1991 Fender Telecaster Custom (made in Japan)
Back in 1991, I graduated from college with my undergraduate degree. We took a trip to L.A. as a sort of graduation present. At the time, there was a store called Ace Music that would advertise in the Honolulu Yellow Pages, but they were in Santa Monica.
So I had to go and check them out on my trip. It was a medium sized shop, and it was fairly well stocked. I played a few Telecasters, one blackguard style, and the one that I bought, which was a foto-flame Telecaster Custom style, made in Japan. It felt really nice, despite the 7.25" radius fingerboard.
The foto-flame finish was interesting. It was the first guitar (that I was aware of) that used a thin film, over the standard wood, to simulate a flamed maple top. The flames didn't "dance" like a real flame maple top, when you moved the guitar, but from afar it looked authentic. From close up you could see that it wasn't real though. The neat thing about this technology is the Japanese figured out a way to wrap this finish.
I later installed a Hipshot string bender on it to get country styled bends. I ended up selling this guitar at the Easy Music Center Musician's Swap Meet. Unfortunately, there are no pics of my guitar, but I found this pic on the internet - imagine the same guitar, with a standard white tele pickguard and standard pickups.
So I had to go and check them out on my trip. It was a medium sized shop, and it was fairly well stocked. I played a few Telecasters, one blackguard style, and the one that I bought, which was a foto-flame Telecaster Custom style, made in Japan. It felt really nice, despite the 7.25" radius fingerboard.
The foto-flame finish was interesting. It was the first guitar (that I was aware of) that used a thin film, over the standard wood, to simulate a flamed maple top. The flames didn't "dance" like a real flame maple top, when you moved the guitar, but from afar it looked authentic. From close up you could see that it wasn't real though. The neat thing about this technology is the Japanese figured out a way to wrap this finish.
I later installed a Hipshot string bender on it to get country styled bends. I ended up selling this guitar at the Easy Music Center Musician's Swap Meet. Unfortunately, there are no pics of my guitar, but I found this pic on the internet - imagine the same guitar, with a standard white tele pickguard and standard pickups.
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