Fender Telecoustic

Bought this little honey at Sam Ash in Richmond Va. for $199.00. I was waffeling between the Telecoustic and an Ibanez Talman....the Talman is better out of the box...but I wasn't looking for perfection out of the box...I mean this thing is made in China !!! I don't compare it to my acoutic. I have a 25 year old Guild....no comparison. I have the only elcectric made by my buddy Paul Beard of Beard Resophonics....yea it WOULD be you slobber if you played it!

The quality isn't bad for what I payed...sometimes you have to lower your standards!!

I wanted to get a sound somewhat acoustic but with the playability of my electric..like anyone doesn't want that! I also play a Washburn J-9...slight over-drive and your somewhere between the Edge and Johnny A. I am sending my electric's through a Fulltone Fulldrive, then the the new Zoom...whatever (Also use a Pod Pro rack...it's the best but rack is a pain live and the Zoom was cheaper than the pedal for the Pod XT pro) I ran the Telecoustic into some clean patches with some delay and it realy cut through.
I reccommend using this as an accent instrument. I'm going to Mod it with an electric pickup....probably a Tele Lipstick or something...then use some light over drive with a limiter.

Fit and finish weren't bad for the price. I absolutely couldn't believe the box in the neck!!! It was close to an old Hotwheels Race track!! Come on Sam Ash...have some inteqrity....you guys could have taken care of that in 10 minutes, I know I did.

the jury is out on this one....haven't even had it a week.

Jury's out on this one to.

*I've been playing for around 30 years.
* wanted to get a sound somewhat acoustic but with the playability of my electric..like anyone doesn't want that! I also play a Washburn J-9...slight over-drive and your somewhere between the Edge and Johnny A. I am sending my electric's through a Fulltone Fulldrive, then the the new Zoom...whatever (Also use a Pod Pro rack...it's the best but rack is a pain live and the Zoom was cheaper than the pedal for the Pod XT pro) I ran the Telecoustic into some clean patches with some delay and it realy cut through.
*Would I replace it if stolen or lost...I think so...I think it's a decent piece for the money. People keep comparing it to for instance the Godin thinline...that's not even a fair comparison.
*I don't yet if there's anything I love about it...don't really hate anthing but for the huge bow in the neck...hope that doesn't become a problem. favorite feature might be it's a good project guitar.
*I reccommend using this as an accent instrument. I'm going to Mod it with an electric pickup....probably a Tele Lipstick or something...then use some light over drive with a limiter.

came with a strap, 2 picks, a gig bag, and an allen key for the truss rod.

the tuners were a little stiff to start off with, but eventually they loosened up a bit, and hold their tune very well.

the fishman preamp offers a versatile sound, ideal for most styles. plug it in and turn it up.

Sound's great when plugged in, not so good when not. But still better than my sisters daisy rock.

4 band pre amp allows a wide range of tones, to suit most tastes (i play heavy rock and folk)

set up was excellent, action was a little high, but that's ideal for me as i also play bass, so it keeps the finger tips hard, while building left hand strength

a couple of little knocks in the body, but that was from the shop i bought it from (admitted to them, so not really fenders fault)

i bought the paisley model, as it looked so cool, i wasnt expecting anything wonderful, as i know some electro acoustics arent the best

i've bashed this guitar around a bit, and still havent broken it.

the hardware seems pretty durable, although the battery retaining clip thingys are becoming a little slack

i'm not a fan of the jack/strap button arrangement, and intend to do something about this in the near future, it just doesnt seem the right way to do things

havent had to deal with them, so i wouldnt know

the pink paisley is a must have, if a little odd. sounds great through a PA'd marshall 15w amp

i bought on a whim, so didnt really compare it with others, i also bought from ebay, but it was brand new.

I picked up the "Paisly" model at a local guitar shop. I could simply stop there, never play it and just look at it on its guitar stand and that would be reason enough to own it. As others have posted, the basic features are mentioned above. One bad feature is the output jack in integrated into the bottom strap pin so you can't put it on a regular guitar stand without unplugging it! It looks like a cool setup, but at the expense of functionality.

Tinny, low volume "Delta" sound unplugged. Not useful for anything but solo practice and noodling. Plugged in it can really hoot and growl, though it can get piezo trebly if you don't control it at the amp. I play through a small PA speaker connected to my amp and I had to disconnect the speaker's piezo tweeter. The bass, midrange, treble and "brilliance" controls do a good job of changing the sound. The bass can get a little heavy. It's very responsive to differences in playing pressure and attack. It's not a guitar for clear, precise sound, but it is really fun and easy to make it "talk".

Terrible fit and finish. Splotches, etc. trim uneven. But, this isn't a real tele. Neck bowed a LOT brand new. Heavy strings, high action and narrow neck make it almost unplayable before modifications. I immediately replaced the strings with thin electics, but the top three strings were a little too thin, so I upped the guage (while leaving the bottom three). If the high E string is too light, the staggered saddle is too thick for it and the E doesn't ring well. I cranked the neck down straight and the action is excellent now.

I see no reason for this guitar not to last, even if dragged around to every gig. It's certainly no less rugged that any all wood acoustic guitar. And if it did break during a gig, duct tape should get you through the night without any appreciable sound deficit ;-) though I wouldn't trust the strap buttons for nothin' - they're just screwed into the fiberglass body. Fasten them securely before you take this out as a working guitar.

I was told by the guitar shop it had a lifetime warranty on the body and neck.

I am not a professional musician. I've been playing guitar on and off for thirty five years. I play for fun. I like my Strat a lot and my "tightened up" inexpensive dreadnought. However, this Telecoustic Paisley has so much unique personality that it's VERY hard not to pick it up and play it ALL the time. As others have noted, it's not the best sounding or playing guitar, but with some initial work (to MAKE it playable), its funky factor and cool factor hit a 10 with a bullet. I'll never part with this guitar.

Read other reviews.

Unplugged it sounds to me like an old Delta Blues Guitar. They were ALL plywood. Plugged in: I run it through a processor for recording so it sounds like anything I want. It is full and bright and the EQ in the preamp works really well.

Just awful, but I knew that coming in. I knew the bridge needed shaving, but did not know the nut did too. I could not even play a Cmaj chord in the open position. I am an electric player and needed to have something to play acoustic solo's on in the studio next week. Rather than to rebuild this now (the strings are also kind of tight) before it has the time to settle in a bit, I tuned it down to Eb and put a capo at the first fret. Feels much better now. I don't know how much I'll use it, so maybe I'll just leave it that way. Those of you complaining about not being able to bend strings, ought to grow up some and research what you are buying. Get away from those super light strings and build some strength in your left hand. I am 53 years old, with arthritis in my left elbow and hand, and I could bend the strings before I made any changes.

At this price, it is not that important to me.

Won't use it. If I can't fix it, I will use it to paddle my way out of Florida, after the Ice Caps are finished melting.

I just wish Fender had given The Telecoustic a better effort. Maybe followed Abe Wechter's lead. Abe makes the best stage guitar, bar none, in the 3000 series Pathmaker, with his 3 pickup system. I just wish he had a thinline version. That, I would buy in a heartbeat. If the Telecoustic were stolen, I probably look for a used one that had been set up already. Or, maybe the Takamine Thinline. At 53, it is nice to have a thinline acoustic next to the recliner. Been playing for about 35 years, and this guitar is definitly worth the money, if you don't mind doing some work. And I agree, if you can't set up a guitar,after playing about 5 years, get a trombone.

Just a standard MIC Telecoustic as detailed on Fender and other websites Laminated top. Mine did come with a gig-bag. I selected the sunburst model.

When it came out of the box and underwent initial setup, it sounded horrible. Took it to a shop and had a professional setup and new strings installed and it sounded better. When plugged in, it just sounds like a low end amplified acoustic. When unplugged, it sounds terrible... but I don't think that is the target usage.

From the factory, everything was terrible. I have spots where the finish wasn't applied (sound hole has bare wood spots,) frets were scratchy, and the local shop had to do a good amount of work that should have been done at the factory. I've seen worse, but not with the Fender or even Squier name on it. Standard Chinese quality control.

It seems like it can take a little bit of abuse as far as the fiberglass, neck, etc. Everything on the top seems very cheap and flimsy.

I've not had to deal with the company, so it would be unfair for me to review the support.

I own a MIA Tele and bought this for the gimicky aspect of having an acoustic that looks related in color, styling, etc. I probably really wouldn't recommend it for anything other than the gimick aspect as it really isn't a great sounding guitar for the acoustic side, and it doesn't have any of the tele sound (a neck a tele does not make.) I'll probably give it to one of the kids someday, but I wouldn't buy another. One other thing I didn't mention elsewhere... these things smell bad. Don't know if it's the fiberglass or what, but it has a unique "chemical" odor.

The features are all a bove, frets trings all that jazz.
if you buy this guitar buy some new strings unless you are stevie ray vaughen, or chuck norris. anyway for the price fine, nothing especially fancy. it looks great, everyone always wants to ask about it.

without an amp 3
with an amp 9
simple as that.
PLUG IT IN PEOPLE!
if you play this acousticly only, then be careful, it sounds. passable, but so does a suitcase with strings streched over it. with an amp it relally comes alive.

This guitar looks good, smells good, and the first time you play it you will be over awed by how visious a little beast it is as it tries to rip off the fingers you believe to be toughened. serieously i would have taken it to a shop to get it adjust when i brought it if i wasnt so lazy. it does look cool, with its odd dimensions, mine is a dark red and it looks great. but to play. this is marketed as the electric guitar players guitar. dont believe it, buy new strings and get it set up. or you will cry.
the neck is the nicest acoustic neck i have played, its just a case of getting the strings anywhere near it.

great. not a single problem i tune it every month and a half. when i gig with it i dont need a backup up, cause its built like a house.

i wouldnt even know the guitar is just that tough. so 10 again

i own too many guitars i have been playing for three years. and this guitar is one of the most 'characterful' i have ever played. i have a real love hate relationship. i play it not cause of the sound o r the feel. but because its a challenge. i wouldnt sell it, i need this guitar, like i need a gym and weights. if you are going to buy this guitar try it first. if you like it buy it, and if you dont, think about it. mine has never let me down. just get lighter wire, plug in ad you will be fine

I bought mine a couple of years ago (2003) to play at science fiction conventions. It's got a built in pickup, which is nice for amplifying. It didn't come with any accessories.

