Fender Telecaster

Standard MIM Telecaster, midnight wine with upgrade to white pearloid pick guard. Upgraded tex-Mex pickups, locking strap buttons.

Love the tex-mex pickups, a little hotter than some, but can be very sensitive and I really believe that, along with the solid wood body helps the sustain a lot. Man can this thing sustain. Amps Gibson skylark tube 1957 to 1961 vintage, Fender super reverb tube. Sounds great at any volume, any style.

Bought it used but seems it had never been played. The neck was too concave, and the action was too high. Easily fixed and now perfect. The neck on this is unbelievable, smooth and perfectly fits my small hand. I have a Stratocaster MIM Deluxe Players, which I thought was good, but once I got this Tele, the Strat just gathers dust. I can play a lot cleaner and faster on the Tele. I am going to sell the Strat and get another Tele probably with a humbucker in it.

Probably last the rest of my life. Love the locking strap buttons. Finish is gorgeous and the neck has a very minimal finish. Perfect and very fast, much less sticky than the heavily lacquered necks. The pickup selector switch button needs some stickum, no big deal.

Never needed, do my own stuff.

Been playing 40 years. Have a MIM Strat. Had a Gibson SG, hated it. Couldn't tune/intonate it to save my life. Had 6 and 12 string electric/acoustics. This Tele is a revelation, it is really hard to put down. I am wanting another one.

2009 MIM, 21 frets, standard controls, pickups etc. Throught body stringing, 6 saddle bridge. Not sure of the exact colour may be vintage white as it is more of an ivory colour. Bought it on holiday in the US, played lots in several shops and this one was by far the nicest, better than the $1000 american std I tried. Cost $445 Approx ??300! Heres the tip. Take lots of bubble wrap with you and space in your case, remove the strings and neck wrap well and put the bits in your case. Because its a tele it can stand this treatment. Re-assemble at home and hey presto one cheap duty free guitar.

I play a broad variety of styles but wanted a nice tele for that unmistakeable sound. Play it through a Peavey classic 50 and fender cyber deluxe and it sounds great, perfect stones early zep tone. I know that mexican fenders are supposed to be the low end but this one was honestly better than all of the others in the shops I visited, better tone and really nice action.
Need to be careful with the tone control, neck pup can be overly muddy. but thats why its adjustable.

Factory set-up was flawless. Perfect intonation, low action and no fret buzz.

Its a tele.

No opinion

Been playing 5 yrs own a very nice les paul standard, hot rodded strat several custom built electrics, two flat top acoustics, a vintage giannini 12 string and a nasty cheep bass. If it were lost or stolen I hope that I'd be able to find another one this good. Oh yeah it came with a bloody awful gig bag, I'd rather have had discount, a lead, spare strings or something else.

MIM 2000 model with 21 frets. I think the body is Alder, if memory serves me well. Maple neck. Standard Telecaster S/S pickup configuration. Mine was finished in a THICK (too thick for my liking) black finish, with white pickguard. Got a generic hard shell case with it.

It's a Tele. It has the features it needs.

When I got this guitar 8 years ago, I didn't really have any pre-conceived notions about how a Telecaster should sound. I really was just getting my first "real" guitar, so I was pretty new to everything. That said, I always loved the way it sounds, and I still do. I find myself always coming back to my Tele. My playing style has pretty much developed around using my Telecaster, so it suits my playing perfectly. I've got a bunch of amps, but generally I run this through either a Hot Rod Deluxe, or a vintage Traynor tube P.A. head that sounds killer for guitar. I also use a vintage Tube Works Real Tube overdrive pedal, as well as a marshall compressor, an Ernie Ball volume pedal, and a couple other non-important miscellaneous effects.

The single coil pickups are a little noisy, but that's just how it goes. Doesn't bother me at all. I love all of the sound combinations this guitar has. From bright, biting twang to smooth jazzy tones, this guitar is capable of it all. It's a great workhorse guitar.

As an interesting side note, a few years ago, I put some different pickups into a G&L legacy (strat) that I have. I put a seymour duncan alnico II tele pickup in the neck of it. The seymour is a way duller sounding pickup than the stock mexican neck pickup on my tele.

It's been a long time, but I don't remember the guitar being setup poorly when I got it. From what I can remember, it's always been set up pretty well. Pickups were adjusted pretty well. I raised both pickups to get more grunt out of my amps.

The finish on this guitar is interesting. The neck is beautiful maple, with a really nice grain pattern on it. It almost looks like bird's eye maple, which is really something on a guitar in this price-range.

When I got the guitar, it was a solid black finish with a white pickguard. A few years ago, I decided that I was going to sand the finish off, and get a black pickguard to give it a more classic Tele look. As I was sanding it (past the point-of-no-return) I realized that the finish was WAY thicker than I thought, but I continued to sand it BY HAND down to the natural wood. I ended up just sanding the top down, which looks really cool. From head-on it almost looks like it has black binding on it. The real surprise with this guitar is that under all of that thick black lacquer is what looks like a solid maple cap! It's one piece - no bookmatching or seems in it. I wonder if they originally intended for it to have a clear finish. I'm considering applying some honey-tinged lacquer to it to give it that butterscotch blonde look.

This guitar will, and has, withstood plenty of live playing. I always bring a backup, just in case I break a string. There's not a whole lot that can go wrong with a tele. The hardware is great. No problems in 8 years. The tuners actually work REALLY well.

Never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing for about 11 years now. Other guitars I've owned or currently own are: Washburn EA10 elec/acoustic, Godin Radiator, the Mexi Tele, Epiphone double neck, G&L Legacy (stratocaster), Epiphone Les Paul Custom, P-Bass, American Standard Stratocaster, 1973 Gibson J-45 Deluxe acoustic, and a new Gretsch Duo Jet (not electromatic). I also own or have owned: Fender deluxe 90 solid state amp, Feder Hot Rod Deluxe, 70's Fender Twin Reverb, and a traynor Voicemaster p.a. head circa 1967 that I use for guitar, which sounds killer. I run the traynor through a Peavey Classic 410E tweed cabinet (I took all the peavey logos off of it!). I also own some vintage keyboards, and a couple drumsets.

If the Tele was lost or stolen, I'd definitely get another one, but most likely a US made model, or a Nashville tele, or an Esquire.

Over the years of playing, I've realized that this tele doesn't have the best feeling neck. Compared to my U.S. strat and my Duo Jet, the neck doesn't feel as smooth. For a guitar in this price range though, it's a great guitar. It's still my #2 guitar after the Duo Jet. My strat plays nicer, but doesn't sound like a Tele, so it takes a backseat to my TacoTele.

I gotta say that although fender quality can be hit or miss I lucked out with this one. I bought mine in a small town music store that I pass by about 2 or 3 times a year while on the road. Now figure this out if you can: This texas tele sat on the rack for well over a year. Every time I'd stop in it was still there. It has a ONE PIECE ash body, almost unheard of even for the American series, or the 52 reissue series for that matter. This one has the blonde finish & it looks stunning. It is an 07 model. Price was (get this) $675.00! I couldn???t find a used one @ that price. And they had a hard shell case w/ minor freight damage they threw in for $35.00. Now, if only I could get that lucky with my wife!

I am looking for that classic tele sound & in my opinion the only real tele is one with an ash body & maple neck, otherwise, why not get a strat? I really can???t say how great the pickups ups are yet because my tube amp is not working properly & I plugged it into my bass amp. I knew that I would probably change the pickups out going into the deal anyway, so if they sound great than that is an added bonus. Through the bass amp it sounds pretty good, esp. the bridge pickup. I???m not a fan of ???hot??? or over wound pickups. I have 2 american strats, both ash bodies & maple necks, one w/ stock p.ups & one w/ texas specials & I prefer the stock one to the texas specials (the sound muddy to me). Might have some pick ups for sale.
(BTW, if you think teles can???t rock you tube Prince???s performance of ???while my guitar gently weeps???. Be prepared to get blown away, & I???m not even a Price fan).

Again, I lucked out here. I have read that other hwy 1 texas teles have sloppy or uneven finishes but mine couldn???t be further from that. It is absolutely stunning, nice & even through ought. I felt a little guilty about buying it until I took it home & I opened up the case, pure Woodrow city! Neck pocket is tight, tuners feel great, intonation is slightly off, but it is not going to be perfect with the vintage bridge. Again, going onto it I knew I was going to change the bridge out to a vintage single string type. Fretting feels a little stiff, not sure what gauge the factory strings are, they feel like 10???s instead of 9???s.

Pure fender, wouldn't think twice about taking this one into a bar fight.

Never dealt with fender on waranty issues.

Some people feel that you shouldn???t have to fork out big bucks on an axe & then change things out (i.e. pickups, tuners, ect). Look, this isn???t one from the 50???s & each player has his own preference. I bought this axe as a foundation to build upon. I think it is a good value considering that the American series & the 52 reissue teles cost a considerable amount more, & you would probably wind up changing some things around any way. Also, dollar for dollar I think this is the closest thing you can get to a vintge tele, American made, nitro finish, ash body, maple neck. I want to play this axe & nick it up & I???m not going to hurt it. I had an original 1982 /52 tele reissue that was never palyed, it even had the factory strings on it. I was afraid to even breathe on it, what a shame. I???m gonna beat this thing like a red headed step child, & then some! It was bought to be enjoyed. If you looking for a texes tele visit a few stores & compare the quality of different guitars.

New 2008 Fender MIM Telecaster. Wine Red. White pickguard. Maple neck. Came with the Deluxe Gig bag with the brass Fender logo plate on it. (Guitar Center sale)
Basic Telecaster, everybody who reads this knows what they look like, and their specifications. No use typing it all in again.
The gig bag was a pleasant surprise, expected a cheapie.
Also came with complete instructions, tools, cleaning cloth, registration card. Nice.

I own the following electrics: Grestch Electromatic Hollowbody 5120 with double HH pickups, a Epiphone Les Paul quilted top with double HH pickups, a S101 strat knockoff with SSH pickups, a Rogue Lipstick triple pickup, and now the Fender MIM Telecaster.
Setting my Line 6 Spyder III practice amp to clean, with all settings the same for all guitars, (Low at high, Mid at mid, and High at high, Drive at mid). Clean channel, no reverb or chorus, nothing like that. I then proceeded to try each one with all settings on all guitars.
The Fender was the only one that distorted with any of the pickups, specifically the bridge pickup. Rather disturbing since it was on a clean channel.
Otherwise, it falls about in the middle of my pack in brightness, with the Epiphone leading the way, followed by the the S101, then the Fender, followed by the Grestch and last and lowest the Rogue.
Didn't think the Fender would be that low on the list, trying it out at Guitar Center.
It does have some nice sounds, and with my larger Line 6 Spyder Jam it does very well, especially on the Albert Lee setting, but the pickups, well, they are not anywhere as bright as the American units I tried. but I just couldn't pay $699 for a Baha Telecaster.
No real hum. That's good.
Does put out a nice twang with the neck pickup, setup right. Overall it is what it is, a rock and roll guitar with some country overtones. Since so much of country has more rock in it now, that's why some people probably see this as a country guitar.
It's just OK - overall, against my little pack of guitars, just OK.

It seemed like it played well enough at Guitar Center, but when I got it home and took a real look, I changed a lot. Each step helped a lot. First, of course the strings. Put 9's back on, GH Boomers. Then the saddles. They were all set as high as they could go. Don't know why, could not really play the frets above 10-12. Started out lowering them a LOT. Checked intonation, still off at most positions, have to set the saddle distances, they were all in exactly the same position when I bought it. Finally, after a couple days, began to doubt the neck. Checked it, it was way too concave. Put at least a half turn on the truss rod, now just a hint of concave, and at last, the strings are riding close to all the frets, evenly and with no fret buzz. Action is now where it probably should be, give or take. Also raised the neck pickup, lowered the bridge pickup. Made it sound cleaner and got rid of the piercing highs on the high three strings.
Finish is great, no scratches, no dings, no runs, nothing. Love the maple neck, nice C pattern on the back. Guitar plays small, but is not really. I do find my pick climbing close to the neck if I'm watching the fretboard.
Big problem is that the selection switch rides against the volume knob in the bridge position. History be dammed, they should put that a little further away.
Fit of the wood seems excellent. Hardware seems OK, stamped and heavily chromed. Tuners work good, it holds tune nicely. Knobs and strap buttons seem good and solid.

As most people say, this is really a minimalist guiter, so not much to go wrong. I don't know how the wine red finish will hold up. This is a gigging unit though, no doubt about it.
I don't have any complaints about the strap buttons, but I don't dive bomb or anything like that. It does what Fender says it should do. And it seems like it will do that for decades.
No tremolo, so no problems with the bridge or saddles that I can think of. Through strings should be there forever.

Have no experience with them. First Fender product. Reviews seem to be a mixed bag on Fender products and customer service. Read many others for verification.

Been playing seriously now for about 6 months. Fourth time in my life I've taken it up. This time determined to learn. Own too much gear already, but hey, you only go around once! I play rough, heavy picks, still doing scales and learning songs at the same time.
I bought this because like a Harley Davidson, you just gotta have one if you own motorcycles. I went into Guitar Center looking for the new tortoise shell pickguard with ash finish only to find they had raised the pricing on them in one week. This one was the same unit but in wine red with white pickguard, on sale for $379 with the nice bag, so I said OK and forgot the nice ash finish.
I love that it is simple, and now that it is set up right, easy to play. Really like the maple neck, wish more of my guitars had maple.
I really do not like the bridge pickup. Not a quality pickup, or maybe I got one a little off. It just distorts too easily for me. I really like the neck pickup. The tone knob is also great, can act as a poor man's Wah-wah if you are quick enough.
By the way, good sustain. The longer length probably contributes to that with the slightly tighter strings.
I know it's a telecaster but I do wish it had one more of those chrome covered pickups in the middle with a 5 way switch.
If I lost it, I'd think long and hard about another one. Maybe go for an American, or maybe get another brand.
It's just OK, and that's the name of that. My $119 S101 strat knockoff can do everything this can and it has more sounds with the SSH setup.
But then, it's a Fender, and now I have one, decal and all...

I have a 2003 mexican
21 frets
solid top
one volume one tone and a 3way selector pretty standard
guitar comes installed with fender mexican passive pickups a lipstick style single coil neck and a regular single coil in the bridge. Not the best pickups but im also a tone snob.

Two piece alderwood body with a maple neck. I can easily say that the neck on my tele is what makes the guitar. It's so easy to play it's baffling. Of course this isn't my first i've been through a range of cheap guitars and for the money this is at the top of the list. by cheap i mean between 300 and 400 dollars.

It is a great blues playing guitar and basically anything in clean. I play this guitar whenever im in the mood for either of those.

playing through a Crate Palomino V16 with all matched groove tubes a crybaby wah, and a dan electro fab tone.

definitely more of a bright sound with the stock pickups but if you put in some lindy fralin's i promise you'll never go back.

i love the way it plays not a big fan of fenders engineering on the pickups

I play all of my fenders to the factory set-up thats the best way i think excellent action.

very sharp looking vintage style guitar one of my favorites

absolutely will stand up to live play and im rough on it.
all hardware is solid
strap buttons are solid
very dependable
i would have to say i could absolutely use it with no worries of a back up

I've been playing about 8 years i own a Fender Telecaster, an Ltd ec-300, a Fender Precision bass, I play Through a crate palomino v16 with my guitars and a hartke 1400 with an ampeg 4 10 for my bass.

First off... Standard Telecaster. Made in Mexico (MiM). Beautiful Tobacco Sunburst, alder body, no "maple top" or anything like that. Nice pickups, they are both better than I thought they would be (by far). twenty-two or twenty-one frets, I kinda forgot... I think twenty-two. Versitile, beleive it or not, those pickups can dish out just about anything... The finish on this can make up anything you find missing (which you won't). Comes with a thin gig bag, you should probably play it. The bag has backpack-like straps though.

I like to play mostly rock music, some acoustic as well... but sadly, my amp mostly only can handle the acoustic sounds... I have a Gorrilla Tube Crunch amp (which isn't an actual tube amp, it's just got a tube crunch knob to turn that makes it a bit crunchier and more tube-like), which sounds great for blues and (again) acoustic sounds, but when I try to use my Digitech Death Metal pedal, it seems to block a lot of the metal back, giving me a far too held back distortion sound. But when I played this in the store, I played though a 65 watt Fender Frontman, and it sounded pretty much perfect. It was a great, great combination.
For the acoustic, I like the neck (chrome) pickup and the middle position. It's not bad with distortion either, and you would probably like that too, just sayin'. (For distortion, I liked the bridge, obviously.)

From the shop, the action was as good as I had hoped and wanted, no flaw there, I don't know how it was before though. The pickups were adjusted as it was reccomended in the owner's manuel. The finish is intense, I love it. My only gripe is that I found two white spots no more than one square millimeter, which is not even a real gripe, 'cause for how many people that have probably played that guitar before i got to it, I should truly expect more. Thank you to everyone that has ever played mine before I bought it for taking care not to blemish/etc it.
Oh, also the third string was a little rusted over towards the eleventh fret. I'll change them in a few months, but it's nothing serious.

I would easily go to a gig without a backup for this. Not that I gig though. It will last for a long time, nothing loose or anything.

Yo no se, chico. It seems Okay...

Great guitar, I got it just last night, but I'm sure nothing will fail me.

it's tele, it has everything you need and nothing you doesn't

i play blues/blues rock and its great, i play it with a homemade valve amp, bridge pick up is twangy, neck pup is rich, middle is inbeetweeny, but when using the tone control, the guitar is actually really versitile

everything was great, the action is a touch to high, but i can always lower it

its a tank

love it, great guitar, amazing value for money, and the tone is just unbelievable

Early 2008 Standard Telecaster made in Mexico. Alder, with maple neck & 21frets maple fingerboard. White finish.

Bad gigbag very poor. I've preferren a small discount.

I've purchase this white tele becouse my old tele (1983 Japan '62 reissue) was modded with humbuckers and my Squier Tele is too cheap to gig without backup.
The sound is fantastic: not noising at all, The sound is what I want from a tele. Rich & Hot at the neck, twangy with both and very strong and bright at bridge.

In the shop I've tried other teles (vintage & american standard) but I'm falled in love for this mexico standard.

Remeber! In the beginning there was ony standard telecasters and not custom shop or vintage models.

Bad strings on it and bad factory setup. But is a low price guitar and I think a bad setup is normal.
In few minutes, i've change the strings (now I'm using D'Addario .095 - .044), set the action and the neck, then the intonation. Perfect guitar!

No serious flaw, But a little dirty (it's white).

I give a 7 in shop, but a 10 after setup. It so easy to play that I dont'believe.

It's a Fender, it's a Telecaster. I never use a second guitar as backup.

Never used.

I star to play bass and guitar in 1970. I left bass playin' in 1981 and in 1983 I bought a my first electric guitar a Telecaster. Now I own nine guitars 3 Telecaster, a Straocaster, a Jazz Box (Ibanex AF125), 2 acoustic (Guild & Dayon), 1 Giannini classic and a resophonic.

If stolen or lost, I fly to buy another Telecaster like this. I love all of this guitar. It's sound great with all my Fender amps (valve & solid state).

2005 Fender Standard Telecaster Made in Mexico. 21 medium jumbo frets. Alder body. Arctic White paint job. Standard Fender tuners and string-through body 25 1/2 scale. Maple neck and the standard tele hardware. C shaped neck with 9.5 radius

I use it for rock and it does it quite well. I actually prefer it for rock to my Standard Stratocaster which I have sold. I think the Tele sustains better. The stock pickups are good and all 3 positions on the toggle give great sounds. I use it with a Peavey Studio Pro amp and I set the sound mode to Vintage for this guitar. It has a classic Tele sound. I used to have a Highway 1 Tele and it had better pickups, but these one's rate a 9 on my scale.

This guitar was bought right out of the box from the factory and not on the showroom floor. It was set up well and the factory strings were even very good. I didn't need to adjust anything but after a year I took it in and had the action lowered a bit and the truss rod adjusted but after a year that was to be expected. It was very well finshed and still after almost 2 years it looks just like the day I brought it home.

I think it would be fine for live playing, though I never play live.
The hardware is typical for a $530.00 guitar. I bought it when the Canadian dollar was low vs the U.S. dollar so it was a bit expensive, but to me it is a quality made instrument for it's price.

Never had to use Fender support though there website that is little more than a catalog. No easy way to contact them.

I'd replace it if it got lost or stolen and the price now is lower so that makes it easier on my pocketbook. I bought a Tele because of past experience. Aside from my Highway 1 Tele this was the best of the Fenders I have owned.

Its about a 2005 made Standar Telecaster Made in Mexico.Alder body,one piece mapple neck n fingerboard,brown sunburst finish,21 medium jumbo frets.Why a 9?Well for the seer simplicity the organ offers,the reason i started looking for a tele is because i wanted a straight plug n'play instrument.Im the kinda of guy that kinda gets overwhelmed and stressed when i have too many option,switches,knobs etc. hahaha.Just wanted something 'primal',raw n 'easy' n by all means the tele is fantastic at that.

