Fender California Telecaster

It has the Z00 serial number prefix, and is stamped "Fender, Corona California" on the back to the neck plate. So this one was definitely made in Cali. I'm not sure about you other guys posting your reviews about the Mexican made Teles because those are exactly that: Mexican Telecasters. Nothing personal, but I think they should be reviewed seperately. Actually I just read some a great review in Vintage Guitar of the Ensenada plant.
Metallic Blue paint on the ash body, with a white pickgaurd makes this one a blue beauty; I've never seen one this color before.
Classic Telecaster body, with all the straight shooting Tele features.
Manufactured year 2000. Maple neck, a buddy of mine from Memphis said it's like a Strat neck. Fender tuners, lipstick single coil pickup at the neck, another at the bridge.
Electronics have worked well, but had a minor glitch once a couple years back that was easily fixed.

This guitar is great for blues, country, funk, and rock music. I really like to play bottleneck with it in Open E tuning. I move back to standard tuning occassionally, and have also been experimenting delightfully with a slight variation of Open F tuning with the capo at the 10th fret in an attempt to mimic the great Albert King.
I've used a Fender blues Jr. in the past. It sounded great; now I've traded that in for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which is even better. The guitar has a higher end sound, with high action, and plenty of twang. The sound is really up front. I add a little reverb when playing bottleneck. It has a fantasic slicing tone, and solid bass tones. Just wonderful.

I bought this guitar from my local guitar shop here, and it was already set up nicely. I've made no major changes, except for one small electrical hiss, and once I had the neck re-straightened to the body by my local luthier.
It's a solid guitar with fine hardware, chrome knobs for tone and volume.

I play this guitar every day, and really work it in different ways, with a bottleneck slide, finger picking and fretting, and using a capo too. It never fails me

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I'm not really a start guy. I love the simplicity and straight forward attack of the Telecaster.
I don't think my collection would be complete without this one.

My telecaster was made in 1998-97 the serial reads AMXN###### it's got telecaster features. My tele is black and I changed the white pickguard to black as well to give it a new look and I love it except the neck pick-up is still white as I wish it were black too but you cant even tell and it still looks like a new punk style guitar...Ive played this guitar through several amps but right now I am stuck on a FENDER hotrod Deville 212 for its fat tube reverb sound and I played other guitars through this amp as well so I know what the hell Im talking about as far as sound differences...

The sound from this guitar is very country and bluesy, I havent owned any tele's before as this is my first but I love the tex-mex pick-ups sound as it goes with the "california" theme of this guitar as well. I feel the sound from this guitar is a "default electric" sound of any guitar out there...This guitar has vintage tone and picking rather than striking full chords is the sweetest juiciest part of my tele experience...a strat sounds like humbuckers to me...

The action is fine as Ive tried different types of strings out there and right now I'm using 'fender bullets' in my tele which holds a bit more sustain and tone even though these strings were designed for whammy bars I have found them very pleasurable...The only problem with the action though is the low E string somtimes jumps to the top of the frets and creates a buzz but if I play right then this never happens...but the best thing about this guitar's action is that each string has it's own sound and that when played together sounds like 6 strings screaming at once!!! this is why it "twangs"...

Ive dropped this guitar a few times and It still sings like the phantom of the opera. This guitar is very heavy so it doesn't feel "cheap" to me which I like, The only problem I see after owning it since 99-05 is the bridge saddle's metallic paint is starting to wear off wear the strings rest...but I also think this is due to my 'palm-muting' as well but I havent even greased my tuners yet since I got it but I have had my intonation set and since then my chords sound better. The only thing wearing though on this guitar is my pick-guard getting all scratched up, which I love the look of as well...

I called them and they told me to go get F*cked...just kiddind never called em about my guitar but did about my amp and they were cool and knew what they were talking about...

