Fender Telecaster

I have a 1996 US telecaster sonic blue w/ red PG has a very unique look to it not like anything I have ever seen before I m not the biggest guitar fanatic in the world so I personaly don't know all the features but compared to other fenders it is very different

I like punk/rock and this is intended for more of classical, but when you mix it w/ a BOSS DS-1 distortion it has the best sound I have ever heard it is so much diferent from the ones I play at guitar stores

The only thing I would change about how they make it at the factory is I think they need a different pickboard besides white because white looks horrible on my sonic blue guitar.

I play my guitar all the time and hardly notice any change (and I got it new and I play really hard on my guitar) the only thing that has a scratch is the neck, but it isn't even noticable.

Personally I didnt order this guitar I got it after I started my guitar lessons so i had something to play

I have played for about 6 months while doing guitar lessons but I have played for a long time if it were stolen i would buy it again

See my review of this instrument from 12/12/99...which I believe was literally two days after I bought it. Now that I've lived with it for four years, gigged a lot with it, and grown with it, I'd have to say I don't know what I'd do without it! Other than the heaviness, which I've just grown used to, I couldn't ask for more. Now I just need a similar vintage one, only black with a rosewood 'board! Not much in the bells and whistles department (which isn't really me anyway), but it has the most important feature an instrument can have- a distinct, wonderful tone!

As my prior review stated, Teles can cover almost any style well. I'd recommend a vintage Telecaster to anyone. At worst, you may need to switch a few parts to suit your taste, but with all of the available retrofitting aftermarket parts, why not? Few, if any, instruments really compare with the beautiful, true sound of the Tele.

My only complaint here is that the saddle-height screws tend to work themselves loose periodically, necessitating a fresh set-up session a little more often than I'd like (wjich really isn't all that often). NOthing a little Loc-Tite can't fix! Otherwise, perfect!

It's literally about as few moving parts as possible, and two pieces of wood. Withstands violent live playing often. The finish has worn little since I got it, and I have played the crap out of this guitar! I did install straplocks, but only because they were free, and the strap buttons were non-original when I bought it. Only use a backup for alt. tunings or the rare occasion that I break a string.

Haven't had to deal with Fender as a regular joe in a long time, but last time I did, they sucked. On a professional level, though, they'ree OK...

Like a part of me. Best guitar ever!

American made in '72. The neck says 3 SEP 72B. It is all original except for the neck pickup. The previous owner put a humbucker in the neck position. It has a solid maple neck with the stripe on the nack. It is a Telecaster and is exactly what a standard electric guitar should be.

I have played everything over the years and on this guitar I've played Rock, Blues, Country, Jazz, Reggae and Funk. Primarily it has been used for Stones inspired Blues-Rock and Country-Rock and has delivered a great sound through Marshall and Fender amps. It does however sound terrible through my old '80s Shred and Metal inspired Rackmount system.(But who would use a Tele for metal)

I would prefer a flatter radius on this neck but it is still a comfortable neck and is perfectly suited to the music I've used it for.

This guitar has withstood the road for many years and on most nights has been the only guitar I've played. It is a workhorse. I have played this guitar so much I have worn out the frets and everything is still solid.

Never dealt with Fender

I've been playing for over 25 years. I own numerous other guitars including Teles, Strats, Ibanez, Epiphone, Yamaha, Dobro, Acoustic and Bass guitars. Marshall, Fender and Yamaha amps. A pile of effects which I don't use. This guitar sounds great plugged directly into the amp and is versatile enough to do everything I ask. I would hate to lose this guitar and I'm now breaking in another Tele so that I can leave this at home.
The only thing I wish I had asked before buying this guitar was if the seller had more than one to sell :)
I got lucky with this guitar. It has gone up in value and has been close to perfect as a working guitar.

This is one of the last year Vintage Tele's. Guitar is 100% orig. It is a rosewood board w/ash Trans Cherry body. 4-bolt neck, orig hardware, and electronics. None of the solder joints have been broke. What can I say its all there. Its been used but not abused over the years. On a 1-10 it is a 8.5. It is the heaviest guitar I have ever owned. Its weight is exactly 12 pounds. Even fret wear across the board, no buzz, nice low action. Tuners are the orig. F-slotted which stay in tune no problem. Its been said that Leo Fender pretty much got it right with his original design.....The Telecaster. They were not kidding you!. I have played every newer Tele on the market, and have owned most...Fender Amer. Stand, Fat, Deluxe, CS,....G+L ASAT Classic, Hamer T-51. This 1978 Tele is in a class by itself. It feels, looks and sounds better than ANY Tele I have ever played. I've been playing since 66.

