Fender '72 Telecaster Deluxe Reissue

If you're reading this, you should already know what features this guitar includes. I give its features a nine, only because it doesn't have a tremolo bridge and that is important to some people. Mine is the 3-tone sunburst finish and it's very pretty.

I play a lot of folk rock, classic-sounding rock, and bluesy stuff. I really like the sound of this guitar for all of the above. I play it through a Fender Blues Deluxe amp with a Maxon 808 reissue for overdrive. I've actually had two of these guitars in my posession recently (the first was a loner) and the one I have now sounds better than the first - every guitar is a little different.

The bridge pickup gives great lead sounds and I really enjoy driving it for Clash-like tones as well. The neck pickup is nice and warm, but still keeps a lot of the bright tones as well, which I like. It gives really nice bluesy leads, and is good from jazz chords as well. One thing that I've heard other people mention about this guitar is that the bridge pickup is too bright and thin sounding. Well, the other day when I was taking off the annoying pickguard plastic that comes on all Fenders, I had to unscrew the pickup screws a little to get the plastic out from underneath them. When I did that it meant I had to re-tighten the screws afterwards to get the pickups back to their appropriate height. I got them back to the way they came, but then I thought, why not mess around a little more? So I lowered the bass side of the neck pickup just a little more, and raised the bass side of the bridge pickup. I'm much happier with the sound of the guitar now. The bridge pickup is just slightly fuller, leaving all the bite, but taking the ice-pick quality out of it (which some people have accused it of having). The adjustment to the neck pickup took out just enough mud to make it a very punchy, still very warm sounding rythm pickup. The middle selection also benefitted. I didn't care much for it when I first got the guitar. It just sounded too bland to me, but now I think it sounds really great. Sorry, that's not a good description of the middle selections tone, but you'll just have to mess with it yourself and see what I'm talking about.

Whatever you do, don't buy this guitar in place of a Les Paul, or one of the staples of Fender. It is it's own guitar. Yes, I guess it does fall somewhere inbetween a Les Paul, Strat and Tele, just like other people have stated, but that description does you very little good, unless you can perfectly hear what that mutant guitar child would sound like in your head - and even then, it will probably sound a little different. I give it an 8, because I like it a lot, but I'm not dillusional in thinking it's God's give to guitar players.

Mine came with a small dent in (bummer!), but I liked it anyways and the dealer gave me a discount. The neck needed a bit of adjusting. Other than that, everything was good. Love the feel of this fretboard. It is really comfortable to my hand. I think it's a u-shaped neck. Also, gotta love the tele shaped body, but with the Stratocaster's contour on the back. Again, very comfortable.

And again, try adusting the pickups height if you're not totally satisfied with the tone.

Mine goes out of tune really easily. That's a bit of a pain if you're playing live. Other than that, I don't see how you would have any problems with it.

Reissue of the 72 tele de luxe. "Mexican" made. features 2 volumes and two tone ctrls and a 3-way switch for both fender special wide humbuckers. Body is alder or ash depending on finish... im guessing mine is alder since it has the black finish. The body style is tele, but with a neck pocket to fit a 70's style strat neck, it also features the tummy cut contour, which normal tele bodies dont have. the bridge is fender style thru-body. The machineheads are vintage with chrome finish. The neck is fat as hell, 70's big boy headstock, the frets are big, gloss finish on neck and fretboard.

This guitar is pretty versitile, great for hard rock and plays clean very well too. the bridge pickup can get pretty bright and twangy, close to a tele twang. the neck pickup is very full sounding. overall it has great sustain too. If you havent already i suggest you go to a music store and try one out for yourself...

The action was pretty good from the factory, i switched from fender 9's to ernie ball 10's, the pickups were adjusted fine, and the overall fit and finish is top-notch, I was impressed, the neck pocket is tight, the electronics are quiet, everything feels solid as a rock. Its a very comfortable guitar, it is heavy though.

