Fender Telecaster Plus

The specifications of my guitar are:

- Blue Lace Sensor pick-up in the neck position
- Dual Red Lace Sensor pick-up in the bridge position
- TBX tone knob with midway notch, which should mean that the natural sound is in the notch position. From there, turning counter-clockwise will give darker sounds whilst turning clockwise will give brighter sounds BEYOND what would be the natural brightness of the pick-ups. I have no way to know whether the notch position actually bypasses the tone pot completely as in recent Telecasters
- Mini 3-way toggle switch to select (respectively) the first, both or the second of the two Red Lace Sensors
- C shape neck with 22 frets (most likely Medium Jumbo) and lacquer finish (I really wish it had the satin finish like my 2000 Am Std Tele)
- Rosewood fingerboard with 9.5" radius
- 25.5" scale (the norm for Fender guitars) and 1.6875" of width at nut
- Three colour sunburst
- Not sure about the material of the body, but it's very heavy and I like it. I have a normal Am Std Tele from 2000 (also rosewood fingerboard) and it weighs just as much but I remember a friend telling me that my Am Std felt really heavy. Serial number starts with N5, I guess it's from 1995.

I'll give it a 9 as I tend to prefer the satin finish for necks, everything else was as beautiful and well-built as I expected it to be.

A Fender Telecaster Plus plays and feels like a normal Am Std Telecaster until the moment you plug it. The bulk of the sound is obviously given by the Lace Sensor pick-ups. I remember reading a review of the Dual Red Lace Sensors which stated "don't buy these if your tone has to be buttery, chocolaty or any other food-related adjective". Word.

These pick-ups sound extremely unique. "Modern" could be a good adjective. Forget about vintage tones, these sensors are definitely based on new (for the time) technologies, as explained in a Lace booklet the guitar came with.
Quantity over quality could also be a good way to describe the sound of this Telecaster Plus. Indeed, the specifications of the Dual Red Lace Sensors are intimidating: 30.5k of resistance and 14.8 henries of inductance. In comparison, the Kent Armstrong Motherbucker (also a dual humbucker, used by Matt Bellamy of Muse) is "only" 27.5k of resistance, the Distortion Parallel Axis (possibly the hottest Seymour Duncan pick-up) is a mere 21.3k.
Now, I'm not really sure how these stats translate in terms of actual output/sound, but the Dual Red is INSANELY hot. It's the LOUDEST pick-up I've ever tried. Moreover, consider that, as they have no magnetic string damping, you can set them as close as the strings as the vibration itself allows, which is what I have done. This allows to increase the output even more and without any loss of sustain. I never made a direct comparison, but my Telecaster Plus sounds about twice as loud as my normal one. This could easily be the loudest Fender guitar ever, together with the Ultra Strat (Blue Lace, Gold Lace, Dual Red Lace, used by the Breeders). It's probably in the range of a Les Paul but still has the bright tone of a Telecaster (although not exactly the twang of a single coil Tele).

If you are playing modern rock with loads of effects (think of Radiohead, Mogwai, Muse, Smashing Pumpkins), you'll love these pick-ups. They are AMAZING on distortions. You can play 6 string distorted chords with a fantastic level of clarity. Distorted arpeggios sound great. Modulation effects also sound so much better, as if the wet mix had increased. However, I do recognise that they sound a bit sterile and to sound really good on clean tones, you probably need a top tube amp with a lot of "fruit" like a Vox AC30.
The guitar is virtually noiseless. The 3-way toggle switch for the Dual Red increases the variety of sounds as you basically get a total of 7 pick-up configurations, although it doesn't quite turn the guitar into some sort of "any sound you like" axe as the basic Lace Sensor tone is still there. In any case, I'm quite positive the Telecaster Plus offers more variety than most Gibsons. The Blue Lace Sensor is a very good complement to the hotness of the Dual Red which, again, is unbelievable.

