Fender '98 Collectors Edition Telecaster

I set one of these up in my workshop today. # 469 of 1998. A great guitar, different to all new tele's and the finish is really nice. The custom case and strap are also great inclusions.

It sounds better than all other modern tele's, and typically only suits the styles you would expect. A nice bright bridge sound but surprisingly a full deep neck sound. No noise or hum, quality pickups and electronics.

The action when I got it was not great, the neck was too straight and the nut had been filed too low. Annoying truss rod to adjust, but once it was done the action was low and smooth. No fret problems.

The owner gigs and records with it regularly, and this is the first time it has been professionally set up. In my opinion, very reliable and durable.

It's ten years old now which means I have had ten wonderful years of gigging with it. That's around 2000 gigs. I even take it out busking! It's lasted longer than all of my wives. Number 345 out 0f 1998 Cost me only ??700 cash new from a uk store. I had it professionally set up once in all that time. May treat it to some new frets. Great guitar!

On gigs I play my Tele through a rack mount POD Pro. On bigger gigs I use a Mesa Boogie F30. Busking i play through a battery operated AER Acoustic Amp. Whatever i put the Tele through it comes out trumps every time.

This is a US made 98 Collectors Edition Guitar. It is number 981 of 1998 made. View other reviews for specs. The body is made from light southern ash which resonates with amazing fullness. It has the gold fittings which I am not that crazy about and abalone inlays. The pickups are vintage noiseless I am told. Mine is a beautiful sunburst 2 tone. Comes with Brown tolex case. Has three barrel vintage bridge.

People have ofter viewed these guitars as collectors items that should be locked away and never played. They are missing out on a real treat. I have owned about 8 different Teles over the last 15 years including ash deluxes and 52 reissues and 83 toploader etc and this is the best soundwise I have ever played. I am playing through a fender vibroverb reissue and the richness and detail coming from these pickups is mouth-watering. If you want the real deal vintage 50s tele sound try and grab one of these guitars. I actually sold my 52 reissue straight after getting this because the difference was so noticable. I have never given a 10/10 until now. Believe the hype about theses guitars. A friend with a custom shop tele was so smug about his guitar until he compared it to this baby. Lovely to get the last laugh!!!!!!

These guitars are marketed as collectors items so you can imagine the attention to detail is unsurpassed. Nough said. Absolutely flawless. The action and neck is actually very fast on this particular guitar. Don't know if it was professionally setup before I purchased it.

Never gigged it live. Havn't had it long enough to know reliability but it is a solid body tele so what can go wrong.

Never had to deal with Fender. I am sure wont have any problems

I have been playing for 15 years plus. I am a total tone snob unfortunately. I own a Guild 1994 F30R acoustic guitar and a 89 fireglo rickenbacker 360 electric and a blonde 83 toploader telecaster. If it was stolen I would be absolutely gutted. These are extremely rare. There would be little chance of grabbing another one. Better look into more locks on the doors!!!!

Fender Collectors Edition Telecaster 1998; made in USA. This limited version (1998 guitars were produced) is a good as any custom shop guitars for a lot less money. This guitar gives you the feel of a 50s white guard Tele. The maple neck is not flat or skinny, but feels like on a '56 Tele: beefy without feeling like a baseball bat. It remains round all along, and does not become V shaped; non sticky lacquer. The frets are medium jumbo. the guitar weighs 7.5 Lbs on the postal scale. The ash body has a gorgeous two tone sunburst ; gold hardware, round string tee; vintage style bridge, 2 stong pus ( =/- 7 ohm) , cloth wiring, 3 position switch; abalone dots on the neck; special abalone marker at the 12th fret; serial number on customized back neck plate; white single ply pickguard; Kluson tuners. Sold with a candy bag and a brown HSC.

Unoplugged the guitar is resonnant, which for me is a good sign of how the guitar will sound through an amp (tube , of course) .
The neck pu is unbelievable; I have 60s several teles and none has a better sounding neck pu than this Collectors model. Great for rythmn play. or push it for a sweet, singing lead.
The bridge pu sounded too bright ; I put 10s and adjusted its height for a better sound; unlike on my 60s tele, I have to roll back the Tone control to 6 or 7 for a good lead tone. It will cut through.