This guitar would most definately withstand live playing. Its a rock and heavy as hell (i think i neeed a wider strap with this thing) the hardware seems pretty high quality, the finish is tough, the strap buttons were solid ( i switched to dunlop strap-lok anyways) I would probably gig without a backup...

ive been playing for 10 years, ive owned alot of guitars, never really was a fan of fenders until recently, I was planning to hold out and save my pennies for a real 1970's tele deluxe, but I noticed this one for sale at my local music store, it was new but had been dropped and had a few chips in the finish next to the input jack, i wasnt too worried about it, i expressed and intrest in it and i was offered a significant discount. I couldnt resist taking this one home. I am really glad i bought it, its one of the best guitars ive ever owned.

2005 Sunburst Tele Deluxe Reissue. 2 Wide range humbuckers. Maple strat neck.

This guitar rips. It has a "bark" to it that I haven't heard from many other guitars. Bridge Pickup is clear and bright, neck pickup is more mellow and bassy, but blending them together is the key to some great tones. Not exactly twangy like a normal telecaster. the sound is actually quite ballsy and well suited for rock. I play it through a Peavey classic 30 and it sounds great.

Good setup, but with light guage 9's. Will eventually swap them for 10's or 11's, but the factory setup was definately adequate. No complaints. Guitar is aesthetically beautiful and plays great. I was a bit skeptical of a MIM Fender, but as soon as I played it my concerns were alleviated. This is a really nice guitar,especially for the price.

Seems really solid to me. Fenders and cockoaches, as they say. Stays in tune, even after i dropped it.

n/a

Own a blond Washburn HB35, '93 Japanese Jaguar, and an old fernandes strat. This might be my favorite, but the washburn is pretty nice too. Overall, this is a really impressive guitar and value. I definately recommend checking them out.

2005 Tele Deluxe (in black), you all know the features, if not checkout Fender.com for the detailed specs.

What I can tell you is that this is a very versatile instrument with great tones and a great vibe.

SOUND! Boy does it have it. My styles are Blues/Rock/Fusion. I run it through my Mesa Dual Rec, Mesa F-30 and my Guitar Port.
The pickups are excellent, they are low-medium output which to me is the way to go. The sounds are clear and balanced with overdrive, even with screaming gain. I never fell I am falling into that "muddy" sound even when everything is cranked. The clean tones are equally impressive. They are clear and bright, and can get downright jangly for humbuckers when dialed in right. The sounds fall perfectly between a Les Paul and a Strat - not to dark and not to bright. This guitar just begs to be played, its a rock machine.

Finish is black and have nothing to complain about.
The factory setup was fine (stock 9's) and will do my own setup with 10's to get to my personal specs. Also i love the fact that there is a belly cut (like a Strat) makes it very comfortable to play sitting or standing. Neck has a nice carve to it as well. Controls are in easy reach and since i have been playing LP's for 20 years its not an adjustment to me at all.

Very confident in the construction, feels very solid.
This is my 4th fender and never had an issue with any of them.

Never had to deal with them so I can't comment

I have been playing for 20 years now. I have always wanted one of these and always held off. Now this has become my number one guitar, it just has that "Mojo" that people talk of. Its very comfortable to play and sounds great. As i mentioned above - its a Rocker, you pick it up and you just go! There is just such a great vibe with this guitar I can't put it down. My other guitars are a LP Standard, LPDC Standard, Ibanez AS-120, Ibanez AWD82T, Fender American Deluxe Strat, and the 72 Tele Deluxe. This guitar fills the void i had between the strat and my LP's. It a great guitar. and would get another without hesitation.

Cut in U.S., assembled and finished in Mexico
2005 model, 2 Fender wide-range humbuckers, alder body,
maple neck, vintage tuners, 1972 version headstock (large, fat),
"C"-shaped neck cut, "bullet" truss rod adjuster, large frets,
contoured back-body, 2-tone pots, 2-volume pots, black gloss finish,
"fast" laquered neck, 3-way pickup selector located on upper bout,
1972 version large pickguard, 3-bolt neckplate, tight neck joint,
vintage 1972 style bridge, set-up for .009 guage strings,
chrome plated hardware/pickups, black canvas gig bag,
black nylon strap, three hex key tools for adjustment,
22-frets, one-year Fender guarantee

Everything included on this guitar makes it extremely variable, and versatile for an unusually large amount of musical styles and tastes. If anyone were to have preferred nu-metal or hardcore musical styles, they could achieve this by simply switching the pickups to extreme-output models. Amazingly, this guitar is able to be used for any kind of music, like: jazz, country/bluegrass, reggae, hard rock, classic rock, indie, pop, new-wave, industrial, progressive rock, and even classical if you wanted to.

