Fender Muddy Waters Telecaster

This MIM tele was produced in 2007. The features include an ash '50s Tele body in Candy Apple Red with a polyester finish, '60s Style 'Custom Telecaster' Neck with 'C' Shape (Satin Polyurethane Finish), rosewood 9.5" radius fretboard, vintage-style machine heads, 2 U.S. special vintage pickups, 3-way switching, and an American Vintage bridge with 3 brass saddles. It has Fender amp knobs and Muddy's signature engraved on the neckplate. Comes with a gig bag

I play blues, rock, pop, R&B, country, and even some jazz. I use a Line-6 modeling amp and a Fender Deluxe. It sounds great and smooth through both amps. I put it above the normal tele bright and harsh tone. Has a very mellow tone in the neck pickup and the bridge pickup is quite punchy. Really played with the tones and was very impressed.

After 30+ years, this is my first Fender guitar, and I am pretty impressed. The overall fit and finish is excellent. The candy apple red is beautiful (everyone should have at least one red guitar in their collection). Neck is great, all the controls are solid. The action was perfect for my style of playing, a minor tweek in the intonation was all I did to the guitar out of the box. The only issue was the pickup switch cover was cracked and would fall off the switch.

This is one guitar I would take on a gig without any backup. Is it someting I should have bought 20 years ago.

Called the company where I puchased the tele from and they wanted me to return the entire guitar (for a broken switch cover?), so I emailed Fender about the broken switch cover - a replacement was sent out to me the same day. Couldn't ask for any better customer service.

After 30 plus years of playing guitars (mostly Gibsons & Epiphones) I saw an ad for the new 'American Standard Fenders', so I went to a local music store and tried out the new models of strats and teles. I was about to purchase a American tele when I saw a red tele in the back with Fender amp knobs which I thought was strange, but decided to inquire further. The salesman was not familiar with the model and thought that is was something that maybe the service dept put together. The store manager told me that it was the Muddy Waters Custom Tele and that it the last one they had in stock and was slightly damaged. I tried it out and was blown away by it. It is a MIM model, but it stood up next to the new American made Teles - and was about $300 less. But they were really pushing the new American Fenders, so I thanked them for all their help and went home and ordered one online. Why I waited for so long to get a Fender, I'll just never know.

Bought on eBay, excellent condition, couple of years old

Nice bright Tele sound, noticeable difference in level between bridge and neck pickups

For a used guitar, setup was excellent, action was well adjusted. Has the three brass bridge but intonation was excellent.

Built to last, will standup to lot's of years of playing

I've never had to deal with Fender in all the years I've owned Fenders, even in the mid to late 70's when the quality was lacking.

I own tons of gear, lot's of guitars, this is my 8th electric guitar and I'm very happy with it. I needed to add a Tele to my collection because I own every other style.

Features include an ash '50s Tele body, a maple '62 Custom Tele neck with rosewood fretboard, vintage-style machine heads, 2 U.S. special vintage pickups, 3-way switching, and an American Vintage '52 Tele bridge with brass saddles. Like Muddy's guitar, it has 1-10 Fender amp knobs and Muddy's signature engraved on the neckplate.

I first played one at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI and really dug the sound and feel. Based on that, I bought it on impulse when I was actually shopping for a Les Paul Special as a "good deal" came up on Musician's Friend. More on that later.

A friend mocked the knobs, but I dig them. They really add to the look. But you don't need to read a review to decide about that for yourself. Comes with gig bag. It's tough enough for that, but I bought a case. How do you rate features? It has everything a Tele should have. That's a 10, then, innit?

I play Rock & Roll; Classic (Faces, Stones, T. Rex), Punk, Jangly Pop, Britpop and Alt Country through an Ampeg Reverberocket reissue. The only effects I use are the occasional Tremolo and a Vox Valve-Tone.

I have to say I struggled with the sound initially. Many of my past guitars have had P-90 pickups or humbuckers, or Rickenbackers with the blend knob for the pickups. It took me awhile (probably too long) to realize that you need to turn the tone down to about 6 or 6 1/2 (thanks, amp knobs!) to take the brittle harshness out of it. I only use the bridge pickup. The neck pickup still just doesn't sound right to me.

Now, as I'm having issues with the amp, I'm finding that Muddy is the only guitar that sounds good with it. It's pretty rich and full sounding, even through the soggy-sounding amp. Seems beefy for a Telecaster. The clean sound is warm yet glassy, and overdriven it's crunchy - doesn't compress at high volumes with the amp I use. That's good.

I tried a Kent Armstrong pickup in the bridge, as they advertise it as being beefier than the usual Telecaster pickup, but I switched back to the stock.

I find muting, chunky eighth notes really cuts through the mix well. It also sustains better than any guitar I've ever had. The only time I'm a little disappointed is when soloing. It's not as driving as a guitar with P-90s for that. While it's beefy for a Telecaster, sometimes it's just not beefy enough. That's why you *need* more than one guitar, right? ;)

The action from the factory is high for slide playing. I asked Pete at Rainbow Music in Grand Rapids, MI, if he could lower the action. He pointed out the the nut was pretty high. Since he did whatever it is he does, the action has been great. I'd recommend that for non-slide players. However, to that end, it sounds great with an open tuning for slide.

Oh, I really like the neck. It's not as flat of a finish as with most Mexican-made Fenders. It's more like an American-made one.

