Fender '72 Telecaster Custom

This is '85-'86 mod. re-issue made in Japan. Black with bridge singlecoil and neck widerange bucker.
Maple, thin neck with small '70s like frets (21)

I use this for open G tuning and the bridge pickup sounds like a std. Tele which is very nice. The widerange bucker alone is way too muddy for my liking, but with the switch in middle position and the volume on the bucker a little lower it adds som thickness to the middle twang.
All in all i like the sound of it apart from when playing the bucker alone.
Played through a Marshall JTM60.

Bought the guitar second hand and did the adjustments myself to get it the way I want it, and is a really nice player.

It's a Fender and could be run over by a buss and still play.

Been playing for 20+ years and about 15 of those semi-pro.
Beside this I have two Les Pauls, a Strat and an am. std. Tele.
Bought for open-G tuning so that my other Tele can stay standard tuned. It works very well.
Love the cool looks of it and the playability.
Only thing I don't like is the muddy "widerange" bucker. Would have loved getting my hands on an original Wide Range, but I guess that's not gonna happen.
As most Japanese Fenders, this features good craftsmanship. A really nice instrument all in all.

2007 Mexican,

everything stock (pickups, maple neck, bridge, etc...)
Black finish

2 volume and 2 tone dials really good for getting a wide variety of styles but the pickup selector can seize up a bit.

I play jazz, pop, rock and metal and this telecaster is easily capable of sounding great at all of them. I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp but I do have an MXR distortion pedal to really drive the sound through when playing heavier styles.

If only the bridge pickup is in use, the telecaster jangle can really ring through but this can be limiting on styles so I usually have both pickups selected with the humbucker turned down slightly lower but loud enough to add depth to sound.

I really like the maple neck and the chipped paint on the body is my fault, not Fender's.

The only real flaw, in my opinion, is the bridge. Depending on how the action is set up, the screws at the saddles can catch your arm when playing but nothing apart from that.

My guitar is two years old now and has been dropped a couple more times than it should have done. Despite the fact that one incident led to the G string tuning peg being bent, it still works and the guitar as a whole retains tuning well.

I had the guitar fitted with straplocks as it fell off a couple of times before but I have a feeling that was mainly down to the strap I had at the time.

I have not had to contact Fender.

I've been playing about five years now and the versatility this telecaster offers means I don't feel the need for many other guitars at the moment.

Great guitar and the only reason I have another at a gig is for different tunings.

you??ve probably have read this several times. Mine is a Black one. Still in doubt if it??s alder or poplar. Maple neck just refretted with medium Jumbos. Everything else stock.

I indeed find the HB a little muddy but it seems that replacing the 250K pot for a 500K one would help getting the HB Brighter.

Any way, the middle position is awesome for Blues and the separated controls give lots of flexibility. Even the bridge pup sounds piercing but with plenty of twang after raising it a little.

Killer axe. I??ve got a american stardard stratocaster that is very jellous now

after putting 10??s and a pro set up, it??s lovely. Love the slick maple neck

so far so good

not used

I bought used frm a old good friend. He is selling several guitars and couldn??t let this one pass.

Mine is a 2007 Made in Mexico ??72 Custom Telecaster I bought off Ebay, brand new. The features on this guitar are listed in the Fender web, anyway here comes a brief description: solid top alder body, finished in black (not nitro lacquer), maple fretboard and neck in polyurethan finish, stock pickups are a Fender Wide Range humbucker in the neck and a standard tele pickup in the bridge, vintage"F" Schaller tuning heads, vintage 3-saddle bridge, 3 positions switch.

I play almost every kind of music but I am mainly a rock-blues and also jazz player. The sound in this guitar, as it comes from stock, is rather fair: the humbucker is clear but muddy at the same time, I mean, every note you play is going to have a clear output but it??s not the brightest humbucker in the market. The stock bridge pickup is simply rubbish, hasn??t got decent output and if compared to the humbucker there is a lack of balance, being the bridge pup weak, and producing a rather thin sound.
Plenty of noise in all three positions, that shouldn??t be expected at least in the neck or intermediate position, but this is a box of noise, indeed (it also depends on the amp you??re playing with).

Very well built guitar, the neck is sturdy and it won??t move an inch from the body (do not let the 3 bolt neckplate speak the opposite). The guys at the online shop where I bought it made a quick setup before shipping, so I guess the stock condition of the guitar without having any minor adjustments is, again, fair, correct, but not a wonder. Tuning pegs keep intonation very well, Schaller does good the job in high or medium end guitars. I am not a huge fan of the pickup selector, as it seems to be not so sturdily built. Tone and volume controls are very good fitted and do they job so well.

The guitar seems to be a rock. I don??t want to ever have to test it??s reliability as I am very aware of my gear, but it seems very solid. The strap buttons does not include the protection white piece it usually comes there. I would use it on a gig with no backup, sure.

I own 13 guitars at the moment, and this one is certainly a good medium range option. When compared to my Custom Shop ??60 Relic Strat or to my Gibson Les Paul Custom, it shows up that the price you pay is (more or less) the instrument you get, but this tellie is capable of offering a more than average performance. I like its stunning appearance, the style (it reminds me of U2??s first years or spanish rock band Heroes del Silencio??s style in their first and second cd era).
Perfect first-choice instrument, killer looking and "faithful" music partner.

It is a 2005 or so Japanese tele custom. It used to have two awful pickups on it that have gone the way all junk on my guitars. 21 fret board on an all maple neck, not sure what the wood in the body is. Used to have standard Fender tuners which are actually pretty good but it seems pretty good isn't good enough for me. Standard Japanese finish I guess. Looks like a tele ,sort of, the body shape is the same, the back pickup is the same, the old ashcan and stupid saddles, the front pickup used to be the biggest most terrible sounding humbucker I've ever seen. Three way switch, twin volumes, and twin tones finish off the hardware on this little beauty. Give it a 10 for the way it is now, about a 6 before because I just never played it, it sounded so terrible and I have 7 other guitars that I play regularly.

Not to belabor a point, I'll only describe it now that has Seymour Duncan's on it, front and rear. I got a pickguard from an SG,chopped her down on my 12" sliding compound miter, took about two minutes, and hot glued the piece under the existing pickguard and mounted the '59 to it. Had to chisel out about 3/16" underneath the SG cutout. The whole job took about 2 hours start to finish, no problem, and now its a guitar that sounds just marvelous, wonderful, you know, four stars. Nothing else sounds like that tele twang and I've got it in spades, its a classic tele pickup or something like that. Switch to the front and its just Dicky Betts, Dwayne Allman, Slash, all those guys, sounds sweet in the dirt channel and even sweeter clean and turned down for rhythmn. Then there's the middle. There is just so much tonal variation in between those two extremes, you can dial in how much aggression you want in your sweet sound, its just all there, and for just mean downlow and nasty blues, give the bridge a little extra, turn up the gain and just growl. Wow

I own a lot of Japanese guitars. In my opinion, nobody builds better and they don't cost a fortune. They are better built than Korean, Chinese, Canadian, or American guitars, excepting maybe some ridiculously expensive handmade ones. Everything is just wonderful but the neck is the thing, its terrific. I changed the tuners to Gotoh 510 Delta, 21 to 1 little beauties.

Its as solid as a solid hunk wood of wood. I think you'd have to work at it to break it. I changed the strap locks to snap ons, I have no problems with it all.

Don't know, never contacted them for any reason.

Been playing for 17 years. Have an Orville Les Paul Custom with Pearly Gates, Gibson Les Paul Studio with Lawrence single coils, MIJ Gretsch White Falcon with T.V. Jones, MIJ strat with Fender Lawrence noiseless, an Agile Cool Cat Prestige with Pearly Gates, a MIJ Epiphone Riviera with Gibson '57 classics, and L'Arrivee D03 RVE, that I play quite regularly and with the changes I made, this is right up with any of them, except for the Orville which is a 10. I have a Fender "The Twin", an ancient Fender bassman, and a Traynor YCV 20. I have a Crybaby wah. I really like this guitar. Nothing but nothing sounds like a tele and I love the front humbucker and individual volume and tone pots as well.

My 72 Telecaster Custom Re-Issue is black with black pickguard and maple fretboard with a polyurethane finish. MIM in 2005. Nice fat neck, fits like a glove. 1 volume and tone knob for each pickup and a 3-way selector. I had the bridge single coil replaced with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail Humbucker. I'm glad they kept the vintage tuner posts. The guy gave me a Fender USA hard case with it.

This guitar is great for pretty much anything. I mostly play punk rock/pop punk/alternative, and with my Hot Rail at the bridge it just sounds really sweet and fat. When I get bluesy I just stick the selector on the two pickups and it gives me that famous tele twang. I play this tele through a Hughes&Kettner Triamp MKII and man-o-man it just sounds AMAZING.

I bought this secondhand (but never used). The guy was pretty much the guitar wiz and had his own setup on for light strings. I would probably get a bigger gauge but in the meantime this will still do great. The action is nice and low and it just feels comfortable and you feel like you can do whatever you want with this thing. I haven't seen any significant flaws on this guitar yet.

This guitar is a pretty solid tank. I'm really careful with my stuff so I don't really know if it will survive a drop or a hit, but by the looks of it, it could be knocked onto a wall intentionally and everything would still be tight. The strap buttons are solid but I wouldn't count on them if you like grooving and moving while you rock on stage. I'd probably get locks. I wouldn't worry about a backup, but you can never be too careful.

I don't have a warranty, and I never dealt with the company.

I've been playing for about 4 years now and I've tried most of the guitars out there and none of them felt as good as this one. If you like your guitars nice and shiny your going to have to scrub this one often because the body gets easily marked with hand marks, sweat and stuff because of the shiny black. When I was at the store I tried pretty much all the high end guitars (ES-335, Strats, Thinlines, SGs etc.) and this one was the best looking and better sounding one of them all.

72 reissue with sunburst ash body and maple neck. Humbucker at the neck and single coil at the bridge. Nice fat neck just the way i like it. came with a "deluxe" gig bag. Giving it an eight for features cause it's a pretty simple and straight forward guitar. I changed the humbuckers pots from 250k to 500k and it made a world of difference. Don't know why this isn't done at the factory. I also put a tap on the humbucker so i can switch it to a single coil. I'm actually really impressed with the quality of the guitar considering that it's mexican. The neck has a little flame on the back. The finish on the body is a little dense. The pickup switch crapped out in three months. I took it out and was able to fix it without replacing it, but that shouldn't have happened.

Originally this guitar was only a decent sounding instrument but with just these two mods it has become a really valuable and versatile item. I still want to replace the bridge pickup as it sounds on the weak side. The neck pickup was muddy until the 500k pots, now its warm but crisp. This is how I run it- Guitar, Dunlop Wah, Ibanez Mostortion, 80's Tube Screamer TS-9, late 80's Ibanez Mostortion, Vintage MXR Phase 90, Ernie Ball Volume pedal, Fender Twin Reverb Reissue. It rocks all of these pedals and the tone never gets lost. My musical style varies from blues/R&B to Sonic Youth/indie. I really have been hunting for a back up guitar and I can't think of one that could play the way this tele does. Even for double the money! Just be technically proficient if you get this. It'll make all the difference.I'm going to give it a seven for sound only because as a stock guitar it's pretty plain. Remember the mods though.

Guitar came with good low action. There were no flaws. The neck pickup was a little low.

This guitar is a hunka, hunka, hunka wood. Been dropped by baggage claim workers and chipped the finish. Just added character but didn't mess with the setup or sound. I gig with this in manhattan and brooklyn five times a month and never needed a backup. still want one though.

Never dealt with them. I fix my own gear. It's easier and I can be sure the job's done well.

Been playing 13 years/gigging 7 years. This guitar is worth every penny to me. I would replace it in a heartbeat. I also have a Strat with an alder body and dimarzio pu's and i don't play it anymore!

You gotta know the features by now. I won't bore you. I will rate based on the easy upgrades I've made: brass saddles, 500k pots for the 'bucker, the bridge pickup is now a unit from the '52 Vintage Hot Rod off ebay from reliablefender, and a switchcraft jack. This is now suitable for any style! No 5 way coil tapping b.s., but it's a '72.

Before, the hummer was nothing but mud, and bridge was thin and ice-picky. Now, harmonics leap out and definition is the name of the game. Rhythm or lead. Power chord crunch or hair parting slide. Doesn't matter.

Maple neck is finished awesome. 3 tone 'burst flawless. The devil is under the hood. I guess they bet most people were gonna leave well enough alone. The wiring is even chintzier than my '72 Datsun. You can look at the switch and count how many strands of wire are comin from the 'bucker. I had to chase 3 broken connections during the pickup change. Just beware. Also the jack cup barely held the cable it was such junk. Thank you Switchcraft. I know the switch is on its last legs when I have the patience to deal with said wiring, I'll upgrade.

The electrics are the Achilles heel. It looks and feels great. I've got it tight as a drum - the resonance and vibration are unbelievable. But I'm pretty confident. It's a Tele.

Fender at least pretends to try. More than you can say for Gibson.

This guitar looks, sounds and feels great. There isn't much it can't do. I suppose if it was stolen, I'd look for one of those California Teles so I could at least check out the coil splitting thing. But I think they're starting to get a bit outrageous last I looked. Besides, this wins on style. If it's good enough for old Keef, it's good enough for me, right?

my fender telecaster 72 custom is black with a maple neck..made in mexico 1999.forget what some dopes are saying about made in mexico guitars becaues this guitar ROCKS looks great, finsh beutiful one piece maple neck nice smooth frets feels good in your hands..

ok the wide range humbucker in the neck and the single coil lets you get just about any sound you want from this baby..i play through a fender princeton reverb and a fender bassman both 70s tube amps
it sounds good through solid state amps i just like tube amps better
you can get grunge punk alternative sound out of this guitar for days
plain old rock and roll ala rolling stones..theres some much versatilty with the humbucker single coil ...you can play just about anything on this tele no kidding i love the sound of this guitar i use a bigg muff with it through my tube amps wwwwwwwwwoooooooooooow

perfect set up i bought mine second hand the guy may have set it up recently..tight neck pocket really really nice neck on this guitar.

yes i will play this guitar out is a @ucking rock guitar..this guitar is solid and may out live me

ive been plaing for 20 plus years in the 1990s i had a punk grunge band we played out all the time..i play solo and with a 3 piece rock band these days ...i have a gibson sg jr with p90..and a few tube amps,,gibison j45 acoustic and a couple martins...i have owned alot of guitars over the years gibsons fender strats epiphones washburn
ive ran the gamit i wish i had this guitar 10 years ago its perfect for my style of playing and music!

i am soon getting one of these. i love the looks with 1 humbucker, 1 single coil in a tele. i am a huge keith richards fan and rich robinson of the black crowes. this thing nails all sounds of blues rock. it has a wide range neck pick up, standard (twangy) bridge. it includes a nice deluxe gig bag.

like i said before , im a black crowes, rolling stones blues rock guy. fits my style perfectly.i use a peavey valve king 112 and its almost as good as a fender deluxe reverb or marshall tub stack!(wich is what rch robinson and keith richards use). it isnt noisy at all, unless u have a high gain amp and sit right in front of it. it has a variety of sounds. i can pull a muddy waters grove to black crowes. or bb king to The stones. perfect 'shake your money maker ' era tone. love the tone of the neck pickup itself. its perfect.

the black with the maple is killer! it is set up great out of the box. the pickups were great,no flaws,nothing wrong with this. it has a nice grainy & flamy neck.

it will do fine with live playing.the hard ware will evevtually have that cool gun metal look if you play it all the time. but it will take 20 yrs or more

great for blues / rock lovers. not sure for metal. own les pauls, and strats. if this got stolen, i would track it down. i love it sooooo much. if i couldnt find it, id get another.i love the raw sound of it. just as good as any other fender guitar. better than my gibsons and fenders. i chose this because its raw punchy black crowes/ rolling stones tone and great looks. also because keef and rich robinson use them.

this is a 2000 year model 72 Tele Custom reissue that I got used a while back. It is black with a (flamy!) maple neck that has a great chunky profile (feels just like my 68 Tele with a C neck) It was MIM. Has the 3 way toggle/2 vol, 2tone setup just like a Les Paul. very nice and more versatile than my 68. I figure these guitars may be poplar or basswood, but this one is pretty heavy,may be alder. Not as heavy as a real 70's Tele Custom though. Has the standard Tele lead pickup and the Fender wide range humbucker for the rhythm slot. 3 bolt micro tilt neck, F stamped schaller tuners, just like a real old one has. I'll rate this one pretty high here, as the big flamey neck and les paul style controls along with the single/hum layout make this a VERY versatile and pleasing axe. Also....it looks like Keef's...

Well, I actually had a Sunburst 74 Tele Custom for about 2 weeks back in the late 80's...and it was horrible!! Thick, glopped on finish, loose neck joint, 11 pounds of dead weight, and the neck...oh, my it was skinny and badly fretted. Just a worthless guitar all the way around, ironically it's now worth about 3 grand. This MIM one has absolutely NONE of the problems the original had. It seems very high quality, and all I've changed are personal preference things. I use this in my home studio, but also use it live through an old ProCo Rat, Echoplex, Cry Baby, Hush 2 gate, and custom splitter box into 2 modded blackface Bandmaster heads that drive 2 Ampeg 412 cabs loaded with old EV SRO 150 12" speakers. It is not any more noisy than any other guitar I have with single coils. The guitar was bought used from a pawn shop and has had a six way bridge and a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster bridge pickup installed before I got it. Also the pots and switch have been changed out to Centralab 500K on the single coil and 1 meg on the humbucker. Tone caps are old orange drops that have the correct values for a 72 model. These mods are a HUGE improvement over the stock setup. I'm from Nashville, and the techs down here know how to maximize a Tele's performance while getting the best in classic tone. The bridge pickup is spanky clean, and bright; However, tweaking the tone down a bit thickens things nicely, getting into LP Jr territory. The humbucker was really muddy when I got it, but after pot and cap swap, it is bright and toothy with very similar tone to a LP Custom on the rhythm pickup. I always wanted one of these to get that Keef look and tone and with both p/ups on, it nails that Stones sound. I really am very pleased with this guitar.

Dunno about the factory setup, but when I got it it was setup for light strings. I put on a set of Ernie Ball power slinkys, tweaked the rod a tad tighter and adjusted the bridge- plays perfect for me now. I like a medium action. The pickups were adjusted fine, but I really did not even play it until it was back from my tech and had the pots swapped. The neck pocket is very tight, unlike the sloppy joint on the original, and the micro-tilt works fine. Tuning is spot-on. I had the frets filed and polished also. I like the finish on the neck-it is glossy, but not overly thick like the original ones were. All said this guitar was pretty good and even came in a nice early 90's Fender American hardcase-way better than a bag in my opinion!

It withstood many gigs prior to my getting it and can handle thousands more. Hardware seems tough enough, finish is thick and durable, though the guitar is starting to show some dings and playwear, especially on the pickguard below the pickups and around the controls. Strap buttons replaced with schaller strap locks. I use this on gigs and trust it, but I have 2 Strats onstage also. The amp-style knobs show quite a bit of wear, I adjust them a lot as I play.

Used-never contacted them.

I've been playing most my life and professionally for most of that time. I also own a MIM 72 reissue Strat with EMGs and a stock 60's Jap reissue Strat and a 2004 Gibson LP Junior that I use onstage with the above described rig. At home I have a 65 Jazzmaster with a 63 neck, a 68 Tele, an 82 reissue 1957 Strat, a 89 Ric 330, a 62 Gretsch Jet Firebird, a 77 LP delux, a 74 Guild s100 SG style, a Tokai Love Rock Goldtop w/ p90s, and a 68 Yamaha acoustic. I use a Digitech GNX4 also. I have a 1999 MIM 60's Jazz Bass also.
I got a super deal on this at a local pawnshop. I love the fat flamed neck and the hum/single pickups. I also like the LP style controls, as I am more comfortable using the LP style setup while singing (don't haveto look down to make adjustments!)Don't hate a thing about it,it's just a fine Tele. This one is light years better than the original one I owned years ago. One thing I like: My band recently started gigging and recording after a 2 year hiatus. At every gig I've gotten compliments on this guitar's sound and looks... Cool!

Finish- Black on Black with chrome features.
Body Style- Telecaster single cutaway, no contours.
Bridge Style- Three saddle vintage steel string through.
Tuners- Schaller F logo tuners
Neck/Scale- U profile gloss one piece maple neck with 7 1/2 inch radius and 25 1/2 inch scale with three bolt micro tilt feature.
Accessories- None not even an intonation tool or neck adjustment key.
Year of manufacture- Not really sure probably an 04 or 05 it had been on the hanger for a while. Made in mexico.
21 frets
Soild alder body
3-way toggle with twin volume and tone controls
H/S pickup configuration
Fender made pickups (plastic bobbin single coil with no base plate)
Passive electronics.