This guitar can suit any style if you use the pickups suited for that style. The included pickups are remarkably versatile, with a large range of tones to discover by rolling the volume and tone pot knobs to different combinations.

Played through a:

Fender Twin Reverb- exceptionally clean and bell like 3-D sounds
Vox AC30 w/mild gain- very rich and complex distortion, not muddy
Marshall JCM 800 w/lots of gain- sharp, full-bodied grind, singing
Mesa Dual Rectifier w/gain- deep, extra-sustaining, screaming, full
Fender Bassman w/mild overdrive- wailing, crying, moaning, sustaining
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe- sparkly clean, with brilliant clean sustain
Line 6 Flextone III on "insane" model setting- absolutely screaming

This guitar seems to have the ability to make effects stand out as well. Played through an Ibanez Tube Screamer on a clean Fender Twin Reverb, it sounded exactly that: "screamy". Small adjustments on all of your rig with this guitar give you many resulting tones, from cascading swan-dives, to twangy slapping, to beautiful deep bell-tones.

The pickups make little-to no noise at all when left untouched, but can create a huge array of feedback types if desired.

The only factors that could vastly improve on the factory settings would be if Fender would have included a coil tap for both pickups for single-coil variations, virtually doubling the available tones that this guitar outputs, smoothing out the rather sharp hardtail bridge, and using grover tuners instead of the factory vintage ones.

Overall this guitar sounds beautiful.

Factory settings were almost perfect for this guitar's nature. Every player requires a different action, neck-cut, and all guitars need intonated and tightened. Out of the box it was very well set up by Fender's Mexican assembly plant. The paint job was smooth and pristine, with a high-gloss black finish. The neck is maple, and laquered to provide a "fast" feel. The hardware was clean, unoxidized, and the pickup switch was tight. The nut was cleanly cut. There is no fret buzz when properly set up, and the intonation was perfect with high-fret chording, as well as single-string riffs.

The guitar is weel-built. It has a tight neck joint, and rugged hardware. Everything on this guitar is built to last a very long time. All guitars that are intended to last should be taken care of, however. It could easily be used without a backup, but it is always wise in case of string breakage with harder playing styles to bring a back-up. There should be no worries of durability here.

Fender is very fast for response, and sends things faster than most guitar companies if necessary. Parts, labor, and warantees are well-respected with this company. They have strict guidelines, but when followed, you recieve great results. It is best to register all of your Fender products if possible.

Overall, this guiat is well worth the mid-ranged price. It is easily modified, well-constructed, extremely versatile, "fast"-playing, rugged, and mildly affordable to most money-saving people. It is very comfortable, and has exceptional sustain, with, deeply rich, complex arrays of tones.

The features are the selling point of this guitar for me. It takes my favorite parts of three major guitars and puts them all together: the cool neck and headstock of a 70's strat, the single-cut of a tele, and the pickup configuration of a Les Paul. Tuners are great. This guitar stays in tune better than any I've ever owned.

I'm pretty disappointed with the bridge pickup. The highs bite too hard, and the bass response on the low E just plain sucks. The mids are smooth and not overpowering though. There is great clarity and resonance when played unamplified, so I know there's great sound potential here. The neck pup sounds fine, but I rarely use it. I'll eventually swap out the bridge pup. I'm pretty happy with the tone controls--very smooth and responsive.

Set up was decent but not outstanding. Definitely major differences in contruction and quality control with this (made in Mexico) vs. my American standard tele. The American tele just feels like a solid guitar when you pick it up. This one is sturdy, but the truss rod is definitely weaker and neck is less resonant. I was a little disappointed with the waxy finish on the neck. Huge globs of wax were left on the string saddles.

So far, so good. I've had nothing but great luck with Fender.

Never been an issue in the 10 years I've played Fenders

I love the look and features of this guitar, and that alone was the selling point. In hindsight, I should have just saved up and bought an original 70's American tele deluxe, but this one will be fine after a bridge pup swap

2005, MIM Telecaster Deluxe Reissue. Black finish, two Fender "Wide Range" humbuckers, two volume and two tone controls, 3-way toggle switch, "CBS-era" Strat-type headstock and neck, 21 Jumbo frets, countoured body.