Mine was a "Blem" from Musician's Friend. The routing for the bridge pickup is exposed next to the scratched bridge plate. There was a flaw in the paint near the knobs. As mentioned by another guy, the pickguard doesn't lay flat, and on a glare, you can see where the pieces of wood are joined. But, again, mine is a blem. Now, I wouldn't have it any other way. Not fair to rate it, though.

I've owned guitars for almost 20 years, mostly Rickenbackers, Gibsons, and Epiphones. This is the toughest, most reliable guitar I've ever had.

Haven't dealt with Fender.

Even after more than two years of owning the Muddy Waters Telecaster, it's actually never been my main guitar. Then I realized, I've recently owned a Gibson Les Paul Jr. Lite ($629 - too "Lite" and weak pickups), two Epiphone Rivieras ($450, $500 - great once you change the pickups and tuners - another $150 - $250 or more, but still not quite as good) and this is by far the best deal for the dough. It stays in tune better than ANY guitar I've had. Lately, I'm not one to leave a guitar completely stock, but that's what I've got with Muddy.

If you need a Custom Shoppe guitar to Rock & Roll, you're simply not a Rock & Roller. It's not perfect, but neither is Rock & Roll.

2004 Muddy Waters Signature Telecaster
Assembled in Mexico,21 medium jumbo frets,modern C neck,rosewood board,brass saddles,vintage bridge,candy apple red,Single coil pickups unique to this model.

This tele is perfect for me since blues is my main thing.This guitar became my number one guitar for gigging over an ES-335 and American Strats. It annoys me when people frown on Mexican made instruments because this is a killer guitar. I love the pickups and alone they are worth price of this guitar. Very full and dynamic sound unlike any other guitar I have played at any price.
The pickups are darker than some teles so the twang isn't quite as glossy or chimey. The sound is very tele and the tone is as good as any fender I have ever heard...or any guitar for that matter. I play it through a Blues Junoir around the house and gig it with a Dr.Z Maz18 1X12. This guitar is a blues guitar but it can rock with the best of them. Cranked I can get some creamy lead tones from the neck pickup and it cuts nicely when overdriven with a good OD pedal. This guitar resonates very well and I can't get a bad sound out of it.

Great overall finish, the CAR is beautiful and rich looking. I had the dealer string it with 10's and set the action a little higher for me since I sometimes grab a slide and prefer higher action anyways.
The neck is gorgeous and perfect, the jumbo frets are very nice and the intonation was and is perfect after a year.
The one ply pickguard warped a bit on my but it was a simple fix. I may swap the amp knobs for regular tele type knobs but so far I haven't changed anything.
This guitar is flawless, I assume the signature guitars get extra care over some of the other models produced in Mexico because this guitar is hard to find flaw in.

No problems, don't expect any.

NA

Thei guitar has many features of the much more expensive American models particularly 52 reissue with modern neck,frets and Muddys' look and feel. The pickups are very versatile and this is a guitar that I will never sell. It's an extremely well made tone machine!!

This guitar doesn't have any outrageous features, but it does have many features that aren't available usually one guitar.

1. Lacquered Finish / Modern Radius (9.5)neck with medium jumbo finish.
2. Upgraded Pickups - a sort of different smoother sounding 52 reissue telecaster pickup.
3. Ash Body
4. American Hardware - bridge, pots, tuners and upgraded BRASS saddles.
5. Mexican made so a lower price instrument.

I play roots rock, country, blues, and am working on travis picking... It sounds great and smooth through any amp I put it through without being that normal tele bright and harsh tone. Gets pretty mellow in the neck pickup and is quite punchy. I am really impressed with what I paid.

Bought it used, has held up well for a 2 year old guitar. Candy Apple Red finish and neck finish are fantastic!

It's a good ole tele. It will play great and stays in tune pretty well. I did upgrade the saddles with Stewart MacDondald compensated ones and upgraded the strap buttons to schaller strap locks. I do this on every guitar (straplocks). Compensated saddles are just a little closer to being in tune if you do fine tuning.

Fender's huge. I can barely get a hold of them and I work at a store that sells Fender.

Very pleased, I would replace it if it were stolen. Try and get a light one, mine is 7.5 pounds which is great!

It gets a 7 because a Tele is a classic electric guitar without a lot of features. It's simple design is what I like about it. Mine is a 2000 Muddy Waters Telecaster. This signature model Tele has vintage features to come close to what Muddy had, giving us a different Telecaster. Fender has put vintage pickups on an ash body. I also own an American Series Tele and was looking for something a little different. This is it!

I play jazz, blues and rock with this Tele, through a Gibson Goldtone GA30RVS. (No effects.) It sounds excellent - warm and full. For a jazzier sound I use the neck pickup and just roll the tone back from the brightest. I use the volume to control clean to dirty tone. Comes with a set of .009s on it and I'll probably stay with it on the next set.

The guitar was NOS from a music store selling on eBay. Bought in August '04. At a certain angle with sunlight reflecting on the body you can see where the two pieces of ash join because of a line. Is the wood misaligned? I don't know but I was told by a repair tech at a well-respected store I know that it's nothing to worry about. I've never had a problem. Everything else is fine.

Seems solid and well made. I've owned other Fender product and never had a problem.

Never had to ask for service.

This Tele is now my favorite of the two I own. I would buy another one in a second. It's a great combination of parts at a great price. Terrific value!