Ok pros and cons. Decent electronics. Problems though, be sure to have a tech run a star ground and sheild your control cavities and pickup cavities these pickups are noise buckets from the factory. Factory even put in a ground loop, must have new kids working there. Once you quiet it down youll find the pickups are nice and well suited to each other, even if the single coil has plastic bobbins and lacks the traditional brass base plate. The bridge position is bright and gritty with lots of harmonic overtones and nice tendency towards the upper midrange while still retaining this chimey cutting highs. The middle position is warm but bright, not as midsy and you will benefit from upping the mids on your amp's eq. The neck position is warm, but a tad mushy, not as bright as you would expect a vintage spec humbucker. Very bass oriented, but weak harmonics in the bass registers. You can buy a fender american pickup to drop in if you need those bass harmonics. It could be better but for a midrange guitar, you'd be hard pressed to find anything better. Give this one a try if youre looking for a bit of honk, or maybe a touch of ol Hank. It's great for those really compressed indie tube tones as well as old fashioned honkytonk and country. I would even venture to say it has some real rock potential too.

Well we all know fender, and we all know their factory setups are a joke. If youre handy or have a good tech friend you can get by with the factory saddles, but most definately would benefit from a set of compensated angle drilled saddles. Thats the only investment aside from shielding tape im probably going to make in this guitar. It's a real looker with sparse but not too sparse accoutriments. Simple black gloss finish with black four ply pickguard and chrome touches here and there. The neck will need adjustment, and if you haven't dealt with a microtilt neck, don't be like me and muddle through it for hours, get help. The finish on the neck was wonderful but needed a fresh polish and wax and the frets needed it too. the nut had the grooves set a tad high, but that was easily resolved. Smooth fret ends, and fairly even frets make for a nice glide along the neck. Very tight neck pocket, which is essential on a tele, be sure to check yours, if you can get a slip of paper in there, think twice, these things can be airtight if you get the right one, and believe me, if its tight, itll ring like a christmas bell, and do it for days.

This thing is light, super light, which scares me, but makes me happy at the same time. Light wood is typically soft and marrs easily, but the thick poly finish on this thing seems to show little play wear from my use, so I guess it will probably hold up pretty well. The pickguard might as well be made of paper, it scratches and scraps of you run your bare thumb across it. The neck pocket is tight and solid, the tuners hold tune well, and the bridge is solid as a rock. The light weight/sustain issue. Heres the deal this thing sustains amazingly, I have a dearmond m-75t which weighs as much as a bag full of history books, and an agathis tele baritone that weighs about the same. They both sustain forever, but because of the dense wood have slightly attenuated highs, and teles have that quality naturally because of the tone circuit and the heavy bridge plate. This guitar is light though and sustains nearly as long as those tanks, if i could compare this to anything its like have a jumbo acoustic or a huge rosewood dreadnaught on your shoulder. Not very heavy for a solidbody. Good solid gigging guitar with lots of potential.

No clue as to fender's customer support, but if I had to guess theres a reason they put all of their schematics on the website, they dont want to spend their time on the phone with mooky mooks like us.

I am an expenrienced tech and rhythm player that loves vintage edgy tones and progressive modern tones at the same time. This guitar is great, I am a very happy buyer but wish that fender would take the time to treat their buyers right and provide them with a properly set up instrument with accurate intonation. Once again, these things are noisy from the factory, get a buddy with a soldering iron to help quiet it down, and be on the lookout for a set of angle drilled compensated saddles, they will be essential in making it a pro gigging guitar.

I own a 2004 '72 Custom. As stated below, all the parts are American but it was assembled in Mexico. This came in black with a maple neck. Has the single coil in the bridge and the oversized humbucker in the neck. The tuners are like the ones they stock on their basses, I can't think of the name right now but they stay in tune really well, I haven't had that many problems. This model always comes with a Fender gig bag, which isn't a bad bag but then again not a hardshell case. I'm giving this a 9 because of the range of tone it has.

I play a wide variety of music, can't really say but everything from fuzz-layered shoegaze to 60's psychdelia... The neck pickup is great, very muddy, if I tune down a half step and kick back the tone, I can get into a dark Black Sabbath mood, or in standard I can still do everything I need. The bridge single coil is my favorite, very shimmery, clean sounding. I can dial into a Ticket To Ride Beatles' tone, or push some gain on my amp and get the Pink Floyd going on.. Not to a T, but I am just trying to stress how versatile this guitar is. It's the most versatile guitar I have ever owned. The only thing I need now is a Nashville Tele and I think I'll have myself set...

The action is fine, the maple neck is really nice and fits my hand really well. My hands aren't big, but they aren't small. Very easy to play and get a feel for. I haven't noticed any fret buzz and I change the strings on a regular basis. I also admit that I haven't had it set up since I purchased it (I plan to soon) and it plays just fine... but every guitar needs a set up. The finish on it is really nice. I like to take care of it with a Fender cleaning spray (I work for a company that deals music equipment, I win cleaning spray all the time - I recommend it, it works better than the ol' spit n shine). The guitar is a Telecaster - it's not light, but I don't find this one on the heavy-side. I own two other Telecasters and it's the lightest (the other two being a MIM Std Tele in black and a MIA Std Tele also in black). I am a Telecaster guy and I love this guitar... I love this guitar to death but I want to give it an accurate review. This guitar plays nice, but it's not the best guitar in the world. Give me 10 years of breaking it in, and I think it'll be there.

It's a Fender. It can survive just about anything, but like all guitars and cars, it falls apart now and again. The bridge could use a little adjustment. It stays in tune fairly well. The first problem is, the input jack is coming loose - this seems to be recurring on this model. The finish seems good, but I'm not worried about dings or chips or scratches.. Who cares really. The strap buttons are solid but I will be switching to oversized ones to further prevent those strap-slips.. The parts of the guitar are really well, American as stated, but it's obvious this guitar could have been put through better assembly. Nothing I can't fix though, at little to no cost.

If you are going to buy this, I recommend you go through Musician's Friend and get their coverage plan. They'll take care of you.

I have been playing guitar for 7 years, I am 21 now. I also own a 1985 MIJ Std Stratocaster, a 1992 MIA Std Telecaster, a 1998 MIM Std Telecaster, a 2001 Epiphone Les Paul Custom, and a Seagull S6 acoustic. I play through a Vox AC15, a Vox Pathfinder R mini stack (the 15w head with the 4x8" cab - awesome little guy for bedroom/living room practice). I use an EHX Holy Grail reverb pedal, a Hendrix fuzz/wah, the Ibanez analog delay pedal, and an MXR 7 band eq. This is the best guitar I own. I plan on keeping it my entire life...

'72 Mex Tele Custom made around 2005/2006. One piece maple neck (21 frets), bullet style truss rod w/ micro tilt. W/R Humbucker at neck and standard single coil at bridge. Vintage 3 saddle bridge, strung thru body, 2 vol 2 tone, Schaller tuners i think & Gig bag.

With a very flexible tonal range and the right amp EQ settings, i reckon this guitar should cover just about anything you would play, except probably Morbid Angel/Suffocation type humbucker preffered stuff. I'm using a Fender Twin Reverb and a Pro-Co RAT some days, and a Vox AC50 Top Boost & 4X12 (WITH GREENBACKS!! :-)) & Boss ME5 digital fx on other days. The sound between both amps is remarkably well balanced bearing in mind i've only lived with the guitar for two weeks! It fairs well compared to my Jap Strat, and stands alongside my friend's Hamer Tele (Beautiful!!) admirably. It makes what sounds i tell it to make. End of story.

Apart from being set up by Jeff Healey, the pickups are pretty well balanced considering it's a H/SC guitar. The major bitch i have with the guitar is the shocking finish afforded to the frets. Between fret 17-21 is deplorable and fret 5 is also suspect. Bearing in mind i have a free setup for a month, i could do well to take advantage of this and have this slight problem rectified. The tuning pegs gearing could have been a little more smooth but hey......

This guitar BETTER adapt to the live environment pretty quickly or else end up a McDonalds carton sooner rather than later. Not sure about the hardware lasting (i forsee new pickups en route) and the frets are going to get a fright soon. The finish is irrelevant and i couldn't care if the paint fell off tomorrow. Strap buttons solid for now. Further usage will tell if it's dependable or not. I wouldn't play any gig without a backup guitar...you never know!!

Haven't roared at them .......yet!!!

I have only had my Custom for two weeks but it is intended to be my 'main' runabout. I also play a '84 Jap Strat and lots of different guitars for lots of different reasons. If i had something i wished i could have asked before i played it, it would have been "How come all the salesmen in your shop don't care?" Pound signs aplenty for the lucky person in question. Hard cash too....no rubber cheques here!! All i got was a lousy gig bag, no strap, strings, or a lead (always welcome). If it were lost or stolen i think the chances of me getting one that sounded as good as this one are fairly slim. The guitar was compared to #800 American Teles and took the piss out of them soundwise. Thankfully never bought one of them!!! I wish it had a sister. My dog is called Charlie.

This is just to clarify something that nobody seems to know.

The parts on this Fender are mostly AMERICAN and other, not Mexican as most of you are assuming. Do your research. These guitars are just ASSEMBLED in Mexico.

2003 MIM; black with maple fretboard. Mine has an MIJ neck and modern Gotoh tuner (more on those later). Other than that it's stock and all the features have been covered below.

Yes, the HB can be muddy and the SC is inherantly a bit weak, but with some adjustment these can be almost totally remidied. Being my only electric guitar I depend on the Tele Custom to cover a pretty broad array of tones. I use it with my 1967 Ampeg Gemini I (20w 1x12) and pedalboard (Crybaby Classic Wah, Analogman TS-9/Silver, Analogman SD-1/808, RMC FK-1 compressor, and VoodooLab Sparkle drive) and I can play just about anything from jazz to hard rock comfortably. I mostly play in Praise & Worship groups at churches, so there is always a bit of give and take in my style depending on the songs and congregation that day, but I've had no problem fitting in with this setup. The 72 Custom RI has become an integral part of my sound, and I don't think I could go back to a more 'normal' style guitar. Even my wife who didn't like it at first said this past weekend that this guitar is a part of who I am!

Here is where I had some problems. I bought the guitar dirt cheap from a VERY well known shop while visiting my parents. After puting 10's on it I tried to adjust the truss rod and .....nothing! It wouldn't move no matter how hard I tried. Took the guitar to my local Fender authorized shop and was told I needed a new neck, since the truss rod was completely frozen! Luckilly the guitar was still playable, but I played with no truss rod adjustments for about 9 months until Fender sent the new neck to my dealer.

Eventually they sent a MIJ neck (far better than the MIM) which was drilled for modern tuners, so the shop put in a set of Gotoh's for my trouble. It took a while to get, but the Japanese neck has a much nicer finish than the MIM and is a big improvement to the guitar.

One other small issue is having a couple of the pickguard screw holes strip out, but I've filled the holes with toothpicks and life goes on.

This has been my only electric for the past 2 years, and I have no worries about it failing me any time soon.

It took Fender a L O N G time to get my replacement neck, but they did take care of me even though I'd bought the guitar in one state and was having warranty work done in another. And a big thaks to Kurlan Music of Worcester MA for being willing to spend so much time dealing with a guitar they didn't make any money from. Huge show of character!

I love this guitar. For several years I said "If I ever get another electric it'll be a 72 Tele Custom RI" so when the opportunity showed itself I jumped. Since the truss rod issue is resolved, I have no worries about this guitar failing me. If it's ever stolen or is mortally damaged, I'll get another without question.

This is a 2005 MIM '72 Tele Custom with the burst finish. All the standard features - one Single, one Humbucker. Both Fender Pickups. Two volume and two tone knobs, Alder body, Maple neck with Maple fingerboard. Vintage style Tele bridge, and vintage style tuners, gig bag, etc. Lots of variety...

Sound wise - hmmm. As is mentioned often, the bridge pickup is a bit weak and lacks a bit of the Tele Twang. Nothing you can't fix with a bit of EQ and the right amp. It actually works to the guitar's advantage though, since the neck humbucker is a bit muddy, so having to boost the treble a bit to get the Tele bite helps clean up the 'bucker when you switch to the neck position. I really like the middle position where both pickups are engaged. You can get a really nice bluesy grit in this position. I think I use this position more with this guitar than any similar P/U config on any other gutiar I have owned.
The single coil is a bit noisy, but that's part of the nature of more vintage sounding SC pickups. They guitar is well suit for a good number of music styles - Country, Blues, Rock, Alternative. It's not really a 'hard rock' guitar, any miles away from metal, but that ain't what it was built to do. I use mainly tube amps with this guitar (Rivera, Fender), and run direct to the PA via different pre-amp pedals in some situations (Church).

I was a bit hesitant buying a MIM Fender, since they have a reputation for lessor build quality, but I have no issue with this guitar at all! The two piece Alder body is matched well grain wise, the frets are level and have smooth ends. The neck pocket is tight and and hardware all works great. What I have heard through the grapevine is that the MIM quality is improving, especially on the specials ('72 RIs, Jimmie Vaughn, ect). I am overall very pleased with the build of my Tele.

Everything on the guitar seems very well built and sturdy, and Tele's generally are tanks so I don't anticipate any issues with the guitar at all.

I've never had to deal with Fender.....

This guitar has overcome my prior reluctance to buy any MIM Fenders, mainly since there is no MIA version of the '72 Tele for a reasonable price. The quality and sound of the guitar are much better than I expected, and I am very happy at this point with the Tele. I'm still considering buying a better bridge pickup, but I'm not in a hurry at this point. Probably my favorite feature is the wide tonal range of the guitar. I use it for country, pop, blues, and some classic rock and it has all the tone I need between the two pickups and the amp EQ. If it were stolen I would definitely consider buying another one - I'm really starting to like this guitar a whole lot...

I use a 1999 72' tele custom. It has the 21 fret, maple finger board. Dual volume and tone controls. It is a mexican model (no complaints there). Mine is black with a black pickguard. Vintage tuners, which I really do like. The rest is pretty standard.

I must agree that the bridge pickup is weak. The humbucker is kinda muddy. It is noisy, but there is nothing here that can't be fixed. Overall it has a unique sound, not like standard tele's, that's why I bought mine. The biggest problem that I have had with mine is the frets wore out after about 2 years. Maybe I play different than other players, so this may just be a problem for me.

I bought my tele from a local music store, so mine was set up by the owner of the store. He did a good job, too. My guitar had a chip on the body, close to the strap button, It had fallen at one time. They were up front with me though. I did get it at a discount.

There is no doubt in my mind that this guitar will withstand the test of time. I Have been playing mine for over five years, every weekend,and I have had no major problems. The strap buttons worked their way out for a while, but i drilled the buttons and ran longer and bigger screws into the body. I have had some string breakage problem, but I feel that it has to do with the 3 bridge saddles getting out of adjustment. They seem to work their way out of adjustment.

I have had to have the reverb can in my fender stage 100 amp replaced and they gave me no problem.

Been playin in bands since 1985. The only question that I would have asked is the availability of replacement pickguards, as they had none.Yes I would buy another one if it was stolen, and hope that I catch the one who stole it. There is really nothing that I hate about the guitar,could be a little lighter. My favorite feature is the dual tone controls. I have played other tele's and I like this one the best. It looks cool and plays very good. The one thing that I would like to have on it would be a 60's Strat whammy bridge.cool.

This is a 2002-2003 (judging by serial #) that I recently bought "new" (summer 2005). It had been sitting in the music store for a couple years, but it had a broken in feeling that I really liked. Specs are well covered below. Love the slick, glossy neck. Tuners could be a tad better, but they're fine and as good as most others. What I love about Telecasters in terms of features is that they are about as simple as you can get, no frills.

Style is indie/surf/psych, this guitar is of course one of the "cool" indie guitars of the moment (along with the Tele Deluxe). It has a very good sound for a current guitar. I've owned a '69 Thinline and a '72 Deluxe, and I can say I like this one best. It has the twang of the '69 on the bridge, but has a lot of guts for wah-drenched, gritty solos. Fender humbuckers sound different from Gibsons. They are lower output (a good thing in my opinion), and brighter. I play it through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, its a good match. Nothing beats the sound of my real 1969 Fender "Custom" (a rare guitar similar to an Electric XII or Jazzmaster), but this one is simply amazing and can get some sounds I can't get with my Custom.

Pretty good, but it was sitting in a store a while. A slight tightening of the truss rod and adjusting of the bridge and it plays great. I changed the strings from 9 to 10 like many others, it stabilizes the tuning a lot. One of the tuners is a little loose-feeling, but its not a big deal. These "F" tuners are actually made in Germany by Schaller in case anyone thinks they're made in Mexico. I was able to settle in to this guitar right away, something that encouraged me to pick this particular one up. It felt like putting on an old pair of shoes, rare in a new guitar. I agree with another reviewer who said it brought out a new kind of style in him, it did the same for me, just really allowed me to let go of myself for some reason. I used it at a recent recording session and nailed a take of a song I had never played on this guitar. I think I even played it better than I ever have before. It just comes alive. Let me also say that I bought an American Vintage Jazzmaster online ($1400 guitar) that had all kind of serious issues. I returned it and bought this Tele instead because I honestly felt it was a better sounding and playing guitar. My experience is that the "Classic" series MIM Fenders are constructed better than American ones. I know many will disagree, but all I'm saying is don't believe everything you hear about American being better in every way. Its true that many of the materials are of a higher quality, but that doesn't neccessarily equal a superior guitar. Ignore the labels are play as many as you can. Also, I recommend buying from a store. Individual guitars all have their own mojo and my experience has taught me that buying online is risky. I've been playing about 11 years and have been through about 15-20 guitars in that time. I currently own 4: 1969 Fender Custom (vintage USA made), this Tele Custom reissue (Mexican), a 12 string electric Schecter (Korean), and a 12 string electric Alvarez (Chinese).

Haven't played it out yet but I'm not worried. I played my MIM '69 Thinline out a lot and never had any trouble. Hardware might be a little cheap on these MIMs, but only time will tell. Guitar itself feels extremely durable, like all Telecasters. I would gig without a backup if I had to without worry, but I like playing out with two 6 strings and one 12 string for variety.

Haven't dealt with them.

Value for $$$, this is one of the best on the market, as are all of the Classic series Fenders. This is especially true for me in light of my dissapointing purchase of the American Jazzmaster. After that experience, I decided I would get a Classic series Telecaster. I had a '69 Thinline that I sold and missed, so I considered that one. I also owned and quickly sold the Tele Deluxe because the double humbuckers were a bit much for me, and I found the output too high and overall sound too muddy. I loved it for solo overdubs, though. I played some of the Japanese Teles and found the sound to be too thin. Ditto the '50s and '60s reissues, although they are cool guitars too. The '72 thinline was cool, but also a tad murcky. I narrowed it down to the '72 Tele Custom or the '69 Thinline. The '69 Thinline was brighter and more surfy, but I already have that covered with my original Fender Custom. So, I chose the Tele Custom for its added versatility and meaty sound. Oh yeah, it also looks really cool!

Donny
http://www.myspace.com/ecchoingbleu

I bought it for around $800-900 in 2003 (I got ripped, should of paid about 6-7 hundred). A '72 telecaster custom reissue made in mexico.

21 frets, I wish it had one more fret.
solid body electric. Nice finish on it.
4 knobs, 2 volume, 2 tone. 3 settings, neck, mid, bridge.
Humbucker at the neck, single coil at the bridge.
Not sure what the wood is, but a maple neck and fretboard.
Not a tech guy, so you'll have to look up the other info.

Fairly versitile. I haven't owned many guitars, so I won't rate it's features. One thing though, don't like where the body meets the neck, it interferes with playing on the upper registers. But this is a fairly standard build, just my preference.

I play mostly blues and blues based music/rock. Clean through a low end fender amp (it has "princeton" on the front). I have a few pedals, overdrive and a volume pedal.

I get lots of "popping" with it, if you lightly touch a string, it'll give a pop sound from the hum being cut off. Its not that bad, but its there. Went to go get the thing shielded, but the luthier told me it was already shielded.

The sound is good, what you play is what you sound like. Nice range between the single coil and the humbucker. Can get a nice clean sound or drive it to get some distortion. Sustain isn't good, you'll need extras to get that. Overall, I like the sound, I'm currently shopping for a new guitar, but this one has served me well.

Looks good. i bought mine from a shop, so I think they adjusted the settings. It came with good action, intonation, etc... the humbucker pickup was mounted at an angle, so that had to be refitted, but no big deal there. Everything else was fine.

Finish is still bright, (its only 2 years old) and beautiful. Can definitely gig with this if you wanted to. I think the factory frets are a little on the weak side, I had to replace them after 2 years, but that might just be me. The replacement frets are holding up much better. I remember learning this SRV line, after practicing that same line for about 4 hours, I noticed the frets were noticibly more worn than when I started that practice session. But other than that, its been holding up great. (note: maple frets cost twice as much as rosewood to refret/condition).

NA, haven't had to contact them.

It my first real guitar, I've had an Ibanez Artcore-75, a Takhimine acoustic, and a 60's/70's harmony hollow body hand me down. I bought this one after having played for about 3 years and was (still am) completely ignorant about gear and what kind of sound I REALLY wanted. My favorite so far (in terms of sound) has been the Ibanez (i prefer very clean tones), but that guitar broke in about a year and a half (the guitar chord connection broke off - fixable) and the frets are worn (no point in repairing these since I could buy a new artcore). But the Tele is the best overall guitar. Reliable, good sound, looks nice, etc... I would buy this guitar again, but I would find a good price instead of being ripped off by the salesman.

