Fender 1999 MIM Classic Series 50's Telecaster

Up for sale is a 1999 Fender Classic Series Telecaster, which I’ve owned since new.  This model was part of Fender’s Classic Series, introduced when production shifted from Japan to Mexico in 1999. The CS50T’s were designed to replicate the iconic Telecasters of the 1950’s offering vintage vibe with modern reliability.If you’re a player chasing classic tones and dig the “old-beater” vibe, this is a great playing and sounding Telecaster--a gem from the first year of the Mexican-made Classic Series. Looks rough but is seasoned to perfection & solid as a rock.Details:·       Noted Cosmetic DefectsFinish Top: Distinctly heavily weathered & visible everywhere on body and neck of guitar surrounded by noticeable wear and patina on the bridge, controls & tuners – lots of scuffs & scrapes evident. Finish Sides: Distinctly heavily weathered--wear and dings along all sides.Finish Back:  Distinctly heavily weathered--wear and dings evident on entire back surface.Finish Interior: Carbon shielding paint, professionally applied to entire pickup routes, bridge & control cavity.SN Label: Missing as original poly finish was removed along with serial number (originally located on back of headstock – MN9……  Made in Mexico). Logo:  Slight bubbling underneath original “spaghetti” logo covered in satin polyurethane finish.  The ’99 models featured gloss bodies and satin necks.·       Weathered Heather – A Survivor’s Story“Weathered Heather” came into her own by accident. Around the year 2000, she was caught in a flood in the basement of our rehearsal space in Downtown Chattanooga, TN. The guitar and its case were completely saturated, leaving the finish bubbling across much of the body and neck as it dried. With the electronics ruined and the finish compromised, I decided to let nature take its course: the body was bolted to a boat dock on Lake Chickamauga for the summer, where it fully dried and naturally weathered in the elements.After the season, the body was kiln-dried, loose finish removed, and transitions between wood and finish lightly smoothed. These early reissues had a notoriously thick poly finish, so the process revealed a more organic feel as the finish is now quite thin. The neck had developed blisters on the back and fingerboard, so the original finish was carefully removed and replaced with a multi-stage tung oil refinish which is very hard & lovely to the touch—extremely smooth & silky feel. The headstock face remains original, with only slight blistering around the logo—visible only at certain angles. Thankfully, since these models featured poly over the logos, it survived intact.Through this journey, Weathered Heather shed over a pound of weight and now tips the scales at just under 7 lbs. During reassembly, the original neck plate was nowhere to be found, so I fitted a vintage plate from my parts stash—likely circa 1961—which remains with the guitar.The case pictured is the very same tweed case that endured the flood. Though heavily weathered, it dried out completely, remains structurally sound, and is included in the sale. To the best of my recollection, the case dates to the early 1990s.Included:·       Fender Tweed HSC·       Custom, heavy duty 50’s style hand tooled strap.·       “Ashtray” bridge cover·       Vintage Fender 1961 neck plateSpecs:·       Name:  Weathered Heather·       Neck Profile:  50’s soft “V”·       Neck Material:  Solid Maple·       Nut Material:  custom - unbleached bone·       Scale:  25.5”·       Fingerboard Material:  Solid Maple·       Fingerboard Radius:  Vintage - 7.25”·       Fret Count/Size:  21/vintage style·       Body Material:  Ash (likely ‘White Ash’ as the grain is fairly light)Hardware: vintage “slot head” screws sourced from NOS parts used throughout. All are correctly sized for each component & show wonderful ‘patina’ to nail early Fender 50’s aesthetics.·       Finish Type:  Polyurethane (body & headstock face)/Tung Oil (neck & fingerboard)·       Tuners:  Fender/Kluson – vintage style nickel, aged.·       Bridge:  Fender “Danny Gatton”TM w/ compensated brass saddles·       Neck Pickup:  Josh Gravelin Rewind/Recharge using original parts (bobbin, fiberboard, AlNiCo 5 mags & copper baseplate) – hot at 7.6k·       Middle Pickup:  n/a·       Bridge Pickup:  Seymour DuncanTM STL-1 Vintage ‘54 Telecaster w/ staggered D & G pole pieces.·       Controls:  Aftermarket reversed 1 vol, 1 tone w/ treble bleed mod.  CTS & Oak Grigsby components.·       Strings:  10-46·       Weight:  6lbs., 15 oz·       Year:  1999·       Serial No:  MN9….. Made in Mexico