This short video describes what led me to conclude I got a fake Fender. It was purchased through the mail sight-unseen, but luckily it had a return policy from a reputable seller. If you buy used in-person you may not be so lucky, so learn to look for some tell-tale signs that it's not the real deal.
Just one additional video comparing the counterfeit headstock to a real Fender:
Hi Walter,
Yes, that appears to be a valid USA made Fender Telecaster serial number. I’ll tell you how I figured it out. First I went to www.guitardaterproject.org and input the serial. That gave me this result:
Your guitar was made at the
Corona Plant (Fender), USA
in 2016 or 2017
Production Number: 46856
So that tells you it is a serial that conforms to a USA Fender. After that, I went to Fender’s website. This page is very helpful and everyone should know about: https://www.fender.com/product-registration/serial-search
Once I put your serial in there it gave me this result:
AMERICAN STANDARD TELECASTER
Serial #:
US16046856
Brand:
Fender
Product Category:
Guitars
That confirms that Fender has that serial number registered as a valid USA Tele serial. (Often a valid serial will not come up on the Fender site, in which case you should email Fender at: consumerrelations@fender.com.) Believe it or not, the last time I contacted them with a similar question, I got a reply within a couple days. They’re pretty on top of it!
The ONLY other thing to worry about would be if you’re new to guitars and you don’t know how a real Fender should look. I made the video above to highlight some things you can look for. You can also look at pictures of authentic Fenders online to compare. You want to make sure someone hasn’t made a fake guitar and put a valid serial on it. Hope that helps!
I have a fairly new telecaster with see. U S 16046856 is this a u s made telecaster?