Fender Telecoustic

2000 model, red spruce top with synthetic back/sides. Maple neck, rosewood board. Fender's version of Fishman electronics. Close your eyes and it feels like a lightweight Tele.

Louder unplugged than I expected, so it's OK for practice. The unplugged tone doesn't sound good, but I never intended to use it unplugged anyway. Plugged in to my Acoustasonic 30 amp, it shines. As a matter of fact, it's got the hottest signal from it's piezo I've ever seen. It takes a little getting used to, to tweak the signal and get tones you want, being that it's a little harash in the midrange, but the controls are simple and it can be learned easily. I'll give it an 8 because it does what Fender says it's supposed to do. They never bragged that it was an acoustic guitar first. BTW - don't expect this guitar to sound like a Telecaster. It won't, but it has other virtues.

Factory setup was OK, but not great. I replaced the nut with bone and lowered the action very slightly in the process. I also improved it somewhat with a string change to lighter guage acoustic strings, 11-49's instead of the telephone poles it came with. :) The tone got a little thinner when I left the 12-53's behind, but since I'm not worried about it as an acoustic guitar, I was easily able to EQ the new strings to my taste.

This guitar had one tiny nick by the soundhole. I touched it up with some of my wife's fingernail polish and I can't find it anymore. Otherwise, it has the finest bookmatched red paint I've ever seen.

The hardware is good quality middle of the road stuff that isn't cosmetically impressive, but it works. I changed the bridge pins to some I had around that have pearl dots, just to dress it up a little. I also added strap locks.

I haven't taken it to gig with. Mostly, I use it to record, but I think it could take a beating. The wood top is the only part of it that I wold consider fragile, but I bought the hardshell case for it anyway. Most Fender dealers don't know there is a case specially made for it, but Fender Consumer Relations gave me the model number and Musician's Friend got it to me within a couple days. It's one hell of a well made hardshell case with very good hardware on it. I tend to use it to carry my regular Telecasters around, throwing a towel in the bottom to take up the extra depth.

Not really applicable, but they were very helpful in locating a case for me and they asked for my opinion on the guitar when I called. Their interest level was pretty interesting.

I've been playing nearly 40 years, mostly country, blues and old rock & roll. I have 10 other guitars, every conceivable species and model for whatever purpose they are intended.

When I got the Telecoustic, (Plastic-caster, as we call it at home), it wasn't really what I was looking for. I wanted something bright to record with and was thinking more along the lines of an acoustic, but this fit the bill when I tried it. The electronics are hot and took some getting used to, but it was such a fun guitar I decided I was going to try and I haven't been sorry. Along with my Danelectro Hodad, the two of them are more fun than anything else with frets.

Like someone else previously mentioned, I do wish it came in more colors... white with a maple fretboard would be my favorite. The only other thing I wish it had, though it would probably raise the price, is more traditional Telecaster controls down on the lower bout.

As far as the lost or stolen question, I'd have to get another one, Tele model or Strat model wouldn't make a difference. They're just a lot of fun.

The built in EQ works great, and the neck feels great. Very easy to slide along. The classic tele shape makes it all really.

Play it without an amp, you are gonna get a shit sound, but what do you expect from something with absolutly no depth at all.
Plug in baby, and it will sound as sweet as you find an Elctro Acoustic guitar, and as said before, the EQ helps.

Mine is fine. No flaws as yet, apart from a big chip I made throwing my capo across the room to my friend who was playing the guitar at the time. Such bad hand-eye co-ordination for a guitarist.

If you treat it right it will last. the fiber glass makes it stronger. I would use it live without a back up. Dependant as Dependant Dan. Is he a cartoon character? He is now.

Never spoke to them. Guess they are nice.

