Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster Spalted Maple HH

A Tele that looks something like a Tele but that's it.
It is a korean made mahogany body/neck with a spalted maple top. Set-in neck. 22 JUMBO frets and double humbucker pickups.
Not your typical Tele then.
It is exactly what I was looking for: it looks stunning and with the coil split can get a lot of useful sounds.

I wanted to wait to write this review to avoid the honey-moon effect.
It usually takes me a couple of days to find a guitar's weak spot. Until now this has none.
The neck is awesome, the jumbo frets (one of the main reasons I choose this particular model) are a joy to play. It is my first guitar with the pearly gates at the bridge and I have to say I love it.. I am more used to the JB at the bridge but this one is really full and articulated.
At the neck, the 59 is such a known very good pickup.
Very good with distortion of course, some very good hard-rock tone and with the 59 a great shred solo tone, very precise, full but still able to let every single note come out clear.
The guitar is VERY light, thinner than a normal Tele.. it is very confortable to play standing.
Of course it is much darker sounding than my other Teles but hey. what do you expect?

Spot on for me.. I give it a 9

And here it is the real surprise. This is the first guitar in my life that did not need any adjustment.
I was really nervous waiting for it because it was an internet buy.
The factory setup is, simply, perfect! The strings are lower than I have ever managed in years of guitar setup. I can't believe I find myself wondering if I should raise it a bit to get a fuller sound out of it!
The neck is really nice, it feels tapered at the nut but I am not sure if it is my impression.. it also feels thinner than my other Teles.
Fretboard radius at 16 makes it really great for fast playing and bending.
Fret job.. perfect.. I am really anal about this and during my first hours I went through every single fret with the guitar unplugged and there isn't a single one that is not ringing true... terrific job Fender Korea.. a clear 10.

With set-in neck and such a beautiful finish it needs some care on the stage but it looks really solid.
Too early to say, I give 6 for trust.

I hope I won't need it.

I have been playing guitar for more than 20 years, professionally for a while, just as hobby now.
I love this guitar because it gives me the beauty and simplicity of a Telecaster couple with the punch and the playability of a modern instruments. I can have the neck humbucker sound that I love for soloing and that I miss on my other Teles but, with the coil tap, I can still have some sort of single coil sound for low gain passages.
My other guitars are a Tele Deluxe Ash with a SD HotRail at the bridge and an American Standard Ash Tele with a DiMarzio Chopper-T at the bridge. I have a couple of EMG loaded Jacksons and an Ibanez SZ with EMGs as well.

Seymour Duncal humuckers, tapped for single coil twang. Why no case? I bought a case, no big deal, but who wouldn't want a case automatically with a guitar like this?

I like the variety of sounds you can get with it. Using the tone control, coil tap, volume and pickup selector gets a lot more sounds than I thought I could. And they are all good, clean or dirty.

Not good. I bought it at a mom and pop store , and maybe it didn't get set up well. The output jack and pickup selector switch were both loose.Worst of all, the frets were uneven and and I had to hone down the high ones. The action was way too high ,probably so it wouldn't buzz so bad on the high frets. Still, these were easy fixes and it wasn't an expensive guitar.

It seems well made and I haven't had any issues with the durability yet. I have had it one year.

I haven't had to find out, other than there was no good owners manual online for it at Fender site.

I've been playing since about 1978, and had a lot of good guitars and some crappy ones too. This guitar is so beautiful I overlooked the initial imperfections, did a little work , and now I absolutely love it. It looks , feels , plays and sounds like it cost a LOT more than it did. If it disappeared I would immediately go get another one like it.

Korean-built set-neck guitar, with Telecaster shape but thinner (very light) and more contoured (very comfy). Mahogany body with spalted maple top. Two Duncan humbuckers, one with coil tap. Pretty much all you could ask for, save a whammy bar.

I never intended to buy this guitar, but after trying it in the shop, I couldn't avoid it. It complements the Mesa Express 5:25 amp perfectly, giving good sounds from clean to fairly hi-gain. It doesn't sound all that much like a classic Tele (which I had before, and sold after buying this), although the coil-tap gets a little closer than the normal humbucker sound.

Good action and easy to play, straight from the shop (but Machinehead always set up nicely, I hear). There's nothing at all wrong with the build quality, from a playing or practical point of view, but I do notice that the fine details aren't quite as nice as the USA Tele that I had before. No-one but me ever notices this!