I beleive this to be a '98 Mexican 72 tele custom.
I purchased it second hand for a bargain price maybe 4 years ago.
It's a 3 piece alder body, 21? frets on a rosewood neck, great sunburst finish, les paul style controls with a Fender wide range humbucker in the neck and a 'vintage' single coil in the bridge.
Vintage style 3 piece bridge saddles with string through body loading.
7.25" neck radius with Micro Tilt adjustment on neck plate.
Vintage style tuners and a very nice, comfortable and fat neck profile.
It's a bit heavier than other tele's i've played.

Well it sounds very Tele like, but maybe a bit beefier than your standard american model.
Im using it, in my band, with a Fender blues deville and a couple of older overdrives and a delay.
It is a touch noisy but that could easily be fixed with some copper tape shielding on the inside.
It's a great sounding guitar and my only gripe would be that the neck humbucker is overly muddy at times, BUT this is due to the fact that the original models of this guitar came equipped with 1Meg vol pots for the humbucker, not 250k. The 250k should never be paired up with a humbucker as it bleeds of the high frequencies, hence the mud you will sometimes hear.
So change the neck humbucker pot and you'll be just fine.
Gripes aside this a great guitar and i can get some very nice violin like sustain from the guitar when played with a couple of overdrives on at once.
Plus, it looks SOOOO cool!

Was all groovy.
It was fretting out up past the 12th fret when i first got it but i figured out that this was due to the microtilt being adjusted so the neck was rising at the body end.
I zeroed it back down and the problem dissapeared.
Everything else was sweet.

Solid as a rock.

Never dealt with them.

Would purchase another one if it was stolen.
I'd also like to try one of their RI 72 Tele Deluxe's.
Have been playing for 14 years or so in bands and stuff.
I love the way the guitar looks and sounds and also how versatile it is.
It has plenty o' character.
This along with my les paul makes for a wide variety of tonal colours to be had.
I'd like to see it with a bigsby.
I tried an original 72 TC custom and it had the skinniest, most awful neck on it.
One of the best things about this guitar is the neck shape.
It's just so damn comfy.

This was a 2003 black tele custom. MIM
same features as the others (neck HB, 4 controls,...) It came with a very nice fender gig bag. Normally hard shell would be preferred but I'm riding my bike so much these days that I prefer the gig bag

essentially, this has the perfect amount of features. Versatility

I have always been a u2/rem/wilco sort of guy who likes noise and effects. I sold my ric 330 to get this and I'm glad I did. As much as I loved the tone of the ric, it wasn't as versatile. I use a lot of delay and tremolo and use a vox pathfinder at home. The sound is amazing for what I do. It's kind of the best of all worlds. It has the brightnessand clarity of a tele or ric as well as the meatiness of the LP. There were only two problems with the sound.

#1 the stock single coil was really weak and didn't have much character. I swapped it out for a muy grande and now it sounds incredible. In the middle position, the clarity of both pickups is unreal. You can actually hear them independently.

#it's really badly grounded. There is way more noise out of theis guitar than even my LP Jr. (which has a p-90)

*However, I bought this guitar as a project guitar as well as for it's versatility, so I have no problems with this. It means that I get to learn more about guitars.

The set up was quite good and the finish was excellent. Like I said, it's pretty badly grounded but I'm going to attempt to fix that this weekend.

This guitar is a rock. I would have no problem gigging without a backup.

Mind you, the nut broke about a month after getting it. Now I have a better bone one so I'm happy

I haven't had to deal with them however i love that their website has all the wiring diagrams to this guitar

I've been playing for about 8 years and have owned lp's, but for the past 4 years I have played a ric. After 4 years, I realized that I wasn't getting any better. The tone was incredible but it just didn't have everything that I wanted. I changed to the tele because I wanted something with a neck that I could improve on. I also wanted a guitar that I wouldn't be afraid to work on or drop. I'm positive I have found it.

'72 Telecaster Custom - Reissue MIM in 2004. Alder Body, maple "U" shaped neck and maple fret board (21 Fret). "Bullet" truss rod and 3 bolt neckplate with "micro tilt" adjustment. Fender Wide Range Humbucker in in the neck position, and a Fender Tele Single Coil in the bridge position. Separate volume and tone controls for each pickup. Vintage style 3 saddle ashtray string through Telecaster Bridge. Fender/Schaller Vintage "F" tuners.

If you are a fan of the Telecaster sound - this is an awesome guitar. The single coil really does reproduce that classic tele twang while the wide range humbucker gives it a nice fattened sound from the neck. Hey, if you want to sound like Keith Richards this is the guitar. I'm playing through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe most of the time and a lil' Vox AD30VT amp the rest of the time and it sounds great. The single coil pickup does have the classic hum, but you can always get a noiseless single if if bothers you. For a tele it sounds great, and I'm rating it on the tele sound. If I wanted a guitar taht sounded like a strat I would've bought one.

Well, I looked at a couple. The action, fit, and finish on the one I bought were great. It just needed a a very slight adjustment on the sixth string. I really tried hard to find a flaw on this one and couldn't, and that's one of the reasons I bought it. The other ones had some issues. One had a serious rattle and buzz under the bridge. So, did some of the MIA tele's I looked at. You just have to look 'em over carefully.

It's built for combat operations! It's made to be played not put under glass. I'm confident it will hold up well, but only because I played for a couple of hours before I bought it and I went over it with a fine tooth comb.

I've not used their customer service, but the website is pretty cool.

I've been playing for a lotta years. I'd been wanting a tele for awhile and then got a lead on an awesome price. Most folks sell it for about $650 something or better. Try not to pay more than $425 for one new because you can chew them down on the price if you work hard at it. Having said that - it's worth the higher price. Sounds and plays as good as, if not better than any of the other teles out there.

2002 re-issue custom tele
three color sunburst
rosewood fretboard
vintage size frets
gibson style volume and tone controls

this guitar makes all the good sounds
i use this tone monster with bandmaster, jcm900 or a funky tube amp available here in oz called a "vase".(thirty or so years old)
these pickups hum deliciously when your hand doesnt ground the strings.
this guitar is an organic sounding beast.
I have never heard anything like it anywhere. I have been playing in bands for a long time.
these people that complain about the sunburst ones can send their guitars to me, Ill gladly give them a loving home.
I cant vouch for the poplar ones.(i am led to believe the black mex reissues are poplar.)
I like everything about this guitar, especially the fat tone and the fat neck.

the guy i got this guitar from was a tone freak, and had the guitar set up beautifully.lowest action ive ever seen on a tele/strat.
haha, the two bits of alder are delightfully mismatched.
these people that whine about cosmetic flaws maybe shouldnt be playing...
also, the lead jack comes loose fairly frequently, as well as the selector switch.
I love how these things come loose, it gives me an excuse to touch the guitar even more and tighten them.

the guitar will withstand a bomb blast...possibly not even needing a tune up.
This guitar does not go out of tune.I play it long and hard.
I put strap locks on it, using my own long screw modification.
Backup? you gotta be joking. i've got strats, other teles...and they stay in the closet on gig night.

what a waste of time.
look folks, if something needs to be done to your guitars, whatever the brand or make, just do it yourself.
I know it sounds crazy, but you could learn something in the process.
these guitar do not come out of the box well set up. But to set them up doesnt take too much brain power. if you are reading this, you have internet access....use this access to find out anything you need to know about set up or even repairs.

if someone so much as looked at this guitar the wrong way, i would torture them.
I would like to say to all you good folks that choose to whine about their axes...shutup and dont blame the poor guitar...its all in your fingertips.Unless maybe you play a bc rich...

What features? Its a Tele! I like the separate volume and tone controls, which are unlike most fenders. The neck humbucker is a great alternative and sounds fat. The cool pickguard makes it a stand out. The machine heads stay in tune really well. I really prefer the thin Strat neck, and this one is a bit fat. Not baseball bat fat, but hefty. Its a rounded fat, unlike the vintage V fat. I really like the glossy smooth finish on the neck.

I'm in a geezer rock band and this guitar is the best sounding yet. I can play surf music, right on up to Tom Petty or Neil Young. The neck humbucker is bright and full. The neck single coil may be a bit weak, and I've seen others comment on this. I mostly play with both pickups on. Through my '72 Twin Reverb, this guitar sounds great. I have been using a Marshall V-twin and a Tube Screamer to enhance my other guitars. The '72 Tele Custom goes straight in, and sounds fantastic.

I can't find a fault. The neck is smooth smooth smooth. I like the glossy neck and that's one reason I didn't go for a lesser model. The grain on the body seems wide, but I don't have an original to compare it to. The body is finished nicely, though. The hardware all works smoothly and quietly. However, I do get a bit of buzz, mostly at louder volumes, unless I ground the strings with my hand. Its no problem while playing, and I think I can fix that.

It seems built like a brick S-house. Everything seems solid and I expect it to last like most Telecasters. I'm planning on gigging with it, but I always bring a backup in case of a broken string.

I've never dealt with Fender. If it breaks, I'll take it back to Guitar Center.

This is the American made model that comes with a tweed case. I sat at Guitar Center for two hours and played every darn Tele in the place. Thats after going to another Guitar Center and an American Music. This one sounded the fullest and brightest. I hated the price, but that's what credit cards are for! (and you get what you pay for) I like the humbucker for the extra punch. I've been playing for 30 years and I like this guitar better than my Strat, Les Paul or Rickenbacker 330. I'm not saying I wont play the others, but the Tele has it all for right now.

Everyone else seems to have covered this guitars features fairly comprehensively so I won?t bother. Particular things that I really love are the beautiful original style headstock, the solid tuners and the pickup selector switch. I also love the fact it has both a humbucker and single coil pickup. Lovely smooth neck which is very easy to play. Oh and it looks stunning. (free fender gig bag aswell)

The sound of this guitar is the real revelation. It seems to be able to do anything/everything. I can get an authentic Les Paul sound from the neck especially with the gain turned up. The sustain just rings on and on and on. Played clean on the neck it is a very warm, round tone, some may say too bassy but I like it. Then at the flick of a switch I can get classic fender tele tone through the bridge pickup. Maybe not quite as sharp and twangy as other Fenders but it aint far off. I spend most of my time playing with both pickups activated as this is just the perfect balance for my sound. I play mostly alternative, Indie rock and so far this guitar is doing a great job. However, I do have one problem with the sound and that is that it is extremely noisy and humming through both pickups and also feeds back when played loud with gain. I need to get this sorted out as It will be a real pain to gig with otherwise. One other thing I?m a little bit worried about the guitars potential to cut through when playing in band situations and at high volumes but I?m yet to find out how it handles this. Apart from that I can genuinely say that I haven?t played a guitar that I liked as much as this and I?ve been playing 6 years now!

Seems to have come set up damn near perfect which I think is a rare thing these days. My other guitar is a Fender Jazzmaster and it was set up SO badly from the factory it took me about 6 months until I got it how I wanted it. This is different, I can just play it and it feels and plays great straight off.

It is a Tele afterall! It?s solid. I have no worries about this at all. I don?t tend to abuse my guitars anyway and yes I would gig it for sure, and without backup if necessary even though I do like having a backup for safety.

N/A

Only had it for a shortwhile but in short...

Looks superb (has something interesting..unlike alot of Teles)
Sounds brilliant especially for the price. (great variety in tones)
Well Built (will last a long long time)

The only other guitar I would contemplate buying other than this would be the tele 72 deluxe which has 2 humbuckers. however that loses variety.

Few years ago, I saw Thom yorke(radiohead) play a guitar, looking much like a custom 72, only it had two humbuckers. Ever since I dreamed of owning one. I first thought that they were very hard to get in holland. Til a few months ago, when I saw it second dandedly in a shop in my town. It was a japanese made 1996 reissue, and I could get a trade with my mexican nashville power tele, with closed wallets;) what a deal!

I love the tone of the neck humbucker! it's warm rich, and full of karakter. It does have a little less twang compared to the single coil in de neck of my old tele. de humbucker, hda not much colume. I got myself a bargain and got an seymour duncan stl-1b, an exact repluiva of the first broadcaster pickup, designed by leo fender. Great sound, with a lot of bite and high. he tone controls are gibson setup, wish comes in handy when you like to adjust your distortion to zero, and to switch the pickups. The neck is absolutely awesome. bend your strings and feel no resisance at all.

great features!

sounds great!

I use it trough a morley wah, an snarling dogs tweed simulator, an electro harmonix big muff and a couple of home build pedals, trough an late '60 london city tube head and cabinet, refinished in white tolex;), how Prince is that! sound is rich and full, and nothing you'll ever find in another guitar

great

builld like a f*king tank

never dealt with them

10!

Mexican made in 2002. I won?t go into details here because there is tonnes of stuff below. I bought this guitar because it looked fantastic, I needed something versatile and it sounded good in the shop. I decided to buy one in 3 tone burst because in my opinion it had more character than the all black version. It?s a cracking looking guitar with excellent features.

I have a couple of amps. An old Marshall Plexi stack and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

First thing I noticed was that the bridge pick-up was slightly weak, lacked punch and 'the' twang. I replaced this with a high-end Fralin immediately and the tone was a million times better. I was happy again.

The Bridge Humbucker worked great and sounded delicious/ fat.

The Volume and tone controls are all fairly responsive.

You can get a lot of great sounds out of this intrument.

Giving this a 6 rating because of the weak pick-up. After replacing this I'd give it an 8 1/2, but cost me cash for the pick-up.

Hmm. I think the Mexicans who made this puppy has one to many Tequilas! This is where I had a lot of issues.

The factory set up was shocking with the strings about a million miles from the fret board. I really hate that. I think all guitarists do.

Even more disturbing was the fact that the frets were not even and the finish on the neck sharp and shoddy in places. So I needed to pay for these to be fixed, plus a neck re-dress.

The action was also crap because the saddle which is comes with was not fully adjustable. So that had to go and I replaced it with a better one which enabled set up to be much neater and lower.

Finish - From factory = Poor. Body was fine but that was about it.
Action - Bad from factory. Yuk!
Finish - Lack of attention to detail on the frets.

Bit dissapointed, but I did buy it new and kind of expected this. Dont think any manufacturers make the perfect guitar from new though I've heard the high-end PRS's are very good from scratch.

The materials used are good and its sturdy enough to last a long time. No issues here, it seems like it will last a long time.

Not dealt with them

I've been playing a while and have used lots of different guitars. I chose this guitar knowing that it would need some work. What attracted me to it in the first place were its look and its versatility.

After spending somewhere in the region of #200 its now totally amazing and I love it. The fretboard is low and well balanced and its pure silky to gig with. I'd like to give it 10 across the board, but feel that from the factory it could have been a lot better. After my mods and some extra work it?s a definite 10, very useful and stunning to play.

If I lost it or had it stolen would I replace it? I think I would, but I'd have to spend the money on it again. I'm happy to do this because I'm a big fan of this guitar and don?t have #3K+ to spend on a guitar that doesn?t need a lot of work from factory.

made in 1999, mexico. glossy dark neck, poly sunburst finish on the body. fender humbucker in the neck, standard tele bridge. 3-barrel chrome bridge, 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, big 3 ply pickguard. very true to the original, definitely plenty of knobs and all that for me!

this is the great part of this guitar. no other guitar sounds quite like it. the mix of the twangy bridge and the fat humbucker is just amazing.

in the bridge position it sounds like any other tele, very solid and bright.

the neck only position is thick and strong, not too muddy at all.

in the middle (oh yeah!) it has this awesome hollow raunch. on a clean amp, it has the dark wide tone of a humbucker with the articulate ring of a telecaster laying under it. i didnt think they would mix together well, but its a magical combination.

this guitar can handle almost anything, variety is its strong point

set up well, finished well. everything is good. for some reason the E polepiece on the humbucker isnt lined up right with the string. i looked it over and its not a bridge problem... it seems it was made that way.

another slight problem with the humbucker is the adjustable polepiece on the e string caught the string sometimes. i play fairly percussively and i had the polepiece adjusted high for better treble, and it got caught under the head of the screw. easy fix, i just cranked the screw down. not that big of a difference in sound.

this thing is solid. its a tele, and a fender, built for use and abuse. the finish is thick and looks great. nothing about the guitar feels weak!

fender ain't too bad. seeing as teles and strats are just about the easiest guitars to work on/find parts for, i see no problems in the future.

ive been playing for about 6 years now. this is my main guitar. i saw thom yorke playing one a long time ago and i was perplexed by the giant pickguard. i found more info and i fell in love with it. i had my heart set on the rosewood/sunburst model, but i could never afford one and they didnt seem to come up on the used market. finally i found one, and i can say its definitely my end-all guitar. sure i'll buy others but i feel at home on this guitar. it has a vintage look and feel with great playability and tone. i have a particular fondness for the mexican-made vintage reissue models. they feel superior to the standard mexican made fenders, but are still priced fairly low. the 50s,60s, and 70s strats are some of my favorites as well. i do occasionally miss the woody spanky bell tone of a regular telecaster's single coil. if it were stolen i would cry and try to write it off on my insurance or something. then i'd go out and buy another one. ive owned pretty much every kind of guitar, and this one is my favorite. i finally feel "at home" playing a guitar!

Same features as everyone has noted. It's not overly fancy, but compared to a normal tele, it's got loads of extras. The individual volume and tone controls open a lot of variety.

It's got everything it needs and nothing it doesn't.

Mine was MIM, black with a maple finger board, made in 2002 - purchased in 2004. It had been sitting around the shop for a while and was being sold off dirt cheap because it had a small little scratch on it...

This is why I bought the guitar. I've tried out quite a few and had mixed feelings about them, but when I tried this guitar out I was in heaven. It can cover everything I play (and I play a lot of different styles.) Playing jazz on the neck always seems warm, and never muddy like my Les Paul. Blues sound great, classic rock - perfect tone. Modern rock, experimental (ala radio-head) funk, fusion, latin, country, praise & worship and anything else that is ever thrown at me as a proffesional musician just sounds great to my ears on this guitar. The bridge single coil is really great, though I imagine a traditional tele pickup (with a base-plate) would sound even more amazing.

You do have to work the tone controls a bit to get the sounds you want, but it's in there. I've stopped playing my other electrics.

The black finish on mine seems to have been unevenly applied, and is a little blotchy.... it seems to scratch really easily (as opposed to the remarks about it's indestructable poly finish - from other reviewers). Maybe I got lucky and that's why mine sounds so good.

Beyond that, the guitar is exteremly solid, and was just about ready to go from the moment I first picked her up.

I must say, I really like the vintage style tuning pegs and how they eliminate sting ends at the head stock...

As I said, it scratches easily, but beyond that, you could run this thing over with a tank and it'd be fine.

I've been playing for 11 years now (I'm only 20 - so that's a VERY long time for me), been attending music school for 3 years. I've had the opportunity to play hundreds of guitars, talk to other guitar players about tone, and have very good ears. I also own a Gibson Les Paul standard, a Fender American Series Strat, and a Danelectro DC-59. Every sound I've ever wanted from a guitar can be achieved with this tele. I don't even miss the strat in-between sounds that I used to use all of the time. I own a fender hot rod deluxe, but have played this guitar through a marshall valvestate, various peavey amps, roland modeling amps, and even a behringer v-amp hooked up to a keyboard amp as well. It sounds best through the deluxe, but was nothing to sneeze at through the others. Can't say enough positives about this guitar.

Its a made in mexico all black (pickguard and body) with a humbucker in the neck and single coil on the bridge. Its got a beautiful very light colored maple which contrast beautifly with the black. I bought a hardshell with it for about 100. Overall its a great LOOKING guitar.

I saw a tele with a humbucker and figured "Great! now i can have the tele twang, with some punch!" ...Wrong. The twang that i love was lacking. Its to bassy and for a tele twang lover. No good

When i got the guiatr the tuning pegs are NOT smooth at all making it hard to tune. And the volume and tone knobs are labeled wrong (one says volume when its acctually tone and vice versa) The pickup selector sticks too. (not that i ever turn the humbucker on) but it was like that when i bought it

Its a well built guitar. The strap pegs are a little small causing the strap to pop off with a lot of movement , but thats my only concern. It can gig, and i think it will last.

Never needed it

I have been playing for about 2 years, im 14 years old. This is my first electric guitar, but i own an Ovation Balladeer acoustic. If it were stolen i would be pissed, and save up for a Jaguar. I love the look of it, the pickguard and the beautiful light maple fretboard. I HATE the humbucker. I am selling this guitar very soon to save up for a fender Jaguar. If you are a tele person, i would strongly recomend a HIghway 1 Tele. I think they are the best ones under about 1000

O4 72 Reissue Tele in black (Mexican). Single coil in bridge and humbucker in neck position. The control knobs resemble a Les Paul layout. Has maple fingerboard, with ashtray style bridge.