All i can say is wow!!!The tone is just to DIE for all over.All the famed Tele sounds are here,the sweetest badest crunchy tones and the most mesmering cleans ever!!!This guitar really brought my amps character out and it sounds wonderful wherever plugged in!!
The stock pickups although decent got replaced very early with Kinmans and the instrument sounds ever better!!Now there is no sound i want that i cant get!!From rock,funk,alternative rock,garage is all at my grasp and i tell you this guitar is AMAZING!!!Even with the stock pickups the cleans were amazing but the hum made it impossible to step on my high-gain set BigMuff without the noise,the Kinmans took care of that.
In all its a beautyful...beautyful sounding guitar.

On the rating stock pups:7(good tone but too much noise)
w/ Kinmans :10

The built quality is pretty good and proffesional,no flaws,beautyfully crafted.
This guitars neck is the best ive ever touched...itmakes things so easy,easy to bend the strings,vibrato notes...plays like a dream.

id gig without a backup any time,its a TELE.You can start your gig by bashing it with a sledgehammer n then strap it on n start ripping man!

Amazing,amazing guitar!!!Im really into it n the more i play the more i fall for it.I had a Mexi 70's reissue strat that got damaged n i was asked to pay s lot to fix it,so i decided to puchase a new instrument and wanted something more 'basic',a simple instrument that would offer amazing tone wherever plugged i got this tele even though i didnt like the looks at first.i couldnt be happier..its exactly what i wanted...ballsy amazing tone,clarity,playabilty...has turned me to a devoted tele fan hahaha.id only prefer in in creamy white as my strat was sunburst but oh well...who cares!!Highly recomended.

I bought mine a week and a bit ago from a larger guitar shop in North Vancouver, BC used. I was astonished at the nominal pricetag of 199, so I decided to pick it up. It has a 3-tone sunburst finish, with a lovely solid maple neck; straight as an arrow. The electronics are standard for a Tele, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a 3-way selector. Other than a "character building" chip on the bottom, it was in near-mint condition.

I found that this telecaster was extremely adaptable to all genres of music, from legendary "country twang" to a crunchy rock or warm jazz tone. The pickups seem to be good, although i've heard that it's a worthwhile investment to replace them with American ones.

Other than the barrel knobs needing a bit of a tightning (for a used tele, what do you expect?), the guitar is flawless. I got the guitar tech at the shop who happens to be a friend to check it over, and he said that everything was in ship shape.

I would definitely trust this guitar to get through a gig situation, although I do frequently use a Strat as well.

N/A, I would likely deal with the music store themselves, being that I puchased an extended warranty (that happened to be only 10 dollars for another year).

Fab. A real great find, and I'd recommend a Mexican telecaster to anyone.

I have a 2007 Standard Telecaster (made in Mexico) with a sunburst finish. It has an Alder body, one-piece Maple neck, medium-jumbo frets, die-cast tuners, and all the standard Tele features. The beauty of the Tele is its simplicity. So, it gets a high rating from me for the simplicity of its features.

I did a little research on the Mexican Fenders vs. the American Fenders. It is a subject that often comes-up in these forums. First of all, both the Mexicans and Americans start out in the American factory in Corona California. The lumber is delivered to the Corona plant where it is sorted and made into bodies and necks. The necks are also fretted at Corona. The American made Teles get a body made from three pieces of Alder bonded together. The Mexican Teles are made from Alder blocks with Alder veneer on both sides (about 6 pieces). The wood comes already bonded together from the lumber supplier. Fender just cuts and routes the slabs into bodies. I don't think much hardware is made in Mexico. The Corona plant has the heavy machinery to stamp out metal parts. I am not sure if any hardware on the Mexican Teles comes from Asia. The bodies and necks for the Mexican guitars are then sent just 130 miles south to Ensenada in Baja California where the wood is sanded and finished and the guitars are assembled. The two plants are very close together.

In my opinion the Telecaster is a "jack-of-all trades" guitar. I have met many veteran professionals who use them.

I think it makes a great solid-body Jazz guitar. Just string it with Thomastik-Enfield flatwounds (10s or 11s), use the neck pup, and roll-off the tone. If you want heavier strings just tune flat.

And, of course, we all know about the history of the Telecaster in Country, Rock, and Blues.

With regard to this model, it sounds very good for the money. The more expensive Fenders sound better (better pickups etc), but this guitar sounds very good for four bills.

I play classic rock, blues, and some Jazz-style stuff. I play my guitars through a Valve Junior head and cab and through a small Pignose practice amp. The pickups don't generate much hum or noise compared to my other guitars. As I stated above, these Teles are versatile. They will fit in with just about any style of music where a solid-body electric guitar is at home.

This is the second Mexican Tele that I have owned. I owned one a few years ago and sold it. I came to regret selling it and ordered another one. Both Teles arrived set up properly. The action is just right. I can't find any gaps where things are fitted together. There are no loose or noisy switches, etc. The frets could be a little smoother, but they won't make your hands bleed or anything like that.

The finish on my new sunburst Tele looks good. The sunburst finish cost a little more than the solid colors. They need to sort through the bodies to find one with nice veneer and the finish needs to go on in several steps--hence the higher price. The Mexican Teles have a polyester clear coat. The American Teles have a polyurethane clear coat or, in the case of the vintage models, a nitro finish. The polyester clear coat is easier to apply without screwing it up and is less expensive than the polyurethane coat. The polyurethane coats require more time to dry. Polyester is very durable. The downside is that it may detract from the tone, very slightly, when playing mellow (Jazz), but it doesn't make much difference when playing heavy metal.

There were about six tiny blobs of polyester on the front of my Tele. It hadn't been buffed properly at the factory. I gently scratched them off, then I gently polished the areas with Meguiar's Scratch X: Fine Scratch and Swirl Remover and a polishing cloth. It looks perfect now. You get Scratch X at the auto parts store (it comes in a black tube). The stuff works great.

I do not play "live." I am merely a hobbyist. But, I think this guitar will last longer than I will. I am sure that if this guitar is well cared for it will be around long after I am dead. It is a piece of wood with some metal parts bolted on it.

Some people complain about the tuners, but they seem to work alright. I tune by ear, and I check the tuning on my guitars whenever I pick them up.

I think the thick polyester finish will survive a nuclear blast. If a switch ever goes bad--you replace it--that's life.

I can't say much about strap buttons. I play sitting on my arse.

I have never had to seek help from Fender. However, I do like the fact that it is privately owned company. Fender was bought, from Leo Fender, by CBS back in '65. Things went downhill from there. But, in the earlier eighties Fender was bought from CBS by Fender employees (with the backing of investors). I think Fender is putting out good products these days. From what I am able to tell, they pay the Mexican employees a decent wage by Mexican standards and the quality control at the California and Ensenada plants seems to be good. I don't know much about their Asian operations. I don't want a guitar made in a Chinese sweatshop where people are paid 37 cents an hour for working in 110 degree heat on 12 hour shifts.

I have been playing guitar (or trying to play) for over forty years. Back in the early sixties my older brother played guitar. I grew-up with pre-CBS Fenders in the house. I have owned alot of guitars through the years. Currently, I own an American made Jaguar reissue and an SG as well as several acoustics. I would have to say that this Mexican Tele sounds as good, and is of as high quality, as the American made Fender Stratocaster that I owned in the seventies. And, the new Strat that I bought in the seventies cost a lot more money (after adjusting for inflation).

Some of you young guys don't know how lucky you are to have available good, inexpensive guitars like this one. Back in the sixties and seventies the inexpensive guitars were awful. Eventually, the Japanese guitars (like Ibanez) got better, but try learning on a Stella and see how you like it. Overall, this guitar is a great value.

2005 fender tele made in mexico f***** amazing piece of engineering even for mexican. got the covered single in the neck and exposed coil in the bridge very primitive guitar has no contour whatsoever got a fat chunky neck (21 frets) and only "FENDER -"telecaster"-" decal on headstock. lovely old school looking white colour with green tinge to pickguard. Not too many features it's solid as a bloody rock will never let you down at all.

absolutely beautiful tone just don't overdrive it too much it starts to sound kinda crap. absolutely perfect tone, just not as powerful as i'd have liked. can have really chirpy rhythm from bridge pickup good for palm muting and neck pickup is deep and convincing mean as for solos. both together sound like water droplets (when clean) I use it through a danelectro cool cat + daddy o + zoom 505II

action is bloody excellent i play on 12's pickups came set up mint as, tuners are solid as anything, no special locking nut or anything to go wrong. neck however has a gap on the side facing the ground. totally excellent guitar go buy one. :D

this guitar would take a nuclear blast better than a purpose built shelter and still sound brilliant. hardware will last more than any lifetime, strap buttons are solid as anything slightly bigger than on my squier strat would definitely use at a gig no backup i've smashed it when i fell over once and it had no effect so yeah rock bloody solid.

warranty should be i think 12 months plus no need to get it repaired yet only set up when i put new strings on it

compared it to a highway one strat HSS + gibson les paul d/c + old as fender mustang or something (made in the '70s) + a gibson sg special. this one stacked up the best is the most comfy to have had the best value for money couldn't afford a proper american strat or a solid flying v so bought this. will last 2,000,000 years longer than any set-neck guitar. wish it had a humbucker in neck place or a hotrail somewhere because my style of playing i need chunkier pickups. i'd get something else if it got nicked cuz the sound isn't powerful enough even though it's f***** fantastic. HEY if anyone can help me with a serial number (mzXXX etc) drop us a line cuz i think it might be a '60s replica it's really REALLY primitive.

2006 fender MIM telecaster with standard tele bridge low line single coil pups and only 21 frets. One 3-way switch and a volume and tone control. the jack is sunk in and you'll have to use straight cables to fit in it. Cheap fender tuners too, these things won't stay in tune at all. Thin c maple neck with medium jumbo frets, though I prefer jumbo or XJs. Alder body no humbucker route for bridge. Pretty standard features though there is no body contours like on strats, so that'll take some getting used to.

It does not really suit my music style, but I just wanted the body anyway so i figured if I got a MIM tele at least i could play it as i gut it. I just tested it with a Marshall mg100dfx and the body sounds decent, you can feel the resonance of it. It is noisy using any kind of overdrive because of the cheap pickups in it. The neck sounds decent i have to say but a little thin compared to a humbucker, and the neck pickup has no treble in it at all, the bass is ridiculous, even with the amp turned down to 1. I was surprised because the tele is supposed to be an overall bright instrument. It can do country and rockabilly, some rock, but thats it, no metal here. I don't like the stock pickups so I'm changing them and routing the bridge for a humbucker, changing the bridge, pick guard and control plate and maybe even the neck. Also the lack of contours makes it somewhat uncomfortable but I suppose I'll get used to it.

The action is pretty good, i don't know if the guys at the factory set it up or the store, but it plays good. The pickups are fine but not my style. The bridge was not properly routed for my style, being metal and so I will route it for my style. It seemed pretty flawless, but i did notice a little dent in the top that i didn't put on it, but that might have been done at the store. The rest seems good enough. The body and neck are the quality one would expect from a company like fender even if it is made in mexico.

Don't know if it'll withstand live playing put it looks and feels solid. I don't know about the hardware either because i'm going to replace it anyway. The finish is good as long as your not too rough on it and don't drop it too much. The strap buttons seem solid enough but I don't trust them for live play, so I'll put DiMarzio clip locks on it and It's good to go. I would not use it without a backup because I already have two backups, but I suppose I would if this was the only guitar I had.

I contacted Fender via email to see the string spacing for my model tele and have yet to get a reply back. I did send this email on a friday night and so it may take a couple business days to reply, but I'm not holding my breath.

I play for three years and own pretty low end to mid range equipment. My main guitar is an Ltd m400 and my amp is a solid state Marshall MG100dfx. I use pedals like Dunlop wah, EHX Metal Muff, MXR 6band eq. I wish I had known the string spacing before I bought this, but it was pretty well researched otherwise. I would probably just buy a tele body from Warmoth if this were stolen or lost but I would still be angry. I love the body and the resonance of it, the neck only has 21 frets and there are no contours so that is a minus, but it does have the tele look. I compared with ESP LTD, Ibanez, Gibson, other MIJ teles, but settled for this one because they all had similar features and this one was cheaper and therefor easier to customize. I wish it were routed for a humbucker in the bridge, comfort contours, jumbo frets, and a 22-fret neck but I suppose i'm being too picky.
Basically I got this tele because I wanted a telecaster with a classic look with humbuckers, and this was the cheapest real Fender they sell. I will gut the bridge and put a Bill Lawrence L-500xl in it and change the pickguard and control plate to diamond plate, and change the electronics to Dimarzio Parts and have coil tap/phase switching options, and a strat style hard tail bridge.

This is a quick first impression review on a MIM Standard Telecaster. I did not buy it. I just tried it out in a music store.

It is a product that I feel deserves a second or third look from you Tele players out there who are looking for a decent back up, or for those of you who are thinking of adding a reasonably priced Tele to your sound arsenal.

Alder body with a gloss poly finish, very beefy satin finished maple neck, chrome hardware, standard Tele switching. That???s about all I paid attention to this go around. It has all of the features a Tele needs.

I plugged it in to a Fender DRRI and was pleasantly surprised to hear some very convincing Tele sounds coming out of this guitar. The bridge pickup had the characteristicTele twang, both pickups together sounded real nice and chimey, and the neck pickup had a nice mellow sound to it with nice definition on the lower strings. I was impressed. It reminded me a lot (sonically) of the Highway One Tele, which I think is a very respectable sounding Tele at about 2-3 hundred dollars more. I'll rate it a 7 for now.

Went into one of my local GC???s a few weeks ago. I have two of them near me and usually visit both of them about once a month to check out any new ( or vintage ) stuff I may happen to come across. While meandering around I happened to pick up a Black Telecaster that caught my eye. At first, I thought it was some sort of Chinese/Indonesian - made Squier type of Tele thingy. As it turns out it was made in Mexico. The official model designation on the sticker that was affixed to the pickguard said ???Standard Telecaster???. I don???t remember ever seeing one of those before; even though it look???s like it has been a Fender product offering for a few years.

Anyway, I took it off the rack and gave it a casual inspection. It looked and felt solid. Next, I slid my hand up and down the neck a few times expecting to feel rough fret edges ??? in which case I would immediately put it back on the rack.. To my surprise, the frets were nicely finished. I picked up another one in midnight blue to check out its neck. It had a nice fret job too.

Since it passed the neck test I thought what the hell I???ll plug it in and see what it sounds like.

I really liked the beefy neck on this guitar. I am old school and think a Tele has to have a beefy neck. It is as chunky as a AV 52 Tele but I think it has more of a C contour than a U contour. I prefer the C shape over the U shape anyway so it was a win-win in my book. I looked up this model on the Fender website and the neck radius is 9.5 inches ??? which I also liked. A rating of 7 pending further review.

It looked and felt solid. Further inspection needed.

No opinion.

Have been playing about 40 years. Have a USACG custom Tele, a couple of 57 AV Strats, and EPI 56 LP Goldtop, a Gibson LP Standard and a few other odds and ends. Have a few vintage tube amps too.

I only played the guitar at low volume so I have no idea how the pickups would sound with the amp cranked. I do know that I was mightily impressed by what I did hear and this guitar deserves more than a casual glance. I also know that the next time I am at GC I will be checking out the MIM Standard Tele again. Dare I say it???s a sleeper ????

Fender Standard Telecaster made in Mexico. Light alder/basswood body, cheap tacky tuners, reasonable neck, crummy bridge and pickups what else would you expect from a huge corporation who like the big banks are hell bent on relieving you of every last hard earned buck you have.

It's sort of Telecaster sounding with a thin twang from the bridge pickup and the usual muted plink from the neck pickup. It'll do the job as long as don't want to get excited about anything.

This was the worst example of any guitar I have ever come across arriving from GAK England in a totally unplayable condition. Then strings were on - yes on!! the frets (not above). The pickups were set at crazy angles and the poor chap who I was trying to teach guitar thought he'd bought a real pup with this one. About an hour's work to put it right.

The materials are industry standard and will last like any other ??150 guitar youy buy in your local shop.

Fenfder won't talk to you

At 57 I have performed something like 3000 gigs, taught guitar for decades use almost exclusively Yamaha/Takamine guitars and gear and can state without regard to contradiction that many people play Fender guitars because of their heritage, not their quality. I had to review this guitar because I was so taken aback at the the piece of junk that my unwitting student had shelled out about ??300 for.

Why a 10? Because this thing provides everything you need. One volume, one tone, three-way selector, all of which are sturdy and seem built to last longer than you will. The tuners are amazing and will keep your guitar in tune reliably. Quite simply, it is the perfect guitar. Unless you're Jimmy Page or a guy who loves playing surf, it's all you need (and you could always throw a Bigsby on it later).

No opinion, because with minimal know-how, this guitar can become just about anything you want it to be. While the stock pickups are kinda weak, they do offer three distinct shades of tone plus a ton of old-time twang.
But if that's not your thing, no problem. Tons of companies make a spectrum of replacement pickups you can wire into it to make it suit your sound.
I personally put a Seymour Duncan Little 59 Humbucker in the bridge and a beat-up humbucker from a 68 SG in the neck (the nice dudes at Fender even route the neck position for a humbucker on most of these made after 1999, I heard). The result is a very beefed-up lead tone in the bridge, a warm, chimey 60s pop sound in the middle, and sort of a woody, jazzy sound when the neck is used alone, which I probably won't do too often. The main reason for the switch-up is because as bad as I wanted to play this with my band, the fuzz pop we play just buries a Tele with single-coils. Basically, between the Tube Screamer and the 70s Fender Twin I was playing it through, it was shrill enough to shatter glass.

BOTTOM LINE: This guitar is the perfect template for whatever you want it to be. Love twang? It's ready to go. Need more muscle? Invest another $100 - $150 in it and learn to solder.

It's a ping-pong paddle with simple electronics embedded in its guts. Kinda hard to screw up, and they don't. Higly comfortable neck. I personally prefer the feel of a Mexican Tele's neck to that of a lot of new Gibsons. Could be prettier, but that would probably only make you scared to take it out and play it in friends' basements or bars, which would be, in a word, lame lame cryin' shame. For this, I give it a 9.

I'm hard-pressed to think of a guitar that would be more durable than this one. I've certainly never played one. Actually, I'm hard-pressed to think of another guitar that actually becomes cooler as it becomes more battle-wounded.
I personally don't ever gig without a backup if I can help it, but if this was your only guitar, you'd probably have a 99 percent chance of coming out just fine in the end. A real beer-earner. (I think the Fender Beer-Earner would have been a quite viable alternate name for this product.)

No idea. I have messed with this Tele's guts so much I'm sure any hope of a warranty is but a pipe dream. And it's used. So there you go.

I've played 13 years and owned nothing but pretty modest guitars. This is definitely at the top of my heap, though. The Epiphone SG I used to have was a big disappointment as I grew older and got a better idea of the way a guitar should sound. The Squire Strat on which I cut my teeth was acceptable, but ultimately, also a piece of crap. I have a Burns Marquee that, after some mods, I love. Before I bought this, I tried a Gibson Les Paul Junior, the one with the P-90s. Somehow I liked this better. The LPJR is a little more rock-ready right out of the box, but ultimately this Tele was the way to go.
I would definitely replace it if it were stolen, and not with a USA model. What's the point? As stated earlier, I love this guitar for its simplicity, and an extra coat of gloss is not worth an extra $400 to me.
If there winds up being anything I wish it had, I will buy it and solder it to the thing myself, which I highly encourage anyone else to try.

I play rhythm guitar with Mexican Telecaster leftie C.2003 Sunburst finish, standard pickups. Typical volume/tone/bridge configuration. Maple neck. Enough features to be necessary!

The guy i bought this used Tele from used it live and advised to keep the standard pickups as in his opinion they sounded brilliant. I changed the pick guard for atortoiseshell one which looks so much better against the tobacco sunburst.
Using with Marshall MG250DFX with 1936 twin cabinet - amazing sharp twangy sound i want cuts through every other instrument, while retaining rich bass tone, amazing amp!
Slight buzzing from pickups, may be an earthing problem, it stops when you touch the strings but not an annoying problem really.

Built like a tank - excellent quality finish and build. Never compared it with an American Tele but good enough for me. Stock pickups very good indeed. No flaws or adjustment necessary yet. Stays in tune extremely well in all weathers and temperatures.
I preferred my Tele over a Strat, Tele much easier to play for me - never had any use for a tremelo arm anyway if you can bend the strings on the neck.
Replaced pickup switch knob with old style top hat one, the one they supply is far too small, but if not careful you can flick it over by accident when strumming.

