Fender Telecaster Special

This guitar was made in 1995 or 1996. It's got a 5-way pickup selector, a humbucker in the neck and a mini humbucker in the bridge (which I think might be a mod). A beautiful slightly translucent red finish that shows wood grain through it, Jumbo frets, ABX tone control, Etc. This guitar is not your stereotypical telecaster, but with the replacement of the bridge humbucker with a "real" tele pickup, I would say this would be the perfect evolution of the tele. The 5-way pickup switch is great and allows for extremely wide sonic range. I can play everything from Sabbath to Sonic Youth. Tons of features for a tele, and useful ones too.

I'm no guitar expert, but I'm extremely satisfied with the sound I get from this guitar. The neck pickup is a little muddy, but some might call it mellow. The bridge pickup is very bright. Put it in the middle and you have a perfect middle ground. Like I said above, I love the fact that I can get so much variety out of this guitar, and I've had plenty of compliments on the way it sounds.

I play noise rock mixed with a little bluesy metal (hence my comments above) and even with a crappy amp, I can get an acceptable sound out of it.

I have experienced some noise issues. The first one is that the tone, volume, and pickup controls seem to "crunch" sometimes when you use them, which could be annoying in a live setting. The other is that when the neck pickup is set to single coil mode (which is position 4 and position 2 where it mixes with the bridge pickup) you can get the typical single coil noise in some cases.

I bought this used, so there's really no point in me grading the guitar on it, but the action was great and it suits my guitar style very well.

This thing has obviously taken a beating. It has some cracks, some scratches, holes, etc. But that just gives it character. The guitar plays perfectly well and that just shows how solidly teles are built.

I would (and will) play this guitar live, without question, and since it's lasted since 1995, I can't imagine it breaking down for no reason any time soon. I would gig without a backup, but I think I'd probably prefer to have a backup in case a string breaks. But the guitar itself is solid as a rock.

I have never dealt with Fender and don't really plan to.

This is an awesome guitar, and if you can find one, you can probably find it cheap. Do it before the secret gets out. I by chance found this on eBay and got it for a steal. People are shocked when I brag about how little I paid for it, and something about this guitar gets people talking. I will never part with this guitar and if it's stolen from me, I will be sad. I'll make sure to try to find another one, but it's probably not one that turns up too often. If I had my way, I would possibly replace the bridge HB with a normal tele pickup, but the bridge pickup sounds great, so I'm not so sure. I'd also like a bigsby on it, but that's semantics.

I'm not a guitar expert and this is my first electric guitar, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I would say this is an extremely good guitar and anyone who likes teles but would also like a humbucker in the guitar... well, just make sure you don't pass this up if you see one. You'll be kicking yourself until you come across it again.

1995 Mexican Tele Special. 21 Frets. One Tone one Volume knob. Five Way Pickup Selector. Maple one neck and fingerboard. Red Translucent Finsish (very pretty - with the black grain appearing faintly through the red) I use the stock fender bridge but replaced the saddles, not that the originals were - Ive just used this as my main guitar for close to ten years, and the original started to rust, so I put new graphite saddles. It used to break strings more often - I think the higher end saddles help a lot.

I play mainly punk rock and hardcore. Telecasters generally dont suit these genres, however the humbucker in the bridge position makes this particular tele perfect for these styles.

Ive played through a fender 2 x 10 chorus amp - and a standard Marshall 100 watt head through a 4 x 10 cab (nothing special - just a stock Marshall 150 dollar head)

The sound can vary from your traditional Telecaster "twang" to a big full Ramonesy punk rock sound with the stock fender pickups.

The pickup selector clicks kind of loud when changing from setting to setting

I love everything about this guitar from the playability - to the look - to the sound. These tele specials are apparantly all American parts, they are just assembled and painted in Mexico due Enviornmental issues with the paint. I see these things going for more and more money. I paid 300 dollars in 1999, and I see them becoming more expensive as they are a little rare and becoming more an more sought after.

I bought the guitar second hand from the Music Gallery in Highland Park Illinois - they had some great guys back then that set up every guitar before they got hung on the wall... One of these days I want to send her back to them for a tuneup.

I raised the pickups a little bit - just a personal taste.

Ive been gigging with this axe since the late 90's - I beat my guitars. This thing has stood the test of time - even having been thrown - dropped - knocked over. I play Punk Rock and am quite aggressive..

After 10 years - this thing is still kicking, still and still sounds killer.

