Fender '72 Telecaster Thinline Reissue

Fender'72 Re-issue Thinline made in 2005
21 frets
1 volume, 1 tone control, 3-way switch
2 Fender wide range humbuckers
Maple neck
Natural Ash Body
String-thru body
Fat neck, medium frets
gig bag

I was immediately taken by the look of the natural ash body Thinline Tele but when I played it, I fell in love. It is such a unique instrument - I mean how many electrics do you know that have half semi acoustic and half solid?

The Fender wide range pickups are much better than their Gibson competitors - and for most of my life I played only Gibson SG's and Gibson L6S's. They are designed to allow more high frequency through and thus give the tele that sharp, piercing sound you want with a good solid bass background.

The action is wonderful, though I always have my guitars set up by Metairie???s Guitar Tech, and the sound is gorgeous. The neck pickup has a bell tone that rivals the neck pup on my beloved Stratocaster. And the bridge pup has bite but just a bit more body than a Strat bridge pup.

The quality is first rate. The neck and all components are made in Fender's USA factory and the guitar is assembled in Mexico. But trust me; this is quality work all around.

Although this is a re-issue of the 1972 Fender Thinline Telecaster, it plays like the vintage instrument. The story behind the guitar is that Fender was losing market share to Gibson in the early 70???s since the fat sound of humbucker SG???s and Les Paul???s were the preference of rockers. Then Fender heard that Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones had pulled the factory pickups out of his telecaster and installed Gibson humbuckers ??? so Fender decided to come up with this unique Telecaster. Sad story ??? it didn???t catch on and was shortly discontinued and that???s a damn shame as this guitar is so much better than the 1968 Gibson SG Standard I played during those years.

Being a hybrid - half semi-acoustic, it is more delicate than its full solid body brothers, that said, it is very durable, keeps tune wonderfully and as long as you don't go all Townsend on it, should last a very long time in active gigging.

Never had any reasons to bother on this account but all previous dealings with Fender were painless.

Without doubt, the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen and one that plays like a dream. Always spend the money to have a good local tech set up the guitar for you as I never trust the off the racks settings.

Mexican Telecaster '72 Thinline made in 2003
21 frets
1 volume, 1 tone control, 3-way switch
2 Fender humbuckers
Maple neck
Three-colour sunburst
String-thru body
Fat neck, nedium frets
gig bag

I am playing mostly blues and rock'n'roll on Strats and thought I should overcome my prejudice and try a Tele. The Thinline attracted me because of its looks - it's a really great looking guitar, plus at my age the reduced weight of a semi-hollow is an added bonus.
I am using a Marshall 100 watt VS 100 and a Fender Dyna-touch III. Somehow I was not able to get the tones that I wanted out of the guitar. In position one it sounded dull, and in position 3 acidic. Position 2 was okay, but not enough to make me really happy. Played on the clean channels it sounded better than on the overdrive channels of both amps.
Furthermore the neck was too fat for my liking and not as smooth as I had expected. I am sure someone with more patience can get really good sounds out of it.

The strings were set-up a little high, but that was fixed easily. The pick-ups are a different matter; I couldn't make them produce the sound I wanted. The brass-saddles were alright on the day I removed the guitar from the gig-bag. After a week and several hours of playing they rusted/oxidized as did the pick-ups. I blame that one the climate here in Southeast Asia, but then I have 1986 American Stratocaster and there is not rusty speck on that one.
The tone and volume controls were and are little loose.

The way this guitar is built it seems it will last a long time. I've played it live only once and it worked ok. All the other players there who are Telecaster players wanted to play it too. They find it a great guitar.

I've been playing since more than 30 years now. My other guitars are an '86 American Stratocaster, a 2006 American Deluxe Telecaster, a 2009 American Standard Stratocaster, and a Epiphone Korina Explorer made in 2008. The last two are my favourite guitars.
I wished I had been able to play the guitar before buying it online and I would have found that I like jumbo frets better than the one the Tele is equipped with. I am sure it is a great and wonderful guitar for someone, it's just that it doesn't sound the way I like it to.

This is a Mexican made reissue purchased new this year. The guitar is a semihollow design made of ash with a maple neck. The guitar uses two Fender designed "wide range" humbuckers. This finish is natural with a pearloid white pickguard. The pickups truly are wide range in that they produce anything from classic tele sounds to a moderate humbucking roar. The guitar is striking in appearance and fun to play unplugged at night. The hardware is average at best but adequate for this guitar.

I play blues and rock music but it will do jazz well also. This guitar is killer with a Fender Blues Jr. and BBE Green Screamer peddle. This same pedel also works wonders with a 65 Deleux Reverb Reissue. The guitar is noisier than some humbucker equipted guitars but the sound is worth it. The strength of this guitar is the many sound it produces. The tone knob is very sensitive and can create pain with the bridge pickup set all the way on treble. I did change the volome pot to a 500k which did open up the pickups as some other reviewers noted, a cheap mod that is worth it.

The pickups needed some adjustment. The big negative was the fret finish. They were overhanging the fretboard and almost caused me to not buy the guitar. A quick trip to most excellent guitar repairman solved the problem but it looses two point for such sloppy work. In every other respect, this guitar was well built for it's price range.

This guitar is durable, easy to use on stage and has a tough finish. The hardware isn't the best, I could see changing tuners and bridge but it works fine now. This telecaster looks cool and tough.

No problems

I have played for 30 years, more seriously in recent years. This was somewhat of an impulse buy/trade with an old gibson. I wanted something different, with a hollowbody design. I love how it resonates and how it handles. It isn't in the same class as my Eric Johnson Stratocaster, but it is a fine second guitar. If it was lost or stolen I probably would try something else but wouldn't rule out getting another one.

Ash simi-hollow body, 2 Fender "Wide-Range" chrome covered pickups, custom Mother-of-Pearl picguard, 7 1/2" radius maple fretboard, 3-way switch

This is the most wonderful sounding Telecast I've ever played (after a few quick and easy mods - see below)! It truly does have a "wide-range" tone to it. It still has the classic Tele spank, but with lots of full and fat bottom-end. No hum. Lots of top-end sparkle and tons of bottom end.
**NOTE** These guitars come with unpotted pickups and they will squeal like a little pig if you throw a moderate amount of gain in with it. I potted my pickups and the squeal went away but not the tone. in fact, I think the tone improved after potting. I also swapped out the stock 250k volume pot for an audio-taper 500k and that helped the neck pickup bring out a little more sparkle. After these mods, the guitar has the best tone of any guitar I've ever owned, I've I've had a LOT of different guitars.

I bought the guitar used so I can't say how the factory set-up was. I do know that with the 7 1/2" radius I had to raise the high E and B strings up so that they won't "fret-out" when doing big bends. The shorter radius does make it easier to play chords - which is what I do 90% of the time anyway. The neck is just a little bit fatter than "C" shape, but just a little. I like the slightly more fat neck, as my hands don't hurt so much when playing long songs full of bar chords. The grain pattern in mine is not the best ever, but I don't care anything about that. I just love the way it plays and sounds

Like most Tele's and Strats, this guitar is strong enough to take some abuse. You can use Teles and Strats to play baseball with and they'll still hold up.

I've owned lots of Strats, Les Pauls, Tele, and everything in-between and I like this guitar the best. I want another one as a backup. I'd like one with a Bigsby tremelo. If I can find another one, I might mod it with one.

Pretty much covered in the other reviews, but here's a basic rundown:

Body - Semi-Hollow Ash
Neck - 1 Piece Maple
Frets - 21
Bridge - Vintage Style Strat Hardtail w/ Strings Through Body
Pickups - 2 Fender Wide Range Humbuckers
3 Position Toggle (Bridge, Neck/Brige, Neck)
1 Master Volume Knob
1 Master Tone Knob

From the information I've come across, the parts are manufactured in the US, but the guitar is assembled in Mexico. Not a big deal to me, but for some people this may be an issue.

There is one issue that I have that won't probably affect many people planning to purchase this guitar. The tuning pegs have a small slit running through the middle of the peg, and there is a hole inside the slit that you push the string into. I like this for standard gauge strings (50s, 52s), but anything bigger than (53s) won't fit. This isn't a HUGE issue, but it does limit the options somewhat for string usability.

This is where this guitar absolutely shines. I spent about 3-4 months playing tons of guitars (SGs, Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, Various Ibanez, Schecter, etc) and trying to find the sound that suited me best. The main problem that I had in finding a guitar was that I needed versatility. I play a lot of different styles (Blues, Rock, Metal, Thrash, Alternative, Death), and I really wanted a guitar that could cover all of those areas.

I'm happy to say that this guitar can cover all of the styles that I need it to. It tunes down well (I play in a lot of tunings ranging from Drop-B to E Standard). I'm using a Peavey Vypyr 30w as a practice amp, and I can get all kinds of different sounds based on those amp models.

Live, I play alternative/pop-punk through a Fender Deluxe (4x10) and it really sounds great if you dial the treble down and boost the mids for the crunch channel. I would normally set the gain around 5 or 6 and I get a great classic rock sound.

The guitar cleans up well and is very usable on all pickup settings. I like the clean on the bridge pickup for string skipping and heavier picking parts, and I like to throw it in the neck position for bluesier clean solos and jazz/blues rhythms.

For gain induced parts, the Wide Range on the bride is fantastic. When I'm tuned down, notes are still distinguishable and the guitar rings chords out well. I really like the mid setting for more classic rock sounds.

I had the guitar set up at Guitar Center and I think it's necessary (but I also think it's necessary to have any brand new guitar professionally set up). After the set up, the guitar played very smoothly and tuned better.

I have the Natural Maple finish and I love it. I like that you can see the grains of the wood underneath and I think it's a great classic look. I also like the pearloid pickguard.

I recommend upgrading the case if you plan on gigging/traveling with this guitar. I didn't even see the soft case. The day I got the guitar, I bought an SKB hard case (which I highly recommend).

The parts are all solid. The one issue I have here is the input jack. First of all, it won't take 90 degree cord ends, only straight. Also, it seems to come loose every once in a while. These aren't huge issues, but they were a little annoying at first.

I haven't had to deal with Fender's customer service.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I've owned this guitar for a little over a year.

As I stated before, I really needed a guitar that covered a wide range of genres, and this guitar absolutely fits the bill for me. I love the versatility and I'm able to get a bunch of sounds out of this guitar.

I recommend this guitar for rock/blues but also if you want something that won't completely break your budget and is very versatile.

Mexican made early 2,000's, 2 wide range humbuckers, maple neck and fretboard, "vintage tuning pegs". 3 bolt neck.

I've had this guitar for about 5 years and I finally made some modifications to it.

The tuning pegs stink. I put Gotoh's in.

the bridge saddles are garbage, I put heavier American standard types in.

The 250K volume pot makes the guitar sound murky..I changed it to 500K and it opens the pickups WAY up. Makes the guitar come alive.

I love the weight of the body, the resonance, but I always felt something was robbing tone, and yes indeed, it was that pot. The stock bridge pickup is not bad after this mod.

Finally, I removed 6 pole pieces from the neck pickup as per an earlier reviewer. Adds a bit more spank to the neck, which is sorely needed because it is SOOO bassy stock.

I wish the guitar had come with bigger frets, as these ones are nearly ground down to nothing. They call them "vintage", I call them "too small" and "easily worn". I'll either need a refret or a new neck very soon.

The metal pot knobs that came with it are long gone.

The string ferules in the back of the guitar fall out all the time when changing strings..I've had to track them down on dark club floors and in carpets and such...NOT FUN!!!

See above about knobs and ferrules.

Other than that, the guitar has held up well after many gigs. I just love the feel and tone of the body, that's why I don't mind spending some money to improve it.

I spent $600 on this guitar and I'm pretty content with what it's given me.

