Fender '69 Telecaster Thinline Reissue

The Thinline Telecasters were, in part, Fender???s attempt to capitalise on their biggest rival, Gibson???s success in the hollowbody guitar market. Rather than making an entirely new guitar, they took one of their flagship models, the Telecaster and converted it to hollowbodied specs, with the f-hole cutout in the upper ???wing??? of the guitar, though the centre of the guitar remained a solid block of wood. The '69 model was the first of the Thinlines, and generally seems to be less well recieved than the later model '72, which featured twin humbuckers instead of single coils. I picked this particular model up for a steal when an online auction with a low resever backfired on the seller, to my good luck.

My particular telecaster is Mexican model, finished in three-colour sunburst (magnificent), on an ash body, which would be responsible for the extremely light weight of the guitar ??? I???ve traditionally found Telecasters to be more solid, heavy axes (no Les Paul, but still imposing) whereas the thinlines are much less weighted and easier on the shoulder. The neck is a 21-fret maple job, with vintage frets in a rather round U-shaped profile, which I find a bit different to my other guitars, but comfortable regardless, possibly due to the satin finish. The neck feels rather fat, and almost reminds me of Gibson '50's style neck profile, but is still small enough for me to barre chords with my thumbs if required. I would of preferred a 22 fret neck for asthetics sake, but I can cope on this one, as it is quite playable. It makes a nice change from the feel of my Gibson SG, which at times is more of a stretch to make chord shapes on times given the scale length and neck joint placement.

The guitar as stock, features two single coil pickups, master volume and tone knobs and a three-way switch placed on an angle much like a strat switch. However, mine has been modified as follows:

- Pearloid pickgaurd has been replaced by a custom-made black one, which I believe actually looks better - gives it that very 70's look.
- Neck pickup has been replaced with a Seymour Duncan Stratocaster single coil, which is quite jpt and loud, leading me to believe it is a hot Strat bridge pickup
- Bridge pickup has been replaced with a Seymour Duncan Lil '59 Stacked humbucker, which has been set up for coil tapping.
- Guitar has been set up for a single volume knob (with a coil tap on the Lil '59 that works in the bridge and middle positions), 3-way switch and master tone knob.

Telecasters, as a general rule, have never been super-heavy on features - more or less a two pickup, 3-way switch, single volume and tone control style setup is common amongst them. I've always liked the sound and playability of standard Telecasters, but like the options presented on the Thinline and Custom tele's of the 70's - having a tele body with a humbucker has always appealed to me. This one would of started out like any normal Telecaster, save having an F-hole. With the mods I've had done, I believe it is more versatile in terms of tonality that previously and that is is perhaps a more unique guitar than previously.

I play 50/50 lead/rhythm guitar in a five-piece indie-rock band influenced by artists like Bloc Party, No Doubt, The Cure, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Racontuers and many more - our style would be best described a indie-pop'n'roll. My own style of guitar was fundamentally formed around blues-based rock/grunge and classic rock, though I often accomodate funk, pop and ska influences. I'm strongly influenced in my playing style by guitarists such as Russell Lissack (Bloc Party), Andy Summers (The Police), Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) Nick Rivera (The Strokes), Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead), Stone Gossard & Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Angus Young (ACDC), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Johnny Marr (The Smiths/Modest Mouse), Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Slash, Page, Clapton and Tom Morello.

I play through a BOSS ME-50 unit into a Rivera Knucklehead 100 and Marshall 1965A cab 4x10 or a Marshall DSL100 and Marshall TSL 2x12 cab (vintage 30/heritage 30). I generally have my amps set up for a sparkly clean channel (clean that will break up with pick attack), a medium-gain overdrive and a high gain sound for solo boost. I would describe my tone as sounding rather hot-rodded vintage - using anywhere between 1/3 - 2/3 of the gain available on the amp, with a lot of mids, bass and and less treble as adding a good level of master volume will bring out a lot of high end in the tone. At the heaviest, it woud sound somewhere between Guns'n'Roses, early Van Halen & Weezer.