The finish is thick and heavy - i have put a couple gashes in it - back in my younger throwing guitar days - but nothing from playing.

It has remained my number one guitar -and will remain my number one guitar. Bury me with this one.

couldnt tell ya.

Ive been playing for 15 years. I bought this thing 10 years ago - and havnt bought another guitar since. (until today I bought a backup - a tradition S 20 Les paul style)

I doubt I will ever find a guitar that means more to me. Shes the one, and I have been faithful since first sight.

I love the way the guitar feels and plays and sounds, the whole 9 yards. Im not into the big thick almost V shaped tele necks, this neck is a lot like a strat neck. Even the maple neck is beautiful

sunburst tele body vintage string through bridge (I bought an "ashtray" cover..very cool) vintage kluson 1995 5way switch with vintage tele bridge and splitable humbucker at neck maple neck and board black/white/black pickguard.

40 yrs playing everything, this guitar can reproduce any sound! tweed blues deluxe(95-American)Boss-BE5 Dunlop Wah no noise! amazing variety of tone

factory setup not great professional cure woodgrain really nice(I made Tom Lee open 4 before I found this one!) nut broke after one week (replaced with bone)

never gigged lots of jamming never had a problem very thick clear nitros cellulose finish(now only from Mexico due to relaxed enviromental standards) 9 rating only due to prev mentioned nut problem

never had a problem never dealt with fender

OK I know you guys don't like gushing reviews but so help me this guitar is amazing(looks,sound,quality,variety..see other reviews) over 40 years myself and my father have had dozens of quality guitars elec,acoust,bass. I presently also own epi casino larrive parlor for the $ this is the best value ever one of fenders best efforts the greatest feature is the splitable humbucker and the 5 way tone switch. 1-bridge,2-bridge/1/2 HB,3-bridge/full HB,4-1/2 HB,5-full HB(les paul!!!) I recently researched and could not find one fender guitar(new) with this configuation....love it!!!!

95 it says made in Mexico on the headstock but I was informed that these Telecaster specials are all US parts assembled in Mexico. They were only made from 93 to 98 at which point the Tex-Mex replaced them. Same guitars just different electronics. Which at that point they added AMX to the serial numbers for US & Mexico combined effort. With Made in USA on the headstock. The wer priced at $569 and for the money are truly one of the best kept secrets out there. 21 frets, maple fretboard, alder one piece body with a sunburst finish, 50s reissue syle with the Kluson tuners. Comes with a 5 way switch and a Humbucker in the bridge position and a single coil in the bridge. Very versatile in that you can run the neck in single coil mode for the traditional tele tone or in full humbucker mode for a warm creamy tone you just don't find in a Telecaster.

This is by far one of my favorite guitars I have ever owned! I play mostly ambient, sublime, world, folk and blues and this guitar does it all. It has a very unique tone that in over 35 years of playing I have not found another guitar that has it. Very warm classic almost Les Paul tone form the neck pickup when desired with that traditional classic twangy Tele tone that you own a tele to have. The combination of these two pickups has made this one of my all time favorite guitars. The stock pickups are amazing!

My first choice in quality guitars has always been Japanese built. Let's be real here they build the best cars, the best electronics and in my honest opinion the best guitars out there... but these guitars rate right up there with them. Exellent.

These guitars are as solid as a rock! I have owned at least 5 of them over the years and they stand the test of time. Never had a problem with any of them. Very reliable. Any serious musician would never play a gig without a backup but if he had to this would be the guitar to do the job!

I have only contacted Fender for information on guitars I have owned and they have gone beyond the call of duty to always answer all of my questions. I have never had or needed any warranty work done on any Fender gear or guitars I have owned and that fact that there gear from the 50s is still around and working is a good indicator as why they are still around and as big as ever.

These guitars are one of the best kept secrets out there. They have incredible tone that is warm, bright with lots of bite when you need it. I have been playing guitar for at least 35 years and I know tone. I am a sound engineer so when I say this I am not some young inexperienced player spouting off. If you have not tried one of these guitars do so. If you can find one as they are getting rarer and harder to find all the time because people are realizing how amazing they really are. You used to be able to pick them up for as low as $300 but now try to find one for less than $500 and you are doing well. If you read the other reviews you will see the person even paid as high as $600. The great thing about them is if the person you are buying it from doesn't know what he has he may let you have it for the cost of a regular Mexican Tele which is around $300 to $350. Grab it..! If you don't like it I will buy it from you for that price. Honest. I have 9 Telecasters US, Mexican and japanese and these are the cream of the crop! Dont take my word for it go out and try one you won't be disappointed!

