Fender T8 Stringmaster

Dennis Smith · From: Covington, Georgia, USA

At Guitar Center Vintage. $1499.00

Joshua Clements · From: Tifton, Georgia.

Do you know which store this is located at?

Bill Creller · From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)

That one is a real beauty !! Very Happy

Dennis Smith · From: Covington, Georgia, USA

Colorado Springs

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

Thanks for the heads up! It's exactly what I was looking for. I just bought it.

Dennis Smith · From: Covington, Georgia, USA

That's great Ron. I know you will enjoy it.

Bill Leff · From: Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Great price!

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

I thought it was a decent price for the shape it's in. Of course, there is only this one photo, but the guy in the store told me it's as clean as it looks in the picture and that I would not be disappointed. I have a similar T-8 but an older style with a short scale which I can now finish restoring to it's original color before I sell it. The case looks immaculate.

Dennis Smith · From: Covington, Georgia, USA

Ron when you get it would love to see some photo's and the inside of the case.

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

It arrived on my porch yesterday, (Friday, Nov. 15) The first thing I do when I get one is to take the tuner pans apart to clean them. It's a 1959. I guess you can tell by the serial number as well, but I like to take the pans off anyway just in case somebody stashed some hunnit dolla bills in there. Smile

To me, the only disappointing thing about this guitar is there is no Fender logo decal in the front which makes me tend to think it was refinished somewhere along the line. If so, it was done a long time ago as the part covered by the pans were a bit darker than the rest, suggesting it had faded over the years.

The case is so nice, I've decided to build another one to use for gigs or just use my old beater case so I can keep this one in the condition it's in. I would most likely beat the thing up within a year or two if I were dragging it around to all the bars in town.

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

My T8 came with no decal... and I'm fairly sure it's not a refin. I assume it was possible, especially when new, to float the decal off with no sign that it had been there. Yours might indeed be a refin... did you find any initials in the cavities? I can't tell from the pictures... is it a TV finish, where you can see the wood grain through it?

That's one heck of a clean T8... cleanest I've ever seen. Congratulations!
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Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

Stephen, I guess it's a TV finish because I can see the wood grain sort of like a white wash but it looks like a clear coat was over that. There's only one little scrape that exposes raw wood by the headstock in the front neck. I wonder if I should put a new decal on it or just leave it as is?

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Ron, it depends on what you're looking for... I put an old name plate from an office I once had on the front of my guitar... there's something old school about having your name on your guitar. For this one, as clean as it is, I'd be tempted to put the proper logo on it.
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Tim Whitlock · From: Colorado, USA

Beautiful guitar and case. The cases are usually trashed but that one looks really nice. You can get the large fender logo from Steel Guitar Nashville for $10:

https://steelguitar.net/decal15.html

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

Is it a refin or not? Finish does look almost too good. Yeah, it could have sat in the closet for decades but I'd be suspicious. Since they sprayed nitro there should at least be some checking, yellowing or fading, if it's original.

J Fletcher · From: London,Ont,Canada

Sure looks clean, and the case too. I would guess it is the original finish, because both case and guitar are in top condition.
I have heard it said that if you look in the screw holes, and there is not any finish in them, then it is an original finish.
If there is paint in the holes, it's a refinish...Jerry

Scott Thomas · Posted 19 Nov 2013 12:13 pm

Congrats on the guitar. I actually saw this for sale on the website a couple of days before the "head's up" was posted, and agonized over it a little. In the end, I'm relieved someone bought it so I can forget it! I think it has all the best features ie: '50s model, scale length, switching.

It looks good in the pics, refin or not. Speaking of the case (and this is not to detract from anything)--the tweed has a cream color, and not the more straw yellow color I'm used to seeing. Almost like it's faded.

Now, I know Fender put a coat of lacquer on the tweed, which yellowed (aged) and affected the color. I was just wondering if the case was over cleaned---stripped of its lacquer, and this is what the original covering looked like? Or was it otherwise lightened?

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

This is a shot I took when the pans were out. No paint in the screw holes and the paint is a bit lighter where it's been covered by the tuner pans. I think it's the original finish. It came with some old National finger picks and the thumbpicks were so old they broke from being so brittle. I just don't think the thing has been played in the last 30 or 40 years. It was owned by a woman with VERY small hands. The finger picks look like they would fit a small child.

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

Scott,
I'm about 99% sure the case has not been touched. I just think it sat in a closet for 30 or 40 years.

Scott Thomas · Posted 19 Nov 2013 2:47 pm

That's amazing. Thank you for sharing the pictures. You very fortunate to own such a pristine guitar!

Dennis Smith · From: Covington, Georgia, USA

Ron, thanks for the photo's. I would vote for closet classic. There out there. I once got a 1964 strat sb in case with all the tags on it from a student at Emory U.. His grandfather had given it him for his 13th birthday and he never played it, $200. bucks.

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

I'd vote that it had its original finish. The chipping around the screw holes is a good tell.

Nice find.

Yep, good finds are still out there. One rule is that if you stumble across one you rarely have more than one opportunity to buy it. If you leave "to think about it", it won't be there when you return to buy it.

Ron Landis · From: Arkansas, USA

You're right about that Eric. I knew this one would get snapped up quick especially since it was posted here. I tried to buy it online on Sunday, just after first seeing it but couldn't since it was just out of range of my card limit. Since the next day was Veteran's day, my bank was closed, so I had to have them put it on layaway until the next day whenl I could notify my bank. Then, since they couldn't ship to the P.O. box that was my billing address, I had to drive for an hour to Fayetteville to buy a gift card, then use that so that clerks from both stores could facilitate the payment.

It was worth the extra hassle, and to their credit, the guys at Guitar Center were good sports and even gave me free shipping because of the extra hassle I went through. It was the most unusual internet transaction I've ever had but I think I got a real treasure out of it. Did I mention that it also sounds really great? I love the long scale. Very Happy

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

Wow!!!

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