Japan, I beleive 1994, Ash, natural finish, horrible original pups, exellent tune-up, i beleive, factory 'cuz previous owner was so nasty and lazy

I'm contemporary guitar sound maniac. Mostly playing dreampop, shoegaze, experimental and other. Using POD XT PRO with all add-on stuff, couple of stompboxes before, like DUNLOP FUZZ FACE (RI, blue one), thru TECH 21 POWER ENGINE plus other nadmade strange stuff (digital and analog, i'm not a snob, it's really doesen't matter for me) . If you familiar with guitar sounds of band kinda RADIOHEAD, PLACEBO, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, THE CURE, NIN, ets., you now what i mean. Idea-first, guitar must be mystically comfortable just to catch that ideas. Stuck pickups were .... nothing. Just sad parts of exellent built a tuned-up guitar, that maybe built much beter than american ones. It's like japanese cars. Cheeper and just beter builted. I understand that nobody can duplicate original WIDE RANGE. Nobody but... Curtis Novak. I send an e-mail to him after he made for me a pair of near to absolute sounding JAZZMASTER pups for my other semi-Japanese guitar (i built it by myself with stock japanese ebay parts). Over 1 ear i was looking for person who can rewound WIDE RANGE or duplicate them. And Curtis return my e-mail with great news: he did onse with great result! After half a month he return to me rewounded pups with new magnets. Result is... i have no words. Just unexpectable. Curtis is really niciest person i now in that business. Now my guitar do everithing i need: from intrigued new level of guitar ideas to just traditional boring rock. Clean sound, especially Neck is really "tninline clean", both pups from bell like to crunch like an organic butter from mother Ukraine, and brige pup just blowed away lace sensor redred dually with tele plus of friend of mine. And everithing with absolute No Noise. You even can shread death metal with neck pup! Another words- MIJ 72 TELE THINLINE+ Curtis Novak rewounded WIDE RANGE pups=neo boutique piece of art (not just a guitar). I'm happy now. Simple happy!

MIJ guitars-just the best, much beter than standart american made.

I'm not a person who taking care a lot of that workhorse. But guitar works like a tank. Felt down a lot but still be Rembo

You now, i bot that guitar in Russia, what are you asking about? Customer support?
:))

Hmmm. One of my favorite guitar, especially after Curtis Novak did magic with that dead pups

In the features department, this my Mexi Thinline gets points for versatility. Nice cleans, okay overdrive (TS808) and it does well with high gain, too: I've got a Bass Big Muff that dishes out the chunkiest power chords with this thing. It can get sweet humbecker neck tones, but still has some twang in the bridge position that's pretty fun to play with. Two Fender Wide-Range Humbuckers that shouldn't be called that, because Seth Lover designed the Wide-Range HBs, and these were not designed by Seth Lover (barring the fact that essentially all humbucker designs came from Seth's groundbreaking work). In any case, they're different. It has a FAT maple neck, slot tuners, which some people might, but I don't since my first instrument was a jazz bass with slot tuners. Strat style bridge which, although isn't the highest quality, is easier to adjust than a Tele bridge, IMO.

I play all sorts of music: jazz, blues, hard rock, a bit of hardcore-ish stuff, avant-garde, post-rock, and I once played lead for a country recording for my friend. I play though a Blues Jr. with a Weber Ceramic Blue Dog speaker (all you need, really) and a plethora of effects, all of which this guitar takes pretty well. My TS808 copy makes it sound a bit constrained, which is odd, considering how much unoonstraining I did. See, like many with this guitar, I swapped the 250k pots (dumb idea, Fender!) for 500k pots. Now, this gave a bit more brightness and "opened up" the pickups some, but I still wasn't satisfied-- the neck pickup was just too muddy. So, after some online research, I found some advice being passed on that originally came from pickup guru Lindy Fralin. Open up the pickguard, and take a flathead screwdriver and remove the poles that you can on the back of the neck pickup (6 in all). This leaves 3 on the top part of the pickup (EAD strings) and three on the bottom (GBE strings). This is completely reversible. The result is a bit more of a Strat-y sound. It's a much clear and sweeter pickup now that I've done this. It's still humbucking, too. It's a fantastic idea, trust me.

The guitar is a bit noisy when I'm not touching the strings (grounding issue). I'm going to get it shielded and star-grounded anyhow, so it won't be noisy for long.

With these mods, the guitar is very sweet and full. It sounds really harmonically rich on the neck pickup. The bridge pickup still has a great twang, too. Very versatile.

Oh, and the cap is now a paper in oil. Slightly warmer tone rolloff.

I had the guitar's action professionally done, and it's pretty low, and I get a ton of sustain. Everything is in perfect working order, the frets, the neck (which is the best part of the guitar), the bridge. It's probably worth it to upgrade the hardware, though, just so it stays in tune better.

Albeit a 3-bolt neck, I see it lasting quite a while. the Ash body is pretty sturdy. I like the finish a lot, too. I'll use this anytime without a backup.

This guitar gets a nine because I had to spend about $100 and several hours of research to get it to sound like a 10.

Buy it for the neck, keep it for the mods.

Two knobs, a 3-way selector... simple as it gets.

I replaced the 250k knobs with 500k knobs, something everyone who gets this guitar should do, and the humbuckers are now much more open. I also had the cap replaced with a paper and oil one. Tiny detail, I know, but it does sound a bit warmer now. It can be a bit noisy if I'm not grounding it in someway with my body. Perhaps I should get that fixed. Anyhow, it's got a thick, warm sound on the neck, a twangy, still Tele sound on the bridge, and a pretty darn happy medium when you select both.

I had it set up at my local music shop. The action is just a mite higher than I'd like it to be, but the sustain is crazy! I love the finish, too. I LOVE the fat neck on it, too.

Seems pretty darn sturdy from where I'm standing.

Never dealt with 'em.

Great guitar, plays nicely, sounds great. Very happy with it.

Fender Specs:

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0137402321

This things sounds like is descended straight from heaven.

Lots of bottom, twang at the top - a nice even and round sound. "Wide Range" is perfectly descriptive of the sound.

I play through a Fender Hot Rod Deville 212 - and IMO, this may be the perfect guitar sound.

an interesting note may be what I use this for, which is straight up hardcore death metal. For distortion I use a Ibanez SM7. Some may feel this guitar is only good for country or Blues or whatever, but I can tell you that NOTHING has the balls this tele puts under the distortion.

Beyond that though, it's just a beautiful, clean, crisp, yet round sound.

I find the action to be VERY fast - the only issue is the thickness of the finish on the neck, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

"tank" has been used more than once in these reviews, and there's a reason why.

All and all I'd say the craftmanship is EXCELLENT. Even if it was made in Mexico.

No Problems

This guitar is my soulmate forever. I have no clue why everybody in the world doesn't have one.

1999 (first year of production) Mexican version.

I got the guitar second hand, and it had a StewMac bridge and saddles (which I do prefer).

It has two wide range humbuckers which are great, not as good as the originals though (nothing ever is).

I love the sound, lovely and LOUD! Great for my heavy blues style in the bridge position, although cleaned up with some reverb the neck position sounds very jazzy, and I can recreate Peter Green well.

The finish is good, thick poly though, which is annoying.

The neck has several chips and dents because of gigging, but this is expected.

This guitar is a real tank. I've dropped it on all sorts of surfaces (by accident) and it had a cymbal dropped on it (not by me) but it barely left a dent on it. I have played this guitar into the ground. I gig this guitar with out back ups all the time.

BARE IN MIND THOUGH-- My guitar HAS HAD alot of work done. The neck pick up DID stop working at one point, although I haven't had any problems with it for a year.

I bought it second hand.

I have been playing for 6 years.
I also own a:
Fender 72 Custom (2004)
Esquire (built from parts) and many other guitars, but none of them compare. I play my guitar through a Blues Junior and it sounds great.

If you dont have a Thinline, go get one, and when you get it OVERWIND THE PICK UPS!

As the owner of an original '72 Thinline, I'm disappointed with the sound of the re-issue. I discovered that the current Fender humbuckers are very different from the original design, although they are cosmetically identical on the outside. Scoring a pair of originals may be tough or cost prohibitive, but I found out that Jonny Lang had Fender Custom Shop build a Thinline incorporating Bill Lawrence 500 series humbuckers. Based on the fact that Lang is a Thinline fan, it's presumable that the Lawrence pups must meet or exceed the tonal characteristics of Fender's original humbucker design.

Anyway, anyone looking to upgrade a reissue may want to investigate the Bill Lawrence pickups!!

See other reviews. All I will add is my neck seems much more like 9.5" radius than a 7.25" vintage radius.

This is an update to my review from a year and a half ago. I did some tinkering. Frist, swapped the vol pot from 250k to 500k. Had a nice effect. Next, put the original bridge saddles back on - like em better than Graphtech now. Finally, I scored two original '74 Wide Range buckers. Holy cow! I would not trade this guitar for $20,000 vintage piece. I like it that much now. A/B-d against a real 1974 Thinline and the RI (w/ orig PUs) blew it away...

Except for the heavy Poly finish, which I removed, this guitar is flawlessly made.

Built like a tank.

35 years on the guitar. I know a good one when I see it. Get the natural Ash model though... ;-)

2006 Mexican model. Same features as listed below. The body looks like 3 pieces on the top which is carved out and a cap on the back that is 3 pieces. Wide range humbuckers and the standard tele controls. The neck is really glossy, but not too sticky for me.

I really like the sound of this guitar. Its a different sound, though, and it may not be for everyone. The HBs are very open and not muddy like a Les Paul can be, but they are not mid rangey like a P-90. They are very much "wide range" with clear lows and clean highs. Something about them gives the bridge pickup that classic tele thwack, but with more balls. The middle position is nice, good for strumming, and the neck is very rich sounding. Acoustically, this guitar sounds really good, too. The F-hole makes it pretty loud unplugged which is nice, and gives the plugged in sound a nice woody tone. But, like I said, this guitar sounds different, so play one before you buy.

The finish is like glass! I've read that people have had issues with fret finishing and bridge placement, but mine is fine. Actually, of the guitars that I played a the store, the frets were better than some of the american made fenders. I was shocked that so many of those had such terrible frets. Some of them literally made red marks on the side of my hand from playing it. $1400 for that! No way. Sorry for the rant. There was a little bit of white residue on the f-hole, but other than that, no problems what so ever.

Its a tele, but its also a semi-hallow. This thing is solid.

No contact with fender ever.

I've been playing for about 18 years. I own a Epiphone Dot, a Fender CIJ Jaguar, a Squier Tele, and a Yamaha Acoustic. If this guitar was stolen, I would cry, and then hunt that bastard down and, and... ask him to get it back. If he said no, then I might have to look into hiring Chuck Norris to take care of the situation. That, or I would save my money and buy another. I actually was planning on buying a Gibson faded series guitar. Its tax refund time for me and I thought yes, I will buy a Gibson. I had my eye on the double cutaway with the P-90's. Well, after playing that guitar (I love the way it looks), it felt like furniture and not a guitar. I tried the SG and the LP and they did nothing for me. I was so disappointed. I desperately started playing anything to find my next guitar. Then I saw this guitar. I plugged it in and fell in love.

Telecaster, transparent/natural finish,
U shape neck 7/14 radius makes my fingers absolutley glide across the strings and with vintage frets sliding up and down you can barely feel it, overall a very comfortable instrument, i'm giving this an 8 because even though the finish is flawless and the neck is great, the electronics are limited, but that is a typical telecaster thing so doesn't really matter

Very versatile, i play alot of jazz blues classic rock and alittle classical, obvious this is not a classical guitar but it is good for everything else except for maybe death metal the sound is very similiar no matter what config, you use but depending what effects you have i have the zoom 606 effects pedal you can do pretty much anything with it.

intonation was fine when i got it, the action needed minamal adjustment, its got a strat style bridge so i didnt have to take the strings off took me 5 minutes to adjust that, everything else was fine finish is flawless trussrodd fine, pickups are fine

no matter where you go you want a backup in case of string breakage but i would gig without a backup with it, nice complete finish hardware so far (havent had it that long) havent shown any signs of wear and tear (no scratchy/funny noises) strap buttons i checked and i couldnt tightend them anymore so it was fine

been playing about 2 1/2 years, my dad plays and his friends play been playing about 34 years each so i have the advantage of being able to play with them alot and learn alot so its almost as if ive been playing 5 years, got a 335, les paul with emg active pickups and a dreghdnot acoustic. This sounds alot like the 335 because they both have very clean humbuckers, (I don't distort it overall) but the tone control is more effective so it is more versatile. Personally i love the neck on this thing and the semi hollow factor means to practice I don't have to plug in I can still hear it it isn't the greatest value though there are better buys out there but it is a very good guitar.

Check the other people's reviews for what all it has. I replaced my volume pot with a 500k model from Torres engineering and it opened it up like no other guitar I've ever heard. Also, the slotted tuning keys are a pain but you get used to them. The pickups are sweet and I have no idea why anyone would ever change them out for something else.

