Fender '69 Telecaster Thinline Reissue

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.

f hole actually effects the sound love the sound of this guitar

this guitar sounds so good one problem is the bridge p/u is kinda buzzy, thinking of getting a new set of pick ups possibly the vintage noiseless but i wanna hear them first, but anyways this guitar has shimmering highs and clear mids and a tight low end.

action is the best part of this guitar it is so easy to play, love the neck on it

havent had a single problem yet

love this guitar so much i choise it for my guitar crossed with a bass tattoo on my arm..such a pretty guitar and plays like a dream on complaint is its a bit noisy. i play reggea ska punk metal rock all kinds of music and granted i love this guitar more for reggea rock and ska than i do for metal or punk but it can deffenetly pull off metal and punk but if i were serious about those genres i would probally buy a les paul or sg

1999, MIM, mahogany semi-hollow body in natural finish. This guitar is really beautiful. Changed the pots to 250K(CTS), switched the SS saddles to compensated brass and switched the bridge pup to a GFS FAT TC Alnico that I found on ebay for really cheap. Has a sweet fat back C-style maple neck, 7.25 radius w/ vintage style frets. They threw in a cheap (non-original) gig bag. What I really like about this guitar is that it has all the 50's style appointments on a hollow body. Ashtray bridge and the original wiring set-up.

I owned a '74 for a while (which was just alright, the pup we're way too dark and way too bright in tonal terms w/ each other) tried every Tele in the shop the day I bought this guitar, (w/ absolutely no intention of buying any this or any guitar). They had a couple late 60's and few early to mid 70's Tele's that were all so heavy and soooo mediocre. But, while leaving the shop I saw this guitar and just though, ah, what the heck, and picked her up... first off, she was SO light! Then I felt the neck and was amazed @ the beef she had. When I plugged her in I realized that she was very bright, but still had a nice ringing tone. I knew that these guitars had cheap pups and 1 meg pots in them that totally make the "ice-pick man cometh". But after switching the pots, saddles, bridge pup and putting on 11's this this is now 'da bomb'! I like the sound of the neck pup, sweet and mellow and it blends well w/ the GFS pup. I've been looking for an inexpensive guitar that would sound really good, be able take on the road and wouldn't have to worry about or cry over if it were banged up or stolen. (my main ax is a '56 Les Paul Special, that has seen far to much touring abuse). well this is the guitar! As well, a great repair guy / friend of mine told me that the ones MIM are made w/ Honduras mohagany?! Very cool!

After a bit of tweeking, pup adjustment and heavier strings, she's awesome.

This guit is ready for pretty much everything you want to give her. The hollow body gives it that woody sustain when you open your amp up. It's somewhere b/w a Tele and a 335, (Just what I was looking for). Had to super-glue the string ferrules as they fell out when changing strings, and there is a little finish spray in the F-hole, but who cares?). Original style late 60's poly finish, it ain't nitro, but it's true to vintage form and that's fine. Been using this guitar for a few different songer/sing-writer gigs and all I can say is... wow man, this guitar just SMOKES!

I'd deal w/ it myself before ever calling Fender.

After some tweeking, this guitar really rocks! great tones, super light and a total looker. I might try another bridge pup (thinking about the SD Jerry Donahue) to see if it could be a bit sweeter/fatter, but w/ good tone-pot manipulation she's bringing me lots of really really good tones and kickin' out the jams. If stolen, I'd be bummed but not devastated, and would definitely try to find another one as quickly as possible.

This is a semi hollow body of mahogany finished in Lake Placid Blue. There were only a few of this color in the country. I ordered mine through Morrison Music in Missisippi.
This guitar is absolutely beautiful. I replaced all pots to 250K(CTS),new guitar input jack and a 4 way PU selector switch. I changed the PU's to Lindy Fralin Broadcaster hybred stagger. I also shielded it. Now this guitar has multiple guitar tones from which to draw upon. A true tone stick deluxe.

When I recieved the guitar I was suprised by how bright it sounded, especially with a Mahogany , Semi hollow body. I was told that the 1meg pots brightened up the tone. The guitar unpluged sounded bright. I changed the parts as discribed and put on Fender nickle 150's 10 gage. I can't tell you how different this guitar sounds. This is a true professional instrument. It sounds clean as can be. The 4 way switch gives you the added Bridge/Neck PU in parraell just like a Humbucker with a touch of single coil. I have to say that this guitar gives back what you put into it. I now have to practice more to sound better! The fralin pick ups are very good but very different from the stock Tele Pick ups, a lot of head room. This sound can cut through the busiest mixes. It is the guitar eqivelent to a ferrari. Be cautious before you step on the gas petal.