The Tele is my style. It is a simple guitar that draws me in like no other. Its a thorough-bred, and the longer you play and study it. The more amazing you realize they are. Is it noisy? Well the vintage single coils were made for tone, not quiet. When you try to make singles quiet....you sacrifice tone! As opposed to the 50's p/u's, I actually like the stock 70's. The brige isn't as ear-piercing as a 50. But yet it is just as hot, and I still find myself rolling back the tone pot. to cut treble. The neck p/u I would compare with a Duncan Alnico Pro. Only the Fender is just more jangly and evenly balanced. I use Fender Blackface amps.

Dead Right I can't find a flaw anywhere, neck pocket is snug, string path is dead right in the transferance of the body/neck. Its a solid one piece Ash body, which so many are two+three piece. The guitar is 25 years old. And there is not a scatch in the pots. Poly finish? I like them! I believe they do cut treble, but to my ears its a good thing.

4-Bolt Fenders? Are you serious? I know someone who backed up over the body of one with his CAR! Few finish marks, but he just tuned the guitar and played! Hendrix beat that Strat, burned it, then Frank Zappa picked it up and played it another 20 years. YA I'D SAY THAT THEY ARE DURABLE AND RELIABLE!

Fender is just plain cool!

I think many people sleep on the 70's Tele's. I have seen some that were built terribly,as with any decade of Fender. But I have seen some built Very Very well. I OWN ONE! I never was one for the sound of Ash/Maple, combined with the 50 bridge p/u. I prefered Ash/Rosewood, with the 70's p/u combo. The necks on the 50,60 and 70's Telecasters are a thing of the past. They DO NOT hand fret guitars that way anymore. I one many Fender, Gibson and Hamer guitars. But you must understand.....This one is MY GUITAR! THIS ONE HAS.....the Mojo, the Vibe, broken in feel, the VINTAGE look because it REALLY IS VINTAGE. BADD AXE

This is a Mexican Tele. Usual Tele deal, 21 tall, narrow frets maple-on-maple neck, 2 pickups, alder body with lovely tobacco (they call it brown) suburst finish, fixed bridge, volume, tone, 3 way selector switch..... all the stuff which has made this design pretty much the longest running solidbody electric guitar ever.

The neck rocks. I really the sound and look of maple fretboards, the neck profile is meaty without being a baseball bat and comfortable without being shredder-Ibanez thin. Well done Fender. The polyyurethane finish is satin-like and feels great when moving your hand around. My frets seem to be wearing out pretty fast though - I've had mine a year, just playing at home recording my own stuff.

The body's finish is equally great. The suburst is lovely and the wood grain is easily visible. Not too heavy, slight body weight bias when seated but perfect with a strap.

I play all kinds of music. The Tele is surprisingly versatile, from blues to hard rock.

Acoustically strummed the instrument feels very alive. Body-thru stringing and a fixed bridge are A Good Thing.

The pickups are very good for what is a budget-ish guitar. Certainly much better than the humbuckers in my Kramar 7 string. The pickups have great character, are clear and articulate, and react well to your playing nuances. The classic bridge pickup growl is there, as is the smooth neck tone. Both volume and tone controls work linearly (something you don't see on cheaper guitars usually) and with a good amp help provide a range of excellent tones.

I usually play through a J-Station on the Twin, VOX, Mark IIC or early Marshall models straight into my computer monitors, with a VOX wah and BOSS Metal Zone in between. Through the Fender tube deluxe at the music store I bought it from it sounded damn ace aswell.

Being single coils they do pick up a lot of crap from things like fluoro lights and computer monitors... i usually switch off the monitor when recording into ProTools. I don't mind a bit of hum though, the tone is there and after a year of these I'm a single coil convert, 'buckers just sound muddy in comparision now.

Bought new from a local music store the setup was very good - I don't know whether or not the guys at the store tweak 'em beforehand though. Not wanting to work harder than I have to I had them reset it for use with 10-52s (standard is 9-42s) and now the action is low and easy without the need for anything more than a truss rod tweak. I may start using 11-54s, and get the neck set up with less relief to get the action down a bit more.

The finish of the body is very tough... I don't know how many times I've knocked it into something, there's narely a scratch on it, expect on the scratchplate (!)... of course I use metal picks so that probably doesn't help.

The sunburst is well applied... though you wouldn't expect the alder body to be as figured as a USA made guitar there is plenty of grain visible, on the neck too. Very "pro" looking.

Tuners feel good and work well... doesn't go out of tune much. Nut is smooth and well cut. Metal vol/tone knobs are get to use (bar not having any kind of marking on them), switch is firm and quiet.