Discontect the tone control and I swear to you you'll love the sound (in the second position mostly). Give it try, you can always recontect it!

This Guitar is a 1994 Mexican Tele with a humbucker in the neck position. Butterscotch blonde finish, maple neck, black pick guard,
medium frets (at least larger than normal) and a very thin flat neck.

Belive it or not I got this tele to see if I could use it to play Jazz/Blues... I like the way Tele's play and I was tired of the sound of my Epiphone Broadway so I took a flyer and bought this one on eBay.
I couldn't believe it when I got it, the sound was really sweet and very bluesy. It didn't paly very well so I had to spend some cash getting it set up but now it plays like butter. Great tone, great sustain, lots of clarity in the low end for a Fender and not too much quack in the high end. I haven't tried playing any country on it (I have a Glaser bender tele for that) But I think it would sound fine if you were so inclined... it is very fat sounding in the middle position. In fact, with the five position switch you could play jusy about anything on this guitar...

The guitar was set up rather poorly and the nut was chipped so I had to replace it and get the neck shimmed and the action set...

The finish was really nice and the neck itsekf is the best of all my teles and I have four.. the other three are all vintage instruments from the fifties and sixties.

The neck pick up pole pieces weren't exactly right but they were easily adjusted.

But the most amazing thing about this guitar is that it plays PERFECTLY in tune all the way up the neck... and I mean PERFECT.
I've never had a guitar that tunes this well and I have 23 guitars at present and have owned probably that many more that i have sold over the years.

The finish has one weather crack in it already but who cares? I think the finish is on too thick but it is really smoth and flawless.
The tuning gears are tarnished and the bridge plate is as well , the previous owner must have had very acidic hands!

The guitar is typically Tele tough... you can use it like Keith Richards does to fend off attackers and then strap it back on and continue to jam (without even retuning)

I have started gigging with ONLY this guitar because it sounds like anything I need, and I won't be out a fortune if it gets stolen...

never dealt with Fender directly, I'm in Nashville so I go to Joe Glaser instead... he seems to know more about Fenders than Fender does...

I've been playing since 1963... Own too many guitars to mention and have NEVER reviewed ANY of them, but I just had to let people know about this little jewel of a guitar... This is the best guitar Fender EVER made and they probably don't even know it.. I always dismissed the Mexican tele's but this one is SWEET. Whoever designed this guitar deserves some sort of recognition. (well Leo designed the original, but I mean this exact configuration)

If it were lost or stolen I would weep uncontrollably and start searching for another one immediately...

(I would also put a VooDoo curse on the thief)

Every time I pick up this guitar I smile. What more can be said for any axe than that?

1995 Mexican Telecaster Special. The Five way selector switch gives you great variety. The finish, slightly trasparent, is very vintage looking giving it a beautiful look.

The neck humbucker was the sweetest sound. I used it in my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which is one of the greatest amps ever made, and it sang like an angel.

The entire guitar was great except for the tuning machines. They were a little tarnished but that happens with all of Fenders Kluson style machines.

I work at the Shelbyville Record Shop, and I have been working there for 4 1/2 years, and I have played hundreds upon hundreds of guitars, and this one beat them all. I didn't actually buy the guitar, another employee of the store did. I have been sick to my stomach every since he took it home. It was the mecca of guitars.

There is a story behind this beautiful guitar. I'm only calling it a Fender Telecaster Special because it has a duncan humbucker at the bridge and a texas special strat single coil at the neck like these new Squier Tele Special's do. However, the headstock says Fender Telecaster Special Thinline and thin it is. Thinner than even those affinity telecasters made by Squier although it has to be some wood like mahagony because it is one heavy mother fucker. This was left to me by my brother who was a guitar collector and travelled all over the world buying exotic guitars. He didn't want any of them sold, so he divided up his 60 guitars between his siblings and children. This guitar was made in Japan, probably in the 80's as I hear Fender stopped making them in Japan then. It is NOT a Squier series, it is a Fender. It has 21 frets and a solid top. Has one tone and one volume control, 3 way selector switch and like I said before a humbucker (the Duncan is hot as hell) at the bridge and the texas special strat pickup at the neck is no slouch either. This fuckin guitar screams. Body is mahagony, neck is maple, finish is a beautiful sunburst, standard telecaster body style except it is thin and kind of dips in the middle like a stratocaster. There are no F holes like all the Telecaster thinline's I've ever seen. It has the vintage 3 saddle bridge, strings through body and the very old vintage style Fender tuners, but it stays in tune very well. I was going to change them to grover tuners but thought it might be better to leave this guitar just as it is. For a 20 something year old guitar it is beautiful. Thin neck, medium frets and a rosewood fretboard, has the skunk stripe down the back of the neck. If anyone has seen one of these, please email me. It came with a hard shell case, strap and a cord and it also has the newer model tele bridge if you want to change it. AWESOME LOOKING, PLAYING AND SOUNDING GUITAR!!!