Never had any problems, except that little earthing buzz, maybe. This guitar is a life keeper, very confident it will stay good.

Bought used, but spares/upgrades etc. readily available for Fenders.

If lost would replace same make and model if i could find another good 'un, love this guitar to bits!

Laminated Koa top, Bass Wood body. Telecaster with Duncan Designed PU's. Mine has a very pretty bookmatched piece of Koa on it's top. Has a good tobacco burst finish with semitransparant dark finish over the back, almost brown-wine in color.

I love Tele's and this one is a very good example. This is the main reason for my submition. The Duncan designed PU's in this model sound just great. I have alwasy found the neck PU to be too weak compaired to the bridge in Tele's. In this model though they are ballanced better than others that I have had and tryed. I considered replaceing them with some very high end after market PU's, but every time I play it I like it better. I guess they just took a little breaking in, or getting used to. I have another older Japan MFG. Tele that I modified to take a strat PU in the neck and put in a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues strat for the neck and a Tele VV Hot at the bridge. This is a terrific set-up. It is easily the best sounding tele that I've ever played.

I put on a fresh set of 9's and touched up the intonation just a bit and it plays just fine

Never any problems with Fenders that I couldn't handle myself.

Never delt with Fender on waranty issues so can't rate here.

Over 30 years. Like older Rock and especially Blues. Have had plenty of inspiration for the Blues in my life. Played all sorts of guitars. Pauls are too heavy, can't get used to the float on Strats with their tremlo's, Just got into SG's and like them very much, but always come back to my Telle's and G&L ASAT's.

Mine is an all-original 1974 Telecaster. The typical bonde finish, maple neck and white pickguard with the 70's Fender logo. The body is a heavy ash and it has a few dings, here and there. Otherwise the standard neck(cheesy) and bridge pickup configuration. The glossy maple neck is still pretty glossy! It came with the original Black Tolex case which is the best case I own!

Let's be real, here. The neck pickup on a Tele is just not meant to preform very dynamically, at least in its' stock form. Everything is about the bridge and bridge/neck(middle) pickup setting. That bright trebly bite is all there. Variety of sounds? It's a Tele! I owned a '52 Reissue Tele and it couldn't hold a candle to this one as far as that brilliant bright sound goes. I play through Fender amps and it is certainly NOT silent when used with a tube amp. My Boss Noise Supressor takes care of this problem.

I bought this guitar used in 1979 and it was in excellent shape at the time. The few dings I mentioned are not in significantly visible location and they really don't do anything to detract from the guitar's appearance. The way the ash has become more see-through to the blonde finish makes it even more attractive. My only concern is that the cap of the pickup switch can get a little loose sometimes. It also has the absolute lowest action of any guitar I have ever played! I use Extra Light(.008) Slinkys on it and it doesn't buzz.

This guitar is sturdy as a guitar can get, I think. It's been through two classic rock bands with me covering a span of about thirty years and it has never failed me. I don't use it as much now out of respect for its' increased value and the fear of having it stolen at a gig.

Mever contacted Fender about this guitar. Never needed to.

I have been playing for over thirty five years and I have owned many guitars in that time. I owned a 1971 Telecaster very much like this one but it was stolen. I bought this, used, in 1979 because the band I was in at the time was very much into country rock and this filled the bill nicely. I have owned many guitars since I bought this one but this one is the most cherished piece of gear(and the oldest!) that I own. The other Teles I have owned, besides this one, had one flaw or another and just didn't match up. It has gone up in value considerably since the $200.00 I paid for it back in '79! I know that the seventies era CBS Fenders are not up to the standards of the fifties and sixties vintage instruments but this guitar is great for me! I play two Fender American Deluxe Strats with a classic rock band in live situations but I love to pull this one out for practice or some old "jangly" country rock!

2003 MIJ 62 reissue - double bound with factory bigsby - this is not the one you buy for $600 made for the American market - It's a different animal - made for the Japanese market with Texas special PUs and great workmanship ( like the pre-union American days ) 7.25 radius - 60s neck ( just thick enough ) NICE quality rosewood board- vintage frets ( I guess - but not real skinny like some ) - typical Klusons - Alder . 40 bids on this thing on eeks-bay ( unique blue color and Japanese workmanship pulls them in )

I love fender into fender tweed ( specifically - bassman ) slight compression - Keeley mod blues driver and 20 yr old analog delay box


2 things set this apart sound wise from all other teles I know about ( I've owned 5 ):

1. Texas special PUs - just hotter enough than the usual - break-up great with the BD but still great clean twang
2. bigsby - this adds a ringing chime that you can never get with a non-bigsby tele. If your tele does not have a bigsby - don't play one - because you will sell your 3000 dollar non-bigsby custom shop one ( like I did ) and buy one of these $1000 bigsbyer - or else you will find yourself sticking a non-factory bigsby on your old tele
( better to leave well enough alone - if you never hear a bigsby tele you won't know any better )

workmanship is superior ( not subtle ) - USA custom shop not even close. slightly high action ( I like that ) great bigsby vibrato
( strat style wang bars can never do this ) I bought it used - nice set-up - great feel. I use my own obsessive compulsive string gauges : 10, 12, 16, 26, 36, 46 ( the lighter b and g makes for a sweet compressive slap - better then 13, 17 )

My tech made these changes:

1. reversed the control plate order - I like to do volume and tone swells - also quick PU changes easier now - especially with a bigsby this change is nice
2. changed tuners to locking Klusons - total tuning and intonation stability ( teflon in nut and on bridge nice trick )

it's heavy compared to my strats - but well worth it. no problems after about 2 yrs and 30 gigs.

Like I said - I sold my 1996 John Page custom shop tele within one week of picking this one up - I dumped it for $1,200 - lucky to get that much - lots of suckers out there for custom shop teles ( I was a major sucker a few yrs ago )

I've played 35 years - past 10 in pop-rock cover band - doing all the goofy stuff people like to dance to.

If I musty think of something to change - maybe if it was slightly lighter - but I would not want ash - teles are meant to be Alder - no brainer. Anyway I prefer this 10.2 lb tele to my 7 lb vintage strats - it's worth the weight.

MIJapan 2006 52 vintage reissue with texas pickups. vintage amber, transparent finish with ash body - looks one piece but has well blended 2nd piece on bottom bout. 3 pole bridge, vintage switching. Texas special pickups: On Fender Japan website as TL52-88. C shape neck standard on Japanese teles. Features? it's a tele.

Classic tele. Specials give it more zang and output than standards. This guitar has more depth and twang than stock MIM tele, and I think it beats dimarzio and Fender vintage pickup upgrades. It doesn't have as much gain or as dark a sound as Frailins but better suits country, twang and chime. I picked this up in Yokohama - and the range, fit and quality of the midrange Japanese Fenders easily matches American Standard. Though the US Vintage 52 might look a bit more refined (neck wood), this is much better value for money, and does the job every bit as well. It does classic rock, rockabilly, country and folk equally well: chime and twang and growl when you need them by fiddling with the gain on tube amp. I've been playing it through a princeton and bandmaster, without any effects except a compressor.

Not sure whether this was made in Fuji or Tokai factory, bit the finish was as good as any American teles, flawless joins. Ash body is beautiful, perfect finish. Excellent set up - and the top is virtually a single piece of Ash. It's light but substantial.

A bull. Hate the perpectually unscrewable tele jac but whatever.

Haven't had to use it.

I was a skeptic on Japanese guitars until I went to Japan and hung out. The quality of finish and wood selection is so good as to be deceiving - far better than MIM and at the least equal to US teles. Some of the other guitars to come out of these factories (Tokais, History brands) are unique in look and playability and far superior to what you'd find in your average Guitar Center. (for example: History has an incredble spruce top tele and a 'gold top' tele at about 1700 US that are incredible to play and just a cut above the US vintage in refinement and playability. What I found is that the stock pickups were thin in the lowerpriced models (around $500-$600 US) (both teles, thinlines, jazzmasters, jags), but if you step up to the "premium vintage" lines (around 700 US)with texas specials, you run into guitars that simply play, feel and look better than basic US teles, and far superior in sound to MIM teles. Worth a trip to Japan for tele and strat nuts - and probably worth a trip to the factory, which is in Tokyo. This is simply a beautiful playing and sounding guitar - a keeper at any price.

well, its a 2006 MIM tele. thick white finish (and i mean thick, i smacked it into a steel workbench and not even a dent!) standard dual single coil pups, 3 way selecter switch, tone and volume knobs, everything you NEED in a guitar, unlike some that have too many knobs with too little effect on the overall sound. it gets a ten not for features, but for its sheer simplicity

i love the sound on this thing. i play a variety of styles, from classic rock to classical and let me tell you this thing is your general purpose, all around versital guitar. with a flick of the switch you can go from really bright, high treble bridge pickup, to a middle position for nice even tones, or to the neck pickup for nice thick sounds. i give it a nine becuase sometimes you have to roll back the tone knob a LOT to keep the bridge pickup from shattering crystal wine glasses, but its not bad if you use your knobs

it was very well set up when i got it, but then again i bought it from guitar center, so idk if someone set it up there. the first one i grabbed, i tried to switch pickups and the little tophat thing on the switch fell off, but i got a different one and it was perfect. i fell in love instantly.

like i said, its been hit with the steel workbench, and abused in other various ways. i sweat a lot when i perform, and the finish really holds up to the sweat. everything on it seems solid, except a problem ive had with every tele is that the screw for the 6th string saddle keeps falling out and getting lost. no biggie though becuase it doesnt effect its playing ability, just a little annoying. i replaced the strap buttons on it too with dunlop straploks but thats just my personal preference.

well ive never had any problems with it, so ive had no reason to contact fender. however, when i was adjusting the guitar for intonation and action (just as a tune up) i got onto the fender website, and it gave me very detailed instructions on how to do so. i have yet to see anything like that on a gibson/epiphone website...

i love my tele, and if someone offered me lots of cash for it.. id proboly say no. would you sell your children? thats how i feel about my guitar. and if it were stolen id proboly go all crazy and hunt the person down. ive played other peoples teles, and let me tell you theres nothing like your own. they are very unique guitars and in my opinion the best you can get for something so versital, not like a one trick pony bc rich or something.

Glossy poly finish, two-tone burst w/White 3-ply pickguard, chrome hardware. Has sealed tuners which are quite precise and solid. This is one of the 2006 models of the made in Mexico series. The 2006 were upgraded with newly voiced pickups and the jumbo frets. I bought it at a Guitar Center Labor Day blowout sale. It was just over $350 at this sale and came with a little Crate amp which I use when I am repairing guitars.

21 frets which have become a little pokey on the sides, but I would attribute that to the dry New Mexico climate more than the guitar. However, that does show that the wood of this guitar is still changing. The body is a very nice one-piece alder. It has very slight figuring in the back and looks like a nice piece of wood. Dense and slightly heavy. Maple fretboard and one piece-neck. It's a very attractive guitar and looks very classic. Strings go through body, adding to the resonance.

I play a pretty big variety of music from surf twang, to more modern rock and feedbacky wall-of-noise stuff. The Tele is perfect for all those styles. It's more versatile than older Teles. I used to have a late 60's Tele which was more of a one-trick pony.

This guitar is VERY loud plugged in. I was shocked at how loud it is. It's easily as loud as my Gibson Les Paul. Of course, it has the 60 cycle hum in just about all positions, but that's a given with these pickups.

What I like is that it gets the classic Tele sound, but can actually dish out some pretty thick tones. It won't put my LP out of business, but the tone can thicken more than you might anticipate.

I'm using it with a Vox AC30, a Blackface Fender Twin, and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. My pedalboard has the usual (Tube Screamer, Tremolo, Line 6 DL4 delay, noise supression, EQ, etc). It's a pretty classic professional setup.

I can't say there's anything I dislike about the sound. It's not as bright in the bridge pickup as I remember Tele's to be. It's a little darker than an old Tele. It's bright, mind you...just not that super icy bright that a Tele can usually dish out.

Beautifully set-up at the factory. Perfect action, perfect arch to the strings, and a great truss rod adjustment. In the store, I played it for an hour, really happy with the setup. I usually tweak the heck out of guitars before I'm happy. Not in this case. I just threw some .010's on it when I got home and it was perfect.

Here's the thing that pleased me: I've had it for several months now and with the weather change, the truss rod needed a routine adjustment. I was amazed at how responsive the truss rod is! I mean REALLY responsive. The neck really changed with the adjustment and it wasn't a struggle to get it to turn. It rivals my Les Paul's responsiveness. This was a very pleasant surprise to me. Now it feels wonderful. The action is as low as I have ever seen in my more expensive guitars and it plays clean up and down the neck. I have to give Fender some serious kudos on this. This is my 5th Fender guitar and by far, the most advanced (the others were all American-made, by the way).

As I mentioned before, the one flaw that bothers me is that the frets are getting a little prickly at the sides of the fretboard. But again, I think that's because New Mexico is so dry and it's making the fretboard shrink. It's very common with all my guitars. It's an easy fix, that's for sure.

Overall, I am very pleased.

Hey, the hardware on this is fantastic. It's all quite heavy-duty. The tuners on this will last forever. The bridge is very solid and I can't imagine the sweatiest hands eating through the finish on this thing. I have a vintage style bridge on my Stratocaster and that looks a lot more susceptible to wear and tear. This looks a lot more solid.

Of course, there is the modern poly coating to the finish, which could repel bullets. I imagine that robs from the tone of the guitar, but makes it more durable. A nitrocellulose coating would allow this guitar to breath, but then you have to baby it. My Les Paul gets a ding if you look at it the wrong way.

I would gig without a backup, sure. I have many times. I know other pros who say I'm crazy, but I haven't broken a string playing live ever. That's just my style.

Yes, the strap buttons are solid. As far as I can tell. Of course, I've ripped strap buttons out of more expensive guitars to me. That isn't a factor when I buy a guitar.

I cannot rate this. I've never dealt with Fender. Many years ago, I did have an American Strat that had a warped neck. It was terrible. But after replacing the frets and everything else, I am sure I voided any warranty it did have, so I didn't bother calling them.

I've been playing 24 years now. I own a stack of guitars, a million effects, and all-tube amps.

There was nothing to ask before buying this guitar. It's a standard Telecaster. You buy it and play it.

If it were stolen or lost, I would most certainly use the insurance money to buy the exact-same guitar. I just had that conversation with someone this morning and I would find the exact model and buy it again.

I love the classic looks, classic sound, classic feel. I also love how it has some hidden tricks up it's sleeve and gets some very non-Tele sounds as well as the classic Tele twang. There is absolutely nothing I hate about this guitar.

Yes, I compared it with some of the more expensive Tele's the store had. The only ones that matched it in my opinion were the american Deluxe models, but those were $1,000 more than this one. The other models (Highway One, 72 Deluxe, etc) weren't as well set-up and were more quirky in their attempt to recreate the vintage vibe. This was much more versatile. I chose this because of it's comfort level. I was willing to pay for the more expensive models just short of the Deluxe, but I opted for this one.

The one last thing I would like to share is that Harmony Central has gone from being the ultimate site of reviews to being really unreliable because of the idiots who post on here. I never knew musicians were as stupid and foul-mouthed as everyone else thinks we are. I absolutely hate to read a review from some kid with a vocabulary of four words talking about how much the guitar sucks and how he wanted to smash it, then you read he's been playing guitar for 6 months. I am also dismayed at how these guitarists cannot write a review without spewing profanities like a sewer. In my opinion, if someone cannot write a precise review without vomiting cuss words, I have no interest in what they have to say about a guitar. I will only listen to professionals, and those who love the art of guitar enough to write a comprehensive and detailed review. Anyone else is just a stupid kid who should keep to his day job of flipping burgers.

1953 ORIGINAL ESQUIRE TELE..(single neck pickup tele..even has route for neck pickupunder pickguard) my dad bought new. I was hesitent to leave the review as I don't wan to 'highbrow" in any way..just so happened whne I was a year old Dad bought it and I just had it refreted. It's NOT mint.. been through 2 fires and the Nitro finish is kinda screwy around the nech joint. The back of the neck is completely worn smooth from my Dad. If some wonder why people pay so much you would just have to hold it and play a nice open G. There is no other teles ever made that SOUND SO HUGE..something about the virgin alder wood that Leo probably guessed at and bought a bunch of it. This is the loudest cleanest sound I have ever heard..it just screams and sustains. Even the original Kluson tuners stay in tune at a gig all night..The reissues are nice..I played the 60th anniversary HIGH $ one and it isn't even close...it's the wood and age I guess.LINDY FRALIN personally rewound the pickup for $60 with freight..he is the KING of tele pickups and rewinding. Features?..naahh..just the best sound I have ever heard.. from 87' PRS I bought new to other Fender teles and Gibson..Hamer..Parker Fly..etc That monster tone & sound IS the feature.

Right after the very nervous refret which turned out great, I took it to a gig. I had the PRS set up for the rectoverb and just thought the second set I'd plug in and wham!!! ..the guys in the band looked around as I hit the old open G with jaws agape...so I wen into Honky Tonk by the stones and it was heaven...I haven't put it down for the last few gigs. Rich..bright..belltone..and the overdrive is straight up stoned and beyond. If you ever have the $ as I don't these with cosmetic wear can be had for 18 to 30,000...worth every penny and will go up in price. I have had much better players play it and a big grin is always guatanteed..."wow man..unreal".. is very common.

The mostimportant setup on a tele is the nut...so important..Joey Burrel from Brandon is the genius that did mine and the sixth string is just has a slight groove...not a "channel"..BONE only...find someone who knows how to "shallow set" a nut a get him to put one on your tele..bone only..you will be amazed...low action only is the result..but man the tone is worth it. I didn't mess with anything else...It's just so hard to believe how this 53 year old guitar puts the newer ones to shame..it's weird..I mean How did Leo know what kind of wood? what kind of neck joint?..pickups?..the iconic bridge?..the string trees?..what size frets..etc..etc...Maple will never sound like this..as I have quite a few guitars..

haa! well I guess this question answers itself...one refret and one rewound pickup in 53 years!!

I have no clue but I have been told the Fender Custom shop would nornally be the ones to do a refret..no way I was letting this guitar get more than 90 miles from me...I wouldn't take any amount of money for it..well maybe..

Been playing since I started on this guitar at 12..I'm 55 now..Yea I wish I could have asked my Dad to buy 20 more..he paid $128 plus case.
Oh it will not be stolen...yea I would find 30,000 or more if I lost it to get another..no doubt. Well other teles don't compare..that's why Danny Gatton and Bruce Springsting played 53's. In fact one of Bruce's first albums has him and a 53 Esquire..blond.
I'd judt like to say if you ever have the $ and opportunity..buy it!
God Bless Leo Fender..he started it all man!!!

Left handed standard Mexican Telecaster, cream in colour with white scratchplate. Per serial number made in 2003. Maple neck and fretboard and 21 frets with black dot markers in the usual place. No gimmicks, whistles or bells but perfect for R & R!!!

The stock pick ups aren???t too great, the bridge pick up is too spiky and brash, it sounds cheap. The neck pick up is more refined but still not much better than average. I???ve got a ???Jim Reed??? telecaster that has Kent Armstrong pick-ups in that sound much better. The tone/volume pots suffer from ???all or nothing??? as well ??? they are either full on or off.
Having said that the guitar does sound nice unplugged so replacing the pick ups with Seymour Duncans and getting decent pots will probably improve it ten-fold.

Got this second hand but it was in pretty good nick apart from a nasty bang on the body at the top. No fret buzz or string choking. Paint job is nice and evenly applied.

A1 perfecto!

Never needed to contact Fender.

Nice and basic Fender Tele. Easy to play and well made ??? it???s only let down by electrics but they are easy to replace. Budget an extra 100 GBPs if you???re buying to make it giggable.

Single Coil direct replacement pickups wound by Lindy Fralin. These pickups are not noiseless and have a little bit of hum but that shoud be taken care of with the proper shielding of the guitar. These pickups are wound to be flat in response and are cryogenically treated to remove harsh overtones. ( what this does is basically "ages" the metal in the pickups and makes them more dense as a naturally 50 year old pick up would be but in a brand new product, for example)the tone is incredible, high output, very clear and even. They come stock with a plate on teh bridge pickup to increase sustain and it definately does. They use a hybrid magnet set up each matched to the string base don harmonics and tonal tendancies.

I installed these into a 2003 69' Thinline reissue guitar ( mexican) I think its funny, all you have to do is say mexican adn people go running...the fit and finish on this guitar is amazing... its perfect I cant find anything wrong with it... imean its not your standard mexi series either ya know. I though the stock pickups were harsh and plastic sounding. This fixed it right up. The other mods I have done to the guitar: 250K pots, Switchcraft jack adn switch, I also installed a .047mfd orange drop capacitor( all from callaham guitars). The other mod I have is the Callaham bridge... amazing piece seriously....the stock is so flimsey and just so cheaply made- this should be the first thing any tele player does to their guitar.

