’t speaking at all about Fender Mustangs, but I couldn’t think of another way to start this off without it getting all awkward, which it has done now anyway, so whatever…)

Here’s a new ‘65 #Reissue #Mustang, made in #Japan. I can’t remember the last time I saw a #sunburst 'Stang reissue. They tend only come in custom colours…at least in my experience anyway. I like the sunburst look on a Mustang! What do you think, @luisecoll? You are the Mustang expert in the group! :D PS: Price was around $1200 (CAD)

Spotted at #CosmoMusic, Richmond Hill (Toronto) Canada, last night.

#guitarshopping #guitar #guitars #fenderguitars #cij #mij #fendermustang #guitarphotography

fenderguitars guitar mij fendermustang cosmomusic fender mustangs guitarshopping reissue guitars cij japan mustang sunburst guitarphotography

Jan 08, 2016

It’s always fun to stop in at The Rex Hotel smack dab in the middle of downtown Toronto on  Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  They have 4 shows - i.e. 4 different bands playing - both on Saturday and Sunday.  

Yesterday my friend from Long & McQuade, Phil Kane, and his band were playing the second afternoon slot so I dropped in to hear them and take a few shots.

Phil’s main guitar is a lovely 1976 Gibson ES-175, but he also brings along a very cool late 80s MIJ Fender Custom Telecaster (which I love a lot…because I used to own an Identical one!) and a mid 60s Gibson Melody Maker which he picked up for 50 bucks some years back because it had a nasty headstock break.  Phil had one of his luthier buddies carve and install and new neck onto it!

His amp setup is interesting too: he uses three amps that he switches between for different sounds.  My personal favourite is the really pretty vintage 1965 Fender Princeton, and the 1966 Fender reverb unit sitting on top of it!

fender gibson vintage guitars amplifiers amps princeton reverb 1965 blackface 1976 ES-175 mij cij custom telecaster reissue rex hotel toronto live music matinee traynor guitar photography city downtown gig nikon

Aug 10, 2014

Here’s something you don’t see every day…or in my case EVER!  ;)

It’s a 1986 Squier Bullet.  Made in Japan of course, as Fender did not make any guitars in the USA in around 1985/1986.  When CBS sold them the factory was not part of the deal…so for the two or so years until the new factory was ready, only Japanese-made Fenders were available.  And this is one of them!  

At only 250 clams it was VERY tempting to bring home and screw around with.  But I didn’t buy it. I’m saving up for an early 60s Epiphone Coronet…

vintage 80s 1986 fender squier mij cij bullet japan guitar electric guitar guitar shopping guitar photography nikon long and mcquade mississauga toronto rare

Jul 09, 2014

Project update:  2 coats of Dupli-Color “Chrysler Deep Sherwood Green”.  I decided to stick some sh*t on it to give you a better idea of what it (might) look like when it’s done.  I will probably use the maple neck (shot #2) rather than the rosewood one.

PS:  the Bridge pickup here is one that came out of my 1988 MIJ ‘62 Reissue Custom Tele.  I had replaced it with a Duncan Hotrail.  That is what we did in the 90s…change everything to humbuckers!  Single coils ain’t loud enough!  What a moron I was*.  The neck pickup is a used Lollar I picked up at my friend Peter’s shop, Mojo Music, Oakville (Toronto)

* and still am.

PPS;  What’s that?  You want to SEE my 1988 Japanese Custom Tele? Well I can’t show it to you..I sold it in 1994 to my friend Paul Deslauriers, just before I moved to Vancouver.  If only there was a way to show you that guitar.  OH WAIT!  HERE IT IS ON YOUTUBE!  Paul’s playing my ex-guitar in this video and he’s using the Hotrail too!  This was shot at a bar in Montreal (Canada) waaaaaaaaaaay back in 1994!

That’s my Tele right there…  Seriously!  

fender telecaster mij cij jv japan made in japan reissue 62 custom telecaster my collection montreal paul deslauriers vancouver toronto black cat bone live blues slide guitars electric guitars tele partscaster build sherwood green pickups lollar bistro a jojo saint-denis 1994

Jun 07, 2014

This is so cool…my friend Danny Marks (pictured above at his weekly Saturday afternoon show at The Rex Hotel in downtown Toronto) is featured in this promo for the upcoming Maple Blues Awards, which takes place this coming January 20th in Toronto.   