There is No difference between this guitar and a American made Tele. The neck even has a little flame to it.
The difference is in the electronics and strings. The finish is beyond beautiful. yes it had some glue in the F hole but not noticable.The guitar plays every note perfect. Frets, neck joint are perfect.

This is my backup guitar on gigs and I belive it will cause me no problems now that the electronics are changed. My number 1 is a 52 Tele reissue is truely a great guitar and indestructable. I will treat my Blue baby with a little extra care because of the finish, But is a Tele and will outlast us all.

I don't need to deal with Fender, My guitar tech fixes all and sets up to perfection.

Very clean responsive guitar. Not a hollow body sound but a great Tele sound. Fralin pick ups are a great addition. This baby can do chicken picken to chords and all sounds in between.

1998 MIM natural finish mahogany body. Late 60s style slightly chunky 'C' neck with maple fretboard and vintage 7.25" radius. Thin frets. Ashtray style bridge with 3 steel saddles. MOTO scratchplate. Came with 1meg volume and tone pots. I replaced the volume pot with a 250K but I kept the 1meg pot for the tone, although I converted it to a no-load by opening it and scraping a bit of the carbon off.
I'd bought a Duncan Alnico2 bridge pickup assuming that it would need an upgrade (being MIM) but it sounded so good when it arrived I left the pickups alone. When I opened it up to shield it I found that the previous owner had put a USA Fender standard bridge pickup in. I can't tell if the neck pickup is stock or not, but I like it in any case.
Rating 'features' from 1 to 10 is irrelevent with a telecaster so I won't.

Wonderful. I find this to be the best sounding telecaster I've ever had, and the other guys in my band agree. It sounds like you'd expect a tele to sound, but there is a sort of hollow 'something' to the tone as well. It's especially noticable on the neck pickup. It reminds me a little of the sound of an ES335 or a P90 equipped guitar. It's hard to describe but there's a clarity and tightness to the sound compared to my other conventional tele...but still with that woody openness you get with a hollow body. More harmonics and overtones it seems too. More 'musical'.
I play in a wedding band where we do several styles of music in the same gig and I find it will deal with everything. I play mostly clean straight into a Fender Blues Junior amp and all 3 pickup settings are excellent. Country, blues, rock, ballads....it's all there. And using a Tubescreamer as an overdrive boost it gets mean but still tight and not mushy at all. With high gain or high volume you'd probably get the same feedback problems you'd get with any hollow guitar, though.

I got it secondhand but in mint condition. The control cavities weren't shielded and there was no ground/earth on the bridge/strings. The nut was cut adequately but not incredibly well, but that's usual for Fender guitars I find. I shielded the guitar and set the nut and action to my liking and it's now as good to play as any guitar I've ever owned.

Everything seems A+ and solid. I would gig it without a backup.

N/A

I've played since 1969 and I've had lots of guitars. Gibson, Yamaha, Ibanez.....etc. But the past several years I've gone Fender, and then exclusively telecaster. They just work for me. Simple and straightforward but incredibly responsive and versatile. This thinline tele is undoubtably the best of the bunch so far. There's something 'refined' about its sound that I really like. I will definitely be keeping this, or replacing it with another it is is ever lost or stolen. No doubt at all.
Another bonus is the weight. It's incredibly light which is a help on long gigs. It means that it's a little bit neck heavy, but I find that using a strap that isn't too slick....ie, is made of a material with some friction...keeps it steady.

2003 "Made in Mexico" '69 Telecaster Thinline reissue. I bought it basically new from eBay (still had hangtags, etc). 3-tone sunburst model with semi-hollow body. I believe the wings are hollow and the center is solid. Not too light, not too heavy. Nice feel. Very pretty. The 3-tone sunburt (with red color) is ash, and the 2-tone is mahogany I believe. 2 single coil "vintage" Tele pickus, standard 5-way switch, volume & tone knobs. Basic Tele setup. Neck is maple and has a nice gloss to it. Tuners work well (period-correct "F" tuner, cool looking). I love the logo on the headstock. Came with deluxe gigbag. I give it a 10 because it is the most simple and effective design ever - just perfect.

The sound is very much like a standard '50s tele, but with a little more woodiness to the tone, especially the higher you go on the fretboard. Very bouncy, has great twang to it. Neck pickup alone sounds warm & rich, neck & bridge together is my favorite setting and is incredibly full. I fell in love with the sound & feel at a guitar store, you really must play one. The sound is a little harsh on the bridge pickup. I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and this combo is great. Single coil hums are present, no biggie. Very bright & full sound. The guitar works well for any clean to mildly overdriven sounds, '60s rock, country, blues, etc. The reason I bought it is because it has a great, bright, bouncy surf sound with lots of reverb. The reviewer below wasn't kidding when he said this guitar is a surf machine. I only wish it has a bigsby unit for vibrato, but oh well. If you want me to prove it, go to this site and listen to the track "Rocketing Rhythms":

http://garageband.com/artist/ecchoingbleu

I used this guitar through my Hot Rod.