This is my favourite guitar i own. despite being the newset which usually works in it's favour, it is quite versitile and easy to use in the type of music i play. it suits me to the ground. will it suit you? I dunno, but it is a fucking good guitar, and the red finish makes it look so nice. Get it. It is cheap if you think about it...........

basically nothing less than you can expect from an acoustic-electric guitar. There is only one thing that fender could improve: more colors for this model. A just plain natural finish would give it a classier look. If they wanted to give us only two choices, why not just plain black or white?

ok, for what it is as far as acoustic, great when used as an electric. But you are smart enough not to expect the fulliest sound around, so...

action sucks. I had mine taken to a shop and after some good amount of work the action got great! strings are almost leveled to the neck (what i love) and just a little buzz (what i don't mind, especially when plugged in).
finish is ok. definetly some flaws. nothing that can be done, just look at some before you pick yours. I noticed that finish quality may vary. But as everyone knows, it looks great.

too new to know already. But definetly worth of a try. If it lasts, it is a great buy!

Well, at least they returned my call promptly. Talked to fender just once about this guitar. They don't care too much about it. It is cheap, so they don't want to spend too much time on this one. But that's ok since it doesn't give you problems. Who wants to have to call them anyway? Go play your guitar!

It is a great guitar for the price. I owned so many instruments that i don't even remember all of them, but this one i will definetly keep it. I adjusted so much that I won't be able to find another one so perfect. It wasn't expense to fine-tune this instrument so in the end i paid very little for a great guitar. Unfortunately the neck is not interchangable with the electric guitar ones. yet.
If you don't mind work on your guitar a little (read "customize") go for it and have lots of fun!

First run telecoustic...although I don't think they've changed anything judging from the reviews I've read. Everyone else has pretty well covered the features, which are pretty basic. BTW, someone complained about short battery life...I have not had to replace a single battery even I left the guitar on by accident a few days.

I hate to sound negative, but it sounds like a cardboard box. One reviewer I noticed compared it to a kids toy guitar. That is not too far off. It sounds fine as an electric...but I already have 2 electrics. I want decent acoustic sound. I have been able to get it to sound OK when recording through the judicious use of effects (ie enhancers, EQ). Luckily, I have some sentimental attachment to it since it was my first guitar and the crappy sound doesn't really bother me, but I can see where a professional musician might get really steamed. I have some suggestions for improving it which I'll get to in the next section.

Here we are in the next section! Quality of paint was good, I agree with the other person who said it was unusual to see the back of the neck without any finish on it... big deal, though. The strings that it comes with are about the size of a typical high voltage power line. And with all that tension it can really bend the neck...truss rod and all. I kept putting on lighter and lighter strings until finally I ended up with the lightest D'addario acoustic strings. It has been about a year now and the neck has been stable...so I think that's the ticket. I had to have a luthier to some adjustments to get the action down...those strings were way up high. I don't think Fender had a guitarist actually try playing on of the prototypes...everything was wrong, but at least it is workable for me now.

Since it is pretty much fiberglass it should be durable

haven't dealt with them

Well, now I can tell everybody I own a Fender. So there is some status. But thanks, I'll take my Danelectro DC3 any day. Looks cool, too. I don't know what Fender was thinking of with this one. Actually, I do know. They were in love with the concept...and I will admit it is a cool concept. However, the concept did not translate into reality very well. This is not the kind of guitar Fender built a reputation on...although it may be one it ruins it's reputation on! If it doesn't add, it subtracts. And this subtracts. I don't think we'll be seeing Eric Clapton performing with this one. Having said that, I do play it a lot because I rarely want to plug in. I want to be able to go to any room in the house and practices modes, and this is well suited for that. As I mentioned before I have some sentimental attachment to the guitar, and it could be worse. It reminds me of Ford motor company. They made the fabulous 1955 T-bird...but they also made the Pinto. Guess which one this is?

read the review above

I'm 13, this is my first guitar. I wanted somthing cheap that could do everything well not perfectly. This was the perfect guitar. The unpluged sound wasn't great, but then it's one of the only guitars I have ever palyed. But when I pluged it in sounded great, just like an acoustic guitar.

looked good to me!

didn't have it long enough yet

never needed to use it

Really great.

Chinese produced thinline acoustic-electric hybrid with Tele-shaped body, 21-fret maple/rosewood neck, Gotoh-style tuners, saddle-transducer w/three-band eq plus "contour". Spruce-top, finished Candy Apple Red, binding on top, synthetic body material similar to lyrachord (Ovation). Matte finish on neck, high-gloss on soundboard (most likely catalyzed urethane).

