Fender Acoustic Electric Telecaster

this is an odd guitar. play like electric sound like acoustic.it has a battery but i think it is for the piezo. wish i could split the signal piezo to p.a. electric to my guitar amp might do some mods.

acoustic sound is great . some quack but that dont bother me. the electric pickup never liked it kinda dull might swap it out for a danelectro pu.im mostly an acoustic player this one is fast sometimes i play a mix of piezo and electric 60/40 .this is nice to record.i love this one

perfect

bought it new in 95-96 ? no problems

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30 years of playing i own 15 guitars this one is special it was stolen 9 months ago i was heart broken. i found it in a pawnshop next door they diddnt have any paper work on who sold them the guitar so they had to hand it over. i felt like 2 guitars were stolen when i lost this one b

Used 1997 Acoustic electric Tele., Lace p/u neck, Piezo under a wood bridge. Couldn't believe it when I saw it on the wall at a local music store. Someone added a Gibson humbucker to the bridge position. Sunburst w/rosewood neck. I saw one on e-bay and almost bid, but I wanted to play it first, when I played for about 10 minutes I knew I was going to buy it no matter how crazy my wife thinks I am.

This guitar would have been nice with the lace and piezo, but the hummer adds alot of options. I play some blues with some friends and I can get anything I need. I used settings like the guy in the other review. 8 for blend, 8 tone. The acoustic sounds great through a PA. The hummer makes for nice overdrive.

Action suits me fine, I added 11's and it plays like 10's. I like this guitar, it's light, easy to play. The neck is not as rounded as my American Tele. Stays in tune forever. It is 7 years old now, looks like it has been played quite a bit, still solid. It has a nasty chunck out of the lower body in the back, couple good scratchs up front. Wasn't babied but it still looks and plays great.

See above. Also there is no pickguard, the front has light pick scrathes that you can only see in the right light. Can't see any reason this won't last another 50 years now that I will wipe it down after a good work out and keep it cased until ready to play again.

N/A

I have a Am.Tele, Peavey P90 Firenza, Larrivee. Lost or stolen, if I could find one I would buy it. Why?-Light and different sound options. I wanted a semi-hollow, wasn't happy with the 335 styles I tried, seemed too big and heavy. I am a tele fan so this was right where I wanted to be. The Gator hard case I bought with it fits nice and tight, and has nice storage, in case your looking for a case.

As a Tele fanatic, I saw this guitar on eBay and just HAD to have it. Cool looks were what originally drew me to it. And once you plug it in, the sounds it produces more than match up. Mine is in sunburst with a rosewood neck. Apart from one repaired blemish near the jack input, it's perfect. Always turns heads at gigs.

Sounds amazing. I use it thru' a clean Hot Rod Deluxe, and whilst I'm still really a learner on the guitar, I can get a fabulously punchy sounds simply by setting the mix control to 50/50 and the tone control to 8. The gain this thing kicks out has to be heard to be believed.

Unsure about what was done to it prior to me owning it, but with a basic fret-dress and setup by a luthier friend, it plays just beautifully. There is a recess on the back with a plastic cover, in which the battery lives for the piezo pickup. This seems a little flimsy and the battery is loose inside, wrapped in an expanded foam cover. Assuming this is original, it's maybe a little cheap, but I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

As stated above, still a learner, but this guitar is easy to play and to be honest out-performs my American Standard Tele and a couple of other Japanese re-issues. Gigged in rotation with other guitars but never used with a back-up. Has no problems. The battery for the piezo so far has lasted a year!

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I LOVE this guitar. As other reviewers have mentioned, I can't believe more weren't made. Have not seen another one for sale on eBay or anywhere else since I bought mine. Very little on the Internet too about the guitar. This makes me feel a little more protective of it. It's a niche item and as such seems a little more special because of it.

1997 TELECOUSTIC. MADE IN JAPAN. NORMAL STOCK GUITAR. SUNBURST BODY ROSEWOOD NECK. LOOKS LIKE A LACE SENSER AND A PIEZO BRIDGE PICKUPS. COOL LOOKING BODY

I PLAY ONLY AT CHURCH AND CHURCH FUNCTIONS..THIS GUY IS WONDERFUL. WHY MORE OF THESE DID NOT SELL I DO NOT KNOW. GREAT FOR FINGER PICKING OR STRUMMING. FOR THIS TYPE OF GUITAR AND PLAYING I CAN NOT BE BEAT. I HAVE HAD A GIBSON SST., THIS WALKS ALL OVER IT. NO CONTEST AT HALF THE PRICE!