The output level is a tad hotter than stock, but Callaham waxes it one extra time for noise reduction. These pickups are also not overwound. The tone is very balanced..although maybe a tad bassy at times...who has ever complained about that from a tele? the tone is very clear. I was in the studio sunday and I was blown away by it.I play mostly Alternative/rock kind of stuff ( Our Lady Peace, Flickerstick, fuel ect..) it works really well along side my Gretsch New Jet.

I woul definately buy it again. I would recommend any of callaham guitars products to anyone and everyone. I am not a boutique type person and I have never changed pickups before I am very glad I did.

Fender Mexican Telecaster. Year? Umm.. probably 2001-ish. standard telecaster single coils at bridge and neck. sunburst color. i changed the bridge pickup, pickguard, and added a copper static shield under the pickguard.

The guitar sounded awesome. I was surprised that it rocked so much stock out of the box. I added a Seymour Duncan "Vintage for Broadcaster" bridge pickup, and that thing makes it oh so sweeter. i've played thru a number of amps with it. Fender Hot Rod Deville 410, Traynor YCV40, Vox Pathfinder 15r, and finally, my most recent aquisition, a Fender Blues Jr. Sounds awesome thru everything. I play light gain/natural breakup indie rock type sounds mixed with a little blues and rock. If you've ever hear Built to Spill, that's the array of sounds I like to use, and the Tele is ideal for all of them.

Stock, I had a static problem... when your fingertips would touch the pickguard while strumming, picking, you'd hear a snap, crackle, pop thru the amp. i added a copper shield underneath the pickguard. it took a while for whatever that static was to wear off, but now that it's gone, it stayed gone. big improvement.

the sunburst finish on these mexican teles is real nice. looks much better if you ditch the white pickguard unless you like that sorta thing. a black or tortoiseshell pickguard looks way cooler with the sunbury in my opinion. the action on this guitar is incredible. for a 350 dollar guitar, i can hardly believe how sweet this thing plays. forget the american version, just keep trying out mexican ones till you find one that plays sweet, then throw in another 50 bucks for a killer pickup and you have one hell of an axe.

this thing is solid as hell. pretty heavy, i like that. there's no normal guitar rock antics this thing can't take. i bend strings like crazy, and manually tremolo the neck sometimes too, this guitar is tough as nails.. built to be rocked.

never had to deal with fender for anything. all their products have served me rather well over the years. definitely my favorite guitars and amps.

I've been playing for about 17 years. I also play an Epiphone SG, neckthru body style. not one of the real cheapies, kinda middle of the road, with a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat bridge pickup and Les Paul neck pickup. My main amp right now is a Fender Blues Junior thru a 2x12 open back cab loaded with one Vintage 30 and one G12H Anniversary speaker. I also use a Vox Pathfinder 15r. these little amps are awesome, best 140 dollars i ever spent.

telecasters are my favorite type of guitars, and i just couldn't see dropping close to a grand on an american model. and i'm glad i didn't , my mexi tele rocks.

2002 Mexican-made standard Tele, two pickups, two pots, one switch, maple neck, six-tailpiece bridge, white pickguard with black finish, absolutely rock-standard off-the shelf model. Haven't messed with it in any way except that I took off the factory strap buttons and replaced them with buttons for a strap lock, because it occasionally slips out of the strap. Nicknamed it "Marcos", after the celebrated spokesman of the Zapatista movement - I like to think some of those guys know people who've worked for nothing in the Fender plant.

I play for fun, pretty much anything except what passes these days for metal - punk, country, blues, grunge, 70s rock, swing, bebop, free improv, weird experimental ambient nonsense, all of it equally badly but with enthusiasm. The beauty of this Tele is that it has a very plain sonic personality - it's not noticeably fluid and trebly like a Strat, nor does it insist on being cranked up to 11 like my Epiphone LP 100. The neck pickup is a little mushy but that's its only idiosyncrasy, and I think that goes with having a Tele in the first place. The switching is quiet and it goes smoothly from polite country runs to screaming punk terror with no dead moments. At first I was unused to how far apart the strings are, and discovered to my horror that I was a far worse player than I thought I was, but I took this to mean that I should up my game. A Tele really puts manners on you as a player and makes you sound like yourself. I respect that.

I don't like the way the little metal cups that hold the string-ends on the back of the guitar have a way of falling out onto the ground while you change strings, but I suppose I could glue them in. Also the B string tuner has a way of sliding gently out of tune more often than seems normal. I always stretch new strings and I often play extremely hard, and it's tricky to keep this thing in perfect tuning for more than half an hour at a time. But maybe it's the way I play.

I think I could probably use this thing to repel intruders from my house without doing it any serious damage. Teles are a living reminder of the fact that an electric is a lot closer to a machine tool than it is to an acoustic. The finish is exceptionally tough, although the pickguard has lost its original gleam thanks to me playing Minutemen tunes with a metal pick.

I've been playing for 20 years and this is so far my favourite guitar, although it's easily the toughest to play that I've ever known - I also have a battered old Squier Strat, a temperamental Epiphone LP 100 and a lovely old Yamaha dreadnought. (One of these days I must rationalise.) It has a big, strong, simple personality that forces you to really play it - you can't just zip up and down the neck, got to dig in and hit the damn strings with both hands. Amazing that Mr. Fender got it so right on his first go. I'd never sell it, and the only person I'd give it to would be a child of my own - if s/he can learn to play on this, everything afterwards would be a doddle. It's solid, sturdy, sounds great, looks cool, and it has no airs or graces. A thing of beauty.

I actually put this Telecaster together from a body and neck I bought from ebay and electrics that I bought at a music store. This guitar is @#$%^& ugly. I call it my "uglycaster". The body comes off of a 92 USA Traditional Fender Telecaster. It's a top loader, not string through body. The neck came from a 99 standard MIM Mexico telecaster. I put a top loading, hardtail bridge on it with graphite saddles and a graphite nut. It has a solid top and I painted it a walnut color but as this was my first paint job ever, it turned out looking like $%^&. My wife said it had character, so I just went about making it uglier. Sprayed some orange paint on it, splattered orange, red, yellow and blue paint all over it, drug it by the neck across the gravel driveway a few times, hit it with a hammer and then put a clear varnish over it. Ugly. I put Vintage Noiseless Pickups in it, Fender custom shop pots, and a beat up old tele pickguard along with a 3 way selector. The neck is maple and maple fretboard with 21 medium frets. It looks like an old, beat up, well used tele. It doesn't have many features as no tele does, so you can't max it out but this is a damn good guitar and it is the one I play the most out of the 11 guitars I have. I have probably close to $300 in the guitar.

I play blues, blues rock, classic rock, country, electric folk and hard rock with this guitar. It suits it all very well and sounds like a $3,000 guitar and I bullshit you not. VERY Keith Richards sounding guitar. I've got 3 amps at home, one being a Fender Super Reverb (all tube), a hybrid Marshall Valvestate 40 watt amp (tube preamp - solid state electrics) and a little bitty Marshall MG10CD. Sounds great on all the amps, but sounds the best on the Fender. For some reason to me, Fender guitars sound best on Fender Amps. My Les Pauls sound best on the Marshalls. This has the Vintage Noiseless Pickups which are stacked humbuckers so it doesn't make any noise at all. Tele's are NOT versatile guitars. It has a tone that fits basically all types of music, depending on your pickup position but you can't get that "quack" out of it and you aren't going to get that beefy dark les paul tone out of it either, so metalheads - tele's probably aren't what you are looking for unless you get one of the 2 humbucker models. Very nice country twang, good grunge and punk rock sounds on the bridge pickup, middle position is good for classic rock and neck pickup has a very sweet blues and jazz tone. I love this guitar. It has great tone, plays very well, neck fast as greased cat shit and because of its looks - a lot of personality.

Well, I did all this myself. Action is perfect for me and I do like it a little higher than most people. Pickups are adjusted perfectly. Flaws? This guitar is intentionally flawed.

I have no doubt this guitar would withstand live playing. I don't gig myself, just collect guitars, tinker with them, remodel them and play the hell out of them but this mo fo is tuff. Hardware is top of the line fender, no aftermarket stuff. As far as the finish is concerned, well it looks like crap, but I made it that way, but I had a hard time putting dents and scratches in this thing. I drug it across the gravel driveway beat it with a hammer and it still took a lot of time to @$%^ it up the way I wanted it. I have oversized strap buttons on it. It's very dependable. I've been playing the hell out of it for 5 years now.

Been playing for 25 years and building or remodeling them for 6 years now. I'm a tech, so I can do all my work. I have 11 electric guitars, all strats, teles or les pauls and I have 5 acoustic guitars, all gibsons. I don't hate anything at all about this or any guitar I own. I love them enough to say that NONE of them are for sale.

This is a hybrid guitar. Standard tele features with some changes. Laminated top. Has one volume and one tone pot, 3 way selector and has a Fender Vintage Noiseless Stacked Humbucker at the bridge and a Gibson stacked P-100 Humbucker at the neck. The body is made of Alder and came off of a made in China Rockstar Telecaster Copy. The neck is maple and comes off of a made in Mexico Standard Telecaster. It's a natural color with a red tortoise shell pickguard, with a cream pickup cover for the P-100 pickup, and a cream selector switch top. I put a vintage bridge from a 52 telecaster on it and I converted it to string through body. All the electronics are Fender. I put Schaller locking tuners on it. Neck is very fast with medium frets and I made a case out of maple and velvet for it. I do most of my work myself. I pat myself on the back and say that this tele really WOWs people when they see it and hear it. It looks great, plays great, sounds great and the Rockstar body (which is thin like a Squier Affinity Strat) makes it easy on the back because it is light. I'll be modest with my own guitar building and give it a 9, but I bet you would give it a 10.

It is exactly what I want for a lot of my music. I like pure, no nonsense rock and roll - classic rock, hard rock and blues rock. That's it. Don't give a fuck about anything else. This guitar does it very well. Running it through a Marshall MG30DFX and that does the trick. I have a footswitch for changing channels and that's all I need. It's got the Fender Vintage Noiseless pickup at the bridge and that P-100 at the neck so you can go from Twang to fucking Bang at the flick of a switch. Very versatile. Anything from Hard rock to classic rock to blues rock, pure blues, country - shit it will even hang in there with metal. I love everything about it - I built the mother fucker. Again, I'll be modest and give it a 9, but again, you would give it a 10.

Don't know. Bought it in pieces and put it all together. Everything is adjusted perfectly for me. I set it up.

Well, I been banging away on this fucker for about 2 years now but I never gigged with it. Along came a baby girl and I missed my first children growing up because of music, so I'm a stay home - play home dad now. It will most definitely handle gigs, but I wouldn't gig without a backup even if I had one of those $4,000 Merle Haggard Tribute models.

Never dealt with Fender. I do better work than they do though.

I'm 54, been playing since I was 10. I have a lot of shit, mostly I make my own guitars or at least highly modify them. I'd track the mother fucker that steals this down and rip his head off and shit down his throat. I won't lose it. It's priceless.

Mine was made in 1976. It's simple. It's clean (time capsule clean). It's all natural (in finish and equipment). And it's a Tele; a cutting board with a long handle and a few strings attached ;-)
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Ash body. Natural stain (gorgeous knotted wood on back; very unique). All original. And in virtual museum quality condition.
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I give it a 10 here only because it's a Tele...and ya can't want too much in the way of features or you wouldn't want a Tele.

While my musical style ranges a bit, I'm more into jazz 'n blues than anything. For blues, it is sweet. For jazz, it's far too thin...but am liking it more and more. Odd, I know.
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This particular Telecaster has all the snarl, bite and bark you might associate with a Telecaster, yet also possessed the warmest neck pickup of any Fender I've ever played. And more versatile than I ever figured a Tele could be.

Have to trim my rating to a 9 on this one. While it's a beauty, the upper frets weren't rounded enough or polished. However, I guess I'm a bit spoiled with custom shop guitars and am used to having everything made as it should have been made; by a person, not a machine. Everything else is perfect; tight neck pocket, great fit, and the most beautifully unique wood I've ever seen on a Telecaster.
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Only thing on my Tele wish list, just in case Santa-Fender is listening in: Please bring me a Tele with a wider nut width; 1 11/16" would be nice. Thanks.

Built like a tank. Body. Neck. Knobs. Switch. Abuse it? Don't know why anyone would. But you could...and it'd keep twangin' 'til Tuesday.

Don't know. Never tried calling them.

Yeah, I paid a pretty penny for it...but it was in MINT condition. No, I don't mean, eBay-promised "mint" condition. I mean, like right out of the friggin' factory wrap not a spec of use on the thing MINT condition. Yes, a lot for a Tele...but --- hell, even the case was MINT...and the sound was warmer than any Tele I'd seen.
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Once took it into my local GC. Plugged it in. Then proceeded to play and compare it to every other low- to top-end custom shop & relic Tele in the place. Blew them all away. Customers kept stopping by asking what model it was and its price. Then they'd go up to the GC guy and ask if they could order one. He'd come over and then have to tell them that without a time machine there was nothing he could do.
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Have had many offers for it; last one was upwards of $2800. Must be crazy...but I can't part with it just yet. Only reason it gets a 9 and not a 10 is: I had to pay a ton for it...that and I'd really like that wider neck/nut width. Yes, I know Fender doesn't make it...but I'm wishing.

Hey...it's a boat paddle with string and a couple a pickups! Features? We don't need no ostinking features......

It's a tele! If you play a tele, you know how this baby sounds. Many out there have a dislike for 70's Fenders. I sure did ( pre-concieved from other peoples opinions ) till I happened on this one. This is a great guitar. It was originally a creamy white color and has turned into a butterscotch pudding ( not like the 52 RI though ) yellowish color over the years. I bought it from an old fart that had it sitting in his closet since 1974. The action is low. The bridge pickup is pretty darn twangy with the classic spank leading the way. The neck pickup really surprised me. Far from being muffled and weak, it has a beatiful, bluesy tone and matches well volume wise with the bridge unit. The first thing I did was wire up a new control plate with 250K pots and a new three way. I carefully stored the original with it's 1meg pots. If I ever decide to sell it, I'll re-install or include the original plate. The 250's warmed up the tone and the taper of the vol and tone are now what I expect. The 1megs were more like on/off switches!

Cna't comment on the factory action, fit and finish as I got it 33 years after it was made, but as Fenders do, it has held up very well.

Teles have to be the most relaible electric ever made. As far as gigging without a backup, I have in years past when all I had was one guitar. These day's I have 19...but I still gig with one as I'm too damn lazy to carry more than that to a gig. My homebrew USACG tele is my #1. It's actually a far superior instrument in tone, playabilty and feel to the 71. Don't get me wrong, the 71 is plenty cool and a great guitar. If it was all I had, I'd be a happy man. That said, the homebrew is so nice I hardly play anything else....but since ths is about the 71, nuff said. Teles are jsut cool guitars. I have three right now and my eye is always peeled for another. I prefer the ones I make to the store bought Fenders, but the Fenders are nice.

See the review from "brandonito" below, which I wrote right after I got this guitar. Pretty normal '70s Tele...not a ton of features, but it doesn't need them, and it does what it does VERY well.

After playing this guitar as my main instrument for 5 years now, I have to say it's really propelled my playing to new levels. And it DOES get a dark tone, as well, it's just that now I know what to do with it! I use it all the time with a variety of amps (Marshall, couple of old Gibsons, Silvertone), and it's always toneful and very versatile. TELES RULE!!!

Aside from the weight, it's great!

Built like a brick shithouse. has proven to be gigworthy.

FENDER CS SUCKS!!!

Indispensible. If I could only have one, this'd be it.

2003 Mexican Telecaster in "brown" sunburst. I'd call it tobacco but I think that's a rude word in the States now. Not sure of the body material but it looks like one piece. The neck is maple and seems to be one piece - no separate fingerboard. I'm not sure what profile & radius it is, nor what size the frets are. I haven't counted them either! Fender enthusiasts will know. Angled pickup at the bridge & covered chrome at the neck - both single coil. 3 way selector switch, rotary master tone & volume controls, all in chrome. Don't know what type the tuners are but they're chrome too & do what they're supposed to. That's it - simplicity itself. Can't rate it too highly for features but if you want a Telecaster this is what you want.

Now this is what it's all about. With the stock set of 9-42 strings this sounds exactly as the Telecaster is supposed to, and has done since it was first designed. Purists will say that modern materials, electrics & pickups have altered the true Telecaster sound somewhat, but that characteristic twang & bright jangly tone is there, and the neck pickup gives you that nice beefy Keef Richards rythm tone. The pickups give a fair bit of buzz & hiss on high gain, but this is what you'd expect. Played clean with the bridge pickup & the tone wound up it gives a lovely clear jingly-jangly sound more like a Rickenbacker, and overdriven would cut through anything. Think Radiohead in "The Bends" mode. I play mainly Indie/rock style stuff, & particularly like this for single-note picking 'cos the separation is good. I play through a Boss GT-3 into either a Kramer 15W solid-state or (more usually) headphones. I've found I have to have a dedicated set of sound patches for each guitar because of the difference in output & tone - what sounds good with my Les Paul generally doesn't work well with the Telecaster.

Having been a Gibson/Epiphone officianado for the last 4 years, I pretty much assumed that Fender would be the poor cousin, but I was pleasantly surprised at how solid this guitar is. It weighs nearly as much as the Epiphone Les Paul, and the neck feels lovely & smooth & beefy. Your fingers fly round the bottom two thirds of the fingerboard with no problem at all, the only part I'm not too keen on is the way the action was set - a little too high for my liking, making upper register stuff a bit sticky. Although over a year old, mine has no flaws at all that I can see apart from a very slight dent on the neck, and it looks & feels as though it can withstand pretty much anything that my other guitars could under normal use. The quality of fit & finish is fine - no gaps or misalignment anywhere, all the frets are set well & unworn, & the intonation from the 6 adjustable saddles is perfect to my ear anyway. I like the way the maple fingerboard looks - I'm used to rosewood, but the way this has been polished makes it look a bit like a pale version of burr walnut. The body has nice graining where it's visible through the finish, but it actually looks better on the back. I wonder if this one was supposed to be a lefty & somebody at the factory got confused.

I don't play live (believe me, the world is a better place without it) but I've no doubt it could be relied on as my only guitar in a live situation. The only thing is, I can't imagine not using my Les Paul for most of the gig, & swapping to this when the song needed something a little breezier. As I've only had it about a month so far, reliabilty remains to be seen.

Never dealt with them & hope I never have to, although I've heard Fender Europe are quite helpful when it comes to problems. Surely most of us would nip down to our local guitar shop, though.

I've been at it 4 years, & also own an Epiphone Les Paul standard, an Epiphone Zephyr Regent archtop electric/acoustics & a truly awful Encore Strat rip-off (OK, it was my first guitar & I didn't want to spend too much). If it was lost or stolen I don't think I'd be quite as gutted as if I lost the Les Paul, but I've hankered for a Telecaster for a long time because of it's simplicity & tone so I'd probably replace it eventually. Incidentally, I don't think it's worth coughing up the extra for the American version - I looked at a few & I don't reckon they are as good for fit & finish as the Japs or Mex's. Sorry, guys.

I bought this guitar in 77 can't remember the cost not much by todays standard.
It has the standard configeration, two single coils, 5 way switch, vol,tone controls. It's finished in blond laminate with maple neck and fingerboard, made in Japan.

Likes,You can't mistake the sound of a Tele',dislikes, the same.
That may seem a little harsh, this was my main guitar for many years and served me well.

As far as i can remember this guitar only needed a little fettling to stop some E-string buzzing.
The finish was good, though not outstanding and the tone pot was slightly bent. I managed to get the action quite low without buzz and without the need to mess with the truss rod.

Can I depend on it, well yes, it never let me down.
It has gained a few marks and chips over the years and there's very slight wear on the fist frett of the A string but it still plays well.
Over the last few years the electrics have become a little troublesome, soldered joints breaking, humming, but nothing that can't be fixed.

Never had to contact them.

I've been playing for about 30 years now and still enjoy getting the old girl out to play, would I get another one-yes. Good guitars have a sound of their own and the Telecaster is one of the good ones

Standard Telecaster with no vibrato, maple neck, black finish. Old style bridge. Standard tele pickups. Basic Guitar.........

For playing country music it is a must have............

This guitar was set up great when I picked it up from the store

I have had this guitar since 1978 and it has spent many nights from a smokey bar room to outside in the rain, to everything in between.

Never had to deal with Fender

Been playing since 1969 and the Tele is the best playing electric I have ever had hands down.I don't play much any more but I will never get rid of the Tele...I have owned a Gibson SG (1969) an Epiphone electric(a 335 copy), an Ibanez, a Carvin, a Fender Jaguar, a Fender Stratocaster, A Peavey, and countless flattops. There is nothing like a Tele. The only bad thing is when on stage, if you have a loud stage volume they feed back quite a lot. It just sounds like a mike squeel. (Drives sound men nuts). I could have changed the pickups but then it would not be quite the same as a standard Tele so I opted to live with the feedback..........