This is the real reason why I'm writing this review. I was in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago and in a guitar store that had an original (not reissue) one of these guitars. Here are my thoughts.
At first I was I was very hesitent to even pick this guitar up. I love my reissue and I feel extremely lucky to have found the perfect guitar for me for only $500. No, that's not pocket change but considering how many thousands of dollars guitars can go for $500 ain't too bad. Anyway, I always say that I've honestly never picked up a guitar, at any price, that I liked better than my Thinline and was afraid that once I played an original that there's no way I could afford I'd just be lusting after something I could never have. None the less, I couldn't just pass it by and had to give it a try so I pulled off the wall and plugged into the same amp I play through at home (a Fender Hotrod Deluxe).
The two versions are supposed to be the same but the way they sound really sets them apart. They definitely sound different from each other. Some people will say that's a bad thing but my personal preferrence says its a good thing. The older one certainly had a different ring to it. While the newer ones have a nice smooth, warm sound the older ones seemed to be a bit more harsh. I can definitely see where some people will like that harshness and it would sound great for some songs. Where the new one sounds like a tele that is a bit edgy and it might had smoked some pot, the older one sounds like a tele that is a bit edgy and then did some coke. Also, with the newer ones, I can get one of the sweetest tones I've ever heard out of a guitar with the pickup switch set in the middle, the older one just didn't blend the two pickups as well. On second thought, it did blend them well but they just don't sound as different as they do on the newer ones which combine for that amazing sound the middle position gives you. Also because of the two pickups sounding so close to the same, you can't get the wide range of tones out of the guitar as you can with the newer ones.

Yes, the new ones are made in Mexico which generally means not as good of quality. It may have just been the one I was playing but to me it seems like my MIM is put together better than the original. I know that the one I was playing was over 30 years old and my guitar is probably about 3 years old but it still just seemed like the MIM went through just a little more quality control before being shipped out. The one thing that seemed to be the same on both versions, and I commend Fender for, was the size and shape of the neck. This is one of the best feeling necks I've ever put my hand around (stupid small hands, thanks mom and dad for those genetics) and was one of the things that made me want my guitar.
The only small imperfection is one small area leading into the f-hole. Other than that, perfect. Also, if you have a good local store in your area that can set up guitars well (just because someone offers the service doesn't mean they have any idea what they're doing) have them set it up for. It turned what I thought was a perfect guitar for me into an even more perfect guitar.

So far mine's been knocked over twice (having a two year old and six year old can be hard on your guitars) but you can't tell a thing. I've also bumped it up against a wall a few times but after all that its still in as good of condition as the day I bought it. I don't think I would use it as my only guitar but only because I like to change my sound up for different songs, if it's just a reliability issue I'd take this one any day of the week.

Who knows, never had to contact them. Also don't know about warranty since I bought it used.

Over all, I liked the original but after playing it for a while I was longing for my reissue. I also was feeling even better about paying only $500 for my guitar versus a few grand for an original or any other guitar I've ever played.

Frets - Thin/low type
The pickups - H/g config Fender wide range buckers mounted to the pickguard
Controls - Master gain, tone and three way pickup selector
Tuners - Vintage fender style, nedd to watch when you string up, but steady tuning wise
Headstock - 6 in a line, typical tele shape
Bridge - Strat style hard-tail
Neck - Bolt on (three bolt style) maple
Scale - 25.5 inch
Electronics - good
Accesories - Gig bag and fender booklets included whish it had two tone Controls nobbs

Guitar dudes let me tell you what i did to my telle.rember i am 51 years old.

Guitar dudes let me tell you what I did to my telle. Remember I am 51 years old.i changed the pods and changed the capacitor I used only fender parts you would not believe the difference. I tweaked the neck and lowered the action on this guitar sounds so un believable good I took it back to guitar center to let the guys play it.i didn?t think I was going to get back out with it. they kept getting outer guy to come in and play it. I also set the springs on the bridge after I selected the string I am going to use. I play it through a mesa f-50 sometimes with a keeley compressor sometimes not. what I was able to do is open the humbuckers up and add more treble. Clean this thing glassines with a beautiful tone. Crank on the gain and it bites.with the changes i made this guitar will stand up to any no one will make fun of your mexcian tellie any more it will be on steriods and be a mean jose.

i play it all the time.

i voided the warranty.

30 years.i stolen would buy another one the same day.i own nine guitars including two taylors. a gibson do-bro. a lucelle.highway 1,a mexican strat loaded with eric clappton pickups and mid range booster the bridge lowered against the body lowered action.the eric clapton and the mexican thinline are my favorites. i love them both.i play the tellie a little more.

This is a 1983 MIJ '72 Telecaster thinline, that I bought about a year ago, I absolutely LOVE it! It has the standard tone and volume knobs with the 3-way selector. Has a nice thick C-shaped neck, medium width. Nice and simple.

Awesome sound. I play this usually through a MesaBoogie Studio .22 tube amp. The humbuckers are nice and meaty on the lead channel, in any pickup position. On the clean channel, you get real nice jazz tones with the neck pickup. With both settings you get a nice warm neutral tone. And suprisingly..the bridge pickup alone still gives you that tele twang.

Although I bought this "used", it was a closet kept guitar and was pretty much untouched when I got it. Nothin else to say except that this thing was made unbelievibly well! Its almost perfect.

The only complaint I have about the hardware is that the selector fuzzes sometimes, otherwise fine. What can I say? It is Japanese made, that says it all.

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1983 was the first year that they made this reissue, which (don't hold me to it) was during the CBS transition and the guitars were made in Japan. In my opinion, the Japanese Fenders are some of the best that you can buy, everything about this guitar just feels like QUALITY. And it is. I love this guitar, and everything about it. It was exactly what I was looking for in a guitar, awesome for Jazz, awesome for rock, just good all around. Highly recommended!

The guitar in question is a dual humbucker, 21 fret chambered solidbody.

It's a mexican range Fender, a reissue of the thinline tele model made in '72.

Frets - Thin/low type
The pickups - H/g config Fender wide range buckers mounted to the pickguard
Controls - Master gain, tone and three way pickup selector
Tuners - Vintage fender style, horrible to string up, but steady as hell tuning wise
Headstock - 6 in a line, typical tele shape
Bridge - Strat style hard-tail
Neck - Bolt on (three bolt style) maple
Scale - 25.5 inch
Electronics - Passive
Accesories - Gig bag and fender booklets included

The body is Ash and has a single F-hole which opens into one of the guitars chambers. the body is not a single solid piece, it's chambers are routed out from the back, and then the cap is applied to the back of the guitar. The neck of the guitar is single piece maple.

It's a players guitar, not some shred machine trem trick beastie, as is evident from the specs.

This thing has a very unique sound, if you're after bright single coil sparkle, then simply do not buy this guitar, it's not designed to do it. The sound of the buckers is warm, round, fat and open, but it'll still produce that trebel and spank that makes it sound like a tele.

I play mostly Rock and Blues based stuff, and this thing handles them both like a charm, but it can also do so much more, from spacy coldplay style sounds, right through to jazz.

I currently play this guitar through an Engl Thunder 50 Valve/Tube head, connected to a Marshall 2 by 12 fitting with Celestion vintage 30s, and the sound is absolutley wonderful, I can dial in some seriously classic sounds. You want it to sound like an lp? It can do that. You want it to sound something unique to itself? well to be frank, thats what it does.

Played clean you can get some serious spank on the bridge pickup, but I favour the neck pickup, with a tiny bit of the trebel rolled off on the tone pot, the sound is dynamic, warm fat and open and is perfect for rythmn. That said, thats merely how I use it, it will do lead very well too.

Overdrive is also nice, as is crunch, as said before, you can make it sound like an lp with careful tweaking, but it still has that tele twang at the bridge, and it's not as muddy as an lp.

It's got a very unique sound, some people will love it, others wont, personally I love it, but do try it before you buy it.

The fit of all the parts is very good, save for a slightly loose neck pocket fit, other than that, no complaints, tuners are smooth, frets nicely dressed and all the electronics work as they should.

The neck has a lovely feel to it, it really fills your hand out and is particularly comfortable to play. No complains about the frets, minimal buzzing and the action can be brought quite low without affecting this, I prefer to have it set up so that the strings can really ring out however. The finish is gloss, but i've not found it to be overly sticky, or to hamper playing in any way. The tuning is smooth, and if strung up the way the vintage tuners are intended to be strung, it's stable as hell, once you've played the strings in, and the tuning is set, it's not going anywhere for a while.

The finish is nice throughout, although the detailing around the inside edges of the f-hole could be slightly better.

Durability? It's a Telecaster, and as such could be used to batter you way out of a bar fight if need be, or to give any unwanted intruders on stage a solid whack, Keith richards stylee...

Could it withstand live playing? Yes, yes it could, no problems on this front whatsoever. I'd be happy to use this guitar on stage without a backup, no question.

The hardware all seems solid, and I'm sure it'll last. The strap buttons are also fine, however i've since changed them out for straplocks simply for easy of use.

I've not yet had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for roughly 5 years now and have owned a few guitars in that time, this one is my main guitar, and in the year or so i've had it, i've not become disillusioned with it at all, I still love it as much as I did when I bought it.

It's got a unique sound, and as long as you don't fight agaisnt that, you'll love it, it wont be for everyone though.

ok I confess I had at one time a MIJ thinline and I was looking for the same MOJO in the MIM thinline so I saved my pennies at the time I was stationed in Iraq So on leave I purchased this guitar well I must say I was dissapointed the neck pocket was sloppy not a tight fit also the bridge pickup did not work, what a drag its ok tho cause the Music store got a new pickup and life was good there was alot of buzz on the fret boards and that was fixed .I think a little quality control would of went a long way .the guitar stays in tune fine and lays drown some fine blues&jazz so I,m ok with it

As I said I compared it to a MIJ model which I shouldn,t have done the Japanease make a fine guitar .Word to the wise" Don,t get rid of that old guitar you,ll never get it back"

Not sure when it was made, or where to be honest.

The features have no doubt been listed to death, but it's the normal 22 frets, two wide range humbuckers, 3 way switch, tone and volume etc. You know the score by now I'm sure.

Suprisingly awesome. For some reason I didn't trust the odd looking humbuckers, and Fender are hardly known for their humbucking sounds, but this guitar had an ace sound to it.

I tried it with a Fender blues deluxe, a 40 watt 2X12 combo and it seemed to combine "Gibsony" elements with a classic telecaster sound. It was both mellower and more powerful at the same time. Rolling back the tone things did get a little muddy however, I can see why some people don't bother using it at all, but the clean sounds were suitably shimmery, and there was enough grind to satisfy all but the more contempory styles.

To be honest I wouldn't reccomend this for heavier stuff since while it could pull it off to an extent, that's not where it excells, but other guitars do excell there.

For blues and bluesy rock this is one of the nicest guitars I've heard,it sounded beautiful unplugged, so I imagine you'd have a fantastic sound if you had the pickups rewound, Tim Mills of Bare Knuckle Pickups would be my first choice, but I'm sure there are other pickup winders out there who could do a good job, admittedly maybe not as good.

The guitar played ok off the shelf, it didn't bowl me over but at the same time it felt comfortable, the action was kinda average, maybe slightly high which is no bad thing on a Fender. There didn't seem to be any obvious flaws but I must admit I didn't take a fine tooth comb to the guitar, so I can't speak for the wiring and blemishes in the finish could have escaped my atention...but neither is affecting playability.

One thing I did notice was having to retune quite often, but this could be down to a badly cut nut, or the tuners, or maybe it's something as silly as the strings never having been stretched.

Telecasters are the hardest guitars on the planet. And even the semi hollow ones are constructed in such a manner as to make destroying one all but impossible without really intending to in the first place, and unless you're slightly mad or called Pete Townsened I doubt you'll attack it with intent to harm.

That said, while it's still relatively hardy, a semi hollow guitar is never as tough as a solid body. The hardwear seemed ok, but I was suspicious of the tuners and nut due to the tuning issues, one or the other is at fault and had I purchased it I'd have investigated that.

The strap buttons are the usual affair...always, alway get strap locks. You could gig this guitar damned hard, and it'd keep coming back for more, but only mugs gig without backups. A string can break, a wire can unexpectedly come loose inside shorting your pickup, it's just not worth the risk of looking a prat on stage.

I've never dealt with fender, so I can't really comment. But there's warranties and stuff, so that's slightly reassuring that had I gone through with the purchase it'd have been covered for a while.

I've been playing about 4 years. My guitars are a '67 SG junior and a tele I made with Warmoth with bareknuckle pickups, and callahan abd schaller hardwear. I have some other guitars but they're less relevant due to them not being "gig worthy". I use Matamp amplification although at the store I used a fender blues deluxe, which suprised me. It's an ace sounding amp so was deffinitely doing the guitar justice.

The only thing I really hate is the tuning issues, if I bought it it'd be with the intention of "hotrodding it" with a Warmoth neck and replacing a lot of parts, and this simpley isn't economical. It had a really good sound though, and the body and wood was in no small part responsible.