Surprisingly, it works quite well for Irish traditional music (which is mostly what I play). I think that, unless you plug it in, the sound isn't a big as a "normal" acoustic guitar, but then again the body isn't as large, so that is to be expected. The built-in pickup is amazing and makes the guitar sound great.

Mine came completely set-up (which is how it's supposed to be). Although I've read about strings being set high above the fretboard, mine doesn't have this problem. Craftsmanship seems to be of high quality.

I still haven't broken a string (knock on wood) and I play it daily. I've played it live on several occasions (to packed hotel conference rooms with at least 1000 people) and people love the sound. It's never failed me at a gig and I use it constantly with my Irish traditional music group, Barghest. It actually stays tuned and I don't have to tune it for a few days before I start noticing.

Haven't dealt with Fender at all, but it's never had any problems (again, knock on wood). The warranty has probably run out by now. I don't know what kinda warranty it had.

This was my first guitar and it's still my only acoustic guitar. The only thing I wished is that I had another acoustic guitar so that I didn't look so goofy at sessions, but it honestly doesn't matter. It's the sound that counts.

basically a mixture of a Tele and Ovation...

not sure what year it was made, but comes from china. has 21 frets, real tele neck, composite body, spruce top, rosewood fretboard and bridge. Fishman electronics with treble, mid, bass, contour, and volume controls.

sounds kind of weak when not plugged in, but when plugged in it sounds great. I use mainly for acoustic play, but also like to run some effects with it to get some real muddy sounds.

no lie, the action is extremely high. so much that with acoustic strings it kills my fingers. I read a review on this site, and quickly changed to electric strings. what a differnce. action is of course still high, but no more pain!

playability is affected by the heavy neck. The neck is no different that a standard tele. that's great, but this body being composite is much lighter than a standard tele.

the only two negatives in this guitar are the heavy neck, and high action. no other flaws...

I got it used from a freind, and it still looks like it did the day he bought it. no wear so far...

I am kind of suspicious about the composite body. I don't know how time will effect this guitar. I feel like the area where the guitar bolts on to the composite body would be the weakest point.

no problems yet!

I have been teaching myself to play for the last five years. guitar has become my number one hobby. I mainly play for my own enjoyment. My collection includes a Johnson acoustic, a Crate-Strat electric, a Fender Showmaster, and a ca' 1950's style German archtop acoustic.

my favorite thing about this guitar is it's mixture of the acoustic/electric design. I have kind of big fingers and playing an acoustic with this skinny of a neck has it's challenges.

I will probably add some better strap locks due to the unbalanced neck. other than that, and the high action, it is a great value!

I bought my California Red telecoustic in 2002. It came with a strap. gig bag, set of strings,cord, not a bad deal. I was attracted to the color & Tele shape.

I use it mostly for unplugged practice. I do use it through my Marshall amp once in awhile. I hated the strings that came on it. I use electric strings.

This was my 1st guitar, so I went by what my did said.The set up wasn't to good. Flaw's... mine has cracked down the top( top to bottom) with another crack above the sound hole. I'm 13 now, I wouldn't buy it now

I dont play it at all. I need to get it fixed.

I don't know a lot about repairs, I think I need a new top, can this be done? I went to Fender's website, not much there. How can you find a good place to make this kind of repair. I live in the Indianapolis area.

It was my 1st guitar, I bought it on looks alone. I have a Squier Showmaster silver holoflake, that more fits my style. I guess I bought it on looks too. I would like to get this repaired though.

Made in China 2002. Fishman pickup / active preamp. Everything I needed and no extras which I didn't need.

Obviously the Telecoustic with a small synthetic bowl is not going to compete with a Martin. It was not built to! I mainly play this unplugged and I find the sound very pleasant to my ears. If someone else is playing the sound doesn't carry as well. Plugged in, the sound is up there with any comparable electro acoustic.

I first tried a Telcoustic about 2 1/2 years ago. I loved the concept but the setup on the shop model was crap! I tried a Stratacoustic about six months later which the shop had had fixed. I loved it and ordered a Telecoustic double quick. As with the reviewer below, mine arrived with a 5 deg angle away from the body and I also had to shim the neck and shave the bridge.

My local shop had a lovely Sunbusrt model for many months and despite getting lots of interest it didn't sell. In my opinion, probably due to the setup. When the shop slashed the price I grabbed it for a friend of mine. I had to do exactly the same setup as my own; ie shim the neck and shave the bridge.

I run mine with electric strings (11-48) and love the tone and feel this gives. I found acoustic strings too bright with the synthetic bowl and also too hard for my "electric" fingers.

From the factory, mine had a split in one of the braces which I had to glue up. I can't see the rest of the braces, hopefully they are OK. Apart from that, mine has stood up to two years of fairly intensive use. It has been to the beach and lots of parties and shows no sign of deterioration.

Answering the question above; would this stand up to live playing? My answer is yes, but the neck heavy balance of this guitar may cause problems. If you're buying this for mainly live situations, I would suggest the Stratacoustic instead.

Never had to contact Fender.

I love this guitar. I am an electric player and was looking for an easy-playing acoustic. The Telecoustic was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I love the neck, I like the sound and it's just so comfortable to play lying on the couch. This guitar is up amongst my favourite and if lost or stolen it would be replaced in an instant.

I think if Fender paid a little more attention to Quality Control on this guitar, they'd have a MAJOR winner on their hands. I'm certain many prospective customers would have been put off by the action.

Incidentally, for the "Guitar Player Magazine" reviewer below, I've been playing since 1981 and own several other Fender electrics. I do all my own setups, repairs etc, and play my guitars till I fall asleep at night. I know a bad setup when I see one and the four or five Tele/Stratacoustics I've seen have all needed work. Maybe you got the one in 100 that was perfect!?

Fender! 5 minutes of QC and I believe this guitar would sell like hot cakes!

Made in China. 2003 according to the marking on the neck. Features as described elsewhere.

This is a bit of a Jack of All Trades. As over reviewers have pointed out: set it up as a standard acoustic and it will behave (reasonably) as such. Put a set of 8s on it and the neck will feel like a Tele.

I wanted an acoustic to noodle with on the sofa, but also to add some some substance behind my electric when recording. I understand our acoustic friends desire for heavier strings to improve tonality, but I'm basically an electric player so this suits well.

The acoustic tone is good enough for my noodling, but not great. Plugged in you can have what you want, although I'm not convinced that the pickup is quite a perfect as some other reviewers have suggested. Albeit I only have a Marshall suited for electrics rather than a dedicated acoustic amp.

As I mentioned above - this guitar needs to be set up for what you want to do with it. I took the neck off and put in a shim to reduce the action (as bought the neck came out of the body at about a 5 degree angle) and replaced the medium acoustic strings with a set of electric 9s. The original setup might have suited those with fingers like Arnie Schwarzeneger's neck, but wasn't quite for me.

Setting it up was relatively painless, and I think that, with the way this is constructed, you can have a go without much chance of causing any permanent damage.

Have some concerns about the tuners. It stays in tune once you get there, but this can take some time.

I think you could use this for beating up burglars. The fibre-glass body is pretty break-proof. The neck appears to be a standard Tele neck, so not much can go wrong there then.

Not sure about the electrics as I haven't had it long enough to tell. The battery is not terribly "quick change" friendly.

One year warranty from the shop, with a free setup during the year.

Been playing 25 years on and off (mostly off). I think this is a great guitar. It is a Telecaster neck attached to a fibre-glass box. You can make of it what you will. It's so basic that very little can possibly go wrong and you can tweak the few things that are tweakable without too much fear of damage. I love it.

I think a big problem with it is that you are unlikely to find one in a shop set up to suit your style (whatever it may be). If you can't make the minor changes yourself ask the shop.

bought this guitar march'04
21 frets
Fender/Fishman Classic 4 Active pickup system
hi gloss natural finish
Scale 25.5" (648 mm)
tele headstock
rosewood bridge & fingerboard
mechanics made out of chrome---
body depth-3inches
fender low class gigbag that doesnt even fit with the telecoustic.

sound is lousy--- i hate the standard strings, i replaced it with a more lighter string set which made the sound more clear and not the "plastic out of the factory sound" it produces when i first bought it.--- i live in an apartment so the low-volume sound it produces suits for me. you can only harness the telecoustic's real strenght when you use an amp. no feedbacks and those hollow bodied guitar sound, just the acoustic sound you want.

one thing about mass produced guitars that are on sale is--- they are defects--- this china made guitar has some defects, although you wont notice it until that "i just bought a cool looking guitar for a very low price - mania" ends and you start looking for flaws. the bridge is more aligned to the right of the body than the center, which makes the strings the neck and the whole guitar not aligned. the body hole is not aligned to the strings (its because of what i mentioned earlier) but apart from that the finish is ok

reliability is superb... with its fiber plastic back and sides, you dont have to worry about dropping the guitar. can withstand live playing---

as what other people in this site put on thier reviews: avoid buying a guitar because of its name--- this fender is a major disappointment but hey--- you get what your paid for!!! but actually in my opinion, even though you have the most cheapest guitar with no name, it all depends on how you handle the guitar--- ive seen many people in 3rd world countries that have awful guitars but when you hear them playing it's like they're holding a 20,000$(u.s.) guitar.so it al depends on ---YOU--- all the people who submitted thier review in this site should be very lucky that they even have a guitar. most musicians in poor places dont even have one, they just borrow from thier fellow musicians.

i have the Candy Apple red telecoustic. same specs as mentioned in all other reviews on here so i won't go into detail. fishman Preamp has bass, middle and treble controls as well as brilliance. offers a good variety of tones. NOTHING FLASH- does a great job however