I've been playing a Gibson SG ('61 Reissue) with Seymour Duncan Custom (bridge) and Kent Armstrong Hot Rod Vintage (neck) for the past four years, and never faltered from it, but I've always had a thing for the jangle of a Telecaster and how their tone is altered with the application of more gain - many guitars seem to sound the same with more amounts of gain, but to me, a Tele has this ability to vary immensely depending on how much overdrive is going through it. Having grown up around the sounds of artists like Graham Coxon, Jonny Greenwood, Jeff Buckley and Andy Summers I'd always been enticed by owning a Telecaster and went through a couple of cheapo Squires in the my younger days. However, when my tastes changed away from straight up hard rock to more indie-inspired sounds, I found that I was more keen on a Tele twang for newer material more so than the growl of my SG.

When I first got the guitar, it had been set up with all the mods save the Lil '59 - the bridge pickup was a Tele single coil, but from an American stanard Tele - it didn't sound as trebly as I know Mex pickups can be. After about six or seven assorted gigs and band practises, I found the the bridge pickup was good for rhythm (though the middle positiion is better) but lacked for really strong leads and became all ice-pick trebly. I had the guitar modded to put in a the SD Lil '59 after I was told it would get a hot humbucking sound for leads, but did a good coil tap to single mode as well, better than many other tapped humbuckers. The Lil '59 is a much better choice for the bridge, and coupled with the coil tapping pot on the volume knob, I can now get the best of the both worlds.

(continued below)

(from above)

The guitar has a lovely acoustic reasonance and is very loud unamplified - when jamming unplugged with my band, I can use this guitar to keep up with the other guitarists acoustic guitar without much problem. When played clean, the middle position has a nice bouncy feel about it, whereas the neck is slightly darker and more foreboding - a good jazz sound with a tone knob rolled off about 1/3. The bridge is quite versatile and I am able to play all my bands songs on one guitar now, leaving my SG & Explorer sitting on the rack a bit more lately!

I tried an identical Thinline Telecaster in a local guitar store about three weeks ago and found it to be fairly average in sounds; there is a general consensus that the Mexican Fenders are of less quality than their Jap or US counterparts, and I would say that is fairly true in about 75% of the cases, though I have played a Mex strat or two that sounds at least as good as Jap or low end US models. I feel this guitar is let down by the poor quality electronics which are not well matched to the acoustic sound produced by the insturment due to the design. It's small wonder that the '72 Thinline is a far better recieved instrument amongst players.

As stock guitars, I would not rate them above 5 or so - they retain a good accoustic and clean sound, but they're not really very dynamic, and sound thin and anemic on on selections. The poor quality pickups don't handle more than mild gain well without feeding back in a nasty way and they wouldn't be suitable for modern high gain sounds in the slightest. However, after my mods, I feel that it is a far better sounding guitar and easily on par, if not exceeding a '72 Thinline or Custom. It's just a pity they didn't come standard with good pickups, but I tend to replace most of mine with Seymour Duncans anyway, given my preference for their tone.

It's an interesting side note that these sound quite a bit different to a nomal telecaster - there's a reasonance and 'airy' feeling that the Thinline has, as opposed to the occasional bluntness of a stock solidbodied guitar. I would say that played clean, even with stock pickups, it would be hard for anyone to not like the tone - I managed to make my Marshall DSL 100 sound like it has the best clean channel on earth, given the reputation of Marshall's have for clarity (or lack thereof) on their clean settings. When played dirty, the single coil setting of the bridge retains a warmth despite the spiky sound of the tele bridge and when set to full bucker, there's a nice compresion whcih allows for a solo boost and good, but not ridiculous jump in volume. One thing I did note was that despite having an f-hole, which can traditionally cause a bit of feedback at high volumes, with the gain on my amp dialed in above 2/3, there was no major feedback or screaming guitars, which I attribute to the aftermarket pickups. It's probably not the ideal sort of guitar to be playing high-gain with though, but will suit the indie-rock I play currently quite well.

