Fender Lead III 1981

The Fender Lead Series was introduced at the end of the 1970s as a shorter-lived, more compact Fender design with familiar Fullerton-era features and its own switching layout. The Lead III was the humbucker-equipped version of the model, using two pickups, a hardtail string-through bridge and a simple master volume/master tone control layout with an additional toggle for coil splitting.

This black 1981 example has has a loud acoustic voice with a clear, twangy response, making it a more direct and lively guitar than normally expected for the period. It has plenty of playwear, but nothing major or structural. The frets are around 85% and the guitar plays great. Weight is 4100g. No case or bag is included.

SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Fender Lead III
Year: 1981
Country of manufacture: USA
Finish: Black
Body: Solidbody double-cut Lead body
Body wood: Ash
Neck: Maple
Neck construction: Bolt-on, 4-bolt
Neck profile: C profile
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Fingerboard radius: 184 mm
Scale length: 648 mm
Frets: 21 medium frets
Inlays: Pearl dot
Nut width: Approx. 42 mm
Pickups: 2 x humbuckers
Controls: Master volume, master tone
Switching: 3-way pickup selector, 3-way coil selector/split toggle
Bridge: Fender 6-saddle hardtail bridge
Stringing: String-through-body
Pickguard: Black multi-ply pickguard
Tuners: Fender “F” tuners
Hardware: Chrome/nickel
Orientation: Right-handed