This is a great guitar. With 21 frets, two volume controls, 3-way toggle switch this guitar id very versitile. I enjoy playing a variety of different musics from rock to blues. I like the toggle switch in witch you can change from a beefy humbucking sound to more of a strat sound. My particular guitar is of the tri burst sunburst color.

ON this guitar it suits my style of music. I play rock music from classical rock to modern rock. I use a Crate gfx halfstack. On this amp my guitar sounds great. I use chorus, chrous flange, grunge distortion ect. ON the strat sound on this guitar it sounds very smoot and bright. you can make a variety of different sounds on thios guitar and that is what I like best about it.

THe action and the set-up of the guitar are great. THe pickups could have used a tad of adjustment but were overall very good. On my particular guiatr there were no such flaws.

This guitar will definetly withstand live p[laying. have even used it during live shows. The hardware on this guitar is amazing. I think this guitar will last me a life time. This guitar is a dependable guitar and I don't need a backup during live performances.

Overall, this guitar is just wonderful. After playing this guitar for a year now I have fallen in love with it. I like how on this guitar you change from a humbucking sound to a great strat sound. If I ever lost this guitar I would definetly by another one of these.

This review is for my Fender Standard Telecaster (Made in Mexico)
Basic Specs:
Traditional Telecaster poplar body
Maple neck and fretboard
Die-cast machine heads
Standard Tele pickups (neck & bridge)
3-position blade controls
Master volume, master tone
3-ply white pickguard
Standard Tele bridge with 6 saddles
This Made in Mexico Telecaster has to be among the best Values in all of Fender's lineups. I am a telecaster fanatic and own a custom shop tele, '52 reiisue, American, and a Nocaster. This guitar really holds it's own with the top $$ teles.

For features I give it a 9 simply becasue, well, it's a tele and at this price level there no goodies included like a gig bag or case (though I bought the Fender deluze gig bag for it). Teles prove you don't need alot of features for a time tested unique sound.

Ohh the sound. I honestly find only slight tone (twang) difference beteen this MIM standard and my American teles. ISince most people buying this Tele would also buy value amps, I'll mention this Standard Tele sounds very traditional, rich and typical tele through my smaller Frontman 25 amp (which is a great amp for the money too).
So a 10 for the sound from this Standard.

Once again Made in Mexico no longer means "cheap" from what I am seeing and hearing out this guitar. I have the Brown Sunburst which rivals some of the best fininshes I have ever seen, period. The action on this guitar was set very well. WSo well, that I have yet to make any adjustments. Everything fits well and again the assembly of this tele rivals that of the american teles I own. For all of this I must give a 10 rating a the suprise of the year for me.

C'mon this is a fender tele. Timex probably made up that saying by looking at a telecaster first. I expect this guitar to be around for generations to come.

I only dealt directly with fender once back in '98, and was quite pleased with thefriendly treatment I received for a not so important issue (replacement tuning knob). The Fender rep had me go to my authorized Fender dealer where it was quickly exchanged. Their website for speficific inforamtion is also tops - which I was able to obtain other info I needed through their site! So for their very well laid out web site chock full of data, and the one-time contact a few years back, I give Fender high marks in this category.

Again, this is not only a value leader, this is a solid guitar worthy of playing with teles 5x the price. I highly recommend this guitar to all skill level players.

1995 American CS - 22 medium jumbo frets. Body is sundurst light weight ash. It's a 2 pu - typical tele bridge and Sermor Duncan flat strat pu in the neck spot. It's typical passive electronics but wired in series instead of usual parallel so whwn selector is in mid position the output goes up. the neck is map;e but with an ebony board. The neck is big but one step down from the baseball bat deal. Very soft V with a skunk stripe. Tuners are typical vintage tele with the exception of the low E which is fitted with a Kieth banjo tuner (set to detune to a D). It's fitted with a b-bender- the Parsons-white style- not the Green type used on the Nashville b-bender model. The pickguard is tortoise shell 3 ply.

my setup is tele (usually)>>>carl martin compressor>>>fulltone CS deja vibe>>>budda wah>>>>budda phatman (12ax7s changed to Raytheon blackplates)>>>>TS10 with Keeley mod>>>>Guyatone MD3 echo (the tiny blue box)>>>Gibson GA15RV. I play pop-rock, 60s rock, R+B, rockabilly, funk. The people I gig with do stuff 30 - 60 year olds like - fun, dance stuff - no dark message music. I'm a pick and fingers player - lead style rhythm if you know what I mean. I have owned 5 teles over the years. This one is larger sounding than the others - A bit more sedate than my older maple neck tele clone but brighter than my rosewood neck tele. This is my only tele where the volume knob is really useable (maybe because it's wired in series) I get more variety of tone with this one - strat sounds on the neck, etc. It hums a bit (all good pickups hum) If I want that gnarly cuntry blues tone my maple neck clone is best. But this one is good for doing one gig with one guitar because of the variaty.

I got it used and had some setup work and fret polishing done. He changed the neck pu from a staggered pole alnico which was too mid heavy. The b-bender is as good as my other one. I do this wierd thing where I add heavy rubber bands to avoid inadvertant B string bends. I'm not a country person and don't overuse the bender-I just throw in occassional stuff with it and I also do a lot of behind the nut bends. The big downside of ebony finger boards (one reason not many teles are ebony) is that the wood shrinks forever. The frets needed some shaving down on the edges and the frets are a bit high overall. This is a trade off because the plus is that the ebony sound is BIG. I didn't buy it fore the look but it is pretty. The sunburst ash is nice.

I've had it out a bit. The hardware is decent. I'm a strong arm type player. I like to get my sound from the pick and my fingers and not high volume. I bang on it pretty hard with medium triangle fender picks - scratched up a little. Strap buttons are good. I take a backup.

this doesn't apply.

I've played way too long and have way too much stuff and am looking to acquire more. The ONLY thing lacking is that it doesn't have my perfect neck style which is a 50's strat soft V. This neck is only one click off and this is personal taste anyway. I really like to play in little places where people dance hard and I need a variety of tones and don't like the "digital solution". Of my 22 guitars this one is the most adaptable to all styles. Like all guitar nutcases I REALLY want a different amp and guitar for EACH tune but this tele does ok.

This guitar is a 1968 Telecaster fitted with a early 50's bridge assembly and 50's pickup. I feel it's the best of both worlds as you get the warmth of the rosewood neck and the power of the 50's bridge pickup. (Measured at 9K)

I play indie power pop and it's perfect for my style. I've been using it in the studio through a variety of amps, Matchless HC30, Vox AC10, AC30, and AC50, 59' Tweed Bassman, Callaham EL84R and EL84V and VHT Pittbull 45 112 and Pittbull 50 112.

The guitar sounds amazing through anything it goes through. The pickups have been potted so they are suprisingly very quiet. Overdriven it's very ballsy and hot. Clean it has a lot of sparkle and chime. I'm really not using it too much for clean sounds as I prefer humbuckers for that task, but it really is nice. The main thing I use it for is hot overdrive. Using either a Boss SD-1, Ibanez TS808 or Matchless Hot Box, I can really push this baby. Recording wise it sits very well with humbucker type guitars. The neck is nice and fat, but not uncomfortable. It's really a thing of beauty.

Set up very nicely with 10's....No complaints here.

I don't use it live, but concidering it's 35 years old with a 50+ year old pickup and bridge, it's held up great.

Don't need em, never will.

I don't own this guitar, but thanks to my good friend Larry of Rose Recording, I'm able to use it for my band's debut album. All I can say is thanks. I now see why people seek out vintage instruments. If your lucky enough to find a good one, it's the way to go. It's gonna be very hard for me to go back to my modern guitars, because I've been spoiled by this Tele. Hopefully my band does well, so I can afford to purchase a few cherry vintage axes.

Highway One Telecaster. No features.

Sound covers the audio spectrum from too much bass to too much treble. The tone control really does evenly roll on and off between bass and treble regardless of the 3-way switch setting. Pots are a tad scratchy...almost imperceptible. When the pots hit the stops, I get a microphonic "click" so I have to be careful rolling up. There is a usable and appropriate tonal configuration for just about every style of music on a Tele...covers a lot of ground. Clean sounds are impressive. Slightly broken up sounds are convincing. Full on saturated overdrive works OK but just doesn't go where HB's can.

Action was just right right off the rack. Intonation was perfectly accurate. Bought it from a real guitar store, that may have something to do with the set-up. Finish is a matte lustre...not a high gloss. I can see the grain through the "honey blonde" color. While not a beautiful piece of wood with highly figured grain...it is still very pleasing to the eye. It looks like an old guitar in perfect condition. The look is so plain that I find it beautiful. It seems to say listen to me...don't look at me. The maple neck and fretboard are comfortable all the way up and down on both sides. Neck pocket is snug...no shim. Set screws in the saddles dig into the heel of my hand.

Simple. There are no fancy, delicate or un-necessary features on this instrument. I can't imagine something failing on an electrical or mechanical basis.

I've traded at this music shop for 10 years. I would recomend them to anyone who needed an instrument. Trade locally with a trustworthy shop that employs people who like what they are doing and you won't have customer support problems.

37 years. I have lots of other stuff. This is my 2nd Fender, but my 1st Tele. I'm kicking my ass for waiting so long to get it. I play it through a Fender BJ with no effects. It is a simple guitar...and plugged into a simple amp it provides a full palette of pleasing sounds. It's amazing what can be coaxed out of this basic combination. The best part is I can get sounds out of these relatively new products that sound just like the sounds I got from my 64 Strat and 67 Ampeg back in the day. OK so maybe they are fooling these old ears...but if they are...they're doing a damn good job of it!

I was looking for a tele, but never seemed to find one that had a really good feeling neck on it - I ran across mine, a "antique" yellow colored one with a maple neck while testing some digital amp simulators....and decided that it played really well. Mine was the standard two pickup tele set up, with one lipstick one at the neck and a standard one at the bridge position, three way switch.

Well tone wise at first seemed perfect for what I wanted to do.....Then after payment was made and was playing it at rehearsal, then the guitar went from good to not so good. The pickups were the noisest, scratchiest pickups I had ever on a guitar, without a doubt.

So I did some research and found that Fender made another set of pickups for it (+$110.00, "Noiseless" tele set)so I bought them and installed them. They cut out some noise but the guitar began to pick up another buzz.......So back into the guitar I went. The replacement fender "noiseless" pickups do not include a ground wire and make no mention of adding on in their instructions. So I added a ground wire running from underneath the plate and soldered it onto the back of the volume pot. Had a friend not mentioned that too me I would never have thought to do that, being as it was a brand new guitar and replacement pickups never should have had the problem in the first place.

The neck also seemed to play better in the store.....The neck seems to set itself differently every time I change strings....sometimes to the point it will make a "hollow" sound at the fifth fret, no matter what string (e,a,d,g,b,or high e) is played. It plays ok now but I do not trust it to be consistent all the time. I knew from word go the neck quality was nowhere near Gibson or Rickenbacker quality, but if all else fails I will buy a warmoth neck and just solve that problem for good. The cost of the guitar overall (before the noiseless pickups, but with a case $482.00) still makes it feasible to add stuff onto it without feeling too guilty.

Set up was good on it, probably helped sell me on buying the axe, but I question the neck construction bigtime. It was meant to be an fairly inexpensive mass produced guitar, and sure enough that is exactly what it is.

Although I will probably never buy another new off the rack Fender again (I would just rather build my own, and get it "right" from word go), I wouldn't say to a person "Never buy Fender." The problems I encountered on my axe were fixable and thats exactly what did. The main reason why I will hang onto this guitar is that I am seriously determined to get my money's worth out of it and all the stuff and work that I had to do to it.

It is fairly reliable as an axe, and a nice alternative to a Les Paul/Gibson style setup but I have actually been to auditions where they considered the Tele a setback!! The Noiseless Tele pickups, when grounded correctly do exactly what they should, vintage tele tone without vintage fender pickup squeals and noise. BUT ONLY WHEN IT IS GROUNDED PROPERLY. Paint seems to be good quality, overall it is an upgrade over a squier. Will probably change the saddles to graphite ones at some point in the future, but for will wait until these are well worn

My advise is this: If you plan on buying a Fender......Tack on three hundred to the price tag to afford a nice case and new pickups. Count on getting the axe sorted out before any serious amount of playing time......You will be a lot happier with it.

The customer support from Fender is only good for the original purchaser, and that is only as good the store you bought it from.

I have been playing for about fifteen years, semi pro. I run my axes through Peavey Ultra 120 amp half stacks (tube amps). I use Boss foot pedals and a Korg AX1500G.

My mind was sort of made up, but their will be no next time for me buying a Fender.

No, If I had to have another Fender type product I would just build it myself and get it right the first time.

It does have a good feeling design to it, nice and simple for stage use, when set up right a good axe for blues, rock or country. It definitely has that Fender twang to it but mine seems a little "fatter" sounding with the Noiseless Tele pickups, overall very versatile tone-wise. But take the stock pickups out and toss them over your shoulder and forget about them from word go. They are that bad. Not too bad money wise even after the pickups.

For those reading this, the tele needs no introduction.....or list of (non) features. It's as basic as a guitar can be. All you need and nothing you don't. The first modern production guitar and ( as many say ) the best! The 10 rating indicates it has "tons of features"....as we tele lovers know, it does not. Again, it has the features needed to make great, beautiful music! This one has turned a rich, velvety butterscotch color over the years. Lift the 3 ply whitish / fading P/G and you can see the original blonde color. After all these years, it still plays like butter, keeps in tune and sounds twangy and rich. This one came with the original case and a cancelled check from the guy I got it from. He bought it in 1974 for $140 from a pawn shop.

This guitar would suit pretty much any style of playing you can throw at it except that detuned, death metal creamed Korn style. Great for country, blues, jazz, rock, pop, folk, reggae, world, etc. This particular guitar had the infamous 1meg vol & tone pots. I took the whole control plate off, put it away in a safe place and dropped in another one I soldered up with 250K CTS pots, new 3 way and new caps. Doing this smoothed the tone out considerably and did away with the ice pick treble. Actually, I was suprised how good it sounded with the 1megs. The stock neck pickup sounds very, very good. The bridge pickup ( while not as good as some I've heard )twangs pretty darn good. I have another homebrew USACG tele that out plays this and sounds much better, but for this baby's pretty darn good for a 70's tele. A lot of people pooh pooh 70's teles. I happen to think they are fine guitars.

The action on this baby is low and fast. I prefer the action a bit higher, but since my other tele is my #1, I keep this one as is. No gap in the neck joint. Nice weight...not to heavy, but no feather. Nice finish...you can see a bit of the the ash grain. It's 33 years old and it looks and feels great. A very good, workhorse tele. Of course, you can say that about pretty much any tele!

Reliable?? Durable?? Are you kidding me!!?? It's a tele for crying out loud! You could use it to paddle to a gig, smack a few rowdies, plug in and play the gig without ever tuning it! Back when I was gigging, I could not afford a backup, so I usually played the gig with one guitar. In those gigging day's I generaly played strats or 335 type guitars. I was always worried about what I would do if something happened to the "delicate little guitar". Now, if I had been playing a tele back then, I would not have given it a second thought! Probably the most durable, reliable guitar ever made.

Never, ever contacted a company for service.

Great guitar. Again, not as nice as my homebrew, but a guitar I would be happy and proud to play anywhere at anytime. Classic tele tones abound. I really have way to many guitars at the moment. I need to thin it down a bit. That said, this one will stay. I managed to get this guitar at an excellent price. The old gentleman I got it from bought it with the intention of learning to play. As that never panned out, it sat in his closet from 1976 until I bought it in early 2003. I can't tell you how many 70's tele's ( among other things )I bought, sold and traded in the 80's. I managed several music stores from 1978 to 1985 and got first pick when something of interest came through. I always wished I would have kept a few, so it was nice to come across one. Teles are probably my favorite guitars.

UNDER THE TOGGLE SWITCH IS A PIECE OF MASKING TAPE WITH A DATE 10-19-54 AND THE NAME VIRGINIA, I IMAGINE THIS WAS THE QUALITY CONTROL PERSON AT FENDER. MADE IN USA. 22 FRETS. SOLID BODY(ASH)BLONDE IN COLOUR.ONE VOLUME ONE TONE CONTOL 3 WAY TOGGLE SWITCH, ONE BRIDGE ONE NECK PICKUP.MAPLE NECK, ASH BODY. IT CAME WITH A TWEED CASE AND AN AMPLIFIER-A MAGNATONE MELODIER. I BOUGHT IT USED IN 1963 FROM THE MUSIC SHOP MY GUITAR TEACHER TAUGHT AT-EP MELVIN ON COLORADO BLVD IN PASADENA,CA. I WAS 11 WHEN I GOT IT. OWNED IT FOR 40 YEARS.THE MIDDLE POSITION AND RIGHT POSITION ON TOGGLE SWITCH ARE GOOD BUT FAR LEFT TOGGLE IS VERY DULL SOUNDING.THEREFORE I GIVE IT AN EIGHT.

I USE IT WITH A VOX BERKELY SUPER REVERB-18 WATTS 2 10 INCH SPEAKERS.
AND THE MAGNATONE AND ALSO A CRATE GX15. SOUNDS GOOD THRU ALL OF THESE. I PLAY EVERYTHING ROCK,BLUES,HEAVY METAL,ROCKABILLY ETC.I RUN IT THRU A DIGITECH RP100 OR A KORG AX1G TONEWORKS. SOUNDS VERY GOOD VERY VERSITLE CAN GO FROM ELVIS TO BEATLES,TO STONES,TO BLACK SAABBATH TO NIRVANA.MIDDLE POSITION NECK PICKUP IS VERY FULL,MELLOW. RIGHT POITION-BRIDGE IS BRIGHT. FAR LEFT IS DULL NEVER USE IT.

I BOUGHT IT SECOND HAND SO I CANT REALLY COMMENT. IT IS NOT AS EASY TO PLAY AS A STRAT BUT YOU GET USED TO IT. HAD TO REPLACE THE NUT IN 1968 BUT NO REAL PROBLEMS THAT CANT BE ADJUSTED. INTONATION IS HARD BECAUSE OF 3 SADDLE BRIDGE.

THIS THING IS VERY SOLID. IT HAS A FEW NICKS AND SCRATCHES BUT IT HAS WITHSTOOD THE TEST OF TIME VERY WELL.IT IS ALL ORIGINAL PARTS EXCEPT THE NUT SO IT WILL LAST FOREVER. THE FRETBOARD IS A LITTLE WORN BUT STILL PLAYABLE. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH STRAP BUTTONS. ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DEPEND ON IT. I GIGGED FROM 1965 TO 1971 AND NEVER USED A BACKUP(COULDN'T AFFORD TO )

NEVER DEALT WITH FENDER ALWAYS TOOK IT TO PEDRINI MUSIC IN ALHAMBRA FOR MINOR REPAIRS.

BEEN PLAYING FOR 43 YEARS. I OWN A KAY BASS,AND AN ELECTRIC AUTOHARP.
IF STOLEN OR LOST IT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY BECAUSE IT IS A VINTAGE GUITAR BUT I WOULD PROBABLY BUY ANOTHER TELE OR A STRAT.I LOVE THE TONE IT SOUNDS GOOD THRU ANY AMP,TUBE OR SOLID STATE BUT IT SOUNDS BEST THRU THE VOX BERKELEY(ALL TUBE)

2002 Mexican Fender Telecaster

Ohhhh, I LOVE this guitar! I love Teles in general because they have such a unique sound! I have been playing under a year but this guitar really has inspired me. The pickups are a little muddy, I recommend replacing them...I will soon have Bill Lawrence L-280s on it :)

This is REALLY where the guitar excels. It's the best-built guitar for this price that I've ever played! It's very sturdy; I even like to do this thing where I flip the tone switch back and forth real quick to get a wah-like sound and I've had no trouble with that. This is a great guitar if you just want to get it or play it as it is, but a lot of people love to buy it for it's cheap price then mod it to be a superior guitar.

Oh yeah. This baby wouldn't break if I threw it from the top of the space needle (ok well maybe in that case...)

This is one GREAT guitar. Buy it now!!!!!!

2002 Mexican Standard Tele
22 frets
1 volume knob, 1 tone, and p/u selecter

Standard stuff.

An extremely versatile guitar. I use a Marshall DX100 amp with footswitch and a DOD distortion pedal. I play indie rock, both pop-sounding and louder, and it does everything I need it to do. You can get bright, thinner tones or warm, soft tones. However, the extremes are sometimes muddy. The neck pickup can get really muddy with mids and lows turned up and the bridge can be very harsh.