Other guitars I tried were an American deluxe tele, which had the most resonant slab of wood I've met, but a medicore neck and terrible fender single coils, and a butterscotch american deluxe strat with fende noiseless pickups. That was the guitar that got bought, though had I been in my friends shoes I'd have gone for this tele.

When you go to buy a Fender, play lots. Out of 10 guitars 9 will be good, but one will knock you back with how good it is, you'll remember that guitar. Not all '72 thinlines will be this good, some will be better. Each guitar is a unique entity, and even runs with a bad reputation will still have a few gems in amongst them.

Made in Mexico sunburst Thinline reissue. It has the two Fender wide-range humbuckers, pearloid pickguard, one tone and one volume control, three way switch, string-through body and non-trem strat-style bridge and saddles (rather than the typical Tele bridge). The body finish shows off the grain of the underlying wood quite nicely, though on the back of mine there is a discoloration in part of the wood about an inch and a half long that is rather prominent, but it doesn't really bother me. The body is much lighter than a standard Tele because of the hollowed out cavity. The neck is nice and chunky and feels substantial in your hands. Vintage style frets (in other words, they're smaller - not medium-jumbo.) The neck has a thick glossy finish on it that was a bit too sticky for me, so I went over it with some 0000 steel wool and now it plays much faster and doesn't feel sticky. Overall the guitar feels very balanced and looks fantastic.

I absolutely love the pickups on this guitar. I know that a lot of people think they sound too dark, but I just turn up the treble a bit on my amp and I have no problems. They're much thicker sounding than typical Tele single coils and they have none of the hum (of course). The bridge pickup actually can get somewhat close to the twang of a standard Tele bridge pickup quite well, but with more bottom underneath it. The neck pickup has a powerful rounded tone that is similar to the neck pup on a Les Paul. I'm not too fond of the middle position with both pickups on because it sounds a little flat, but the fabulous tones available from the other two positions make up for that. The tone is also very resonant due, I'm sure, to the semi-hollow body. In general, it is much more full and rich than a standard Tele, which is what you would expect based on the pickups. I use this guitar through my Fender Blues Jr. and it's a fantastic combination. I have a standard Tele as well, but the Thinline/Blues Jr. combination is more rewarding. I run the guitar through an old Made in Japan Boss Overdrive pedal, a Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a Guyatone digital delay then into the amp. I generally don't have to use either of the overdrive pedals to push the amp with this guitar, which is not the case with my standard Tele which needs the peadals for that extra boost. You can get a solid, powerful lead tone from the bridge pickup and a warm, energetic rhythm tone from the neck pickup. There's never any noise. I love the tone of this guitar!

I bought it used so I don't know how well it was set-up from the factory. When I got it the action was just right for a tele: not too low and not too high. It looks beautiful, apart from the spot on the back of the guitar where the wood has a discoloration about an inch and a half long, but it doesn't bother me.

This is a very solid guitar. I have no reason to think that it will not withstand normal playing conditions.

I've been playing for about 7 years now. I also own a MIM Standard Tele, a 1978 Peavey T-60, a MIM Fender Deluxe Super Strat, a Fender Blues Jr. amp, a Martin 000-15, an old Made in Japan Boss Overdrive pedal, an Ibanez Tubescreamer, and a Guyatone Micro-Delay. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would definitely get another one, but I think I would look around for one in Daphne Blue (which are hard to find but I love the way they look.)

2005 MIM Thinline, Natural Ash, Two Seth Lover Humbuckers, One Vol & One Tone, String-thru Body, came with a soft Fender Gig Bag.

Picked it up a couple of months ago. After many years of not playing I started up again with an acoustic and after a while was of course jonzing for another electric. In my past life I was a strat guy, had owned tele or two tho. Asked a friend w/ MANY guitars what would be a good jack of all trades and he recommended this one (he owns a black MIJ one). I didn't have the time to shop around for a used deal and they had one at the local music shop, so I played it and it beat out most of the comp based primarily on action and playability (i liked the sound and relatively light weight too). Suits my style well as i play mostly "semi-clean" licks - melodic, bluesy, jazzy, country-rock type stuff. Of course Jerry Garcia is my hero. I play it thru my old '65 Fender Super and my new HRD. This guitar does a lot of things well, but only a few things outstanding. More specifically, the neck PU position is very warm and gives a great blues-jazz tone. However, the bridge PU is not bright/hot enough for my taste. The mid position is a nice split sound. I may be hallucinating but i actually think the f hole warms up the sound of the guitar, in the neck PU position at least. It's kinda fun to be able to plink around on it unplugged and actually hear it too. I think this guitar might go from "solid" to "killer" with some new top of the line pickups (just a hunch based on how it sounds unplugged). But it's very playable as it comes stock.

This guitar was set up great at the factory. It was down low. It has a chunky neck that is cool but is taking some getting used to for me. I am not real fond of the laquered neck finish, but have not yet decided whether i will sand it. There was a manufacturing flaw in that the PU poles did not line up with the strings at all, due to a poor routing job i think. Anyhoo, i cut some pieces off some playing cards and jammed them into the appropriate spaces between the pickup and the pickguard/routing and got it a little better lined up. My buddy w/ the black thinline told me i would break strings unless i changed the bridges to graphite. So, i did that. Don't know if it changed anything, but it feels better under the heel of my hand. In retorspect kinda wished i'd gotten the Ferraglides as the black saddles dont really match color-wise. BTW, the Graphtech saddles did have the added benefit of raising the action (was too low for me as it came) because they are so thick/tall they only allow you to set the action so low. Oh yeah, the natural finish on this guitar is beautiful - gorgeous. I guess you've seen the photos. The tophat PU selector has an annoying habit of flying off when it gets brushed by strumming (often). Some people bend these down to avoid that. The jack plate was of course loose and difficult to tighten w/o twist breaking the wiring. Anyhoo, i put DR tite 10s on it after the GT saddles, raised the action, played w/ string length by ear (w/o a tuner) and suddenly the guitar jumped a level in tone and "fullness."

Haven't had it long enough to testify to it's durability. I did buy a cheapo hard shell case for it for $50 new on-line.

I've not dealt with them.

Played of and on for 35+ years. I played in a few local bands way back when. Interesting that jam bands are so popular now cause that's exactly the kind of music i've always wanted to play, but way back then but nobody else wanted to - go figure. I positively love the way this guitar feels in my hands as well as the variety of sounds that can come from it undistorted. I'm still not sold on the PUs tho. They say if you switch out the stock 250k pots for 500k or 1 meg they will liven up. That's a $10 change, so I'll try that before putting in $150 worth of new pickups. On balance I think this is a solid, but not spectacular, workhorse of a guitar that will definitely hold it's own in the value department. If you could pick up a gem of a used one for under $500 you'd be getting a heck of deal/guitar.

I'm leaving this category blank for a reason. The thing I love about Telecasters (I have this one and a USA standard Tele from the mid-80s with a Seymour Duncan replacement in the bridge position) is that they don't have a lot of features. They are simple guitars. Volume, tone, 3-way selector. No fuss, no muss. My amp is a Polytone with Bass, Mid, Treble, Volume, Reverb and a dirty channel I never touch. That's plenty for me. I like simplicity and I believe that good tone comes from the hands, although a nice instrument helps. This is a nice instrument. For example, Teles are great for picking with your thumb or with a pick while rolling the volume knob up and down with your pinkie simeltaneously...giving a steel-guitar-like volume swell effect. I don't know any other guitar that you can do that with as well...it's the simplicity and the ergonomic design that makes it possible. The guitar is solid and well-built. The standard Tele-style bridge is great. Vintage frets, maple neck, 24-frets, full-scale, ash body, f-hole/ semi-hollow. The guitar came with a nice molded plastic hard case. I live in NYC so I generally leave it at home and throw this in a padded gig bag and jump on the subway.

I mostly fingerpick when playing this guitar. My style ranges from folk to jazz to mellow bluesy rock. This guitar is perfect for that stuff. The stuff I play is tonally somewhere in the realm in-between Bill Frisell's "Gone Just Like a Train" record and JJ Cale's "Naturally" (which is probably the closest tonal range this guitar compares to) as well as jazzy stuff like Jim Hall, etc. I play with absolutely no effects through a Polytone Mini-Brute. This guitar is absolutely goregeous. The pickups are humbucking but they are not as fat Gibson humbuckers. You lose a tiny little bit of what Gibson humbuckers give you in terms of bass response but you gain it all back in terms of midrange. Quiet pickups, not buzzy at all. I can get a range of tones from a really warm sound like on Stephen Stills' solo on "Wooden Ships" if I use the neck pickup and roll the tone off...or I can get a real bright, jangly twangy tone like early Jerry Garcia stuff on the bridge pickup with the tone all the way up...and everything in-between. Teles have, in my opinion, any sound I might possibly want to access. It's all about knowing how to get it. I love the way that you can hear each individual string voice clearly...due to the semi-hollow body...and yet you still get the warmth and fatness of a humbucking sound without getting all the tonal washout that you get with Gibson humbuckers...espesically on Gibson solidbody guitars. I was looking for an inexpensive semi-hollowbody guitar that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg like a Pat Martino Les Paul or my buddy's $5k custom axe. This guitar does the job and then some.

This is a MIJ Fender from the early-to-mid 90s...not sure of the exact year. I bought this used on eBay. I've been playing guitar for about 17 years now. I've owned a LOT of great, classic guitars. This is absolutely one of my favorites. I can't believe it was so cheap! The Fender Japan factory is awesome and creates guitars that put the USA stuff to shame. This guitar was shipped to me from an eBay seller and was just about in tune when I pulled it out of the box. I have not had to adjust the action at all. There is a slight rattle in one of the tuners but that'll be an easy fix. The tuners are ok...but they stay in tune so if it ain't broke, as they say. The finish is a light wood-grain. The grain is beautiful and the pearloid pickguard is a nice touch. This guitar looks as pretty as it sounds. It's comfortable and light and is great to play!

The only thing on this guitar that worries me are the tuners but so far so good. I am generally pretty gentle on my gear so I'm not worried about this holding up. It travels well and is fine with a little bumping. But I generally play sitting down and I'm not exactly a basher. I fingerpick and don't really bang on the instrument at all. The finish is nice and seems resistant to scratching. The strap buttons are solid. It's a real solid guitar. As I said, Fender Japan is the best. I'm going to name my first child after them. I would use this guitar on a gig without a backup with great confidence.

Never had to deal with Fender. Since I got it used it's not under warranty and I probably never will. Why buy new guitars? They're way too expensive.

I've been playing for about 17 years. I own two Fender 6-string electric, both Teles, as well as a fretless Jazz Bass and a 62 P-Bass re-issue. All of them save the stock solidbody Tele are MIJ guitars. (My 2nd Tele is a USA model from the mid-80s.) The Japan stuff, in my opinion, beats the USA stuff I've owned hands-down. In the past I've owned several Strats, a couple of Jaguars, a Mustang, a Danelectro 12-string, several Les Pauls (humbucking and P-90 models), a couple of SGs, an Ibanez Artcore ES-style from the late 80s (which is the only guitar of the lot I wish I still had, oddly...who would've thought I'd own a 1971 Les Paul Goldtop with P-90s and then miss an Ibanez?) and a bunch of acoustic guitars including Yamahas and Martins. I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I also currently own a mid-1970s Hofner plywood upright bass which I use for jazz bass gigs. I know music and I'm picky about tone. Right now, in terms of 6-string guitars, I own a Guild acoustic and the two Teles. That's all I want and all I need. One single-coil guitar and one humbucking. Both Teles. I mostly play through a Polytone Mini-Brute but I also own and sometimes break out a 1962 Ampeg Reverbarocket. The Polytone is solid state and real clean. The Ampeg is tube and real warm and nice. The Teles sound awesome through both amps. If this guitar was stolen I'd cry my eyes out and then buy a new one tomorrow. I love everything about this guitar. I've been looking for a guitar to suit my sound and style for a long time and this baby is it. In fact, I'm thinking about buying one or two more of these as backups in the next year or so. The price is right and I love the instrument.

Made in Japane Tele with twin humbucker, semihollow-body, f-hole cut-out, string-thru body (I like this solid part of the design), bolt-on neck (3 bolts), each string with independent height and intonation adjustment at the bridge, shared tone and volume pots.

Independent tone and volume pots would allow more versatility during a song. I like the simple over-all design,

Pick-ups are noisier than I would like. Overall sound is thin on the low end and quite brite at the high end.

I play clean or slightly overdriven. I can't get the warm rich smooth mellow tones I like out of it. In overdrive it sounds kind of empty through my Marshall. It does not suit my music style but it is not the guitars fault.