'99 MIM (as all of them are, I believe), same specs and equipment as is listed in the other reviews.

The sound is classic Tele--nothing sounds like a Telecaster. As my buddy, who is a Fender nut says--"Everyone needs a Tele!" After playing this for awhile, I think he is right. Nice warm sounding neck PU--totally biting, twangy bridge PU. Roll off the tone a little to get the bridge to sound bluesy, leave it all the way up for country twang. Even both PU's together sound good, which not all guitars do.

This is my first Fender product, and I am pretty impressed. The overall fit and finish is very nice, indeed. No complaints at all as far as that goes. The candy apple red is stunning. Neck is great, all the controls are solid. The only beef I have is the action was way too high for me. This might just be personal preference, but it took a neck & bridge adjustment, and nut filing to get it where I wanted it. I thought the guitar was too difficult to play well as it came from the factory. Maybe it was set high for slide work--I believe MW liked high action, so maybe that is the answer. Maybe Fender took accurate reproduction to this level...If you wanna play some slide--this is your Tele for sure.

Everything looks very nice, and looks like it should stay nice a long time. My only slight worry is the chrome on the switch/control cover. It looks thin, but we shall see. Easy enough to replace if the chrome flakes off later. It is probably not even worth speculating about, but you asked....

I wrote Fender a letter about a noisy Fender amp I bought at the same time. I received a phone call from the service manager a few days later! Needless to say, I am very impressed!

I would absolutely buy this again. I am a big Ibanez fan (well, of their older models, anyway) and wasn't even considering a Tele. I saw an classified ad for one and checked it out, out of curiosity. I was knocked out by how cool this guitar is and bought it. All the rave reviews this guitar receives online are certainly justified. Beautiful sound, fit and finish. Some noted the high action as mine had, while others have not had theirs set up that way. It's all personal preference, anyway.

I can not imagine anyone who wants a Tele will be disapointed by this guitar. Even if you weren't considering a Telecaster (like me)--check this out, anyway. This is quickly becoming my favorite guitar. A Tele nut friend (I have too many Fender friends, I think) told me you won't play anything else once you get set up with a good Tele. He is very close to being right about that. If I needed $$ I would sell this guitar last--go figure!

Muddy knew a cool guitar, and this is it!

Signature model ash body with rosewood fret board, chunky "C" neck, American vintage single-coil pickups, vintage brass bridge saddles and vintage tuners. Candy Apple red finish with Fender amp volume/tone knobs (Muddy's style) and top hat switch knob. Single ply pick guard. Two pickups, two knobs and one 3-way switch. Very simple but that's the way of the Telecaster. Made in Mexico.

I've had a lot of good sounding guitars over the years but this one takes the prize for me. Far better sounding than my first American made Tele I bought over 20 years ago. More depth than my MIM Standard. Those American vintage pickups are awesome! Lots of classic Tele twang and tonal depth. I was quite surprised with long sustain this instrument provides. Very clean tones all over the fret board, including high up on the neck.

Candy Apple red finish is gorgeous to behold and with the rosewood fret board, it makes this guitar easy on the eyes. The action was set a bit high for my style but I've grown to like it. At least I don't have to deal with fret buzz with this set-up. Exceptionally high build quality. All parts fit well but the jack has already been loose, but that?s a common problem with Teles. (Also, the volume knob fits higher than the tone knob, but that's for clearance because of the larger screw head on the control plate.) Back of the neck does not have satin finish as stated in the official Fender specs--it is high gloss instead but that hasn't hampered my ability to make quick chord changes or single note runs. No skunk stripe on neck.

It seems plenty solid to me.

Haven't used it.

Signature model ash body with rosewood fret board, chunky "C" neck, American vintage single-coil pickups, vintage brass bridge saddles and vintage tuners. Candy Apple red finish with Fender amp volume/tone knobs (Muddy's style) and top hat switch knob. Single ply pick guard. Two pickups, two knobs and one 3-way switch. Very simple but that's the way of the Telecaster. Made in Mexico.

I've had a lot of good sounding guitars over the years but this one takes the prize for me. Far better sounding than my first American made Tele I bought over 20 years ago. More depth than my MIM Standard. Those American vintage pickups are excellent in my hearing. Lots of classic Tele twang and tonal depth. I was quite surprised with long sustain this instrument provides. Very clean tones all over the fret board, including high up on the neck.

Candy Apple red finish is gorgeous to behold and with the rosewood fret board, it makes this guitar easy on the eyes. The action was set a bit high for my style but I've grown to like it. At least I don't have to deal with fret buzz with this set-up. Exceptionally high build quality. Vintage tuners keep the guitar in tune for a long time. All parts fit well but the jack has already been loose, but that?s a common problem with Teles. (Also, the volume knob fits higher than the tone knob, but that's for clearance because of the larger screw head on the control plate.) Back of the neck does not have satin finish as stated in the official Fender specs--it is high gloss instead but that hasn't hampered my ability to make quick chord changes or single note runs. No skunk stripe on neck.

Don't know. But in experience I haven't had any issues with Telecasters in the past in regards to being reliable.

Never Needed any.

Rosewood neck, American vintage Tele pick ups, and black skirt amp tone knobs. We beautiful candy apple red Tele.

This is the best sounding Tele i've ever played. I started messing with the tone knobs and it just comes alive. It's a little warmer sounding than your usual Tele.