The guitar was setup very well from the factory. I've had the guitar about 6 months, and I've just taken it in once to be set up. It's built like a rock and stays in tune well if the strings aren't old and stretched. There were no flaws in the finish, neck or frets. I bought this guitar because I was sick of my old guitar's tremolo not staying in tune. This guitar solved that problem. The pickups needed raising, but that's a preference for me because of the style I play.

Like I said before, this thing is built like a rock. I've dropped it several times, been to about 15 gigs with it, everything. It shows no visible wear. I'm not worried in the least about this guitar breaking, even if it's mistreated. If you gig a lot, this is an excellent guitar to have.

Haven't needed it.

If you own one guitar (and I did, until recently), this should be it. It can't be beaten as far as versatility. It may not be as powerful as an SG, but it can be powerful. I suggest changing the pickups for a more full sound, but even without it, this is a great guitar.

Got it new, a few months back. Made in Mexico, it's great value for money. I'm not sure what kind of wood it's made of, but it sounds great and after all that's what a guitar is all about. Mine is sunburst which I think gives a great vintage kind of look to it.

I didn't care much to have an original US or vintage model, coz I knew I was gonna mod it anyways. I replaced the bridge pickup by a Seymour Duncan Hotrails humbucker, and connected it to a push-pull knob that doubles as a tone control (replacing the original one as well). The push-pull switches the Hotrails into serial or parallel mode.

All in all, so after the mod, the guitar has everything I need, and then some.

I play jazz and metal. With the Hotrails switched to serial, the guitar really rocks but not in a metal kind of way coz it doesn't have a lot of bass. But if you want a lot of lows in your sound, buy a Gibson or whatever, not a Telecaster. I mostly play my own music, but if I have to typify it the way it is, I'd say it gives you anything from Van Halen to Mike Stern. My rig is Engl 530 tube pre-amp, TC G-Force FX unit, Roland FC200 stage board, Peavey Classic 50/50 tube power amp and 2 BagEnd 12" monitor cabinets.

Switching the Hotrails to parallel doesn't change the pickup sound all that much, but it does bring its gain down which then balances neatly with the stock neck pickup. The whole setup really turns out to be great.

No flaws. The guitar's so basic that it's hard to make flaws on ie anyway. I didn't need to chop any wood for the mod so the guitar is still fine -- I'm definitely no carpenter. The guitar reads like a comic book, fine tuning it to your way of playing is a walk in the park.
I can play anything I want on it, so the action is fine as far's I'm concerned.

I don't have it long enough to say whether or not it will withstand live abuse. But considering that the model itself is 60 years old, and I'm not a very rough player, I guess it'll be fine. It feels sturdy enough.

Never dealt with them. The guys at Feedback were really helpful though (thanks Wick!)

I play for more than 30 years now. Apart from this, I have Blade R4 (SSS), PRS Standard, Gibson LP Studio, Ibanez RG7620 and Ibanez JS1000. Other gear includes H&K pre-amp, Marshall pre-amp, MesaBoogie DC50, another Peavey tube poweramp and so on.
With the mod, this guitar is a fave of mine in the jazz and cover department. I'd have it replaced in a heartbeat if it were stolen -- albeit with the mods I made.

I recently purchased a Mexican-made Fender Telcaster that I think is a re-issue of a '54. It has a Maple neck, and a dark burgundy color. Although it's in almost perfect condition, the gig bag is pretty beat up.

I play the tele through two amps, depending on the occasion: A Fender Pro 185 amp for performances, and an Epiphone Studio 10 for practice. I like the sound the Epi amp gives it: the classic tele tone that's perfect for that plucky, Fender twang. It sounds great when I play "Green Grass & High Tides" by the Outlaws. absolutely perfect for the intro. The Fender amp (being a solid state inferior Fender machine) doesn't have the same sound quality, but it sure kicks out the volume. I want to amp it through a Marshall to see how it sounds. Great tone, much better than my old '72 telecaster which I played for years, and sold a while back.

It has a standard setup as far as bridge, pickups, etc. The guy I purchased it from must've had it set up for slide, because he had the action so high. I lowered the action, and it plays smooth.

Stays in tune; reliable, lightweight, a great guitar.

Been playing for 30 years (Geez, am I THAT old?); bought my first guitar -a Kalamazoo copy of a Fender Mustang- from Banner Thomas, the former Bass player with Molly Hatchet. I've owned a Gibson Les Paul (heavy as a log), '72 Fender Telecaster (sold it a few years back not as nice as this one), and a Fender stratocaster. I like the Telecaster best right now, I DON"T CARE IF IT WAS MADE IN MEXICO, IT SOUNDS BETTER THAN MOST GUITARS I'VE PLAYED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.
I would prefer a vintage Fender Esquire or "No-caster", but they are way beyond my price range, just like vintage Martin acoustics. This guitar will serve me well. It's the only guitar that I've ever been able to copy Stephen Stills on "Wooden Ships" -no other guitars have the same "plucky" tone as this telecaster. I love it.

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.

1999 MIM Tele. Maple neck with a skunk stripe. Usual Tele features-- BASIC. I've got a lot of guitars , including a vintage Les Paul and strat but a Tele is a different animal and these Mexican Teles are real guitars.

I use this guitar for a country band I play in and it is the real deal. My son has used it to play blues and in a jazz thing he does and this is the ticket.

The action was awful, it was strung with 9's but the fit and finish were fine. A set of 10's and a little work on the action set it all up very nicely.

I've gigged with this guitar and so has my kid. It's a Tele- it'll outlive you.

n/a

I changed the pickups to Seymour Duncan Nashville Studios and had the frets changed to jumbos, changed the strings to 10's. It's just like I like it! It has a great sound. It will Play and sound like anything your fingers can put into it. The neck is that thick, beefy Tele kind of neck. 50 years of rock can come right out of this guitar.

my tele is a sunburst, rosewood fingerboard, seymore duncan super distortion in bridge position and SD HB in neck also, it rox!
i guess you have piece different parts of other guitars togethar to get create the "Perfect guitar".they doen't just sell one like that.
My other guitar is also a tele (The best guitar ever created!!Period!!!!), it's all black with rosewood fingerboard it has
a custom humbucker in the neck pos. and two single coil strat pickups,
it looks almost like that tele that chong plays in that chech and chong movie, it looks cool. my black one has a capo on the third fret.
No matter what i try i always go back to it.i don't know what the year is on my black tele. One of my friends gave it to me, it was brand new then, the headstock says made in mexico, the fingerboard is some kind of rosewood, i think it's indian or something, but it sounds incredible.

mine's sound perfect!

no flaws, i customized it myself!

i can rely on my two teles.

my two telecasters are the most amazing guitars i've ever played!!!!

2000/2001 "American Series" Telecaster. I actually found months from both years written inside when I removed the neck to clean the bolt-on neck to body joint and make sure it was attached securely (I recommend ALWAYS doing that with bolt-on necks - new or used). I also have an American Standard Telecaster from 1996 - its a candy green color alder body with a maple neck. My new American Series Telecaster is a natural finsish one with a rosewood neck and a highly figured ash body. Rather than list all the specs which are already listed elsewhere, I'll list the changes Fender made in the new "American series" Telecaster: the body radius has been changed to the "vintage" shape, which should help simplify things for Fender now that there is just one basic "Telecaster" shape again (the "deluxe" models have a scalloped back though, ahhh); the neck shape has been changed to the "Deluxe" shape, which is slightly larger than the American Standard shape - more like my 1962 strat neck; the tuners are now "staggered" too (the first four of them are shorter) which helps keep the string angle on nut without an extra string tree (I just wrap the strings down further on my "unstaggered" American Standard Tele, but it takes more time to do that though, so the staggered ones do help); the fingerboard is "hand rolled", meaning its rounded-off at the edge like it's already been played for many years (I LIKE it!); I think that's about it for the changes... As far as the pick-ups are concerned: on my American Standard they were very weak, so I replaced them with pups from Lindy Fralin, and while the pick-ups on my new American Standard were pretty good, I still replaced them with pups by Joe Bardens (very expensive but WORTH IT!). My American Standard had no rout for extra pick-ups under the pick-guard, but my new American Series has a rout for a humbucker and a single-coil under the pup cover, so I'll be putting in two more Barden pups - a strat and a humbucker (along with a seven-way switch), and then I'll have just about every sound on just one guitar! I bought my American Standard used a few years ago, and I bought my new American Series new recently - I had it ordered directly from Fender since they didn't have a natural finish tellie with a rosewood neck in stock. I just picked it up recently, but I already changed the pick-ups and have played it a long time already, and I have evaluated it pretty well. The body on the new one I ordered had some hidden defects: the neck had two routs for the neck-adjustment, as though someone had done it in the wrong place the first time - that means slightly less wood contacting wood at the neck joint (no big deal, but it shouldn't have happened). It also has the extra routs for a humbucker and a single-coil under the pick-guard which aren't supposed to be there - I think the body was originally meant for one of their three pick-up models, and then they decided to make an American Series out of it instead? I don't mind the extra routs though, because my American Standard doesn't have them and I do want to add two more pick-ups to it. When I have all four Barden's on the American Series (the two Tele pick-ups, a strat and a humbucker), the pick-ups on it will then be worth almost as much as the guitar is (the humbucker Barden is almost $200, and the single coils are $150 each, although you can get them slightly cheaper if you shop around, like I did). The Fralin pups are about $75 each, so they are more affordable, or you can get other kinds which are supperior to Fender pups for even less than that (about $35). My new Tele came with a molded case and accessories (strap locks, strap, two allen wrenches for adjusting the neck and saddles, warranty, owners manual). The American Series Tele I just bought new cost me a bit over $1,000 with the moulded case, and the 1996 American Standard which I call "Candy" since

This is my second Tele, so I DO like telecasters, although I also have a vintage-style stratocaster too. I changed-out the pick-ups in my Teles (and in the strat too) - maybe if I had gotten a "vintage" model I would have liked the pups, but I find the after-market pups much better than the ones used by Fender anymore. I play blues straight into my 1975 Princeton Reverb, or 1955 Tweed Champ (it's older than ME!), and I LOVE playing my Tellies! The American Standard (Candy) with pups by Lindy Fralin sounds like an old "Broadcaster" - SWEET~! The American Series with pups by Joe Barden sounds a little different - a bit fuller and deeper because of their humbucking design, but they still sound like Telly pups - just quieter and more "musical"! Danny Gatton is the one who Joe Barden originally designed the pups for, so if you want to hear what they can do listen to anything by Danny...even if you DON'T want to hear how they sound I STILL recommend listening to Gatton. Tragically, he took his own life a few years ago...why someone with a talent like that would kill themself is very hard to understand. Unfortunately, genius often comes with serious psychological problems too... Another Telly man I love to hear is Albert Lee - I saw him with Eric Clapton back in the early 1980's. Albert is so good that he got Eric playing like I've NEVER heard him play before or since, and Albert Lee himself is a monster beyond my comprehension - another genius who is so good it's scary. I recommend the Barden pups highly, or the Fralin pups for a "vintage" sound. I just LOVE the Telecaster design. Perhaps I'll get a "Deluxe" model next time, so I can have one with a scalloped back? THAT would be nice!

The new American Series Telecaster was set-up very well, but I changed the strings from 9's to 10's, and raised the saddles since I like a higher action than usual. The wood used on body and neck was slab-cut, and has some wild figure in it on the body. Their was a flaw in the neck-joint where the rout for the neck adjusting plate was done incorrectly the first time, so there are TWO routs there. The top also has routs for a humbucker and a single-coil under the pup cover which shouldn't be there (my American Standard doesn't have them anyway - I'll have to ask Fender if they are standard features now), but I'm glad it does have the routs since I can now add two more pups. The medium-jumbo frets it has (I use even larger frets on my strat) were done very well, and everything seemed to work on the new guitar - there were no obvious flaws in its playability. The used American Standard works fine too, after I adjusted it to my liking. I'm ordering "Vintique" replacement bridges for both of my Tellies someday, which cost $200 each (if you can beleive it). The vintique bridges replace the six saddle brides with a three-saddle bridge, but it's intonated correctly. The three-saddle bridges sound different, because there are two strings pressing down on each saddle, so there is more downward pressure for better sustain. I also like using big frets (Stew/Mac 6100 when I do a re-fret) for getting a clear, solid tone. Other than the bridges and my after-market pups, the rest of my Tellies are stock - I love them because they are so SIMPLE and FUNCTIONAL!

I'd depend on my Telecasters for a weapon if needed - I'm serious!!! It would be very hard to break anything on a Tellie, and if you did it break something it would probably be the neck which can be easily replaced - anything on it can be replaced for that matter. There is no guitar more solid than the Telecaster!

I haven't tried Fender yet, but I will probably let them know about the flaws they let get through...or maybe they just LET it get through trying to pawn it off on someone? I used to build guitars and do all my own maintenance and repair, so I know guitars. For the money Telecasters new or used are still a great deal - you can get a hell of a guitar for under a grand (unless you go vintage, then you can pay many thousands of dollars if you want to). If I bought all the pieces to put it together myself (which I could easily do), it would cost me more than I paid for my Telies. If I want a SPECIAL tellie someday I may put one together from choice pieces, but then again I'll probably go vintage, or vintage reissue. For just $1,250 I could have gotten a BEAUTIFUL 1952 reissue Telly with a tweed case, but the American Series has features I prefer. I would still like to get an old Tellie someday - perhaps a 1955 to go with my 1955 Tweed Champ?! ANYway, I haven't tried Fender yet, so it isn't fair for my to rate their customer support at this point. The fact that they shipped me a "lemon" with a few obvious flaws makes me think they care more about money than customers...

I am a life-long amatuer musician, and lover of fine instruments - especially guitars and amps (amps are instuments too). Besides playing them, I like to repair, modify, and tinker... I have the 2 Tellies, a "vintage" style strat, a Taylor 310 acoustic (for flat-picking and slide), and a Gibson FJN acoustic (12-fret neck-joint, 2" at the nut - a GRET finger-picking and slide guitar!). I use heavier strings on my American Standard Tellie and the strat, because I play slide on them too. The new American Series is strung with 10's though. On the acoustics I use medium guage on the Taylor for flatpicking bluegrass and slide, and light guage on the Gibson for blues fingerpicking and slide. I haven't amplified the acoustics yet, but I do have one of those sound-hole pups made by Dean Markely which works OK, but it compresses the sound. I want to try using a microphone, or perhaps one of those new combined systems that get blended together. Some of the new acoustic amplfication systems sound very good, so I want to get something soon. I have two silver-face Fender Princeton Reverbs, because I love them - they are plenty loud and light enough to transport easily. BY modifying them, you can make them plenty loud - thats where the Mesa Boogie originated from - a modified Princeton Reverb! They also have a line out for an external speaker cabinet, so you can also use that if you need more volume. I now have one to modify and one to compare it to afterwards, and I also have my beloved 1955 tweed champ, and a solid state yamaha with a 10" speaker when I want a clear sound. This is my first submission here, so I may return after I get another Tellie to tell ya'll about it too ;-)

KEEP ON PICKING YOUR TELECASTERS!

Stock, stock, stock! At least when I bought it. This is a 1967. When I got it, it had already been (un-professionally) refinished. Not to mention the fact that the previous owner appeared to be unhappy with the neck size and shaved off the surface of the fingerboard (so much so that you can see the sides of the top marker dot on the fingerboard!!).
The previous owner also had a tun-o-matic brige on it at one point (the brass threaded bushings are still in the body surface). I have put a WD six saddle tele style bridge and a Seymore Duncan Hot Rail pick-up in the bridge position. I highly recomend both.

Awesome. I have just built a replica of it (a friend measured the body and built one identical). It sounds unreal!! The pick-up helps. The originals were VERY microphonic. The neck position is a Texas special. I run both guitars into a 1966 Ampeg Reverb Rocket...no effects!! None needed.

It plays really well. I like the really thin neck. It is slightly heavy (my replica is much lighter).

I have been using this thing for every gig I've done in the past 6 years (alot!!). You could hammer in nails with this thing. I used to be a Strat guy. Never again.

Go to the internet and punch in "Tele Repair" into a search engine. Endless help!!

I have been converted to a Tele player!! This is the most versatile guitar I've owned!

1999 model, MIM, 21 frets, solid ash body, volume, tone, 3-way selector, S/S pickup configuration, 1-piece maple neck, 3-barrel bridge, vintage-style tuners, etc. The only mods I put on the guitar were (1)a pair of Bill Lawerence 280T series humbucking P/U's, (2) a set of Gotoh locking vintage style tuners (I hate the old style tuners, a real pain to restring),(3)a new 3-ply pickguard (I didn't like the white on white look),(4)added some caps and a resistor ala Bill Lawerence's suggestion to darken the tone just a tad), and (5) I replaced the 3-saddle bridge with 6-barrel bridges so I could get the intonation right on.

I play in a variety cover band (is that redundant?). We play everything from Blue Moon to I'm gonna get me some peaches. But mainly old R&R, New Orleans R&B, Swamp Pop, Blues, and some Country (Hank Williams type. The original Hank Williams). I don't try to emulate anyone; I'm not that good of a player. But I try and I have fun. This is the first electric guitar that I really bonded with. I have an Am. Std. Strat and Am. Std. Tele. But this is the one that works best for me and my style. I play this through either a Delta Blues (for gigs) or a 66 Blackface Vibrolux Reverb (don't like to take it smokey b-rooms). I don't use any effects other what is on the amps. I like to keep things simple. Believe it or not you can make music with just and amp and a guitar. To my ear I can get all the Tone I want with this set up. Just by adjusting the tone knob on the guitar and the settings on the amp I get reasonably appropriate sounds for the various songs we do. Like I say I don't try to sound "just like the record". I don't try to sound just like SRV, I try sound like me.

The guitar was set up well from the factory. I checked the set up specs and they were right on. However I set the action a little higher, just high enough so a small dog could run underneath the strings;>) I bought it from a pawn shop and it looked virgin. The plastic covering was still on the pickguard. No scartches are any other imperfections that I could tell. Originally bought it because it was a good deal $270 w/hardshell case. I didn't fall in love with it till after I played it a while. Once I decided this was going to be my main axe I went ahead and did the upgrades.

This is a quality musical instrument that I gig with exclusively. I see no problems with reliablity.

I do my own repairs and setups.

I've been playing 30+ years. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would be sad :>( The only thing that I keeps this from being the perfect guitar for me is the 7.25 neck radius.

This is an old stock standard tele made in America but not to be confused with the new USA Standard brought out recently (late 2000/2001)to replace it.
Black Body (Alder wood) with maple neck.
It's got the usual 2 single coils and 3 way toggle. It's a tele! you want more knobs to play with - buy a different guitar!
You want a great sound get one of these.

This is a guitar that really does sing. If you want to play something with expression, this is your baby.
I can't believe all you guys buying Mexican Teles. I tried several of them in shops. I also tried the new USA Standard and both don't sound half as good as this. The only one that came close was also an old stock model but the natural Ash one which looks fantastic but didn't quite have the depth of tone of the Alder bodies.
I play through a Hughes & Kettner Attack 80 which is a tranny amp. I actually think these guitars sound better through transister amps if you're after a sharp twangy clean sound.

I didn't have to do a thing. This was set up fine for me but then I'm not one for endlessly tinkering around with guitars. If it buzzes (which it shouldn't) adjust the action but otherwise just play it.
The finish is 1st class.

Teles have been around for ages. This one is no different. it wouldn't withstand a nuclear strike but it would be close.
....ah but there is that eternal problem of the plastic top on the toggle switch which always falls off usually before it's even got out of the shop. FENDER...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. It can't be that hard a problem to solve...hey I'm just being picky but I'm going to deduct a point.

Not tried, not needed, probably never will have to

I've been playing 30 years. I own a Patrick Eggle and a Jap Tele with humbuckers. In the past I've had Les Pauls and Strats, they're both fine guitars but I think this is just a simple no nonsense all round great guitar. You CAN'T go wrong
If you only buy one guitar..make it this one!

Standard 2000 Made in Mexico with just the standard stuff. Lipstick neck pickup and sc bridge pickup. Maple neck, black with white pickguard. Bought it In October of 2000 just to have a Fender to fool around with. Standard tuners. Had that tele twang.

The sound was allright but nothing to write home about, so I made a few changes. Purchased A Rio Grande Tallboy for Tele neck pickup from Torres Engineering. which increased output by about 25%. A big change in sound. A month later ordered the Tallboy bridge pickup from Torres Engineering which made this guitar a winner. Really easy to wire in. Last week I received The Bluescaster wiring setup from Torres which replaces all the wiring and electronics in the control bar. Now the Tele has five-way switching and a push-pull tone control with mid-range adjustment that has taken the sound of this guitar to a new level for Telecasters. By playing with the tone and volumes controls the different tones are endless. The original Tele sound is still there. A 10 rating now, a 5 before the change.

The set-up was OK from the factory but still needed a truss-rod adjustment. A few finish flaws but nothing major.