Well, I got it used but I have no complaints. Everything is simple and reliable. I love my other guitars (I have a Cyclone II and a Jazzmaster), but this is the workhorse. I'll usually grab this one first unless I need vibrato. The body style is a little uncomfortable (you can't beat the contours of a Jazzmaster), but I've gotten used to it. I didn't notice any flaws except a little of the paint in the F-hole, whatever.

Very reliable. Like any guitar, it needs to be setup and maintained. The tuning is as stable as anything else. Very solid overall.

I haven't dealt with Fender, but I bought it used anyway.

I've been playing for 10 years. I have a Jazzmaster and a Cyclone II. This one has the most versatile sound. I love this guitar as well as my other 2. I would buy it again without a doubt. They go for around $670 new, so look on eBay and look used - they sell for much cheaper. If you hunt, you might be able to get one for under $400.

2000 Thinline '69 Telcaster classic reissue series Hecho in Mexico. Stock neck pick up on this one is awesome (like a P90) I tried many guitars before I decided on this one and when I heard this neck pick up, I fell in love. I use all tube black face fender amps, so the neck pick up moans and groans perfectly. People constantly comment on the tone and sound. It's a tone monster. I put a Vintage 52 Symore Duncan in the lead/bridge position. The stock pick up was too harsh and bright for my taste. Maple neck, 21 fret, 3 tone sunburst (wanted the all black model, but this baby felt right). I replaced the steel saddles for brass, to warm this firecracker up. The tuners are stock and stay in tune, (better than my original '75 hardtail strat with the same style tuners). Came with a gig bag, great for transporting and storing from gig to home, better than the heavy cases etc. I really got used to the gig bags and now use them on all 5 of my guitars. I use (11's) power slinky strings and this baby is a rhythm machine. Neck pick up is smooth for blues/jazz rock, pop. middle position is perfect for country or chiming tones, while the lead is all tele. This is a very versital axe baby!

My band plays retro style Rock-Pop-Country and Soul music, so this baby makes the transition smoothly with the touch of the pick up selector switch. I play clean and use a Fulltone fat boost stomp box for a clean boost on the leads, and a fulltone fulldrive 2 for some dirt/distortion when needed. I primaraly use a '67 Deluxe Reverb, and it sounds like heaven. Lot's of hum and buzz near some electrical sources, in lead and neck position, but it stops when it's in the middle position (?) I love the weight, (under 7 pounds) but do not like the wierd buzz on the open high E string when strummed open. It also does not sustain as long as the other strings when played open. (?) I had to replace the pick up selector switch, it went bad after a year.

Every thing was changed to my specs. No problems with the neck. You can pick out a good one if you are worried about the finish and fit. No matter what, each guitar is different and should be judged on a one to one basis.

This guitar has been just fine live and jamming at home. It has been more than dependable with just the gig bag to transport it. It stays in tune at the gig and on breaks. Strap buttons are good, I would use it without a back up any day, but I break strings a lot because I play with a heavy hand, so I always have a back up.

Not needed.

I have been playing for 18 years, My main guitars are a Mexican Squire '92 strat, plays like a dream, and '50's silvertone Jupiter model. If stolen, or lost I would buy another in a second. My favorite thing about it is the light weight and the tone versatility for the price. I love the good sounding cheap guitars and this one is one of the best I have ever encountered for the money.

Mexican made (poorly at that).
Does not compare to Japanese or Korean made guitars.

Natural brown finish.
Excellent looking guitar.

1M pots do not belong in this guitar.

Wiring and grounding was not as good as it should have been.

Pickups are OK but not as good as American version.

I am a little biased because I play harder music than this guitar can put out.

I bought it to play some pop stuff, but it does not take distortion well at all. It feeds back and non-fretted strings vibrate with almost any distortion.

I replaced the pickups with noiseless pickups and completely rewired it, replacing the 1M post with american made pots and I shielded the cavities. I also grounded it correctly, according to Guitar Center, and this made a big difference in the noise level.

The finish was beautiful but the hardware and wiring sucked.

If you don't rewire it then it will probably not last as long as it should.

The body and neck seem as good as any non-American made guitar.

Who has customer service now-a-days?

I have no plans to wait on hold for an hour to be told that they can't help me.