I bought it used from a seller who kept it in its case, unplayed . So the guitar was like new. I changed the strings to 10s, and adjusted the intonation. The guitar plays superbly. Flatpicking is a breeze. Plays like buttah... Chords are easy and the neck is fast.
Finish has no flaws.

Well, it's a Tele; a great one. What else do I need to say. Of course, the finish will be subject to dings, marks, etc... depending upon the level of care or attention. Remember, the thin nitro lacquer finish...

never bothered.

This is a great Tele, in a gorgeous 2-tone sunburst (aren't you tired of the blonde finish?), light and with the twang and snap teles are know for. It beats hands down the 52 RI that I have played and is on par with any good teles from the 60s . I have been playing for 20 years+ and have owned/still own more than 50 quality vintage electric guitars ( Fender, Gibson); my amps are all vintage (fender, Marshall) and sound great. This is a guitar I'd buy again if stolen, if I could find another one (only 1998 made) under $1500.

USA made #0460 something out of 1998 made, basic tele set up but all hardware is gold, the tone/volume knobs are the heavy barrel type with set screws. Abolone fret dots with the 1998 abolone oval on the 12th fret. Gold slotted tuners, cloth wiring, 3 way switch and gold jack. The body is a nicely grained ash w/ tobacco burst w/black towards the outside. Very pretty! The neck is highly figured maple with a smooth finish.THe pick ups are the best I've ever had on a tele, the gold plated neck pick up is just perfect, not muddy very pronounced, the bridge pick up is acctually useable! Not to bright and tinny like most. This guitar does smoke the 52 re-issue, I know cause I had one for a short time. The case is simply beautiful, vintage tan with a very plush and heavily padded interior. The perfect home for an instrument of this caliber. I'd give it a 10 but its a tele(what features)?

Here is where it gets good. Played thru my Soldano it's a tone to die for in all 3 pick up positions. I played it thru the 5150 EVH head and it sounded great also, it does the distortion thing quite nice using the neck pick up. The guitar is very quite and handles pedals well. I played it thru a Dunlop Cry Baby and it just oozed tone, very sweet! When Fender built this guitar they did it right. A Custom Shop guitar with out the CS price. No dislikes what so ever.

I got this used and the set up is dead on. Pulled the pick guard to check the routes and innards and was impressed. Nothing sloppy, 1st class all the way. From the cloth covered wires to wax dipped pick ups. The ash body looks to be one peice, that's how well its matched. Like I said Custom Shop all the way.

This guitar will out live us all, hey, its a tele! Everything is solid and built to last, and you want eye candy? It has that too.

Never needed or wanted to deal with Fender. Maybe if I bought something new but I like gently used broken in guitars.

Been playing over 35 years and own many nice guitars. If something happened to this I doubt I could replace it since there is only 1998 made in the WORLD! These are going to sky rocket in value over the years.There is only 1 other tele that even comes close to this one and that is the Levinsone Thinline Tele and I have them both. Life is good! My tele quest is done as my strat quest is also. Just one thing left to do.......play, play, play!! If you can find one, grab it you'll be amazed.

Made in America, 1998.
I have had and played several Tele's and this is by far the best all around Tele gitter that I have played. It appears to be a '52 reissue American with no bells and whistles. Just plain ol Fender quality and playability, I do belive these are Custom Shop Gitters. Standard Tele configuration and sound. The neck seems to be of a deep V cut on mine but I have noticed on other '98's that the cut's differ. Never had any problems with her and have had her for 2 going on 3 years, maybe more. I traded an original '67 Tele for it from my one of my instructors who sold me the '67. The '67 was his first gitter so I figured he should have it back. She had seen better days. Did you know beer is good for guitars?? The gold back plate has the issue number for the 1998 made. Mine is 256. The neck has some beutiful inlay work on it with a large inlay with "1998" at the 12 fret. Which comes in handy after to many beers. The frets are traditional '52 jumbo's with a smooth finish on the neck that is not to sticky and not to dry. The body is done very nicely with a glossy two tone burst finish. Pretty durable I might add to. Came with a cool Brown Tolex case with gold cushy stuff for her to rest in. Plus, it came with cute gold stings, those got trashed as soon as I got it to the house. What the hell!! Gold strings???
Overall, very satisfied and I plan to be buried with this one. But then again, this is review my own personal opinion and I have heard that some players dont care for this model. Still not understanding that one. I've also heard that some people dont like breathing either.