VERY WELL MADE. BETTER THAN MOST FENDERS OF THE LOW END PRICE RANGE

SECOND ONE I HAVE HAD..HOPE I DONT SEE ANY PROBLEMS.

UNKNOWN

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 32 YEARS. I HAVE A PRETTY GOOD COLECTION FROM GIBSON J150, DOVE, ES340, EJ200, FENDER 40th ANNY. STRAT. SO I AM A LITTLE SHARPE ON GUITARS..THESE GUITARS ARE WONDERFUL..FOR THE MONEY NOTHING CAN STAND UP TO THEM IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THIS TYPE OF GUITAR. ACOUSTICLY (UNPLUGGED) IT IS NOT MUCH, BUT PLUG IT IN AND STAND BACK..TIME WELL SPENDT LOOKING FOR ONE OF THESE BABIES..

See the descriptions below.
Japan-made. only for the 50th anniversary apparently, it did not appear earlier or later in the Fender catalogs...
The combination of the magnetic PU with the Piezo is simply incredible. No noise, TOP quality capabilities.

Difficult to describe, given the PU combination. I'd say the magnetic PU gives a very jazzy sound, very handy for rythm guitar in virtually any style, while the piezo is... well a piezo! But the combination of both gives this jazzy sound with some extra high-end tonal response, which is unique. I own lots of guitar, but none has this awesome sound .

Made-in-Japan.... all is perfectly set. No comment here.

Too early to say, but as this is my 5th fender, I doubt I'll encounter any problem with it. It "feels" like being very reliable and solid.

N/A, although usually in Europe, fender CS is inexistant.. UK appart maybe.... I'm in Belgium.:)

Not only very good and unusual looking, but fun to plan, great sound, perfect instrument. Strange it was not more successfull. This one is my nr 15, and as I go, I gain some knowledge of what is a good instrument, and this is for sure such a one!

This Tele was purchased in 1997. I am assuming it was made that same year. There is a normal magnetic pickup at the neck and a piezo in the acoustic style bridge. I have the brown sunburst top with black back. The neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard, like an electric. It is a bolt on, but the joint is slightly recessed. There is no pickguard, but three top mounted controls. Very nice looking all around.

I play electric blues and acoustic folk and blues. This guitar suits me very well, and sounds fantastic through my Bassman. Although I generally dislike piezo pickups, the balance between the piezo and magnetic forms a fabulously warm sound. I can solo on it with light distortion if need be, but clean, warm tones are the best. This guitar can handle my playing.

I bought this guitar nearly new. The dealer said a metal head about town picked it up, wanting to go acoustic without the Jumbo feel. About week into this, he went back to metal and brought back the guitar. Good for me! Set up by the store, I have never had any problems. Good tuners are my favorite feature. This guitar never goes out of tune!

I can gig with this guitar without a backup, as long as there are no outrageous solos. The strap buttons are fine, and the finish has held up to heavy playing. The back tends to scratch more than my other guitars, but that is the price of an all black back in glossy.

No warranty, but haven't needed it yet.

I have alot of gear, but this is one of my favorites. I was sad to find that this guitar did not catch on, because it is a very quality instrument. It may look different, but it sounds and plays great. i suggest it to anyone who needs a good reliable guitar. (Isn't that everybody?)

This guitar was made in 1997 in Japan. It is a Telecaster shaped body, semi-hollow body with an f-hole. Mine is black with a rosewood telecaster electric neck. The body has a white binding. This is a good looking guitar. (My brother bought a brown sunbust version of this guitar that also looks great).
It has two pickup systems, a plastic covered electric pickup in the neck position, (angled sightly like a strat bridge pickup), and a piezo transducer pickup under the acoustic type bridge. The neck position pickup is not labled as a Lace sensor, and I don't think it is, but it has the same sort of cover as a black Lace. There are three control knobs, a volume, tone and blend that pans from all electric, to any mix, to all piezo pickup. Both pickup systems are passive, but it has a very strong signal.
It has non-locking Gotoh tuners. The neck is medium fat, very comfortable. The neck is maple with a satin finish, and a very dark rosewood fretboard.. It is the same frets and scale length as an electric Tele, with 22 frets.
It comes with acoustic strings, (I have acoustic 11's on it with a wound third string now), and uses a specially sized deluxe case. The body is about an inch wider than a conventional Tele, so it won't fit in a normal Tele case. It has string through the body design like a conventional Tele.
I give it an 8 for features only because it is not the most versatile guitar, but it does what it was made for very well.

