Fender '52 Reissue Telecaster

I think everything in this category is extremely well done. This guitar has everything to make the owner feel like they've got a very special guitar!

I purchased my 52 tele a few days ago, and I honestly feel like this guitar was made for me. I also purchased a fender supersonic combo along with it, and after some dialing in, the tone is unreal! I've never been so happy with my sound! I play in rock bands and never thought a tele would be the guitar of choice for me, let alone a fender amplifier. I've played Buddas, Boogies, Marshalls, and even some Silvertones...usually with a Les Paul, and this guitar/amp combo tops them all! I'm shocked by the abundance of sounds that can be extracted from such a simple guitar!

When I play this guitar I feel like I'm playing a work of art...it feels that good. The intonation is flawless, the action is perfect, the pickups are set perfectly. I'm also amazed at how well it stays in tune. I could never get my other guitars to hold a tune after aggressively playing, but this guitar seems to be locked in.

It's built like a tank, but we'll see how well she endures.

Best guitar I've ever played...hands down!! I feel like I have a world class guitar that will last me a lifetime...for the price, there is no better value on the market. I highly recommend it to anyone who has an understanding of guitar tone because you will love it!

YEAR MADE: 1989
MADE IN: USA
PICKUP CONFIGURATION: S-S
PICKUP SWITCH: 3-WAY (neck dark, neck, bridge.... or WITH MOD neck, both, bridge)
FINISH: BUTTERSCOTCH BLOND WITH NITROCELULOSE LAQUER
TUNERS: VINTAGE KLUSON TYPE TUNERS (great stuff)
BRIDGE: 50s' TELE BRIDGE WITH THREE BRASS SADDLES (what else could ya ask for?)
NECK SHAPE: FAT 50s' U SHAPE
CASE: FENDER TWEED WITH ORANGE-ISH INTERIOR

This guitar suites what i do very very well. I play blues, rock, country, and jazz. Sort of a Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan, Jimmy Page, and the Allman Brothers all rolled into one dude. This Telecaster is as good as any custom Shop Telecaster that is in existance and I own a few of them. Try owning ten FCS Telecasters and then selling nine of them because you only have one that is worthy of being this 52 RI's backup guitar! I am that impressed!!! Besides I dont need that many teles laying around unplayed and neglected. I will be buying another one of these guitars and selling my last custom shop tele on ebay!
This is a very rich and warm telecaster. I had modern wiring put into my tele and it is more versitile now. I still have the old wiring and selector switch in a baggy for pot dating for eventual value. you can get everything from LED ZEPP 1 to Folsom Prison Blues to I wanna check you for ticks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Action is very adjustable for any need you may or may not have. The pickups are adjusted very easily as long as you can work a screw driver. Very rarley is any guitar a one piece body. Telecaster bodies in the 50s' were usually 2-3 pieces so dont be alarmed if you see 3 pieces of wood showing ..... it is normal. Every thing is perfectly routed out and is as clean and as smooth as greased marble. (FIGURE OF SPEECH)

This guitar os a tank. My bassist refers to my tele as the chunk. He has a Gibson Les Paul Bass and calls my guitar a chunk! Wow your back better be healthy if you wanna stand up with it! Even then you will want to invest in a better strap. like a Levy's Wide and Padded Leather Strap or something of the sort! If you sit down then you have no worries. The strap pins are solid and they fold out close enough to the body that it eliminates the need for strap locks. I would deffinatley sell all my guitars and keep only this one!

NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS TO TAKE TO THEM!

I am a semi proffessional musician that gigs about 20-40 shows a year (which is insane if you have to travel a lot by road) I wish I had a whole bunk full of these guitars to keep me company!

Well, it may not have 14 or 15 switches, knobs, toggles, etc. like a vintage B.C. Rich, but it's what I want.