Since I play a mix of music this gitter fits almost all of my sounds that I need to play for what I play. I can go from Zepp to Satriani and she will take all of it with a smile. I play through a Flexton 2, which with the nice pickups that came with it I can get almost any sound that I desire. The pickups are standard high quality fender Custom Shop pickups with a creamy tone on the front and the traditional Tele twang at the back. When the pickups are selected together the sound is very lush but not to twangy. Some after markets would be nice but as of now I see no need to change them. Overall the sound is very tasty, but if you want to play tunes that require a harder sound a pickup replacement would be needed. This would and has been a great studio gitter as well as for normal playing live and in the casa. Not much to dislike on this one, but then again, nothings perfect.

Ummmmm,,,,can you say "Perfect"?

I have no doubt that not only is this a very pretty gitter but it would and will stand the test of time and playing. Tele's are known for there durability and reliability as well as simplicity. She is a show piece but also a guitar that loves to be played. See above comments for overall R/D

Never had to really deal with them since all of my Fenders are trades and I have a Luthier to work on her. I'll give them a 5 for good measures.

I have been playing for more than 12 years and have gone through the agonizing process of way to many POS's and knock off's and currently own, besides the Tele, a reissue Strat that is about as sweet as Strats go as well as a Yamaha for my head banging moods. I recently uprgraded my amp from a Princeton Chorus to the Flexton2, which was another good trade from a friend. It's to bad they dont have anything higher than a 10 becuase this is one great gitter. If you have a chance to get one or are thinking of getting one I would highly recommend it. The only gitter that I have found that even comes remotely close to it was a total Fender custom jobbie and well,,,I dont feel like taking a second mortage out to pay for that monster. If it was stolen, heaven forbid, I would first hunt the retard down, get the gitter back and then beat him with it severly. She can take it and I would feel alot better. As far as getting another one, yeah right, good luck. There hard to find with only 1998 made. Overall: In 1000 years from now there going to crack open my coffin and see a skelaton with a big ol cheesy grin on it's face and my dead boney fingers wrapped around this baby. Great job Mr. Fender!!!!

These are American made, styled after early 50's era Telecasters. It's bascally a 52' re-issue with better craftsmanship. It has Abalone dot inlay with a big oval inlay at the 12th fret with 1998 in it. I noticed that the Abalone in each guitar is diffrent some as cool amounts of color and some just looks cheesy. It comes in a unique 2 toned sunburst, with all gold hardware. Lightly figured maple neck. A white one ply pickguard, I put a black one on mine and it looks lush. I got mine with a tolex case with a killer plush-velvet gold lining, a leather strap, and a cord. Only 1998 of these guitars were made, it has a special gold neck plate with the number of your guitar like mine is 0908 of 1998 or something like that.

This guitar is everything and more. I really like the neck pup, it has a deep bassy tone. I especially get excited when you use the neck pup with distortion. I'm not a big fan of the bridge pup, maybe in time I'll grow to like it. It's a little too bright and cutting for my tastes, but I like the neck and bridg combo. I just bought a 65' Re issue Twin Reverb and I can't wait to try my Tele through it. The tone is perfect for my style of blues.

Couldn't ask for anything more. Everything was perfect.

Never played live, hopefully soon. I've never jammed with it. It has never left my room. I'd like to keep it nice as long as possible. When I'm not playing it, back in the case it goes. It's a solid guitar, and if I ever play in a gig, I will have complete faith in it. I'll predict a 10 on this one.

Haven't had to call them.

I'm not a seasoned player by any means. This is my baby, I hope to have it for a long time. If you like telecasters and you have the money get one. Forget the 52 re-issues, this is a 52 with class. I don't think that I'd buy another one if it got ripped off, because the new one would not be able to live up to the one that I have now.