Finish: The workmanship in the wood is excellent! The grain of all the pieces of wood in the body were matched up perfectly. Only under VERY close inspection can you tell its not a single slab. Qualitiy of the assembly is also excellent. 10 points for Finish!

Action is good but I find the neck somewhat flimsy and can almost be used as a vabrato (contibuting factors: thin neck and 3-bolt bolt-on design).

My low E nut was not cut deep enough initially. When low-E was in tune and intonated a fretted F was quite sharp and became less bad down the fretboard. A local luthier easily corrected the problem for a few bucks.

Pearliod pickguard is kind of cheesy looking.

Body is solid; I would not call this a fragile guitar at all. I prefer a stronger body-to-neck joint.

Output jack was loose and fell out the first week. Its only held in by a sharp pressed in piece of metal that gouges itself into the wood on the inside of the body.

I have no experience with Fender support.

A decent guitar for the money. I bought it as a cheap practice guitar that I could take anywhere and not worry about it. I bought it while I was in Japan on a job. With heavy strings this guitar is loud accoustically (semi-hollow body) so I could practice even when I don't have an amp available.

All of my other guitars are Gibsons (primarily Les Pauls) and this guitar just doesn't compare to what I nomally play. It doesn't suit me and my music though I'm sure many will love it.

My day-to-day guitars: Gibson LP 58 Historic/Reissue, 2 Gibson LP standards and a Gibson LP studio

maple neck swamp ash body two wide range humbuckers..crappy split type tuning keys that are absolutlely terrible...21 frets...i really screwed up on this one...traded a nice USA made kramer pacer for this thing..its a looker however....somewhat anyways..too bad it has that crappy looking pickguard covering up all that nice looking wood..

the tone is pitifull...too muddy for a decent clean...two wimpy for a decent over drive....(this is through a hughes and kettner tube 50) i tried every which way to like this guitar...played with every amp setting i could imagine...and nothing...its flat boring and un inspiring. sorry all you fender lovers...but that is how it is for me...i will never buy or play a fender again. over priced over rated and over produced garbage..and those f##king tuners...ggrrrr....this thing didnt sound good untill i made a new pickguard...because real pickups will not fit in this piece of crap...put in some vintage dimarrzios new volume and tone pots..at 500..and two series/paralell switches for each pickup.....scrappped those damn tuners..and now its a guitar...i even sanded it right down and had it custom painted...looks good now...i made the pick guard from the back of an old busted accoustic guitar..recycle kinda stuff..worked out great..with a bit of body routing to make it all fit...not much fender left in it...and that is a good thing...

this is the only good point and the only reason i aquired it....the neck is truly very nice to play...a bit chunky...but non the less...very very smoothe..and i do like the mirco tilt adjust system..and the bridge in that you can raise and lower each string individually...this guitar sets up very easily..

reliable..thats almost funny..how can a guitar not be....ooh wait....its a fender...could fall apart at any moment....no really..its not a car or anything like that..its a guitar...at least it is now...so what could possibly go wrong unless some one smacks it against an amp..bin playing off and on for 25 years never had one fly apart or spontaniously combust yet...

i am sure that the people at fender are committed to making sure i am happy with their shoddy wares..they routinely call me to make sure everything is all right..at the next board meeting it is my turn to bring the shrimp.

guess i am a bit hard on fender...huh? i bin playing on and off for 25 years...had and have alot of stuff but this guitar at stock is garbage...like i said...too muddy for cleans...too weak for some punch..tuners are crap...big time..fender tries to sell a name based on some kinda mystique that was generated only because they were the first to mass produce guitars and amps...forunately we have alot more choice today..so basically i am saying fender totally sux today...probabby did back then too...but there werent many other choices...if some one stole this guitar they way it was before i fixed it i couldnt care less...but with the mods i made..i would have to purchase a body bag for such said individual..

MIM '03 with features already stated.

I like this guitar, because it has it's own "thing" going. It doesn't sound like a true hollowbody or semi-hollow body, but sort of a blend of a solid and semi-hollow body sound. It's got a little Fender twang in the bridge position, but still has some warm woody type tones in the neck and middle position. I use a 1966 Tremolux amp that I've had since '72 and believe or not a Fender Dyna Touch II
900. The latter weighs 33 lbs. has great effects, sounds almost like a tube type and really portable for an old guy.

This one wasn't too badly set up, but I'm a fair guitar tech, so I set up my own stuff. What disturbs me on many new more expensive guitar are the crappy fret jobs, uneven frets, etc. In other words fret flaws that are hard to fix. The average person can tweak the bridge adjustment, pickup height, and even neck bow, especially since these are individual tastes according to how you want it to feel, sound and play. But when one fret is way too high and needs to be filed to make it playable beyond the say, 8th fret--that pisses me off. Of course your dealer should take care of this or you should get your money back. That said (and gotten off my chest) this guitar has a decent fret job, but I always get my Dremel out and polish the frets on almost every thing I buy. Two guitars that I didn't have to do this to were my PRS and my American Deluxe Telecaster.
Finish was fine except a little too thick.

These are tough as a boot, but you can't use them like a personal defense weapon like you can a regular solid-body Tele.

I don't gig without a backup, but I mainly bring a spare that is tonally different just to change up the tones and keep from being bored.

Hoo cares...I dont and never do deal with the company.

I'm 60, been playing since I was 11, in bands since 13 for money. I still play in 2 bands, one is a country club type variety band and the other is a blues band. Mostly weekend warrior bands, but for many years we were playing 75 times and more a year. I've had all types of guitars: '55 Les Paul, '57 Strat, 3 PRS's, many 335's, etc. blah-blah. Here's what I would like to share: The guitars made today are every bit as good as the vintage ones, if not better. There's no magic in them bubba's...it comes from your fingers. You can make great music with this one as you can say a '52 Tele.
Value for the dollar is exceptional. Great bang for the buck.

Same ol' deal: Mexican thinline with natural ash finish. It is completely stock with the 250k pots and wide range p'ups...and it will stay that way (more on that later). Features wise its a tele, its a basic guitar plus semihollow and humbuckers.

Alright. Im a Nashville professional musician. Im still sleepy from coming in from a sold out show that went til 2am. I know guitars a good tone. I play in a band that requires me to have tones from Duane Allman to Trey Anastasio, Clapton to Adam Levy, and of course....me. Go to www.tylerflowersband.com for samples thought not with this guitar. This guitar is amazing. I bought it as a back up for my 50's reissue Tele...but the thinline steals the show. Ive read that the guitar need to be doctored to get the best tone this, and 500k pots that. Bologna. Last night was the first time since last used my 1968 Deluxe Reverb that I could hear myself. This guitar cuts through and sounds brilliant. More people commented on my tone/playing last night than ever. Guys/Girls you know how important it is to be confident in your guitar's tone when youre in front of a crowd. This guitars tone is rediculously good. I was up against a Semi-hollow guild bluesbird plugged into a EmerySound Stage Baby (killer amp), and a Strat into a Deluxe Reverb....This guitar and my Rivera Chubster smoked them...and I was un-mic'd! My set up is: Guitar>tu2>Keeley 808+>Rumble MOD>Keeley Comp>EBS bass IQ>EB jr>DD5>Rotosphere>Rivera Chubster 40 w/ v30

I have owned PRS's, Fenders, LP's. P-90's, SC's, and Buckers. This is THE guitar that I will take to stage with me. It is by far the best sounding guitar for my band ...at this price point.

Lightning fast neck. I was able to play "face-melters". The guitar feels solid and looks great too inside and out.

we'll see. i'll bring a back up. One minor gripe. While playing with my p'up selector last night, it broke off never to return again. Glue it on.

hahahaha

Ive been playing professionally in town for eight years. Im very pleased with my purchase, and if stolen, I'd file a claim and get another. Coming from a gear trader/seller/buyer...it is rare to hear "Im gonna keep this one"...well this is a killer guitar that is a keeper. 10: Fantasic value

Natural finish Made in Mexico. I have an American Strat, and aside from the action/intonation set-up I can't tell the difference between the USA and the Mexican workmanship.I love it.

THE PROBLEM: My MIM thinline was too dark sounding, and as you all know they don't make replacement pick-ups for the odd-sized stock "wide-range" humbuckers.

THE SOLUTION: Quick, cheap and easy. In an hour, and for under 10 bucks, I switched the volume and tone pots from 250k to 500k and really opened up the sound of the humbuckers. Voila! Keith Fucking Richards forever!

I did some research and found that original thinlines came with "icepick-like" 1meg volume and tones pots. The Made in Japan ones, which everyone seems to think sound a little better than the MIMs use 500K pots(which is fairly standard for humbuckers), and my MIM came stock with 250k humbuckers (which are generally used to dampen the high end on single coil guitars).

No cosmetic difference, don't hesitate to do this.

Factory set-up is what you'd expect. I usually have to redo the action/intonation to accomadte 11 guage strings anyway. The guitar looks gorgeous, and plays like a dream

Fender guitars are pretty bulletproof. Although this is a hollow body so you don't want to kick it around like you would a Strat.

Fender is a great company, I got my Start through the artist relations program several years back. They must have realized I was a has-been-wanna-be because they stopped taking my calls. I got this one from Musician's friend. I use either Harmony Central for advice or the fender Discussion Forum for tech tips.

Ever since I changed the pots on my made in Mexico Thinline, I would never dream of selling it. I would consider trading my natural finish for for a surfgreen, or shellpink but that's as far as I would go.

Today a friend and I went to the local music shop to compare his original 72 thinline to a new 2004 Made In Mexico reissue. From the reviews I've read, I expected to find a very similar sounding instrument. While I must say they got nearly all the aesthetic details down pat, the sound was not what I expected.

First off, we compared the guitars on a new Twin Reverb amp with no effects - just switched the plug between two guitars. Listening to the same phrases played on each, I TOTALLY preferred the original. It just had "balls" - i.e. a very pronounced midbass roundness, solid, yet sweet mids, and a light high end that sort of soars in the highest frequencies.

Both sounded kind of twangy, yet still smooth. The reissue, however, had WAY more high end, and left me feeling empty in the mids and low registers.

Also, the output appeared to be louder on the vintage. Imagine that!

I liked the sound of the reissue. It was nice, and I may even buy one some day. But it was really nothing at all like the real, beat-to-shit warped yellowing pickguard sportin' 72 thinline that David Sullivan plays! And honestly, to look at a worn old 72 up to a shiney new reissue? You know which one I'd pick!

Great looking guitar. Cheap-o tuners and bridge, but if your so damn picky, replace them.

Matched up to the original ALMOST perfectly. The body was EXACTLY the same. Pickguard too. The neck was exactly the same, until you got to the joint. On the reissue, it squares out about 3/4" before the joint, and the vintage was rounded right up to the joint. Feels better that way to me.

The only immediate cosmetic problem was the cheap looking screws on the face of the pickup. They don't line up perfectly and do not fill the wholes in the chrome pickup cover. Just looked sorty chinsy.

I can only assume that a big reason the reissue didn't have the sustain and full tone as the original is the much lighter wood that was used. Not sure what kind either guitar is made of, but the reissue was certainly good bit lighter.

Well David still has all original parts on his 72, so I'd say they're pretty reliable. The pots and switches felt smooth on the new one, it feels like a solid build.

CLINICAL ERRORS in GUITAR COMPARISON:
- vintage: 8 month old strings, with a low E string in the A position also.
-reissue: barely played strings, probably 9's vs. the 10's on the vintage 72 we brought.

David's guitar is 33 years old. I'm sure every other real 72 sounds a little different from his.

I would buy a 72 reissue for the feel of it, but not necessarily for the sound. I'll stick with borrowing David's when I need it!

1997 Japanese Fender Tele Thinline 72 Reissue. Amazing features - the combination of two humbuckers and a hollow sen (Japanese ash) body produces an incredibly sweet sound. Three-piece body, closed around the back and the grain of the wood matches beautiful. Two HBs which are the sweetest with a non trem Strat bridge. Big rounded all maple neck with thin frets and the big ol' Fender radius, not the best friend of big bends but nice for chording. Pearloid scratchplate which is a bit cheesy, I might go for the tortoise one. I give it a TEN because HBs and hollow-bodies are one of the best combinations there is.