When I think of the most unique electric guitar sound in the world, I know it to be the Fender Telecaster. As unique in its tone generated, as a Rickenbacker 4001, Martin D-28, Mu-tron III or Moog Taurus 1 bass pedals' (for you fellow synthesists'). For what it's worth, most of the Harmony Central reviewers here have enlightened me with their thoughts on equipment via this forum, which are informative in their analysis, and why I always come here. However, there are the occasional guys who express a need to give us all THE LIST of their musical gear. This immediately signals to me that they???re underage and probably believe rap and hip-hop are just as valid as any other musical form. I skip those reviews???.

I first purchased the MIM Fender Standard Telecaster for 300 bucks. The price was an important factor, however, after a 2 hour session of recording with it, I noticed the high E and B strings not staying in-tune. I then sent it back to G.C. here in CA, and tried out the American Standard & Deluxe model Telecasters. They were around 600 to 800 bucks more, but they stayed in-tune. I then forgot about my current economic situation entirely for a brief moment and tried the ???52 Telecaster reissue. 1100 bucks more than the Tijuana version. We all have that moment of self-analysis when we ponder: Should I do this???that???s 12 tanks of gasoline in my vehicle lately.
Pro???s & con???s??? yeh, that???s it???. Do a pro???s & con???s on this guitar to be clear-headed about this.

Con???s: 1400 bucks??? though with nice case.

Pro???s: Widest differential in tone of all the Tele???s I tried out.
The feel of the neck is smooth, unlike the MIM version where I can feel every fret on the side of the fret-board as my hand travels up & down the neck.
The machine heads look very similar to the MIM version, but the ones??? on the ???52 feel as if the machinery knows its purpose for existence, the few times you need to use them.
Finally, a rather esoteric remark I feel needs to be in here from, myself, a guy who DID NOT have the money to lay down for the ???52: The Telecaster ???52 Reissue feels warmer when just playing acoustically. Try sitting in a quiet room with the MIM version and the ???52. There???s an organic side to these electric guitars. Many may not catch it, but it???s there none-the-less.

Well it looks exactly like a Chrissie Hynde/Bruce Springsteen clone guitar. The tint and hue' of it's butterscotch finish are next to perfect in this reissue. At least the one I bought is.

As long as I don't allow a guy with an oversized belt-buckle to play my Telecaster; it's durability should stand the test of time.

None needed.

I give it one point away from a 10. I???m a person who would buy an instrument even if it was made in an Indonesian tree-house, if the quality was sufficient. The MIM and Squier versions that Fender put out, are for your daughter when she puts down her cell-phone and says: Mom??? Dad??? I want to be a guitar player. You buy her one of those. Get your son a quality instrument because he stands more chance to stick with it.

AV RI 52 tele. lightweight and resonant ash body, one pieve maple neck, old school hardware. I had the electronics changed right in the shop into a modern telecaster wiring. everything feels solid.
a lot of case candy comes with it, IMO the only usable beeing the strap which is a nice vintage design.

I am playing jazz, soul and blues. the guitar suits all of these styles. A tele is a versatile guitar 'cause it pretty much puts out what the player puts in. this one is a very sensitive guitar.
I took it to the studio the day after I bought it and it did a good job. the sound is inspiring and versatile.
be sure to have the right amp for the job. I use a polytone and fender tube amps.

the guitar was not set up well at the factory so I had it set up at the store. they fixed the saddle, intonation and the neck-screws and adjusted the pickups. most of the fenders I saw (even the MIM) are properly built but have a poor setup.
don't mailorder and have the shop set it up!

It's a tele!

-

I play guitar now for 30 years and had a lot of guitars come and go. this is a keeper!

New '06 model, got it in March '07. US made, no certificate in the case candy unfortunately. You know the drill for Teles as far as colour, pickups, hardware etc.

I've had it and played it for over a year now, so have held off sharing this until then. Objectivity.

It is pretty understandable that you either 'get' teles or you don't. It is a hard guitar to play, a demanding one. It is NOT an Ibanez Vai or Satriani. Uh-uh.

But it is also brilliant in its aloof simplicity.

I play lots of stuff, and have played a fair bit in my time. I'm not professional any more, but still have lots of gear including some very nice guitars.