See above for comments re: durability.

This is a well made instrument and would survive many years of abuse I'm sure. I don't gig but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

No idea. Never used them. Probably never will. Any mods or problems will be handled by local luthiers.

I've been playing for near 9 years, with a 2 year break in between. While I was in bands during high school and college, am I now simply a bedroom rockstar.

In my teens, having no money, I had a crappy Ranger Strat for a few years before I set fire to it then pilfered all the bits for a custom lookalike Dimebag guitar body made from Sassafras!

Then came an Epiphone Les Paul Special II - marked improvement but in the general scheme of things still a pretty cheap guitar. All my gear was sold when I moved, about a year later the fire was rekindled with a Yamaha 12 string acoustic, then came the Tele as my first new electric in god knows how many years. Since then I've added a Kramar 7 string, but the Tele remains at the top of my best sounding and most played list.

The Mexican Tele has been very well received by the music press, and for good reason. Many USA-made parts feature on the guitar, and as a friend pointed out, you can spend a grand (Aust. dollars) on something put together by mexicans in Mexico with USA made parts, or some AU$2,500 on something put together by mexicans in the USA using USA parts. This axe has bang for buck in spades.

If it (or anything else I own) were stolen, the horsef**ker would be caught, tortured then sent sleeping with the fishes. I would consider a USA made or vintage Tele if the funds existed - though I am completely happy with the Mex Tele, don't get me wrong.

Modifications I am considering:

Change pickups: As I mentioned before, the stock ones are very good but one would figure a set of replacement Seymour Duncans to yield an improvement. Whether I go for the vintage tone of an Antiquity set or something more versatile, like dropping in a stacked splitable humbucker into the bridge with a coil tap switch, I haven't decided yet.

I'd also like to add a middle Strat pickup, similar that used in the "Nashville" or Tommy Emmanual signature Tele, to yield more tonal possibilities. Unfortunately Fender haven't provided routings underneath the pickguard, so it would be a pretty intensive job to do.

Pickguard: White pearloid, strictly for looks!

Overall, this is an excellent guitar at a great price. I wish I had this guitar when I started out!

Mexican made, 22 frets, beautiful midnight blue finish. But seriously, It's a tele, what do you expect. 2 single coils, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way selector, fairly thin neck, pretty fast. string thru the body. Still love it though, It doesn't need a thing, (except a good home)

sounds pretty decent, I'm running through an old peavey scorpion. And a korg AX1500G. Sounds good for my blues and jazz. It needs a little more punch for the rock music. Brige pick-up is great for country/blues.

This guitar is pretty flawless, It's got a fast neck, and most of fenders finishs are beautiful.

Ha, this is a joke. One time I accidently threw my telecaster head first into the ground. not a scratch, and it stayed in tune. It's only gotten a few scratchs, from ramming it into shit. I play live without a backup, and it works just fine.

I think I have a warrenty.. maybe I should look for that.

been playing for a few years. My first guitar, I got to get another axe soon, for some E flat tuned songs, thinking of just buying another one, different finish, or an epiphone explorer. If I lost it, I'd probobly kill myself, so I hope that doesn't happen yet. It's a nice axe, Maybe not my first choice for rock, but it fits a really broad range of styles, from radiohead to lynard skynard to weezer, to the yellow jackets, its a fine guitar.

MiM Standard - Usual Features

Crap. My idea of a tele - WARM, BRIGHT, JANGLY on clean.
This tele - Cold, and very harsh.
This is coming from a Fender lover - The pickups are the worst I have ever heard on a ?600. The necks are not as nice as they were, and the paint jobs and overall quality are very lacking on a lot of these. The 50's Tele was a lot nicer - non veneered, WARM sounding p/ups, and a setup that was second to none.
I carefully examined about nine Fenders. None were worth anywhere near the asking price, and the only one worth buying was the 50's tele. If idiots would get over the whole "name on a headstock" phase, they'd actually see that Fender are now very very over rated. I would actually say that if Fender don't get their act together, Squier will start catching up on them, ala Fender Japan. Sad.

This paticular one was alright (Squier's should be alright, Fender's should be nice, and US Fenders should be very nice!)
I just can't get away from the whole "Cheapness" that the standard and deluxe range smack of. Even the MiA Tele I had was built and setup very poorly - neck joint was gapped at both sides, intonation was off, and there was buzzing on the frets. on a ?1300 guitar? NO WAY.