This is one of the guitars that I will NEVER sell and it will be a part of my permanent (small) collection of guitars. Why? Because it has charm, it's incredibly versatile and a joy to play. VERY light guitar, you can play it standing hours on end, so looong jams are not a problem. Chunky but not over-the-top maple neck with a nice rounded C profile, making it simple and easy. ...AND THEN THE SOUND= both humbuckers are really sweet, low output and simply delicious. The bridge p'up might be a tad wimpy for some, although I prefer that to ultra gain. Not trebly at all, sweet humbuckery smoothness with the spark of the maple added. The neck pickup is what makes this guitar worth a million bucks. Jazzy, mellow, buttery, a pleasure to play. The combination of humbucker, hollow body and all maple bolt on neck gives quite a distinct sound that is neither too dark nor squeaky Fenderish, but a blend of both. Now how KEWL is that!

Play through a couple of small tranny amps at home, a Laney 15w tube and a Fender Blues Deluxe.

I mainly play blues/jazz/country with some rock'n'roll thrown in there, so this guitar is incredibly versatile, you can kick up the gain and play some Cream style chops or you can Bassmanize it and sound just like Mr. Collins, cause those humbuckers sure sting for blues, without the harshness of some single coils. I give it a TEN because this is one of my favourite sounds, don't understand why it is not more popular??

Vintage radius, not the best for wild/gonzo/Jimmy Page bending, but the best for chording, bluesing or just mucking about. Dunno, I always prefered the old style radius than the new almost flat fretboards, it's only a question of taste. The guitar cam fully adjusted with 0,09's but quickly changed that to 0,11s to get some more juice. The body is PERFECTLY bookmatched, in fact, I had to go over the whole body a couple of times to see where the different pieces joined... Can only notice if you look REALLY close. No flaws whatsoever, just a little wear on the fretboard which I absolutely luuurve, giving it a distinct vintagey flavor. Another TEN, totally justified by its top-notch workmanship and playability.

Live playing? Of course. Reliable? All Fenders will endure abuse for a lifetime, you'll probably get tired before it gets tired. Could probably update the bridge to one of the new Callahans which look fab, the original one looks a little bit cheap. Finish is spot on, another fine workhorse, so another TEN here.

N/A

Overall = A TEN? I've tried so many guitars I can't even remember... Fenders, Gibbos, Ricks, Gretsches, Danelectros, ... looking for those that would make a small collection of lifetime friends, not those guitars which I just like, but those which I hate putting down, which I think about all day and which are simply a pleasure to play. And this one's one of them. Probably because I tried a couple until I found "the one", but this one's a keeper. Fantastic value, full stop. If it were stolen or lost I would start a new quest to find another nice example of a Thinline 72.

Improvements? I'd probably change the pickguard to a nice tortoiseshell one, perhaps the bridge for a more solid one, or even the tuners, which are those nice vintage replicas that are nice to look at but not the best. All in all, a mighty fine guitar.

Made in approx '95 in Japan. 21 frets. Swamp-ash body with single f-hole that opens into a small body chamber. Stock Fender humbuckers replaced in 2004 with Seymour Duncan Jazz humbucker(neck) and Seymour Duncan JB humbucker(bridge).

This is a great, unique sounding guitar, richer than a normal Tele but retains the Tele's ability to clearly play complicated chord forms without "mushing-out".
Like I said above, I swapped the stock P/ups for Seymour Duncans. The Duncan Jazz in the neck is hotter yet tighter than the stock, I put the JB in the bridge to match the neck level after that. Note: the stock pickups are BIG in size. I had to devise new mounts for the Duncans by riveting thin pieces of aluminum onto the existing pickguard. Also the string spacing on the JB is narrower than this guitar but the pickup field is just wide enough not to cause drop out for me on the E strings. If you want to change the bridge pickup this might be something to think about.
My musical style is a soup of jam-band, alternative, afro-beat, jazz-blues++.
I play through a Fender 75 two-channel all-tube amp (an oddball Fender supposedly designed by Rivera at Fender in the late 70's - anybody know anything about this rumor?) Sometimes I plug straight in and sometimes I play through effects: Boss compressor, Boss SD-1, Crybaby Wah, Korg 411fx(I only use its modulation effects), Line6 Delay Pedal(the big green one).
I like a mid rangey sound and this guitar is quite good at it. Steely Dan-ish lead tones to Ducky Swamp funk. If you're not a Gibson-Marshall clone or a Strat-Twin clone but something in between, try this (through a tube amp though, I have to be a purist Axxhole about something :)

The only playing flaw with my guitar is a very slight bump in the neck which can cause buzzing on the high E string if you like low, low action (I like medium action).

The stock pickup switch wore out twice, after which I soldered jumpers onto a strat 5-way switch, routed the bottom of the control cavity to fit said strat switch, and haven't had a problem since.
I sometimes play quite HARD so I installed GraphTech saddles to reduce string breakage, that's my problem, not the guitar's.
I toured without a backup for 4 years, now I have a Strat as a backup (but most nights it stays in its case). The tuners are not fancy but quite stable.

If you ever need support, ask the best players in your area who does the best work and go to them. Screw the factory or the music store.

Been playing about 25 years. I also own a Strat, a Taylor 12-string, an old Sigma acoustic, a mandolin, a Conn Trombone, a Harmony '63? Stratotone.
I would have to replace and re-customize this guitar if it disappeared. The only thing I might wish for is that the fret wire was a teensy bit wider and that the neck was a little thinner (depth not width) at the nut end.

Made late '02 in mexico. '72 Thinline Tele with dual wide range humbuckers. "Lake Placid Blue" color with white pearl pickguard. Ash, chambered body with f-hole and maple neck with skunk stripe on back and micro tilt system. Three bolt neck plate. Period correct kluson style tuners printed with "F". String through body. One volume, one tone and three way pickup selector. Vintage strat hardtail bridge with six saddles (2 3/16" E to E Spacing). The '72 thinline is the most beautiful guitar ever produced IMO.

I have upgraded the saddles, nut and string tree to Graphtech, just to up the fidelity of the instrument overall. I have also ordered a Tortoise shell pickguard which looks beautiful with this shade of blue. It will look the bee?s knee?s with that pickguard, I think!!!

It doesnt sound like a normal tele...more individual sound, but much more interesting. However it does have the tele thing happening when you dig in. Still very much a Fenderish sound not gibsonesque.

I also have the '69 thinline (crafted in japan) with single coils that i love dearly. So, I wanted to retain the look and feel of the '69 with a little more power at hand to handle more overdriven sounds and to get some thicker clean sounds aswell. Let me tell you, I have had many guitars in the past with both single coils and humbuckers but I have never heard humbuckers with this sound quality. They are truly wide open, they are deep and bright at the same time and with good strong mids?.very jangly on pristine clean sounds and just hot enough to bring about a fantastic overdriven sound with a lot more conviction than single coils. It is a very, very dynamic guitar?.very sensitive to your attack. I have only heard this beast through good tube amps, which helps to achieve the quality I?ve witnessed....cant comment for shitty transistor stuff.

My setup at the moment is 72/69 Thinline tele?s, TU-2 Tuner, Crybaby Wah, Marshall Bluesbreaker II (Boost mode for clean breakup), Ibanez TS-9 (Full rhythm overdrive), Boss Blues Driver BD-2 (Used on top of TS-9 for leads), Marshall Vibratrem (Tremolo), Boss DD-3 Delay, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail (Reverb)??.all into my pride and joy, the VOX AC30TB. Sweet as the bejesus!!!

My setup sounds amazing with both guitars, although I have to admit I do tend to choose the ?72 over the ?69 at all times. Some of our original songs were written before I had the ?72 and I do use the ?69 to recapture the sound that inspired them. The ?72 covers more ground IMO...the cleans are as good if not a little better than the ?69 and for overdrive it leaves the ?69 sitting?.now don?t get me wrong I love the ?69??..but I adore the ?72. Its great to have both, and I am getting a standard solid body soon too, had one before and have regretted getting rid of it for years. Tele adict or what??? Well, when you finally settle on your weapon of choice anything else will leave you disapointed!!!

The guitar was set up ok when i got it but i always do my own setup when i get guitars home....set the action to my liking, set intonation to perfection and always change the strings to my preferred choice (I like D'Addario standard 10's on my tele's).
This guitar has a lovely neck and plays alot faster and smoother than the '69 even though they are both laquered maple. Must be the different radius.
MIMs are every bit as good as MIJ/CIJ or MIAs if you take the time to try alot of them and pick out the gems.
This guitar plays like a dream and the neck and body finish is flawless.

All tele's are ass kickers as far as reliability/durability is concerned....no worries here. Even the thinlines are really strong and mine take a fair hammering in the throws of passionate performances.
Any fool knows that you have to get a decent hardshell case for your guitar or you will witness its demise over time for the sake of a few quid. A word of advice...always get your hard shell while you are buying the guitar, they tend to give great prices on cases when they have just sold a guitar over 1000 quid!!! Never walk out of a shop with a naked guitar!!!

Never needed.....touch wood!!!!

Not much more to say, its exactly what i wanted!!! Get a good tube amp aswell and then worry about effects!!! I've been playing for about 13 years now.
The marriage of the tele and the vox ac30tb is made in heaven and the TS-9 is the perfect natural overdrive for the setup with the BD-2 giving leads all the power and tone i ever wanted. I'm really happy with my setup at the moment......for the moment!!!! There are a couple of pedals i have my eye on though ha ha ha!!! The usual!!!

mexico made 04 72 reissue fender thinline telecaster. two "wide range" humbucking pickups, vintage style tuners, volume and tone knobs, three position pickup selector, ash semi-hollow body, maple neck with tiny vintage frets. came with gig bag, quickly ditched it for a hardshell.

so what can you do with this guitar? well, you CAN'T play in metal band with it (at least if you want to sound convincing...) but, short of that, you could pretty much do any other style with it. rock, jazz, blues, funk, latin, pop, alternative, country, ect. it will pull off most any style convincingly. the combination of the semi-hollow body, humbucking pickups and maple neck make for an interesting pallet of tones. it has enough tele twang for country pickin' and funk, enough open, airy tone for some faux 335 jazz and blues, and enough grit from the humbuckers for some classic rock sizzle. i'm running mine into a visual sound route 66 overdrive / compressor, h20 chorus / echo, morley wah and into my peavey classic 50 2x12 tweed combo. this setup allows me to achieve any of the tones i need for my style which is allman bros, phish, galatic, santana, big wu, widespread panic, moe. ect. jam band stuff. it will do trey anastasio's clean, funky stacatto, dickey betts biting southern blues, carlos santana's singing, melodic sustain, ect. convincingly while retaining it's own unique voice.

this guitar is put together well, built to last it appears. action from the factory was sub-standard, but usually is. they set them up quick and ship them out. any seasoned guitarist will have to adjust to suit their needs. i have a light playing style so i can get away with a fairly low action. i string it with hybrid gauge 9-46 slinkys. mine is a natural finsish and the woodgrains in the top are quite striking. the white pearoid pickguard is a nice touch. frets are quite small but nicely crowned with no sharp edges.

this is not the typical "plank-o-wood" telecaster that you can drag behind your car to the gig and still play it. it is a bit more fragile by nature due to the semi-hollow body. it does seem tough enough to play for a long time though. i'd roll the dice and play this guitar without a backup since i never break strings.

have not had any occasion to deal with fender's customer service department. the web-site has a good deal of information though fender has a real "MTV" feel to them now.... not sure how leo would feel about it if he were around.

in 15 years of playing i've been through too many guitars!! i played and owned a guitar from just about evey guitar maker out there. lots of fenders though, i've always had an afinity for the strat / tele sound. keep in mind, this is not your standard tele..... it has a voice all it's own. if you're planning on playing in a country cover band, go with the classic single coil / lipstick pickup design. if you are looking for a breath of fresh air and an ax that will do a little bit of everything with a good deal of authority, this may be the guitar for you. i'd highly recommend this guitar to anyone. if someone stole mine, i'd replace it with another one right away. this guitar is an integral part of my sound!

Semi-hollow body, two "wide-range" humbuckers, one tone and one volume, 3-way switch, and well.. not much else. It's a tele after all. Mine is a daphne blue limited edition colour that they come out with every year.

Well I liked that it was semi-hollow so it has a more woody, warmer sound. But my major complaint is that it can get very trebly. I have to be careful with the tone control because it can get pretty high. When I first got it when I played anything past the 12th fret it hurt my ears. But that was due to the pickups being WAY too high. I lowered and it sounds better but I plan to lower them again. I definetly think that you might have to mess around with pickup and string height to get it sound they way you want it. I really love the neck pickup though. You can get it to sound really full and warm and woody. With both pickups on is probably my favorite for normal strumming more rock oriented stuff. I don't really like the bridge as much, to harsh. But over all very nice guitar.