I play it thru a Matchless Phoenix 35 head and either a Fender DT 12 cab or a Matchless 4/10 cab. I play mostly classic rock, some modern rock, jazz, funk, blues. Some Tom Petty type stuff also. The humbucker in the neck has a thick, rich tone, suitable to the styles I play. The single coil is ok, but could be better. I will probably replace it with a Seymour Duncan hot rail, or some other type of tele replacement PU. Havent decided which one yet.

I bought the tele at my local music store, so I didnt step foot outside the door until I made sure it was set up the way I wanted it. No problems, plays great. The finish was in great shape. It was new when I bought it, so It should have been in great shape. No flaws, dings, etc.

I would use this tele for live playing without hesitation. Im sure it could handle anything. If Keith Richards used it on tour all thise years, then it must be relaible. I will probably put some Schaller strap locks on it soon, just to be safe. I never play live without a backup, no matter how good a guitar or amp is. But, the tele is built rock solid.

No, have not dealt with Fender directly.

I have been playing for 25 years now. I turn 37 this year. I own 2 Tyler Classic strats (SUPERB), and 1 Wolgang, and this 72 Tele. I have all my bases covered. If it was ever lost or stolen, I would buy another one, because its the one tele that feels the best in my hands, and also, I just like the way it looks.

Mexican made, ordered thru local store after seeing in 'frontline' mag. Had it for 3 years. Black finish with Les Paul controls and pickup switch. Single coil bridge, wide range humbucker neck.Maple neck. Ashtray bridge. Fender vintage style tuners. Came w/ gig bag. I rate @ 10 for the simple fact I wanted the features supplied on this guitar.

I play classic rock/blues and it fits most stuff. Definitely not as chunky as a Les Paul. Playing 78 50 watt 2x12 Marshall combo, fulltone fulldrive 2, dunlop wah, and sometimes ross phaser. It sounds really good until you get on stage with a tube amp in line with a neon beer light. VERY noisy on bridge pickup. I intend to change the bridge pickup as it is low VERY low output. It sounds good but there seems to be a massive difference in volume between the two. Having said that it does get a nice joe walsh funk49 nasty sound. The wide range humbucker really surprised me in that it is very beefy and chunky. Only it sometimes gets a little saturated. If you are looking for that fat neck pickup with clarity like on a strat, this is not it. All in all for covers in my style it is a workhorse and pretty flexible. I rate it 7 for weak bridge pickup and horrible hum. As a side note, it doesn't seem to feedback uncontrollably. It will feedback if you want some controlled feedback, though.

It was setup ok. I noticed recently that the high e has a slight buzz, but from what I understand the ashtray style bridge is difficult to get exactly right. Fit and finish are ok for a $600.00 guitar. (vs. $1000.00) One thing on mine that is not right is the skunk stripe. On one side I can feel the seam where it meets the maple. Not cool.

Like I said this guitar is a workhorse. It is very durable. Yes to all questions. And I would definitely use without a backup. (as soon as I change out the weak ass, humming bridge pickup)

Haven't dealt with them. Pretty sure I won't have to.

Been playing 15+ years. I own 2 strats and 2 les pauls, 2 marshalls, various effects, and 2 fenders. If it were stolen I would replace it. I really like the les paul control layout, especially the selector switch as I am used to playing les pauls. It's a lot lighter than a les paul. Thinking of buying the 72 thinline reissue. Have played a couple and they play and sound really good. Again, the bridge pickup has to go, but other than that it's great! I see where a lot of guys are slamming it, but for $600.00 you can't go wrong. Face it guys, it's a mid-priced guitar. Great value!

This '72 Tele Custom Reissue was built in Japan in 1996. It has the small gold "50 Years" sticker on the back of the headstock. It has two volume nobs and two tone nobs- like a Les Paul. It has a three way selection switch near the low E string side. The neck pickup is a warm, bassy fender humbucker. The bridge pickup is a single coil, and as far as I know, it's fender made. The neck is perhaps the most user friendly and attractive part of the whole guitar- all maple. This tele has an ashtray style bridge, C shaped neck, gotoh tuners. Very easy to fret, stum and bend strings, however it does go out of tune with a lot of heavy-handed strumming.

I origionally played 90's alternative, then hardcore punk, and when I finally realized how amazing this guitar was compared to other pieces of industrial waste (low end Epiphone, Peavy, Squire)I started getting really trancy and experimental/ post punk/ indie rock/ alternative. At the moment i am running my tele through two VOX Pathfinder 15Rs. I also use the outdated Boss Hyper Metal, Boss DD-3 and VOX wah-wah pedal. On neck position, the humbucker is amazingly buzzy and smooth when distorted or overdriven. Typical Fender Tele light static when over driven or distorted on both pickups alone. Bridge pickup is not the most powerful, but definitely gives a vast aray of tone. It barks, whines, screams, can sound trashy, or clean and bright when not distorted. Over all, the pickups have a wide variety of tone (with the aide of the two volume and two tone controls)but not as much power.

I am the second owner of this tele, but when i got it the first ownwer only had it for about a year. The guitar souded, looked and played beautifully scince the first day i picked it up 7 years ago. I was especially blown away at first by the quality of the easy actin on the fret board. I'll go and play other electrics that I have for a while and then come back to my tele and it's as if I am playing it for the first time all over again. Simply amazing action. The frets, neck, nut, and bridge, all amazingly smooth- still!!! I have recently replaced the four origional Fender Amp style nobs with chrome tele nobs. The selector does "PSSCH" a tiny bit, but only recently. There is a huge gauge on the front near the bridge after a friend of mine in high school dropped a practice amp on it six years ago, but even that is very unnoticable.

As I said, a huge piece of crap Crate practice amp fell on it. The body is still virtually perfect, and nothing happened to the play or sound quality. The bridge is starting to rust a bit on the top because of years of sweaty playing, but that is all cosmetic.The strap button on the bottom is a little loose becase the hole is kind of stripped. It just needs a screw with a slightly larger guage. Yeah, I cand depend on it. I would, can and have used it with no back-up, but I would love to buy another so in case somthing did happen to it (and that is a big "IF")the same sound would be spared.

No support needed. This baby kicks.

I have been playing close to eleven years now. I started when I was ten years old, taught myself and did nothing else as a latch key kid. The tele was my second electric and i didn't relize at the time how amazing she was. If it got stolen or lost I would first cry for a day, then go out and buy one of those new Mexican ones- they definitely give the Japanese one a run for it's money. I'll never let it go until I meet my Father in Heaven.

-Mike A, Natick, MA

Mexican '03 model, really bad black finish, with a maple neck and fingerboard...blah...blah...blah....

Sounds like a guitar with cheap pickups and electronics should...bad!

Finish was awful...lines and joints very visible, neck/fretboard had dips and humps on both sides, fretwork was the worst I have seen on any Mexican fender, tons of fill, crooked installation, finish covered most frets...very disappointing...this was the best of 14 I auditioned....

who cares...

Fender has been very gracios in the past so i assume nothing much has changed...

I will never buy a mexican fender guitar...i heard things had changed...i heard wrong i guess...

2002, Mexico.
Nice sunburst finish.
Neck pup: "wide-range" humbucker
Bridge pup: Tele-singlecoil (vintage style)
Individual vol./tone controls.
Gibson-style pup selector.
The custom has a bit more features than an ordinary tele. Still very simple!!!

Ernie Ball vol.- Boss DS1 - RAT2 - Shredmaster - Boss OD2r - DOD icebox chorus - Schaller tremolo - Boss DD3 delay - EHX Holy Grail Reverb - Marshall 6101 combo.
I play indie-rock - The custom-tele is a cool guitar for this kind of music. You can get all kinds of different sounds from this guitar! I prefer to have both pups on to add a little punch to the singlecoil. I just turn down the vol. on the neck pup to about 8. Very nice blend!
The single coil is not the best I've heard. It can't really produce the trebly twang I like. The neck pup is VERY full sounding - Really good for jazz/blues lead. To deep when used alone (for my taste anyway.) You get a little more sound than you pay for but nothing spectacular...

I took it to a pro to get it set up. Like most Fenders, it wasn't an "out of the box miracle"
After the set-up its like a dream!

I've already played tons of gigs with it. It's like a freaking tank. Never even broken a string on stage!
I would use it without a backup - I choose not to.

Never dealt with them...

The custom is a good value guitar - US quality (I'd say)
Change the bridgepup and this guitar is a 10!!!
I hate when people use tons of space to tell about their OTHER gear! Why do others have to know about that???
OVERALL: GREAT GUITAR - GOOD VALUE!!!

I bought my sunburst Mexican tele new in 2001, and it came with the standard features everyone has noted already for this model and my rating is for that. Mine is rosewood neck.

It didn't come with anything when I got it as it was a special deal, having gotten a sort of nasty nick in the finish on the bottom edge and so it was reduced.

I bought it and liked it but recently have changed the bridge pickup for the stock tele to a Dimarzio Fast Track T because the stock sound was pretty thin and much quieter than the humbucker. I also changed the bridge from the stock 3 silver barrels ashtray to individual saddle chrome flatter profile bridge. That replacement didn't do much for me so I changed it back. I'd heard that the thinner metal of the original ash-tray bridge allows the sound to resonate through the body more. At the same time, I got brass saddles and changed those. First I had to trim down the height screws because they stick up too far and tend to shred the picking hand. Since I did this all at the same time I don't know what precisely to attribute the improvement in sound to, but with all those changes it does sound better.

I play roots rock and this is the perfect guitar for that. when I got it I played through a Hot Rod Deluxe, but since then I've gotten rid of the HR (it was nearing the end of its days) and I now play thru a Peavey Classic 30 and a Delta Blues. I have a bunch of various effects, like a modified SD-1 overdrive and a Maxon OD-1, as well as various delays and choruses. It's got a ruch sound, but with the pickup change it's 100% better. I'll rate it for stock, but with the pickup/bridge change you can almost double that.

It was adjusted okay. The finish had a ding in it, but it was discounted appropriately. It had a noisy pickup selector and it didn't appear to be grounded so I took it back to Guitar Center where I got it and their tech fixed it under warranty. It worked fine then. When I changed the pickup out recently myself I might have damaged the pickup selector, because it seems to be much stiffer than it was, so I might change that too.

This guitar is a rock. Other than the marginal pickup selector, everything seems like it will last. I changed the strap buttons to straplocks. I'd gig without a backup as long as I have and extra set of strings.

Fender's website is cool. the Fender Discussion Page is pretty great. The customer service I got at Guitar Center Boston was good for the warranty period.

I've been playing 35 years, starting out most of that on acoustic. I own a bunch of other guitars, incl. a G&L legacy, a Gibson Les paul Junior frankensteined, a Epi Sheraton II with pickups upgraded. It straddles the line between these other quite nice guitars. I'd probably buy something else for variety's sake. It records really well and the neck feels just right. It's sort of chunky like a folk guitar. It was a really good price, but shortly after I got it I wished it had a better bridge pickup. I finally got out my soldering iron and took care of that myself.
I also wish I'd kept my 69 blond standard Tele that I had back in '74, looking at the prices those things go for. Maybe someday this guitar will be worth as much, but it sounds pretty good, and it looks really cool.

Made in Mexican Telecaster '72 Custom (reissue). (Just as Good as USA in my opinion); solid body; neck humbucker, bridge single coil 'bullet-style' truss rod Maple Neck; Vol & Tone for each pickup; Gibson style pickup selector.

The Custom '72 MIM reissue is in my Opinion Fender's best guitar for Quality & Features to Price ratio.

I play Classic Rock, Country and Pop. This guitar handles these genres with flair, stryle and demand. Trie to '72 form there is a bit of noise through the p/u's which like most goes way when grounded by touching any metallic portion of the guitar. This is not a bad thing, it's called Character and makes this custom shine.

Normally, I have to change something on a new guitar. To my surpise, this guitar set-up out of the box from the factory was dead on perfect. I mean perfect. I still can't belive they got it right and it lasted to the purchase! KUDOS to Fender Mexico !

Now for performance! Wow, holding this goutar and working the fretboard is like dancing with an old friend while holding hands...

I will **never** part wwith a guitar this good!

Well, I own many Fender guitars includine my original purchases from the 60's and 70's. This one is a high quality axe, no doubt it will stand the test of time.

Never needed them for problems, but I did call once with a quastion, and they were fast and friendly with the answer.

This while not the most expensive of my guitars is darn near if the centerpiece of my collection! Calssic looks and performance out of the box for a more than fair price to what you receive.

2003, mexican. sunburst/maple fret. humbucker p/u

Awsome tone through the right amp. i couldnt get much tone out of my deluxe reverb, but through a bassman this thing kicked ass. Really punchy out of 10 inch speakers but through some 12's it can get too fat. also dont run pedals through this guitar, the humbucker wont like that too much. keep it simple and you'll be the happiest.

Action is great, had everything set up by a professional. fender does a horrible job in setting up their instruments.

i would gig w/out a backup for sure, fenders usually last a long time, if used properly.

never had to deal with them.

this guitar is great for pretty much everykind of music i like, everythin from clapton, hendrix, allman bros... overall a great value for being less money than a new american fender which i looked into, but fender just doenst make their guitars like they used to..

What the..... Man this was made in Mexico. Your standard telecaster with a killer neck humbucker and gibson style controls and toggle switch. Old rough ass ashtray bridge and saddles - be a man. Through body strings. Made 2000ish. Big fat neck. This guitar rules.

It sounds as good as your hands, mind, TASTE, and amps will allow. Only true assholes bitch about a guitar.
I play loud.
Fender Bassman, Laney Pro Tube Lead, Marshall, weirdo amps.
Fuzz, Delay, Wah, Octavia.

I bought this guitar new, and the strings were set a little high. This is great for playing slide, and for making your fingers tougher. This guitar is solid.

I can depend on this guitar. Telecasters are nothing if not durable.

Nope.

I have been playing for more than ten years. I have more guitars than I can count. I don't want to think about losing it.
I love the way it looks, sounds, feels, sounds, sounds, yes.
I chose this guitar because Keith Richards plays one and don't you say one word about Keith.
I wish it had breastesess.
I once caught it molesting a Silvertone.
Skynyrd rules.

Obviously usual stuff on this model : split neck humbucker, and gibson style electronics. the individual tone/volume controls for the pickups is something i particularly like, and the fact that similar controls on other fenders annoys me somewhat.
The chunky D shaped neck is also another winner as usually fender necks are far too thin for my liking.
I also got mine with a rosewood neck, which u don't tend to see so many of.

I play through a Marshall Dsl 401 - a 40 watt valve amp witha twelve inch celestion "gold back" speaker, and the guitar responds very well through this.
the bridge pickup is usual tele bite, but the neck pickup is really something special. it's a lot more ballsy (quite obviously) than the bridge, but not muddy at all, just more gutsy and fuller. It is good at either lead or rhythm work. i was especialy surprised that it was so good at lead work. not as punchy as the bridge, but it has a thick, creamier sound - nearer a gibson sound , but still quite different.
the only qualms i have is that the neck pickup is a fair bit louder than the bridge, so it has to be taken down in height a fair bit, but is basically manageable. Also the controls are rather unsensitive
as 1-4 on the volume controls seem to do much, and between 6-10 seems to be where the real difference is made - whereas on my SG classic, the controls are much more graduated, and make a greater difference to the sound quality as well as sheer volume.

As expected, things are usually never set up brilliantly in the shop. pickup heights needed changing. But i use guage 11 strings, so i guess i bring it upon myself as therefore the setup needs extensive change.

the finish is superb, no problem there.

this guitar has been put together very well. no flaws that i can see with the naked eye. it has been put together much better than a lot of gibsons, usa fenders, peavy's, and ibanezes (including a 2 grand plus JEM which i thought was an absolute rip off, that is over priced by about #1500).
the electricsare also tidily done, perhaps evan better than my gibson, which is good sa gibsons go.

i've been playing for about 5 years now. it's quite a different beast from my SG, in terms of physicallity and sound. and this suits my style well (i wouldn't have bought it if it hadn't) which is basically blues, "rock", and a bit of jazz. there wsa basically one other model that i was looking at when i bought this and this was a 70s strat in the same Classic series. i tried two, and they were both pretty horrable, unconvincing pickup sounds, and flimsy workmanship in comparison - quite peculiar to think that the tele custom comes from the same factory. Though i find that with strats, that they range from very good to woefully poor. a freind has two strats from the 80s, both which are very good, and one of which is the only maple fretboarded fender that i have liked. I also tried out a maple fretboarded Mex. standard, mainly just for the maple neck, but i didn't like it at all, hence my decision to buy my 72 with a rosewood board.
in my opinion this is a superb guitar for the money, and i think that it is virtually impossable to find another guitar with better value for money on the currant market. though i think in terms of pure quality it is easily up there with the standard gibsons that are a good grand more in price.

This is a mexican reissue of the '72 tele custom (yadda yadda, u already know this from reading other reviews.Oh well) its got 21 frets, fat maple neck, not sure what body. It has a 3 way toggle switch and 2 volume and 2 tone controls (1 for each pickup) The pickups are as follows: a fender wide range humbucker in the neck, and a tele bridge pickup (ive changed my bridge pickup)
Thru body stringing, this gives it gr8 sustain (more on that later)
I just bought the guitar on its own-did not need any other equipment

i Play industrial/alternative music (think Nine Inch Nails/Deftones/ Radiohead/Muse etc and this guitar suits my playing style perfectly. I run the guitar through a boss volume pedal, digitech whammy, EHX graphic fuzz and small clone, and a frostwave sonic alienator, into an ashdown 60w combo. Ive put an semour duncan hotrail in the bridge as i have no use for the tele bridge pickup.
This guitar is perfect.It has great sustain,and the les paul-esque setup allows me to do tom morrello style pickup switching!I have found that whatever settings you use, this guitar will not sound bad. Tele's are generally underrrated as guitars used for modern rock, they are usually seen as country or classic rock instruments. The humbucker and the hotrail means that i have a very rich sound. The neck pickup has loads of middle and bass, wheras the hotrail screams of treble, so i can get a wide range of sounds. I have no quibbles with this guitar.

The guitar was made brilliantly. It may be a mexican but it feels as good as an american!

this is an extremely reliable guitar. Although i would use my maverick sor the songs for a 7 string, i could use only my tele. It was my second guitar, and i lgig with it until i die.

never had to deal with fender, and probably will never need to with this guitar.

ive been playing for 4 years and i had a yamaha pacifica before. Nothing compares to this telecaster. Before i got it i thought about getting an epiphone sg and i will probably get a gibson sg when i can afford one.
If mi tele got stolen i would definetley buy a new one!
It is, as someone said somewhere, "rock and role":P

2003 MIM '72 custom tele finished in black with a maple neck and board. 21 vintage frets (i guess cos i cant be arsed to go check)2 tone 2 volume controls les paul style pup switch. single coil in the neck tray and a fender wide range humbucker at the neck. standard tele shape, slightly different pickguard design.bog standard fender 'f' tuners. chunky maple neck, fits my hand beautifully.came with a deluxe bag, which was better than i thought it would be, nd i got some bits thrown in from the dealer. not laden with features, but a bit more interesting than a standard tele.

playing a range of music from classic rock, to indie rock, to heavy rock, to blues, this guitarsuits everything i play. i dont think you could play metallica and iron maiden on it, but then if thats what you played i dont think you should consider a tele full stop. im using a fender deluxe 112 plus amp, which sounds nice with my tele. i get no feedback off it, unless i try. the bridge pup is very tinny, but did you expect anything else from a tele. people who moan about the tinniness obviously don't know a thing about teles. the wide range fender humbucker is very fat sounding. with the tone right down, a muddy sound happens, whether you like it or not is up to you but i love it. very bluesy. you can go from country twangyness to a blusey sound with a flick of a switch. the middle pup selection is amazing and prodcues so many tones that i never heard before. any complaints about the sound can be easily fixed by the very competent tone controls. the board is absolutely amazing. this is the first maple board i have played, and i dont intend on buying any more rosewood ones. im getting a strat at the ned of the year, whcih will have a maple neck as well.

i had to adjust the top saddle a tiny bit, but other tha that it was perfect. the guitar has been finished superbly, but i didn't expect anything less. the tuning pegs i hope to be getting repleaced. 1 or 2 seem a bit loose, but i want to keep the original design 'f' pegs, purely becasue i want to keep the guitar original. the protective film is an absolute bastard to get off. all of the switches and their housing has to come off, and there is still some on the plate. the black 'fender telecaster custom' logo on the headstock looks great, much better than the flimsy gold ones. the finish on the neck is pure silk.

this guitar will last forever. i will be keeping this one as long as i live, and i expect to die before it does. i have been giging it 2 or 3 times a week for the past month, and it looks new still. the only thing i think may not last are the tuning pegs, as i have said. the finish seems very durable, hopefully it will wear off, because i like the look of used guitars. i would gig without a backup, but i take one anyway, as much for the other guitarist as me (he has a crummy epiphone sg)

havent dealt with anyone yet. but ive been told the shop i got it from are great about repairs or replacements

been playing about 2 years now, and this was my first real big outlay of cash - and i am well impressed. i used to own a 62 custom tele, however the owner took it back off me. both guitars were amazing, but i like the 72 better. if it were stolen, i would use insurance money and a bit more saved up to get possibly a thinline.but its not something i have even considered. i cant get over how gloriuos the neck is to play. so fast and smooth and confortable, and it even looks great. buy one. 1 thing i dont recomend is the sunburst finish - i think it looks shite.