The neck is great. The color is great. After playing 4 Teles in the showroom i asked if they had any in the back. They pulled it out of the box. I played it and I fell inlove.

The workmenship was good. It feels good and stays in tune. One bad note: 1 screw on the electrics plate cover was stripped. I didn't notice it and I don't think about it. The skirt knobs needed to be raised a little due to the fact that when you turn them they run into screw holding the elec. plate on.

Never Needed any.

Over all this guitar caused me to fall in love with Teles all over again. I've own 5 of them.

I have a Mark 1 Mesa Boogie amp that i am using with it. I basically play metal but am starting to get into the blues.

The action is great. NO flaws anywhere.

I have a Fender strat from 1988 with a Kahler locking tremelo that i have been using for years. I decided to get this after I went to a Fender Site and they had sound clips of some of their guitars. I had intentions of getting the Yngwie Malmsteen signature guitar because of the scalloped fret board, but when i heard this Muddy Waters I just had to get it. I am starting to get into the blues. I am not disappointed in this Muddy waters guitar sound at all. It is so cool really.

MIM muddy xaters tele made in 2000.
candy apple red with one ply white pickguard, 2 american vintage single coil pickups. American vintage bridge with 3 brass saddles.
The neck is custom telecaster with rosewood and 21 frets medium jumbo.
It's all made from american parts, and built in Mexico.
Deluxe gig bag included.
I give a ten because of the price paid!!

Sounds hotter than a MIM 50's tele because of the pickups which have fuller and hotter tone. Sounds very good trhu my hotrod deluxe.
I bought it to get some cutting sound (I also have Gibson LP special with 2 p-100 humbuckers) and it suits me very well.
The sound is bright, hot and a bit muddy in neck position, cuts like a blade and rocks in bridge position. Good guitar for classic rock, surf rock, pop rock. This is not a f**cking metal guitar!
The telecaster is THE electreic guitar!

Good set up I may put 10-46 wires.
Action's a bit high.
But overall very good set up.

It's a tele baby!!
The features seem very strong!! Lots of them are the same on american vintage TELEs so...

been playing 8 years I'm now 27, and have owned tele std MIM, Lp epi, strat std mim, strat classic 60's, comp mustang mij, SG std Gibson.
I kept by my side my LP Gibson junior special , all of those guitars were sold to try something else, and I had good memories about my strat classic 60's, so I decided to buy some classic MIM stuff, because I think that if not equal to usa std they're pretty close to them. So I tried tele 50's classic, Highway 1 tele, usa std tele and of course this M.Waters tele.
I choose this one... Why?
It had richer and hotter sound, may be because of the rosewood neck, and has a vintage vibe, for the price paid look at the features and compare it to others(in fender frontline catalog) I now know why it sounds so good... Caution I have never said that it sounds better than US std TELE, it sounds different, vintage vibe rules!!
With the 69 and 72 thinline the m.waters tele is the best value you can get from Fender Telecaster, until buying a tele 52 reissue!!

2001 Muddy Waters Telecaster (see other reviews for the details of features). From what I gather, this Tele has many vintage features and they all come together well for slightly different, production Telecaster. The neck, to me, stands out as the outstanding feature with its "chunkier" feel (not quite a 50's chunk) and medium jumbo frets. It's perfect for my taste!

I play jazz, blues and rock and this Tele and use a Twin Reverb and a Goltone GA30RVS. It sounds excellent through both of them. It's a little noisy, but that can be dealt with easily enough. This one came to me used with a set of .009s on it (I typically use .010s) and it still sounds full. I imagine a set of .010s will make it even fuller.

This MW Tele was used, but set up perfectly. I'll put a set of .010s on and that may require a tiny bit of tweaking. I'm not a guitar snob and feel that the quality on the Muddy Waters Tele is as good as any production model... and that works fine for me.

You could probably drag a Fender to a gig behind your car and still play it. It seems very well assembled and will probably go the distance and well beyond.

N/A

I've been playing for 38 years and still play out occasionally. I have several Strats, 2 Teles, an old 345, an early 70s LP 50s RI and a Taylor 514C acoustic. I'm very happy to have purchased this Muddy Waters Telecaster (dorky knobs and all) and would definitely buy another one if it ever came to that. It feels GREAT and sounds GREAT (like a Tele should) and I couldn't be happier! I may have to sell my other Tele because it probably won't get used much now.

2003 MIM Muddy Waters Telecaster. 21 Frets, Ash Body, Maple/Rosewood Neck (9.5" radius with Medium-jumbo Frets), 1 volume, 1 tone. Vintage 3-barrel bridge with brass saddles. I read a review that the pickups are their '63 Telecaster pickups (the ones they use on their custom shop '63 tele), with the exception of alnico V magnets in the bridge with a special stagger. 3 position switch. It has the Poly Finish, in Candy Apple Red. The electronics (and woods) are from the American series Teles, they just ship the parts down to mexico for assembly for the cheap labor. Not tons of features, but manipulating the controls give you a plethora of sounds, so a 9.

