Fender Foto Flame Tele

Whatever happened to Fender's Foto Flame guitars from a few years back? There was a big noise about these briefly in the mid 90s, and then nothing was heard about them ever again.

For those not in the know, the exquisitely flamed bookmatched fronts and backs of these guitars were faked! It wasn't wood grain you were seeing but photographs beneath the laquer.

This '62 Telecaster is the first FotoFlame I've seen on eBay in a long while (although I admit I've not been actively looking). This example has been "upgraded" with GraphTech saddles on the bridge, Seymour Duncan pickups, and a new pickguard featuring a design "based on a personal creation".

If I was buying this guitar the first thing I'd ask for would be to have the original pickguard back. I wouldn't care that it might not have the right shaped cutout for the mini humbucker pickup - that would be easy enough to take care of.

It's not just that I don't care for the design on the pickguard (which I don't), but that it clashes horribly with the Foto Flame top. If this is the seller's idea of what looks good, then I seriously hope he or she is never let loose on any interior design projects.