I can't quote much on the factory setup on this guitar, but an identical one I played recently in a shop did have a much higher action, which I found awkward. The overall attention to quality on this particular guitar is above what I would expect on a Mexican produced guitar, but I can see a few spots on it where the finish is a little poor and could well wear out with time. The guitar appears to be well constructed and I can't seem to note many imperfections on it, though it's not 100% perfect as there is a significant chip near the controls which may cause the affected area to wear down over time.

(continued below)

(from above)

The input jack seems solid and there is a resounding click when a lead is inserted, no problems with conductivity. I would attribute most of the setup to my luthier, who knows I have a low-action preference, but will balance that with a feel of playability that will not compromise on organic tone, as having too low an action on some guitars can cause them to lose their natural reasonance.

Frets seem decent, though I would of preferred them to be larger in order to last longer, though I don't think that will be much of an issue. The satin-finished neck is quite unique to play and doesn't feel like many other Telecasters to play. As I've stated before, the U-shaped profile doesn't feel like a modern Fender neck, but has a uniqueness about it that lends tot he appeal of this guitar. It's not going to feel righ for high-speed playing but for mid-tempo rock, funk and pop, it fits quite nicely.

I am fond of the tuners though - I find that despite them being to bit hard to restring as the strings can slip out at times, they hold well, even if the guitar is not played all that regularly - I left it for a week in a room with a fairly atlernating temperature and it was almost perfectly in tune when I next picked it up.

I can't comment - I've never dealt with Fender. I prefer to deal with local luthiers and techs whom I trust more based on their handiwork and as I don't often (maybe once or twice) buy new guitars, warranties and the like don't apply.

These are good quality guitars in terms of material, but suffer from being assembled carelessly in some cases and using very poor electronics and hardware. Again, the '72 Thinline is a much better playing and sounding item in stock form. I've made a few mods to my '69 Thinline to bring it up to being a much more playable guitar, though I'm still not 100% satisfied and may eventually go the whole-hog and replace the neck pickup with a PAF style humubcker, as the neck pickup still doesn't win me over completely. The bridge pickup is pretty decent though and for the most part, I could get away with using that and the middle position - the coil tapping gives me plenty of options.

I would say that these are good guitars for modding and it's not hard to get some hum-sized single coils today that will give it a better tone immediately. I wouldn't expect anyone to be particularly fond of the stock pickups unless they really into a whispy clean sound. The biggest advantages that this model of Telecaster has going for it are the lovely clean sounds and nice acoustic translation as well as a relatively uncommon look. Amongst the bands I play with regularly, there is a strong following for 'vintage' instruments like old Teles, Strats, 335's and the odd Jag/Jazzmaster or Rickenbacker. No one else I know seems to own a Thinline tele as with the mods I've made, I often get a lot of comments on how cool my gutiar is, despite the connotations of being a Mexican produced instrument.

I'd suggest that these are good guitars for someone who is wanting a bit of unique Tele, but can't afford either a '72 Thinline or Custom (a-la Keef!). Both of those instruments will be composed of better quality hardware and electronics but could cost significantly more. It worked out to be about $600 NZ cheaper for me to buy this '69 Thinline and have all the mods done to get a better range of sounds out of it - I recently compared it to a '72 Thinline in a local guitar shop and they were very similar - the '72 probably sounded a bit more 'authentic' but was not quite as versatile in my opinion.

My '69 Telecaster Thinline is a 2007 MIM ash model in sunburst that was already in stock at a local store. What caught my immediate attenetion was the playability of the neck. I also play an American Dlx Strat and I found the finish work on the neck and frets of the Tele to be surprisingly well done. I purchased it with the intention of building it up into a blues guitar along the lines of the G&L Blues Boy.

I have added a Callaham bridge with compensated brass saddles, Fralin Blues Special tele pickups and the Torres BluesTone Deluxe wiring kit. In addition to upgrading the pots, this kit adds a stacked knob with standard tone and mid-range cut/boost(no battery)as well as the master volume. It also features a 4 way switch allows the pickups to run in series.