Ok...firstly, this is a guitar that has been designed to produce an acoustic guitar tone, PLUGGED IN!! no, not plugged into a marshall stack for electric guitars- *ACOUSTIC AMPS or d.i into a PA ONLY!!!!!!* that's what it was built to do- glad to get that out of the way.
the sound you get from this guitar is very nice indeed- but only plugged in. I am a young singer/songwriter and generally just play acoustic to accompany my singing. i have been scrambling for a decent acoustic tone for ages and i do feel i have a found it. i usually plug straight into the p.a, or use an acoustic amp (Marshall AS100D)and get very good results. the fishman preamp does a wonderful job in letting you reach your desired acoustic guitar tones. however, i did not need to touch a single setting to get a very lush sound with a lot of clarity and jangle. the bass response is smooth and very impressive.
i can honestly say that i don't think i can get a better plugged in acoustic tone. i'm not just saying this- i was very impressed upon first playing, and still am. if there is anything to pick at, i would say that the tones are a little bass heavy but it's nothing that a little tweaking can't sort out. i'm just nit picking really

this guitar will never play like a telecaster- FORGET IT! this is an acoustic guitar...remember?? the only similarity is that it has a telecaster neck. yes, it does play a lot like an electric guitar compared to other full body acoustics, but it doesn't even approach the playability and action of a good electric. a lot of reviews have slagged off the action on this guitar, and i was very scared about buying it because of that reason. however, it is nothing to worry about. it is always gonna be higher than that of a telecaster, but hey, it's better than it buzzing like mad!!! i have seen a lot worse on acoustic guitars. If you would like it a little lower it's not a huge job. just file down the bridge a touch. i will probably end up doing this to mine, but only a touch.
the neck on the guitar feels lovely and the frets are finished very well. it feels a lot more expensive than it it is.
The guitar is very light and comfortable to play and i have had no problems with the finish (yet). i've had the guitar a month so i'll keep you posted.

i havn't had it long enough to really comment on this part. (my rating is lower because of this). played a few gigs- no problems.
strap buttons SEEM very solid as well as the input jack. am particularly impressed with the machine heads- very solid and keep it bang in tune. they are unbranded. I was a little worried because of this but they seem very good.
always have a backup though. you never know what could happen.
IT DOES SEEM LIKE A VERY WELL BUILT GUITAR.

have not dealt with fender at all. i hope i don't have to.

been playing for about 6 years. (mainly acoustic)
a good acoustic tone hits you in the face when you hear one and this guitar had that effect on me when i first plugged it in.
if your gonna play an acoustic that you want plugged in 90% of the time, there is not a better guitar in my eyes. i feel it is great value. very cheap. I stress again....
****This was built to produce acoustic tones when PLUGGED IN!!!***

As others have noted, this is a thin-bodied acosutic with a fiberglas back, piezoelectric pickup and preamp, shaped like a Telecaster. It seesm to be designed for electric players who want that acoustic sound while keeping the ease of electric playing. With the supplied strings- .011s, I think- it maintains that playability while delivering a pretty good sound. (I have to admit I found one reviewer's comments hilarious- the one who found it unplayable untuil he put .008s on it! I play .013s on my archtop and .012s on my flattops.)

I bought this guitar as a knocking around and beach guitar- it was that cheap. I was surprised, though, how good the sound was when I plugged it in. The preamp delivers plenty of range, and I found that leaving everything flat and rolling off the treble I could get a really good acoustic sound with a minimum of the piezo "quack" that plagues so many of these guitars.
In the past I've used a Guild D-35 with a magnetic pickup assembly whn I wanted an aocustic guitar sound for my band, but in the future I think I'll use this instead.

Fit and finish are as good as anything in the price range, The neck feels like a proper Tele neck, and the edges of the frets are smooth, with no edges to grad fingers. Mine was purchased used and did have some warping and craking of the top just in front of the neck pocket, but it looked stable and I don't think it's going anywhere. I suspect a lot of the early solid top models have suffered some warpin, as the design doesn't really aloow for the movement of solid wood.

Electrics, as noted above, are very good with plenty of range for fine tuning sound.

The tuners are a bit slippy, but other than that I don't see anything oin this guitar likely to fail under gig conditions.

I've been playing for 35 years and curently have around 12 guitars, all of which get used on a fairly regular basis. I picked this up on a whim, but since playing with it a bit I think it'll get used on stage, too.

Likes: The sound, the look, the easily playability, the slim shape, the light weight.

Dislikes? Well, as noted, the tuners could be a little better. That's about it.

At the usual list price of $299 this is a good, workmanlike guitar that would make a good second guitar for someone looking for more sounds for their band. At the price I paid, it was an absolute steal. I see a lot of used ones around at prices ranging from $125 to $200, and I think if I lost this one I'd pay up to $200 for a replacement.

I'm sure all the features have been covered by others who have submitted reveiws on this guitar. My Telecoustic is of the Candy Apple Red colour and the paintwork is amazing, This guitar is a real looker

Having read all on this site before actually purchasing the Telecoustic, I was a little worried. Let me just say that in owning an American Telecaster and a Custom Maton Fully Body Acoustic, I thought I would have a good base to compare this guitar to. Well, I was totally amazed by this guitar, It sounds better than my Maton plugged in, Don't bother trying to play this guitar unplugged, It was not designed for it, Plug it in. It is an awesome sounding acoustic guitar. It has a huge full sound plugged in. I simply plug it into a DI and then into the P.A.

I don't know what some people on this site are talking about, This guitar was perfect out of the box. The action is just a fraction higher than my Telecaster but what do you expect, It is acoustic after all. It is far easier to play than my full sized Maton Acoustic. This guitar had no flaws and the finish was brilliant

Having just bought this guitar I can't really say. But Yes the front strap holder came loose pretty quickly, But I've had to do work on both of the strap holders on my American Tele so what is new?

I've never needed to deal with Fender

As mentioned above I have an American Standard Telecaster, A custom Fully Body Maton Acoustic and an American Deluxe Jazz FMT Bass.
If this guitar was stolen I would be on the phone imediatly to buy another one

For all the specs you need to know, go here: http://www.fender.com/products/show.php?op=3&partno=0957500

Onboard electronics and a gig bag at this price range is almost unheard of.

One note is that, because of its electric appeal, you'll almost definitely want to put strap locks on this guitar. You'll have to drill two new holes, because the screw used on the top strap button is actually bigger than the one used for strap locks (at least with Dunlop brand locks). The bottom strap button, on the bridge end, is even trickier because the input jack is actually built into the strap button. Unless you feel the need to re-rout the input jack somewhere else, I suggest that you keep the button where it is and drill a new hole. Make sure that you positon the hole far enough away from the old strap button/input jack. Too close and your strap will be blocking the input jack. Remember, the back material is fiberglass so drilling will take awhile.

I haven't used the electronics but the acoustic sound is about what you'd expect from a thin body with an artificial back material. It's pretty much an Ovation. I don't think it sounds nearly as bad as many of the other reviewers have said, who I suspect are mostly gear-obsessed non-musicians that inexplicably expected a Martin for some reason. It sounds as good as it possibly can, and as good as it needs to.

The action on this guitar has taken a beating on this site. I really don't think that the other reviewers have given enough time to setup and care. And you don't need to fork out cash to get a proper setup on anything that doesn't have a tremolo system. I think that many people who bought the Telecoustic actually expected a Telecaster, which is unfortunate. Bottom line is, if you're a prospective buyer reading this right now, learn about setup. It's easy and if you have a basic understanding of physics (which you should since, presumably, you're alive) you'll be fine. Don't forget that many of the other reviewers are, like I said, Guitar Player subscribers who use their hands more for handing out credit cards than actually playing. They just might not have the hand strength to fret anything that's not an electric with extra-light gauge strings.

I didn't go in-depth on the features and specifics of the guitar because many of the other reviews, although useless in terms of realistic criticism, give you all you need to know (and then some) about the technical aspects of the guitar. I just caution any prospective buyer to take the other reviews with a grain (ok, a tablespoon) of salt. No guitar is perfect. Everything, from a Rogue to a Martin, needs to be consistently cared for and worked on. In this age of precision mass production, no one really "builds" a guitar wrong anymore. 99% of guitars made today don't have some sort of inherent flaw that makes them unplayable. Don't blame the company, or, as many of the reviewers have shamefully wrote about, the country it is made in. It's really unfortunate how much racism I've found in these other reviews. You get what you pay for, period. Of course something that costs five thousand dollars is going to sound better than this, but I'd say that the Telecoustic is one of the best deals in its price range. And it doesn't sounds any worse than an Ovation or any other COMPARABLE acoustic. If you're an electric player looking for a comfortable first acoustic, or an acoustic player (like me) who has felt left out from the electric parade, you should seriously consider the Telecoustic. And, after you buy it, set it up and play your ass off. Don't go back to reading Guitar Player.

2004 (possibly 2003?) Made in China. Solid Top (this has since been discontinued, now come with laminated top) Paisley design, Fishman Classic 4 undersaddle pickup with active EQ. Maple bolt on neck with rosewood fretboard, medium frets, 1 11/16" nut with, 25.5" scale. Decent Grover-type 6-in-line tuners. Thin composite body (think Ovation). Included Fender gig bag, truss rod wrench, and spare saddle.

I use a Marshall AS100D, and plug this into the 1st channel. Very thin sound unplugged, but plugged in, it gives a surprisingly good sound. My primary instrument is a Taylor 410 with a previous generation Fishman passive pickup, run through a DOD preamp. While not as resonant and full as the Taylor, the Fender's string-to-string definition and sustain is better than the Taylor, with much less feedback. I attribute it to the pickup system in the Telecoustic, which is better than the one in the Taylor. I actually prefer the Fender to the Taylor when playing fingerstyle. Unlike other posters, mine hasn't suffered from an overly bright sound. I usually find myself dialing down the base a bit.

The manufacturing quality of this guitar was very good for it's price, but the setup was terrible out of the box. I bought from Musician's Friend, and apparently they did nothing to it before shipping to me. There was very little tension on the truss rod, and it needed several adjustments before it was adequate. The biggest problem was the nut, which was installed backwards and was not cut deeply enough, which caused intonation problems. Once this was corrected, though, and the truss rod was tightened, the action was not bad. The positioning of the neck and bridge relative to each other was dead on accurate, and I only needed to shave a hair off the saddle (and a spare one was included in case I screwed this up) before the action was exactly to my liking. I'm giving this a 5, but I would attribute the low score in part to Musician's Friend for apparently not even removing the guitar from it's factory box, and therefore not catching the nut problem and not doing a final set-up on the instrument before it left their store.

This seems like a very solid instrument, although I've only had it for a month. I probably wouldn't use it without a backup until I'm convinced that the electronics are trouble-free. They've given no indication of troubles yet, though.