This guitar totally suits my style, which is very influenced by Keith Richards. With 2 humbuckers, this is a very powerful sounding, yet noise-free guitar. It has a much thicker tone than standard Telecasters, but it is still capable of some Tele-esque "twang", as well. It is an extremely versatile sounding guitar and perfect for Rock 'n Roll!

My Tele Deluxe was setup perfectly and in was very well made and assembled. Everything is very solid and sturdy.

It's built like a tank, and I can definitely use it without a backup. In fact, it is now one of my main guitars!

I have owned Fenders since 1979, and have yet to contact them for any support issues.

I own 19 guitars, including 5 other Teles and 4 Strats. My new Tele Deluxe is now one of my main guitars, along with my '72 Telecaster Custom Reissue. The Telecaster Deluxe and Telecaster Custom are the ultimate Telecasters ever made!

mine is a 2004 model and it is simply awesome. same features as everyone else says: good humbuckers, seperate tone/volume knobs, 3-way toggle switch, blah blah blah you get the idea. (i like using the toggle as an on/off switch.

im not going to lie, i hate Fender with a fiery passion. i play styles that i feel give the humbucker an upperhand and never even considered single coils. when i played this guitar i was in awe. ive never played a guitar that gave a creamy smooth sound for the blues and still had the balls to truly rock out. excellent excellent sound and ive never regretted buying it.

my other axes are a Cort M200 and a Les Paul Jr. which i run thru a Marshall with a Boss Overdrive and Crybaby Wah. this guitar blows the others away. im addicted to playing this (until i buy a Gibson Les Paul Custom hehehe)

this guitar is set up like a Tele but with contours similar to a Strat. the only thing i didnt like was the bridge but i can live with it.

this guitar is as reliable as the sun rising.

never had to deal with Fender

for the price of a midrange guitar this plays like a high end one. cant do much better for $650

2004 Mexican tele 72 deluxe in black. For a run down of all the specs.... Alder body with strat contour on back, C shape Maple neck with bullet truss rod and 21 med jumbo frets, 70's Strat bridge, three-bolt microtilt neckplate, 70s Strat headstock, two Wide Range humbucking pickups.

The neck is great and was the real selling point for me of this guitar. I love the big hendrix stylee 70's headstock. The medium jumbo frets are super comfy to play on, compared to my standard mexi tele, and the neck plays pretty damn fast and smooth even though laquered.

The tuners are decent enough, one thing i would maybe change though is the bridge saddles as i keep my action fairly low and the saddle screws rub into your hand quite a bit when leanin on them. Graphtechs maybe needed??

The sound out of this guitar is nothing short of beautiful. Think glen hansard - the frames, snow patrol, thom torke - radiohead, franz ferdinand. All keen users of this excellent guitar. The pickups deliver a clean crisp tone that just sings. I play through a Marshall AVT 150 at home, then wen in uni halls, an old Vantage vg-15. The pickups however, it is worth mentioning are NOT hot, i would say more of a medium output. This is not a bad thing, but if you are playing metal, then this probly aint the guitar for you. But for literally everything else, this guitar is very very flexible. My sound is indie/indie-rock/rock'n'roll and this guitar is perfect for it. The clean tone on this guitar is probably one of its best features. The bridge pickup although perhaps slightly too bright has a surprising amount of tele twang to it, although being a humbucker. However this is a good thing, you get the best of both worlds, twang and clarity that you can also overdrive and distort buzz free! The neck pickup however is my favourite. Its smooth and perfectly voiced and what some people have said about it being muddy is rubbish as ive tried this on my 2 amps and a couple of others and this is not the case. I love the light jazzy tone with nice bottom end but still well defined, probably due to the slightly lower output.

I play mostly through the clean channel of my marshall with the clean gain turned up a fair bit, then into a boss OD-3 which is a fine, fine overdrive for this guitar. I also use a crybaby wah and the OD 1 channel on the amp for more of a distortion. Compared to the epiphone les paul (with seymour duncan jazz and JB) which i sold to get this, the tone is very different. At higher distortions the sound is definitely not as thick, however i rarely play this heavy and for everything else like the milder distortions, overdrive and clean, this guitar is far better. Compared to my standard mexican tele, it does share a lot of the tone characteristics, but definitely sounds richer and can push a lot more sounds.