I also upgraded the pickup to a 4 layer tortoise. Even after all the mods the project came it at around $1,000 and saved me quite a bit over the G&L I was looking at with additional features.

I primarily use the Tele for blues and some classic rock songs. I have a hand built Deluxe (5E3) that really seems made to go with this guitar. It does well through any Fender but not so much through my AC4.

I play it straight through the Deluxe or put a G2D CreamTone and AnalogMan analog delay in front.

The Fralin pickups give you the usual range of Tele sounds but they are overwound about 5% so can bring on a little heat when I want them to.

With the Torres wiring kit I have a full range of blues sounds out of this guitar and it's pretty much what I was aiming for.

As I said above the finish of the neck is what first made me look at this Tele seriously. The only real complaint I have is a small drip inside the sound hole.

Since I swapped out the bridge and pickups and then had it professionally setup I never really played with the factory setup.

Well, it is a semi hollow body so needs a little care but otherwise I expect it will stand up just fine. The slot tuners do a great job of staying in tune so I don't plan to replace them for now. With the tortoise pickguard it is a real eye catcher on stage. I always have my Strat Dlx with me so never thought about another backup.

No opinion

I played through college and started playing again seriously 2 years ago. I play with friends and in pickup bands.

I also play an American Dlx. Strat, Ovation T-series acoustic and Epiphone Elitist '65 Casino.

The way I have it set up I love it. Would definately replace it if stolen.

I paid $600.00 mine new and in that price range I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. I planned to swap out hardware from the beginning so I was looking for the right "base" guitar to take on the project. This was definately it!

Rating this a 7 because, being a MIM, Fender had to cut costs somewhere, and they chose componentry. I can't say I blame them, but putting 1meg pots in this guitar, while maybe a little truer to the original, was a silly design choice. Other hardware stuff could have been better. And I'd love it if this thick poly finish was nitro, but then again this would have been a much more expensive guitar had that been the case.

Okay, so here's the deal. Off the shelf, this guitar sounds OK. Now I think we all have that friend who will only use cryogenically frozen pots, or replaces the nut on every guitar he buys, or insists that the tuners need to be upgraded or the guitar will sound like crap. I have a friend like this, and he's a nice guy, but sometimes I think he claims to hear more than he really can based on this sort of stuff. So, when he told me this guitar would sound way better if I replaced the saddles and the pots, I kind of blew him off, until months later I did some research and found that he was actually dead-on this time.

So, here's my layman's explanation of what happened after I made these changes: first of all, I do not really believe that pots affect the tone. Crappy pots might scratch when you turn the knobs, but 250K vs 500K isn't going to make much of a noticeable difference, supposedly the former is a little warmer and more vintage-sounding. Maybe only something you can hear in an A/B test. However! The 1meg pots they put in this guitar will definitely taper differently than anything else, and that's what I was really going for when I swapped them out for 250K's. I wasn't getting a huge change in anything 80% around the dial on the volume knob, but once I got past that point the volume and treble started coming on like gangbusters all the way to 10 (actually, my guitar goes to eleven, but that's a whole 'nother thing). I found this especially difficult to deal with while playing live. After swapping out the pots it's even all the way up from 0 to dimed, and there's no ice-pick shrillness anywhere.

Second, I replaced the stock saddles with standard Allparts brass ones. This was about $40 and I really didn't think it was going to make that big a difference but I was experimenting so I figured, why not? Well, it was a wise move. Everything tightened up in the sound. Much snappier attack, way way better sustained sound. Everything was much clearer. Probably for two reasons - 1, the brass transfers tone better due to its physical qualities compared to the old saddles, and 2, they are much bigger in circumference, which means each string has much more contact area on the saddle. After doing this mod and getting a good setup, this guitar's tonal potential has really started to materialize. As far as I can tell, these pickups are the same ones as they put in the venerable '52 RI, so they didn't slack there and the potential is just waiting to be unleashed. It's all that you'd expect from a true-to-form classic Tele in terms of twang and bite, but somehow thicker and woodier, no doubt due to the Mahogany semi-hollow body. I honestly feel like you could use this guitar for just about any kind of music, from jazz to country to blues to rock to pop to funk... you probably won't get metal out of this axe, but that's about it.