Using this strictly as an acoustic, it has a predictably thin, (though amazingly loud for it's size)uninspiring sound. I then ran the guitar through a Boss GT-3 (using the acoustic/electric presets with no modification), and into a Roland JC-120. Aha...all the difference in the world. Other than a mild lower-midrange "honkiness" to it, the Telecoustic has a very useable amplified acoustic sound. I forsee no difficulty in using this guitar live.

The nit-picky stuff (and is it really justifiable, considering it only cost $250??): the first-position string height was borderline ridiculous...the nut was actually a LEFT-HAND nut that was put on backwards, completely reversing the angle of the slots, causing the elevated action. The problem is, the admittedly cheap plastic nut used on the model is not readily available in Charleston, WV (or probably anywhere else, for that matter). And of course, the slot was FAR too wide to drop in an actual Fender or a TUSC replacement nut. So, after a rather tedious job of reshaping, reangling, and reseating the existing nut, the guitar plays considerably better. The overall action (as shipped) is most likely too high for the average elctric-guitarist; there again, this is easily corrected by reducing the overall height of the saddle.
The finish-job is satisfactory on both the neck and the top, with the only quirk being an unexplainable 'tackiness' on the inside edge of the soundhole.

The neck is a bit chunkier than my electrics Teles', but for a 'budget' instrument, every bit as true. It came to the door with just the right amount of relief, and surprisingly, little if any fret buzz. Overall, the guitar seems fairly well built.

not able to answer due to no contact with vendor.

I think I've answered this question above. To reiterate, I really enjoy playing this guitar. It sounds good amplified, doesn't slip out of tune like one would expect a budget instrument to do, and is visually appealing. For Tele players needing an acostic for that occasional song, this critter is perfect.

this is a new 2000 guitar.6 string acoustic/electric. thinline 1 piece fiberglass body. SOLID spruce top ( don't know why the other people say laminated,other than they don't know what they're talking about because they didn't take the time to read the specs b4 buying!!!) electric type neck (bolt-on,maple with rosewood fretboard). onboard pickup/preamp (fishman classic 4) 22 frets. traditional fender headstock.i think jumbo frets.my color is candy apple red. factory strings are phos-bronze ball end xl.10-48.

i play a bit of everything except metal. the acoustic sound isn't great but passable. plugged in the acoustic sound is clean & strong and i can still get a good electric shred out of it using the sliding tone controls on the guitar in combo with either of my amps (line 6 spider & a tech 21 trademark 10)-i also tried it thru an inexpensive rogue 20r & it wasn't too bad. i mostly fingerpick and this guitar is fun--the neck is thin & fast-not as wide as an acoustic,more of an electric feel & that makes chording more challenging,but i like it. the action is just right for me- no fret buzz or electronics hiss either.- i liked the tone better when i switched the strings to dean markley blue steels xl (10-48)

the guitar was setup fine..the saddle had a couple burrs but i litely sanded them away with no problem. the red paint job was flawless. frets were finished pretty good.this is a low maintainance piece of equipment. the only thing i can find on mine is the neck is just a hair (a very thin hair) off center-doesn't affect playability. i like the way the string pins are positioned on the bridge in a curved manner instead of straight across ( don't know if it affects anything-i just think it looks nice)

this is a playing guitar...not just for admiring it. use it and don't worry. you can't hurt the body. the neck is a little heavier than the body,so be careful how you stand it up. i don't gig anymore, but it seems dependable. if you are giggin' you should always have a backup- you never know whats gonna happen (no matter what brand guitar you play).

never had to contact them.

i started playing about 11 yrs. ago. i also own a takamine ef341c a/e-an ibanez gax70 electric and a route 101 custom strat.i checked this guitar out at my local music shop & compared it to a few others and then ordered it online. if lost or stolen i would get another 1 because it is so much fun to play and not havta worry about scratching it or something. this 1 sits in my living room at the end of my couch so i can grab it anytime i feel like it. i compared it to the ovations and i bought this 1 because it had a better sound/feel (the round back on the ovation kept sliding away from my body,while the fender is a traditional shape) and the cost difference sealed it for me. you can't go wrong with this 1 as long as you don't try comparing it to other guitars - take it 4 what it is and enjoy it. its not a $2000. gibson & not intended to be. --oh...also...there IS a fender hardcase designed & available for this guitar.great fit & finish. i got mine from musiciansfriend for $89.00. don't always take what you read as gospel--alot of guys engage mouth b4 brain.

