Fender Baja Telecaster

2007 Mexican Made. Real classic look. Custom Shop designed. I can't figure out the difference between the names of the two finish options, I have the rich yellow one with the black pickguard. I don't really understand why they call things "desert sand" when you could just call it "yellow" or "beige" and be a lot less confusing about it. 21 Frets. Based on a 50's tele EXCEPT 4 way selector with S1 switching in two positions for a total of 6 pickup options. Others have posted the details so you can read those. Twisted tele neck pickup and broadcaster bridge pickup. Vintage tuners. Vintage Fender decal on the headstock.

Certainly has more than you'd expect in the typical Telecaster Department.

Over the last few years I've gotten more and more into telecasters. I love the simple but easily customized and modified vibe of teles. You can make a telecaster that sounds like just about anything. This Tele has a very versatile range of tones thanks to the 4 positions and S1 switching. You can get tele spank, or a really nice neck position beef.

I play just about anything and like to think that you can basically play any style of music with any guitar, more or less. At the very least, I like to have instruments that can multi-task. I guess I play rock, though, if we're going to pigeon-hole. Weezer (Blue and Pinkerton) is a big influence on my playing if you need a reference point. Weezer, Queens of the Stone Age, and Do Make Say Think. Figure that out.

The bridge position (1st position) is great with some gain for good, searing lead tones. The 2nd position by itself is like your standard neck and bridge config. It sounds pretty cool on it's own, but I prefer the sound of pickups on their own. However, with the S1 switch on, it gets this cool hollow sound (I love it with the tone down and lots of dirt for lead lines in Queens songs... it's like it's coming through an old car radio.) 3rd position is the neck pup by itself which has some really nice tones. It's probably my second favorite position on the guitar and has a nice mix of bass and treble. Really definite clean tone with a simultaneously rich and bright feel. I like it more than the mixed position of 2. The 4th position, however, has balls to spare. I can't believe the beef that comes out of this telecaster. I can't remember which between 4th and 2nd is series or parallel (others have mentioned, and I'm too lazy to go back and look), but this 4th position is awesome. It doesn't really sound like a tele traditionally sounds, it almost has a humbuckerish quality to it. With the S1 depressed in this position you get a sound that's a lot like position 1 but with a little different tone.

All in all, I love the sounds this guitar makes. Even though it has tones I like more than others, there aren't any that I dislike. The tone pot is responsive and adds additional character to any of the positions available making for a tremendously versatile experience.

My signal chain looks something like this: Guitar -> Crybaby Wah -> Boss TU-2 tuner -> Boss DD-6 Delay -> Marshall GV 2 "Guvnor Plus" Distortion (great underrated pedal by the way) -> Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. [More or less pedals: Big Muff Pi, Danecho Delay, Marshall Jackhammer Distortion/Overdrive, Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus)

I will say this. I'm sick of reading reviews where people say this guitar (or other guitars) aren't good for metal and heavy music. Music doesn't get much heavier than Queens of the Stone age, and even if it does, that's irrelevant. You can get those tones and then some. If you want big beefy distorted tone it's only a pedal away. You can make a banjo sound metal with the right pedal and amp, so I just can't buy this whole "not the guitar for metal and hard rock players" sentimentality. You can do it all on most guitars if you can play them and you have the right accessories. *end rant*

There's noise, but they're single coils and I expect some. My only dislike is not knowing which sound I'll like the most when I pick it up. When that's your only dislike you're sitting pretty. I'll give it a 9 though. I had a lot of professors that wouldn't give 100% on assignments in university because they said you couldn't write a perfect paper (always room for improvement). We all have those "I hate my tone" days, even with awesome guitars. I give it a 9 for not being flawless... so... take that Fender?

Setup was great and I gigged comfortably with it only a few days after getting it. Felt like butter compared to my other guitars. I had to have the nut adjusted after putting 11's on it since the slots weren't wide enough but the shop did it for free so that was pretty cool. Pickups were perfectly blended but I might raise the bridge pickup soon as I've noticed how much more beefy the 4th position is and I'd like some more balance when I switch from it to other positions. Bridge is great, the Finish is gorgeous (although I'd argue that Teles are never all that pretty... I dig the classic 50s look... there's just something about teles that scream "utility") with just a little wood grain peaking through the paint.

