Bacchus BTE-54E Telecaster Copy

Unbelievably well crafted version of an early fifties Tele. Beautiful nitro transparent, butterscotch finish with black pickguard and two pickups. The switch is the old version wiring, with a bassy first position, then normal neck pickup, then bridge. Brass bridge saddles, beefy neck, one piece, light swamp ash body. I have a real 1955 Tele and the only difference I can find is the lump on the right side of the body neck joint. The old Teles didn't have a match between the right side neck angle and the pocket angle, resulting in an odd protrusion of the body. Later Teles didn't have the bump. The Bacchus is prefectly fitted with no bump. I give features an 8 just because Teles don't have many features.

This has the best honky, clear Tele sound with the bridge pickup, that I have ever heard, classic. Bacchus usually makes their own pickups, sometimes uses Fralins. I think these are Bacchus originals. The neck pickup sounds beautiful, very Strat like. It doesn't have that slight Tele dullness that Tele neck pickups so often have. I find this guitar more versatile than a typical Tele, just because the neck pickup is better. I wouldn't consider for a moment, swapping out the pickups, not even for Lollars or Fralins (which these may be).

I bought this guitar used from a Japan collector, so I have no idea what the factory set-up was. As it arrived, it was excellent, extremely low, buzz free action. The neck is beefy, but doesn't feel uncomfortably big. It doesn't wear out my hand after long boughts of playing. Pickups were properly adjusted. The fit and finish is flawless. I have never seen a Gibson or Fender that was better. In fact, even the contemporary custom shop stuff isn't this good, though I have played some early sixties Gibsons that matched it. It is one of those guitars you just stare at because it is so beautiful and so well made. Body is one piece with a beutifully apparent grain

I don't play out any more, so I haven't road tested this, but I see no evidence that it would be anything but tough. Bacchus makes its own hardware. It looks stout, well plated. The finish looks like a solid nitro finish, thick enough to mirror,thin enough to show the grain.

Haven't neede to interact with the company. I suppose it could be tough since they are in Japan.

I've been playing over forty years. I have owned many of the early sixties Gibson classic electrics. I've had many Strats, an L5, an Andersen, a Collings, so I have been around lots of top quality guitars. I've owned two Bacchus guitars, a Live Road Les Paul copy and this Tele copy. Both were as well built as they come, even surpassing the quality of contemporary custom shop stuff from America. They aren't better than the Collings or the Andersen. I would say they are as good but comparing a tele and a hand carved archtop is a bit of a stretch. This guitar is not from the Universe series, which are cheaper. It is one of the Japanes hand mades. The Japanese hand mades are the ones to look for. I'm kind of hesitant to even submit this review because at this point most Americans don't know about Bacchus, so the prices are great, even with the international shipping. However, there are few reviews for Bacchus, and people considering buying them should know how good they are.