I believe the action on this could be set very low, but I quite like my action to be slightly high. The sunburst finish is very nice. The guitar came with a few notches but nothing that could be noticed if you were playing on stage. In general, the guitar plays and feels like the best Telecasters: a bloody solid and tough guitar.

I definitely treat my guitars very well, but I'm sure this one could take a lot of abuse. The TBX pot seems very sturdy, the notch can be felt clearly and I like it. The 3-way toggle switch for the Dual Red is also well built. The neck seems to have aged less well than the rest, but it's still in very good condition.

I don't live in the US, I guess I can forget about it anyways. My Telecaster Plus was originally sold in 1996 in Saudi Arabia (fear!) but must have returned to its native land since, as I bought it from a Texan eBay seller. It's good to know that Lace are still up and running, should the most unique and salient part of this guitar have any problems *touches wood*.

I haven't played for 30 years nor owned dozens of guitars, but I hope my review can add something to what's been said already. My first guitar was an Am Std Telecaster. It was the only American Tele in the shop of my native town and I had to go with it. I had no clue whether it was a good one, a bad one or an excellent one. It turned out to be an excellent one, many friends who really know about guitars tried it and were quite jealous. Because of this, I never wanted to modify it although I was interested in having more output.
The Tele Plus is the perfect solution for those looking for a high-gain Tele. To me, electric guitar is all about effects and processing the sound. This guitar is the best (Fender) I can think of.

If stolen, I'd put my life on halt to hunt down the thief, inflict indescribable pain to him/her and then retrieve my guitar or buy a new one (surely off the thief's pockets). Seriously, I don't think I could live without it. It's the perfect complement to the clean sounds I get from my Am Std Telecaster.

I bought this after a broke my les paul copy. i wanted a tele with a bridge humbucker and this is the first one I saw and . Mine is a 1991. made in the USA. 22 frets on a rosewood fretboard, with a nice thin maple neck. The Body is made of ash and is finished in crimson sunburst. pick-ups are one single coil lace sensor(blue) in the neck position and a splitable lace sensor in the bridge( Red/Red). Controls are standard tele except the switch for coil tapping.I give it a ten cause this guitar can do it all, with the addition of a decent stomp box even metal

I play garagey, punk rock and roll, grunge and sometimes blues. I play it throut my peavey bandit 112 and fender fm 65. This sounds this thing can make are great. It screams when you use the humbucker, if you want twang flip the coil tap and for blues just turn the volume knob down a touch, the sounds are very diverse blues, jazz punk and even metal.

Bought it used so i don't know how it came from the factory,

Solid as a rock, it has been beaten over the years including a trip down concrete stairs and bashed into numerous things. The results are a few scars on the finish. After installing strap locks the sucker no longer goes on solo trips down stairs and the chips out of the thick finish are badges of honour. All in all I can an have depended on this guitar and I have gigged without a back-up. also i have never owned a guitar that stayed in tune so well.

Don't know

I have a Godin Lg, Fender Cyclone, Squire jagmaster. All these guitars were purchased to back up the tele, mostly to give my back a rest. cause the tele is damn heavy, if i could change one thing abou this guitar i would reduce it's weight. If some stole it I would buy the same guitar but maybe in black as the world has enought sunburst guitars. so if ya see on eof these in black better buy it before i Do

Mine is a 1996 Blue Perspex so you can see the woodgrain body. It has white binding, and only a hip contour. Volume, tone knobs, plus switch to select neck and bridge pickups like a real tele. 5 selector switch, 3 lace sensor pickups. Absolutely beautiful. I have had hundreds of offers. NEVER SELL!

I play country to rock on it and it has the best tone and variety I have ever seen or heard! I have it going through a vox tube amp and it melts me away. I have boss volume, cs2, bd2 (keeley modified), dd2, and stereo chorus pedals. Everything from Keith Urban, Brent Mason to Waylon

Action was high, but my guitar tech fixed that! Had initial problem of high e pickup not picking up 100% of string vibration, but was easily fixed. Absolutely 100% perfect to view, play other than that! Believe me I was pissed off when I scratched the headstock after a strap broke on me 5 years ago.