Now, to 'Roy' (my nickname for this one - Roy Buchanan, you see). It is unmistakeable in its sound. Yep, the 50-60 htz hum is there. Yep, the bridge pup could peel paint. Yep, get the neck pup modification as it's unusable in the 'vintage' wiring. Yep, the neck is sticky when it's new. That passes after about 8 months - well, it did for me and my sweat residue pattern. Maybe others' sweat types may make that longer or shorter. Seems to dry after a while, It is off-putting.

If you like the tele sound then this is nirvana/El Dorado. If you don't no amount of tweaking and other stuff is gonna help. Fair enough, but I agree with other reviews that this is very much a tele thing.

I do dislike on teles generally the round switch knob, that makes it difficult to switch pups on the fly. But hey, You can put a later version toggle tip on it if you like.

The set up out of the (tweed) hardcase was excellent - haven't really altered anything. Intonation great, action good for me, pickups at good height for that sweetspot sound. You know a good guitar when it stays in tune when you take it off the hanger, and it's been different weather; ie got cold overnight, or hotted up.

It sounds rich when strummed accoustically - another telltale sign of a good'un.

Can't find a factory fault in the workmanship - and I wasn't expecting to. Not disappointed on that score. Fender USA is why. Mex and CIJ can vary greatly with Leo's kiddies. Beware; we've all had a Leo Dog fron Japan or Mexico.

I have always loved the butterscotch blonde, but not to the extent that I have mythologised it and can't see the flaws in this guitar. Simply beautiful. You will notice that the one-ply bakelite scratchboard will buckle a bit over time; the newer teles have more screws.

After a year now the maple is starting to birdseye beautifully.

This thing is - trying to think of a better epithet than 'tank', but I can't, it's a good descriptor - a tank. Tough, substantial, solid.

No doubt you could gig it; so many have. Backup axe? Of course. It does not do everything. It is not a shredder, it doesn't do strat sounds, it has no trem (of course, unless you fit a Bigsby or something), and it has its own distinctive way with overdrive pedals; it likes some, and some it doesn't. Ones that sound excellent with Gibs or strats don't sound good at all with this tele. Nothing mystical there.

Never dealt with them; I do all my own stuff as far as possible and there is great music shop around the corner anyway for stuff I can't. I have heard horror stories about Fender though; but that's hearsay as it hasn't been me. Besides, the store is the point of sale, and in Australia, at least, they are the deemed manufacturer - get your stuff fixed by them and let them deal with finding the sales people of Neptunian Guitar Company located somewhere in China.

Been playing quite a while now (over 30 years....time for my nap, thank you nurse).

Ya gotta have a tele in ya collection - this is the one to have. Maybe the rosewood neck sunburst and bound Nashville one, too (to keep it company!)

I have other guitars that what I play on them suits them; and vice versa. But, I feel I could passably play anything on it if I had to (but I do like tremelo arms, so strats are a must have).

I don't think this guitar is 'overrated' like some here do; but I reiterate you either get teles or you don't , and I don't mean that in any smart-alec or patronising way. No, it's not good for some things - but my Satriani sounds stupid on some things at times too.

This is a classic guitar - it is not The Guitar That Does Everything by any stretch of the imagination. Get used to that.

Nice swamp ash, with immaculate nitro cellulose gloss. The neck's fat but I think this adds to the tone.

The first position (bridge pick-up)on the selector switch has an additional capacitor which makes the sound muddy and bassy - pretty nasty basically!. Whilst authentic, I couldn't see myself using this setting, so I had the guitar re-wired with a 4-way switch allowing both pickups to be combined in series and in paralell (as well as independently) and was blown-over with the results: using the pups in parallel replicates a humbucker - louder and more overdriving (just crank up the trebble gain and presence a bit - instant Keef!).

I also replaced the bridge with a Callahan bridge which has a lower lip so you don't catch your pick on the trebble side. These are very high quality steel and thicker than the standard. This is a pro' tele upgrade which cost about ??70 but gave the guitar greater ring and sustain and a noticable improvement in sound quality. Also reduces squeal at v.high volume/gain settings.