New 2002 MIM '72 Telecaster Reissue in black with a maple fretboard. 2 tone controls, 2 volumes controls, a Gibson-style 3-way pickup selector. One standard Tele bridge pickup and one Fender Wide-Range humbucker in the bridge with the same Tele silhouette. Model name is etched in black on the headstock which just oozes cool. Came with Fender f-tuners, which I'll probably switch out for Sperzels, just because Sperzels rock so hard. It's familiar, but also pretty different so it's cool.

I bought this guitar to get something different from what I have now (ESP EC-300 with Duncan Distortion and '59 humbuckers, and a stock Gibson SG Standard). It's by no means a gain machine, but it's got a bright, articulate tone that's well suited to classic rock. The neck humbucker is amazing! The sound is so creamy and satisfying that you'll just want to eat it up. Sounds great playing with a slide or alternate tunings (i.e. open tunings, etc.). It makes my amp's clean channel (Line 6 Spider 212) sound better than it really is. :) It can't necessarily do it all, but it does what it's intended to do.

The guitar was already set-up decently, but I put a set of 10's on it just out of personal preference. The C-shaped neck made chords and single-lines easy, but expect to be shredding on this puppy. The big neck fit comfortably in the contour of my hand (I have big hands) and was a blast to play. The frets were dressed well and created NO BUZZING ANYWHERE.

Like most Fenders, this one could very well be indestructable. The neck joint is super-sturdy and adjustable via Micro-Tilt. I would gladly take this out on a gig with me...if I played music out that could complement it (I'm in a screamo band a la Glassjaw, and a powerpop band a la Jimmy Eat World, so I use something a little crunchier).

Never dealt with Fender.

I've been playing for about 7 years and I've already mentioned my gear and my gig. This guitar is probably the best Fender I've ever played. Contrary to what other people on this website have said before me, Fender guitars regardless of the country they're manufactured are top-notch. This one is all the proof I need. Anyone who says otherwise obviously hasn't played the guitar enough. Before buying mine, I tried out the same model in a number of different stores (Guitar Centers in MD, two shops in TN, and one in MA). All of them played, sounded, and looked fantastic.

Mexican made re-issue. super-tiny-thin-fretout-frets that are impossible to bend a full step on. lame humbucker in the neck, super trebly single-coil in the bridge position. two volume, two tone controls. 3-way selector switch. this pick-up configuration is extremely unbalanced. Alder? body covered in about an inch of soft tone-killing black polyurethane. neck covered in plasticy feeling vinyl something or other. neck is a sick pale color. guitar is extremely heavy. worst tuners (Fender 'f') I've personaly ever used.

what is style? completely dead sounding through an ampeg superjet combo. tons of effects actually make it sound better than it does naturaly. this guitar sounds like a low-end toy and costs a grand Canadian.

action sucks and is basically non-adjustable despite the 'bullet' truss-rod ,'micro-tilt', and all that fender jazz. if set below an inch (the action), it basically frets out or buzzes. the neck is extremely fat (fender advertizes this as a good thing) and has uncomfortably sharp fretboard edges (spend another grand and you can remedy this by buying the telecaster with the American sticker). Both 'E' strings fret out or run off the fret board with bending. frets are "vintage" crap and tireing to play on, not to mention impossible to bend on. scale length plays a crucial role in making this guitar hell to play. very fucking hard to reach an "f" chord. one needs jimi hendrix hands to do so. biggest I've ever been ripped off. Leo Fender's long been gone.

wouldn't play it live (or in private) if I could afford buying another guitar after having purchased this monstrosity. the hardware, like the sound, is completely inorganic and should last accordingly. the finish will outlast this world we live in (too bad). strap buttons, like the tuners and the rest were retardedly shitty and were thrown in the garbage after purchasing. i could depend on this guitar(to make me want to stop playing). I wouldn't gig with it. i might put it on a stand on the stage or hang it up in a Hard Rock Cafe' or something. it's nice looking, other than the clear-finished, almost ghostly-white looking sick neck. If you're one of those retards who beats up thier teles for asthetic purposes, you might be in for an ass-kicking from this big, heavy, retarded, dull monster. fender is no longer "Fender"

unless you willingly hand over $4,000.00 or more to thier custom shop, you are probably getting a chinese toy, or the equivelant, and they most likely will not speak with you. who in the hell has enough money to find out? a struggling artist? a doctor? a lawer? truly beautiful instruments are wasted on the musically talentless. I make really good money and my local guitar dealer won't let me near the fender custom shop display. fuck it. worthless.

been playing long enough to recognize when something smells bad (15+ years). I bought this guitar on a whim because i hade money to burn and I burnt it. if it were stolen, i'd use the insurance money to pay "Fender" NOT to make one of these guitars. wish it had a good sound (at least), secondly, i wish it had a good finish to let that sound come through, thirdly, i wish it didn't hurt to play. i am worse, as a guitar player, for having played this and I'm saddened that a number of trees were cut down only to be coated in plastic in a mexican factory operating under a company name that was one time well respected and builds instruments under this good name in Mexico because they can pay Poor mexicans less than they are willing to pay white people, meaning greater proffit. the bottom line...... shit

made in Corona, Calif,USA...1972, 24 fret strat solid maple neck, one of a kind proto-type,mohogany body with natural gloss finish with dual contour(like a strat body) dual fender humbucking pick-ups, dual tone and volume controls, one blade 5 position selecter switch,black\white\black full coverage pick guard,string thru body tun-o-matic bridge,grover non-locking tuners,tan fender case with orange velvet lining.

it was all rock all the tiime.maybe a little blues and some beatle love songs.MGS solid state amp with six band graphic eq. one 15" celestron speaker with 50 lb. magnet. no white noise from pickups.
bridge pick twang beyond standard tele-- neck pick smoooooth and mello.widest variety of any fender I've ever played or heard.

intonation spot on. action so low no finger pressure required all the way 1st to 24th frets, and no buzz anywhere on neck. bridge in- finately adjustable. only flaw(witch can hardley be considered a flaw.) strat neck in a tele body at the interface neck is narrower than the cutout mount area in the body resulting in 1/8 inch gap at
bottom cutaway side.

guitar was bullet proof lasted years of gtarage band abuse. no need for any other 6 stringed instrument the best of the best. no bull!

none needed, owner\operator service friendly. whats a warranty anyway?

you can't find one anywhere so why bother.
If anyone knows Mike Langlin or where I can find him let me know
he has this one of a kind beauty that I was foolish enough to give to Lively Arts music in the old Northridge Fashion Center(pre'94 earthquake) in 1975.

1998 Fender Japan reissue of the 72 custom, bought April 2003.
3 colour sunburst and all maple neck, black scratch plate with the grotoh machine heads and three screw micro tilt neck pocket/backplate.
Can't help but notice the obviouse les paul look about the pup switch and the 2 vol 2 tone knobs, but what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in... err.. originality... you'll see.
Other than the fact that it's a custom '72, there have been no
mods since it's left the factory other than the jack input's been broken, and the outer skirting of the bridge has had some authentic rust applied.

This is the thing, on just the bridge pup, sounds like any other tele, on the neck or neck/bridge mix it's got a very odd sound indeed. You can tell it's a tele, well a fender anyway, but you can push the bridge really high (Vol and tone) and keep the neck on half and a third (Vol and tone respectively) and make this amazing contrast of abriasive and smooth, which I have only ever heard before from two seperate guitars playing simultaniously.
From this You can probably tell that it makes a very wide range of sounds (hence WRHP) and they are very accessible, hours of fun with the same tune. I think the sustain is alright, nothing special, but no worse than any MIA standard tele you buy today. Can do punk, jazz, lead, rythem. Can chug away in drop D or wail on harmonics (very interesting pinches on the neck pickup, sounds like flat wound strings) But... the bridge is single coil and hums (no two ways about it) and when playing rythem with both pups on, the neck pickup, which adds all the meat, can be a bit too variable in volume when only turned half way up, but dominates the sound if fully cranked. The most pitiful of criticisms, and it could be easily rectified by me being a better rythem player, but it's true.

I've never played a factory fresh one, but this neck was setup very well (thank god I didn't have to touch that micro tilt mechanism, scary) but the bridge needed quite alot of attention, it wasn't grounded for a start... and come to think of it, it still isn't, damn, I knew I forgot something after I put the new strings on (I think the old ones were fenders finest cheese wire, give me d'darios any day, but that's a different review page) and the three saddle's were all over the place, and tipped inwards and all kinds of wierd crap going on. But now I'm setting it up and I've just about got rid of all the fret buzz (I kept looking around expecting to see a swarm of bee's)and the intonation more or less sorted it's self, I had a quick crack of doing it before I could be bothered to get my tape measure, and it was more or less in tune all the way up to the 22nd fret (I'm not going to try to get it too close till it's completely buzz free). Finish was beautiful (and I really mean that) until the guy before my took a few small chips out of it, and one huge one. Thankfully they're all on the black outskirts of the sunburst so at the moment they're covered up with nail varnish, till I can do some thing a little better. but you can tell the real quality by the back, still imaculate, and the fact that it plays superbly, I mean, you don't so much play it, as wield it.
The headstock's seen better days, and I guess from a reviewers point of view that's the important thing, this is a very nice guitar now, but it was probably very very very nice. Over all look feel and craftmanship is one of impressive proportions. The Japanese '72's are generally considered significantly better made than the mexicans or the Americans. Which is a shame because the MIA's and MIM's have the better pup's apparently. But basicly it's changed my opinion of fenders in general and especially Japanese Fenders as I can barely find fault with the it other than the way it's been looked after and the fact the bridge isn't grounded.

It's five years old and if it weren't for a couple of rock and roll scars on the body and a intensly close examination of the frets, this baby would be as good as new. Even the neck pickups chrome cover is imaculate once cleaned in a little white spirit, and the back of the body is scratch free. Increadible. But then, whilst it has been a whole five years since it rolled out of the factory, it's only been five years, only time can truely tell ho long it will last, but my prediction is the that in since I set it up and tuned it three days ago, I've moved it all over the country, taken it every where with me, chucked in the back of cars with only a gig bag to save it, and I haven't touched the machine heads, so I think it will last.

err... my mate says if it stops working then it's my fault, but I guess that has nothing to do with Fender.

the only relevent questions here can be answered thusly,

I wish I'd known it'd take a day of work to get it working and looking good, I wouldn't consider my collection whole without it in the future, the only thing this guitar lacks is an unlimited amount of guitarist fuel (Jack Daniels if you didn't already know). I like the fact that I would have never even thaught of buying a fender guitar, and will probably never buy another one except maybe a couple more '72's.

same as below

the humbucker in this baby is thick. i can get good rich tone out of it. it sounds really good with thick gain or fuzz. the single coil has the tele twang and is bright. im using a dunlop wah, boss blues driver, and boss tremelo through a classic 30. i cant get too much tone with it out of the blues driver but oh well.

i like the way it feels. i had to have mine set up for bigger strings. i like the action a little high. everything was good though

i have gigged many times with it and beat the crap out of it and it still sounds and plays like the day i bought it. i did have to put straplocks on it though. i play a strat too for half the set so i dont have to worry about backups

never delt with them

i love the guitar. i would love to have an actual 72 but dont have the funds. i would be pretty pissed off if something bad happened to it.

2003 model. Black alder body. Maple neck. Made by Mexican children and big, loud robots. Very expensive. No case. Neck that could intimidate the American war machine.

I play guitar so I suppose it suits my 'style' .Sound cannot be described as 'rich, full or thin' to be honest. This guitar is capable of producing 'guitar' sounds. Sorry, I know sarcasm only hinders the situation. Some of my dislikes are : 1) non-factual reviews. 2) angst biased reviews, and 3) people who can't play reviewing instruments.

Very poorly set up at the 'ol factory. I'm not sure Fender cares. Finish is real 'shiny', if that's a good thing. If one wanted to emmulate the sound of this finish, one could duct-tape a winter jacket around thier guitar and play it under water. I can't imagine a thicker, more sound-deadening finish. I once (late 90's) picked up and played a "'60s strat" at the local 'SUPER, DUPER MUSIC EMPORIUM CORPORATE CONGLOMERATE and LOVED the neck and fretwork, LOVED, and find this to be it's polar opposite. Since purchasing, I've set it up properly but can not comment on the action as I find it hard to reach my hands around the retardedly thick, white neck.

This guitar will withstand a nuclear blast but would probably deaden the sound as well. Not sure if that's of any use. I would depend on it to lick balls.

snicker. snicker. Leo don't work here anymore. Hasn't for quite some time. Aren't they owned by that Asian keyboard company who's probably owned by some fat-cat American?

I've been playing too long to play this piece of shit, but it sure looks 'pretty' and has 'gobs' of 'that vintage vibe' , as well as 'gobs' of that shitty, sound-deadening finish. I'm not sure as to why Fender would not reissue a nitro-cell laquer finish, but can justify 'reissuing' three bolt necks....... WAIT A MINUTE!, They want to save the extra penny it costs to include a wood screw, or maybe it's purely blind-asthetics. I must apologize for many spelling errors I've made in this submission but I'm not sure 'Fender' is worthy of me checking grammar or spelling. I AM sure that this current company is NOT worthy of Leo Fender's good name, however, he did sell what was once a beautiful thing to Satan.

This is the Mexican made reissue.
The features are on par for a $600 guitar. The finish is fine, as is the overall appearance.

The tuners are pretty poor. The frets won't last for long, and the nut seems a bit flimsy. The bridge is actually pretty nice and true to the era, but long term they're bound to slip.

The one knock I continually heard on this tele was the baseball bat neck. Yeah, the neck is deep and fills up my hand, but it isn't as bad as the Jeff Beck Stat. I can still get around and thumb the E and A with only a little loss of flexibility.

I also play a 69 strat relic, a 68 ric 360, and an es-175; that's where this critique is coming from.

This tele sounds thin and shallow. There's isn;t much warmth or resonance to the tone. The twang is there due to the set up, bridge, and decent bridge pickup, but there isn't a depth to the tone. Needless to say, the sustain is lacking.

In spite of that, the pick ups put out a strong sound. There's good balance between the humbucker and the single coil, and there is a pretty good range of sounds available. I play through a early 80's concert reverb, so this tele matches nicely.

The guitar seems well built and solidly set up. I left the pick ups as found, and the original intonation was fine. I like to do my own set up, so I didn't much play the factory set up.

This piece is solid. I grabbed to be my one and only going out guitar. The sound range is wide enough to play live, and I have no fears with it when I'm playing. Reliable and durable are this tele's hallmark.

It's Fender. It's a major corporation. I've had good and bad in the past.

For the price, it's fine. I'll beat on this guitar, and play it out to preserve my favorites. I know the tuners will have to be replaced, and I'm not sure this guitar is worth a re-fret (maybe if I grow attached). I would buy another at this price, and certainly snag one for less someday...hopefully not soon.

mexican
solid body
neck humbucker, bridge single coil
'bullet' trussrod
rosewood neck
vol+tone for each pickup
gibson style pickup selector(wit a gibson head i 'borrowed' off a #2000 les paul)

only givin it 9 cause im used 2 a fat strat copy, but cant giv it ne less cause its SOOOOOOO toneful

i play mainly punk, like the offspring and blink 182, and me and my band play a bit of nirvana as well, the neck humbucker has a great meaty, bassy sound for distorted riffs. neck s/c great for trebly clean sounds, very similar 2 the clean sounds used by the offspring. dont really use both at once.

great finish, the neck is brilliant 2 play on, a lot nicer than on a strat. the only problems i have is that the tilt adjust in the bridge digs into ur hand when u palm mute, the second is that fender put one of those sticky back seethru plastic things on the pickguard

with the exception of the pickup selector which is a bit flimsy, its built like a brick. it has a solid finish, i use straplocks so i wont need 2 worry bout the strap pins. i would gig without a backup any time.

aint used them (only bought the thing yesterday)

my other guitars are; a fat strat copy, epi LP junior, yamaha pacifica. it whips em all. i play through a 15 whatt marshall or a 10 watt watson, with a boss MT2, sounds best through the watson. love everything cept wot i said i dislike. if it was stolen id nick 1 off som1 else

I bought this modified. Hardshell case, strap locks, graphite saddles, rio grande humbucker, coil tap on push-pull tone knob... everything else, rosewood fretboard, black paint.

the neck humbucker has already been praised highly. i throw my enthusiasm about it into the fire.

the rio grande sounds okay clean, but that's not the reason i play this. through a proco rat and a princeton 65... yes a solid state... it gives a convincing marshall tone... not as intricate as les paul through marshall, but it's close enough.

the neck is a little thick for me, but i have small hands so i shouldn't complain. i'm just doing this so i don't give it all tens.

for a while, the selector switch wouldn't stay in one spot, so the middle with both humbuckers was it's permanent position. but i took out the pickguard and the problem was really simple to fix.

never dealt

perfect for harder music. the neck is a little thick for me, yes, but the sound is great. it's the most musical guitar i have (lead iii, jazzmaster, jag-stang are the others). lately i've been playing lots of at the drive-in, fugazi, drive like jehu, trail of dead, you know... noisy stuff.

2001, Mexican-made '72 Tele Custom Reissue, black finish, maple neck, 2 volume, 2 tone controls, neck humbucker, bridge single coil, 3 position upper bout toggle switch. Oh yeah, this is the reissue of the most awesome Tele ever, used heavily by Keith Richards in the late '70's/early '80's!

I have 2 other Telecasters, 2 Stratocasters, an Ampeg Dan Armstrong "See Through", so this guitar is right up my alley! I wanted this model for quite a while, and when Mars Music announced their going out of business sale, I was able to pick this up for a great price. I play it through my early '80's Music Man HD150 212 combo amp and a Fender Pro Junior, either way, it has tons of tones. As others have pointed out here, it can go from classic Tele twang to a meaty Gibson-esque sound via the neck humbucker. And in the center position it really offers some cool tonalities, very unique to this model. I use it through a Cry Baby Wah-Wah, a DOD Classic Tube and a Marshall Vibratrem. There is NOTHING not to like about the sound of this guitar, it is extremely versatile, the ultimate Tele, really!

Everything is well made and set up. Top notch materials and workmanship throughout!

This Tele is a tank, it is reliable, always sounds great. I can defititely depend upon it, and if need be, use it as a sole axe at a show!

N/A

I have been playing 30 years, 20 of those professionally. I have owned and do own some great guitars, including some great Teles. But this is "the" Tele, the ultimate Tele. I can see why Keith used his for so long, it's such a wonderful axe. To my mind, it is the ultimate evolution of the Telecaster; both sonically and cosmetically. I love it!

2002, MIM, 21 frets, with neck "wide ranging" humbucker, bridge single coil, gibson style 3 way switch, separate volume and tone controls, string thru body, 3 saddle bridge, and vintage style tuners. Mine has a maple fingerboard and black body. The versatility afforded by the pick-up configuration and separate controls warrant a top score here.

The sound on this guitar is versatile and really impressive. It can sound like a twangy tele, fat les paul (thanks to the Seth Lover designed neck humbucker) or strat like in the central position (both pick ups engaged). Separate controils give you aolt of room to experiment here. The sustain on this guitar is unbelievable. I have owned many, many guitars since I got my first in 1983 and this guitar has he richest sustain and most articulate note defnition of any. I play both clean and overdriven sounds and the custom delivers well in both areas. My only complaint is that these guitars also produce a fair amount of crackiling and buzzing and may require sheilding in order to make them sound good with lots of gain at high volumes. Belive it or not, you can get a thick heavy metal sound with this guitar (if you want that, though hum in the bridge is most desireable for this).

This guitar was set up very well. The action was medium, which is standard on Fenders. In order to get it lower, I needed to put nickel 9's on this baby. Pure nickel strings buzz considerably less than steel strings and allow for much lower action (which is what I prefer). However, keep in mind that the neck on this guitar is VERY thick -- much thicker than the originals from the 70's. The neck is almost as fat as the Jeff Beck siganture strat. It is the one thing about this guitar that I really dislike. Lots of people claim that a fat neck is better at reducing fatigue on the fretting hand, but I find that this fat neck is something I have to continually adapt to in various ways. I much prefer a slim, c-shaped neck. But overall, the factory set up here was surprisingly good (intonation was esepcially good) and the guitar appears to be a very well crafted instrument.

It seems pretty hardy. Though Fender puts pretty crappy strap buttons on their guitars. Get a good strap lock on yours.

I have been playing since 1983 and I have done some professionl touring in the US and Europe and gig with my band URBAN SUN weekly in the NYC area. This guitar is one of my two main gigging guitars (the other is a 1983 Ibanez Raodstar II strat copy). I love the look of this guitar as well as its superior tone. My only complaint is that the neck is too damned fat. With a slimmer neck, and factory provided sheilding, this would be a perfect guitar for funk, rock, blues, country, and just about any style that features electric guitar. Check this site for samples of the Tele in action:
http://www.urbansun.net
http://www.cdbaby.com/urbansun

Mexican made, purchased new, nice maple neck (quite thick),
black finish.Decent humbucker in the neck,with Fender engraved into it, standard single coil in the brige.
Oh, nice tuners too!