I have to admit that it does have that "1,000 pound violin" quality on clean sounds or very, very low distortion.

It you are a country picker or maybe even a light blues player, then this would be a good guitar.

This guitar should come with a sticker that has a picture of some balls with a red cirlce and a line through it.
No balls in this guitar at all.

2001 Mexican, natural mahogany with pearloid pickguard and maple neck, originally had 2 single coils, but I modified them, replacing the neck pickup with a Fender '72 custom humbucker, and the bridge with a vintage noiseless. I replaced the bridge and put in a Bigsby.

I use this guitar for country, rockabilly, and a Stones' type sound. I play it through a Peavey Delta Blues 210, with A Line 6 FM4 filter modeler, a Uni-vibe, a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, An electroharmonix small stone, and a Danelectro dan-echo for effects. I found the bridge pickup to be too noisy, so I replaced it with a Fender vintage noiseless tele bridge pickup. I replaced the neck p/u with a Fender '72 custom humbucker, to make the guitar more versatile a player. I wanted to make thi like a Fender custom shop guitar, without the price, so I bought the parts, and had a luthier/tech do the work. Now I can get classic tele tones and warm humbucker tones at the same time. The addition of the bigsby gives me a great rockabilly vibe, and gives the guitar a real curiosity factor when I take it out. The middle switch position gives me a real blended unique sound.

Plays well, set up perfectly when purchased, and an aesthetically beautiful guitar.

Great guitar, stays in tune, sounds great. I think this is probably the best Fender coming across the border. Nonetheless, I would never gig without a backup no matter what guitar I had.

I did have a bit of a hard time getting them to get back to me over the phone, and to send me just one pickup that was not available through their standard catalogue. My buddy at the local vintage shop was able to do this for me, but it was more of a hassle than necessary.

I have been playing for 21 years. After making the alterations I mentioned, I could not be happier about this guitar. It is pretty and it sounds great. However, onlly after taking it home did the weak neck p/u, and the hissy bridge pickup really stand out to me. I find the action to be the most appealing factor of this guitar, as it is a bigger neck than most Fenders, and you can really wrestle with it. I own several other guitars (teles, strat, Gibsons) but htis is my favorite to play out as it is uniquely my own.

Serial Number dates this thing to 98', Mexican (but don't let that fool you, this thing is a player.) Body is Mahogany -chambered semi-hollow and single f-hole on top.Natural Finish as well. Has your standard Tele Pickup configuration with vintage ashtray 3-saddle bridge (string-thru body) One piece maple neck. One of the things that stood out the most to me was the fact that this thing came with 1 meg pots! I had expected 250k just like most single coil guitars, but the 1 meg pots really give this thing a great classic tele tone.

I play a lot of blues stuff, and I have a few strats and a nashville tele, but I was looking for something to give me that classic tele twang. this guitar did not disapoint. The semi-hollow desing on this thing just projects the sound like no other. With the neck pickup I can get a rather smooth tone not unlike with my strats, but its the neck/bridge and bridge positions that I have fallen in love with on this thing. in the middle it gives you a nice crisp quack tone with a little bark (maybe due to the 1 meg pots). and I can get some good thick sounds out of the bridge with a bit of gain. I usually play through a Fender twin reverb, or direct through a POD depending on the gig. the one thing that I have discovered is, that when a give the amp a little gain and a ton of reverb, this thing is a regular surf machine. I can nail those dick dale-like tones with this tele probably better than with any of my strats. So to sum it up, this guitar seems to suit all my needs from, blues, rock, surf, country and then some.

Bought the guitar used on Ebay- setup was okay, but I did a little tweaking to suit my needs. The guitar seems to have been well taken care of and seems very solid. Since it is a semi-hollow, it is surprizingly light. have had no problems with in-put jack as other tele owners mentioned. Fender could have probably paid more attention to detail around the F-hole. there are some slight glue marks, but nother to affect the tone or my decision to purchase this thing. I did need to replace the pick-up selector switch knob but that is about it.

durable yes. I have gigged with this baby several times and she has never let me down. (keep in mind I don't get crazy on stage and throw it in the air or anything!) Its a mexican guitar so its got a poly finish, but It still looks great to me. as far as holding up over time. i see no reason it won't. This guitar is a step above any other mexian fender product I have played. perhaps because of the fact that its a reissue.

never had to use it

I have been playing for about 15 years and have owned everything from gibbys to fenders to danos, dearmond, and other I can't recall. I like just about anything, but there has always been a special place in my heart for Fender. This is only my second tele, but it has already got me gasing for another one. if you are looking for a solid semi-hollow body with a sexy vintage look and classic tele sound...look no further!