I love the neck. It's beefy but the V-shape makes it play a lot faster than you'd expect.

The only flaw was that there was gunk all over the place... like globs of somewhat-easily removed gunk. I have no idea what was going on there, but a cloth and some friction seemed to take care of it. At first I thought it was bubbles in the piant or something. Odd. Whatever, looks great now.

I've played it live a pile of times. I don't understand the "withstand live playing" question. I don't jump around like a retard or anything so practice, dicking around, and live playing all pretty much look the same for me. So yeah. If you don't play your guitar with a hammer, I'd say you're fine.

My only gripe with the hardware so far is that the knob the S1 switch is on feels really flimsy, and when I first got it the S1 switch got stuck in the knob in the down position and wouldn't come back up. I took it back for fixin. There's just something that feels flimsy with that switch and I wish they'd go for a push/pull instead.

Oh, and the pickguard sorta bubbled just above the bridge, I'd pin that maybe on humidity and less screws... and maybe 1 ply? I dunno. It's minor but even after some of the holes were re-drilled and tightened by the tech at my local shop, it still sorta does it. Weird, but whatever.

Otherwise, everything is cherry. Two slabs of wood man, can't beat it. You could beat back adoring fans with it and it would still be in tune.

Never gig without a backup... at the very least people don't want to watch you restring your guitar... that's never entertaining.

The shop I take it to is awesome. Does that count? They sold it to me after all. I'm giving the SHOP a 10. I guess Fender made the guitar right... it's all the same thing.

I've been playing for something close to 10 years. I've managed to learn a fair bit of guitar wisdom during this period but I still have a lot of growing to do. At least I know that tone is in the hands.

My other guitars are an Epiphone Les Paul Classic (heavily modified with Kent Armstrong Vintage PAF pickups, totally redone electronics, and complete hardware overhaul), an Epiphone Dot (just purchased and about to receive the same sort of treatment), and a customized self-titled "ebay tele" built with parts from all over (old squier neck that feels great, seymour duncan phat cat p90 in the neck and GFS coil-tapped rails in the bridge, american body... very cool). I've also got a japanese mustang bass (can't recommend those little fellas enough). I sold a mexican strat not long after getting this tele because I knew I'd never touch it again.

I played about 10 different telecasters at the shop the day I bought this guitar. I tried a Fender '54 reissue, a Classic Player Series Esquire, some Tele Customs, and Tele Deluxe, and some standards before I settled on this guitar. In short, I tried to do my homework. Nothing else in the store felt or sounded this good.

If it were stolen or lost I would weep, because I couldn't afford another one. Tremendous guitar though, if I could afford it, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

I love this guitar for it's versatility and wonderful, wonderful tones. I love that it's like a 54 (with a much less gimped neck pickup) but with just enough customization to make it interesting. It's like the fun mods I like in a guitar that looks traditional and button-down. It feels and plays like butter. Easily the best guitar I've ever played and clearly the best I've ever owned. It just feels so solid and you know when you strum it for the first time that it's a guitar you can trust.

This guitar is perfect the way it is, I think. I know my hunt for a great sounding telecaster has been halted (for now at least, we just never stop looking, next stop: thinlines!)

I got this on clearence for 499.99 at guitar center wow! It is the desert sand and has the ash body and custom pickups and S1 switching

Killer little blues axe , the out of phase lets you get that T-Bone ton
Killer great job Fender

Had to set it up, I use 12s so so neck work was needed.

Great guitar

Unique features: Desert Sand? finish (faux mid-50's pastel vibe, think white blond without the wood grain showing through I guess), fatter maple V-neck, flatter 9.5 radius and medium jumbo frets that facilitate bending, Twisted Tele neck pickup, and the S-1 switching system which adds three more interesting pickup sounds--1)Neck and Middle in serial for a fatter sound with more output than the neck and middle pickups in parallel, 2) neck and middle out of phase, in parallel 3) neck and middle in series, out of phase. The rest of the features resemble the standard Mexican 50's re-issue Tele: ash body, 21 frets, etc.