Well, I was a teenager in the 60's and I've not changed much in my taste in music except I like a little country now, when I couldn't stand it then. Hendrix, Doors, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Rolling Stones, Cream, Beatles and bands like that were who I loved and still do. This guitar handles all of this very well as well as country music and my son can even get some of the most awesome (if that is what you call it) metal sounds like Creed or Nickelback to perfection. I run this through a VOX AD30VT with a ZOOM 505II Pedal and it can make any sound you want. Beefy twang on that bridge telecaster, dark as hell on the texas special strat single coil at the bridge and everything in between. Very versatile guitar for a two pickup guitar. I love everything about it.

Don't know how it was setup at the factory but my brother was very anal about his guitars and it is absolutely flawless. Not a scratch on it.

I am quite sure this guitar would handle live gigging. That is what my brother did and he gigged with this guitar a lot. Finish and hardware are of great quality. Strap buttons solid as hell. Dependable. I don't gig. Heavy as hell and built like a tank.

Never dealt with Fender. Always been a Gibson man.

Been playing for about 40 years I guess. I have several gibson les pauls and gibson acoustics. This is the only Fender I've ever owned. I would get another one if it were lost or stolen if I could ever find one. I love this guitar.

Mexican made tele, 21 fret maple neck, beautiful sunburst finish. neck humbucker and bridge single coil pickups. one volume one tone controls pots, 5 way selector switch.

i play indie/rock and this guitar suits it perfectly. i run it through a cry baby wah, a marshall drivemaster, ibanez tubescreamer, boss dd3 delay, boss phaser and tuner into a vox ac15. this guitar has the full range of tones when you try the different pickup configurations. i prefer the neck humbucker for its warm powerful les paul like tone, but this guitar really could do pretty much any sound you want.

i bought this second hand from a friend, who i know had to have the guitar set up professionally because the factory job wasnt great, but thats all down to personal preference. the finish is great, although, the volume and tone controls do seem to come lose occasionally if they are used for swells a lot. the pickup selector is a bit noisier than i would like but really not that bad.

i gig with this as my main guitar every week and practise 15 hours a week with my band and ive never had a problem. it is the most solid and reliable guitar ive ever owned or played. i wouldnt gig it without a backup, but thats not a reflection on the guitar, i just wouldnt gig without a backup. the tuning seems to hold up fine and the strings do tend to get a battering during gigs.

never dealt with them.

ive been playing solidly for 7 years and gigging for 4 or 5 of those. ive been through a lot of guitars in that time but never really stuck with any except this one. i would definately want another one if it were lost or stolen. for anyone looking for great tone, a variety of sounds that you could only get if you had 3 or 4 different guitars, and superb quality this is the guitar. on top of that it looks great and is a fantastic price.

I won't get into the features that have already been stated.

Great sound!!!! I play lots of different styles and find this guitar
stands up well, even jazz.

I wouldn't say it compares to a good gretsch or les paul but it is more versitile.

I plug into a fender twin but honestly I think very thing sounds good through a fender twin.

Best sound ever, for the money.

I wasn't crazy about the about the the six saddle bridge, seemed to losen and rattle so i replaced it with danny gatton brass three saddle bridge. works great.

its been dropped,kicked over by drunks, run into by dancer and I swear to you this thing never went out of tune.

It even withstands never ending neck bends.

If I had to I would use it without a backup.

The only real complaint I have is that over the years this has become my main guitar. I own a Gretsch Brian Setzer signature and an 82 standard les paul, I dished out good money for these guitar and I always take the Tele because I know it will do the job and take the beatings and for only $325 why risk hurting my more costly "investments". I rarely take them out to bar-gigs
After eight years of playing this I can honestly say, for the money, there isn't a better guitar. I have gotten one other just to make sure I'm never without!!!