Ive been playing for 10 years now and I picked this guitar for its simplicity because everyone had a stratocaster and I wanted somthing different but Im falling in love with it more everyday (I need a girlfriend) because of this "default" electric sound im talking about-this guitar is like the "boutique" of amps...This guitar has special meaning to me since I live in california on a reservation and Im half mexican as well...hence the way it was made in corona cali. and mexico too...so Im lucky to have gotten a california series telecaster as my first tele...but I wouldn't mind owning a 50's style tele as well but I will always keep this axe...

this is a 2000 year model and has the zo*%$# serial number, meaning it was actualy made with american parts and actualy made in california, unlike the amxn serial numbers which were made with american parts in mexico. the guitar is a deep beautiful shinny red. it has a rosewood finger board. it has a delta-tone pod, a strange kind of system that allows for the pod's middle position to output from the pick-up without any tone control variance, i hate the delta pod. it's a menace because when you find the right sound, eventualy (2 weeks) the strings get alittle old and sound dies and you have to constantly search for tone compensation.

i've got a fender 130 watt power chorus amp and any guitar sounds good through this amp. the pick ups make no noise at all. this guitar sounds like a true tele but it's not as versatile as my strat but even so, i love this guitar more, you have to adopt a different approach when playing a tele.

the action is factory high, just as i like it. to many people select guitars with low action or have the action lowered, this is a major mistake, you lose tone and sustain, you cant get any string grab, the frets buzz like a swarm of killer bees, the player's fret hand becomes lazy, they can't play acoustic cause their hands are weak, etc,

i own eight guitars;

rickenbacker 330,
rickenbacker 350,
fender stratocaster american standard,
ovation bread winner,
yamaha apx4 accoustic,
yamaha cg150 classical nylon string,
gibson les paul junior,

and i got to say i love playing my tele more than any of them, which suprised me, i can't speak highly enough of this guitar.

i've been playing for 16 years, if this guitar was stolen, i'd buy again. i wish my tele had a ashtray pick-up cover, i just love that look.

It's a Tele...

I'm no expert on tele's, I normally play Les Pauls and I used to have a nasty little Squire Strat that I loved as much for it's tone as it's price. Still, picking this one up fresh and not having years of "Tele experience" to fall back on, I sure like the way it sounds when I plug it in. I play funk/rock/blues....ish through a Line6 Spyder so I'm not a vintage tube freak but I do appreciate nice clean pick-ups and crisp tone. This guitar has a thinner and brighter sound than I'm used to and that's why I wanted one! yippee! SCORE!

I hear that it's rare, but I really liked the way this instrument came set up. I have done nothing to the action, neck, or frets. Maybe I will later, right now it still feels like Christmas. So far the controls are nice and tight as are the machine heads. Thre is a tiny bit of rattle on the low E and occasionally on the B. I don't notice any gaps or poorly positioned parts so I suppose that gets a decent rating.

I have probably rated this guitar a little too soon. It seems pretty darn solid but I haven't tried to kick it through the uprights or break-up any rocks in the back yard with it yet. I'll leave this field blank...

This doesn't apply to me either.

I've been playing about 14 years on a variety of instruments. Mostly I like my dad's old crummy Yamaha accoustic and I tend to try to find things that react the same way it does. Though I'm not hard to please(c'mon, a really good player can make a broomstick with fishing line strung accross it sound like the London Symphony Orchestra) I DO like easy playability and this guitar ranks right up there with best of my humble collection over the years. It rolls-off better than anything else I've played. Based on the other reviews I've read, my experience with this guitar makes me pretty lucky. I'm fond of the sunburst color oddly enough since I normally prefer natural finishes or the occasional solid black or red. If I had to replace it? Heck that would depend strictly on my budget. I'd probably shoot for a Standard or something. We'll see. I'll finish up by saying that so far this particular axe is better than the sum of it's parts so I'm giving it a nice high 8 for overall score and yes, I'd recommend it to all but the most descriminating of elitist guitar collectors.

This California Tele is your basic guitar for this model/style. It is finished in a bright black with a white pick gurard, construction is solid enough for any travel work. I have had this guitar for about 5 months now and play it in a semi-pro variety band playing all styles of music. Although it took time to get used to the action with a little work I've gotten it right for my style of playing. I had to go with a little thicker strings (.10 as opposed to the .09s I used to play.) Also I think I will add locking tuners, the factory tuners are ok but I like to have them locked in. Also I put locking strap buttons on. Over all a good unit for my style of play, very solid.

This Tele really works well with the country, blues and rock that I play. I play it through a Princeton Chorus and/or Blues Junior and get good sounds from both. I also use a Zoom 707 FX unit with it I relly get some unique sounds from the Tele. However the guitar holds its own for that classic Tele twang.

