Guitar appraisal

I have a guitar I am considering selling. I don't have a good idea of what it is worth.

When I got it I was told by the seller that is was a Fender "custom shop" Telecaster body made in the mid '80s. It has an American Strat neck on it and a Epiphone humbucker in the bridge postion with a typical Tele pickup in the neck position. Red paisley pattern.

This is the only picture I have of it handy. I will try to find some identifying marks when I get home from work today.

is that a 3-way switch?

Yes.

Hmm. It kinda sort looks like a paisley tele but not a pattern I'd recognise. Not to mention the odd P/U combination.

Problem is that the likely id marks are probably in either the electrics cutout or the neck cavity, so you'd have to do some disassembly.. If it's a genuine custom shop Tele it's probably worth a reasonable amount of money but TBH it looks a little home grown to me, especially around the bridge (it looks like a regular Tele bridge that's been cut down).

Yea, I am figuring it isn't totally genuine, even if it was it isn't close to original condition. It plays nice but I never play it anymore.

something about that pickguard doesnt sie right with me...

Please update with what it comes back as.

Been looking for a guitar cool enough to push me over the edge and learn. (I know it's for the totally wrong reason, but whatever.)

What looks like a gap at the top edge of the pick up bezel is disconcerting... I'm not sure about Fenders, but Gibson custom shop guitars have a special logo on the back of the head stock (at least my Explorer has one).

I think the gap is from clearancing for the humbucker.

The neck isn't original to the guitar so it doesn't tell me anything.

I should know how Fender marks their CS pieces, but I don't. I DO know how the Custom Shop marks Gretsches that pass through there, but that wouldn't do you much good.

The way I see it, you've got one of three things:

1) a very weird custom shop model. If you've got the money, they've got the time, so it's possible somebody said "I want a kinda-sorta paisley tele with a strat neck and an Epi bucker". But it's unlikely.

2) It's a CS models somebody subsequently hacked on. Given what CS models go for, people don't hack on them, so also unlikely.

3) It's a partscaster. Ain't no shame in that. Some of my favorite Teles are partscasters. It's just not a high-dollar piece. That said, assuming the parts are of reasonably high quality (and they appear to be) somebody wants it.

If you really want to move it, post it on the TDPRI. Someone there will grab it.

I'll give you $200 for it. Maybe more. I dig it.

I posted up on TDPRI and the consensus there was that it is a Japanese copy with a hodgepodge of parts on it. I took the electronics out last night and found no markings in any of the cavities.

I tried taking the neck out to check for markings in there but the head of one of the screws that holds it in was gone so I left it alone.

I'm thinking it is probably worth around 2-300, nothing special but I think it looks cool and I like the way it plays. It could be improved with some better pickups.