I've owned a range of expensive US guitars, and the '52's are tonally very good indeed. They sound great acoustically - especially after the bridge upgrade mentioned above. Very versatile sounds are possible with the 4-way switch from bluesy to woody/nutty twang. Supprisingly powerful full/rich sounds are possible (think Page on Zep1!)

These guitars are pretty noisy (poorly earthed hummy and buzzy and occassionally the odd pop). This could be cleaned up by changing the pups but hey - these are gun-slinger's axes: not for clean freeks!

The high 7" curvature of the finger board means the action is going to be on the high side, so don't expect to be shreding! The glossy butter-scotch finish on top of grey-grained ash is really lovely - these bodies simply look better than any other Teles! Note, there a bit or rounding at the edge of the finger board which gives a less new feel.

One downer with brand new Teles is whilst they're v.beautiful, part of you wishes you had a battered up old work-horse like Francis Rossy! So who cares if it wears out a bit - love it while it's immaculate, then love it even more as it gets battered to bits - all the better!

No idea.

These aren't to everyone's taste, but if you know ya'onions and have the skill to handle it, and you want that classic tele Bigstar look and sound, nothing else will do it quite as well as one of these bad boys!
(I'd highly recommend the 4-way switch upgrade though, you loose nothing and gain so much more!)

i'd just like to remind people that the selector switch goes (bridge)(neck pickup)(neck pickup with "bass boost") so it will sound muddy on the latter setting. it was designed so people could use the guitar as a bass guitar before fender invented the precision bass. if you want to use the neck pickup i beleive you use the middle position on the selector, unlike the newer models which go (bridge)(bridge and neck)(neck)

Before I start, I want to say that I do like Fender Telecasters, and even copy telecasters. But I bought a Japanese Telecaster years and years ago, and I was not happy with it. In fact I went back to the store with it after two weeks of owning it, to trade it for a Strat.

Here it goes :

I had bought this '52 Reissue, made in Japan. Solid wood, a very heavy wood, Agathis maybe ? Butterscotch blonde, maple neck, black pickguard. 21 small frets. Chrome hardware. Ashtray bridge, brass saddles. Stock pickups, passive type, single neck, single bridge. Vintage tuners. It looked very nice, and was made very nice. Sound was so-so, in the store. Very nice reissue of a very nice guitar. Came with a new black hard fender case that would take a strat or tele.

I soon found for practical use it was all wrong. I don't know the wood, but it was heavy, and felt heavier the more I played. I was in a band, sort of, and it was hard to play for extended periods of time. The pickups sounded, well, weak. They just didn't have any b***s to them. They were noisy, unless I held the guitar in a certain way. On the other hand, the guitar looked good, and I did like the classic features like that ashtray bridge, and the old style tuners. The neck was a nice shape, but the finish felt sticky.

It was set up good, and Don from Ed's Music was a great guy to deal with. The guitar was well made, no question about that, except it was too damn heavy !

If you dropped this on someone's head they'd be dead for sure. The finish was great except the old fashioned varnish on the neck. The strap buttons were not a problem. You could depend on it for it's sturdiness, but it didn't stay in tune for long even after being set up, and checked over. Get a backup with this one if you're playing gigs. Your neck will beg for it.

I bought the guitar from a Fender dealer, who was very knowledgeable. He was good to deal with but I never called Fender for help.

I bought a new one while my Epiphone Les Paul Custom is in the shop getting new p'ups put in. I was reminded of that Japan Fender that disgruntled me years and years ago. I'm liking the options on guitars we didn't have before, like lighter weight bodies, etc. so I can make sounder choices than I once did.
I don't care who bought THAT guitar, they can have it.

This is an update on my previous review - have owned this instrument for a few months now and its been played live on many occassions. This is a terrific guitar - don't be taken in by the muddlesome nonsense that Joel was spouting - if you want a guitar that looks and sounds exactly as they did in 1952, then this is the one. if you don't choose something else - its that simple. Joel has noone to blame but himself for not doing adequate research. As for what was so good about 1952, he should maybe drop Keef a line and others....For what it is, it does the job very well. Also, being a Tele with a nice clubby neck, it challenges your technique, if you have any, that is.

