Who can help me read the markings on a vintage Fender neck?

Fellow EB'ers,

Late 70s Tele, I've heard the butt end of the neck usually has a date of manufacture. Mine however has four digits, followed by a "#" and four more digits, like this:

1234#1234

Does anyone know what that means or how that's supposed to be read?

Furthermore, where the neck joins with the body is a "R.FRIEND" stamp. I've heard that might be some kind of joke by the folks working on the guitar? This pic isn't mine, but the stamp looks exactly like this.

Any insight on any of those markings is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

take a picture of YOUR neck stamps, not someone else's.... I have some ideas here but I want to see the font of the 'serial' number before I speculate

I would also love to see detailed pics of the whole guitar so I can see all the distinguishing features

Okie dokie. Here's what I have on hand. Hope you can help me based on these? It's a 1978 Fender Telecaster, just... straight up Tele, all original. I know how to read serial numbers, the one on the headstock, and it's def a '78 (I don't have it in front of me but it is S8 + 5 digits)

https://i.imgur.com/4dduGvG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SmiPSYu.jpg

that sticker is a bad thing.... I hate to have you peel it away, but its not good for the guitar having it in there as it acts like a tiny shim, but since its not centered in any way its probably thowing off the neck joint....even a tiny piece of paper can help or hurt a bolt on... microns worth of paper make a difference

the code is a late period date code for the neck, but I have no idea how to read it.... earlier in the CBS era they literally stamped the date on like this: 12DEC68, but sometime around the change back to 4 bolts yous tart seeing these other codes instead in this xxxx#xxxx format among other variations that make no more sense to me... the stamp is usually the name of the QC checker, but yours is odd in that it has "r friend" as well as a sticker that appears to list people who worked on or checked this neck.... the name stamp also looks wrong size and fontwise compared to other fender neck stamps of the era....

I wouldn't really stress if the headstock serial jives and youa re sure its an original neck to the guitar

Thank you very much, jim! I never thought of it as a potentially harmful shim, but that's good to know. She plays and sounds wonderful.

I'll keep digging on what "R. FRIEND" is exactly.

could be someone at Fender back then but I have a feeling not since the stamp looks weird

its not a particularly desireable tele from a player's perspective, those were grim times at Fender, but its collectible and should be worth a lot

its not a particularly desireable tele from a player's perspective, those were grim times at Fender, but its collectible and should be worth a lot

Cool. What would you ballpark?

Ok so I dug up some interesting info on that xxyy#zzab neck code. Apparently from 1972 to 1980:

• xx = model code (Tele, Musicmaster, Mustang, Bronco, etc)
• yy = neck code (rosewood fingerboard, fretted maple neck, etc)
• zz = week code
• a = year code
• b = day of the week code

So going by that, mine's:

• 13 = Telecaster, Telecaster Custom, Telecaster Thinline
• 02 = ??? This one's strange, since 02 is not a documented neck code
• 51 = 51st week of the year
• 8 = 1978
• 2 = Tuesday

jim to your point, I shouldn't be too concerned about that 02 neck code mystery, since Fender themselves say this --

"Most notably, production dates have been penciled or stamped on the butt end of the heel of the neck of most guitars and basses, although there were periods when this was not consistently done (1973 to 1981, for example) or simply omitted."

its worth between to 2 and 3 thousand USD depending on condition, body color and the phases of the moon! It will go up though... when the economy was better it was worth an extra $500 to $1k easy.

I am not worried about any of it, not the 02 neck code, not the RA Friend name.... its not my guitar and its looks original to me.... and even f its not, if you aren't planning to sell it who cares?

A a near successful conclusion to this mystery. How did you end up with that guitar, Star?

A a near successful conclusion to this mystery. How did you end up with that guitar, Star?

I'm just a sucker for Teles. It's not really a crazy story, I ordered it from an online shop, and got lucky bc she plays like a dream. I'm trying to remember what inspired me to get this one in particular... I think I just loved the wear and tear on it, like it's vintage/collectible but also really a player's guitar, know wat I mean? People pay a lot for that relic look and I like that this one happened naturally!