From the factory I had to have quite abit of work done to get it set for me. I had the saddles adjusted to line up the strings a little better and the bridge had to be set down solid. The pickups were set ok from the factory so I left the as is. The finish is very good on this Tele, no runs, drips, or errors that I have found so far. The selector is the standard three position selector and has held up so far to lots of gig use.

This is a tough guitar, and will play well with routine maintenance form many years. I don't know how the California series will stand up for value in the coming years but this one will outlast me. I play this as my primary guitar in a semi pro band playing almost every week, and it has not failed yet. I do keep a squire strat for a back up however.

Never had a reson to contact them, and for the repairs I might have the is a proffessional guitar tech in my town to whom I send all my major repairs.

I have been playing for over 20 years, and have owned and played several different guitars both accoustic and electric in bands. I currently have the Tele as my primary and a Squire strat (matched finish to the Tele)for a backup. If this one were stolen or damaged beyond repair I would definatley go for another Telecaster, but it may be a different model than the California Series. This is the first Tele I have owned and I am impressed by its sound and with a good set up it is a great to play and will perform most music types.

This is an update on my Cali Tele review. It's still a "banana cream" Telecaster with a maple fret board - nothing's changed there. But now it actually PLAYS.

Sounds great - I still love the tones. Meatier than stock Tele pickups, the neck and middle positions shine.

Here we go... I had to change the bridge to a) get rid of that string saddle adjustment screw buzz, b) get the strings to line up in the saddles properly and have proper string spacing, and c)admit that I couldn't get used to the vintage-style bridge. All for the better.
Also had to have the frets leveled. The guitar's frets were terribly uneven from Fender. Also had the nut honed out a bit to better accomodate .11's, including smoothing the slots out so that strings wouldn't stick and stay sharp after bends.
These efforts have resulted in a VERY good guitar: a tone dog that actually plays well.

After the fret leveling and bridge change I don't mind that this guitar will out last me.

HA!

I'll sum up what I think Fender did here: good (average) solid parts, using "vintage" hardware so as to use up some old stock (including pickups), given a good (if thick) finish in Mexico, then put together in CA with little regard for the instrument to move that old hardware out the door. Mexican Teles are better finished (I've seen some great fret jobs on stock Mexican Fenders) but don't have the thick frets and the more solid-feeling neck, nor the solid alder body, of the CA Tele.

1997 California Telecaster, 21 jumbo frets. Shaped in Corona, California, buffed and painted in Ensenada, Mexico, assembled and set up in Corona, CA. (That's what the literature says, anyway.) Standard Tele controls: 3-way switch, volume knob, and tone knob (affects both pickups). Pickups are single-coil Tex-Mex in the neck and bridge. Maple fingerboard, 9.5" radius. Don't know for sure on the body; I assume it's Alder, like many other Fender guitars. 6 barrel-style saddles. Slotted Fender tuners. Came with a Fender gig bag.
It gets a "5" becuase it's adequate, but let's face it--there isn't a whole lot feature-wise to a Tele to begin with. The parts are good, but not out of the ordinary.

I like to play blues and blues/rock. Sometimes a little funk. The neck pickup gets a healthy "clang" that is good enough for a SRV or Hendrix imitation. Roll off the tone a bit and it mellows out very nicely. The bridge isn't as piercing as some Teles I've heard, and not as thin. It's a nice tone but perhaps not enough of a contrast between it and the neck pickup. The middle position quacks, though again, not as much as some other Teles I've heard.
Overall a good tone, the bridge and middle are a bit more mellow than you might expect or want on a Tele, but for my style it's just fine. The neck is the best sound on this guitar.

This isn't a difficult guitar to make, so it's hard for anything to go wrong. The treble-string side of the neck pocket has a small gap, enough to fit a business card in. Not really a big deal, and barely noticable. The controls and tuners are all smooth. The guitar was set up for 9s and the nut was well-shaped for that. Action was higher than what I usually find on guitars, but it's necessary for clean bends on the 9.5" fretboard. My biggest complaint about the guitar is the barrel saddles. Sometimes the springs (which touch and get pinched by the strings) will rattle. It's inaudible if you're playing at any volume, but unplugged it's very annoying.
A fairly clean guitar; well-set up and few flaws.