Poplar is a soft wood. It is VERY easy to damage, and the paint is very thick - not a good thing in terms of sound. But tele's are durable, and they

Mexican Tele, new for 2002 purchased at Sam Ash in Chicago. A really stunning new slate-blue color, very attractive. Wide, flat maple neck. String-thru. Features? Come on, it's a Tele. 2 single coils, 3-way switch, and volume/tone knobs. An infant could use this guitar. Not many features, but what do you really need?

I LOVE this guitar. Very resonant, plenty of variety in the sound. I use it primarily for slam power chords and create a wall of distorted sound (think Local H or Shellac) and those single coils.......man do they put out the sound! Great tone too. And at the same time, when I feel like strumming some soft Elliot Smith, it sounds great at low volume with no effects, just open chords.

I play this guitar through a DS-1 when I'm trying to imitate Local H. Other than that, very few effects. I just love it's natural sound, especially with both pickups. Sound from bridge pickup by itself is weak though.

Action was to my liking. The one flaw was a loose washer that was rattling around INSIDE the guitar....had to perform surgery to remove it. Very upsetting but not a major problem obviously.

Oh man. I could use this thing for home defense. It's a Tele. It's a massive, wide block of solid wood. I depend on this guitar exclusively.

Never dealt with Fender, probably will never have to.

I would definitely buy another Tele. I have been playing for 3 years, and I love big ol' noise-rock. This guitar (contrary to those who say it's a "country guitar") is up to the task. Just walls and walls of sound.

This baby seems to be standard Made In Japan Telecaster, and the serial would date it to 1989. Only odd thing about it is the fretboard. Or to be exact, it has none! The frets are directly installed on thick maple neck, which could mean this is some 50's-60's reissue model. It also features non-contoured body, 22-fret board, standard pickups and bridge. Gotoh tuners. 3-way pup selector with vol and tone controls, one of each. Cream finish with white pickguard.

NOTE: The reason I'm giving it 5 for rating in this category, is because it's very much your basic meat&potatoes-type of guitar. No bells or whistles here.

The sound is very straight-forward. This thing is full of punch and klang! Very deep with some nice edge to it. Nice and growling tone on bridge pup soloed. I'd say this thing rocks for blues, blues/rock and rock'n'roll, while it would be not as good in delivering modern heavy rock tones or in Clapton-like smoothies. In fact, this thing kills when riffing some straight, scandinavian-style rock'n'roll. Very nice tone, if somewhat limited. Acoustically, quite loud, and the body is very resonant.

I'm not the first owner, and as far as I can tell, this axe has gone through some serious abuse and playing. The back of the neck is totally blackstained from sweat and dirt, and small part from the edge of "fretboard" that had broken off has been fixed. Plus there's some small wear on the paint etc, put very little when you consider that this things well in it's teens by now. This seems to be very solid guitar. There were couple small problems with the guitar when I got it, the bridge was sizzling a bit with the thicker strings and neck pup was not giving any sound, but a minute adjustment of the saddle riser screws and some cleaning spray in pots and switch got the thing going. Only gripe is that screws used to attach the pickguard are getting somewhat loose as they go directly in wood. No problems after that maintenance I mentioned, and I think there won't be in future either, hence the 10.

This is definetly one tough axe. I'd take this one on a gig without a backup. Having nothing but the simple features helps this thing last for years, too.

Not familiar with Fender customer service.

This is awesome value for the $300 paid! If you are planning to get as good Fender Tele as new, you should go with American Standard series if not better. Japanise 80's Fenders have very good reputation, and this thing stands up to it. The prices on these things are going up, it's pretty impossible get MIJ Fender for under 600 Euros in Finland nowadays, and the 80's ones are around 800 E.

new black tele, maple neck.

i love tele's. i miss my 74 tele custom which was lighter than this rock-wood guitar.

my bitch is this: the pickups are horrible. they are a joke for what you pay. anyone who knows vintage tone will laugh at these pickups. fender should just chop the price 150 bucks and leave the pickup holes empty for the owner to fill in because that is what you will have to do. i've tried this with vintage fender and marshall amps and the pickups are just harsh and not warm.

not bad. i always lower the action for myself but otherwise solid wood construction, stays in tune well, good finish. so far so good.

seems very sturdy

i hate the new fender

i'm kind of a tone nut. not a freak but i've developed a discerning ear over the years. i've owned a lot of guitars/amps.

i do wish the tele was a little lighter but that's not my big complaint. i love tele's and i love twang but give the guitar some respect and put some pickups in there that aren't trash. i thought there was some mistake after i bought it, like they had put mexican pickups in there or something. do yourself a favor and be prepared to buy new pickups when you get a new tele. my advice is to go vintage, it's not that more expensive.