I play Classic Rock, Country, and blues, and I only have one amp as of right now, which is a Victoria tweed Champ clone, but it is 1X12 instead of a 1X8. Perfectly suits my style. I only play clean rarely (for a song that requires a real sweet clean tone, like "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who, and for practicing scales and new songs and stuff), and the clean tone is awesome. Full, well balanced, twangy, and rich. The notes "bloom". The Neck is very interesting: very dark and jazzy. "The Wind Cries Mary" sounds very good through the neck. It's surprisingly beefy once you get the height adjusted right. The middle is just spanky. Sound good for soul and James Brownish R&B. Sounds real good when overdriven for Jimmy Page type Middle position stuff. The Bridge twangs to high heaven when the tone is dimed, and thickens up perfectly when it is rolled down. It still twangs, but it is a blusier type of twang. The controls, BTW are top notch. Much better than the ones on My Gibson Les Paul.
When I crank my amp, it just sounds nasty. Not powerful like a Gibson, but once you get the pickup height adjusted right, it growls and sizzles, all while keeping all of the twang and clarity. With mild overdrive, I love playing "Sweet Home Alabama" and any country song. I get a great Dwight Yoakamish sound going on, which is my ideal country tone. Roll the tone down a bit, and you get into Classic Rock Territory: Zeppelin, Queen, Cream, The Stones (of course), you name it. I can play anything with this guitar. For some Zep and cream stuff, Aerosmith, etc... you can't beat a Les Paul for that sheer Power. However, this guitar sounds Perfect. It's my #1. My only dislike, maybe the Poly Finish. I would've loved to have a nitro finish, but the thing sounds so freaking good anyways that I'll let that slide.

I think the action part of this is overrated as hell. I have yet to play ANY guitar in ANY shop and not be completely satisfied with the setup. It doesn't matter the manufacturer: Gibson, PRS, Fender, (Including the Custom Shop), Gretsch. I raised the saddles on the bridge a bit to get rid of the fret buzz and played around with the pickup heights to get them in the sweet spot. As far as intonation, Humidity levels vary so much from state to state (Especially from Mexico to Kentucky) that It doesn't matter how well the guitar is set up at the factory, the neck will fluctuate a bit and throw the intonation off.
Fit and finish, though, is top notch. No overspray or anything. Neck Pocket is nice and tight. Perfectly assembled guitar.

The Telecaster has been around since 1951. It's a proven instrument. I would completely rely on it. I wouldn't gig w/o a backup, though, because if i broke a string in the middle of a set, I would need something to play to keep the set moving. That's just strings, though. The guitar is rock solid.

This is a Fantastic Guitar at any price, but considering it is priced under $700 new it is the deal of the century. I have one other guitar, a 1993 Les Paul Studio, and that will eventually get traded in for a 1957 or 1958 Historic Reissue. This is a keeper, though. I do plan on getting an American 1952 Telecaster (I love the 'scotch Blonde) and maybe even a '62 tele, but I'm not sure about that one. Heck who am I kidding. I'll end up getting one eventually. This Muddy ain't goin' anywhere, though. For me, that's saying something.

MIM Muddy Waters Telecaster, made in 2000, see other reviews for features.

This is best telecaster I could wish for, traditional tele-sounds with excellent play-ability due to the flatter radius and medium-frets. I play mainly blues-rock music and this guitar is perfect for that. It is fairly heavy (4kg), but that's ok, I think this is one of the reasons it sounds so good.

The guitar set-up was far from perfect when I bought it. I had to adjust the truss-rod and the action was way too low. After these corrections I found out that the frets were not level. This is something I never expected from a guitar in this price-range. I had a pro-guitarrepairman level the frets and recut the nut. After that the guitar played like a dream. I give it a 5 because of the unlevel frets, wich are hard to detect when you play it in a store.

It's a telecaster, what more do I have to say......
This guitar will live forever. I've owned and sold several guitars over the past 16 years (Peavey, Godin, Fender Strats, Hamer) and this guitar outclasses them all. Right now it's the only guitar I use, with another telecaster (a MIJ '72 Custom) as a backup.

I chose not to deal with customer support and have a pro repair my guitar, although it was still under warranty (from the store). It cost me a few Euro's, but at least now I was going to be sure things would be ok. I live in the Netherlands and the guitar would have been shipped to Germany for at least 2-3 months if I had taken it back to the store.

Like I said before, this is the perfect Telecaster. It's got the most beautifull sound and it fits my playing-style perfectly. Compared to other guitars I've owned and played in stores over the years, this is "THE" guitar for me (until I find a better one of course........)

Fender Artist Series Muddy Waters Telecaster w/rosewood fingerboard made in Mexico aro 2000. Candy Apple Red (Fender original color between 1963 -'73, which is a beautiful nitro-cellulose lacquer finish) with a one ply white pick guard on an ash body. The neck is a maple "C" shape with a polyurethane finish with 21 medium/jumbo frets topped off with a standard Tele head stock with Fender/Ping Vintage Style tuning machines, which I really like (quick string change), plus a butterfly clip for the B & E strings. Pickups are American Vintage Tele single-coil at the neck and bridge. Fender boasts special staggered Alnico 5 magnets in the bridge pickup. The hardware is chrome with black Fender amp knobs (dial 1 thru 10)on the volume and tone controls, which is cool for a quick visual check and the three position pick up switch has a "top hat" tip. It came with a gig bag, but I trade up for a case.

Other than the cheap looking single ply pick guard, it is a beautiful guitar, but heck, it's a copy of the Tele Muddy played. There's an engraved Muddy Waters signature on the chrome neck plate.