This is a solid guitar. The hardware is sturdy, the neck and the body feel strong. I've taken good care of it so far, but I really wouldn't fear too much if I dropped it or kicked it or otherwise abused it.

N/A--never dealt with Fender. There's a limited lifetime warranty on certain parts, though I don't remember which, because I think I threw out the warranty card.I'm not terribly concerned about this.

I've been playing for about three years, doing infrequent gigs and lots of jamming. This is my #2 guitar and I play with it all the time. If it were lost or stolen... I'd wait a few months and consider other options. I'd look at G&L and Yamahas too. Or maybe American standard for better saddles and higher resale value.
Overall, I'm very happy with this guitar and would recommend it to anyone who wants something that isn't a Strat or a Les Paul. It has a definite character, and I think its a very good value.
(7 is a very good score... so many people on the HC give everything they own "10"s on every category which kind of defeats the purpose of scoring, IMHO)

1998 Fender California Tele. It's a Telecaster, except it has a Strat neck pickup. What features do you need? This is simplicity itself. Made in USA out of US parts but lacquered in Mexico. 21 frets, maple neck (with skunk stripe), maple or rosewood fretboard with satin lacquer finish. String-through "vintage" 6-saddle set bridge. "Vintage" chrome tuners, chrome knobs. Alder body with thick lacquer finish (vintage white, aka "banana pudding", on mine). Nice 'heft' and great tone. 3-ply plastic white/black/white picguard. Volume, Tone, 3-way Tele pickup selector. The California has a Tex-Mex Tele bridge pickup and a reverse-wound Tex-Mex Strat neck pickup. Both pickups have the specs and outputs of a "Texas Special" pickup but are wound in Mexico. I can't hear any difference, and they are a bit meatier than stock Tele pickups. Came with nothing. I bought a Fender tweed case for it.

I'm a bass player, just tinker around on guitar. But I love 'traditional' blues, 'Texas' blues and classic rock with bits of country thrown in. I wanted a blues machine and when I heard this Tele in the middle position (both pickups, with the reverse-wound Strat keeping it hum-free) played through a Fender '65 reissue Deluxe Reverb I was SOLD. Gee, but this thing SOUNDS good. Creamy, jangly full warm Strat leads with growly HONK from the Tele bridge pickup - and an undescribably wonderful tone from both (great for chording). I play it through a Vox AC15 (reissue) 210 at home and can't get enough. The Vox is NOT a country rig but I know that the Cal Tele is more than capable. Amazing variety of sounds from these 2 pickups using the tone/volume knobs and picking techniques/locations. It's not as versatile as my Strat, but it sounds better and has more 'soul'. I'd give it an "11" if I could. I run .11's on it. Mine has a maple fretboard.

Factory/showroom set up was not good. Action was VERY high and the neck was in need of some truss rod tweaking. The neck was true but the action was as high as Everest. But after much work, it plays pretty much like a so-so Telecaster. The neck is not quite baseball bat thick but that's not the problem - I don't really know what is. It's been set-up, re-set-up and worked and I (and others - not just me) have to man-handle this guitar. Everybody agrees that it SOUNDS awesome but it's a bear to play. Shoulda' spent more time feeling them all - every piece of wood is different, and every neck is very different. The fit, finish, controls, lacquer - all are fine and solid. This particular guitar just plays like a truck. It's not 'bad' but you have to man-handle it. I'm thinking of dropping to .10's on it and re-doing the set-up (again!) and see how she plays.

It's a Telecaster. It's practically indestructable, barring fire and the accidental demolition ball falling on it. It will out-last me. Everything is solid and tight. I'd play without a backup, IF I could play this guitar long enough to warrant taking it on stage. As a bassist I assumed that Telecasters just WERE more difficult to play than Strats... duh!

Fender and customer support?? That's like jumbo shrimp. But for the price (around $550) if it breaks I'll just buy another one.

For TONE, I give this Cali Tele an "11". For playability, a "5". It doesn't play 'badly', it just doesn't play very easily. I like the tone(s) so much that I'm looking to purchase another one and try to find a smoother player. For the price, a good guitar. If it were as good a player as my California Precisions (see my review) it would be a GREAT deal. I think Fender figured this out - they've stopped making the California series. I've seen one on sale (new) for $360...