It's lasted a year and a few small gigs, without any problems. Seems as solid as most.

Superb guitar. Great sound. Light weight. Easy to play. Price not so high that gigs are too worrying. Personally, I don't particularly like the spalted maple (I'd prefer a plainer look), but I couldn't argue with the guitar's other features, and many people do compliment its appearance.

2007 Korean-made Spalted Maple Top Telecaster HH

This guitar sounds fantastic!!!! In all honesty, I upgraded the bridge pickups from a Pearly Gates to a Duncan JB Humbucker for a bit more output and now this guitar absolutely ROARS! It doesn't sound like your typical Telecaster, but it's close enough. Where it realy shines is in humbucker mode. I would compare the tone of this guitar to either a PRS or an SG. Nice, even chords and great sustain.

This guitar feels great. At first, it was a little stiff as there were some rough freats, but as I've been playing with the action and changing the strings (to D'addario 9.5s) it's gotten smoother and 'broken in' Another of my goals was to have a dedicated guitar set aside fore slide purposes and this guitar works perectlyfor that. It has an extremely comfortable body and the next is slim and fast.

Seems rugged enough. Like anything else...take care of it and it'll survive.

n/a

I've been looking at PRS guitars for years (and even owned an older one). Nice guitars and all, but they just don't speak to me. I was looking for something with dual humbuckers (PRS/LP) and this guitar caught my eye. I came out here and read some reviews and then went back to the store the next day to try it out. The reviews were correct. This guitar is awesome. I am extremely happy with it. I've played Strats for about 39 years and this is the first non-Strat I have owned in 15 years. The Korean builders have done a great guitar and there are no flaws whatsoever. I've built several Warmoth guitars over the years and know what it should look and feel like. I would highly reccomend this guitar.

2007...Mahogany body / neck, spalted maple cap, 2 SD Humbuckers (59 neck, pearly gates bridge), pup selector, volume, tone/coil tap, 15.25 radius.

HOLY CRAP!

I got it second hand, no clue how she came from the factory. This thing sets up as well as $2K - $4K guitars...Unbelievable. The top is perfectly bookmatched (and I LOOKED), fit, finish, binding all well constructed/finished. Frets dead on. The tone pot/coil tap appears a little (very little) sloppy (a little bit of wiggle in the up/tapped position).

I've had it for a week, and "typically" shy away from gigging with a new acquisition right away, but, I wanted to give this one a real world check out, so, intended on throwing her in the mix for a set. I ended up playing it the entire gig.

I've been playing / gigging for 30 years, and oddly enough, this is my very first Fender. No clue on support.

I got this guitar because it was "pretty", and honestly, was not expecting what I got. I "figured" that she'd sound good with the Duncans. I was NOT prepared for it to be as good as it is. I play roughly 40-50 gigs per year, and my main gigging guitars have been a Hamer Studio (US), Hamer Artist Korina (US), PRS Custom 24 (US), Parker NiteFly (US), and Carvin C66 (US). I added this one as a potential "novelty" addition, something slightly different in appearance, figuring it might be cool to put on for a song or two. I had absolutely no intention of adding it as a "main ax", yet, it is (to me) surprisingly THAT GOOD. I've played a couple of Koran guitars that were of reasonable quality, that sounded pretty good, but, nothing that has actually WOWED me, up until now anyway. I imagine a little bit of my opinion is because it's new to me, and because it has exceeded my expectations significantly. A few more gigs will make the final determination, however, as of this moment, I'd have to say that it is BY FAR the absolute BEST under $1000 guitar that I've ever played. It plays AND sounds AND feels as good as my Hamers and PRS. Incredible guitar. I may just consider similar models to add to the inventory.

Bought this axe 6 months ago, and it's is by far the best guitar for my style of playing that I've ever owned. The range of tones available via the two Duncan pickups and the Coil Tap feature are amazing- I play it through a Mesa/Boogie Express 5:25 and a Fender Champion 600 5-watter, sweet! Sustain for days thanks to the set neck (on a Tele!) and the string-through-body construction. Its a very lightweight instrument, and the finish and craftsmanship are top notch- outstanding quality.

I'm a rhythm/tone player, and this puppy is purrrrfect for what I do. It serves up plenty of crunch via the nice hot humbuckers, and takes no effort to tease amazing sustained tones out if it as well. The frets and neck are very well balanced, and the pickups each have a very distinct tone; they were an excellent choice for this guitar. I don't ever give anything a 10, but this baby is the exception- absolutely the best "bang for the buck" axe I've ever owned, and I would have parted with more cash if necessary with no regrets.