Being a Strat-man, I very seldom picked up and play Teles. I was in my favorite music store and was told by one of the sales reps. that this Muddy Waters was the best playing and sounding Tele in the shop. I played several to compare and he was right. I play primarily blues and classic rock through a Cry Baby and Ibanez Tube Screamer into a '65 Twin Reverb. This quitar can give me the cleanest bright tone (Tele into a Twin is pretty clean and bright)to the great blues tone using the neck pickup, rolled down tone, and the Tube Screamer. If you're seeking that Mississippi Delta blues sound, this is the guitar. The bridge pickup is as bright of sound you can get, so I play primarily on the neck PU.

Regarding the action and fit: I'm beginning to find out that not all guitars are created equal. This one guitar I bought is sweet (maybe I got lucky). The set up from the factory needed some tweaking, but over all, it just rings, even with the .009 thru .042 strings.

I plan on willing this guitar to my son, so there's no doubt it will hold up: it's a Telecaster. I've only had it a year, but haven't had any major problem (again, maybe it's this individual guitar). The mounting hex nut on the output jack gets loose occationally, but a quick half turn of the wrench, everything's cool.

Since I haven't had any problems, I've yet to deal with Fender's customer support group regarding this guitar. I've dealt with them before on an unrelated issue, and it was anything but a great experience. Fender has a standard warranty.

I've been playing for more years than I'd like to admit. I have a couple of Strats, played Gibsons in the past, but like I said previously, this is my first Telecaster. I'm really happy with this guitar: the way it looks, the tone, and the way it plays (I'm sure the Telecaster Lifers out there are chuckling, "Another Strat convert"). If it was stolen, I'd start the hunt for another Muddy Waters Tele because of it's value for the guitar. To improve the package, Fender should offer the Muddy Waters Tele with a hardshell case since it has a nitro-cellulose lacquer finish. Other than the case vs. gig bag issue, I can't complain: I'd buy it again.

Fender Muddy Waters Signature Model Custom Telecaster, made in Mexico, 21 frets, 2 Single Coils, Bridge PU with staggered polepieces,
candy apple red, 60's C-shape birds-eye maple neck with rosewood fretboard, vintage bridge with 3 brass saddles, this guitar has got ALL a good Tele should have. I have bought this guitar brand new for ? 515,-- in an internet auction. I played this guitar months before in a local shop and was quite suprised about the sound, especially compared to higher priced guitars and to Fender US Vintage '52 Tele.
I give a ten because this guitar delivers all a Tele should have.

I play this guitar in a country/country rock band and in a top 40 band. I use a Fender Prosonic 2 x 10" combo or a Hughes & Kettner Tube 100 Top with a marshall box. Effects: Ibanez TS 9, Boss compressor/sustainer.
I also own a Fender custom Shop Danny Gatton Tele and a Fender USA '52 vintage Tele and must say that the Muddy Waters Tele is sounds absolutely great. The stock PU's sound great and bring the sound the guitar brings when played unplugged very good to the amp.
The guitar hasn't got the ultra twang a '52 vintage has, but thats logical becauase it's arosewood neck and the PU's are different.
The guitar is probably great for blues players but I use it for classic rock, country, for clean sounds and overdriven sounds.
The neck PU sounds fat and glassy, bluesy indeed. The in between poszipon is excellent for rhythm playing and the bridge PU delivers both, good country tone and is a guite well rocker.
Compared to my other Fender tele's this guitar is the most flexible one......

The factory set-up was "Muddy Waters like" with a high action to be able to play bottleneck. I use D'addario strings 9,5 - 44 and reworked the set-up for my own use.

The paint job is beautyfull. The guitar looks fantastic. I have the impression that the frets were not 100% polished (but also my US vintage Tele had this problem)The neck itself is great, feels good and looks good also (birdseye-maple) There is for me no quality difference to US or custom shop models.

I play this guitar now for a couple of weeks...the guitar stays in tune very well. I don't see any problem in reliability...it's a tele

No experience with this guitar but generally Fender Germany gives a great customer support, as I found out in the past

I play guitar and in bands now for 20 years. I do a lot of gigging and use and will use this guitar now as my main guitar for the stage because of it's flexibility.
As I said before I also owno a Fender Custon Shop Danny Gatton Signature and a Fender US '52 vintage. On the '52 vintage I changed the PU's to Seymour Duncan's ('54 Vintage) because I was not happy with the weak stock PU where the low e -string is too loud. But with the Muddy Waters Tele stocpo PU I'm totally satisfied.
I can recommend this guitar to everyone who wants a goog tele guitar for a small budget.
There is no difference in quality to the US vintage series. Of course or maybe a 3, 4 or 5 times higher priced relic custom shop tele sounds a bit deeper or brighter....but does anyone on stage, in the rehearsal room or in the audience hear the difference?....
I played many tele's in my life, I own also a very high priced custom shop tele, but the Fender Muddy Waters Tele made in Mexico delivers the most compared to the money it costs. So I give it a 10.

2001, Mexican Muddy Waters Telecaster, 21 frets, Ash Body w/Candy Apple Red finish. It's a simple enough setup. I got it with the gig bag. It's all American parts, but was put together and painted in Mexico. This is why I picked it. I believe it's got a 52RI bridge pu and a 62 neck pickup. I forget all the specifics, but the Fender site has all of the details that I can't remember. I gave it a 10 because for a Mexican it gots real quality parts. The paint job is beautiful. For a tele it's got everything it's supposed to have. A little extra is the fender amp knobs. I like these because you can tell at a glance where you stand in terms of volume and tone.
I got it brand new, still in the box for $499. This dealer gave me an excellent discount right off the bat with no dickering necessary. I put it on layaway and upon going back a couple of weeks later to make a payment discovered the Fender guys were there having one of their Cash Bash deals, so I got another $54 off the sales price. That is how I got it for $499 + tax. Excellent value and excellent customer service.

