1968 Fender Esquire, Bigsby, Blonde

The Esquire has always been the purist’s Tele: one pickup with nothing to hide behind, By 1968, Fender were well into the CBS era, but these late transition logo models still carry a huge amount of mid-’60s DNA. This particular example is a factory Bigsby model finished in blonde that has aged and yellowed in the most glorious way, oozing mojo. 

This is a late transition logo example, with the larger gold/black headstock decal and a rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlays. The neck is stamped MAR 68 and carries a medium, slightly flattened C profile that feels instantly comfortable, not oversized, not too slight. It retains its original frets and nut, correct single string tree and correct F-stamped tuners.

Under the hood, both pots are CTS dating to week 42 of 1966. The wiring harness is correct, and the single coil bridge pickup is just what you want from an Esquire being bright and direct. There’s an immediacy and snap here that only a good Fender single coil delivers! Despite having just the one pickup, the Esquire’s three-way switch gives you a surprising amount of tonal range: bridge pickup straight through (no tone control) for maximum bite and presence, bridge with tone control engaged, and the darker preset circuit for that thicker, warm bassy tone. Despite the single pickup there are loads of usable sounds here!

The Bigsby is the correct F-stamp horseshoe style, factory-fitted, and it adds a nice extra dimension to the Esquire's relatively simple design. The bridge has been changed to a Mastery version, which adds tuning stability. 

The blonde finish has aged beautifully. It’s heavily yellowed, no doubt from decades of UV exposure and smoky clubs. The nitro neck finish has worn and mellowed just right, giving the instrument a nice, played-in feel.

For the player, this is a lively, resonant Esquire with added expressive range thanks to the Bigsby. For the collector, it’s a very appealing late transition logo, factory Bigsby example with bags of visual character. A seriously cool Esquire that proves, once again, just how much guitar you can get from a single pickup! Comes complete with original orange lined hard case.