Having taken it out and used it live, it does the job very well. I play an eclectic blend of jazz-funk, jazz and blues and this guitar has an answer to all of these styles. Vintage Tele twang, cuts through the mix very nicely

And the neck p/u is NOT dead.....its a low output single coil with the highs rolled off for rythym work, again, exactly how it was meant to be. if this is not to your liking, get a modern Tele, but its totally missing the point of '52 Reissue

Have had the opportunity to examine this guitar at close quarters and its flawless, just like everything else that flows out of Fender US these days. I also an eight-year old US Delux Strat and OK, its was a costly-ish guitar, but everything is as it should be well done Fender.

Also, for something which is a vintage accurate guitar, the tuning stability is just amazing....

No concerns, built like a tank

Some improvement of late, lets hope it continues

30 years + a player, have PRS Custom Artists, Les Pauls (and other Fenders) + all Mesa Boogie amps.

This guitar is NOT overrated - gives Custom Shop customers (like me) pause for thought - its cheaper and totally accurate...and of course, Fender didn;t have a Custom Shop back in 1952, no did they?

This guitar may not suit all styles, thats fine, but if it doesn't suite yours, there's not need to childishly assasinate it.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?

Not well. And I don't even have a style.

What amps and effects are you using it with?

Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb RI, assorted BOSS pedals

Is it noisy? On what settings?

It is very noisy on all settings

Rich/Full sound? Bright sound?

The sound is about as rich as an ethiopian peasant, scraping fingernails on a blackboard whilst throwing shards of glass in a blender

What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety?

Nothing useable that i've found yet. and what was so good about 1952 anyway? did buddy holly fart that year? if so i bet it sounded better than the sound this guitar makes.

Can't complain, very nicely put together. Actually printing the serial number on the certificate of authenticity would have been a nice touch, mine looks like it has been hand scrawled by a 5yo child with a blue texta!

But no flaws on the instrument, very well put together.

Will this guitar withstand live playing?

The immense 60-cycle hum will drive away any audience in seconds so I doubt I'll ever find out

Would you use it on a gig without a backup?

i wouldn't even use this guitar as a backup

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?

10 years. Several high-end stratocasters, BOSS pedals and Fender DRRI amp.

I have never been so disappointed in my life. For the last 3 years I have been idolising this guitar, and scrimped and saved for the whole time to buy it. I'm not sure what sound this guitar is supposed to produce, but it suits NOTHING that I play, and I'm in a 60s-00s cover band. Perhaps some country player could use the sound, Im not sure. 'Heart of Gold' is about as country as I get, and it evens sounds bad for that.

The neck pup sounds muddy and dead. The bridge pup is completely unuseable as far as I'm concerned. Some reviews here talk about using it to 'cut through the mix'. I have no doubt it can do that. It is so bright and sharp it could cut through the walls of fort knox. Doesn't mean it sounds good though.

My biggest complaint though is the playability of this guitar. I could go outside and find a piece of 2x4, attach some strings and a pickup and it would be more comfortable to play than this hunk o' junk. I have honestly never felt a more uncomfortable and difficult to play neck in my life.

I am amused by all the reviews here that brush over this problem by describing it as 'a players guitar'. LOL! What does that even mean? As opposed to a guitar you hang on your wall to make yourself look cool? I suspect this is a means of assuaging ones ego over the fact that they forked out big $$$, suppressing the knowledge that this is horrible, horrible, horrible feeling guitar to play.

i really feel let down by the reviews here, that I have been reading in good faith for years.

and for the record, no, I'm not a particularly stunning guitar player, probably a 5 / 10. im just a battler looking for a good sound. this boat paddle brings a tear to my eye every time I play it, and they're not tears of joy. they are tears of rage thinking of all the beers, smoke and girls (in that order) i could of spent money on rather than save up for this.

and im not a 'shredder'. i would rather poke a fork in my eye than listen to metal.

AVOID THIS MASSIVELY OVERRATED GUITAR AT ALL COSTS