I didn't bother contacting customer support about the nut because I've found Fender customer support lacking in the past, and it wasn't worth shipping the guitar back to Musician's Friend for such a minor repair.

I've been playing off and on for 25 years. This certainly isn't the best instrument I've owned, but in terms of bang for the buck, it's up there with the best. I've had good luck with Fender's import guitars. I bought a MIM Fender Squire Series in '94 (very similar to the Mexican Standards but with cheaper tuners and 1 ply pickguard) that had similar set-up issues, but it was put together with decent quality parts, and once tweaked to my satisfaction, became one of my favorite instruments. If the Telecoustic were stolen, I might replace it if I could find one with a solid top. The newer versions of this instrument have laminate tops.

Most basic features are covered under other reviews such as slim, hollow body, fiberglass back, Fishman pickup, .

Specifics on my particular Telecoustic: 1) purchased on Ebay for a decent price, 2) is about 4 months "new", 3) purchased originally as a present by the Ebay seller's parents (all this is important later in review), 4) color is Brown Sunburst, 5) finish is good to very good, 6) came with gig bag, 6) made in China, 7) Fishman pickup, etc...

If my son's mid-range Takamine is a 9, this is an 8. Actually sounds decent both plugged and unplugged.

BUT NOTE: THIS IS AFTER MAJOR SETUP WORK (see below).

OMG!

Measured from the top of the 12th fret the strings were 1/4" above the neck! This was apparently the way it was received from the factory. In talking with the original owner, he got this guitar as a present from his parents. Apparently they did not have the original guitar shop do a setup. In fact, I believe this guy was likely selling this on Ebay as he felt he had a major lemon. It was so bad, after tuning the thing when I got it, I couldn't get through one chord progression. In fact, when I first played it I thought I was ripped off, twisted neck or something, but it wasn't the case.

So I went out to my garage/shop and started a major setup...

(O.K., a qualifier on this: I have only been playing the guitar for 4 months. I decided it was a good way to fill my time after being layed off from an executive position. My 13 year old son plays very well and has two guitars, 1) mid-range Takamine acoustic that sounds fabulous and, 2) an Ibanez he plays in a band. Of course, the Ibanez is off limits and frankly, being new, I didn't want to screw up the fit/finish of the Takamine so I bought this guitar as kind of a compromise. Now, why did I embark on the setup work? Well, I figure the guitar is just a bunch of acoustic physics and mechanics both of which I was pretty good at in school (and the guitar was pretty cheap anyway). So I took out my caliper and reverse engineered the Takamine and Ibanez setups and did kind of an average leaning toward the Takamine. In doing this, I actually assumed that Fender wasn't totally screwed and if the guitar could actually be setup, i.e., didn't have a major issue like a cranked neck, and the body was built right and it would resonate correctly, etc., then I could get it sounding right. So I followed crib sheets from www.guitarnotes.com and well...)

First checked the neck with a straight edge and it actually measured out correctly. Not bowed with a nice concave--so no truss adjustment. I did some angle calcuations and found that 80% of the string height was coming from the bridge. So I pulled it out, measured the gap, etc. I needed to take nearly 1/16" off the bridge height. But only one problem, with that much removed from the bridge the strings would hit the saddle on fret 17 and above. So reluctantly I pulled out my electric finish sander and started working on the saddle. I had to take off 1/16" plus on this baby. When I started I actually didn't know whether this was natural or finished wood, but I have done picture frame paneling/staining/finishing in my house and I figured I could fix most anything I messed up (and as I said, the guitar was cheap anyway). But it was a nice surprise that this was apparently buffed rosewood (I'm guessing on the wood type) on the saddle. After removing a major section off the top of the saddle, and touching up with Liquid Gold, it actually looked better than when I started (like Fender doesn't even do finishing sanding on their saddles!). Anyway, final adjustment was done by pulling out the nut and sanding another nearly 1/16" in height. I restrung with extra light D'Addario strings (based on recommendations from this site). When I was done, the action was still a little high, but I since placed on order a nut and bridge set from Graph Tech, so I'll wait to do final tuning when I get those in...

So, I tuned the thing and prayed... And damn if it didn't sound sweet--VERY SWEET! Checked all chord progressions (that I know at this point) and they were great! Checked notes up and down the neck and it sounded great (called intonation, right?). It probably is not quite as good as my son's Takamine but almost. After setup I'd give it an 8 in sound quality (if my son's acoustic is a 9).

So moral is two things: 1) I don't know, maybe I really screwed things up, but setup of a guitar isn't rocket science, it is actually pretty logical and easy, 2) MAJOR FENDER DOUBTS!--how could they let this thing get out of the factory? Why can someone

This is one reason I bought this guitar. Actually liked the fiberglass back/body. Looks like it will hold up very well. As stated before the finish is actually very nice.

N/A

At the same time I bought the Telecoustic, I also found a good Ebay deal on a Drive EA-30 Acoustic amp. This amp is fantastic--should check it out.

Would I buy this guitar again?, yeah, but probably only because of the the price I got it for... As I said, I'm having major Fender doubts at this point given my experiences above. If I had to pay retail, I'd probably look at another manufacturer (Gibson, Ibanez, Washburn, ?).

HOWDY,
FIRST: OUT OF THE BOX THE TELECOUSTIC/STRATACOUSIC/ACOUSASONIC STRATOCASTER ALL STINK!!!!!!!!
THE STRINGS ARE TOO HEAVY DUTY. THERE IS NO NOTE BENDING. THE STRINGS FEEL LIKE RAZORBLADES. I DUMPED THE 6TH, E. MOVED THE OTHERS DOWN AND I CAN NOW BEND A NOTE. THIS GUITAR NOW PLAYS LIKE THE AD'S STATE. RATING BEFORE CHANGING THE STRINGS 1, AFTER 9.

THE SOUND: I AM NOW, AFTER CHANGING THE STRINGS, GETTING A SIMILAR TONE TO THAT OF MY THE UNPLUGGED TELE, EXCEPT WITH A SLIGHT ACOUSTIC SOUND. I AM NOW ABLE TO HEAR WHAT I AM PLAYING WHEN A CAR GOES BY. NOW, AS THEY SAY, THIS IS NOT THE FULL TONE SOUND OF A BIG BOX MARTIN. I DON'T WANT THAT TONE. I WANT THE TONE OF MY UNPLUGGED TELE. I WANT THE COMFORT/PLAYING EASE OF AN ELECTRIC, (A TELE OR A STRAT.) IN SHORT, I AM GETTING THE UNPLUGGED TONES I PRESENTLY WANT, (INCLUDING NOTE BENDING.) I HAVE A TELE NECK AND NOTES.
NOTE: I FOUND, OUT OF THE BOX, UNPLUGGED THE TELECOUSTIC AND STRATACOUSTIC SOUND VERY MUCH THE SAME. AN UNPLUGGED ACOUSTASONIC STRATOCASTER HAS THE SAME SOUND, EXCEPT IT HAD A SLIGHT REVERB. ALL THREE FELT AND PLAYED THE SAME TO ME, AS FAR AS FEEL, OUT OF THE BOX WITH NO CHANGES. THEY ARE ALL EQUAL, THEY ALL STINK!!!!!!!!

ACTION: OUT OF THE BOX, WORDS CAN NOT EXPRESS HOW BAD. HOWEVER AS EARLIER STATED, I DUMPED THE LOW "E", KEEPING THE REST OF THE STRINGS. I MOVED ALL THE STRINGS DOWN ONE. SO THE "A" BECAME THE LOW "E". I WENT TO A LOCAL MUSIC STORE, PURCHASED AN 8 FOR THE HIGH "E". NOW ITS LIKE PLAYING WITH BUTTER. I CAN NOW BEND NOTES.... WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!! DRAWBACK: UNPLUGGED, NOT QUITE AS MUCH VOLUME. SO THE STRINGS ARE NOW 08,12,16,24,32,AND 42. FENDER USES BALL END 80/20 BRONZE STRINGS ON THE TELECOUSTICS. USE KITE STRING IF YOU DON'T HAVE A STRINGWINDER TO SLIP UNDER THE HEADS OF THE BRIDGE PIN'S, TO PULL THEM OUT. IF YOU WANT TO DO WHAT I DID. REMEMBER, BE GENTLE PULLING OUT THE BRIDGE PINS. ALSO, HOLD DOWN ON THE BRIDGE.

I WANTED A TELECOUSTIC BECAUSE I PLAY TELE'S AND STRAT'S. I WANTED SOMETHING I COULD GO TO THE BEACH WITH. NOTE: I DO NOT TAKE MUSIC EQUIPMENT TO THE BEACH, EVER. I DID WANT TO BEABLE TO GRAB, PLAY, AND NOT HAVE TO DRAG OUT THE AMPS. THIS GUITAR, (NOW) MEETS AND EXCEEDS MY PRESENT NEEDS AND DESIRES.

I WANTED TO PURCHASE THIS FROM AMERICAN MUSICAL SUPPLY. USE THEIR 3 PAYMENT PLAN. HOWEVER, THEY WERE OUT OF THE NATURAL COLORED TELECOUSTIC. I WANTED TO USE ONE OF THE OTHER ONLINE MUSIC OUTLETS, THEY DID NOT OFFER THE GUITAR IN THE COLOR I WANTED, AGAIN THAT BEING NATURAL. OTHER ONLINE STORES OFFERED FREE S/H FOR PURCHASES OF $199.00.

OVERALL RATING: AFTER CHANGING THE STRINGS TO LIGHTER GUAGE, MAKING THE GUITAR FUN FOR ME TO PLAY, HAVING A TELE/STRAT NECK. I WOULD PAY UP TO $199.00 (NEW), WITH FREE SOFTCASE, WITH FREE S/H FOR A REPLACEMENT TELECOUSTIC IN NATURAL COLOR. METHOD OF PAYMENT. FIRST CHOICE, USING A 3 PAYMENT PLAN, NO TAX. SECOND, FREE S/H AND NO TAX. (BUT), I WOULD FIRST BUY USED. AGAIN, ONLY IN THE NATURAL COLORING. I WOULD NOT GIVE OVER $150.00 USED, WITH FREE S/H AND A HARDCASE. I WOULD ALSO BE CRYING MYSELF TO SLEEP MISSING THIS TELE OR ITS REPLACEMENT. HOPE THIS REVIEW HELPS YOU IN MAKING OR NOT MAKING YOUR PURCHASE OF THE FENDER TELECOUSTIC/STRATACOUSIC/ACOUSTASONIC. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU. HAVE A SUPER SPECIAL DAY, GARY.