I saw this guitar in a local music store and was originally attracted to its unusual configuration, (how many acousitc Tele's do you see), so I decided to play it. Within 5 minutes I had tried it through a couple of Fender tube amps and a couple of acoustic amps, and I knew I was going to buy it. I play original blues, jazz, and rock and it fits these styles very well. Not a metal shredder.
The sound is very happening. There's two sounds I mainly use.
First I like a blend of the electric and acoustic pickups. I use about 80/20 electric/acoustic for a fantastic clean tone that is perfect for blues or jazz. Very smooth sounding, the piezo crispness and complex harmonics blend well with the warmer more midrange electric neck pickup. I rarely use either the piezo or electric pickup alone, (they don't sound bad by themselves, the piezo is a little bright, and the neck is a little middy, but together they sound great!). When I want to play acoustic and there's a PA around, this sound wows everyone. It also records great. When my brother and I both use them and play chords together it sounds very fat.
The other sound I found that I did not expect is when I use the overdrive tones on my amp or effects. Considering that this is really an acoustic, I couldn't believe how unique the overdriven sound was. It has a low mid rangy growl that really contrasts with the sounds of conventional electric guitars. With essentially the same blend as Iuse clean, the piezo gives the sound a bite, while the electric gives it a mid push.
Another cool thing, no matter how loud I've played, I haven't had any feedback problems. It's almost completely quiet clean or overdriven.
This is really not anything like the sound of a electric Tele, but who cares... This guitar is best for someone who would have used an amplified acoustic, but wants it a neck that plays like their favorite tele. It is not exactly the sound of a piezo amplified acoustic, but isn't that a good thing?
It's great through a PA, (direct or with a DI, I often play it direct with my own designed clean settings using my Digitech RP-7 and it works great), or straight in through a warm tube amp, (I use the clean channel on a Hot Rod Deluxe). Many conventional piezo amplified acoustics don't sound very good to my ears through a conventional amp, but this guitar does.

I have little to complain about the action fit or finish from the factory. This guitar was made in Japan, and the quality is high.
One minor complaint / comment... If you hold the body so that the top reflects the light, you can detect the edges of the wood under the paint, but you can't feel any actual ridge if you feel the top or if you look at the top at any other angle. This is a real "picky" issue, not a real concern.
Everytime I play this guitar, other players ask me about it and where I got it.
The bridge is a wood, (rosewood?) acoustic style, but the intonation is fine with the 11's I use. The neck is a standard Tele zebra back, 22 frets middly fat, feels great. Normal Fender frets. It feels like my American Standard Tele, (but with big fat acoustic strings).
This guitar played great right off the shelf and I haven't had to adjust anything in the first 6 months I've had it.

I play this out at a coffee shop gig about once a week and it is holding up well. We play outside at night, (it's San Diego, CA), but the cool damp ocean air doesn't seem to effect it. It even stays in tune well.
No problems with the finish so far.
No strap locks, and the Fender strap buttons work ok, but I'll get around to putting locks on it one of these days.
I think its dependable and I don't use a backup on this gig.

Never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing about 20 years and own a number of nice guitars. This is really a niche guitar, (electric acoustic), and if I could only have one guitar this would not be it... Since that's not the case, I will happily use this whenever I need it.
I have a Taylor 414CE, but I'm not as comfortable taking it into the cool damp conditions of the outdoor gigs. I'm not afraid at all about this Tele.
I also have a Carvin AE185 that is based on a similar concept. This is also a nice guitar, but it's designed to use electric strings, (10's with an unwound G), so while it has some of the sonic qualities of this guitar, it's more of an electric with an acoustic vibe rather than a "true" acoustic.
If it were stolen or lost I would try to find find another one, (but I heard that Fender decided not to keep making them, so availablilty is a problem). For around $500.00 this is a great value. Who knows... it may be a collectors item some day.
If you see one of these and you need a acoustic to play out through a PA, go for it.