My friend gave me a tele, I took it apart

[PorkyPrimeCut]

A good start would be to take better, clearer pictures.
Like, in daylight, without shodows obscuring stuff.
Just stick it by a window & take a bunch more.

[BoringPostcards]

If only the person who 'customized' that Telecaster knew what it would be worth.

[mekhem]

Not a bad gift there.

I would take whatever pictures necessary and a nice road trip to have it appraised by someone reputable. It will be worth it to get it appraised correctly.

[added]

Some more photos. It seems like the sticker sitting in the bridge route is from the pickup.

http://imgur.com/a/u9wRH" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[egosheep]

Wow.

[mgeek]

I was hoping to get it authenticated and repaired.

It totally looks like a '53 esquire.

What needs repairing apart from the finish? Does it sound good? What's the neck like?

[infiniteposse]

Firstly, you owe you roommate a lifetime of beer.

Next, the TDPRI tele forum, specifically the vintage section, is the best place to get super geeky about this guitar. A lot of those guys collect and will be able to get into the minutiae. The "man" is Nacho, who literally wrote the book on teles. If you do that, post a link here. I'm super interested.

Congrats! You've made the score of a lifetime. If you can afford to get it worked on by the best possible people, do. This isn't a guitar for the local experts to touch if you're not in a major metropolitan area. I'd personally be willing to ship this sort of instrument to the right folks for restoration and work. The value you're adding on the back end is significant. It might seem silly, but being able to say "restoration by xxx" could be worth a lot more than you pay for this sort of guitar.

If you're not into resurrecting it, consider flipping for a tidy profit and buy 2-3 other great guitars you don't have to mess with. It deserves to be loved. These are perhaps as close to Holy Grails as I, personally, believe exist.

Have fun.

[pineder]

If this scenario is real, KILLER!

Agree to have this one appraised and possibly restored if you can afford it. Honestly, if that fell in my lap I'd probably cash out.

[mgeek]

I might be being slow here, but what's the appeal in paying someone to tell you what you have?

ID-ing a mass produced guitar like this isn't rocket science.

[JakobLyngbo]

I agree with an earlier post: you owe your friend a lifetime-supply of beer and pizza. Damn!
Please let us know what happens!

If this is indeed a '53 Esquire, you're gonna have to get someone incredibly skilled to restore it to former glory!
Or sell it as it is and buy something epic that already works.

And dude, for the love of all that is holy, post a pic of the whole guitar!

[Jaguar018]

I might be being slow here, but what's the appeal in paying someone to tell you what you have?

ID-ing a mass produced guitar like this isn't rocket science.

It's usually better to hand-inspect something like this rather than just go based off pictures. If you get it appraised by a reputable vintage dealer and they confirm the guitar is 'the real deal' then that helps solidify its value.

Having a bunch of internet experts do it won't give it the same provenance. Think about it. "Norman's Rare Guitars in LA appraised it at $4,000" compared to BigBallz69 who has 10,000+ posts on TDPRI said it was worth $4,000.

[Ursa Minor]

Having a bunch of internet experts do it won't give it the same provenance. Think about it. "Norman's Rare Guitars in LA appraised it at $4,000" compared to BigBallz69 who has 10,000+ posts on TDPRI said it was worth $4,000.

Truth.

[mgeek]

I might be being slow here, but what's the appeal in paying someone to tell you what you have?

ID-ing a mass produced guitar like this isn't rocket science.

It's usually better to hand-inspect something like this rather than just go based off pictures. If you get it appraised by a reputable vintage dealer and they confirm the guitar is 'the real deal' then that helps solidify its value.

Having a bunch of internet experts do it won't give it the same provenance. Think about it. "Norman's Rare Guitars in LA appraised it at $4,000" compared to BigBallz69 who has 10,000+ posts on TDPRI said it was worth $4,000.

Yeah, I do get it...it's just all a load of absolute guff. I'm into antiques! Appraising happens with unique 4000 year old objects you need a masters degree to fully understand, not something that was made in a factory 65 years ago.

There are plenty of pictures of these on the internet, lots of breakdowns of the details, it's value is about what the last one in the same condition sold for on ebay.

[NoiseNoiseNoise]

I might be being slow here, but what's the appeal in paying someone to tell you what you have?

ID-ing a mass produced guitar like this isn't rocket science.

It's usually better to hand-inspect something like this rather than just go based off pictures. If you get it appraised by a reputable vintage dealer and they confirm the guitar is 'the real deal' then that helps solidify its value.

Having a bunch of internet experts do it won't give it the same provenance. Think about it. "Norman's Rare Guitars in LA appraised it at $4,000" compared to BigBallz69 who has 10,000+ posts on TDPRI said it was worth $4,000.

Yeah, I do get it...it's just all a load of absolute guff. I'm into antiques! Appraising happens with unique 4000 year old objects you need a masters degree to fully understand, not something that was made in a factory 65 years ago.

There are plenty of pictures of these on the internet, lots of breakdowns of the details, it's value is about what the last one in the same condition sold for on ebay.

[Jaguar018]

There are plenty of pictures of these on the internet, lots of breakdowns of the details, it's value is about what the last one in the same condition sold for on ebay.

The internet guitar value & fake vs. real detective police are pretty hardcore. If you want to go the DIY route you can, and chances are really good that (assuming the guitar is authentic) you can figure out how much it's worth, sell it, or get a good restoration done that retains the guitar's value.

You're certainly correct that these are not 4,000 year old antiques, but that's all relative. A Fender made in the the 1950s is basically the electric guitar equivalent of ancient times.

The people that would want this guitar for "what it's worth" are going to ask a lot of questions(tire kickers); many buyers will also make lowball offers. For a person with my personality, if I stumbled upon a guitar like this-- a coveted 1950s diamond in the rough Telecaster or Strat, I'd take it to a decent store that sells vintage guitars and have a few people look it over, because it could really be worth a lot. I'd also not want to deal with the tire kickers and lowballers. A commissioned sale would be totally worth it. Keep in mind: if it was a Jaguar in the same shape from 1962 I would not get it appraised or anything. I'd get a pro to restore it and sell it myself. Jaguars just aren't as coveted in the vintage guitar market.