Have played live a few times, no problems. It's a Fender. If nothing else they can take abuse.

Never had to. Probably won't get any after changing electronics. Warranties are useless. Fix it yourself.

I own other guitars. This one is now really sweet. Paid $279. Added $200 worth of pickups and electronics. Now it's better than an expensive Tele with a real hot-rod sound. I'd buy the same guitar in a second if lost or stolen and make the same changes. Now it's unique.

1950 made and USA
22 frets
Solid - Top
3-way selector
S/H
Joe Barden and Carvin pickups
Active electronics
Maple
Transparent
tele
Tele - style
Locking,Schaller
Thin neck

Standard made-in-Mexico Tele. Maple fretboard (a personal favorite), Wine Red finish. I paid $300 online for it. Features? Its a standard Tele. You're lucky it has two knobs and a switch. Very simple. No frills. I do like the string-through-body bridge, through. I paid $750 for an almost new Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass the year before that didn't even have that. The bridge itself seems well made for a $300 guitar. The tuners all work well but some better than others. I give it an 8 just because the features it has do work really well.

At first I was just happy to hear those twangy Tele tones coming out of the amp, but they aren't as rich and fulfilling as they could be. There's a nice range of tones, though, from a deep (for a Fender) almost acoustic sound to that high piercing twang. The Tone control gives about a bazillion different tones when used with the 3 pickup settings. The pickups have a LOT of hum. The only time I don't hear the hum is when the amp is off.

The worst part of the whole guitar, though is the buzzing. Practically everything from the 5th fret on buzzes like crazy.

Action: Fair. I love the feel of the neck but the strings were WAY too high. They were a little weak for my tastes, too. I put on some heavier Ernie Ball's and it was a little better (improved the tone some too).

Fit and Finish: The Tele is indestructible. It feels like a club of rock-solid wood that could stand up to any Pete Townshend stage-smashes (maybe that's why he doesn't play a Tele?). The Maple neck is gorgeous and the body is a beautiful deep red. Some of the hardware is a little loose, specifically the output jack and one or two of the tuners, but nothing a turn or two of a screwdriver can't fix.

If there is a nuclear war and we are all vaporized, the roaches left won't have to worry about entertainment 'cause all of the Teles will still be here. This guitar would take just about any punishment and keep on rockin'. The hardware needs tightening every so often, but that's true of most guitars. I use it without backup for two reasons, its all I've got and I don't play anywhere serious enough to need backup. For those of you who do rely on a guitar for a living either get a better made one or get a backup. This wouldn't be a bad guitar to use as a backup, though.

Dunno. Haven't needed it.

Its a decent first guitar or backup if you like that Tele sound. I wouldn't recommend it as a primary guitar or for players who can afford something better. I'm already planning on upgrading to an American-made Strat.

1992 off the rack made in Mexico Telecaster. Typical two-knob and three position switch set up. Mine has the top-loader bridge a la Bullet. Black finish, satin finish maple neck and 21 frets. The shop (New York's finest, Sam Ash on 48th Street) threw in a gig bag. No other accessories, but at $272, no complaints. I give it a 10, because it's a Tele and all the essentials are there.

This thing sounds WONDERFUL. My only complaint is that the pots are a bit noisy, and always have been. But the SOUND...gorgeous. I play mostly jazz, prog/fusion and blues. This guitar is quite versatile enough for those styles. You'd expect a good clean sound, which it gives, very warm on the neck and also warm with great definition on the bridge with the treble rolled down; it's also great for power trio-type stuff. I usually play at home through an old holmes Tech 15 (see review), but I have had the joy of playing through a Pro Reverb in the studio (with a reissue Cry Baby and an original '86 Arion Stereo Chorus) and with that setup, you don't need anything else to go from clean to mean. The noisy pots (soon to be fixed after 9 years of living with them) keep this from a 10.

The set-up was close when new, but I fiddled with it a bit, raising the action, setting the intonation and so forth. And, most importantly, going up on the string gauge. I've used it with D'addario .011 flatwound Chromes for years and it makes a huge difference; stays in tune much better than stock. Everything else is spot on in terms of fit and finish, but it could use some better shielding. I would give it a 10 if it did.

With the caveat of the noisy pots (see above), it's been very reliable and dependable. The strap buttons are rock solid, and the finish is as glossy (black) as the day I bought it. I have gigged/studio'd it without backup, and the hardware hasn't let me down. I actually prefer the toploader bridge to the classic through-body, and the tuners are excellent.

N/A, but I'll find out soon re: the electronic repairs. I assume the warranty was lifetime, but don't know.

I never thought I would be a Fender Bender, but this turned out to be my first electric and I don't regret it. I've been playing for about 17 years (eight before I got this, all on a Yamaha Eterna EF 15) and most of my favorite players (e.g. Kessel, Howe, Montgomery, McLaughlin, Dimeola) made their names on Gibsons. I've finally scratched that itch (The Paul II SL, ES 125TC and L50) and then some (Dano 56 U2 and Baritone, Harmony Monterey), but I still love this guitar and wouldn't hesitate to get another one if it went missing. My unconditional recommendation to anyone thinking of getting one.

2001 mexican standard telecaster, 22 frets,1 volume 1 tone, s/s classic tele configuration, (if u dont know this go take up the tambourine as your instrument) maple neck and fretboard, thru body stringing, standard tuners with fender enscribed on each machinehead, its the simpelest electric there is therefore in my opinion the best, no needfor locking tremalo's humbuckers with coil taps or lace sensors, just a guitar

i play classic rock 'n' roll and blues this guitar suits both well, specially 4 rolling stones stuff, probably cause keef uses a tele if its good enough 4 him its most definately good enough for me, i play it through a fender frontman 15r which sounds fine, i'll soon be playing through something bigger though perhaps a laney tube fusion combo after recently forming a band. the pickups are silent enough 4 bog standard single coils, the sound as you would expect from the bridge pickup in a tele is bright and twangy, the neck pickup is quite like the neck pickup in a strat only with a bit more treble.i'll probably be upgrading to vintage noiseless pickups for more bite the stocks are a tad flat but hey 4 #299 u aint gonna get everything right. this guitar handels most styles of music well except for heavier metal stuff but who buys a tele to play metal? ( jimmy page? hehehe)

the guitar has a nice low fast action, theres a lot of fret buzz on the bass side which is actually musical, to my ears anyway, the finish is perfect, the one bad thing was the fretwork splinters of maple along the edges of the frets. the pickups where set just right

tanks would be made the same way as this guitar if wood didnt burn. should last a lifetime. i replaced the strap locks with schallers for safety. i would gig without a backup everything is solid i had a look at the electrics and everything is secure

never dealt

a great value guitar, built to last a lifetime, and should handel all styles unless u are a cannibal corpse fan, the best guitar i've ever had

mid 70's american telecaster.
finish was sanded off, but that just makes it more rockin i think. raw and dirty.
the bridge pickup has been replaced with a rio grande and it kicks ass, a lot hotter and beefier.
nice fat neck, four bolts, not 3.
everything is factory except for the bridge pickup.
25+ years has really made this guitar a beauty.

i do a solo folk/punk thing.
this guitar is wonderful for that job, i was playing a 65 melody maker before i got this and sometimes a 77 les paul double cut away with p-90s. i never thought i'd say it but the tele kicks both of their asses.
direct into the amp, fender hotrod deluxe, no distortion pedals or other effects, i get the right amopunt of distortion and tone.
nothing sounds this good that i have played.

the action is great. nice and low. no buzzes since replacing the nut
.
the neck feels perfect, aged very nice.

this guitar is a workhorse.
if it's lasted this long it'll last forever.
there is no finish. so who cares. i'm more concerned with the sound rather than a pretty guitar.

hmmmmm.

i played bass for 12 years in punk and hardcore bands, two years ago i decided to go 6 string and now that's all i do.
i don't have any real brand loyalties or whatnot. i choose my guitars by the way the idividual guitar sounds and feels.

kids. used is good. ugly can be good too. listen don't just look.

2001- mexican
laminated top
3-way

active
maple
delta blue
tele-style
non-locing
thin
gig-bag

Sounds bluesy! Play with a fender 65 princetone w/footwhich pedeal, best sound really! past the volume 7 goes into overdrive.

I thougth the twang was me. But i found out it was sent to Mars music under specs. P/u also. However, I likc Gary Moore and his sound but it isn't going to happen with this rig. But G. Moore called A.Collins "The King of of the Blues". Master ot the Telecaster!!

Played the thing in front of relatives, they really didn't care. But I really wanted more toen..... Gibson LP studio in my sights

No problem yet

Love it, But since G.Moore plays a Custom, Then I have to be ahead. Blues and Rock combo make sence with a GMoore Sig. It was sooo much lighter than a regular LP. Plus the neck was Smaller,

Japanese Fender Telecaster Left-Handed made in 1996 with 50 years 1946 -1996 sticker on the Maple neck with Rosewood fetboard.
Sunburst and custom bound with white (WBW) pickguard. Normal 3 way switch with tophat knob. The body shape is somewhat odd in that at the jack plug corner the shape is somewhat flattened. The bridge is the three barrel grooved design

Pickup sound is now fair. It had a very annoying hum and when I glued a sheet of aluminum foil on the back of the pickguard there was a vast improvement - I used Rubber contact adhesive and merely stuck it on the back - cleared away from the edges and neck pickup and the noise reduction was surprising. I also invested in a more expensive and shorter lead. Intonation was a problem but I set this (bottom to top octave)as close as possible and learnt to tune slightly out (G and top E) to compensate.

The factory set-up was not good and there was fret buzz from the middle up - .9 strings. I spent hours adjusting with paper shims in the neck (did'nt work), slight truss rod adjustments (quarter turns over a long period). I finally put on .11 strings and raised the action as I was playing more and more blues and this was the best solution.

The guitar was new and over the past 2.5 years there are a few indentations in the varnish which seems a bit soft but it has stood up to wear well otherwise.

I live at the tip of Africa so I don't know! Most supportive were the articles on the net - i.e. Shielding for Pickup noise, Neck adjustment etc.. Salesman also helped a lot as he played himself and was very knowlegable

Been playing 30+ years and also have Classical and acoustic folk guitars. I had always wanted a Fender Tele and this one was begging me to take it home. I have never owned a Fender before and cannot comment on comparison to the American or Mex version. I would hate to loose it as they don't make them anymore and being a lefty it will be impossible to replace. Compared to the other guitars within the same price range it had the correct vintage look and feel.

mexican tele 21 frets standard tele set up

neck pickup sounds great i play it distorted most of the time

action is great love the color...

played it a a gig two days after i bought it and it held up perfectly

never used it

love it

A normal tele... maple neck w/ 21 frets. 6 saddle bridge, not string- thru. i dont know how old it might be, its still in very good shape. kinda fiesta red with black pickguard. made in japan, "O" serial number. the whole bridge part is different than on a standart tele; looks kinda cheap to me... lipstick bridge p/u, "normal" tele p/u in the bridge. 3 way selector, vol & tone (plastic?) knobs.

i play all kinds of music, but i prefer blues and new rock a la radiohead & pumpkins etc. i use a boss ds-1 distortion, a boss flanger, a boss tremolo, a big muff reissue, an old mr. crybaby wah, and some old analog delay (pearl...?).
i bought it used, over the internet, and got it like a week ago. i cleaned and fixed it a little, put new 009 strings on it and, man, fell in love w/ it! even without connecting it to the amp it sounds really FULL... loud, nice. you can play that guitar without electricity and still everybody in the room hears it!
once connecting it to my super twin reverb it blew me away. the bridge p/u sounds very tele- twangy, the middle position funky, the neck position looses a bit of volume, but nice creamy bluesy tone.
but once i turn a distortion on, a whole lotta shitty FEEDBACK. the annoying kinda one... well, just keep the fuzz low. it was too good to be true... almost perfect. almost.

action was low, i think the previous owner never really played it. i think it just layed in a corner getting dusty.
y screwed the saddles and the pickups a little up, put new strings on, rubbed the dust & fingerprints away, and it looked like NEW. the finish looks and feels perfect, neck feels soft and fast. 2 & 3th frets are a little worn, but ok... who knows how old it is and what its gone thru... there is a little bruise at the nut (the nut is loose, actually, but the strings press it down...) and near the jack. but no prob. a guitar is made to use, not to hang it on a wall.. haha
the tuners work 100%, stays in tune.

ok, as i said, ive only had it for a week, but man i fell in love with it. ive used it now for about 5 or 6 hours rehearsing w/ my band, and it did stay in tune all the way, i think id definately depend on it. i think ill use it on a gig next week... well, if i find some way to elimiate the damn feedback... *sigh*

hope ill never need em... ill fix it myself.

i own a 65 jaguar, a 66 musicmaster II, a 68 gibson sg custom, a 77 sg standart and some werid 70s les paul copy with a speaker buit in it... my 70s fender super twin reverb and a fender bullet amp.
i think its so ironic, werid; this is the cheapest guitar i own, but it is the one that sounds and feels best. i bought it to, man i dont know, paint it kinda psychodelic, mistreat it, smash it... oh i dont know. i was just looking for a piece of junk that sounds and looks like a fender. ive always had some "disliking" feeling towards squiers (or epiphones). i never "respected" them as real fenders. but hey, this guitar made me change my mind...
if it was stolen id buy another one, for sure, but who knows if i get another one so cheap. or maybe ill go for a "real" fender... but ive really got to like it sooo much over these days, i hope ill never lose it, and ill "respect" it now for what it is: a REAL guitar.
the only thing i REALLY hate is the damn feedback... oh yeah, and the input jack "crackels" ("brrrxkrrrx..." haha you know what i mean!) everytime the cable moves, but we all know how to avoid this one...

id be interessted in knowing how old it is. please help me out, one of you! it is not one of the silver or affinity series. just send me a mail if you have any comments, suggestions or info.
thanks for reading...

This is a 1995 Japanese Telecaster. Sunburst model with a 3-way selector switch and a maple neck and fretboard. The guitar came with a gig bag when purchased.

The guitar has a really great sound through the neck pick-up. The bridge pickup is a little too bright for me. There is a lot of hum whenever I am not touching a metallic part of the guitar. The guitar sounds great in general.

The guitar looks and plays really nice. The guitar was NOS and the factory setup is fine. I really like the neck on this guitar, it is very easy to play.

I just recently acquired this guitar. It seems like it should take abuse easily. I think that this guitar could take a lot of abuse, and still sound great.

I really like this guitar. The guitar does not weigh much, so it is easy to drag around. It sounds really great. Can't beat the quality of this guitar for the price.

Made in U.S.
It's amazing some of the crap that's out there. My local music store is my second home. Along with the Good and the Great stuff is some real SH*T. Those Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Tiawanese (the list goes on) copies are unbelievable. You watch some poor shmuck buying one of these things and you know he's gonna be playing the blues (like it or not) as soon as he gets it home. They might look the same...but they ain't the same.
Which brings me to the gift I bought for myself (finally). She's a classic blonde telecaster, the standard single coil pick-ups(2).
Volume, Tone, and 3 position switch. As basic as you can possibly get but by no means limited. I read a few comments where the user claimed they could only get 3 sounds off the instrument. Here's some advice, use the entire neck and string coverage. And play something besides doo-wacka-doo-wacka, and you'll be surprised at what this little monster is capable of. Tuners are tight, No slippage. This is a great unit.
It's interesting that you should request info. on body style. I guess something happens when you grow older. When I saw my first Tele ever, I guess it was around 1958, I thought Man...that's the ugliest body style you could ever come up with. Funny how things change. She's a beautiful axe.

I've been playing about 35 years now. Have owned a Les Paul, Hagstrom (Mark III), and an Epiphone, and now the Tele. I'm runin' her through a Fender 112 Deluxe (in conjunction with a Korg G3). The sound is clean, true, no buzz, no hum. Even just runnin' clean you can get a great variety of tonal difference, of course depaending on where you play on the neck and you tweaking capabilty.

Had her intonated upon purchase.
Pickups adjusted at the same time.
No flaws whatsoever.

It's a U.S. Fender...built like a brick shithouse.

Haven't had to deal; with Fender as of yet.

Like I said, about 35 years on guitar.
If it was ever stolen, I would hunt them down, find out what they love the most...and kill it.
Favourite feature would have to be the action.

This review is for a new 2000 Mexican Telecaster, purchased as an early Christmas gift for me by my awesome wife. It has a three-tone tobacco sunburst finish, poplar body, big fat maple neck w/satin finish, two single coils, 21 medium-size frets, six very nice chrome bridge adjusters, 1 master vol. and 1 tone. In this pricerange they come without any case, instructions, or wrenches. They even took the pricetag off at the store! But at least you get to keep the strings that are already on there!

I've been playing for 21 years now, and play lots of different styles, not a single one of them very well! Anyway, I have Gibsons and Fender Strats, and prefer Fender over Gibson. I play through Marshalls and Peavey Classic 50s. I originally went looking for a jazz guitar, but couldn't believe the expense. (Nor could I believe that even an Epiphone(gag!) jazz style Regent, without a case, was still $750., and the fret job was terrible, as usual). Anyway, I've heard about dudes getting a decent jazz tone with a Tele, so I tried out this Mexican at my wife's request. I couldn't believe how nice the tone was: it has a nice clarity and sustain, the neck pickup was real mellow and deep, but not bassy, and there's just enough top-end for clarity. Using both pickups sounds funky and a bit like my Les Pauls mid-position selection, and the bridge pickup is trebly, yet still a bit thick. The guitar fits blues very well also, and has alot of dynamics, for a cheap slab of wood. It inspires my playing, and that's what's important.

When I tried the guitar at the store, I played it and checked it out for over an hour. It looked like there might have been a shim in the neck pocket which would really piss me off, so I asked the salesguy to take it apart. Turns out it was only a bit of powdery gunk in there, otherwise the neck pocket was tight. They wouldn't do a whole setup, but the truss rod was very loose, and the action a bit high. Since it played ok, I bought it and set it up at home. The fretjob is decent, but the bass side of the neck is a tad straighter than the treble side, and the treble side of the neck sits up 1/64 higher from the body. I could cry about it, but it's not really that important. And for the price, I can't expect too much or else Fender couldn't sell their expensive guitars, right? -The 3-tone sunburst finish, by the way, is flawless.

If you hit me with it, you would probably kill me! I don't think even Les Paul's are as tough as a Tele. I'm going to play jazz with my wife who plays piano , and I hope it gets all smoked up banged-in a bit for that used look.

I like these guitars alot. They're decent for the money. I'm normally a Stratocater guy, but I'm digging the Tele for it's jazz and blues tones, and the fact that they're so tough they'll take abuse. I think I'd like to get the blond '52 reissue someday, since I'm liking the Tele vibe.

1975 Telecaster. Simple as they come. Natural finish. Maple neck. White pickguard. Two Jason Lollar rewound single coil pickups (See below). Volume and Tone controls. Three way switch. Put a tele tailpiece back on it after having a strat-type one on there because mr speedy lead guitar guy back in '79 said i'd never be able to get proper intonation out of the crappy tele one. Man, we kids sure had a lot of dumb ideas in the 70s. Like you had to have a strat or a les paul, and a 100watt amp, otherwise, you'se a wuss. I'm just so grateful i was too poor to buy any of that crap. Now i've got this beautiful, pristine '75 tele with custom rewound pickups in it that sounds just like a tele should. It's perfect. I've got a classic.

OK, telecasters are pretty simple machines. Single coil solid body sound that helped define what the blues and rock'n'roll sound was to become. It ain't your heavy metal, thrasher, speeder crunch thang you may want. Its the kinda sound that folks that have been listening to and playing music a long time grow to appreciate. A classic sound that loves a big sounding, clean, tube amplifer that loves to get simply overdriven. Mine had some Dimarzio pickups in it that weren't balanced with each other very well and were too trebly, even for a tele. I found this guy, Jason Lollar, on the web at http://lollar.hypermart.net/, found out he didn't live to far away, got in touch with him and actually went over to his shop with my tele for a visit. (he also does mail order, so check him out) For $30 each, he ripped my pickups apart and rewound them RIGHT BEFORE MY VERY EYES!!! very cool. checking things on the way to make sure they were going right. ALSO: check it out, the old school way is to do a scatter wind, which is what Jason does. Plus, you gotta make sure you've got even tension on it as you wind. That way there's no need for potting. Ah, I can tell i'm boring you. You can learn about this stuff for yourselves, it's all out there on the web someplace. Anyway, this tele ain't the jack of all trades, but i don't really think theres a decent guitar that is. Its a guitar that don't want no fancy gadgets, maybe i decent overdrive pedal, but thats it. Oh yeah, with these rewinds there's a lot more sensitvity to the guitar and to my actual playing. Basically, when i got these pickups done my tele was perfect and i no longer felt the need to go looking for a strat. Oh, and mostly i play this through a '74 Fender Super Reverb. Walla.