I got this guitar in a trade, so I don't know what it was like brand new. I'd assume okay, but not great. You should always get a setup whenever you get a new guitar, though, unless it feels perfect, which it usually won't be. Fit and finish issues have been covered here already - better components would have been nice, and a nitro finish too, but it is what it is, and for the price point I cannot really complain.

It's a Fender. You don't need to worry about that. I haven't had any problems with this guitar, and I don't expect to have any that I don't cause myself, even with the amount of use it's getting.

Never dealt with them.

I'm a professional working musician and I've been playing about 20 years. I know tone when I hear it, and my goal in life is to make every other guitar player who hears me play jealous of my awesome sound. If I keep playing this Tele I don't think I'll have too much trouble accomplishing that. It's my main guitar, and I use it for just about every gig, usually straight into a '72 Traynor YBA-2B Bass Mate with a JBL D130. Occasionally I'll throw pedals into the mix if they're necessary, but that guitar into that amp is really all I need. Also in the bullpen is an Epiphone Casino, a John Mayer Sig Strat, a Gibson Les Paul Faded Double-Cutaway, and there's a Classic Players '60s Strat on the way. I've also got a Vibrolux Reverb, which definitely sounds best with this guitar. If this guitar were ever to be lost or stolen, I would replace it in a heartbeat with another MIM model. I'm not as wild about the MIJ, although they're certainly quality instruments, but even as it is I kind of want one or two more of these so I can sand off the finish and see how that sounds, and maybe add a Bigsby to one.

The features are pretty much standard for a telecaster, one piece maple neck with skunk stripe, slotted tuners, 21 frets, three saddle adjustable bridge, volume and tone controls. My thinline is the natural mahogany finish (don't be fooled by the pics at MF that look suspiciously "ash" on the natural model)which is actually carved out from the back on both sides of the center block, then capped with anothe thin layer of mahogany. stanard fender style "f hole" on the upper bout, pearloid pickguard.

I had wanted a thinline to add to my two other teles (a '96 american standard with a glendale bridge and compensated brass saddles, and a '72 custom reissue, again with glendale compensated brass saddles)for a while, since hearing some of the great sounds bill frisell is able to get with one. like most teles, it has that familiar snap and twang on the bridge pickup and a beefy, sweeter tone on the neck. The middle position with the stock pickups doesn't do much for me, and seems to suffer from a dip in volume. this isn't a sound i use anyway, so no big deal to me. the single coils are somewhat noisy, but not unexpectedly so. I am currently using it with both a blues junior and a roland cube 60, and i'm able to get nice tones out of both. I am a jazz player (yes, you can play jazz on teles, and it doesn't have to sound like mike stern) so i play predominantly clean, but the thinline will take nicely to a little dirt. In comparison to my other teles, the low end doesn't seem quite as "tight," and the overall tone seems a little more open and woody. you won't be playing hard rock, punk, or meta on this guitar, but for me, rolling the tone knob back a bit and using the neck pickup i am able to get all the sounds i need.

i was a little dissapointed with the overall finish-- i ordered this guitar sight unseen after not being able to find a natural finish in stock in my area. after playing some others, the quality seemed quite consistent, so i ordered with confidence. the problems were essentially all cosmetic, none affecting the overall playability: there was some excess glue residue in the f-hone, as well as a little bubble in the finish right inside the f-holes lip. the brown mahogany stain seems to have somehow stained the rims of the cutouts in the pickguard, and there was a little waxy residue on some of the frets. the string tree was also loose, as was the bushing of one of the tuners. the top was not grain matched as nicely as many i've seen. all of this, aside from the grain match, was easily cleaned/corrected, but my last MIM fender was SPOTLESS, hence, a little dissapointment.