The Fender Teleacoustic is a Telecaster shaped round hole acoustic electric guitar with an eq section and active electronics. It's a very light bodied instrument that is also neck heavy.
It's made somewhere in Asia....probably China. These overseas instruments are pretty much entry level. Nothing on this will have rain forest advocates picketing Fender for having destroyed valuable trees. The body is plastic or plastic like. Tapping the body is like tapping a hard plastic beer cooler.
If you like the feel of an electric guitar neck and can handle string gauges starting with .11 or .12, then playing a Teleacoustic wouldn't be difficult.

I know sound evaluation is subjective.
Anyone that thinks this "guitar" sounds remotely well is just blowing smoke up your ass or has never played a quality instrument. You'd be better off buying a plywood entry level Martin than wasting your $'s on this. It's just a horrible hard plastic sound. Nothing woody or tonefully yours here. This is a novelty that should be smashed on stage during a Spinal Tap performance.
Segovia or Michael Hedges couldn't make this thing sound good.
Please save your $'s.

Stiff guitar.
Bad fret edges.
Bookmatched either means photo flame or naturally flamed wood.....and it ain't here.
Cheap electronics on just just a dreadful piece that looks like a guitar.

Who knows.
Who cares.
It may be functional as an oar.

Leo Fender was a genius thinkerer who cared about the people who bought his product.
The current regime has a department store mentality....."pile em high,
watch em fly".
The post CBS Fender customer support is not good.
I guess warranties are important...but only on quality.

Kramer came out with this Telecaster acoustic knock off in the 1980's.
Those were made in Asia too but out of wood.
They were'nt good either but were light years a head of Fender's Teleacoustic in sound quality.
PT Barnum once said..."a sucker is born every minute".
PT is smiling with every Teleacoustic sold.

Locking tuners, solid spruce top, 4-band eq, piezo pickup.
I got the Inca Silver witch is like Danelectro's metal flake finish.
Fiberglass body. 21 fret, electric guitar style neck.

Acousic: Lacks bass, mid-range is very heavy. Overall tone lacks in quality. Fiberglass sound like a toy.
Electric: Exellent. It's got just the right amount of punch. It doesn't sound any different than a top dollar elecric acoustic system.
This is where Fender wanted to win here.

Action was a little high when it came, no biggie. Close-up, the finich had some flaws, but this was designed to be seen from a stage.
Wonderful guitar for my gigs.

Again, this guitar is designed to take road abuse. It's gunna last for a while.

Fender takes good care of customers.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not a guitar for big time acoustic freaks. It wasn't designed to be, it isn't. This was created specificly for the gigging musician.
1. Light wieght fiberglass body for those long gigs...goes easy on shoulders. Also greatly reduses feedback at "drummer gone wild" levels.
2. Electric guitar style neck. Also for long gigs..goes alot easier on fingers.
3. Finish types. These are very flashy finishes. The metalflake looks even better under stage lighting.
4. Solid spruce top and one piece fiberglass body to live longer on the road.
5. Pluggability to play on stage. The pick-up sounds REALLY GOOD. Un-plugged sound wasn't even an issue when they created this. If you want to record or play acoustic in front of some, get a dreadnought.

If you want an acoustic guitar, buy a real acoustic. If you want a playable electric with decent "acoustic" tone, this may be your guitar. Mine almost went right back into the box, but I decided to change the strings and I'm glad I did. I installed electric 9's and greatly improved playability and surprisingly, it also sounded better unplugged.

This rating applies only to how it sounds plugged in.

A good value for under $300.

Well made, should be OK.

Hope I don't have to find out...

Good value for the money. (Just keep it plugged in...)