2003 ... the year is early yet
you've read the other reveiws so let me say Natural top acoustic / electric

WOW ! I read other reviews and was scared when I had because I had already ordered one and let me tell you.... SOME PEOPLE DON'T KNOW A GOOD GUITAR... this IS NOT a $2000.00 guitar. It is , however, underpriced. I payed $199.00 and was blown away. I'd compare it to Epiphone's Chet Atkins SST on sound and a classic Tele combined. The sound stinks unplugged - know why ? BECAUSE IT'S MEANT TO BE PLAYED PLUGGED UP ! You can get a decent acoustic for $200.00 , so don't buy this if you aren't plugging in somewhere. It's not a travel guitar either , buy you a Baby Taylor off Ebay if you want one of those.
For it's purpose , this guitar is awesome...no sound I can't duplicate

Where was the horrible set-up everyone talked about ? I either got lucky , or everyone else expects the same set-up on an acoustic as they get from their Jackson or Music Man. Acoustics don't sit that low because if they do they either (A) buzz like crazy or(B) sound like crap because there is no room for a BRONZE string to vibrate.
the finish was nice... it's not a real frilly peice (curly maple ain't an option) so I guess it was perfect.
Also it included a spare bridge pin and bridge saddle for those morons who want to lower it too far and ruin it

Everything seemed solid. Will be "gigging" with it Sunday morning.

payed a small price (17.00) for Musicians Friend's warranty for a year , so so if something does happen I can swap it for another and not deal with a time-consuming effort with Fender. Also has , though, a LIFETIME warranty from Fender , so I think I'm in the clear

This is one great guitar for what I do and that's live playing. My Axis will get less clean-channel use now. I HIGHLY recomend this for anyone who plays live or records....not for "sitting on a sofa trying to look cool for some girl cause Lord knows no other guy in this world can play Stairway To Heaven" types. lol That said , go get one...I believe they may be discontinuing them and thats a shame, (but the price DID drop so its a catch 22)

Telecaster shaped thinline body, LAMINATED spruce top, 21 fret telecaster neck just like one off an electric guitar, 25 1/2 inch scale, rosewood fingerboard and Fishman Classic 4 Piezo p/u and pre-amp. Pre-amp has Vol. Mid, Treble, bass and Contour controls. Tuners are cheap-ish cast sealed units. Natural finish.

I expected a thin and quiet unplugged sound and a reasonable amplified sound, and that's exactly what I got.

Unplugged the small laminated top and thin body make for a thin, boxy sound, but that's actually pretty good for practice and song writing at home with two small boys asleep upstairs.

Amplified it sounds better than I expected. The small laminated top makes it less prone to feedback than larger guitars (my Yamaha APX for instance) and the Fishman 'tronics do a good job. It will never sound like a well miked-up high-end acoustic guitar, but can you expect it to for this price? I stuff it through a Zoom 504II Acoustic multi-FX unit straight into the PA. This is important as no acoustic will ever sound its best through a regular guitar combo. Played like this it sounds really good, and once embedded in the mix of drums, bass. keys and an electric guitar it sounds brilliant. The guys in the band all agree it sounds better than the Yamaha, plus it looks a lot cooler!

In summary, if you really need a top-notch acoustic sound, then buy a really good acoustic guitar and hire a talented sound engineer. If, like me, you play acoustic on a couple of numbers in a rock band (and can't even afford a talentless sound engineer)and bounce around like a kangaroo with crabs, then this is a great guitar.

The set-up straight out of the box was disappointing, but I adjusted the truss rod and shaved the saddle (it wasn't flat where it should be to contact the pickup) then shimmed it up to give a good action, and now I'm really pleased with it. The action isn't much higher than an electric, plus I use an unwound 3rd and 10 gauge strings to give it an electric feel. There is a little bit of fret tizzle (not as bad as a buzz) but that actually cuts through the mix when playing live and gives it a more "acoustic" sound.

The finish of the top is very nice, and the satin laquered neck is a dream. They've even rolled the fingerboard edges over to give it that played-in feel. The back is plastic, but they've made an effort and given it a rough textured feel, and the binding covers the join tidily enough.

The body binding is a bit sharp-edged, so I'll probably address that some day soon, but other than that it's fine. can't see any problems inside, but then I can't see much of anything inside!

So basically the factory set-up is quite poor, but any music shop worth their salt will set it up for you, so most of the time it shouldn't be an issue. I bought mine mail order, got it very cheap and so I can't really gripe that I had to set it up myself (I probably would have done so anyway, even if I bought it from a regular store). Once set up it plays really, really well. I can't believe all the guys below complaining about it when it seems they either don't know how to set it up or can't be arsed. my rating is for it after it's been set up. Straight out of the box I'd only give it a 4.

The whole shebang seems pretty rugged to me. It stays in tune nicely, it doesn't feel too fragile .... I guess time will tell. I'd be happy to gig without a back-up.

I've dealt with Fender in the UK before, and they're a bit slow but deliver the goods eventually.

By the way, I can't believe the guy below who says the thing's got all these problems, but hasn't bothered to contact Fender to bawl them out. Whatever happened to consumer rights? Give them a hard time about it!

I've been playing for twenty years (with a bit of time off to eat and go to the toilet!). I also own a Fender American Fat Strat Texas Special (what a mouthfull!), Yamaha APX5A Electro-acoustic, Tokai 60s Strat Copy, Yamaha Pacifica 112, Line 6 Flextone II XL, Line 6 Spider 112, Line 6 Floorboard, Zoom 505II, Zoom 504II.

What do I wish I'd asked before buying it? Can I have two,please?

If it was stolen I'd buy two more, then track down the thief and extract the price of my time to set them up again!

I love the fact that it plays almost like a regular electric guitar, I love the sound and I really love the cool looks. I don't hate anything about it.

It has asolid spruce top with white bindings and a plastic back. The neck is maple with 21 frets, a rosewood board adjustible neck anda non adjustible rosewood acoustic type bridge. It looks just like a tele neck. In fact I was told by a Fender man that the neck is actually a tele neck chopped off a little. It was made in Korea between 2002 and 2004. It has a Fishman pickup and a 5 slide control panel (volume, bass, middle, treble, and brilliance). I paid $249.00 for the guitar and $99.00 for the case new.

You can get a lot of sounds out this guitar and none of them are bad. However, only if it is plugged into to an amp or PA. As an acoustic, do not by this for anything but quiet practice. It has very little quality unplugged. I use a Fendure Princton Chorus and somtimes I mike it through a PA with some plate reverb. It sounds very nice through a good clean amp. I add a little more chorus and some delay via pedals and bingo just a nice sweet sound. It can go from nice and fat and chunky to thin and airy to just a brilliant chiming sound. The Fishman is not super high end but has a good parameter of sound. This guitar will even play through a tube screamer but do not turn it up real loud like this. I kid you not. It sounds like a tele this way. It will probably sound good through any overdrive pedal but keep the drive down some. This baby will feedback at real high volumes especially if you are too close to your amp. most electic acoustics do.

I had a major problem with the first one I had but these have lifetime warranties. Fender replaced it with a brand new guitar. On the first one the neck pushed the block back and cracked the sound board. It was bad from the factory. It never played right. The replacement guitar had a bad solder joint on the input. The problem was easy to correct. Also, the second one had a sting buzz at the middle of the neck and was also corrected by the Fender repairman. The fit and finish is actually quite good. Please note that the action on both of these guitars seemed high from the factory. When the truss rod is adjusted the action is nice but not real low like an electric can be. Some people have put shims in these guitars to fix the action problem. It probably isn't neccessary. Putting a shim in might cause slipping in the neck if it is not secured right. My rating is taking into account both guitars

On this first guitar the rating is 1. Ive only had the second on one day. I would gig with the new one.

They replaced my guitar with a new one after 2 and a half years!

I've been playing for 28 years. I own a Fender Princeton Chorus amp, pedals an Epiphone Spotlight and PA equipment. This is a nice sounding guitar. It also is a nice playing guitar when set up right. Maker sure you get a good one. You might have to send a few back. It is worth it. There is nothing out there like it. It really does have the feel and some of the sounds of a Tele. Fender needs to get that neck thing worked out. I suggest they either shim them from the factory, use a thicker neck at the base or put an adjustible bridge on them. Are you listening Fender?

Buy this guitar if you fit in any of the bleow categories:

1. Just stating out.
2. A Songwriter.
3. Want a back-up to practice on.
4. Want a comfortable acoustic that can also do electric.
5. Want something that is unique and may one day be a desirable item for collecting.
6. Love anything related to the Telecaser form.

Don't buy this guitar if:

1. You want afull sounding acoustic.
2. You will only own one guitar.
3. You never settle for second best.
4. You prefer a traditional looking and sounding acoustic.

If you have high expectations when comparing to a tradional acoustic - stop looking now..

If you are looking for a thin body acoustic (as I rate this) then you will be satisfied.

Remeber, you are buying a compromise at a fair price. That said my rating is:

Too soon to tell, but I tend to take very care of my isntruments, so I fully expect a long-term relationaship with this acoustic Tele.

Contrary to popular opinion, I have had great experience with Fender and their Dealer network.

If you know what your buying, you'll be happy. Read above and you will already know where I stand. Fender has offered the Tele lover's thin body acoustic. I am singer/songwriter and it fits the bill PERFECTLY for writing songs and home practice.

Thinline acoustic with spruce top. Manufactured in China 5 slide battery powered volume & EQ. Maple neck with mahogany fretboard.

This is my first acoustic guitar in many years. The acoustic sound is fuller than I expected.

The neck is nice, but the action is so sub-par that it makes the guitar virtually play-proof up past the 10th fret. Fender has dished out some absolute crap over the years and this is just their acoustic version of crap!

The action is so high and due to the neck being mis-aligned this guitar could only be used for live playing if you were going to shoot arrows off of the strings.

No contact.