This guitar suits my music style to a T. I like classic rock, blues and country. I get an excellent tone for all of these in spite of the limitations I have with my amplifier. (That's gonna be my next purchase). I'm currently using a Peavey Audition Plus with no effects. My dad gave it to me about a year ago and now I know why. It gets a good clean sound, but something must be wrong with gain controls because it doesn't seem to have any. I tried once and got distortion for about 5 minutes, then it went away...never to be heard from again.
The guitar is not extremely noisy. When you turn the volume up it gets a little hum, but no more than any other guitar I have ever had. It's quite acceptable in my opinion. The sounds are rich and full and the tone controls are very responsive. They really change the tone. On my old Strat I couldn't tell a lot of difference in the tone control. I get classic rock sounds, great blues and the country twang I was looking for in my first tele. The only I dislike is the height of the strings. It's set a little higher because that's the way Muddy had them. I had an initial setup done on it, but a little tweaking is probably still in order. Still after several years of not having a guitar to play, I love the sound and the feel. I read a lot of people saying that a Tele was harder to play than other guitars, but once you get used to it you would love it. I beieve I am getting used to it and I already love the guitar. For a Mexican I don't see how it could be much better.

The initial setup, as I mentioned previously, was pretty good. A little high for my taste, but like I said that is how Muddy Waters had his guitars setup for slide playing. Overall it seemed to be set-up pretty good. The main problem I have had is a little fret buzz on the E and A strings around the 6th fret. A setup from the shop I bought it from helped a little, but I think a little more setup might be necessary.
The pickups seem to be properly setup and there is no neck pocket gap. All in all a very well constructed piece of equipment. The only flaw I really found was under the pickguard you can see where someone scuffed and scratched the painted finish a little. Since it's under the pickguard it doesn't bother me too much. All visible parts of the guitar are virtually perfect. I gave it an 8 for the unseen flaw.

I believe this guitar will be very durabile and reliable. I've owned two other Fender Strat's and my dad has a Fender Mustang that just keep on going. This guitar doesn't seem to be any different than those. The hardware all looks like it will last, the strap buttons are good and solid. The finish looks thick and evenly applied. I would not hesitate to gig without a backup with this guitar. Since I only have the one guitar I would have to depend on it anyway, but I have always trusted Fenders in that respect and they have never let me down.

Never had to deal with the company, but when I brought it back to the store for my initial setup there was no problems with getting it done. The setup was considered warrantly work and they did not hesitate to take care of for me. In fact they told me if I had any other minor tweaking of the setup to bring it on in and they would take care of it for me.

I have been playing guitar, drums, steel guitar for about 35 years. I'm not a great musician, but I love to play. I've never been as good at the guitar as I was on the drums or steel guitar, but it is the instrument I love the most. I haven't played for the last 5 or 6 years so I'm a little rusty now, but I'm getting back into it pretty fast.
If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another one unless I could afford something more expensive. I would dearly love to have a Custom shop 52 ri tele, but this guitar is a very good one and I would be just as satisfied to have another one.
I compared this guitar to a production model 52 RI, the MIM Nashville, and the MIM 50's Reissue. I chose this one because of the hardware, the sound and the apparent quality. This one sounded better than the 52 RI I tried, but it may have just been a bad 52.

Okay, I don't have this guitar but that last guys response pissed me off. Only Custom shops are good enough for my bunghole. What a prick. "I am a pro so custom is required", no way. Custom blah blah Pro blah blah whatever. I work in the guitar selling biz and let me tell you , the fender custom shop is a ripoff. Buying custom shop is buying a name and an idea. if you think you are getting better set up then you are paying an extra grand for something a pro should be able to do him or herself. You want better components? buy em yourself cheaper and get better ones. Often fender "Vintage" means old and crappy like they used to be. I buy my own pups and such. My most valuable guitar is a $500 mutt that I could sell to the guy below for 3 grand. hehe. The good part about the custom shop is when guys like him pay that much it keeps the prices for the mexican stuff down. I buy the mexi stuff and will continue to do so, it is the same as the american in almost every way. BlahBlah Custom Shop, and don't even get me started on Squier.

2000 Fender Muddy Waters Telecaster, made in Mexico. Ash body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Poly finish. comes with gig bag. 9.5 inch radius, medium/jumbo frets

its a nice enough guitar for a standard Fender production model, nothing special but probably better than many of the Fender Made in mexico line. This is a long way from Custom Shop quality though.

Acoustically the sound is pretty impressive, I'd give it a solid 8.5 on natural unplugged acoustic sound. The pickups though, are only so-so. The sound is too thin

The finish is way too think on this guitar. Why Fender has to take a perfectly good guitar and slab on too much Poly finish is beyond me. "Because their research says thats what people want", is what I hear, "People want their guitars to look new a long time." OK whatever. No specific flaws. The action on the neck was only so-so.

