Technical information and specifications on the original '72 and all reissues.
· Change History (this page) · Specifications (this page) · The '72 Custom in Detail page The original Telecaster Custom was made between 1972 and 1981, and has since been reissued and made by Fender in Japan and Mexico. This is the place to find info on all features and specifications on these guitars, from 1972 to date. Hopefully it will be more complete in the future. If you have anything to add or correct, please don't hesitate to send me (Henrik, webmaster and member #28) an E-mail. Sources: A.R. Duchossoir, The Fender Telecaster (ISBN 0-7935-0860-6); http://www.fender.com; http://www.ishibashi-music.com/fenderjp.html	The 3-bolt neckplate with s/n.
Change History Here's a time line, listing all changes regarding specifications, colors, etc. through the years. I'm pretty sure of everything except the first introduction of new color options.

Year	Change
1971	Seth Lover's "Wide Range Humbucker" enters the market as an after-market part, and, late in the year, on the new Thinline Tele.
Mid-1972	Production of the new Custom model starts at the factory in Fullerton California.
1972	New finish options Black, Olympic White, Natural and Walnut are introduced.
1972?	Script "Custom" designation on headstock changes to a straight type font.
Circa 1973-74	Original old-style 3-saddle bridge replaced with an updated version with six saddles.
1976	Serial number moves to headstock. Patent numbers replaced with "Made in USA".
1977	New finish options Antigua and Wine added. Sunburst discontinued?
1978	Standard Strat knobs replace Gibson-style knobs.
1978	Walnut finish phased out, Tobacco Sunburst introduced.
1979	Olympic White and Antigua phased out.
Early 1981	Production discontinued.
Circa 1990	MIJ '72 reissue introduced by Fender Japan.
1999	MIJ/CIJ '72 no longer exported to outside of Japan. Manufacturing of new MIM '72 reissue starts at the Ensenada factory, Mexico.

Specifications As you can see, no big changes occured from the moment the first '72 was manufactured 'til the last one left the factory in early 1981. The following tables list the original MIA '72 Custom specifications as well as the MIJ/CIJ and MIM reissue '72 specs as detailed as possible. See bottom of page for factory blueprints.

The headstock decal as found on 1972-1976 Customs.

	MIA Telecaster Custom
	Model number:	11-0700
	Manufactured:	Mid-1972 to early 1981, in Fullerton, CA, USA
	Body:	2 or x-piece Ash
	Neck:	21-fret maple with 3-bolt Micro Tilt attachment, "bullet" truss rod, two string trees and bold black Fender Telecaster Custom decal
	Fretboard:	Maple (once piece neck) or Rosewood, 7.25" radius
	Scale lenght:	25.5"
	Width at nut:	1.650"
	Machine heads:	Fender/Schaller "F" tuners
	Bridge pickup:	Standard Fender Telecaster bridge single coil
	Neck pickup:	Fender Wide Range humbucker
	Bridge:	3 or 6-saddle standard "vintage" Tele bridge
	Controls:	Four chrome tipped "skirted" or standard Strat-style volume and tone knobs; Gibson-style 3-way switch
	Pickguard:	3-ply black / white / black
	Finish options:	3-tone Sunburst, Black, Olympic White, Natural, Blond, Walnut, Antigua, Wine and Tobacco Sunburst

	MIJ/CIJ Telecaster Custom reissue
	Same as original MIA above, except:
	Model number:	027-7602
	Manufactured:	1990-, in Japan. Exported until 1999. Current Japanese model has slightly different specs.
	Body:	2 or 3-piece Basswood
	Neck:	Attached with three wood screws
	Machine heads:	Gotoh tuners (modern style w/o vertical slot)
	Bridge pickup:	"TL-Current"
	Neck pickup:	"TN-Humbucking"
	Bridge:	3-saddle vintage Tele bridge
	Knobs:	Four chrome tipped "skirted" volume and tone knobs
	Finish options:	3-tone Sunburst and Black

This picture clearly shows the difference between an original 1972-1981 Custom knob (left), and one from a MIM reissue which has a flat chrome top (right).

	MIM Telecaster Custom reissue
	Same as original MIA above, except:
	Model number:	013-7500/02
	Manufactured:	1999-, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
	Body:	2 or 3-piece Poplar (black) or Alder (sunburst)
	Machine heads:	Fender/Schaller "F" tuners (slightly different from original, with narrower vertical string slot)
	Bridge pickup:	MIM Vintage Tele
	Neck pickup:	Reissue Fender Wide Range Humbucker (with specs different from the original)
	Bridge:	3-saddle vintage Tele bridge
	Knobs:	Four chrome tipped "skirted" volume and tone knobs (with flat chrome tip)
	Finish options:	3-tone Sunburst and Black

	MIM Factory Blueprints
	These are factory blueprints for the MIM reissue '72 Tele Custom. Big thanks to Mike Arendt for contributing with these. Simply click on a file to download it. (You will need a PDF-reader like Adobe Acrobat to view them.) They're divided into four pages: 1. '72 Telecaster Custom 2. Pickguard/Control Assembly 3. Part List 4. Switch & Control Function

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