the guitar was set up with .09 gauge strings, and since i use .11's, inevitably i needed to do a little set up. the huge U shape neck didn't budge under the added tension of the thicker strings, and i was able to intonate it rather well with low action and no buzzes using the stock steel saddles-- however, i still changed to a set of brass compensated because i like the softer attack of brass an the improved intonation. very high marks for this end of the category, but points off for the cosmetic issues.

seems very solid, however, being seni hollow, it could never be as "bullet proof" as a regular tele. i have no worries about its overall durability, however, having had great experiences with MIM Fenders in the past.

have not dealt with fender. probably won't have to...telecasters are the most user servicable instruments ever created, so any problems that come up i sould be able to tackle myself.

this is a great guitar overall-- it's really a PLAYER. the big maple neck is easy on chords and feels good during longer playing sessions. Something to keep in mind is that this guitar is fitted with small, vintage style frets and sports a quite round 7.25 fretboard radius. because of this, string bending with low action is difficult-- there needs to be a tradeoff of higher action if you're a big bender. i'm not-- so this doesn't bother me.

if it were stolen (how the hell do you LOSE a guitar?) i would definitle look into buying another. the light weight and playability make it a joy to play, and it's a welcome addition to my tlecaster family:)

Do not play this guitar through a Marshall- It won't do it any justice at all. Previous reviews have noted it's lack of sustain and a particular lack in the clear mid tone which is particularly vulnerable to unforgiving Marshall amps. This guitar would be better off with just a two way selector switch as the middle setting looses volume, tone and sustain which is thoroughly annoying! However- played through a fender hotrod, hughes and ketner or similar warm 'mid' enhancing amps, I feel that there is an addictively smooth blues style tone that can be achieved using the neck pickup. I would recomend this Guitar to someone who enjoys playing with an undistorted sound; it lends it self perfectly to tight, clean, funky riff work. I have replaced the bridge pickup with a Kent Armstrong hot rail which livens it up somewhat. It is not very versatile so I am inclinded to give it a lower score.

Yes- the bridge is rough, unshapely and is severely prone to rusting, especially around the embossed 'FENDER' logo- but perhaps this is an intended quirk in order to retain it's consistency with the 1969 original. No problems with the machine heads. However, the poor quality of the bridge and bridge saddles respectively, do not compliment the ditinct lack of ability to intonate the guitar. This is especially apparent when using a capo. Having three saddles to control six strings was a flaw from conception but is an unfortunate must for keeping it accurate to the original. - it is definately a guitar for the purist but does not suit being a 'main' instrument.

Havin portrayed a fairly negative view of the guitar it does have a robust feel to it. Taking into consideration that it is effectively a semi-accoustic guitar, it does not have the same lightweight, membranous feel as perhaps a Gibson E335 has. I think, once the essential hardware issues have been accounted for, it does score well.

Follow up on earlier review.

Sounds better w/ Fender Samarium Noiseless pickups and S-1 switch, thank you ebay.

I think w/ bigger frets, this guitar might be a keeper.

Just voided the warranty...

With bigger frets, this guitar may turn out to be cool after all...

well documented elsewhere

the original p/u are ok, but it could be a much better guitar if the electronics were spec'd a bit better and higher quality components were use. the bridge is el cheapo, worth about 2 bucks wholesale (seriously). So i added a Torres bluestone deluxe and their 2% overwound tele pickups. Now it's a great guitar - the semi hollow sound mixed with better electronics makes this a real keeper.

no complaints save for the crappy bridge.

n/a

Olymic White w/ exposed (clear coated) wood flames on body and headstock. 69 reissue tele thinline. Two noisy single coils. Vintage tuners (read hard to change strings). Tinted neck w/ vintage frets (read 1 fret dress, then time for re-fret). One volume, one tone, and three selector switch that's hard to operate on the fly due to close proximity to volume knob and wrong angle. Mahogany body and maple neck. 5 for cool paint. 3 for crappy finishing job.