Sounds great. I have played Les Pauls, and this is almost as good, for tone. I play this through my Twin, and this guitar can really rock, Led Zep, AC DC!.
You can get plenty of guts, in the humbucker, it can do all styles.

It has a very bright sound on the treble selector.
Personally I prefer to have the switch in between, with the tone rolled down and you can that smooth, Santana sound!

I a big Stones fan, and this guitar can nail those Keef riffs.

Long live Keef!

Ok, this was a factory setup, and I really can't fault it.
The action is low, I think with 10 gauge strings. Most of the time I use 9's, and these are really making my fingers sore! Bless!

I have a 52 Tele Re-issue, and it plays totally different. Both have different necks. It has taken me a while to adjust myself to the thicker neck on this.

Very well built, for the price I paid. It does'nt feel as luxureus as the 52 Tele for some reason.

However, it is still bloody good guitar for the price.

No flaws.

Can't wait to use it at my next gig.

Never delt with Fender.

Been playing 5 years, after seeing a Stones concert.

Just found out Keef use to play one, so I had to have one!

This will be my main guitar now, it is a solid, well built instrument.

If it was stolen, I would be gutted. Really.
At #429, this was a real bargin, as they can retail much higher.

This is a Tele, with BALLS.

GO AND BUY ONE. NOW!!

More features than the average Tele. Cool-ass humbucker in the neck beefs it up! Complex, earthy sounds thanks in all positions. Runs the full range... tele twang to hard rock. Tone knobs, volume knobs, three way switch. Beefy alderwood body ant three tone burst finish! This is one cool guitar!

What sound ya want? Get it with this. Traditional tele twang or beefy humbucker... and in between.

Fantasict finish and set up. Best tele made according to some... not a factory assembly line feel at all. Feels like a Custom Shop tele. Very tight. Fantastic.

Alder body. Solid. Well build. A weapon of mass destruction if cranked through my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp! Very solid, very well build guitar!

Fender is the best. So is the local shop bought it from.

Best guitar I own. I have had nearly 15 guitars and this stands at the top. It is that good. Reissues are better than the original '72 Customs wiht more detail, better finish, etc. Plus much more affordable. Do yourself a favor... seek this out and buy it. You cannot go wrong.

Model: 2002 Telecaster Custom '72 "Keef RiffHard" reissue model
Hard maple neck with 21-fret laminated maple fingerboard with black plastic dots, chunky vintage jumbo frets and truss-rod bullet adjuster at the nut's end as well with 3-bolt neck fixing screws
Single-coil "vintage '70s Tele" reissue bridge pickup
"Wide Range" reissue neck Humbucker
2 volumes and 2 tones per pickup
3-way toggle switch
Vintage "Kluson" '70s-style tuners
Solid Ash Body


all the awesome features reminiscent of that legendary "Keef"-style snarling riffs ever heard!

This beautiful reissue Telecaster model beefs it up when plugged into a good tube-valve amp (e.g. Soldano, Marshall, MesaBoogie, Bogner, Peavey) and it will be able enough to produce a big, crunchy tone, identical to the legendary '72 Telecaster Custom owned by the well-known Stones' guitarist Keith Richards, almost famous for his eccentric "snarling" style in most of the Rolling Stones hits, like i.e. "Satisfaction".
Especially attractive is the "Wide Range" pickup, particularly when it was mixed with the single-coil Tele bridge pickup. Both pickups offered a wide range of tones, and, subsequently, the original '72 Tele Custom, made at the Fullerton factory during 1972, one of these years that Fender was then owned by the mighty CBS, looked a little bit fatter than the reissued model, now made at the Ensenada's state-of-the-art facility, Baja California, Mexico, and at the Fujigen factory in Japan.

Although the Wide Range neck humbucker and the singe-coil bridge pickup will both be able enough to respond to any styles of music (Rolling Stones music included!), however, I prefer to give to this good vintage reissue model a more American Deluxe Power Fat Tele? vibe by replacing the Wide Range by a DH-1 neck pickup and the bridge single-coil by a Vintage Noiseless? Tele bridge pickup and install a Fender/Fishman Powerbridge for shimmering acoustic tones. For that careful operation (to mix the Powerbridge with the magnetic pickups) the important is to install a second toggle switch to the lower horn's edge and to add two more controls (volume, tone) for the Powerbridge.

Though it's not especially cheap for many guitarists, the '72 Telecaster custom is almost comfortable to play, and I'm sure that Keith will be very happy to listen those Rolling Stones fans playing with this faithful classic reproduction all the "snarling" riffs that helped him to become one of the most important rock guitarists of that particular period and to develop by itself its very own personal style.

I've never owned this Tele but I've heard many Rolling Stones hits played by Keef RiffHard himself with his legendary classic rock axe, so I don't have a particular customer support for that instrument.

I strongly recommend this awesome '72 Tele Custom to all the "Rolling Stones" fans wordwide, the fact that "Keef" used a similar guitar during the entire '70s period, and I'll be sure that a truly cynical aficionado can buy an almost truly classic Telecaster at a relatively affordable price!

this guitar is fantastic. it is an original 1972 tele custom, of course it's us made. this guitar out plays me new les paul in every catagory. i bought it in pieces and threw it together plugged it into my mesa and it blew me away.

it has a mean crunch with the distortion but switch to the clean and it is the warm mellow jazz sound.

as it is an original the paint is warn off in a few spots, but who really cares. i refinished all the frets and bridge. the tunning pegs have been replace but they are still oringinal.

i used this guitar in a concer with the intent of playing it for 1 or 2 songs but once i started playing it i never set it down again.

overall i am in love with this guitar. and who can argue with paying 200 bucks for it?? it is my new found love.

I own the '72 TeleCustom Reissue made in Mexico 2002. It's got all the features of the orignal '72 Tele Custom, with the exception of slightly narrower string slots on the tuners and different specs from the original wide-range humbucker.I dig the toggle switch and 2-volume and 2-tone controls. I picked up the sunburst model.The pickguard/finish give this guitar a look of such bad-ass attitude that I love.The deal is though, that this guitar plays as good as it looks.

On my own, I try to take what i love about the music i listen to and bring it together somehow.My bands are the Beatles & Stones, Zeppelin and the ABB, and Ac/Dc and the Velvet Underground.That should create an idea of my kind of style in music, whatever that may be. On the other hand,I play/jam with another guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The TeleCustom gives me everything i need and does so very well.At first, i was prone to using the bridge pickup because i love the way it sounded.But now i use all of the settings, from thin and cutting to fat and round it's all there for me.The single coil is noisy but who would be surpirsed with that.I love the punch i get from this guitar as well.Probably the only thing i don't like is the volume imbalance between pickups.I use the TeleCustom with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and get great clean sounds, and decent overdriven tones. I do use a Jekyll/Hyde Overdrive and H20 Liquid Chorus/Echo.Those VisualSound pedals, i really dig them.However, with just guitar & amp the TeleCustom shines.

The TeleCustom was set up very well from the factory with a medium low action.I adjusted the humbucker to my needs and it's killer.All in all the action, fit & finish were right on. And on top of that, i picked up a floor model which bumped the price down.

I play this guitar on my own everyday for various amounts of time. I rehearse with my band at least twice a week.And we plays shows once a week.This guitar holds up very well.I probably would use this w/out a backup, but i have California Fat Tele in case i need it.The tuners on this guitar keep me in tune very well.The other guitarist in my band has a Gibson Sg Special.He really is re-tuning after every song and sometimes during the song.Either his tuners are in need of changing, or he's got to take another look at his tuning techniques.
But anyway, anyone could depend on this guitar.

i never had to deal with the folks and Fender and i have no desire to contact them.

I've been playing for 6 years, started when i was 11.Always trying to get better of course, and always listening to great music.It seems as though not too many kids my age are into the bands i love.But ya know, you let people do what they want to, even if their guitars begin to sound like drums.Anyway, i love the TeleCustom.It gives the what i need to play with creativity of the beatles, attitude of the stones,Ac/Dc, and the VU, and pure musicianship of Zeppelin and the ABB.Newer bands i'm into are the Black Crowes and the Strokes.i love the guitarists all of those bands.I also own a California Fat Tele which is great, and the Hot Rod Deluxe.I love everything about this guitar besides the volume difference between the pickups, which isn't even a big deal.If this guitar was stolen, i'd buy a used one probably, or maybe even a new one b/c i do love it.Compared to the Sg Special in my band, my TeleCustom really kicks in every way.For what i'm doin with music, the TeleCustom is exactly what i need/want.

i believe enough has been written about this tele that i don't need to elaborate further about the features. i will say this - there ain't nothin in this world that beats a tele neck. mine's a 99 mex, bought new in 2002 (i guess it had been laying around sam ash warehouse for awhile). i bumped up the action a little (it was too low from the store) and then of course had to re-set the intonation, which was pretty much a breeze, although the old 3 piece tail seems a little iffy as far as it being stable...but once the strings are on and its tuned up, the tail never slips. i agree with the one guy that isn't real fond of the tin tray - but hey - its a tele, it comes with a tin tray. the 3-way P/U switch is kinda sucky, but thats a minor problem and a minor repair.

i play everything but rap and polka. i play rhytym and lead. i get every sound i need. i play through a fender deville 4-10. i keep the volume controls on the guitar between 6 and 7, unless i'm really looking to clean the wax out of a few ears - and adjust the volume on my amp accordingly. for me and for the sound i like, it just sounds better at 6/7 than 10.

the P/U switch sucks. a couple of the little string cups fell out when i first re-strung it. replacing the switch is a nothing, and the cups were a nothing to fix either. it came with 9's. i use 10's. i may put fatter frets on someday. otherwise, i have no complaints.

its a tele. i ain't gonna get rid of it cause i love it. its reliable and dependable....the mack truck of guitars, yet plays like a rolls-royce.

never called fender

i've been playing since i was 12. the original 72 tele custom came out when i was 20. so i've been playing a long time. i've been mostly an acoustic guy, due to the fact that i was married and raising kids and had no money for an electric and amp all that stuff. well, the kids are raised and i'm divorced, so i'm making up for lost time and this tele is getting me there faster than grass through a goose. i own a martin jc-16gte, a tama model 120, a fender P-bass. i have a genz-benz UC4, and the deville. i feel like a real guitar player with this baby in my hands.

This is a 2000 Mexican reissue, black with poplar body and maple neck/fretboard. Well, you know the features. I bought it in 2001 and have recently replaced the neck humbucker with a rewound original '70s Fender Wide Range Humbucker and the bridge pickup with a new DiMarzio Twang King. All in all, the features on this guitar are awesome -- pure Tele simplicity plus those great "Custom" twists like the four controls and the humbucker. In fact, I love nearly every aspect of this guitar feature-wise, it's extremely versatile. I dig '70s Fenders too, so stuff like the 3-bolt micro tilt neck and big fat Fender logo are really cool too! The only thing I would like different is the neck radius -- I prefer a flatter one (esp. for slide), but the 7.25" works fine most of the time. 21 vintage frets are not an issue at all for me.

It seems like the rating denotes "amount" of features rather than the "quality" feature-wise, so I give this guitar a 7, which is *very good*. The "quality and mix of the features" would score a 10, in my view.

There's no denying that Keith Richards influenced me in the buying of this guitar. I play it in open G and have even removed the 6th string like he has on his open G Teles. So mainly, I play Keef-style rhythm, countryish and funky rock, often with slide, on this guitar.

The bridge pickup is pure Tele -- bright and spanky. It sounds wonderful alone (like expected from a Tele), and plays a big part in the middle position. The Wide Range Humbucker has a style of its own -- rawer and, if setup right, brighter than traditional PAF style neck pups. It gives a wonderful snarly overdriven tone and is known to please players who wants a mellower "jazzy" sound too. My fave sound from this guitar might be the middle position, blending the two pickups (which are really different from each other) together for a "fat tone with twang" sound that works great for rhythm guitar.

I play mainly through my Laney LC-15 and Ampeg VT-40 amps, and occasionally plug into dad's '50s Gibson GA-40, and this guitar sounds wonderful through all of them. It doesn't seem to be very dependent on the type of amp you use. I use minimal effects with this axe, but it does sound great with phaser or wah-wah.

The stock pups on this guitar are very good. The humbucker is different from Seth Lover's original in construction, but sounds very close. The bridge pup lacks the copper plate of the originals, so it has slightly less twang and is kind of darker and raunchier than an original (though it's a subtle difference). Changing the pups like I did kicked the character up another step, but it was subtle. The type of character is still the same.

Finish was flawless and setup was very good from the beginning. All cosmetic details such as the skunk stripe, neck dots, label, etc. was perfect. Frets were perfect unlike some other MIM Classic Fenders I've played. Nice grain in the maple and nice dark rosewood in the skunk stripe. Tight neck pocket. Nothing was loose or flawed in any other way. The only "iffy" things are the knobs which tend to scrape against the pickguard when you turn them (plus they're pretty hard to tighten in a prefect position on the pots), and the pickup switch which just didn't switch very smoothly, but it was improved greatly by lubricating it with contact cleaner spray.

Well...it's a Tele, the most rugged guitar in the world! No trem to mess up the tuning, everything on it is very simple, really. Just like a good Tele. The 3-bolt neck has a bad rap since the '70s, but it's rock solid on my guitar (and 99% of the reissues, it seems).

No personal experience, but Fender seems to have decent support, at least on the Internet.

GREAT extremely good sounding, versatile and reliable guitar! Looks cool too! In fact, me and a bunch of other Custom players on the internet have formed a '72 Custom Club at the Fender Forum (www.fenderforum.com) and I've even made a big website for it. Check it out at http://www.algonet.se/~lidbjork/72cc for tons of information and pictures.

My other guitar is a Hamer Studio which I love to death too. Those two guitars are my right and left arms. I would die from blood loss if someone stole them!

My 72 Custom is a reissue model, made in 2000.I wanted a 70s Deluxe, but I settled with this(which is not a bad thing, as I fell inlove with this guitar the day I saw it). The reason im a big fan of the deluxe is the dual humbuckers at the neck and bridge. However, i installed a red Lace sensor at the bridge, so now I get that Deluxe sound minus the Deluxe price. Its just a standard 72 Custom with 2 volume and 2 tone controls(2 per pickup), a neck position humbucker, a three saddle bridge, and three way switch. I got mine in black with a maple neck. The neck action isnt as smooth as a MIM or American Tele/ Strat, but it is still smoother than most guitars out there.

I play pretty much all Radiohead stuff, which is why I choose this guitar( for all you non-initiated Radiohead fans, Thom Yorke plays one of these). I run it into a Behringer Ultratwin GX 212 combo via an MXR Phase 90, Pro Co Turbo Rat, Danelectro Grilled Cheese distortion, Morley Little Alligator volume, BOSS SD-1 overdrive, Rocktek Chorus, Danelectro Shift Daddy, and a BOSS DD-3 Delay. This guitar delivers a very Radiohead-esque sound mostly due to the effects. However, when played minus the effects, you can acheive very warm Tele sounds. This is certainly a Tele among Teles.

I bought mine used, but it was in perfect shape. The neck and bridge were solid, and ive had no trouble so far. The pickups are working wonderfully.

You can play baseball with this guitar and it'll still survive. Fender definately made a fine durable instrument with this one.

Never dealt with Fender. I hear they suck, though.

Overall, this is a sweet ass guitar. It is a little expensive from big name companies, so i guess I got lucky. However, If you cant afford this, just soup up a standard Tele and youll be fine. If i lost this, I would cry for months, then buy another. A very fine machine! Feel free to e-mail me with questions!

Made in 2000 Mexican version. One standard tele single pickup (bridge) and one humbucker with two vol and two tone knobs. Rosewood finger board. Apart from that, every one knows what you get with a tele: i.e. two planks of wood bolted together. It gets a high rating since it has more features than a standard tele. The only bad thing is that it is fitted with one of those "tin tray" things on the bridge, but I can live with that.

I play a mixture of blues / rock / country and this guitar can achieve most of the sounds I need. I use it with either a Gibson Goldtone or with an early Fender Bassman amp and it sounds exceptional (I don't use effects). You can get everything from a rich, warm blues tone on the neck humbucker, to a country twang on the bridge single with the tone set to treble. Plus you can combine the two to get something in between. Also, because of the tele's construction (i.e. two planks of wood) you always get a more solid sound than through a semi or a tremelo type guitar. However, you get a better sound with thicker string gauges so you can't use 9's on it as it would sound thin and weedy. The only thing I dislike is the lack of volume balance between the two pickups and I might upgrade the bridge pickup in the near future.

The only flaw I could find was that the pickup selector switch felt a bit cheap, as though it was about to break at any moment. It hasn't broken so far (and probably won't) but I have bought a spare one just in case.

Apart from the switch, I refer to my earler comments about tele construction. You can't break one of these even if you blast it with TNT. Has anyone seen the bit where Keith Richards uses one of these to twat a bloke on the head and then carries on playing?

N/A - no problems so far

I also own an epiphone sheriton (for blues) and a plexiglass guitar (for show) but the tele is the best of the lot. I bought this guitar when I took in my old squire tele for a service and saw this thing in the shop. I would still like to have a Nashville Tele and a B Bender but I will keep this guitar all my life. At the price of 450 quid you can't go wrong, especially when the American Teles cost well over a grand.

This is a 2001 MIM reissue with the new MIM knobs and humbucker design. Alder body in sunburst with gorgeous grain. I went with a rosewood fretboard. I rate the features as a 9 only because I want just a tad more tone control. But my amps let this guitar do everything I want it to do. Yadda yadda ya know the rest. Oh, and -God Bless Texas ;)

Oh my god! Is it true? A telecaster that can sound like a Strat, a Gibson, AND a Telecaster? It IS. Uh..almost. Yeah, you will have to tweak your amps and special effects just a tad. But I can get most the tones I want out of just my Carvin 100 watt SX practice amp. Overdrive it a tad and you have a silky smooth Gibson. It's not quite as fat as the gibby, though, unless you are hammering chords. But for solos, it is nice and glass smooth. However, I have found that if ya gain the living hell out of yer amp, AND distortion pedal her, and slam the tone on the bucker to 1 and volume to 10, it gets very fat and very crunchy. But that's a lot of work considering it's a knob turn away on a flying V.
You want country? Twang along on the bridge and it's 100% Tele with twangy goodness, and a full bodied low end. Some previous reviewers have complained about the single coil's sensitivity. I find it only a tad below the humbucker. I won't be replacing it. Others have complained about the noise. Well, it IS a single coil. Read the Strat reviews and see how many complain about the noise there. Hard to avoid the SC noyze. But at least it's less than a Strat puts out.
Want rock? Overdrive her and you'd be impressed. It's not gonna crunch like a dual bucking BC Rich or a flying V, but you'll be impressed with it's range. Truthfully, people not pleased with the humbucker's range should have been looking more towards a Gibson or another humbucker design. Or perhaps a fat strat? What on Gods green earth ever lead them to even consider a Telecaster?! This guitar is a bit on the 'clean and thin' side for most heavy rocker's tastes. True to Tele form. The 72 custom is basically a country and blues player's dream come true.
The trick to being pleased with your guitar's sound is by doing some research and getting the one that you LIKE! Why buy a guitar that you don't like? Must be an aversion for music store crowds. Play the thing and don't buy it if it dont fit. In any case, if you want to replace the pups, it's only a couple hundred bucks. You're still well under 800$ invested. Roughly half what I have in my Ric.

I have always loved the Tele neck. I havent touched the action since I got it.I might go a tad lower later on as I do more solo stuff. But the intonation is great, the pickups were fine, and everything looks extremely well done. I am very impressed with the deep sunburst and very gradual fade. I was worried how it would turn out since I mail ordered it after the one locally sold out on me. This is the best paint I have seen on any non American Fender. The frets are excellent for this price range. They aren't quite what they are on my Ric. But, then again, few makers are as skilled as Ric frethiers(sp?). The pup selector is absolutely silent. And the controls are rock solid. I'm very impressed. If my Ric is a 10, this is a strong 8.

Still new. I am concerned about the 3 bolt bridge, but am told the MIM reissues are solidly made. The fit seems to be very well done. The finish looks to be very deep. I expect the paint to last a while. I treat my instruments well, so I expect a lifetime from it. I have a strat as a backup simply because the Tele wont crunch quite like the strat will. ;) Crunch all ya want, we'll make more.

I got this from L and M. Their customer support is BY FAR the best in the business. Well, OK, the best I have dealt with. HIGHLY suggest these kind folks. Though I have always considered TN's more of the midwest than true southerners, they definitely showed me all the hospitality The South is famous for. I bought a back up strat and returned it after noticing a crack developing under the pocket in the laquer upon delivery. They took her right back without skipping a beat, and APOLOGIZED for not catching it during their pre-sales QA. Sure it was hard to notice, but I DID notice it. Y'all know how that is. So, make sure to closely examine any instrument upon delivery.