Factory setup was pretty good, minimal tweaking necessary, and the intonation was already spot-on. Neck pickup needed a bit of lowering, but everyone has their own preferences for that kind of thing anyway. The spalted maple veneer is beautiful and flawless. Looks great with the stage lights on it :) After minor setup/customisation, the action (for me) is right on.

I play it live and its never given me reason to think twice about reliability. Hardware's good, standard tuners, graphite nut. Finish is solid, already had my drummer knock it over once- luck for him there wasn't a scratch! As with any electric guitar, you'll want to check the output jack's nut for tightness initially.

If anything goes wrong, I'll just go back to the Guitar Center where it was purchased, and let them handle it- but I don't forsee any need.

Been playing for 11+ years, gigging, recording, yada-yada. If this one were ever "liberated" I'd do my best to track the low-life scum down. After years of being less than happy with various Strats, Schecters, LP's, and such- its nice to have finally found my perfect match (just don't let the wife see this review, please!)

Basically this guitar has got it. Two seymore duncan humbuckers, coil tap 1vol and 1 tone. The spalted maple top makes the guitar stand out in whatever environment. Incredibly light weight body, all in all brilliant!!

I play anything from classic rock to jazz and blues, this thing suits it all, the pickups scream big time in the humbucker position and have a nice crisp tone in the single coil.

I bought this guitar from my local dealer who set it up really nicely so I had no trouble getting started at all. The action is nice and low and the spalted maple top is just jaw dropping.

Only had for a day

Got one year free guarantee whatever that means and the guy in the shop helped persuade my dad to part with some of his money to help me get the guitar, so 10s all around

Overall, this guitar is going to stay with me forever and after I die it will become a familly heirloom. If stolen, I would cry and then go hunt down the mother f*cker who stole it and ask them kindly to return it.

Not your standard telecaster! Really an outstanding instrument and a huge bargain at this price. See http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0262600521 for the spec, but in short: set neck, dual SD humbuckers with coil tap, slimline mahogany body with carved spalted maple bookmatched top, neck and body binding, six-way hardtail...these are some of the things that set it apart. But the thing that made it stand out most for me as I innocently browsed through a range of Telecasters at a nearby dealer was the quality - this is made in Korea, and forgive me for my now-shattered illusion that a Korean-made Fender might not be quite 'there' in terms of build and finish. This beauty ate everything else at the dealer where I found it, except its twin-sister, which was equally good. I mean it ate not just the Classic Player Baja (Mexico), which wasn't a bad guitar at all, and some very nice Japanese models, but also some high-end US made signature teles I tried too, and every other tele my friends have. Now a disclaimer - I am not a telecaster expert, and I haven't played anything vintage from the 60s or 50s, so I can't compare with those classics. What I will compare this with, since it's the nearest comparison I can make for a guitar of this quality, is the masterbuilt Corona custom shop Fender I have (one of the first five Robben Ford signature Ultra FMs, made in 1994). That's a collector's guitar that would fetch upwards of $6,000 if I sold it today, and a magnifcent instrument to play. Well, this little sweetheart from Korea feels every bit as good to me...and we are talking about a fraction of that price.
So, back to details. It's a two-piece mahogany body, and the neck is set - not 'through' as some people seem to think. You might be fooled into thinking this by the quality of the neck joint, which looks to me like the joint invented by John Page at the Corona custom shop in the nineties (if I've got my facts right), and is the same joint as on my Ultra FM. It's very hard to see the join unless you are in very bright light, which might make you think neck and body are all one piece. You certainly can't feel the joint as you run a finger over it. Anyway, the smooth curve and slimness of the heel make for good upper-fret access. Slim c-shaped neck, very elegant feeling in the hand. The fingerboard is a high-quality piece of dark, dense rosewood, with abalone/mother of pearl dot markers (a touch lurid for my taste, but much appreciated by a Gretsch-loving friend). Frets are big, jumbo-style which makes for easy bending - ideal for a Gibson player wanting to get into Tele territory. The nut is graphite. The spalted top is a thing of beauty and superbly book-matched (and each one looks very different, because of the spalting markings). The finish is a high-gloss poly, and immaculately applied. There is no case supplied with it, which is a bit of a shame for an instrument of this quality, but easy to fix. Chrome master vol and master tone/coil-tap knobs are set directly on the top and recessed a little.