I have been playing about 30 years. I own 9 other guitars all electric. I have not had a guitar this bad since my father who knew nothing about instruments bought me a no name POS in 1966. If this guitar were stolen I would pity the theif.
I did not compare this guitar before buying, I relied on the Fender brand for some credibility ( Big mistake)

Made 2002. Made in China. Top is solid spruce. Active Fishman preamp and pickup. Neck is maple with rosewood. Tele style.

I gave it an 8 because I was not expecting a dreadnought sound. I knew it would be thinner. But, wanted a thin body guitar. I tried a LOT of them. The Fender by FAR had the best unplugged sound. It beat all of the other thin bodies.

Action was ok. Finish was nice. Not problems in this area at all. No flaws. I do not like the plastic back.

It appears fairly reliable. But, if you gig you may want a back up.

By far the best thin body guitar I have played in this price range. I tried a lot of thin body guitars before buying this one. Ibanez and ovations. The Fender was the best. If you want a thin body, this is the one. Has a great look and good sound for a thin guitar. Good price too.

Year made???? Within the last year. Made in China...to bad. Top is solid spruce. Active Fishman preamp and pickup improves on sound. Body is pre-formed fiberglass. Neck is true, maple with rosewood, style Tele. High gloss red top.

Unpluged the sound was on the treble end of the scale. However, once plugged in the active preamp helped to bring the mids and lows into play. Used it to record a couple of tracks. With the help of a pro sound engineer unit sounded rather good. As for likes and dislikes...that's easy. I liked the neck. That's all.

Factory set-up? If you call stuffing it into a box for shipping set-up, it was great. Overall construction was what one would expect from a China piece of trash. Very poor bracing and top-to-body fit. My guitar was kept in an original fit Fender Telecoustic hard shell case. Never droped or mishandled. I only used light gauge strings. Yet top started seperating from body along lower bout after only 6 months of play.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? I doubt it. Are the strap buttons solid? Upper strap button pulled loose within first two weeks. Would you use it on a gig without a backup? NO WAY?

How long have you been playing? Just a little over 26 years. What do you love about it? The neck. What do you hate? Everything else. Anything you wish it had? Value for the dollar. At $249 I didn't expect to get a top quality guitar. However, I did expect to get a guitar that would out perform some of the entry level junk on the market. Anything else you'd like to share? Yes. If you are considering a Telecoustic........DON'T!!! Based on my experience all you will be getting is an over priced piece of China trash!!!

Unfortunately, China made, 2002. Sunburst, although I would've preferred the natural or the Inca Silver. Fishman electronics, fibreglass body with laminated top, bolt on smooth maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and el cheapo machine heads. I hate peg bridges, they make for difficult string changes. This one feels especially flimsy. Also: very neck heavy. The center of gravity does not make for very comfortable playing. But really, for the price, one cannot complain...

Unplugged: very thin and on the bright side, but i never expected a dreadnought sound from it. Sounds not unlike the Ovations, with the plastic-y twang to it. I'd rate it like about a 2.

Plugged in: the preamp does much to smooth the contour of the sound, adding the mids and a bit of bass to cover the brightness. I expected it to perform with the jangle one would find with a regular acoustic, but unfortunately the plastic factor creeps in. In a full band environment, whether on stage or in the studio, the telecoustic tends to be pushed back in the soundscape, and doesn't have a distinct enough tone to stand out. But maybe that's because I don't have a dedicated acoustic amp. When testing in the shop with a Marshall AS50R acoustic combo, it sounded acceptable, but it does not perform as well with electric amps. So, a rating of 6, which is the one that matters.

The quality control at Fender's China factory does need some looking in to. The build quality of the neck is perfectly fine, it feels and looks good. The body, however, looked like it was slapped together hastily. Although fine from a distance, close inspection reveals a badly finish inside, with sloppy joints and poor construction. The action was really bad, with the strings too high and the angle of the neck completely wrong. Another shim had to be inserted to correct this, and some truss rod adjustments. Still, it appears the the bridge on the high-E side, which is absolutely fine, is lower than that on the low-E side, which is only slightly better than the factory set up. Overall, not very impressive.

This guitar has had its first gig, and went through it without much trouble. It will probable last as long as the bridge remains in place, I have this fear of it collapsing or slowly breaking off. But I don't see it falling apart in the near future, and that's more to do with Fender's design than the China construction. And yes, I'll continue to use it for gigs, it'll take some time yet to find the optimal gigging set-up.

I haven't had to deal with Fender directly yet. If I encounter more problems with this guitar I might, but it won't stop me from buying another Fender.

I wish I had considered what I really wanted before buying this. I wanted an acoustic, but one that was portable. In retrospect, the sound of a proper acoustic would have been more of a critical factor, but I love the concept of an acoustic Telecaster, and I think it looks great, and the neck does play well. It's like an in-between for my Strat and a regular acoustic... And for the price... It's a brilliant price; I was given a sweet discount. I wouldn't get rid of it, cos I'm getting used to it and it makes for good casual playing, unless a better Telecoustic comes out. I wish it was just a bit more better constructed, and that is sounded better plugged in... The Fishman electronics seem like they're struggling to control the sound, and they're not doing that brilliant a job. But the price... Bottom line, it's good value for money. If you're looking for an in-between guitar that'll perform live or for casual playing (but definately not recording, unless you're after that particular sound) that's very cheap and looks great, with that wonderful Fender logo on it, look no further. But don't expect it to sound amazing, cos that's just leaving yourself open for dissappointment.

Features are very good on this guitar-my only gripe is that it was made in China.

The rating I give this guitar is for the sound it produces through a PA or amp- it is actually a great sounding instrument. Although you would not want to do an acoustic gig without amplificatioin the sound isnt there acoustically. I have this guitar haging around and is the first one I grab- not that I choose it over my Gibson J-200 or J-45 but it is convenient and actually plays nice like an electric.

the guiar was set up quite nice and te action was just right for me. I think the finish is pretty cool- Inca

I haved giged with this with no problem- I know she would handle a tour tour just fine as well.

Been playing over 30 years about 10 of those years as professional recording and stage work.

2002 Telecoustic - Made in China. (At least it still says Fender) Wood top with fiberglass back and bolt on neck. Fishman EQ. Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and back accent.

Plugged into the PA system, it sounds great, plugged into an amp it sounds more electric than acoustic. Got no feedback. It appears to
have a lot of volume,as I have to keep in turned way down. Sound value
depends on how you adjust the EQ. I play both finderstyle and strumming and sounds fine for both. I bought this guitar because I needed an electric but didn't want the extra weight or to have to always have it plugged in. This one also works great for a practice guitar, when I need to work on chords without disturbing anyone. It doesn't compare to my Martin (which has the excellent K&K Trinity System), but the varible electic sound gives me some nice options. After putting on a set of Elixer polyweb extra lights,it sounds and plays much better.

The action was high. Rather than shave the bridge, I opted to
shim the neck, using a couple of the sample pieces of counter top
laminate (from the local home store) Using the neck,I traced around the outside edges and used a grinder to reduce the blanks to size.
When they were narrow enough, I set them into the body cavity and
traced the proper length. After some fine tuning, you can barely see
the shim. After re-assembling the neck and strings, I found the action
just about where I wanted it. (your results may vary) There were a few
minor surface flaws, but nothing worth complaing about. (not for the money)

Seems to be built solid, but I have not had it long enough to
tell.

Fender has not been around this long for nothing.

I played a lot of solid body electrics, including other Fenders, Squier's, Schecter's,to name a few. (I even tried a Godin version of this guitar, but it was not that much better to warrant spending over twice the money.) I played this one last and it was the only one that I considered buying, because I discovered multiple benefits. (stated above) I have been playing over 35 years and have owned (or own) Rickenbacker, Martin, Ovation and played a lot of different types of guitars. This guitar is flexible and supports the several different types of music I play, It is light weight, easy to use, great for a travel guitar or for practicing. If it were stolen, I would definitely buy another one.

Chinese thing, totally unreliable piezo pickup, silver, ok neck

usually the first thing I grab, it's light and came with no case or bag so it's laying around. very thin accoustic sound, piezo is unusable cuts in and out, sometimes just noise.

actually plays ok, no sound quality

I hope it breaks I'll keep the neck and bolt it to a plank.

I sent the first one back, got the second and piezo control was completely different, Fender said bring it to authorized fender repairman some 50 miles away, right!

playing for 30 years, never felt real confidence. Have telecaster deluxe and epiphone dot, couple of basses. If it's lost I'll try to find the neck. Stolen, not unless it's really dark out. Wish I'd bought Ibanez thinline.

Bought this is second hand from a music store 200 miles from me. Got it with ill-fitting acoustic case but c'est la vie, it will do.

The body is fibreglass, with a solid top, finished candy apple red. It has a standard Fender electric(maple) neck and fishman electronics. The EG has treble, middle, bass, tone and volume.

For a small bodied acoustic it makes a great sound. It was my first guitar and I ahev no reason to change it. The only thing is that make sure you out medium strings on. I recently put lights on and it sounded terrible. Has a really nice 'boxy' sound, not a pure acoustic but very passable.

Plugged in it sounds great, can feedback a bit but thats normal, especially if you stand too close to your amp!

Mine was a shop demo, so don't know what they'd done to it. When I got it, it played straight away.

Only just chanegd the strings after 2 years. Strap button has come off but that was my stupid fault! Frets feel smooth still, stays in tune great.

N/A

Fantastic guitar for the price, definately worth it for a electric player who wants to tincker on an acoustic. Make sure you change to medium gauge strings and you're on a winner.

A fairly new design,Telecoustics are really a cool looking guitars- they have the body and neck shape of a telecaster, but they're acoustic! they almost have a standard fender tele neck (minus a couple frets) with a rosewood or maple fretboards.
The top of my guitar appears to be plywood with a plastic body, this dosen't seem to allow for as much resonation as a wood body, but if you want to get louder, it can always be pugged in - it has a wicked battery pack! A slightly odd feature about this guitar is that , being a mostly plastic body, and being fairly small, it is light in weight. The neck is also the heaviest part of the body, so it has a slighly unusual center of balance.

Unplugged, this guitar has a decent sound, fairly bright, but not as warm as I would like. Once plugged in, however, the battery pack controls allow you to set the tone to your liking.