Well the pickups were too high and the one strap button was loose. Also input jack was loose. So I had to open it up and tighten it up. But the action and neck was really good. However the guitar is set up with .09 gauges, which is ridiculous. Even the website says that the classic series, which this is part of, should have .10's or higher. I use .11's and have even been thinking recently of bumping it up to .12's. With thicker strings it sounds so much better.

It's very sturdy. I have dropped it a few times and it doesn't have a scratch. I think that it would hold up in a gig, but maybe I would put new tuners on it. They aren't the worst I have seen by far, but they aren't great. I don't think that I would gig without a backup in case a string breaks and I am having trouble getting used to the tuners.

Don't know, but would be worried if I had to deal with them based on what I have heard.

I really like the warm sounds that you can get out of the guitar, but if I had it to do over again I mgiht save the money and just buy a 335 copy or a jazz box. But I don't think that I will sell it. I have been considering changing the pickups though. I would like a more jazzier, fullier sound with less treble. If anyone has suggestions feel free to e-mail me. People are endlessy complementing me though on my guitar. I haven't met anybody that doesn't say how much they like the looks of it.

2003 Mexican made, sunburst. Features as stated by previous reviewers.

For the benefit or otherwise of owners of this guitar, or others contemplating buying one, I purchased my thinline second hand but in as new condition. The neck was misaligned, pickups at varying heights, and I didn't like the saddles. I treated the guitar to a pro set up and at the same time, had a set of Graphtech saddles installed. These saddles were the best investment I've made. The difference in sound quality betwen how the guitar sounded originally and how it sounds now is chalk and cheese. They have turned what was just a reasonable sounding guitar into a really nice sounding guitar and an absolute keeper. I bought this tele knowing that it wouldn't have the typical tele sound but with the thought of using it as a tele style 335 and while originally not disappointed, I am totally wrapped in it now. Played clean or dirty the pickups are clear and there is now bags of sustain. I use this guitar through a Kustom Quad 100DFX combo, Vox Valvetronix VTX120 watt combo, and a Laney VC30 1 x 12 combo. The only pedal I use is a Zoom Powerdrive (brilliant peddle). Good guitar originally now made a great guitar with the installation of Graphtech saddles. Cannot recommend them highly enough.

it is a tele 72 reissue with 2 humbuckers and a sunburst finish
im sure you have heard by now the other features

i play classic rock and jam, fits my needs well. im using a fender princeton chours which i found in someones garbage. i replaced a speaker and fixed the cabnet. great find!!! annyhow it sounded great with this amp and i use a danelectro daddy o pedal which has a nice classic rock distortion. the only thing i can really say about its sound is that it is full and middy, which is good. it also has some good variety with the pickup sound.

seems well made, except that the bridge is sharp, and there is a flaw on one of my knobs, otherwise, it is set up well, great guitar!

as for any guitar, poper care will greatly extend its life. this guitar seems prtty durable though

never had to deal with them

i have been playing for a year, but my instructor said that i was playing at a 4-5 year level, this made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. i compaired it to a epiphone les paul,but it was to hard to decide which one, so i chose te one with a higer sell back value. also, there was a specail on all fenders, so i got 10 percent back from te fender company from a rep that was on site, and i traded in a pece of crap guitar and got about 70 bucks which suprised me because it was so crappy. so in my eyes it was a good deal.

Mine is 2003 MIM Thinline in Daphne Blue. The features are the same as everyone elses here, so I won't bore you. The tuners seem cheap to me -- die cast jobbies with the screws in a diagonal pattern on the back of the headstock, but we'll see. It came with a deluxe Fender gig bag, which I was actually impressed with.

It sounds very good. The wide-range humbuckers are very clean sounding and reasonably loud. I tend to play it on all 3 pickup settings with the tone knob down to 7 or 8 because it's too bright other wise. I'm playing through a Peavey Classic 30. The guitar has a good variety of sounds. I got it for jazz and blues and some rock solos and I think it will do fine. I may change the pickups in the future, but it looks like it won't be a simple replacement as the pickguard screw holes are in a different place from typical (les paul) humbucker screws. THe sound is a little sterile and not too much punch or drive. That's what I'd change.

This is where I was totally impressed. I bought the guitar off ebay, and it had been set-up, but still the finish on the neck, frets and body were immaculate. The neck is great -- probably the smoothest feeling neck I have. Very clean indeed. It comes with 9's but the seller had 10's put on it and it's just what I wanted.

Can't say now -- it's too early to tell. Most things look reliable, save the tuners which look and feel cheap.

No idea.

I've been playing for 27 years and own a bunch of other guitars. I'd probably buy it again because it fills a niche in my collection. I really like the 70's vibe of the pickguard and the rounder tone I can get on account of the hollow body. It's not a hard-rock guitar but more for mellower blues and jazz situations and that's fine. It's nice and light which is a back saver.

1998 Crafted in Japan '72 Thinline Tele Reissue, 22 frets (upper cutaway meets neck at fret 18, lower cutaway meets neck at fret 21), beautiful natural finish semihollow ash, solid maple neck (dot design), 2 widerange humbucker pickups (passive), stock, individually adustable (6 of them!) fender adjustable (good intonation) bridge, stock tuners, gig bag - everything is stock on this guitar that I picked up on eBay for under $600. I would say the feature's on this guitar are perfect for what anyone would be looking for on a semi-hollow tele that covers just about any style of electric guitar wonderfully. My only regret is that it didn't come with a hardshell case standard (to protect this beauty, but for the great price I got at I can't complain. If it had any more features, it would be overkill - more things to go wrong, spoil the classic tele look etc.

The sound is absolutely fabulous with D'Addario Chrome, flatwound, Electric light strings (.011 high E). Nice, tubey-sounding twang when you you drive the strings, even with these humbucker pickups. I really like the wide range humbucker sound - really quiet and very versitile. The semi-hollow style (body about 1 1/2" thick) adds just the right amount of resonance and sustain.

Being a "crafted in Japan" model probably makes this one a little better than many that were made in Mexico, etc. Fit and finish are top notch, especially for this price range. I've had it for a couple of months and looked it over real will as well as the played it more than any of my other guitars. No problem with fit, finish or set-up for the flatwound strings - the nut probably wouldn't take thicker than flatwound chrome electric light (0.52 low E).

Looks and feels like it will last a lifetime, but I've only had it a few months. Still, I've had a number of guitars that have lasted very well - built solid as rocks(e.g. original 1967 Gibson J-160E)and this one strikes me the same. The only reason I'd take a back up to gig with would be to avoid replacing a string mid-set.

This I wouldn't know as I haven't had to deal with Fender.

What can I say - I currently own about a half dozen guitars (Martin D35, Gibson E135, Heritage H575, etc. and this is my favorite. It is very hard to put down. Smooth as butter feel to it. Beautiful sound and looks (if you like the classic tele look). I'd replace it(after having a fit) if some clown stole it or smashed it up.

'03 Mexican reissue ; chambered body with 'f' hole ; natural finish with all maple neck / thicker -more rounded neck true to the original in '72 ; fixed bridge with individual string saddles, non-adjustable tuners Kluson style.
2 wide range humbuckers ,3 way switch, 1 volume and 1 tone control.
Came with a gig bag.

I would rate the pickups as faithful reproductions of the originals in 1972. As I recall they were very 'wide range' compared to other guitar manufacturers and these are no exception. Deep lows and shimmering highs with ample harmonics are routine. No observable noise and the tone and sustain are good.

Finish is outstanding. Neck pocket was not as tight as other models/examples of mexican Telecasters I have seen but not unacceptable. The edges of the 'f' hole are a bit rough but I have carefully corrected this feature. Factory action and intonation is miserable but easily corrected.

Hardware is fair; the bridge will last but the tuners have way too much slop and will be replaced likely within a year. The finish is a deep lustrous clear coat and looks like it will last a lifetime. I replaced the strap buttons with straplocks and the cheesy string retainer on the headstock with an american Fender string tree ; much classier look. I use the ElectroSocket input jack.

No experience here ; I do all of my own adjustments and modifications myself.

This is a good reproduction of the original '72 Thinline. The neck profile is an exact duplicate of the original. A good value for the guitar player who appreciates these UNIQUE pickups and sound this guitar produces. I own 13 other guitars and have been playing for 43 years ; almost bought one back in '72 but it got away (one of my buddies bought it two days before I went to pick it up). Glad I got this one; it is a keeper.

Brand new (i'm thinking 2002 or '03) mexican-made. single volume and tone knobs with the classis tele 3-way selector. unlike other teles this features dual humbuckers and a semi-hollow body with a single f-hole which really changes the tone. not as "twangy" as other teles but more a rich, warm tone that borders on acoustic. natural finish, maple neck, and extra large pearloid pickguard are incredibly easy on the eyes...i get so many compliments on this guitar before i even plug it in.

my band has an incubus-influenced sound which benefits from the semi-hollow sound this beauty gives. i plug it through my homemade pedalboard into a marshall combo. the only sound complaint i have is that the higher frequencies are a little much, so i usually turn the tone knob to about 1/2 to 3/4. but i can also use that to my advantage if i want that kinda sound maybe for more of a funk jam or when i play ska. but with the tone rolled down and the selector in the neck position i have a nice, warm jazz tone and i can play anywhere in between.

i love how this guitar plays. the action is nice and low, the pickups were set up nicely. but what attracted me to this guitar was its looks. i've always been a sucker for natural finishes. this one combined with the maple fretboard and pearloid pickguard made my wanna cry it was so beautiful.

the only problem i've ever had on stage was my own stupid fault. i had to loosen the nut around the input jack for a small adjustment and i didn't tighten it enough so the jack cover came off when i took my wireless out. i think i can make this guitar last at least a decade or 2 before it starts to look aged. i trust fenders so i would gig wihtout a backup...even though i keep my ibanez on me for alternate tunings anyway

havn't had to contact them for this guitar or any of my other fenders

i have about 5 years experience and this is one of the best guitars i've come across. it's better than even the american fenders i've tried but isn't exactly up there with the prs's and brian moore's. if i had to replace it i probably would...it's always impressive to have something that looks this nice and sounds/plays good as well.

Made in 1997, Japan, Swamp Ash body, natural finish, two fender humbuckers with adjustable polepieces, 3 way switch, tone and volume control (don't know the resistance of the pots...)
21 fret maple neck, trussrod screw at headstock
stratstyle hard-tail bridge, strings-through-body
nice f-hole, looks beautiful, though simple

Sound? I play Blues, Jazz and some weird metal... The guitar does it all.
Very sweet fat tone, singing overtones over my Hughes&Kettner Tube 50...
I use 12 gauge precision faltwound string by ghs only, and they sound terrific... awesome is the right word...
You get a very nice jazz sound, real sweet, yet dry and honest and beautiful bell-like blues sounds when overdriven. Metal is hot...
You have to play with string setting, pole-piece adjustment and height-adjustment of the humbcukers, though... but experimentation will give you very satisfying results (took me nearly two years...but, hey! It was worth the effort!)

Action, pick-up adjustment... I adjusted everything to my personal needs: 12 gauge flatwound strings tuned to Eb Ab etc., pick-upadjustment, trussrod adjustment, intonation...
No flaws,but intonation was not right (took me some hours to set it right...;o)

Live gigs every week... bounced on the floor several times, still working perfectly, use only makes it look better...

Can't tell...

I checked every other type of guitar before, and then (after desperately finding MY guitar) I got a glimpse of this beauty ... Played it and never stopped...
If lost or stolen? Don't know, I'm working on a Custom Tele and probably would use that one afterwards... but I'm looking after my guitar, so it won't be stolen...
I simply love the sound and versatility of it. It gives you a very personal and distinct sound in all genres of music from Jazz, to Metal, or classical music. It's awesome and gives me just THE right sound (and lets me produce that wonderful tone with my fingers...)
I don't like the endpins, I think I'll replace them with SChaller security locks one day... and maybe buy another saddle... But only if necessary one day...
By the way, I played a Mexican-made one, and I don't think it's the same quality. Tuners were not as good and the feel of whole guitar was different... but maybe I'm blinded by love...
Test this guitar and make something out of it!

It is a very simple guitar. 2 pickups, 3 way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone. It has a very cool natual finish. Very cool looking.

It sounds nothing like my gibson sg or my american strat. Cool in that respect. Really fat sound when you use .11 strings or thicker. Open chords through my 65 twin rock hard especially with my ts-9. Great funk sounds.

You pay for what you get. Nothing like my gibson or american strat in terms of little fixable things like intonation or finish but what can you expect for the price tag.

So far so good. I've had it for 6 months.

Cant comment

If you can't afford anything made in america, this is great. Play it first however. It has a distict sound.