I should go to this show!  My childhood guitar-playing wizard friend Paul Deslauriers is nominated for Guitar Player of the Year!  Actually…Paul wasn’t really my “childhood” friend - I knew him in my 20s.  But that was a long time ago!  And I was VERY childish at the time.  Still am!  :D

Here’s Danny’s advert for the Maple Blues Awards.  This joint looks a little too classy for blues tho… ;)

And here’s my old friend Paul Deslauriers, with his band at the time Black Cat Bone, waaaaaaaayyyyyyy back in 1994.  

In those days when we were all playing on the Montreal club scene.  I had moved to Vancouver by this time, but Paul got that 1988 MIJ Custom Tele he’s playing from me!  I sold it to him in September…just before I moved away to the West Coast!  :D  Ah, precious memories…  or should I say “mémoires précieuses”?  Ici (à Montreal…) on parle français! ;)

guitar electric guitar blues music fender telecaster custom telecaster mij cij vintage reissue toronto maple blues awards danny marks paul deslauriers black cat bone vancouver montreal beaux esprits night club bar gig live 1994 blast from the past rex rex hotel stratocaster

Dec 15, 2013

MORE from Tuesday night shopping this week!  This time at Gear Music in Oakville, a suburb of Toronto, Canada.

Gear Music has recently become a Gibson dealer, so now they have a full line of Gibson, Epi, Fender, and Gretsch guitars, and makes them a LOT more interesting to two seasoned and jaded guitar shoppers such as my cousin and me!  ;)

  1. In the middle is a lovely candy apple American Vintage ‘64 Tele.
  2. Check this weird one out.  It’s a Strat, but that is about all I could figure out about it!  It was really beat up…and looked like the body had been refinished at some point.  There was no serial number, but it had “made in Japan” stamped on the neck plate.  The neck looked like real vintage 70s, or maybe late 60s because it was 4 bolt and no “bullet” truss rod.  BUT, the truss rod adjustment was in the headstock - so it MUST be a (not 100% accurate) reissue of a late 60s 4 bolt neck.  All all the lacquer had been removed from the back of the neck, and the bridge was actually rusting!   My best guess is that it’ some kind of “partscaster” cobbled together from various sources and put together over many different years!  No price tag on it, but it was around 7 lbs, so if the price was right I would definitely consider buying it!
  3. A very nice CIJ '54 Reissue Strat fro 1000 clams.  How can you tell it’s a '54 re-ish?  Some of the clues: 2 instead of 3 tone sunburst (red was not introduced into Fender sunburst until ~1958).  8 screw single ply pick guard (3 ply, 11 screw 'guard first shows up in '58 or '59 as well).  Round string retainer (only used for the first 2 or 3 years!). Here endeth the lesson.  :D
  4. What the heck is this?!?  So interesting.  A Japanese Tele, clearly quite used, in black with gold hardware and matching headstock?  If I had any cash hanging about, I would have been all over this one!  No price tag though…
  5. More excitement!  One of the new '68 Reissue “silverface” Fender amps.  A Princeton Reverb (my fave!), in fact!  And 100 dollars cheaper than the “blackface” Princeton Reverb it is sitting on top of!  I wonder why the price variance between the two?
  6. As a big SG fan this item made me really happy!  It’s a 2007 SG 3.  I had never seen one before.  I love the gold hardware, 3 pickups and master volume & tone controls.  I assume the chicken head knob takes the place of the pickup selector toggle switch… 

gear gear music oakville toronto guitar shop guitars electric guitars shopping gibson fender sg sg 3 cij mij japan stratocaster partscaster

Nov 20, 2013

More from this week’s guitar shopping.  This time in Mississauga, just west of Toronto.