I have been a bass player for 11 years, and am now also a rhythym guitarist. I have played Trumpet, Piano, some guitar, off and on for 20 years.
I did extensive research before buying this guitar, and was very pleased with what I got.
If it was stolen, I would have to put my concealed carry permit to good use!(Or is that BAD use?)
I compared her to many other Teles because I wanted more of a country tone, but the fact that I also wanted some blues capability is what clenched it.
I love how it feels and plays. I love how she sounds, I love how she looks. I am not fond of the bridge pup noise. But at least it's less than on my strat. But like the strat it's all gone once ya play. However, you can cover the strings on this tele to silence em between sets. The Strat ya have to fess with the pup switch in order to silence em. And then yer threatening to introduce other sounds.
I wish she was made in the USA. I wish I could have afforded one ;) Hell, good luck finding one.

THis MIM custom was made probably in 99 because I bought it in France in early 2000. It is well described below. Mine has a maple neck and a sunburst finish As a telecaster, it is a stripped down "less is more" electric par excellence. That being said, as a custom it has a special fender humbucker on the neck and a typical tele bridge pickup on the bridge. The strings are strung through the body. The truss bar is " a bullet " truss bar, so it is adjusted at the top of the neck and it sticks out. While advertised with a gig bag, I had to buy mine. There is a five year warranty ....

When I bought it, I did not really know a lot about the differences between teles. I was advised to buy this one instead of US made Am Standard. I regret it, because I really wanted a "tele" Tele. This guitar after a bit of use just did not have the TWANG (I like the blues, country, ELvis, rock-a-billy and the george harrison/beatles).
I play straight through my trademark 10 amp from Tech 21 and play really just at home.

Lacking the twang, I debated selling it, but, I still wanted to have a Tele. Thus the question, to sell an upgrade to a US standard or just change the pick ups to get the twang ? After finding a talented luthier in France, I chose this route. He replaced the twangless pickups with Di Marzio Air Bucker in the neck and a Di Marzio Twang King in the bridge. Also, he redid the wiring to make a push pull on the the bass tone toggle so that I could have either a single coil or the humbucker. Thus, I gave the Tele a whole new life : "custom" or "standard" with quality p/u. The sound is 100% better, it reallly has a tele twang and the Air Bucker creates a neat sound for more rock stuff. I spend a lot of time on the Twang King bridge position.

I think the knobs are not that responsive. To get any sound palet, the volume /tone knobs have to be above 7.

The jack was a complete mess right after the purchase. The store repaired it very badly twice. Result : awful scratchy noises when it got loose. The luthier replaced the whole unit with a Les Paul jack unit.

As it is today : the sound is a solid 7 (we have to give room for US made standards & the custom shop Fenders, right ?)

Given the 2000 FRF investment in the new p/u's and the action adjustments & jack repairs, I will vote it a 4

I had to have it reset by a luthier. That being said it was pretty low and ok. Pick-ups were problematic and got muddy after about a year of regular in-home woodshedding. Compared to my Rickenbacker guitars, the fret work was ok. There are recognizable flaws.
The nuts in the back of the guitar that hold the strings fell out and I needed to replace them with ones that stayed in place.
My understanding about MIM tele's is that the maple is pretty young. Done obviously for pricepoint reasons, but, keep in mind that the best wood goes to the US made products.

I don't gig, but, I would probably use this to play out side the house. I bring it with me on business trips and when I return for long stays in the US. It is solid.

I can depend on it now, because, i invested in making it sound good and repaired the several flaws that came with the guitar.

Fender France did not get involved with this when I had problems. I tried to resolve them with the store that I bought it from, an authorized dealer called GUITAR PALACE in Paris. In stead of replacing the jack plate. On two occasions they saudered the nut on to the plate ! It was a really poor job and it did not keep the jack from moving. As explained above, I had to get a proper Luthier to do the repairs (which were excellent - thank you Sylvain at M&D Music in Chartres, France). Unfortunately, if one changes the p/u's or makes other mod's on a Fender, the warranty is cancelled. Big deal because it did not really solve the problems I had.

I have been playing for 5 years and taking weekly lessons all this time. I have bought some nice instruments and some less nice instruments : Rickenbacker 360, Ric 660, Gretsch 6129 Sparkle Jet w/bigsby, this fender and a Epi J-200 "Elvis" accoustic copy. I play either with my Tech 21 trademark 10 or my C-tech chop shop phrase trainer.

I should have better understood the subtilties of telecasters and there derrivitives (i.e., G&L ASAT). I should have bought a US standard : better quality, the true twang sound, legitimate resale value. To that end, i would chose G&L vs Fender because all the best Fender people/woods/workmanship probably are devoted to the custom shop guitars.
I made "peace" with the purchase buy solving its flaws : changing the p/u for better ones, fixing the mechanical problems, the push/pull bridge p/u split. With an addition $300 I made it a keeper. While I would not go MIM again, I fully appreciate the niche, and, would suggest that those who need to do this do some extra research to see what P/U's they are going to use to replace those which are not really at the same level as the Fender name.

It does play the blues better than my other guitars, it has a nice sunburst, the hot rodding that I did give it a lot of versatility and neat sounds.

I hate that Fender does not do enough to explain the differences / pros-cons about these MIM guitars and the US Standard ones. I believe that the argument could be made that a US Tele could be someones one and only guitar and a musician would be ready to put the cash up to have a quality MI USA instrument. I also think that the MIM should have their p/u's outsourced or US p/u should be put in.

I compared it to an US standard before the new American standards came out in 2000. THe salesmen said that outside the assembly plants, there was very little different between the two guitars. In retrospect, they were mistaken.

OVerall rating ? for fenders, we should look at it this way :
10= custom shop ; 7-9 = US made ; 4-6 MIM; 1-3 SQuire . As a MIM with its problems, I give it a 4. With the hotrodding and the money I plowed into it to make it sound good : 7.5. CAVEAT EMPTOR

This is a Mexican-made '72 Reissue purchased from Music One, a Montana-based Gold Level Fender dealer. I had them replace the stock bridge pickup with a Barden, which I think is a better match for the neck humbucker (plus, it's dead quiet). Other than that it's the stock '72 style: black body; Fender neck humbucker; LP-style pickup selector; LP style volume and tone knobs, maple neck and fretboard.

I've now owned three "identical" versions of this guitar: an original '72 purchased in (when else?) 1972; a Japanese-made reissue purchased new in 1998, and this one. I've had this one about a year now.

This is a versatile guitar. The neck 'bucker is more suited to jazz and blues than hard rock, but that's what I like to play. The Barden has the classic Tele bite but will also produce a sweet sustaining tone with the right amp settings.

The pickups are dead quiet.

It came incredibly well set-up but I'm sure that was due at least in part to the fact that I bought it from Music One, which does a custom set-up on all the guitars they sell. I asked for 4/64" action on the bass E string at the 12th fret, but it came with something closer to the low side of 3/64" (and no buzzing)!!! The neck relief is .008". I think Larry Militech, the owner of Music One, has a personal quest to set up his guitars with the lowest possible action, and hey, HE'S GOOD AT IT. That said, I raised the string height to 4/64" soon after I got it but left the relief alone. It now plays like a dream; the low action it came with was nice in some respects but a little tough to bend on, especially given the 7.25" neck radius.

This guitar is much better constructed than my 1998 Japanese reissue. The string alignment on the latter guitar left something to be desired and required nut and bridge work to keep the E strings from falling off the board. Even then the strings weren't evenly spaced, and the guitar also had perpetual buzzing problems. The Mexican version (at least the one I got) has substantially better fretwork, and the neck and fretboard finish feel thinner and silkier. They seemed to have glopped the polyurethane onto the Japanese version.

Overall finish is excellent. The neck pocket is super-tight

I've owned lots of Fenders, with few problems. The hardware on this guitar is fine; no problems with the tuners or bridge. That stands in contrast to a Korean-made Epiphone LP Custom I owned a few years ago, where the tuners and pickup selector were flimsy and all the gold metal hardware oxidized within a few weeks of my purchase.

Never had to deal with Fender (knock on wood!)

A great guitar, especially for the price. I've got a slew of guitars including a PRS Swamp Ash Special, Peavey EVH Wolfgang, G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, Fender Strat Plus, etc. My first "real" electric guitar was an olympic white Tele that I bought new in 1971 (bet it's faded to that gorgeous cream color by now, wherever it is), and I've owned roughly ten other Tele's since. This is my favorite of all of them.

1998 model? Made In Japan. Sunburst finish, maple fretboard. 3-barrell type bridge. Fender "Wide-Range" Humbucker in the neck position, single coil in the bridge. 2 tone knobs, 2 volume knobs, you know which tele I'm talking about...

The sound I wasn't too crazy about. I run this guitar into a Vox Wah Pedal, Boss SD-1 and a Line 6 Delay Modeler then into a Mesa Boogie DC-5 combo. The thing I didn't like about this guitar was the neck pickup, it sounds kinda dead when played clean. It's really fat and thick sounding, and is great for distorted leads and rhythms, but for clean tones, forget it! it's got too much bass and too fat sounding to be useful when played clean. I tried messing with the pole pieces and pickup height and that didn't really help. The bridge pickup, was your typical tele twangy bridge tone, nice and bright. The pickups didn't really matchup that well either, the neck pickup outpowered the bridge. Fender could of put a "sweeter" and "brighter" humbucker in the neck position instead of the "Wide-Range" pickup, not too much if you ask me.

The finish was really nice (sunburst), the neck felt nice as well. One problem I had was a noisy pickup selector switch. Whenever you had effects on and switched it or came in contact with it it would make a loud "static" sound, pretty annoying! You would think Fender would know how to do this right by now.

It seems reliable, I changed the strap buttons to Schallers. I would gig without a backup

Well all know that "Fender Customer Support" does not exist! these guys don't care about their customers and people dishing out money to buy their guitars. They don't even have an e-mail address or anything on the website!!! Horrible service!

Overall, this guitar could of been a really well-made, good-sounding guitar if Fender would of put some more time and effort into details. But a weak sounding neck pickup, a noisy selector switch etc. should not come with a $550+ guitar. It did sound good at times, for some applications, but if you want that sparkly, jangly "Fender" tone out of the neck pickup, then forget it!!! grab yourself a Standard Tele or something.

This is not a re-issue! This is the real deal from '72! Don't know where it was made. 21 frets (I think), 4 contols: 1 volume for neck humbucker and a tone control, 1 volume for bridge pickup and a tone control, passive electronics, 3 position toggle pickup switching, cherrywood transparent finish, tele body with awesome pickgaurd, string-thru body bridge, tuners non-locking (but never went out of tune ever!), thin maple tele neck with medium frets, Whoa! this is the finest tele!

Played this thing at Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Training Centre in Cornwallis, NS in thier wick' jazz band. I used the bridge pickup, giving the perfect bright twang. It fit in with everything perfectly!
I used it through a big fender amp (don't have a clue what model). I played around with it a lot playing my rock stuff too, using the humbucker. Super clean sound, which I love! There's a good variety of sounds but I wouldn't use this soapy-clean (I nicknamed this thing "Sudsy") beast for metal, unless you had a good external distortion setup. The one little problem I had was with a volume control. It didn't raise the volume evenly. It went up in spurts. Someone must have done that to the old rig before by dropping it or hitting it with a hammer or beating it off a wall...

Action perfect, pickup-adjusting perfect, bridge strong & perfect, built tight, no flaws at all, but from being neglected for a long time the bridge pickup had 4 dots of rust (so what? that was easy to fix!). Fender = perfect!

great for live playing, almost imortal hardware, good unchippable finish, strap buttons rock-solid, I'd depend on this thing through armagedon, If you used a backup with this, the backup would never be played! Read before what I said about the weird control in sound.

The only reason I'd contact fender would be to shake their hand and say thanks and you guys kick ass!

I really haven't been playing that long. I'm a saxaphone player really. But, I know music and I'm picky when it comes to tone and other fine details. This guitar was given to me to play for 6 weeks in the summer. I almost cried when I had to give it back. I would surely buy a fender tele or strat if I wanted an electric guitar but I'm looking for a bass. Since I was so impressed with this product, I'd buy a fender bass for sure!

Brand new, mexican made, black, maple neck. Humbucker in the neck. Single Coil in the bridge. Les Paul style controls. String thru body. Nice work on the headstock decal. The guitar looks great.

For a tele this model has a ton of features

I love this guitar! I have owned other teles in the past but have craved a fat gibson humbucker neck sound. This has got it. The bridge is a little bright and thin. But has that signature tele TWANG. It may be replaced with a 51 nocaster pickup...not sure though.

There are some many options (compared to other teles) for the tone you want to produce. I won't go into them but most are reminesent of a les paul. The sound that I enjoy is puting both pick-ups full out. the humbucker seems to pick up the top stings producing a warm rich sound and the single coil lets out that "twang" on the bottom strings. It is a paradox.

This is traditionaly a classic rock guitar, although they are seeming to make a little comeback with some of the newer bands. I know Radiohead is a fan of the telecaster custom and I see them being used a little here and there.

The primary users of this guitar have to be Keith Richards (Rolling Stones) and Rich Robinson (Black Crowes). That will give you a pretty good idea of the sound that it produces. But, I do not understand why Jimmy Page never used this guitar. He was a fan of the Telecaster and Les Paul, and playing this guitar alot of the tones I get remind me of Led Zepplin.? Oh yeah....the first song I played on it was Beast of Burden by the rolling stones. How could I resist?

Vox cambridge twin reverb is my amp of choice.

The mexican's sure have been taking a beating on here. Mine is great, so far. The fit and finish is great, no flaws. Everything feels very soild.

The neck is proabaly my favorite asspect as far as the fit and finish go. It has a satin finish that feels good, smooth enough to slide but has got good thumb and finger grip. The radius on the neck is perfect for me. Not thin, but not baseball bat thick, and it dose not have that painfull "V" that some tele's have. I would describe it as a "U" shape.

I guess If I has any complaint it would be the plastic cover on the pickguard. That stuff is so hard to get off between the screws, pickup selector, and tone/volume knobs. I had to take off the knobs and other hardware to clean all that crap off. Trust me, twisting a flathead screwdriver near that beautiful black finish was not comfortable.

I read some of the other comments before typing mine. I think the term "boat paddle" is quite accurate. This thing is built like a brick outhouse. Fragile is not a thought that crosses your mind while handeling this guitar unless you fear scrathing the finish. I think if I where playing a rough gig it could easily be turned into a leathel weapon if swung correctly.

Electronics....we will see.

ain't gotta clue

14 years playing. I have owned two other Telecaster's and a 87 Japanese Strat. I sold off all of my electrics in college to buy a premium acoustic. I have been out for a few years and have decided to reward my self with this new guitar and amp. Absolutly great, everything I loved about a tele and nothing I disliked. The best fender I have owned so far...including the early japanese strat which was a great guitar too. Wish it came in white blonde.

1995-96?? Fender Telecaster Custom made in Japan.
Bought the guitar used from Guitar Center.
21 fret guitar, black body with Maple neck
3 way switch with humbucker in neck, single coil in bridge.
Basic features, none really needed for this type of guitar.
Neck is very comfortable to play possibly U or C shapped.
Guitar came with a used case, which I upgraded.

Suits my musical style well, minimal noise from pickups, I found that using Volume & Tone controls you can get a variety of sounds from this guitar.

The bridge pickup has nice tele-twang, but the output seems a bit weak.

The Japan version seems to be better constructed than tbe Mexican version, which is why I bought it used. It took me quite a while to locate a Japan version in local music stores.

I know alot of folks here have bought the newer Mexican versions, so I don'y mean to rip them. But...all of the new Mexican models seemed to be a bit rough on the fret dressings, and the necks didn't feel as nice as the Japanese used guitar that I bought.

My only complaint is that the frets are a bit thin. Gutiar appears to have been professionally set up with 9's prior to my purchase. It has very low action with minimal buzz.

I am a hobby player who doesn't gig so I can't really comment on how the guitar would hold up under live conditions. However, I have been playing the heck out of it for the past few months and I love it. I'll never be a pro musician, but I just play for my own sake.

For my purposes, the guitar is great.

Never used it.

I have been playing for 9 years. I own Ovation & Taylor acoustics, an 80's Fender Strat with Lace sensors, and a Gibson Les Paul Classic. Guess What - Owning more gear doesn't make you a better player, it just gives you more choices :)

I really like the warm sound from the gibson, the neck pickup on the tele sounds completely different that the neck pickup on the Les Paul even though they are both Humbuckers.

The Tele has less sustain than the Gibson, but more than my strat. I seem to get a greater variety of sounds from the Tele Humbucker than the Gibson. I even like the Tele bettter than the Strat, even though the Strat was first guitar.

The tele is also a lot lighter than the Gibson, and to me it seems easier to play (no offense to Gibson lovers, the Tele's body just "fits" me better).

I play through a Pod 2.0 on a clean amp channel and I love the variety of sounds that I get from all my guitars. On a very clean POD setting, I like the tele center switch position best with the tone backed off to about 7 1/2. I mostly play Eagles, Stones, southern rock, and a little country on my electrics, so the tele suits me just fine. If I could only have one electric, I would have the Tele.

If it was lost or stolen I would find another used Japense 72 Tele Custom.

This mexican tele was made in 1999, it is my first experience with a fender guitar, I used to have an Epiphone les paul, and when playing in my band used my mates Gibson Les Paul Standard. I went out looking for a cheap Gibson but couldn't find one! I fell for the fender name knowing I could get a guitar I could trust. The feature I most like, apart from the beautiful humbucker, is the tone and volume controls, there is a real diversity in the control of sound on this guitar, that I had not experienced in any other. Also a sensitve but firm set of tuners, these sorts of features really make it feel worthwhile to spend an extra #300 on a more expensive guitar.

I have always loved the Gibson sound, so it was a total change for me to choose a fender guitar. But what a refreshing change! I like to think the best test of a guitar's sound is the sound of its open strings, and this telecaster has a firm resounding sound. I was initially put off by the idea of tele "twang", but when the it goes through my laney VC50 amp, the humbucker drives a rocky blast, and the single coil gives a satisfyingly cutting dimension to the valve sound. The sound isn't as rounded as a Gibson, but this choppyness is awesome when it is at your fingertips.

My guitar is 2 years old, and I think I will need to take it for a set-up, because I don't think the last owner realised it's potential. The black finish is rocky, the shape needs getting used to. I don't like the look as much as the 72 thinline reissue, which is semi-hollow. Mine also seems to make a noise when I change tone and volume. Don't know how unusual this is.

Can't wait to use this guitar in a live context, the same applies to my amp which is relatively dormant. I'm pretty sure I could have this guitar for life if I wanted, I don't think I'll get sick of the sound. However, I can see myself purchasing other guitars to broaden my experience of sound, and my dream is to end up with a Gibson Les Paul Standard. I can definately depend on this guitar, it is solid and sturdy, and can withstand the clumsiness of a dufus like me. I think I would always have a backup guitar at a gig whatever guitar I am using, simply because I don't trust strings. Even if the finish went poor, this guitar guitar would still look great. The telecaster was the first guitar Fender made, so it must be well made to have carried on so well.

I bought this guitar from a shop in Castleford, England. The warranty was 3 months because it was second hand. I'm sure I will have no problems with repairs or parts in the future because it is such a widely known design, and Fender are a massiv company.

I've been playing 5 and a half years, so am a relative guitar novice. I use a Laney VC50 amp and use dod delay and danelectro flanger effects through it, which sounds suitable for this guitar I belive. I wish I had asked about the intination on this fuitar before I bought it, I thought I'd covered everything, but I was wrong! If it was stolen or lost, I would buy another tele, or a Gibson, I wouldn't go out of my way to get this model, as variety is the spice of life! I found the neck quite fat at first but I got used to it. I love the humbucker, I would not have bought a tele without a humbucker. I compared this in the shop to a tanglewood semi, which seemed badly made, and prone to feedback, and also a Gibson Sonex 1982, which seemed to have aged badly and was too heavy. I think this guitar is definately there with the 72 thinline reissue as a great quality fender guitar for someone who loves a Gibson sound, as well as a Fender sound. If you will setlle for nothing but a Gibson, don't buy it, but if you are open minded about your preferred sound try this.

Black, with maple neck. MIM, re-issue of the 72 Tele. Vintage 3-saddle bridge (steel barrles), single coil at the bridge, wide-range Fender humbucker at the neck. Les Paul-like controls, and toggle. Poplar body, with micro-tilt neck.Pretty much an exact copy of a 72, staggered pole peices, bullet truss rod and all. Very versatile set up for a Tele. Lots of tonal variations to be had.