When I got this guitar, the action was so high it was nearly impossible to play. The action has been lowered 2X since then, and is still high. The only problem other than that which I''ve had is with a faulty battery pack, but that has long since been replaced. As for the finish - it's cool, and all else was properly fitted.

I've never used this guitar for a heavy- duty gig, it is more or less my drag around the country with me guitar, but I have played live (MOSTLY UNPLUGGED) and doubt that it would fail me. As for the finish....only time will tell

I never delt directly through fender, but through the local authorized dealer. I ran into difficulty with my battery pack, and although it was repaired without a huge bill, I waas a little chocked when I had to pay to have it shipped back from vancouver!

A good beater guitar!

Made in Japan.Telecoustic. 1 piece (Not a Bolt on neck) 22 frets.oval sound hole. String thru. Dark Sunburst. Passive pick-up. Volume- Treble- Bass control. The inside back of the guitar does not look like wood. I know the stratcoustics are solid one piece. What do I have? Thanks for your time lvroom@snowcrest.net Larry

Good sound. Pickups not equal with every string. I use a Crate gfx 212. Slight echo

Action good -- poor pickups

If its a Fender it`s great!

Playing 38 yrs. Great neck

c est une telecoustic de 2002 grise pailletee.......y a pas a dire elle a de la gueule

bon ba c est pas une guiatre pour jouer unplugged masi brancher elle s en tire bien....bon c ets pas une martin ( le prix non plus ) mais bon le son est plus que correct et le preampli fishman est vraiment efficace

c facile a jouer ( un manche d electric a peine plus epais et encore... vraimen tres agreable y a ps a dire!
les cordes sont un poil trop haute a mon gout mais plus ca va plus je mi fait et o pire ba un petit cou de lime au sillet et c reparti!

eu ba a vrai dire je crois que ma grat a un probleme car elle est vraiment mal equilibre en effet quand je jou debout elle pique du nez ( le preampli n y est pas pour rien) donc ba ce petit detail insignifiant devient embetant car i fo tout le temps la retenir et par consequent c un effort qui au bou d une heure de jeux est pesant........fo que je pense a y mettre un contre poids ;-)

eu j en sais strictement rien

ca fait un petit moi que je l ai masi je ne suis pas au bou de mes surprises je pense car franchement pour un chanteur gratteux c tres agreable car on est pas encombre par une grosse grat acoustic....celel la est legere et ne tien pas bcp de place c cool ca!.........ceux qui veulent faire d ela pure acoustique c a dire non amplifie passer votre route ca sonne plutot comme un banjo ou une guitare d enfant( caisse de resonance en plastoque masi tres agreable lol)

A nice thin body, acoustic-electric. 2002 model. Mine's in candy apple red. maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, fishman eq pickup, tele shape and head stock, chrome tuners, 21 frets.

I think it sounds great. I'm not a professional so acoustically it sounds just right for me. I run it thru a Fender Frontman 25R Amp and it sounds terrific. Nice full sound. I don't like big body acoustics. This guitar gives me a thin body acoustic and an electric too. Perfect for me. And it's a Fender.

I got the Deluxe gig bag with it, and it was set up perfect from Fender. All ready in tune. Action was just right. No flaws or defects of any kind.

I just play for fun. So it is the ideal instrument for me. The finish is beautiful, solidly built. Very rugged.

I did not have to deal with the company on this guitar, but, I have in the past on other items, and Fender is top notch, first class.

For me, the perfect guitar for the perfect price. I would replace if lost or stolen. I plan on buying a Stratacoustic next. I've been playing, off and on, since 8th grade, since 1965.

All the standard features listed by everyone else. I purchased the hard case for it as well.

Sounds pathetic unplugged. Plugged in it's actually surprising. I use a Pig Nose 30 for practice. Sounds very electric when plugged.

Don't get me started! What was Fender doing? Where is the quality control person ? The setup reeks ! If the action were any higher I would need a step ladder. I shaved the bridge as far as I could and adjusted the truss rod into infinity, but still the strings are too high. Need a C-clamp at the rear just to get the action low enough to play. This is my third Fender and absoloutly the worst.

The fibergalss body takes a beating and keeps on ticking. But makes for a terrible whiny sound. The tuners are cheap as can be and won't hold tuning.

None available. I work in Bosnia.

Been playing on & off for many years. Decided to stick with it and actually "Learn" to play. But not on the TeleCoustic. Damned thing makes my fingers bleed in 20 minutes of playing. If it were stolen or lost it would be doing me a favor. Can't compare this to others. I wish the action were lower out the box and the unplugged acoustic sound deeper. I like the style, and it would be a good guitar with some quality control on Fenders part.

What will the Chineese put together next?? I have always loved the classical line of the Tele. I do a huge amount of road work and thought it would be fun to pick up this piece. Standard tele neck maple with rose wood fret board. 21 Frets. the intonation is nice , The fret board is plays mre like an electric than acc. No nearly as nice as a Classic Tele. But, it is cost effective and eaisy to manover the fret board. The pickup is piezo the electronics need some work. This is a thin-line approx 2" Laminate top with molded fiberglass back & sides. The accouctic tone is substantialy resonant. Yet no bottom or end nice mid's to speak of. Unfortunatly this carrys over to the electronics as well. This is a very bright guitar. +++ Crome tuners very nice and stable. Hold well.

This is a bright guitar - You can work out some great slide leads and the picking is very clear and bright. A nice lead instrument sound, if you do not require thoes heavy lows. The mids are punchy. The lows are easy to feed back at about 7+ with some gain. (for the Price)

The set up was nice. Some minor truss rod adjust. THe guitar was flawless in the workings.

This guitar taks a beating on stage and lives to play again. It is a really fun guitar to play. The price is right. The overall tone is somthing to be desired. But, I have a great appreciation for the diffrent tones. I generally will switch out two and three guitars a night any way. The tone is great for bright euro sounds-Radio head etc. Great for country leads and bluegrass also. This is not the be all end all for tonal guitart efficinados but it's fun and fills a great nich.

I have been playing for about 18 years. Most of it live. I baby my inst. at home and abuse them on stage. It feels soild , no glue problems. I will get back to you I see any. I wanted a slim body el. acc and it fit the bill the price is right the on board electronics blow but they work. I have a great support system to back that up. It is a fun guitar and for two hundred... I have spent more on the bar tab.

Everyone pretty much knows the specs. Mine is a 2001 chinese model

After a lot of work from my guitar repairman, it works well. Sounds horrible unplugged but I am using it as a backup guitar that will only be plugged in. I plug it into a DI box and then into a PA. It sounds really good plugged in...more low than I anticipated.

Action was horribly high from the Factory. I had a bone nut put in. The bridge had to be lowered a lot to make it playable. I figure this is the routine for a budget price guitar...spend $230 and $100 at the repair shop and you have a great guitar. This strategy has worked well for me. Don't buy this guitar unless you know a good repair man. The wiring inside floats around a lot. At least it doesn't contribute to any rattling

I think this will be a work horse. Not as sensitive as most traditional acoustics.

I've learned my lesson about trying to work with manufacturers. I don't even try.

I've been playing for 26 years. Recommendation...don't order this from a catalog. Try it out in the store.

I have about every classic guitar. This one is good enough for a backup.

Information would be a repeat of what most of the reviews indicate. Solid Spruce Top.

I wanted a guitar with the feel of electric and the sound of acoustic electric. Without amplification it is not loud, but that is why I have a trace acoustic amp.

I had the ability by going to the House of Guitars in Rochester NY to choose the best of their stock. One for instance the neck was not bolted on center and action bad. I will of course have this set up right away. Saw no flaw, but the shop will take care of me if they notice anything I didn't. Action is Fender great. I also have a
Gibson Les Paul Studio and I feel like I have a nice combo.

Waiting to see. Will defer this response until I have had it longer.

Not had to deal with any problems as of yet.

I have been playing for about 18 years. I have a Gibson Les Paul Studio, Gibson Tube Amp; This new telecoustic and a Trace Acoustic Amp. I would buy this again if it got lost or stolen. I really wish Fender would make an "American" not "Japanese" solid wood hollowbody telecoustic. If you are a beginner or have played for years this is a great little inexpensive guitar to enjoy! I you want a big body sound of an acoustic this is not for you. If you like the electric feel with excellent acoustic sound go for it.

I won't repreat what is already been said. I bought a red telecoustic to fit between my Telecaster and my acoustic guitar, Fender Malibu. I bought it in March 2001. I had to buy a gig bag. The salesman didn't give me any of the paper work (I thought it was in the gig bag.)

I play blues guitar. When plugged into my Fender acoustasonic 30, it sounds great. A better range of sound than my 35 year old Telecaster.

When unplugged, disappointing. I've tried both light, medium, and heavy gauge strings. Middle range, .11 on the high e. seem to provide the most volume. For anyone above a beginning guitar player, I would recommend not buying this guitar. Spend the extra money for a real electric acoustic guitar.

The action was terrible. The store did a set up and got the strings closer to the neck. I shaved the saddle down to improve the action. The only problem was when playing at the top of the neck (near the body) the strings hit several frets. I had to flatten them down a bit. Also, I don't think the frets are set correctly, especially the bridge at the other end. I can tune the strings using an electronic tuner, but when playing up the neck, the strings are out of tune. If you're looking at a Telecoustic, play the strings at the 12th fret and the bottom to see if they are OK. I now realize they don't harmonize like they should so there is little that can be done.

If you want a part-time guitar or your a beginner, the Telecoustic will be OK. But if you want a guitar with a great quality acoustic sound, look somewhere else.

I bought the guitar in Richmond VA from Mars Music. I'm from West Virginia. When I got the guitar home, I found a small crack on top between the neck and the sound hole. I don't know if it was there when I bought it or the stores setup caused it. I called Mars but was never able to get through their voice mail. So, I'm biting the bullet and selling the guitar locally. Hopefully, to a beginnig guitar player who won't notice the poorly set frets.

Fender has its American built guitars - Excellent quality.
Fender has its Mexican built guitars - good quality
Fender has its Taiwan built guitars - mostly good quality
Fender now has its Chinese built guitars - poor quality
The telecoustic would be OK in a Sears or Penny's catalog.
But for professional or frequent musical use, don't bother.

