The guitar came in a 90s style Fender moulded hard case. The case candy was still in the compartment with the plastic bag not opened.
Much is made about how the neck pickup on these guitars is not a true Wide Range humbucker constructed with CuNiFe magnets. It's actually just a normal AlNiCo humbucker in a larger case. Many people also find this humbucker muddy. Having no experience with authentic Wide Range pickups, I can't personally say how they compare. I do find the neck humbucker warm, dark, and smooth, in a jazzy sort of way. From what I've read it is a very common mod to change the 250k pots in the neck pickup circuit to either 500k or 1 meg, which adds significant clarity and presence. Of course, some people also opt to swap the stock humbucker out and replace it with an authentic CuNiFe Wide Range humbucker.
The bridge pickup produces an unmistakable Tele tone, so no problems there. It's more on the trebly side, in the way a good Tele bridge pickup should be, with lots of bite, jangle, and spank.
Through my Bluesbreaker circuit amp the neck pickup did sound somewhat muddy. Adjusting the height of the pickup body as well as the individual poles yielded more treble. Further adjusting the controls on the amp revealed even more clarity.
But it was when I plugged the '72 Tele Custom into my 6L6 class A combo amp with a 12" Greenback that it really sounded heavenly. This guitar and that amp were made for each other, producing pure sonic bliss in tandem.
As the guitar is twenty years old, and in pristine stock condition, I must admit that I'm reluctant to change anything. The fact is, it sounds good enough as is that I wouldn't have a problem playing it on stage all night long. I mean, I would . . . if I actually gigged.