If one plays rock, rockabilly, blues, country, and soul and R&B (i.e. Steve Cropper) this guitar will fit the bill. Hard rockers, punk rockers, and heavy metal shredders should look elsewhere. Distortion boxes and fuzzy, buzzy amps would only aggravate and amplify the noise of the single coil pickups that Teles are especially susceptible to (shielding would help, but usually significantly changes tone). Also the V-neck is not as fast as a thinner neck.

I usually use Fender style amps (Deluxe Reverb, Vibrochamp & Mesa Heartbreaker) or a Vox Tonelab using the Fender amp models. Settings are classic clean-ish and mid-gain sounds.

Teles in general are bright sounding guitars, and this is no exception. The Broadcaster bridge pickups is wound to 9.3 in this case. It's bright but not piercingly so. But it is extremely one-dimensional in my opinion. If one is looking for the classic just-about-to breakup Tele sound, it's not here. But I think any heavily wax-potted pickup will have a hard time replicating that sound--think Jeff Beck with the Yardbirds or Mike Bloomfield on Highway 61 Revisited. That's why a day after I installed a Fender Nocaster Bridge pickup. Better, but not quite there.

I'll probably go through a very expensive excursion in trying one of the army of "boutique" pickup makers (Fred Stuart, Peter Florance, Don Mare, OC Duff, or Dave Stephens)of the moment in trying to find the right sound. This is something which is trial and error, until one finds, basically by luck, the "right" pickup.

But,the upside of the Baja Tele are the Twisted Tele Neck pickup and the S-1 switching system.

I can only say that all the hype around the Twisted Tele Neck pickup are true. Rumored to have been created by Alan Hamel, then of the Custom Shop, using the longer magnets from a Jazz Bass pickup, this pickup does what very few traditional, covered Tele pickups can do--be very usable. Think Strat neck pickup with enough high end and dynamic range for leads without getting muddy or murky. Think Keith Richards' Tele sound without having to rout for a humbucker. It truly is a revelation.

The other plus is the S-1 4-way switching system. I'm not usually into electronic gimmicks, but this is no gimmick. It give you useable sound options. The neck and bridge pickups in series give a boost in sound. think humbucker territory but with more clarity and high end. Rather than flicking the overdrive, you can actually just flip the selector and get a great lead sound. Funk players will probably love fooling with the out of phase sounds.

Overall, a bargain for what one gets in available and quality of sounds, especially from a 2 pickup up guitar historically known for its raw, bridge pickup. Though docked 3 points for the bridge pickup.

Word of warning: The website says the Baja is equipped with Custom Shop pickups. I believe the pickups were actually made in Mexico. The tell-tale sign is the plastic-coated pickup lead wires. All the Custom Shop pickups that I've seen have been cloth-covered. Comparing the Custom Shop Nocaster to the Broadcaster that came with the Baja, the difference just physically was noticeable. Sound-wise, as I noted above, there was no comparison. The difference is more than just the difference's in magnets (Alnico 3 for the Nocaster, and Alnico 5 supposedly for the Broadcaster).

Not to be cynical, but the game Fender is playing is a little devious. The Custom Shop has credibility among players for caring about the quality of its products. When Fender initially introduced the Classic Player Series, it actually had Custom Shop pickups, whereby it created a buzz among players. Riding on the initial good reviews and demand, the next production run substituted made in Mexico pickups. Most people will not know the difference. That is what they did with the Classic Player 60s Strat, which originally had the great Custom 69 pickups.

The Guitar Center in NYC had 5 Baja Teles in Desert Sand. Unusual in that from what I've seen, a good stock of Teles is not a strong point for New York music stores, but I guess Fender was trying to get rid of it's stock at the end of the year and sold them to GC at a good price.

It's interesting that they all varied noticeable. 3 of them were relatively heavy, over 8 lbs. Also the finish of the fret ends varied from guitar to guitar. I narrowed it down to two. The lightest one being closer to 7 lbs. But the finish on the neck seemed slightly different. And it actually felt different from the one I bought, which just felt more comfortable. Can't complain about the one I got. Fit is almost perfect. The slight scratches here and there probably due to being jostled by the amateur rock gods in training at the GC circus.