To me, I expect quality in a guitar HIGH quality! The Fender Custom Shop puts out guitars that are 9's and 10's, its much harder to find that kind of quality in a production guitar. I wouldn't use a guitarlike this on a pro gig unless I had to.

Its a Fender Telecaster, so its gonna be durable thats for sure....the finish is TOO thick though, so it gets graded down. I would not use it on a gig period.

Fender is fairly friendly and helpful for a huge corporation, but they aren't anything to write home about in this regard. They have given me wrong information before, and have been short with me in terms of inquiries. They stand by their product though and the warranty is solid.

I've been playing for close to two decades. I play guitar for a living. I use pro gear, this guitar didn't cut it so I had to sell it. I won't buy it again. To me it will be very hard to find a Fender guitar that can compete with a Fender Custom Shop guitar from the production line (though it IS possible). The reason I keep mentioning the Custom Shop is because to me thats the minimum quality I need from a guitar in order to get the most out of pro guitar playing. The tone on this guitar is OK, the finish is OK, the sound is OK, the features is OK, OK doesn't cut it. With Custom Shop Custom Classic available new for around $1300-1500 and relics for not a whole lot more, its with it to save up the extra $$$ and buy a guitar that will last a lifetime.

I chose this guitar because I wanted to give it a chance and because I love Muddy waters, but the guitar didn't cut it. Because its a Fender, it wasn't much of a risk to buy it because they are easy enough to sell. I am not impressed by what Fender is putting out these days except for the tube amps and the Custom Shop guitars

2000 model, mexican made, 21 medium jumbo frets
3 way pickup control
Fender's '52 vintage reissue neck pickup & custom wound bridge pickup with copper coated steel bridge base plate.
Body: Ash
Bridge: Fender '52 reissue vintage 3 way with brass saddles.
Finish: Candy Apple Red Metallic Poly
Vintage tuners
9.5" radius Rosewood over Maple neck with vintage gloss finish
Fender Gig Bag
Since its a tele, there's not many whistles & bells, but read on...

The MW covered all the sounds I needed. I was able to coax the tone of Keith
Richards, Brian Setzer, Skynyrd, 335-like Clapton (just rolled off the tone
on the neck pup), and Lowell George slide on Dixie Chicken.

I played quite a few lead breaks with no tube screamer or anything, just
right into the deluxe and I heard every note pop out. Even the middle
position was thick & airy.

I usually switch guitars for different songs, but I wound up keeping the
tele on the entire first 2 sets to see what it could do. The rest of the
band complimented the sound which was nice.

I bought the guitar from Larry Miletech
Music One Workshop
310 S Main St
Kalispell, Montana 59901
(406) 752-1215 FAX (406) 752-1257
E-mail: music1@digisys.net

He gives a Fender Gold Level setup with every guitar he sells. The guitar was delivered with unbelievable playability and resonance. It sounds very loud acoustically which is excellent. The fretwork is top notch with no rough ends. He files them down as part of the setup, and polishes the frets for smooth bends.
Those amp knobs instead of the chrome dome knobs are a cool touch, and easy to spin for volume swells.

Great for live playing, as it completely cuts thru the mix. Hardware & finish are top quality. Very dependable, can be used without a backup, because there is no tremelo. I always use a backup anyway in case a string breaks or something. Only mod I did was put on straplocks for insurance.

I have no doubt that if there was a problem,Larry at Music One would take care of it quickly.

I have a small collection of guitars consisting of a 335 dot reissue, Warmoth tele body with neck & hardware from a '78 tele, G&L S500, Fender Custom Shop Contemporary Strat, Martin D1R, Gibson Les Paul 60's Classic and a G&L L1000 bass. I have been playing over 20 years.

The tele just has everything you need. I would get another right away if stolen. I compared it to many other Fender teles which were even higher priced and bought this one (the american standard, the 62 custom, and the 52 reissue). I really like the neck on this because I am a lead player primarily and love the fact that the action can remain fairly low and there are no "fret-outs" when bending. The only thing I wish it had was maybe some binding around the body for some extra class.

1999 Mexican made Muddy Waters Telecaster. 21 medium jumbo frets, rosewood finger board (7.25 radius) with large 62 style maple neck. Ash body with U.S. vintage style bridge, pickups and tuners.

I'm currently playing this guitar through a Mesa Boogie 410 Maverick. This tele is basicly an inexpensive vintage reissue from the Fender factory in Mexico with a lot of U.S. parts and materials. It comes setup for slide playing so be prepared for some extensive "tweaking" if slide isn't your forte. I'm still working the kinks out of mine but I've found that this can actually improve ones playing in the long run. Once you lose the fear of "messing the guitar up" you can understand how to make the instrument play better. This tele is pure vintage all the way. I was especially impressed with the amount of U.S. parts that come standard such as the tuners, pickups and bridge. The neck is big almost too big and has a fairly tight fit in the pocket. The tone of this guitar is why I play tele's...warm at the neck and cluck cluck cluck at the bridge! I have a U.S. 52 reissue tele and both guitars sound very similar in tone. When you consider the price of some guitars today and what we as consumers have to pay for quality, its nice to see a guitar reasonably marketed and produced as this one is. If you are a "Tele" player on a budget and want that classic vibe that only a tele can give, then this one should do the trick. If that little "M" on the serial number bothers you then spend the extra $500 bucks for the 52 reissue, but I promise you no one will hear the difference!

This guitar is bullet proof!