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...)

goto fender.com

i just dunno. what did fender do wrong with it ?! i bought it online and when i played it after unpacking it i stuffed it back in right away.

looks cool

4 but only for the looks

UN- PLUGGED

I've been playing for 8 years and own 12 acoustic/electric guitars including names from Fender,Ibanez,Ovation and others.I would not recommend this Fender 2 no1. Not trying to offend any one but it sucks.I totally LOVE Fender but this shouldnt' even be called an "acoustic".I aint' going to lie it sounds good plugged up to an amp, but alone it sounds like a fake kids guitar.

Well actually i have a stratocoustic but i couldt find the stratocoustic category and i didnt feel like starting one i just put my submission ude telecoustic (obviously) but anyways.... I like my stratocoustic, it has a 4eq, im able to plug it in, and i love the body style

its great. as sum other person sed also, im actually more of an electric guitar person but i got an acoustic for the following reasons:
1. i dont like plugging in my axe every time i want to play
2.acoustics have a nice sound that works better in some riffs in some songs better than electric

i was going to get an ovation but i played it, thought it was ok but then my friend started playing a telecousic so i picked up a stratocoustic and started playing the strat. i fell in love with it right away, i didnt even care for the ovation anymore. It chords better than any acoustic that costs under $430 and i just love it. its the easiest acoustic i ever played (ive played fenders, gibsons, martins, and ovations)

looks just like my stratocaster so now my acoustic and electric look EXACTLY the same. it has a fiber glass back too. the only thing i dont like is the color, white or black??? come on fender, lets e creative like ovation is. i want to see blue, sunbist, red, green, something besides black or white

i dont trust acoustics, they seem fragile so i take REALLY good care of it

i like it, i support it

i love it, i play it all the time, and its fun and easy to play. it sounds great too. if it were lost, broken, 0r stolen, i would get another one

This is a '99 model, I believe. *New* guitar, first time ever made by Fender, or with this shape and idea, first time for anyone. 21 frets, laminated top(i guess, don't really know what that is), the back is like fiber glass or something, it's really weird, and it's naturally rough so it sticks to the fibers on your shirt. It has a 5-band EQ, volume, treble, bass, mid and contour(not sure what it contours though, i just level it out in the middle). It's an active pickup, and it goes through 9v batterys very fast, maybe ten hours of playing on each battery and it's done. It's a rosewood fretboard but a maple neck. Four bolts. Satin finish I guess, I got it in the only color that the Tri-State music had in stock, Candy Apple Red. It looks cool! It's obviously a Tele style body, kinda like a thinline. The bridge is just like the bridge on an Ovation or Applause. Gotoh tuners, vintage style! Jumbo frets on a normal, Standard Tele size neck. It had absolutely NO accessories. Not even a case, or gig bag for that matter. Luckily I had an extra thin gig bag at home, no padding, just minimal protection, I had to tote it in that for a few months till I saved up $110!!(rip off) so I could buy a Carvin hard case that fit a similar acoustic guitar that is made by Carvin. It fits nice in snug in the new Carvin case!

I bought this guitar so I could use my God-given talent to glorify the Lord, by playing with my church's Worship Teem. Our style is an alternative/rock. I basically play rythem, with the occasional lead of a little solo or a rif. I don't use an amp, that's why I had to buy an acoustic/electric(were not aloud to use amps in our sanctuary..guitar amps at least, bass has a nice 300watt amp..), however, I plug into the system and have high, mid, low, and gain controls on the PA we use so I can shape my tone through that. It suits my music style okay. I don't like the hollow empty sound that I get through the narrow sound hole. And after going from factory 12 gauge strings to electric D'addario 10 gauge strings I still can't get that nice brassy high-end sound I want. So, that's why it gets 6(and not 8 or 9) on my rating. It's not noisy at all, which is what I like the most. However, it's doesn't have a very strong, full tone. Somewhat bright, but not very nice bright, kinda dirty low bright... Another reason why it get's a 6. When muteing power chords it doesn't have a very strong bass tone. It just sounds, blah.

The factory set up wasn't the best, the action was about a million miles above the fret board. After re-stringing it brought down the action just a little. The bridge scares me on this, it seems to be rising off the bottom of the guitar, it doesn't look good. It has held so far but I'm afraid I may need to have a pro take a look at it. The guitar contained only minmal flaws, and might have come by being the show room guitar at the music store. It has a gouge on the back of the headstock. It's big. And some paint was shipped off the back of it. That's it. The wood seems good, the pickup is quite and won't need any work.

Besides playing every Sunday for usually two differant services since I bought this(back in June), I've played an outdoor concert. It was in about August and I expected it to go out of tune, but no. It stayed in tune for about the 45 minutes that I played guitar in mid 80 degree weather. The strap buttons seem safe, and since I don't jump around too much they should last. Oh, I forgot to mention you plug in through the bottom strap button, which is cool! I can usually depend on this guitar, strings stay in alright, you can only make it through one worship service before it needs retuned, and that's without doing any bends.... At the open air concert I played at I did bring a backup. But that's only because there was one other guitar player besides me and the chances of one of us popping a string was high.

I've never dealt with Fender. Plus they don't have a phone number on their webpage. I think I have a life time warranty with the dealer I bought this from. I think it's pretty sad however that Fender didn't make a case that fits this guitar, and so I had to go and by a CARVIN case that fit it.

I've been playing guitar a year and a half, and I had never owned my own acoustic/electric before this summer when I bought the Telacoustic. I do have an Applause roundback, acoustic/electric that is my dad's, it's gotta be 20 years old though and it has a steal neck which is very uncomfortable. Plus I can't get it refretted since it's steal and the frets are almost all worn down to nothing. Besides this guitar I own a Fender Standard Strat and a Rogue 200XL bass. I have a Marshall JCM800 which is what I played it through when I was at the outdoor concert. I also have a Fender Frontman and a Traynor 6x10 cab, along with various effects. My only wish would be that this guitar had come with, or had a name brand case for it. If this guitar were stolen I'd just say oh well, I guess they needed it more then me. And then I'd go buy an Ovation which was my first plan till I was side tracked by this Fender. I have no idea how anyone could LOOSE a guitar, but I guess if that happened oh well it was probably my fault, I'll go buy an Ovation. I don't really LOVE anything about this guitar, in fact our drummer can tell you I often comlpain that the neck is too thin and makes my hands hurt. I do like the features of tone controls, and the strap button plug on the bottom. I guess I can live with this guitar, but I don't LOVE it. I don't like the laminated or whatever back which sticks to me, literally. Or the fact that the wait is all in the neck so if you let for of the neck it slides down and nails the ground.(not cool) I did compare it to an Epiphone something or other acoustic/electric which I didn't like because of extremely cheap tuners. And no flexibility. Overall, this is a nice guitar, but not the best. I played the Stratacoustic too, it is exactly the same, except the shape(obviously) and the neck is fatter on the palm side of it which is much nicer.

God bless! And happy jammin'!

This is a brand new Fender model, made in China. I bought the Inca (that's Metal Flake for the rest of us) Silver model because the candy apple is out of stock, apparently for its popularity. The Silver is very nice, however. There's a sister instrument that is strat-shaped (the Stratacoustic) and comes in black or white.
The guitar is definitely a Fender, which means it has a nice playable bolt-on neck, with a skunk stripe and truss rod. The maple seems uncoated; very nice feeling, but I wonder how dirty it will get, or if it will soak humidity. The body is plastic, very much like an Ovation in texture and feel, although more traditional in shape - like a slightly fat (albeit much lighter) electric Tele. The body does not fit into a Tele case, not because it's thicker, but because it's slightly wider! That's not noticeable by eye, but I can't use my current hard case that I use for my G&L ASAT. I'll have to get a soft case for this one. The finish on the top is OK for a $300 guitar. It has an diagonal oval hole, which may seem odd at first but fits the Tele look; the hole has a cheap decal ornamental ring, not made to be looked at too closely. Frets are smooth.
The nut is a bit rough and sharp. As for the bridge, I had forgotten what a pain string-pins are, but the guitar is well intonated (I checked with a tuner, and it's real close) with a compensated bridge, so it's a minor complaint.
The cord goes through the strap lock. I find the hole a bit tight on mine, and I have to pull rather hard to get the cord out.
You get a little plastic bag with an extra bridge bone, a shim, an Allen wrench, a battery, an extra pin and a cord (which is real cheap looking. I threw it out).
For $300, it's a nice functional intrument, with a nice flair.

I like it. I've always been an electric guitar type and have had little use for the fancy acoustic ones. It's just a matter of taste. I thought I'd give this one a try because it is partly electric and because the body is familiar. I feel uncomfortable with a big box in my hands.
The sound is controlled by a built-in 'Fender' pre-amp with volume and a 4-band EQ. There's a on/off push button and a red light signal. I find the EQ very flexible. I have not compared it with high level acoustic/electrics, but I find the amplified sound quite pleasant for the jazzy stuff I try to do.
It is quite loud when amplified. Feedback is minimal, although it can do so if you stand right in front of your amp at loud levels.
The acoustic sound is also acceptable to my ears and make it fun to practice without an amp. Just don't expect a booming acoustic bass response.
Again, Fender generally makes intruments that are functional and worth your money.
I read on the net that some pros are already using it in performances, for what that's worth (but then, Charlie Parker played one of his greatest concert, at Massey Hall, on a plastic sax! Some of those guys can make anything sound good.)

I addressed that one above. You can play it out of the box. Strings are bronze acoustics, size 10 or 11, but I soon put on chrome flats 11s. Not as much effect on sound as I thought it would have, except that finger noise is gone. Ahhhh. One reason I don't play acoustics is that grinding noise on the strings. If you play acoustic, please stick to the first position or grease your fingers. You'd be surprised the number of non-players that object to that noise. Yech!
The action is low, and electric guitar in feel.

Bolt-on neck and plastic body - I don't think much can go wrong. Bring an extra 9v battery. It is an acoustic, so I don't think it can take the banging of a slab electric, but it can take a lot more than your precious Martin.

Never dealt with them.

I recommend it. It's cheap, plays well, has a nice sound, looks snappy and has a Fender logo. A good value. If stolen, I'd get another. One nice thing is that you don't have to worry too much about replacement costs - it's cheap.
I anticipate and hope that Fender will eventually come up with a US-built high grade version. I look forward to it.