One of a kind would be overstating it because I actually have two of these 1950s Telecasters with this custom walnut finish, but I’ve never seen any others.
These guitars were purchased brand-new as a set in 1956 and, besides the condition, they are like clones. The one with all the wear and tear has lettering spelling the name ‘Gillie’ on the pickguard. The obvious question is, who the heck was Gillie?
Unfortunately, we don’t know, but the photographs that came with these guitars show us he was a singing cowboy who played in a band with other singing cowboys.
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Having bought these guitars, he must have decided which was the one for him and he never used the other one and it remains in new old stock condition. It’s wrapped in the tissue paper it was shipped in and it still has the factory strings on it.
Although we haven’t been able to identify Gillie, it’s likely that Fender did know who he was because they agreed to build him a matching pair of guitars with a unique finish and custom-feeling necks.
I think that Gillie may have been someone locally famous in the Southern California area judging by the look of his band photos and the way they were dressed. Or perhaps he knew somebody who worked at the factory. Either way, he must have had an in somewhere with Fender for them to make him two special guitars.
The necks are basically identical and they feel fabulous with a really thick V profile. Although the neck and nut widths are standard, they are quite bulky – almost like Fender turned U-shaped ’52 Tele necks into soft Vs. Gillie must have had giant mitts on him, but they do feel comfortable.
The one he played weighs around 7lb 4oz and, besides the pickguard lettering, it has never been altered and it still has its battered original case. The really clean guitar’s case is in mint condition and still contains all the paperwork from Fender.
I must say that for my taste, this is not the prettiest colour and it’s the kind of brown that’s reminiscent of something else. You’d be the only kid on your block to have one if you owned these guitars because I’ve never seen this finish on any other 1950s Fender guitar and that means it was specially ordered.
If it was just the one guitar, I might be less certain that it’s a factory finish. But because the clean one is in mint and completely unmolested condition, it confirms that it is original
I have no idea why Gillie wanted his guitars to look like 1950s kitchen cabinets. Maybe it matched his personality or the band’s stage outfits, but for whatever strange reason, he thought this was cool. It is somewhat translucent so you can see grain through it. The lacquer is just opaque enough that it’s almost a transparent walnut colour.
If it was just the one guitar, I might be less certain that it’s a factory finish. But because the clean one is in mint and completely unmolested condition, it confirms that it is original. Neither guitar has been altered in any way and even the solder joints are pristine so this is Fender paint.
The one Gillie played has got checking and a few dings and dents. The edges are bumped and bruised and there’s a big wear spot from a giant buckle. You can tell from the buckle rash that he played the guitar high up, which means he was playing it early on. It’s been loved on and Gillie had a career with it.
As you’d expect for ’56 Telecasters, they have smooth steel saddles and bridge pickups with staggered slugs. On Gillie’s playing guitar the pickups read 7.5k and 6.6k at the neck and bridge respectively. The played one sounds particularly good, but since the other one has original strings, we can’t really compare them at this point.
The bodies aren’t dated, but the neck dates are September 1956 and the pots are from the 20th week of 1956. The wiring is unchanged, so the guitars still have their ‘mud’ settings, and although the played one doesn’t have a bridge cover, the mint one does.
The guitars come with two really cool old photos. In one picture you can see a Fender double-neck pedal steel and the other guitarist in the band looks a bit horrified. Maybe he’s kicking himself because he could have had a Fender, but he ended up buying a Gretsch. We would love to hear from Gillie or maybe his kids or grandkids. If you know who he is, please step forward.