I have played it since 1996 brand new. Indoors,Outdoors, pubs, concerts, clubs, you name it! I have bought and sold a few strats since, but this baby will never go. I love it. Finish still beautiful. neck strap button didn't stay in early, but easily fixed.

Never had to worry about it. Fender have never caused me problems in 20 years.

See above for my gear, I love it. Feel, play, sight, my missus is jealous!!!!!!!!!

1993 Candy Apple Red Transparent, Red dual Lace Sensors in the bridge, single blue in the neck. Maple Neck. I had this guitar when I was younger. I loved it and it was a very solid guitar. Really nice , shimmering clean tones, or total noise. Sold it much too cheap long ago, finally i found another with the same configuration and color. I jumped to get it. Its a really awsome guitar.

Its great musically. i can get just what I want out of this guitar through my marshall 3315 150 watts Lead on top of 6 peavy 10 inch scorpions, running at 4 ohms. Quiet pickups as far as backround noise but the sound coming out of those pickups when you hit the strings is crystal clear. If you had problems getting good sounds out of this guitar , I would consult your amplifier, or your pedal chain.

Lovely wood, see through finish, not all the finish colors are good. Some are too dark. I had a crimson burst long ago. Now I like my candy red hot-rod. I like the guitar stock, I wouldnt change a thing.

When I think of this guitar, i think of Bob Segers "Like a rock". Seriously, it is solid. I could do cobain headstands and not worry about breaking it.

No need/.

15 years of the grind and this baby was one of my original learner guitars. I am happy the way it is. I would not let this guitar out of my sight. I gaurd her like a family jewel.

Sunburst w/ maple, bound top, aged pearl pickgaurd, came with 3 gold lace sensors.

It sounded great with the lace sensors, very responsive, and lots of range with the bridge pickup on switch. I liked the sound very much when I got it, I have changed taste some I guess and have changed PUs out for a Texas special bridge (w/ copper plate removed for a "punchier" sound),a Texas special R/W strat in mid, and a handmade neck which is a anlico V vintage tele neck wound to 7.5K for a more bluesy, country twang that I want now. Works great for about any style , with maybe the exception of metal high gain distortion

It was flawles out of the box, fit and finish was perfect. I only had to setup for personal taste, (heavier strings ect...)

I have been using it for about 15 years now and have giged with it quite abit, never had a problem, I like the factory straplocks, the pots and switch are silent. There is a reason I changed PUs instead of guitars.

I have heard problems with support from Fender, haven't used it so I can't say.

I've been playing Fenders for 20 years, stats and teles and this is the best of both. I don't know what I would do if I lost it, I would do my best to find another like it. I know I couldn't replace it with anything new made now for under a grand (atleast). I don't know if I could find another Tele that felt so good and fit me as well as this one. It is the best I have played, American, MIM, or any.

1991 American made. 22 frets. Blue lace in the neck, two reds in tee bridge. Deluxe tremelo (of which the whammy is long gone), beautiful crimson burst which looks black until the light hits it right.

I bought this guitar in 1992. That's long enough that the first time I saw Radiohead I said, "Hey! That guy's playing MY guitar!"

Before then I had a Squire strat that my band HATED and made me buy a new guitar. I sold the Squire and went all over NY looking for the right guitar in my price range. I started looking for an SG and just couldn't afford one. Then I switched to Teles. I found this one dusty in a corner and on clearance. I asked the guy why and he just said, "design flaws". I picked it up and the thing weighed at least ten pounds!

It was my only guitar until 1992 so it had to do everything. Some people don't like the clean sound but I think the neck and just the front bridge pickup creates a shimmering crystal sound that i adore. This IS my main clean guitar. And I STILL love the Lace Sensors!