Factory set-ups vary from horrible to acceptable. Remarkably the action on the one I bought was good, albeit a little low, and no fret buzz, while others I tried were truly abominable: Rusted strings, buzzing frets, etc.

Made in Mexico quality control is notorious, so inspect the guitar carefully. Compare the a good U.S. Vintage '52 Reissue and you'll quickly notice the difference in how they feel and are made. The quality of the wood in the MIM stuff is extremely variable.

Telecasters are know for being virtually indestructible. Usually the cheap tuners will go first. I replaced the strap buttons already with strap locks.

No matter how indestructible the guitar has been, one should never gig without a backup. One never knows when electronics, like a wire coming loose, will disable a guitar--which I learned the hard way from experience.

Never dealt with Fender directly. Their website is a great P.R. tool for drooling guitarists everywhere, but I doubt a corporate behemoth like Fender really cares about the average amateur player. That's what Guitar Center and the retail stores are for.

Remember when dealing with Guitar Center and their ilk, that 90% of the staff barely knows the merchandise. I got some teenage kid. Though nice enough, could barely complete the purchase without assistance. And he even gave me the wrong--read cheaper--gig bag.

I've been playing for about a quarter of a century. I've got about 15 or so guitars. I have a Japanese '62 Reissue Tele which I bought in 1985, but I always wanted a 50's style Tele. I would have bought a '52 Reissue ages ago if I could have lived with the neck. Would love to buy a Nocaster which is one of the best Fender Tele guitars I have ever played, but this Baja was less than a third of the price and I love V-neck and the Twisted Tele neck pickup. Plus, with this Baja, I have a guitar that I can really play hard and not worry so much about devaluing my "investment." With a bit of tweaking, it will get close.

I guess the only thing I wish it had was a thin-skin nitro butterscotch finish and compensated brass bridge saddles. In other words, if there were a readily available Custom Shop version, I would buy it in a New York minute.

This has been covered in detail already, mine is the blond model with a nice mid weight ash body.

Sound is everything you want from a tele, although the neck pickup lacks a bit of volume, and probably needs tweaking. The S1 switch alternative sounds are not bad, to my ears they make more sense through an overdriven amp. I play through a Peavey Classic 30, and a modded Epiphone valve junior.

Oh dear, oh dear. From a distance the guitar looks the absolute business, but viewed close up mine has two noticeable runs in the laquer. I realise this is a cheap Fender, but this is poor quality control that shouldn't be happening. Two of the pickguard screws go in at an angle - it doesn't cost any more to drill holes straight, so this is nothing to do with the price, it's just sloppy.

I paid for a set up before delivery, so no idea whar=t the factory set up is like.

A big ol' maple neck, which is not too big, and maybe contributes to the excellent acoustic sustain.

Built like a brick outhouse, not sure how long the S1 switch will last, though

Never put them to the test

Overall a reasonable guitar, but let down by basic quality control issues that would add nothing to the price to correct. I'd save a bit longer for a USA built model next time.

Been playing about thirty years, I've also got a strat plus, and an old Epiphone Casino

Ash body, 1 piece maple neck with med jumbo frets. Vintage style 3 brass barrel bridge. "Desert Sand" poly finish with white one ply pickguard. Broadcaster bridge P/U, Twisted Tele neck P/U. 4 way switching with S-1 option. Slotted tuners. Custom Shop neck plate and 50th anniversary badge on the back of the headstock. Gig bag included. For a tele it has some nice features.

I have never been a big fan of super twang. This guitar is the best souding and most versitile tele I have ever played. By using the switching options you can get a good twang or go to a rip it up growl and just about anything in beetween that single coils will deliver. It does the "rip it up" very well. With the right amp it punches right between the eyes. There may be a little hum, thats life in single coil land.

