Fender '69 Graham Nash's Thinline Telecaster - Natural with Original Hardshell Case

This is your opportunity to own a really cool piece of guitar history. This guitar, previously owned by Graham Nash, of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, was verified by an email to his manager, Mark Spector. We have a copy of this email confirming that this was one of his earliest guitars. This guitar was, as legend has it, played on stage at Woodstock by Jimi Hendrix, which is why it has strap button holes on the bottom of the guitar. We can not validate this part of the history, but the case, and Graham's acknowledgement of it being one of his earliest guitars, certainly helps put this particular thin-line tele in the upper rankings of cool!

-YOU ARE VIEWING PHOTOS OF THE ACTUAL GUITAR BEING SOLD!

This vintage 1969 Fender Thinline Telecaster will ship fully insured, professionally set up, and thoroughly inspected from Haggerty’s Music in Rapid City, SD. Remarkably well-preserved for a well-played instrument of its era, it shows only the expected wear and natural aging. With the exception of a later replacement pickguard and tone pot (1975), all components and hardware remain original to 1968/1969. Detailed photos of the internal electronics and hardware are available upon request.

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This vintage 1969 Fender Thinline Telecaster, available now at Haggerty’s Music, delivers the lightweight resonance and unmistakable Tele tone from the very first full year of the Thinline production. In typical CBS-era Fender fashion, the serial number dates the guitar to 1968, while the neck is stamped 3 May 1969 — a common overlap for the time.

Featuring an ash semi-hollow body with a maple neck, this guitar retains its original pickups, which were professionally rewound by Fralin Pickups and now sound fantastic. The volume pot is original (from a 1965 batch), while the tone pot was replaced in 1975. The original tuners remain intact. There is moderate fret wear, most noticeable beneath the low E and A strings, with frets 1–7 showing some pitting across all strings.

The bottom side of the neck is slightly uneven relative to the body, which required a shim in the pocket for proper setup. Evidence of finish and factory tool marks suggest it may have left the Fender factory this way.

At one point, a Bigsby tailpiece was installed, as indicated by four small holes below the bridge. The original Tele bridge with threaded steel saddles — rare for this model, as Fender phased them out in late 1968 — has since been reinstalled. The pickguard is a later replacement, slightly altered (possibly during the Bigsby install), and additional pickguard holes are present under the current guard. A strap button hole is also located on the treble-side horn.

The original Fender case accompanies the guitar; though damaged on the hinge side, it remains functional and bears a stenciled “Graham Nash” marking, adding to its vintage character.

Overall, this 1969 Fender Thinline Telecaster is in Good condition. The finish presents well, and thanks to a complete setup by our in-house luthiers at Haggerty’s Music, the guitar plays and feels every bit as inspiring as its history suggests.

Features / Specs

Highlights

• Series: Thinline Telecaster
• Orientation: Right Handed
• Color: Natural

Body

• Body Material: Ash
• Body Finish: Polyurethane
• Body Shape: Thinline Telecaster
• Body Style: Semi-Hollow

Neck

• Headstock Type: Telecaster
• Neck Material: One Piece Maple (With "skunk" stripe for truss rod)
• Neck Shape: Medium C
• Neck Depth: 0.861" at 1st Fret, 0.937" at 12th Fret
• Neck Construction: 4-Bolt
• Fingerboard Radius: 7.25"
• Fingerboard Material: Maple
• Position Inlays: Black Dots
• Side Dots: Black Dots
• Number of Frets: 21
• Truss Rod Style: Single-action steel compression rod
• Truss Rod Nut: Cross-slotted round nut
• Nut Material: Bone
• Nut Width: 1 5/8" (41mm)
• Fret Size: Original Vintage
• Scale Length: 25.5"

Hardware

• Bridge: Raised-side, standard Telecaster hardtail and string-through-body design with three threaded steel barrel saddles
• Bridge Cover/Tail Piece: Ashtray” style Telecaster bridge with raised sides.
• Bridge Mounting: 4-Screw, direct to body
• Pickguard: Large 12-screw pearloid (Replaced, not original)
• Control Knobs: Chrome Plated “barrel” style knobs with set screw
• Switch Tip: Black Molded Plastic
• Hardware Finish: Chrome-plated steel
• Tuning Machines: Vintage “F” stamp tuners
• String Trees: Single “butterfly” (also called round-disc) style string tree.
• Tremolo Arm: None
• Neck Plate: 4-Bolt
• Strap Buttons: Small steel flat-top buttons, chrome plated.
• Output Jack: Standard Switchcraft mono 1/4" jack

Electronics

• Pickup Configuration: SS
• Bridge Pickup: Rewound - Open single-coil with exposed Alnico V pole pieces, black vulcanized fiber top and bottom plates.
• Neck Pickup: Rewound - Chrome-covered single-coil with six flush-pole Alnico V magnets.
• Controls: Volume, tone, conventional Tele layout
• Switching: 3-way pickup selector—conventional Tele layout

Miscellaneous

• Accessories: None
• Case/Gig Bag: Original Hardshell Case in good condition
• Serial Number: 216763
• Manufacture Date: 3 May 69 stamped on neck