  1. I used to know an Irish guy named “Wally O'Fender”  :D
  2. Oh the poor poor Firebird X.    When these first came out the price tag was around $10k.   I never saw such raw negative emotion unleashed on a website’s comments field as I did for this poor misguided (and obscenely expensive) instrument!  Price tag now = <$4k.  And still none have sold…
  3. Interesting…matte finish.  Nice chrome pickup covers. One knob.  No fret markers.  What it is?  And don’t say “duh…it’s a Les Paul!”.   Smart ass!  :D  
  4. Hmm…not usually a huge fan of natural finishes on Fenders, but this 2001 American Series with a reddish tort. ‘guard for 800 bones was tempting!  LOVE it when rosewood is that dark…
  5. I have always had a thing for the American Deluxe Teles in this finish…which I call “red burst” becuase I never bothered to find out what Fender’s actual name for it is!
  6. CIJ Reissue Tele in a lovely butterscotch-y natural finish.  I’m so happy to start seeing Fender Japan product on sale again.  A lot of you youngsters may not remember but in the late 80s, Fender Japan was actually considered BETTER than Fender USA by some folks keep in mind the new Fender had only been making “american Standards for a couple of years and most people still remembered the garbage CBS produced leading up to their sale of Fender in 1985).  There was no shame in buying an "MIJ” - they were “Made” in Japan then!  I owned a 1988 Custom Tele and it was gorgeous.  Then I sold it.  Idiot I was.
  7.  Watermelon Uke.  That reminds me: the supermarket down the street has a sale on mini watermelons.  Must go pick one up today…
  8. A bunch f nice Teles including a “Rustic” FSR (top, second from left), and a Select (Bottom, far right.).  Anyone know what that multi-coloured one to the right of the “Rustic” is?
  9. There’s that interesting, sleek, Les Paul again, plus a Custom Shop VOS SG Std which I am always a sucker for!
  10. Fun FSR MIM Strats in neon gold and blue.

guitars electric guitars guitar shop guitar store shop shopping toronto mississauga gibson fender stratocaster telecaster les paul sg mim cij mij japan custom shop watermelon ukulele uke kala firebird x fiasco es-335 original photography nikon d3000 lightroom

Nov 14, 2013

1984…no wait…1987 Fender American Standard Stratocaster.  

Whoa, hang on a sec…doesn’t “E4” in a Fender serial number signify “1984”?  Yes it does.  And no it doesn’t - not in this case.

In 1987, Fender resumed building guitars in the USA  - CBS had sold the company in 1985, but the deal did not include the factory!  For two years, no Fenders were made in the USA…the only Fenders made those years were made in Japan.  

When Fender opened their new factory in 1987 there were stocks of necks leftover from the CBS days - produced before the sale, but never used.   These were used on the very first “American Standard” Strat models…and this is one of them.   “E4” necks can be seen on Fenders throughout 1987 and even into 1988!    

(in fact, I learned recently that since the American Standard Tele came out a year after the American Standard Strat, that you can see E4 serials in Teles into 1989!   Again…don’t quote me on that, as I have a terrible habit of hearing something and then recounting it incorrectly!  I’m not malicious or a liar - just dumb!)

fender american standard stratocaster serial number 1984 1987 eighties 80s cbs fullerton corona mij japan guitars electric guitars my collection toronto photographers on tumblr nikon d200 macro

Aug 29, 2013

As you may know, my cousin and I go guitar shopping at least once per week…just to see what’s new and exciting in the local shops.

This week we were at Long & McQuade in Mississauga (a suburb west of Toronto) and there were a whole bunch of fun things to look at and try…

  1. American Vintage ‘52 Telecaster
  2. Jeff Beck Signature Strat in a very cool colour (surf green I think…but I get easily confused in the wide world of Fender greens and blues!)
  3. Ah, poor little Starla…no one wants thee.  This gaudy (but cool!) guitar has been sitting on the rack for at least 2 years now.  I must be really weird because I LOVE Starlas - and I have owned TWO of them - but no one else seems to like them at all.  :( 
  4. Now that I am learning about Firebirds for the first time in the book about Gibson that I am reading, I’m starting to feel like I may just need to own one very soon…
  5. Fender “Select” Telecaster.  A little more expensive than the new AVRIs, but 10 times the fanciness!  Check out the Strat-like strumming-arm-comfort-contour (yes, that IS the official Fender name for it*) on bass side of the lower bout!
  6. Here is something I am starting to see more of out in the shops - a “CIJ” reissue Tele.  When I was a lad, the ONLY non-USA Fenders were made in Japan.  Then I took “a break” from guitar between 1995 and 2010…and when I came back there are Mexican Fenders, Korean Fenders, Indonesian Fenders, and even Chinese Fenders…but no Japanese Fenders!  Nice to see them back.  Oh, and this reissue was less than half the price of the USA-made American Vintage line.  So that’s cool too.

* No it’s not.

fender gibson guitars electric guitars telecaster tele stratocaster strat jeff beck mij cij select prs starla firebird blonde blackguard photography nikon P7100 long and mcquade mississauaga toronto

Aug 28, 2013

Indy Theme by Safe As Milk