Overall the guitar was made and put together well. The nut was it's weak piont. The low E string was out of alignment by about a half a string. Not to hard to fix and will also let me have the nut material I want and have it set to exactaly like I like. MIM quality control is not what it could be. I have a classic player strat that was perfect, but not all are. Other than the nut everything is great. Less than an hour cleaning, re-string, setting the bridge and intonation, going over the neck, and it was done.

Should be typical Fender tele tough. Not so sure about the S-1 Switch, just have to wait and see.

Fender

I also have the Classic Player 60s Strat and it is awsome. I expect this to be just as good. The color is really growing on me also, it is so under-stated. It seems like everybody has a Keith Richards look-a-like. It is such a sleeper. it it so plain but it ROCKS with the best of them. The neck feels great (I have big hands). The weight is right. The pickups RULE. I have found that the classic players series of guitars to be some of the best deals Fender has produced in a long long time. I recomend checking them out, but play them first because of MIM quality control.

This is a blonde one. See features on other threads. The body finish is not to everyone's taste, for me it could be thinner. Mine is 3.9 Kg, which is a bit heavy. Neck is a nice quartersawn maple with an inconsistency in the grain around the 3rd fret, but nice. The overall features of this guitar are great for the price.

Coming from Les Paul style guitars (I wanted a Tele because of Jimmy Page early days) I welcomed the hot pickups. Still I need a boost with it to feel "home" - for which I am using an Xotic RC booster. It is adding noise but also punch and I like it a lot. Playing into either Diezel Einstein or Bogner Shiva.

The guitar is great for cleans and has awesome high gain sounds, unbelievable how versatile it is. I have several much more expensive guitars, but since 1 month I only play the Baja. The 4th setting out of phase is a very special sound (did anyone mention Peter Green?) that gives you pinch harmonics all over the fret board - absolutely astonishing.

The Baja plays great and cuts through the mix as well. It's noisy with gain, but that is not a sign for bad quality, it comes along with any single coil guitar and is very manageable.

For the money this costs, it gets a straight 10 in sound!

Finish is OK. Frets are not perfect and shiny as on other guitars I bought (not same standard as e.g. a PRS Singlecut SE). The setup was beyond good and evil, they definitely have not checked the intonation before the guitar went out. All saddles were about 0.5-1cm off! Neck and action were almost fine though.
I had fixed the intonation and action in <1h, so no big deal. I would like the body finish to be thinner though, this is a bit too plasticky for my taste.

This seems very sturdy, I mean it's a Tele, must be the most stable guitar on the planet. If I ever feel like thrashing it into my cabs on stage, I know who will win. Well, I wanted a new cab anyway :o)

Great guitar! You gotta have one, or two :o)

Solid swamp ash bodies, probably 3 piece; opaque gloss poly skin (semitransparent on hard to find blonde ones), full thickness stock tele shape, modern edge radius, US quality thin nickel plate bridge, 3 brass saddles, string thru, ping 'kluson' nickel plate vintage machines--slotted; skunk striped slightly V'd big "C" shaped neck, almost one inch depth, 9.5 board radius, conventional modern frets, gloss poly coating, 4 way switching providing series or parallel use of pickups when both pups are selected, S-1 gives out of phase for those two settings as well, total of six, custom shop origin twisted tele neck pup and broadcaster not nocaster bridge pup, fancy neck plate. Significant US content, finished and assembled in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. A lot of stuff for a Tele, and I say the extras sounds are not a gimmick.

I play most styles, but not metal, hip hop or show tunes.
The Baja is well suited to my style.
Sounds great through a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb-Amp 2x10 combo, not bad through a Peavey Classic 50 2x12 combo either; pedals are not really needed here.
Mine are dead quiet in position #4, S-1 button down (series out of phase) and progressively louder up to positions #1 and #3.
Let me just say these pickups are much more rewarding that the stock ones in my American Series (04) Tele, leave it there.
Love to have a bass and treble cut setup for more range of sound, stacked potentiometer, one will get modded that way soon.