I use this in the studio a lot to this day and it fits on everything from country to classic rock to metal with no problems. The split humbucker alone gives me all the sounds I need.

I'll be honest. I messed this guitar up when i got it. I was 19, never got a professional setup and learned on it. I took it apart plenty of times to see how it worked and I belive I seriously hurt the truss rod at one point. I'm afraid to get a diagnosis and it still plays great today though. It would still be a fantastic playing guitar if I would only take it in. Without doing that, it's my backup guitar and recording instrument.

The sunburst has some smudges in it but it just adds to the charcater. The finish is so thick that the few dings it has don't even sink into the wood.

During my punk/ grunge days, I would beat the hell out of it!

At one show I threw it down on the stage and stomped on the strings with a pair of Doc Martins. the feedback was incredible and the guiatr was great the next morning.

Never needed them. I do need a setup but that's my problem.

I've been playing for 17 years and have had this gutar for 13 of them. I have a Les Paul standard, a Martin 12 string and an old Applause acoustic. I use a BOSS BR 8 for recording and a marshall valvestate combo, an MXR phaser, Vox wah, Ibanez chorus and eBow live.

If it were stolen I'd be very very sad. But my Les Paul is my main guitar so I'd probably buy a strat or Tele to have a single coil alternative. But given the history I have with this guitar I'll never sell it.

This is a '91 Tele Plus. Made in USA. 22 frets. This guitar has a blue lace sensor on the neck and 2 red lace sensors stacked together at the bridge. There is the usual tele 3 way switch, in addition to a 3 way that just deals with possibilities of the bridge (front, both, back). I do not know what kind of wood it is, but it doesn't give me back pain! Rosewood fingerboard. It's got one of those slender tele necks.

This guitar sounds great, though many sneer at the lace sensors. It has been my principle guitar for 12 years of being a professional musician. It is particularly perfect for a musician who plays many bags and doesn't have many axes. I have played tons of straight ahead jazz gigs on this thing and it sounded great. I also played many soul, reggae, country, rock, and blues gigs with equal satisfaction. It is very clean. There is almost no noise (from the neon and ceiling fans and such). For better or worse, it is difficult to make this thing feed back. the bridge does not have quite as much twang as a vintage tele, but it sounds great. the two pickups are balanced well. for many years i liked the neck pickup. i am planning to replace it with a joe barden t-neck when my ship comes in. The best explanation i can provide for this is that for many years, this was my only guitar. I now have other tools for those gigs that i only used the neck pickup. I find that i want a bit more clarity and high end in the neck position. That being said, it is a great sounding guitar. I have had it so long....many different rigs. Currently I am rocking it through Boss TU-2->Fulltone Fulldrive 2 -> Crybaby Wah -> EH Wiggler -> MXR phase 90 -> Line 6 delay modeler -> Goodrich LDR volume pedal -> (stereo when there's space) Music Man 112 RD 50 amp and Mesa Boogie Mark IV. I don't know of anybody (famous) who plays this axe except for the guy from Radiohead. His effect chain is so intricate (see guitargeek.com) that i don't see how you could really hear the guitar itself on those recordings.

It came in a beautiful blue with wood grain showing underneath finish (i believe fender called it "blue frost." I am thankful for how nice it looks, and that it wan't used very long. It came form the factory alright. Like most guitars, it played better later. I now have jumbo frets on it and set it up for D'Addario XL .011s.

This is a fender. It loves abuse. In 12 years of dropping it, flying with it, packing it poorly into dubious vans, playing and storing it in extreme heats and colds, it shows very little signs of wear in every respect from the finish to the tuning keys. I out a new volume pot in it a month ago, but 12 years of full time usage will do this. It's had 3 fret dresses and 3 fret jobs.

i never dealt with them.

