1959 Fender Esquire Blonde Slab Board

This is a mid to late 1959 slab board Esquire. Late 58 and some 59 Teles and Esquires are unique in that the strings loaded from the bridge rather than the back. Top loaders are not very popular as it is thought that the top loaders are inferior tone wise. The good news is that by mid 59, they came with both the through the body setup and the top loader bridge. The bridge is the same except it has 6 holes along the back edge. This slab board 59 Esquire can be strung either way. It is in 8.5 condition with some buckle rash and some light player wear on the neck. It is all original except perhaps the ash tray bridge cover (it looks too clean to me). Slab board Esquires are not easy to come by and they are wonderful guitars. The original frets show some wear but are still fully functional. The little frets aren't for everybody but you can have it re-fretted with whatever wire you like. It has its original brown case (tweed was gone by mid 59) in fair condition. There is some damage to the lid at the back left corner but everything works. Weight is 7 lbs 1 ounce with the cover off.