Wonderful electronics....wide range of volumes and tones.

I play funk, blues, and jazz with this guitar, and is perfect for them all. I play through a Fender Blues Junior for the funk and blues with a tube screamer and playing funk. When playing blues, I crank the amp's volume and master up to 10, treble up to 10, and the bass and middle at 3 when using this guitar. I keep my guitar volume at 4 for rhythm and open it all the way for rippin leads. Anything bassier would muddy out the lows. When playing funk, I turn the master down to 4 or 5 to clean up the sound and use the tube screamer for my leads. I use the same volume technique on the guitar for lead and rhythm as when playing blues, but hit the tube screamer for the extra edge. Has a great Tower of Power or Earth, Wind, and Fire sound.

Great fat neck and lovely gloss finish.

Stays in tune, never broken a string since I bought it 2 months ago off of ebay.

I've been playing for 6 years and own 2 American strats to compliment this beauty. I would definitely replace it if it were lost. I used it as a back-up my last gig, had to grab it when I broke a string on my strat as they often do, and felt like I sounded really right when playing the tele instead. The tele is now my main axe.

Mex made Tele Thinline 72 reissue. Ash bosy with single F hole. Maple neck and fingerboard. 21 frets. Strat non-trem bridge. Two wide-range humbuckers. 3 way pickup selecter. Both pickups selected produce an in-phase rather than out of phase sound that the strat is famous for. Master volume and tone. Bullet truss rod. Pearl scratch plate. String winders are open slat type rather than feed through holes.

One of this guitar's best features. The two wide-range humbuckers produce a very distinctive sound. It's definitely NOT like a Gibson sound and not like a tele sound. It's more open and breezy than most humbucker guitars but with more fullness than single coils. It's a new sound for me and I'm still getting used to it but it's versatile and I find that I can get a nice mellow sound for jazz using the neck p.u. and lowering the tone while still being able to get enough edginess in the bridge p.u. to do funk and rock. I can almost guarantee that you've never played a guitar with quite the same sound as this. Only concern for me at present is less sustain than I would have hoped for from humbuckers but some experimentation with p.u. height may help with this.
Very little noise from the p.u.s even when through a multi fx rack.

Best factory setup I've ever seen! Action was perfect for me - on the low side of medium. Nut grooves weren't cut too low, allowing the strings to ring well. Fret work was first class in terms of radiusing and fitting. Intonation was almost perfect - and I'm a stickler. Finish was awesome. This is one of the most gorgeous guitars you will ever see. The top looks like it is a single piece of wood - you have to look really hard to see the join. And the finish and grain on the back is very well matched to the top. No dings or imperfections on the body. Only two minor niggles - some excess varnish near the nut and some rawness to the inside of the F hole where the varnish hadn't been applied properly. It took the shop's guitar tech 20 mins to sort out these and reset the intonation.
Mexican craftmanship seems damn good.

Early days for me to comment on this but the hardware looks good quality and the p.u. selecter is reassuringly stiff. Applying some pressure to the neck/body joint produces no creaking or movement. Finish of this guitar is very high quality with a deep gloss on the body and neck.

I bought this guitar as I wanted something different sounding and versatile. I couldn't be happier with it in that respect. It fits my moods very well and I can use it for jazz and blues as well as for rock and funk and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if it were stolen. I have to confess that I was partly seduced by this guitar's looks even before I played it, but the quality of construction and it's sound have surpassed my expectations.
Only one thing that may be worth mentioning is that I'd forgotten how gloss maple fingerboards can slow your playing down, so if you're a speed guitarist (perhaps looking to replace your BC Rich Warlock ;)) then make sure you can get the speed you need out of the fingerboard.

features include, Ash body, one F hole, Strat style bridge, 2 Fender Wide Range Humbuckers, 3 way selector switch, one volume and one tone, maple neck, natural finish, white pearloid pick guard

This is not your average Tele, the dual Wide Range Humbuckers provide a thicker less twangier sound, the pick ups were designed by Seth Lover, who i believed designed PAF's for Les Pauls, the bridge gives a nice over driven sound, can cover most styles, and the neck pup is good for jazzy clean sounds, i play lots of different styles, jazzy instrumental indie stuff, and some stuff with lots of over drive, i play this through a Sunn Model T head going thru a Marshall 1960BV 4X12 cab loaded with Celestion V30's, sounds great, it also sound superb with a Fender Twin Reverb, amazing clean sound.

the factory set up was ok, nothing great, i had it set up by a luthier, played excelent, the neck plays nice, and i hate maple, this one won me over, the finish on the guitar is beautiful, and the construction, it rivals any US made Fender out there, i also found this guitar to be perfect for my needs as stock.

iv had this for a year and a half and it has given me one problem, iv dropped it many a times, and it stays in tune everytime, played many shows, never needed a back up, other than the occasional broken string, never any electrical problems.

never had deal with them

iv been playing about 7 years, iv owned mostly Strats, and a Mustang, with this guitar i finaly found somthing i love and will always be happy with, its perfect.

This particular one was crafted in Japan (probably by an american Fender employee)no kiddin'.The instrument is a beauty. Top is laminated, done magnificent though, had to look twice to see the difference.It's got a three way selectorswitch and two knobs, vol.& treb.Fender wide range humbuckers passive configuration, but... I can even make a Strat neckposition sound. I know, because I also own an american Fender Stratocaster.Neck is maple. body I don't really know but I think it is ash.. Finish transparant. Shape a real fine Telecaster with one F hole. Bridge string thru. Tuners Fender non locking Fat neck with vintage frets, maple massive.No accessoires.

I play different styles, Shadows, Dire straits, Eagles, Crosby Stills etc.A lot of 60ties and 70ties . Including the blues rock stuff. That's where this Tele Thinline kicks in beautifully, Sounds real clean on all three positions and are pretty noiseless.Sound is full and rich it can be switched to a Les Paul ( I play a Les Paul Custom '69)and a Strat. No dislikes. I use a Crate GXT410 120 watts two channel amp. Boss Super Chorus, Noise surpressor,Compression Sustain, and a Digital Reverb/Delay also Boss and a Jim Dunlop Crybaby.

Action was a bit high, but easily ajusted.Pickups were set o.k. Top just fine. Totally flawless alltogethher.

Had a few gigs, no problems, but i am a carefull player no crazy stuff.Hardware is doin'allright. That's why the finish will last nearly forever. Strapbuttons are solid and Yes I can and will depend on it.As for backups I do have other guitars Strat end a Les Paul, but If I didn't have them I would rely on my Thinline.

I have been playing since 1961 As for my other gear Strat, Les Paul, Crafter Jumbo acoustic. If I would lose it I would go to find another one.My favourite feature, it is versatile. Screamin', twangy, clean Shadows sound it's all there. The thing I like most that is nearly half the weight from my Les Paul. A four hour gig saves my shoulder with this Tele.

Mexican '72 Thinline reissue, probably 2000 model. Natural finish, maple neck, 6-piece ash body with f-hole. Hardtail Strat-style bridge, 3-bolt neck, generic tuners, volume and tone controls, and three-way switch. Two humbuckers, Fender 'wide-range' model from the '70s. Nothing earth-shattering here, but nothing missing. Traded in included gig bag towards hardshell case, wise move I think.

What this guitar offers: fat tones that aren't Gibson-esque. Each pickup position is very full and rich-sounding, neck his nice sustain and bridge is trebly without being very twangy. Doesn't give up distortion like Gibsons do but that's what I love about it. You have to work a little harder but these pickups sing with great tone and sustain. High-gain settings not a problem, though the guitar really excels doing blues, classic rock, and even punk. With a Prosonic you can also do metal (I think a Prosonic could get anything to do metal) but there are probably better guitars for that purpose.
What you don't get: twang, 'normal' tele sounds, thinner, acoustic-like sounds, the strat in-between settings. There's plenty of treble for most applications, but if those tones are your primary goal look to single-coil Fenders. This guitar does not do anything amazingly well, but it covers lots of sonic ground and is not into Gibson-like mega-distortion.

Setup was good, haven't had to change action/intonation or anything. No finish flaws. One small chip out of inner f-hole (not visible casually), and lots of sawdust glued inside the f-hole. Little dark marks on nut. Nothing that bothers me, but not perfect. If this sort of stuff does bother you, inspect CAREFULLY before buying, don't complain after the fact.

Mexican-made Fenders seem to be very well-made, I'd have no concerns gigging without a backup (done it before). Never broken a string, it's never spun wildly out of tune, and it accepts new strings happily with a short adjustment period.

Never dealt with Fender, they may be a big company but the guitars hold up.

Been playing 4+ years, my first 'serious' electric. Play indie/blues/classic rock. Also own a Fender Prosonic, a Taylor 410, and some effects (notably a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, which brings this guitar to life). What can I say? I love it, no matter how much I get off on playing other electrics in stores this one always feels right. The sound isn't everything I want (serious single-coil jones lately, don't know if it's for a strat or a tele though), but I would never dream of getting rid of it. It's versatile, a bit unusual, and very 'right' for me.

My Thinline Tele is Mexican - si! It is natural finish with the maple neck and fretboard. I've had it for about 1 1/2 years. The fretboard has been planed to a flatter radius, to match my American Tele, which I bought new last year around the same time.

I bought this instrument after going in to buy a Gibson semi-acoustic. After playing four or five vintage Gibsons this Tele caught my eye. So did the price! After a few minutes of playing I knew this is the one. OK, so it's not a Gibson and doesn't sound like one but I actually like the humbuckers on the Tele better. They have more to offer. They are bright when the tone is opened up and can be adjusted for a jazzier, more mellow tone. I generally leave the tone set about halfway. I later found out from a book on the history of the Tele that Seth Lover was hired by Fender to design these humbuckers in the early '70s. He implemented the improvements he thought of since the original Gibson humbuckers. I play it through an all-tube Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb combo. It matches Fender amps perfectly. I read recently that Keith Richards always plays his Tele through Fender amps. I tried it through my Marshall Silver Jubilee combo and now I know why he says that.

Very well made and set up from the start. The service tech at the store I bought it from did a set up with 10's when he worked on the neck to flatten the radius. The tuners are stiff compared to my American Tele and I need to adjust them more often.

The guitar is solid. It has a very nice neck. The tuners are stiff compared to my American Tele and I need to adjust them more often. And I noticed that the surface plastic on the pickguard has just recently started to crinkle and bubble up in one area about an inch and a half in diameter. I've had the guitar about a year and a half. I will replace it eventually.

Never had a problem. I deal with the store.

I have no regrets. This is a great guitar for the money. Not like some of the ones made in Asia. I love Fender guitars, especially the finish on the necks. They are fast and easy to play compared to other necks. I've been playing about 25 years, on electrics about 12 years. I now have two Teles, one with humbuckers and one with single-coil pickups, both with an ash body. Perfect! I keep going in to play other guitars, just for comparison, but haven't found anything yet that I like better.

this japanese tele sounded brilliant at long and Mcquades where I plugged into a jcm 2000, a fender and a boogie 50 watter but I took it home and no deal I tried for three days using my vst amp sims and my vintage elk prosonic and I could'nt get the tone I wanted. bear this in mind though i am looking for a really specific tone. if your into oasis this comes close but it wont nail it. fender hardtail bridge, stock fender humbucker pu's, kluson style pegs, f holes ash body, maple neck and fret board. excellent workmanship

I'm into oasis + stone roses and like I said this particular guitar does'nt quite rock in the way I want. mushes itself up when the gain stage is set too high but I am a sloppy player and that has a lot to do with it
quiet enough but my evans single coils are even quieter lots of variety due to it's responsiveness to playing dynamics
i am using it with some vst amp simulators in Cubase
and an old elk prosonic 2x10 with el34's in the power amp
the stock fender pu in the neck sounds good clean
and the lead pick up sounds good just as it is starting to get dirty
but dont think you'll be delving into any hi gain areas
kind of good for a tomm petty type thing

the lads in japan really out did themselves here this is a 97 it is a beaut!! next to my early 1980's squier silver bullet it is immaculate
the grain of the ash is very nicely figured everything is tight!

too good looking to gig with on a reg basis. very well put together though. do your self a favour buy a 69 style if you have to have a nocaster/ broadcaster style bridge it is sapparently nothing but heartbreak to replace the strattish hardtail.

the lads at long and mcquade relly do their best
never had to deal w/ fender directly

been playing seventeen years should've brought in my own amp will be trading this in for a les paul semi hollow epiphone If it were stolen I would kill the thief but take the money into get a proper hollow body love the wood like the tone I will probably replace this with a epiphone les paul style semi hollow