This guitar does not sound good. Playing through Marshall combo and Orange Rocker 30 combo w/ no effects. It just doesn't sound good. There isn't much sustain to it either. I play blues and classic rock.

When I first took it out of the gig bag, I though man, how cool is this guitar? Upon closer inspection, I concluded not very. The top wasn't completely finished when they were in the final buffing stages (I guess? I can see, not feel, some definite roughness in the finish in one location. It's like they missed a spot). The string ferrules on the back of the guitar are mismatched (i.e. different sizes)and crooked in their respective holes. The paint in the f-hole is rough and unfinished. Plays ok I guess.

I would compare the quality of this guitar to Wal-Mart's First Act series. Maybe not as good...

Won't have this guitar long enough to know.

Been playing 20 yrs. Own 2 Les Pauls, a PRS custom 22, 3 strats, a '72 tele reissue, a jazz bass, and other misc. guitars. I thought this would be a cool guitar that no one else had. The quality control on this axe was seriously lacking. There are definitely better guitars out there for $700.00.

2003 model Lake Placid blue, maple neck MIM very light weight . nice job on the finish ,have read others had drip edegs not mine . Sounds great with the stock pickups ,no nastys here

I play in both a country band and rock and blues band. Not a death metal machine but I would'nt be playing death metal anyway,Play through an original 65 deluxe reverb and this thing sounds great. Get a nice stinging lead on the bridge ,great rhythm in middle position,and that Johnny Cash do waka do waka in front.

Thing was setup great right from showroom. Played out last night with it and for some unknown reason broke my A string. Am pretty rough on my guitars playing wise so maybe it's me.No flaws as I can see or feel. Fender Mexico did a really great job on this baby.

Only time will tell. I was complimented on how great it sounds from the guys in the band . { which means alot}

Press 1 for customer support ,press 2 for bull$%^&. I have my own fender repairman no need to deal with this California attitude

I own about 35 guitars from Strats ,Tele's , Les Pauls , an ES 5 ,for the price ,sound and quality I think it will serve my needs well. Bought another one in pink , I put it away for my granddaughter.

Added Seymour Duncan Alnico 2 pickups and 4 way switch for parallel and series wiring of bridge and neck p/u. Added shielding though cannot shield all of cavity due to hollow body (but still she is quiet).
Mahogany body, all else is stock. Bought new in 2004
rated 9 only because stock pickups are noisy and body finish dripped into f hole a little. Does not affect sound!

Running through a Mesa Nomad 45. Played two years in a funk/soul/country/rock band. It is quiet with new pickups. It has a mellow but creamy distortion sound. I can play acoustic and very hard rock. I also have an american deluxe strat with EMG David Gilmour active pickups which cuts through but I still go back to this one because of the sweet sounds in all genres. Really the Alnico 2's are the ticket and makes this guitar a sweet machine. Like we have been fooling ourselves all these years with hotter pickups (alnico 5's)which is fine for a 1/2 hour then you wonder why you put your guitar down(too punchy)!

I set the action myself, factory was ok.
no real flaws except you get what you pay for.

dropped it once and fracture the finish but as it should with any guitar. No affect to the sound.

Playing for 25 years. I have money to buy any guitar I want and practically have, but there nothing more I want. Definitely would buy again.
I like that the U shaped neck helps promote pinky finger playing (forces thumb on back middle of neck so more reach) and I can feel it resonate (good fat maple may be plus). Body is light and is easy to throw around. Did not cost me a fortune. Since putting the SD alinco 2's i cannot tell if I lost the Fender sound. But I play acoustic Yes and currently I am learning Deep Purple Burn and all is sweet with the same guitar. I really like the smaller frets. My one concern is that it is creamy crunchy sitting in front of your amp at home. On the job it may not cut through because the mellower pickups blend the strings. This is something I noticed by having active pickups on my strat that they cut through well but are not pretty sounding. Don't get me wrong, I love my Van Halen sound on my tele, only the downfall of a sweet guitar is cutting through live IMO. Drool factor of 11. If I can answer more questions contact me at my e-mail below.