Reason? the demand for the Telecaster in its
blonde color made for a popular color and with that Donald D.Randall and Leo Fender decided that the walnut would be a special order.
Aside from the fact that walnut guitars were not stained as walnut but a true walnut wood
which if the grain was not as true as Leo Fender wanted it,it was discarded and NOT painted over with blonde paint as others have said. If the walnut did not meet his
specifications the walnut was cut up and scrapped.Expensive? impractical? but true.

This was rare however but it was costly to manufacture walnut wood that was perfect in grain continuity. Many had imperfections that wouldnt interfere with the tone,but the
Blonde color won over in buyers choice as opposed to the walnut guitars . And finally....
were then discontinued in the fall of 1954.

I have a walnut Custom triple and find it every bit a good sounding and beautiful as any blonde I have ever seen. At times I find it sweeter sounding than ash and or swamp ash

You have a fine guitar and a not common wood or finish. It was Noel Boggs while working with the Spade Cooley Band started using his
blonde custom on west coast TV shows that the
custom guitar became known as the "diamond steel guitar" making reference to the diamond
shaped metal covers that are on the front of the guitars.Spade Cooley liked the fact that the blonde was Fenders trademark. In fact with that said.Cooley wrote a fiddle tune titled Blonde Fiddle Blues.

Spade Cooley was a big influence on Leo Fender as was Bob Wills. Leon McAuliffe also liked the blonde color better for its standing out as opposed to Gibsons sunburst
guitars. When you saw a blonde with the chrome diamonds, you knew right off it was a Fender.It was the Fender Custom and Dual Pros
that put Fender on the way to where it is today.There were no other color options other than blonde. Years later CBS Fender started producing black and light blonde often reffered to as "vanilla" blonde.

I hope this is some way answers your question

Thank You. Edited for $ as opposed to % .
Walnut cost more money back then. I like the blonde butterscotch ash guitars, but I unlike
many prefer walnut over blonde. Maybe I could not be regarded as a Gentleman I dont prefer blonde's.

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 30 April 2004 at 07:37 AM.]