The factory setup was actually really good. I have only dropped the action very slightly. The truss rod was set perfect and the neck was as straight as a ruler. I have heard and sometimes seen the mexican loose neck pocket problem. This is not the case on my standard tele nor on this 72 deluxe. In fact the neck fit is super tight and you really couldnt even slip a piece of paper down it. This is as is should be, as the sustain on this thing is awesome.

The guitar stays in tune perfectly as well, and i havnt had any string breakage problems. The strings however, from factory are fitted as 9's which are a little too bright for this guitar in my opinion. I play with ernie ball regular 10's and sounds perfect IMO. The knobs are fender amp style and very cool, no complaints there. The switch is an american part as well as the humbuckers which is always good. As i mentioned earlier, the bridge saddles arent the best (just uncomfy) and the tuners although ok in my eyes could maybe be bettered.

Well here's were i have to slightly critisise the guitar :( Although im sure my guitar may have been a one off problem, i had serious diff's with the neck pickup cutting off. This did not happen at all at first until i adjusted the height of it slightly. (Bridge was fine by the way) I just wanted to drop it slightly as i thought it was overpowering the bridge a tiny bit. Wen i did, i noticed the pickup would start cutting out completely, at random times. VERY FRUSTRATING! I put up with this for a while, and even found the pickups height sweet spot and it wouldnt do it as much. However i would say to anyone with this prob to send it back to where u got it under warrenty asap. I left mine too long and had to get it repaired at academy of sound. The probly wasnt massive or costly, however it turns out there was far too much bunched up cable running from the neck pickup to the pots. This was pulling and putting strain on the pickup solders. As a result the connections started breaking. Im sure this was a one off with this guitar however be warey. The luthier cut the excess wiring and resoldered it for me. And also replaced the cable from the switch to the jack and pots. This was unsheilded!!??.

Now all is playing perfect again i would have no doubts about reliability whatsoever. Teles are solid and can take some serious wear and tear. The gig bag that comes with it however is pretty useless apart from covering it if in your room. If you are going to spend this much on a quality guitar, do what i did and spend the money on a good case for it. Standard hiscox liteflite is the way forward - #70

never contacted fender

Ive been playing guitar for about 7 years now and this is my 4th electric, and the best guitar ive had to date. (squier strat, epiphone les paul with seymours installed, mexican standard tele). Overall this is a brilliant guitar and the fact that it is mexican made should not put people off. The components are mainly american and you are getting a guitar that can compete in both sound and finish to any other fender or similar guitar in a much higher price range. I nearly went for the 72 tele custom, but im glad i held out back last year and got this. Ive played both lots, and the neck on this is way way better, plus a nicer colour of wood. The contour on the back on the body like a strat is much comfier, and the strat bridge looks and feels better. As far as value for money go and features and sound, this could be the best #500 odd you ever spent. And who could deny how damn good this thing looks in black with the 3-ply pickguard and big chrome humbuckers, along with THAT neck.

GET ONE

2003 model. I got a significant discount on it because it has a huge gash in the body. That don't confront me none. Mine is black, alder body. Love the flat (12" I think?) radius and larger frets. Neck feels awesome, not sticky at all though it is lacquer finished. Two buckers, with individual tone and vol, nice for turning down one pickup and flicking the switch on and off. Huge headstock is a plus for keeping bassists in line.

These buckers ROCK. I doubt I'll swap them out, they sound really creamy and phat. Great for rock n roll. The middle position is great for rhythm work, very convincing Stones tones there. Tone controls are good rolled back about 1/3 way; past that, it's muddy. Vol controls work nicely; roll back and does a good job cleaning up without soundy wimpy.

Flawless save the major ding. Neck is airtight in the pocket, love that. HEAVY guitar, which is fine with me, but a lot of people like their Teles light. Fretwork nice and clean, paint is so shiny you could use it as a mirror. Neck has some nice figuring to it.

Seems very solid. I've had good luck with Fenders, this one should be no different.

Don't know.

I really dig this Tele. Great rock n roll guitar.