The basics are all just fine, all the things I couldn't fix if wrong are right. I'm a big boy, and I don't mind fixing a pickguard or cleaning up a little compound or adjusting the intonation. Both bridge plates were canted a minute fraction, no sweat to fix during a string change. The hard plastic nuts are both cut nicely for 10s or 11s. Crucially, the fretwork and tuner placement and the neck fit is all I ask for; these are the ones that really count. One of mine is barely used and had a GuitarPartsResource set of $22 slant compensated saddles which I adjusted, and each got an $12 Electrosocket for the outlet jack from Stewart MacDonald. The stock saddle one intonates with 10s better than any other I've had with tilt only barrels.
The S-1 switches are a bit wobbly by nature and will be replaced with push pull pots sometime into the guitars' lives.

If you're putting the hurt on a real Fender Telecaster, you must know Michael Vick I guess. These guitars are easy to maintain and are relatively indestructible by guitar standards. You need Jim Dunlop straplocks because if the guitar falls, someone's foot might be injured.
Once the Electrosocket is on, the electrics (except possibly the s-1) are reliable, but as inexpensive as these Bajas are, I have two.
If I couldn't depend on it though, I wouldn't have one.
They're lifetime guitars should you wish it so.

As long as Leo is somewhere looking over us, that's good enough for me.
He's designed it so I can look after myself, that's all I want.
Can you ever say that about a set neck guitar honestly?

I have 4 american made G + Ls that are better, no question, but are intended to sell for twice as much. None does a Tele quite like the Baja.
Sure, I wish the Baja was available with the bass and treble cuts, and transparent color finishes in other pale colors, Gotoh tuners, Callaham bridgeplate and saddles, heavy knurled knobs, maybe even a thinline body. But guess what, every loving sister would be in line to get one at $ 1,200 each. Somehow I've gotten a new one at $ 600 plus purse for $39, plus tax, and a lighter used one for $499 including the tax, whilst others have paid $ 800+ in the States, more overseas.
But if you're just wearing this guitar around your neck for show, please don't buy this model.

I picked the desert tan because it looked so 'traditional'. Not really, that was the only color in stock when I walked in, but it was an eye catcher. I was only there to get a strap and set of mating strap locks for my JV Strat. Being a Tele afficianado, I started noodling around, riffin' blues and my favorite chicken pickin' licks on a red American Tele when my eye caught sight of the Baja on the wall. I got it down, plugged into a Fender Deluxe reissue and the fun began. I'll get into that later. The pickups, of course, are custom shop models - a twisted tele in the bridge and a nocaster in the neck, or is it the other way around? Anyway, it has a 4-way switch (S1) and a button on the volume control to change the phase. Very useful and well though out. The body is solid ash and the neck is maple. Standard for the Baja.

I play pretty much anything from ZZ Top to Chet Atkins, so this is the guitar for me. I play through a Dr. Z (z28 model), an Ibanez TS9 distortion, an Ibanez digital delay, and an ernie ball volume pedal. The sound is very clean and articulate. Of course, these are single coil REAL Tele pickups and tend to pick up the magnetic hum of every electrical widget in sight, but that's a Tele for you. A noise gate helps, but I quit using one because the volume pedal works well enough. I found out early on that the parallel out-of-phase (position 2, button down) works fine for SR cover tunes (scuttle buttin, house is rockin', pride and joy), even better with the TS9. Its not exactly a Strat sound, a lot thicker, but it works for me. The out of phase in series (position 4, button down) is great for old British cover tunes. Try it on 'Day Tripper' or 'I Feel Fine' and you'll see what I mean. It nails that hollow sound. Also, Suzie Q (CCR)sounds tough with that sound. Primarily, however, I use the neck or bridge pickup with the button up (standard tele setting). The 4th position (both pickups in series, button up) is great for fattening the tone a little more and getting more gain for distortion. A very sweet sound in that position and one I use several times a night.

I couldn't believe the factory setup. I asked the salesman if someone in his store had done it and he said it came from the factory like that. Strings were low, no buzzing, the neck felt nice and meaty, but not like a baseball bat as one reviewer stated. I love that neck and I'm a Les Paul lover as well, so that should tell you something (I like the Les Paul 60s thin taper neck, btw). The pickups were adjusted fine, but I raised the bridge a touch. Didn't really make that much difference, it just looked too low to me. I've been over this thing looking for flaws and can't find anything. I must have been at the right place at the right time. No complaints there.

