In 1955, the Fender Esquire was one of the more modest offerings a guitarist could buy- one pickup, a simple design, a simplified version of the slightly newer Telecaster, introduced one year after after the Esquire itself. While the majority of guitars from fender were Blonde or Sunburst, in the early 50’s Fender hadn’t standardized their finish options, and customers could essentially choose any available Dupont color for their finishes. These guitars gained the moniker of “Custom Color”, and are extremely sought after in today’s market.
Well, in a world full of Candy Apple Reds and Sonic Blues, this incredible green Esquire is maybe the rarest color we’ve ever seen on a vintage Fender. Closest perhaps to Pinecrest Green on the Chevrolet color chart, this Esquire is possibly a one of a kind guitar.
With everything but the nut original, this guitar is an incredible piece of Fender history, and plays and sounds great to boot. With the comfortable soft V shaped neck that the mid to late 50’s Teles were known for, this guitar has a slightly more Strat-ish feel than an early 50’s example. The original frets are still very playable, and overall the neck itself is incredible comfortable.
Visually, the body has some chipping and checking, but due to the nature of the painting process, has chipped in an incredibly interesting multi layered fashion, a little different than most Fenders of the era. The ash body is decently light, and the whole guitar resonates as one piece. The electronics are all original, and sound great. It’s hard to put into words how bright Esquire pickups are until you hear one in person.
Serial #14156 comes with the gorgeous original Tweed case.