One small comment is that i had an additional string tree installed for the 3rd and 4th strings, and that helped with some very slight intonation problems i was having with the instrument. If it were stolen, I know i'd still get a Tele, but i'd probably check out a '72 or something....i'm interested in those humbuckers.I've also never owned a maple fingerboard. I wish they'd have put a bone nut on it.

It's a 97 made in the US with 22 medium jumbo frets. It has a five way toggle switch that makes the guitar's range almost endless. It is equiped with three gold lace sensors that provide a very vintage tone in the neck position, but still give you the typical "tele twang" in the bridge position. This guitar has a rosewood fretboard on a maple neck which goes with the gloss black body and white binding.

When using the neck pickup you get the deep warm vintage sound without sacraficing the treble. It's great for blues and clasic rock, not so hot for music that is more hi-gain. I have played it through several amps and it sounds great on almost anythin, but it sounds best through a Fender tube amp. I play throug a 70's twin reverb with a morly clasic wah.

The guitar had decent action. It was still in need of lowering but not as bad as other fenders I have played. The sad thin is the fit was not that great. The neck was set wrong at the factory so I had to set it straight.

I play it live with no questioning! Why pack another guitar, ther is no need to! You can play the crap out of it night after night and it comes back for more. As long as the strings are stretched befor it's showtime, it never goes out of tune.

I had no idea what this thing even was so I called Fender and they were very helpful

The guitar is all I could want. If I ever had to buy another guitar without playing it, I would buy another one in a heartbeat. Everything else is just a toy.

1998 model; teal green metalic with maple neck; antique creme binding on body; antique creme pearl pickguard; 3 gold lace sensor pickups (tele bridge and neck, strat middle); 5-way selector switch plus a toggle switch that can combine two pickups in a humbucker fashion (I think). Lots of options, which would make the guitar very versatile, if only the pickups sounded better.

I play mainly 70s - 90s rock, with a little blues thrown in. I use it with a Fender Twin and various effects, or sometimes with no effects. It's not that the guitar sounds bad, but it just doesn't sound particularly good. My 1988 am. std. Stratocaster sounds much better - more character, more bite, more depth. I think the problem is the gold lace sensors, which seem to sacrifice quality of sound for their trademark queitness. I've gigged with it several times; sometimes, when it's the only guitar being played, it's okay, but when I'm trying to cut through other guitars during a lead break, I feel like I've brought a boy to do a man's job. One of these days, I'm going to change the pickups and see what happens.

Although I'm not crazy about the sound, I do love the way this thing plays. It's the best-feeling Fender I've ever played. Great action. The moment I saw it hanging in the music store, I knew I had to have it. It's gorgeous, and it plays like a dream. Too bad the sound is not on par with its looks and feel. Oh, well, two out of three ain't bad.

I bought it new in 1998 and have had no problems with it since then; it hasn't needed any adjustments. There are a couple of rusty spots on the bridge piece from when I was gigging one July in Mississippi in the upstairs of a club on a night when the place was packed and the air conditioner went out; the sweat was literally streaming, not dripping, onto the guitar. Can't blame the rust on the guitar, though.

N/A

If I ever finally get around to changing the pickups to get the sound I want, this would be THE guitar. Until then, it's simply close, but not quite.

I have a 1996 model, U.S.A made. 22 frets, it has a ash body with white binder. gold lace sensors, 5 position switch with bridge toggle switch to boot.

I have put this guitar in every situation, the only thing it really isn't "cut out for is Death Metal. I am a country picker and it dispite what some have said here, has all the twang you need. If you doubt it, try running it through an Line 6 Flextone 2 with good compression and I thing you will change your opinion very quickly. It is the ultimate "gigging and studio" guitar.

One word. PERFECT!!

I ahve had mine for 7 years, it has yet to fail, it is my main axe and I will never get rid of it.

I have been playing for 27 years, I gig with this guitar every weekend, and it is awsome. I do studio work with it also. It is the ultimate tele twanger.