This guitar could double as a weapon. It ain't gonna break from what I've seen because Teles are just plain tough! The finish is polyurethane, so it should stand up well to my sweat, and I sweat profusely when I'm playing. Strap buttons are good on this one, but I tighten all my strap buttons before a gig. They tend to work loose after playing 3 or 4 nights. Its very dependable and I really don't NEED a backup, but I usually bring a couple of other guitars just to vary the sound. I used it stand alone once because I did't have room to haul more guitars. I pulled off the entire set list with no problems. There were a few moments where I missed my Paul, but the audience didn't notice, so there you go.

I've been playing since my pre-teen years. I think I was 8 or 9 and I'm late in my 40s now. I played a Baja several times within a 2 month period before buying one. I wanted to be sure it wasn't just a whim. I paid 700 bucks for it and that's a lot of money for something you don't really HAVE to buy. Still, no regrets. This is as fine a guitar as I've ever owned. The wiring is ingenious and everyone I've shown it to is amazed by what it can do. Two of my friends are getting Baja Teles after playing mine. This is a keeper and I haven't been able to say that for 20 years or better. I really think this is one of the coolest things Fender has ever done. I'm sticking with this Baja Tele and my Les Paul from here out; sold my Strats. Thinking about getting an upper end US Tele? Try this out first and compare it side by side with one, unless you just have money to burn. That's what I did and I know what I'm talking about. It feels as good as a Custom shop US Tele from the wood to the hardware to the eletrical components. I think that covers pretty much everything. It will never have the resale value as an old American model, but you'll get your money's worth from a Baja if you're buying one just to play and keep. It's a blast to play. Try one and you'll see. And yes, if this were lost or stolen, I would definitely get another one, same color. I'm in love with this thing still.

Vintage looks, modern features....
Four way pick up selector...the 4th position plays the two pickups like a humbucker...very cool
The volume knob also has the S-1 switch
Positions 2 and 4 are effected and it basically puts them out of phase for some interesting sounds that could have some cool uses
The neck is huge and feels/plays great, except the tuners are cheaper versions of the official vintage ones that Fender uses. However, they stay in tune and look cool, so I'll keep um for a while
Old school 3 saddle brass bridge
I'll give it a 9 in this category, cause for a tele its loaded with features

This is a mexican tele, but man does it shine
Much darker than your average tele, but it still has enough bite to do what it needs too....i always end up rollin the tone off other teles and takin treble off the amp anyway
Stays nicely in tune after a lil setup and string change
The pickup combinations you can use give you plenty of options
My only gripe is the static it makes when you rub the pickguard while playing...I'm able to stop it by rubbin a fabric softener sheet on it, but i wish there was a way to permanently stop it...This sorta thing seems to happen on all my guitars...maybe its me?? If anyone has any input send me an email
Sounds greeaaat but not perfec so its gettin an 8

Good enough
I had to adjust the string height, and intonate the guitar, but once that was done shes plays and stays in tune....
Fret job was ok but i filed down around the edges of the neck to really smooth it out...I find a nail file works great...its gentle enough not to hurt the neck if you over do it, and because its soo fine, you can take your time and get it right

6 outta the factory....9 now that I did my thang to it

Hope so:)
lil nervous about those "ping" tuners...maybe one day i'll put the good ones on...we'll see...they work for now so i'll deal
that static issue bothers me too, but with a lil tweakin its a sweet tele that should last a long time

fender?

A better tele than most american fenders, at a great price....i love the color options, and i love the sound....its not my perfect tele (i havent found that one yet) but its pretty darn close...plus it offers up some cool extra features while maintaining a sweet vintage vibe

Update of previous review: Before exchanging the Baja for an amp, I played its newly arrived replacement then took it home. This one looks like a $1200 model, and gets the tones that I've never gotten from three prior Teles and four or five pickup changes. What is an
"Alan Hamel/Hanel" tall neck pickup? Is it what makes a Twisted Tele p.u.?
Much better fret work; qtr.-sawn neck figuring; neck-to-pocket fit perfect. O.K., Fender....