First, let me say that I own a total of four Teles, including the 72, my favorite being a 52 Re-Issue that plays/sounds like a dream. I bought the 72 for several reasons, but mainly because I wanted a Tele with a Bucker, and I just love the look of this guitar. Thought it would make a good "stage buddy". I am happy to report that overall, I am quite pleased with this purchase. I received the guitar with 9's on it, even though I beleive it should have come with 10's, oh well. Slapped a set of 10's on it, and proceeded to tweak the intoantion a bit. Just neede a slight adjustment. Left the action a tad high (I prefer it that way), and the neck was perfectly straight. I must mention that like a Nashville Tele I once owned, as soon a s I took off the strings all six of the string hole retainers fell out. Oh well, other than that one flaw, the guitar's quality is excellent, no blemishes, no bad frets......nothing. Well done Baja. I play this guitar through a Top Hat club Royale, 2x12, and it sounds very nice. I a/b'd this guitar quite a bit with my 52, just to make sure that I was not merely being seduced by the looks of it, and the fact that it was new. I wasn't. Now, make no mistake.....the 52 has THE TELE TONE....hands down, IMO. It has an "authority", a fat, nasty Tele-twang that is really the shit, as far as pure Tele-tones go. It plays flawlessly. But I am equally enamored with what the 72 is delivering ( and keep in mind, it was half the price of the 52). The 72 Custom, delivers a very unique tone, thinner than the 52, but I don't mean that in a bad way. I back off the neck p/u's tone a bit, and I get a beautiful, glassy, fat, twang that is rich with harmonics and sustain. The 72 just has this cool "airyness" about it. No wonder why it is often praised as a great R&B guitar, it has that kind of "funky" vibe to it, encouraging me to go crazy with nasty double-stops, and busy, funky lines. I play modern, alt.-pop-rock, and use alot of aggressive rhythm guitar technique with alot of big, full chords, and use a fair amount of gain in my signal. The 72 seems to fit the bill for me. Notes seem to squeeze out of this guitar, in an almost compressed fashion, and bloom into twangy richness. It's really a unique sounding Tele, and I've played them all. The neck p/u is great for an different lead-sound, at least that's how I will use it, and it is a very nicely-voiced p/u. The only gripe I have, as far as sound goes, is I wish that the bridge p/u just had a tad more "authority" to it. It gets a bit thin when the volume is rolled back. But again, I have become accustomed to the 52's tone,(as well as a 50's Tele that I own) and in all fairness, these guitars are completely different animals. I do find that the 72's personality, and playability draw me to it like a moth to a flame. It hard to put into words, but it just makes me play a bit differently......better I think. I am a VERY picky guy when it comes to gear, I've owned a ton, been playin a long time, and have made a living as a musician. So, I can say it is rare that I meet a guitar that brings out some new "energy" out of me. This guitar does.

The guitar's factory set-up was pretty decent. I had to do a slight adjustment on all three sadlles to get it intonate the way I like it, but it was a ten minute job at best. Other than the fact that it came with 9's instead of 10's, and that the string-hole plugs fell out, the guitar is absolutely perfect. Flawless finish, the neck is mint, frets are perfectly installed and dressed, I was really quite impressed with the fit and finish, considering that it ismade in Mexico. The neck pocket is actually tighter on it than my 52! The nut is also flawless, so vital in the set-up on any guitar. Very well built guitar for the money....a bargain for sure. Quite pleased.

I think this guitar will hold up to gigging quite well. It holds tune, and is well-built. Fender is selecting very nice peices of maple for the necks on these guitars, and that has alot to do with the stability. I have no worries, and plan on using this guitar live. perhaps as my "number one."

Never had a problem with any of my Fender products. Really.

Been playin 28 years. Own the 52 RI, a MIJ 50's Tele, an ash-bodied AS Tele, and the 72. Also own a Gibson Les Paul Junior. The 72 makes a fine addition to my "family." If this guitar were stolen, I'd go right out and buy her again. I love the airy tone, the unique voicing of the pick-ups, and the guitar's playability, versatilty, and sharp looks. I don't really "hate" anything about it. If I could change anything, it might be the bridge p/u, but I will need some more time with it, to decide if I am willing to take a chance on loosing some of the guitar's inherent "uniqueness." I have played literally EVERY Tele Fender makes, and have owned quite a few over the years. This model is a gem.

'72 reissue custom Telecaster. Black on black with a maple neck, one single coil in the bridge, one "wide range humbucker in the neck. 3 way toggle switch, with Two volume, two tone dials. 21 medium frets, the frests themselves feel like a top E string, they are that thin....which is different for me, as my previous guitars were a Flyng V's and an SG (which both had jumbo frets). It came with a Fender deluxe gig bag, which is OK with me, but i would probably buy a flight case for it, when i can be bothered. Any more details on the axe can be viewed at fender.com.
I'm only giving it an 9, cos WYSIWYG with a tele. But the humbucker and the black look of the axe, just sets it apart from other tele's

I love playing the Stones, Stone Roses Oasis, Led Zep kinda stuff, and this guitar handles them all well. The majority of my playing is done off the humbucker pickup, just cos i love that ballsy sound. My previous guitars include an SG and Flying V (Gibsons) so u will know how much i like the thick sound of the humbucker. But the pickups are great. I have never heard a guitar with such guts, or sustain, it really is a loud guitar (which is something i didn't expect). One of the reason s i bought the guitar was to achieve that elusive Keef sound, and pretty much as soon as i plugged in, i was there. Plus i have seen Keef play this same guitar on video before, so i guess i had to buy it.
I am playing thru a 50 watt Marshall Valvestate, and it sounds great. I can achieve clean jazzy sounds, and if necessary get rockin with AC/DC or Led Zep if need be. This is a really versatile guitar.

The neck just feels so thin and playable. I was never a fan of fenders, as just about everyone seems to play them, and i hate the look of the Strat. So i was a proper Gibson boy at heart. But i decided to take the plunge with this...and WOW!!!!
The finish is flawless..the action is perfect..i think the strings are 9's, so i will probably change them in a couple of weeks. The pickups are perfect - hence the great sustain i was on about. I have to say i am blown away by the time and effort that has obviously been taken over this guitar.

The guitar can play live - no probs...it will also withstand a lot of gigs - i presume. The finish is going nowhere. By the time the finish goes, i will have grey hair. I would bet my eyesight on this guitar pulling thru in every situation....in other words YES i can depend on it.

Never needed them

Its a brand new axe, which retails at 549 quid...and Johnny Roadhouse reduced the price to 419 quid. As soon as i saw it i had to have it. I part exchanged it with my Flying V - personal reasons, and i was apprehensive about achieving a ballsy sound......but WHOAA MOMMA!
I just love this guitar. I literally feel that because of the action and the neck and how it feels, i improved about 5% as a guitarist in about 2 weeks. I have been playing for about 5 years and i have been thru quite a few axe's, and i think i have found the perfect one.
If it was lost...i would find it.
If it were stolen....i would steal it back.
Apart from a change of strings, this guitar is just about perfect.

1996 Anniversary issue '72 reissue custom Telecaster. Black on black with a maple neck, one single coil in the bridge, one "wide range humbucker in the neck. Two volume, two tone. 7.25" radius neck, either a "C" or "U" shaped neck. Rock solid and VERY VERY LIGHT!!! I'm giving it a six becuase it's a Telecaster and doesn't need all those cool features that say a Danelectro "effects" guitar would have. My only complaint is that the knobs are plastic.

This is where the guitar REALLY shines. It's well balanced as far as tonal qualities but it's real quality is the neck humbucker. It can do anything from rock 'n roll, to jazz, to blues, to pop and on and on. No it is not suited for "real" metal (i.e. slayer, cannibal corpse, death...etc) but it's not made for that. It's made for players that know what rhthym is and how to use it. And for this I give it a 10. Hey, it's a tele...it's supposed to be a rhthym machine.

I bought mine used so I had to reset it. However, it now plays like a dream. The glossy neck is an added feature that makes this guitar shine. You can glide all over the place on the neck with ease. That and it's medium-jumbo frets are fitting for a guitar made for playing dirty. So, I'll have to give it a 9.

ROCK SOLID!!! Enough said. Keith "Keef" Richards used one of these all thru the '70s and I can see why. They sound good, look good, are light and are just ROCK SOLID!!! The only thing I would say is this: replace the strap buttons, they kind of suck. Of course, I'm old school and just duct tape my strap to all of my guitars so this is no big deal for me.

I love this thing. I can cop "some girls" era Richards, I can get that Jawbox tone, I can play Ac/Dc on it and can just get nasty with it. I love this guitar. I only wish I had bought the sunburst, but hey for $350 with the case this was not a bad deal at all. If you dig the Stones, jawbox, sonic youth or the like get this. They all either use this guitar or the neck pickup from it!!! I can see why.

This one is buit in Japan 1996, 3-way selector, 2 tone knobs, 2 volume knobs, Bridge vintage single coil, neck Fender vintage humbucker, Ash body, Maple neck, Gotoh Tuners, Levys Luxus Bag

I'm prefer to play Country Style and classic Rock, my Amp is an Vox AC 30, an the sounding is absolutely great. Clear Sounds with plenty of "glass-tones" to fat soft and warm tones if You use the humbucker. I also own a Luthier made Tele with Di Marzio Pickups an 70 th Strat and a Tockai 59 Flame Top but none of these delivers so varius sounds like the Tele.

I bought it used and in mint conditions in the States. I've owend a lot of Fenders but I've never seen one with such a good workmanship before. I think the Japanese ones are better than many Fenders buit in the US. No hum from the pickups smooth tuners and an neck very easy to play.

No problems

Don't need them, nothing to say about this.

I love this Guitar, it's an easy player with an wide Range of soundig. If it were stolen or lost, I will buy another immediately, but only a Japan edition.

This guitar is a new made in Mexico 72 Telecaster Custom. It is finished in black which means the body is made of poplar while the sunburst models are made of alder. It has the expected 72 custom features with a Fender humbucker in the neck position and a single coil in the bridge along with the bullet truss rod adjustment and the 3 bolt neck joint. It also has a rosewood board and is equiped with reproduction Fender "F" machine heads. It has all the features you expect from this model Tele.

It's a good guitar for alot of styles. By tweaking the tone and volume controls you can get good jazz, country and blues tones. The guitar with everything on 10 is pretty bright but by experimenting with the controls you can get some very good sounds. I will probably experiment with the tone control cap values on the single coil pickup( .022 MF) to see if I can add more mids and bass to the lead pickup tone.The single coil bridge pickup is not built like the older ones or the vintage reissues. It dosen't have the copper plated grouding plate under the pickup like the old ones. I think that this is something Fender should bring back to all of their Tele bridge pickups.The pickups really seem to lose a lot of the twang and have a blander sound without it. The neck humbucker has a good sound. I'm playing through a late 70's Deluxe Reverb that I've blackfaced and this guitar works well with this amp.

The guitar required some minor adjustments by the shop. The truss rod needed to be tightened and the action lowered slightly for my own tastes but these were very minor changes. The finish was well done with only minor flaws being found along the side of the finger board. The body was finished flawlessly. The only thing that really bothered me was the waxy substance that Fender coats the rosewood boards with before shipment. It probably helps the stability of the board but I hate feel of it. I always remove it and then oil the board. Other than these points the guitar was very well made,assembled and adjusted. In comparison to the Japanese Fender reissues the MIM guitar has much better pickups and electronic parts than the Japanese version.

This guitar is is well suited to the road. Like most teles it has good tuning stability and is built like a tank and will last for years.

I have never dealt with Fender directly so I have no opinion on the manufacter's customer service.
My local dealer Ring Music in Toronto does all my work and they have excellent customer service also do great set ups and repairs.
The warranty is the standard Fender lifetime warranty.

I'm old enough to have played and remember the original Tele customs made in the 70's and I don't miss the sloppy neck joints, crappy quarter inch thick plastic finishes,crudely shaped heavy bodies and inflated prices that those guitars had. This reissue is with the exception of the pickups a much better guitar than the original. Also when you consider that Tele customs were going for about $ 700 Cdn new in Toronto in the 70's and you can get the 72 Custom reissue for about the same in 2000 you realize what a great deal this guitar is.

This is a brand new Telecaster, a reissue of the '72 Telecaster Custom model. Telecasters after '72 had a different neck pocket and from what I understand, it hindered playing higher notes, thus the '72 versions are favorable, of the Custom and even other models, Fender changed and dropped this model in the '80's, most recent original Tele Custom I've seen was an '80. I see alot of used mid-70's Customs for sale around the 'net, never any '72's. Also '72 was the first year for this version of the Custom.

This, and all of the other current reissue Telecasters, unless stated are Mexican Made, before that they were Japanese made, AFAIK, alot of Mexican ones are really made in the US and assembled and finished in Mexico due to polution-concious Californian guidlines.

The maple neck is pretty much your common Telecaster, complete with skunk-stripe, kind of like a "D" shaped profile, thin, yet it has some thickness to it, and the fretboard is pretty flat. 21 frets, which are kinda thin, but stand up high enough to do a comfortable bend. There's a bullet truss-rod adjustment at the neck, which is convenient, since you have to remove the pickguard and/or the neck itself to adjust the more common Fender style necks. The non-locking tuners are based on the common ones from the Fender CBS era, the "F" logo models, made by Schaller, I believe, that have the slotted string posts, which keeps strings from slipping during stringing, which is especially convenient when you use flatwound strings, which aren't so common in the year 2000. The tuners seem to hold very well. The neck's held in place with a 3-bolt neck plate, as was used in the '70's, complete with micro-tilt adjustment, I guess the little hole below the bottom screw on the plate is for a little allen key.

The body is real wood, I can tell you that much, there's a $40 extra cost for the Sunburst finish that mine has, which makes me wonder if that means that it's a different wood than the basswood of the black ones (these come in black and sunburst, in the '70's they also came in blonde and souldn't be confused with the twin-humbucker Deluxe which had the option of a mahogany body, and natural mahogany finish.) It probably is just because they need to find a more-attractive grained peice of basswood for this body, or change their gluing process for the particular finish. The three-ply b/w/b pickguard is big, covers 2/3 of the top of the guitar, on the shoulder side is where the 3-way toggle like that of a Gibson guitar is located, and on the oppisite (cutaway) side of the lower bout are the 4 control knobs (2 volume and 2 tone, respectively) , which look like Fender Amp knobs, complete with set screw, and they even use smooth posts on their pots for further accuracy. The bridge is also accurate to the classic-Fender look, as with a real early '70's Custom, 3 barrel bridge with steel saddles, stamped "Fender" below the bridge pickup, keeps intonation well enough for me.

The pickups are the final peice of the puzzle. In the bridge position there's a classic-style Telecaster single coil angled to give a wider tonal spectrum and increase treble response (hey, sounds like I just recited that from a catalog!) The neck position has what Fender calls a "Wide-Range" humbucking pickup, with split adjustable polepeice screws, which was probably done for the same reason they make a split pickup on the precision bass, and why the put angled pickups on guitars. All passive electronics, which always react well, no batteries needed, just an aggressive player is required.

With all of these Fender "Classic Series" models, a canvas gig-bag, valued at $50 comes with the guitar. Which is cool with me, to me gig-bags and Fenders go hand-in-hand, the way Rickenbackers go with big suitcase style hardshell cases, it's like a meant-to-be thing.

This is the first time ever I have to keep the tone controls down to get the tones I like. Both the humbucking neck pickup and single coil bridge are extremely bright. I have the single coil at about 4 and the humbucker at 6 and the tones are quite pleasing. I'm used to a modern Rickenbacker high-gain pickup and this thing is alot brighter, also it's a whole lot quieter as well, no hum at all, even with a loud, overdriven amp or distortion pedal, with both pickups.

My main amp is a '74 Music Man 210-65, which is a decent amp for most anything, just it's own distortion is basically crap, a good pedal is a must, I'll be getting myself a Pro-Co Rat soon enough. I have an early '80's Ibanez Stereo Chorus, a '90's DOD Milk Box Compressor and a new Danelectro Flanger (the mini-pedal with the silly name that escapes me right now) and have yet to use them with this guitar, but I'm still experimenting with the guitar's tone right now.

The Humbucking pickup is my favorite to use right now, it's thick, but retains a great Fender-sounding tone, it can sound like a regular Tele neck pickup or a Strat's "in-between" switch position pretty easily, just it has its own vibe, it's thicker than either of the forementioned pickups. I'm still getting used to the brightness of the bridge pickup, I like it alot, I can probaly mess around and play some jangly arpeggiated REM-sounding stuff passingly with it, Peter Buck, REM's guitarist used one of the '70's Customs before the Rickenbacker he's known for, he also went back to one of these for part of the '80's. I can passingly immitate Pete Townshend's Gibson SG tones of the '60's and '70's with the neck pickup. I've always been a fan of Teles and their players. Pete Townshend used an old '50's Telecaster in a ton of his recording, Andy Summers of the Police used one of these models, as did Tom Petty. Which means I'm in pretty good company. The jangly stuff I like, the rock stuff I like, it's all pretty easily attainable with this guitar, in fact, I was playing some decent sounding Hendrix riffs through this guitar, a Pro-Co Rat and an Ibanez practice amp when I tried her out at the Sam Ash I bought her from. I think this guitar is one of the most well rounded ones I have ever played.

I have yet to adjust anything. I changed the strap buttons to Schaller strap-locks and everything seems pretty well done. sounds fine to me. The guitar is brand new. Even the pickup selector, which on probably %90 of the guitars I have ever played at least made a little sound, this one doesn't make a click through the amp or anything. Everything looks fine to me.

Everything is pretty much solid as can be. Someone said that if there was to be Nuclear war, the only things that would survive would be cockroaches and Keith Richards, well, I'm sure Keith's Tele would remain intact too. Leo Fender, in order to prove a point in the '50's had a worker lay a Telecaster neck across a pair of crates and stand on the neck, putting all of his weight across it. The neck didn't break or warp. These things are beyond solid. I'd definately trust this guitar to hold up to one gig, or maybe 100 gigs.

I've dealt with Fender once, with another guitar. I have no complaints. I can tell you that Sam Ash sucks. But most everyone already knew that. Not their selection, not their prices, but their service is crap. If I was rating Sam Ash, I'd give them a 1. But I'm rating Fender, but I haven't had to deal with Fender about this guitar. I doubt I will have to either.

This is one of those instruments that's a keeper. I know I've owned alot of guitars in the short amount of time I've been playing, about 30 guitars to be exact. I have no regrets about this guitar. I actually think I like this guitar as much as my Rickenbacker. Which is hard to believe, since I've never owned a guitar as long as the Rickenbacker. I have yet to find a perfect guitar, but I'm working on it. This guitar is pretty close.

This guitar was built in Mexico(older ones were made in Japan). It features a solid basswood body with a maple neck and fretboard with a skunk stipe down the back and a 70's "Telecaster Custom" sticker on the headstock. It also has a bullet trussrod. This one is black with a b/w/b pickguard that covers 75% of the front of the body. It has one Tele single coil pickup in the bridge and one wide humbucker at the neck. Two tone and two volume controls with skirted knobs and a 3 way toggle switch. It has a vintage bridge plate with 3 intonation pieces. I'm not sure if the tuners are a reproduction or updated because I've never had an origional but they work fine. It also came with a denim Fender gig bag.

I play alot of types of music and I have different guitars for each type I feel like playing at the time. This guitar went in the rockabilly section with alittle bit of blues too. When the bridge pickup is active it sounds like a classic tele: twangy and trebley. When the neck pickup is active it sounds almost like a strat neck pickup except louder and more rich and subtle without all the noise of a single coil. When the pickups are both activated you get some twang with some full mellow tones. I play this guitar through a Crate GX212 and a DOD rackspace equilizer and it sounds great once you get the right tone out of the eq. I also use a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal with it but it can get really noisy with the bridge pickup. I suggest turning down the tone on the pedal and use both pickups.

The guitar was setup very well. The action was not to low but not to high. The pickups were set just right. The finish is good except for the nick near the strap button that my dad put in it the first day I got it. Besides that everything was great.

This guitar seems very dependable except the B chord breaks every 3 weeks for reasons unknown. The finish looks like it can last for a long time with the exception of minor bruises from giging and ruff housing. Strap button don't come loose. Its pretty much gig worthy and I would use it without a backup.

I got a warranty but I didn't send it in and I hope I won't have to do buisiness with Fender about a problem.

My overall rating of this guitar is yet another 9 because this guitar is extremely great for rockabilly and country and some blues but it could not play surf or metal. If it were stolen I'd probably buy another one used.

i got this in 1998, when it was new (it's a reissue). it's made in japan. its got the oversized pick gaurd and a wide range humbucker for the neck and a tele pickup for the bridge. i got mine in sunburst, the only other color in comes in is black, although i've seen them in blond too. its got 2 tone and 2 volume and a 3 way toggle. its got everthing i wanted.its got a maple neck and a basswood body. The tuners are gotoh and they always stay in tune

you can get just about any style you want out of this thing. you can play metal or anything heavy on the humbucker, its real beefy. and the single coil is real bright so you can play country or whatever but you don't want to have to much distortion on it cause it sounds to twangy. the perfect tone is right between the 2 cause you got the humbucker and the single coil going and it's real full sounding. I play it through a marshall vs100.

the action was alright when i got it but it was set up for 9's and i like 11's so i had to adjust it. the pickups were all good. the only problem was that the input was wobbly.

its a reliable guitar ive played live with it many times. but its body is real soft so it dents real easy.

I've been playing since i was about 9 years old and im 16 now. I own 8 other guitars Lotus Les Paul copy, Ibanez EX, Toledo from , no name japinese guitar, yamaha classical, regent acoustic and a epiphone j-15 acoustic/electric. my fender is by far the best sounding one out of all of them