As I said at the beginning, this is not a standard telecaster, and it doesn't sound like one. A mahogany body and neck, with hot SD pickups see to that. (In fact, I bought another, 'typical' tele at the same time, for a true tele sound). What you get is a range of big, juicy single-coil sounds with the coils tapped: neck p/u sounds warm, rounded and airy, a bit like a good rosewood strat, with more middle and sustain than you'd expect from a 'normal' tele. Middle position gives big twang, and bringing in the other coil here adds depth and breadth to the tone, without taking much away from the sting - a good setting for slightly-overdriven lead tone. The bridge pickup on single coil gives some of that nasty tele grind I want, but again with the effect of the wood and construction, there's more middle - which I like. Bringing in the other coil on the bridge setting really gets things growling. Judicious use of the tone controls (which is nicely progressive) can bring out the essential woodiness of this guitar, but I find to get closer to a more typical tele sound, I have to back off the volume quite a bit (these pickups are hot). That's not a bad thing, because you've always got the option of whacking the volume up when you want to thicken the sound and get some big sustain. Speaking of which, the combination of the set neck and through-stringing gives a LOT of sustain and you get big, ringing, piano-like chords - excellent. I'm using this mainly with a Fuchs ODS head and cab, but it sounds great with a range of amps, so long as you are prepared to pay attention to the volume and tone controls a little - with the heat coming out of the pickups, it's easy to overdrive an amp set up for a typical tele or strat, and you risk sounding a bit hairy if you're not paying attention. Controls and pickups are very quiet in operation.

Setup and finish are faultless. The fret finishing in particular is perfect - a tribute to the people who made this. My Gretsch-collecting friend slavered over cosmetic details like the embossed chrome Fender logo sitting on an exquisitely-grained headstock, and even without liking that kind of camp appeal (scuse me Gretsch fans) I've got to admit it looks a million dollars. The binding is a mellow cream - very classy all round. It came supplied with Fender 9s, which a little too light for me, but the action is superb - not a hint of rattle, and clear, ringing timbre. I suppose I might wish it had a nitro finish, but on the other hand, I'm not sure that a worn off typical nitro aged look would suit such beautiful wood.

Can't say because I've only just got it. A poly finish is generally more durable than nitro. What I would say is that because of the fine quality and the light, slimline construction, I would be less confident about dropping this down a flight of stairs than I would with my 'ordinary' tele. Not that it feels in any way fragile - it's beautifully put together. I suppose it just doesn't have that bomb-proof feel that a bolt-on neck tele has. Or maybe it's just that because I rate it so highly, I'm nervous about damaging it.

No experience on this. Never had to complain about a Fender since my spate of 70s Strats which I...er....tried to improve and ruined. I can't see what would go wrong with this - it's a pretty simple guitar really.

I've been playing since I was 8 and I'm 52 now. Old enough to know better :). I have a carefully-chosen collection of instruments including the masterbuilt Fender I already mentioned, a beautiful vintage Les Paul (the only one I've ever played and liked), 2006 RI VOS SG Custom, a Godin XTSA, another very nice Telecaster etc etc. I'm very impressed by this guitar and if these do not become a collector's item I will be amazed, if I'm still around to be amazed by anything by then: it may be my grandchildren who live in happier times when guitars are recognised and valued for their intrinsic quality rather than where they were made. I'm actually tempted to go straight back to the dealer where I bought this and snap up the other identical example. I don't dislike anything about it, although if I'm being in any way picky, I'd say the dot markers are a bit camp, but that's only because I'm trying to find something to be critical about for the sake of this review. Believe me, if there was anything else I could find, I'd say it. Some guitars I've bought at three or four times the price have had plenty to grumble about. The only thing I'd say again is that I walked out of the shop with not just this guitar, but another 'normal' Tele as well, because I wanted that typical tele sound, which this doesn't really give. But apart from that, it's almost incomprehensively great value, a gorgeous player and wonderful rich, powerful sounding instrument. If you ever see one on the wall, I strongly recommend you to try it. The dealer I bought it from says he finds the quality coming out of Fender Korea to be very consistent (and he was quite forthright on the quality issue from other makers and factories).
For me, this was a one-chord guitar - I just sat down with it in the shop, strummed one chord...and that was enough for it to tell me it was going home in my car.