Its 25 years old. Looks pretty good to me.

maybe the toughest guitar on the planet. lasts forever. mine made it into another "millenium".

n/a

I've been playing for like 24 years, and most of that time i've sucked. Now, who knows? I just know what i like. I've also got a 90s Casino, a Danelectro reissue, a Westone bass, Fender super reverb, Peavey classic 50-212 and a bunch of other music and recording stuff. I used to really want an older strat, but now, with the rewinds, that's over. If i found one, i guess i'd pick it up, but heck, seems like everyone plays one of those, don't they? Give me the road less traveled.

Features weren't exactly what I was looking for when I bought it, but I was pleasently surprised to find how versatile it really was. It has 21 frets, 2 single coil pickups(stock), and standard 3-way switching with passive tone and volume controls(1 ea.). It came with a hardshell case which I now use for my Strat. It is a very gig-worthy guitar.

It is a perfect guitar for my style of blues guitar. It is rich at the neck and twangy at the bridge, and is just perfect in the middle. I like to roll down the tone control for rhythm and then just kick it up for lead. I have a Strat and have used that a lot, but it was always to difficult to adjust. THere were just too many controls to worry about. I switched back to my tele and got a little bit grittier sound and didn't have to worry about the controls as much. I play through a 70's Gibson Lab Series L-11 amp. It has such a great clean tone and that combined with the grittiness of the tele just shines.

I bought the guitar used and i assume the previous owner set it up. It played great, but I found I had to raise the action some when I switched to larger strings. The pickups were set up perfectly, but I felt the need to tinker with them anyway. Just to make sure I had the best sound possible. It felt good and sounded great, so I don't care what it looks like. I didn't even check it for finish flaws or anything like that.

It's the plank, man. Of course it'll stand up to gigging, its just a road horse. I'd take that guitar on the road without a case or a backup and expect it to play fine every night.

Never really dealt with Fender, but the guy I bought it from has always helped me with repairs on any of my guitars with no hassle.

I've been playing for 2 years. THats not very long asnd this was the second guitar I bought. I owned a cheap samick before. I have owned a semi hollow gibson copy, an american strat, a japanese strat, and several other no namers. I like the simplicity of the tele. It lets me forget about the electric part and just worry about the guitar.

I think it's a '99 or '98 Tele. Made in Mexico. 21 fret maple neck, maple fretboard. Looks very much like all the old Teles I've seen, standard 2 knobs, 3-way switch. Except for the Strat-esque bridge. 2 single coils (in my opinion, Fender doesn't make very good humbuckers, and I like a lot of treble!) Poplar body, midnight wine finish looks damn good to me. Non-locking tuners, but hell they stay in tune better than my friends Ibanez with a locking nut and bridge. Fat neck, no accessories. But for 300 bucks, I don't really mind.

It sounds AWESOME. The bridge pickup sounds excellent, the neck pickup works well too. Put them both together and you have a more Les Paul type sound. I play it through a Fender Stage 112, an occasionally a chorus pedal, wah, and echo. It can get a little noisy, but it's the good kind of noisy. It sounds excellent. I like Fender tones, and this one is so versatile I don't see why people think so lowly of it.

The action is just right. Didn't have to adjust it, it was just high enough. The pickups are set up just fine, I moved the neck pickup around a little for the hell of it. The finish is excellent. It all looks and feels great.

It's a Fender. With the exception of the strap buttons, which aren't that bad to begin with I'm just spaztic on stage, the guitar is durable as any. I would gig with a backup, only because I HATE changing strings onstage. But if I don't break any strings then I have no need to use a backup, this guitar is solid.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for about 4 years, and I've had this for a year. In addition to this I have a mutilated Squier Strat and an Ibanez GAX70. They don't get used a whole lot, the Tele gets all the play. I'm quite fond of it. I'd buy another one if this got stolen. I may even buy another one for a backup axe (different tunings onstage). I love how it feels, it's heavy and comfortable. The neck is comfortable, can play for hours on this guitar. It's so unique, you can't compare it to much. Sounds great for every type of music, so buy one if you can. At $300 it's as versatile as a Les Paul, but more treble.

After 30 yrs I stared playing guitar again. Years ago I was a "Fender Guy" owning a Mustang and a Jazzmaster. Upon looking for a new guitar I picked up a Standard Strat that didn't show me a thing, but upon purchasing a Standard Telecaster the fun came back. This rig is the lower priced Telecaster $ 299.00 from Musician's Friend. For the price I must say this is some guitar. It has the 9 1/2 neck(radius) the standard components and the best finish in dark wine that I have seen on any guitar. The tone on this rig is unbelievable, you can adjust for the sharp fender twang all the way down to mellow. One again the finish is super, no run, marks, etc. And it's made like a model T. Solid and reliable. I love the thing- for the price is has put me back where I left off. For the price the bag was not included. But in dealing with Musician's Friend( great bunch of people they are) I have no fear about the quality or that they will back their guitars. The neck on the rig is maple, and I DO prefer t over Rosewood. It a prettier looking guitar with the maple neck,although it my first guitar with that type of neck, I find it easier to see, and eassier to "handle."

Given my age, I have seen a lot of music come and go. For the oldies this fits right in, for some of the newer music it does real fine, the tone is adjustable.

Action is great, I haven't set it up at all. Didn't really need to. Just placed some Ernie Ball's on it and I am off. The finish is tremendous. The pikup sitch know did fall of the first day but...hey..spot of glue !

The band I was in before carried everything in the trunk of the car, I think this would handle that real well, but I don't think that I will be doing that ! For an in expensive guitar this at the price is far over the Standard Strat- and would pass through a gig w/o a back up. All the hardware on thye guitar is SOLID !

Never delt with Fender but their guitars have always been solid. Musician's Friend are a "regular" Nice people and always ready to help- I highly recommend them. And with their prices- I can't see shopping anywhere else

Been playing off and on 30 yrs. Mostly OFF ! In the past I have owned a Silvertone guitar(Didn't everyone ?), a Gibson, Fender Mustang, Jazzmaster, Standrad Strat, this is far away and above some of those- except maybe the Jazzmaster. I person I met one day stated that a Tele was better- he's right it goes nicely with the Princeton 65 I have. I dunno if it was stolen I would get another- then find the guy who took it and beat him with it. It certainly would take the abuse

Body sunburnt: lacquer was damaged by nylon I put on to protect color anbd body from scratches

Dance music FENDER TWIN REVERB 100w A little bit but sound is great Full sound I mounted flat wound normal ( not scaled strings ) I Like. That strings have strong sustain and heavy basses. Light strings are also good but I dont like for my job. Too much noisy(wired and not flat wound)

Perfect intonation from 1 to 12 fret on all strings ( electronically measured)

I use it in Home studio recording

Not necessary for me some support for Telecaster . My model is bundled with FENDER TWIN REVERB 100W.They both great.

It's very important for me , emulate electric guitar sound and acoustic steel strings guitar sound . With my model it is possible.

I bought it new in 1967. I've done several modifications... including a Mighty-Mite neck pickup to match the gain of the stock bridge pickup, and a Shaller bridge. The saddles have been polished so I never break strings. The pickups were potted to stop that high-pitched Tele squeal at high volumes, and the cavities and pickguard are shielded. It has a 5-way switch with an 'off' position, then a neck with highs rolled-off position. The final 3 switch positions are standard. The original cream finish got pretty banged up so I stripped it. When I found that it is a gorgeous piece of ash... some nearly burl, I had it lightly oil stained and finished with clear laquer. But that was in the early 70s and the finish is worn badly again. The body finish matches the stock highly flamed maple neck. The maple fingerboard's laquer came off ages ago and has heavy finger staining from the 1st to the 10th fret. I've had jumbo frets put in. The stock tuners are poor but I don't feel a great need to replace them.

It can do it all from Zep, to Blues, to Jazz, to chicken-pickin. I've had several different amps but I've used a Mesa Boogie Mk IIB for the last 15 years. I just purchased a Rivera Sedona because I wanted a do it all amp for electric and acoustic guitar. I use some pitch/delay rack-mount effects. Even with the shielding and potting, it's still a bit noisy but hey, they are single coil pickups.

It was well set up when I bought it. Fit and finish WERE great. Though the 3-piece top is not bookmatched (it had an opaque cream finish), it is striking and very good looking.

This guitar has seen some hard use and abuse and still keeps rockin' on. Can take a lickin and keep on pickin.

I've been playing since late 1964. This is my all-time favorite guitar. I can get any sound I want with it. It plays like a dream. I also own an 80s Asian Fender Strat, and a '68 Gibson L5CES. I have a 50's acoustic archtop with a solid carved top and a Taylor Dan Crary Signature dreadnaught. Lost or stolen? I'd just cry. Afterward, I'd console myself by going out and getting a custom quilt-top T with gold hardware and Joe Barden or Lindy Fralin pickups.

It's a '97 or '98 Tele (that's when I bought it) made in Mexico, with 21 frets on a Maple neck. It's pretty much a standard Tele= 1 volume, 1 tone, two pickups (3 way selector, pickups are neck and bridge Standard Tele pickups). Arctic White finish over a Poplar body. The bridge is the Tele/String thru body style. It's not the kind where there is a part of the bridge covering the bridge pickup, but it isn't the Strat style. The fingerboard is also Maple and it has a 25.5 scale.

Some people say that Teles were made for one thing and one thing only= Country. Well that's the one thing I don't play and it suits everything. I've used it on jazz, on hard rock and on blues and it always, as long as it has a good enough amp, sounds great. I use it with my Squier Amp, MT-2 Boss pedal and, occasionly, with a wah wah pedal (Bespeco Weeper). It can be a bit noisy when the distortion is crancked up but other then that it is fine. The neck pickup can give you a great blues/gibson les paul type of sound, the treble is great for twang and using both give you somewhere in between.

The guitar was setup pretty well, only things I can remember was that the neck pickup was quite wobbly, but a screw driver easily fixed that. Everything else was fine exept that the slot between the neck and the body is a bit to big.

Fender makes guitars that are built like rocks. You can drop them from 6 feet onto the floor and (provided you don't throw it neck first) the worst that will happen is there will be a small dent and it will go a bit out of tune. However, doing so is not recomended. It's hard to know how long it'll last because i've only owned the guitar for 3 years (approx.) but so far so good. Only thing that can be a bit unreliable is the strap buttons but other then that it's fine and yes, I have used it on gigs without backups and the worst that's happend is that i've broken a string or one of my pedals has screwed up (which can't be blamed on the guitar :) ).

I've never dealt with the company, it's never needed repairs and I can't remember how long the warranty is.

I've been playing 5 years and this has been my main axe for 2.5 years. In someways I wish I had had more money so maybe I would have bought a different guitar that caught my eye (Godin LG) however I've come to like my Tele. If it was stolen or lost I don't know if I'd replace it because it would be kind of like if your dog died so you bought another that looked exactly the same and you named it the same, y'know? I love the sound and the diversity of the tone and the feel of the body. That's one thing i don't like about strats= the body isn't thick enough. I compared it to the guitar mentioned earlier and to a more pricy Tele but I bought this one because a) I knew Fenders were good and b) it wasn't $800, it was $299. I'd like if it had the tilted back headstock that gibsons have to give it more sustain but I'm only pointing out the bad parts. For $300 bucks (or $200 for you americans) you can't go wrong with this baby!

It is a 98 model, and it's made in Mexico It has 21 frets with a maple fretboard
It has to pots, volume and tone with a 3-way selector. The pickup configurations is standard tele S/S It's stock pickups. The finish is red metallic, very good looking. It has a Tele-style bridge. It has stock tuners that are non-locking. The scale of the neck is 25 1/2 with jumbo-frets

The sound is very good to my music style, wich is grunge. I use a Marshall VS30 thru this effects: Boss DF-2, Big Muff, Boss DS-2 and Boss CH-1. The guitar is not very noisy at all, a little on the dist pedals, but wich guitar does not do that? And it got a very bright sound in clean mode. The guitar is has much variety. It can produce a bluesy sound, country, metal, rock and of course grunge. I like neraly everything about it.

The guitar was not properly adjusted at the neck, it was like a banana. The pickups was great.

This guitar will withstand a gig, 'cause it is a Fender, built like a tank. The harware is great, the tuners will keep the guitar in tune for ever! The finish is also great! The strapbuttons will hold, they are solid! I can gig without a backup, thats for shure!

Never dealt with them.

It is a great guitar! Nothing more to say about that!

Going by a combination of features/serial number it's a 1976 Fender Telecaster.The bridge has been replaced with a modern 6-saddle type (at least it's intonatable...) and the machine heads and pickups have been replaced with what looks like a '70s-era Gibson Humbucker at the neck and a reissue '52 Tele pu at the bridge.Very basic guitar,which is one of the reasons I love Teles so much.Very heavy (much,much heavier then most Les Pauls I've played!).Maple/maple neck,ash(I thimk???) body.Glossy '70s Fender blonde/natural finish.Relatively thin neck,but then I'm used to a Gibson...

It does everything I expect a Tele to do,except a thicker neck/neck and bridge tone due to the humbucker.If you've ever heard PJ Harvey,Jeff Buckley,Unsane,Shiner,Jr Brown,Muddy Waters,etc you know that Teles really can cover all the bases in a wide variety of musical situations.Great for basically everything except a really dark tone,which I rarely need anyway.The bridge pickup could be a little beefier,though.

Being a 23-year-old (just like myself) guitar,it's seen some use,but like any good Tele has stood up to it.The finish is really funky in some places,lots of small weather checking-type spots which just add character.The action,from the store,was like butter but I'll probably need to raise it a little for slide.Some of the mods were a little half-assed in that the holes for the original bridge/machine heads were not filled in,which is no biggie.Also where the pickgaurd was cut to allow the 'bucker to fit could have been a little better done,but again,not a huge deal.The action,relief and intonation are all dead-on though,I'm really impressed.

Uhm,well,it's a good ol' American-made Tele.They've made these for 50 years now with very few changes,and there's a really good reason why.I haven't had the chance yet to really put it through its paces but my guess is that it will be reliable as any other Tele.The finish hasn't fared as well as some of the other guitars I own,but I buy to play, not display.

Fender CS is not the greatest in my experience.

Haven't had a whole lot of time yet,but I am a Tele fan from way back, I anticipate that it will do its job nicely.If it were stolen or lost I would be very pissed and replace iit when I could afford another one.

This is a regular stock Telecaster from 1974. It has a 21 fret maple fretboard with a rosewood skunk stripe on the back of the neck, 2 string tree string retainer at the headstock, stock Fender tuners, white body ( which has turned to a mellow off white ), black pickguard, stock pickups and a stock 3 saddle bridge. The simple 3 way toggle switch and single volume and tone controls adorn this simple plank of wood.

Sound........well, a basic Telecaster can be a disasterous treble squeller in the hands of an "Artist". In the hands of a musician, a Telecaster can be a guitarists delight. The treble pick-up alone can be used all night long on a gig. By incorporating the tone control, the treble pick-up can be exceptionally bright but thick sounding, as well as, dark and throaty. The sensitivity of the pick-ups is very expressive. Picking attack, palming, placement of picking make this guitar a very versatile instrument. I find that the simplicity of a Telecaster makes it a very complex instrument to play and understand. No whammy bars or bells and whistles that are the flavor of the day in the guitar world can compete with this instrument. Listen to Roy Buchannon and Danny Gatton. No foolish big hair, piercings or tatoos made these monster players better than the rest- just extreme talent and a basic but complex guitar. I play Les Pauls, SG's, Firebirds, Parkers, Strats but a Telecaster is the most rewarding and humbling solid body guitar I have ever played.

I purchased this guitar used and have played it extensively in bars, concerts and recordings. This Telecaster has seen the smoke, booze and bar fights like a good guitar should experience. My Tele has it's scars but still has all it's original parts and soul. There's a nice rub mark on the body from my forearm, some nicks and dings but no luthier would frown upon this beauty. This Telecaster has played a lot of music. It's set up to handle slide and regular picking. The action is not far from the fretboard but not close either. The stock pick-ups have all the flaws and favoratisms associated with reviews of this guitar. It's a barebones guitar that'll show an audience that you're either a player or a poser.

This is probably the most durable solid body design ever made. I don't treat my guitars like shit. I respect them. Guitars are the extention of my creativity, skill and talent. I can play a gig with just this one guitar.

Never had the pleasure to call Fender. I just have an experienced luthier and take care of the Tele myself.

This Telecaster rates a 10 with me. I've played some really great guitars and have owned over 100 guitars in my life but a Telecaster is very special. A Telecaster is as good as the person playing it. Anything that I wish it had?...........maybe not as many current variations.....just play a basic Tele. I bought this at a reasonable price 16 years ago, the current "vintage" prices are fucking nuts. Don't fall for the hyperbole with the vintage market. A vintage guitar or an expensive guitar will not play itself. A competent guitarist can make a cigar box with strings sound good. Learn to play your instrument and not be the flavor of the day.

beautiful guitar. 2 pu's. 1 lipstick and one single. Totrtoiose shell pick guard, laminated top, maple neck, 2 controls, tone and volume, and a 3-way switch. i wish it had more controls, like les pauls

I play rock and for phat power chords and barre chords, this thing rocks, however it kinda licks when u try to solo on it. it is a little noisy, put that is because they are single pu's, and my Fender 110 champ amp kinda blows. I did use this guitar thru Marshall Halfstack it was the sweetest thing ever

awesome action and wicked looking. It is the same guitar Jakob Dylan used in the "One Headlight" video. No flaws whatsoever

it's lasted 10 years and it hardly has a scratch on it. These guitars are like a light bass!!

?? i dunno

love it for rhthym, hate it for solos. I use a les paul as well so i have both the rhythm and lead sections covered.

Early 90/s custom shop model.Set neck with mahogany body and neck,ebony fretboard,killer quilted maple top,jumbo frets,american standard trem,roller nut,locking shaller tuners,2 dimarzio coil splitable humbuckers,3-way switch and mini toggle switch for coil spliting.To many features make this a very versatile axe,only drawback you can not split the pups separately (you can have either both of them full or both of them split)

It does not sound like a regular Tele but has a unique voice.Very resonant it can do the Gibson thing very well but with more air and clarity (due to the trem springs and ebony board that give more highs).You sure can cover lot of bases with this one.

Very well built and this quilt top is simply breathtaking!Medium size neck (american standard profile) with 12? radius make for excellent playability.I normaly like fatter necks but this one is really great. Plays more like a Gibson than a Fender.

You can not bash it around like a normal Tele so I baby it.It is built like a tank though.

Fender customer support has always been good to me

This is a unique guitar,they don/t make them anymore and this only means that it will become highly collectable.If you want versatility with personality try and find one you will not be disapointed.This one is a keeper.

This is a 1978 American Telecaster. Features are very basic, volume, tone and 3 position switch for the two pickups. The bridge pickup is the original Fender and the neck pickup is a Fender blue lace sensor. The neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard. This model has the traditional 3-barrel through the body bridge. Original Fender tuners. Was purchased with a hard (no-name) case. As is well documented for this era this guitar is heavy by any standards. I have however purchased a fat and comfortable strap for it and the weight is no longer a problem. What can I say, it's an American Tele and has no special features.

I play primarily blues and traditional rock and this guitar certainly gets it done for me. I'm using it with a Fender Super 210 tube amp, Morley Wah, Boss Chorus, MXR distortion, and a Boss Overdrive/Distortion pedals. Frankly, I generally don't use the distortion pedals but prefer the amps overdrive with the Wah and occasionally chorus. The guitar is somewhat noisy through the original bridge pickup and is quieter with the Lace Sensor. The blend of the bridge pickup with the Blue Lace Sensor is my favorite position with the amp drive channel wound to just to the edge of its breaking point. Lightly picking keeps it clean while strumming or heavy picking kicks in the overdrive. Setup in this manner the guitar sounds rich full and great. On the clean channel of the amp and switched to the Fender bridge pickup a very bright clean sound can be achieved. This guitar has a great Fender Tele sound but the noise can be noticed when on but not playing. Strangely the noise level drops when the strings or other metal parts are touched. If anyone has any advice on this situation it would be appreciated.

This is a 1978 Tele but looks like it just came out of the box. Other than a couple of minor chips on the body this guitar is beautiful. The finish is high gloss throughout as was the case with Fender form that era and I wouldn't consider changing it. The neck is as smooth as glass and the rosewood fingerboard will last forever. The chrome on this thing is untarnished and brilliant.

I've owned the guitar for 3 years now. The Blue Lace Sensor is because the original neck pickup crapped out on me. This has however been the only problem with it. Everything I read tells me that the Tele is possibly the most dependable guitar ever made. I have no reason to disbelieve

No Clue.

I'm 48 years old and had played for a couple of years when I was in my teens. After not touching an instrument for 30 years, bought this guitar about three years ago and probably have averaged 2-3 hours a day with it since. I have a Fender Super 210 tube amp and also purchased a Takemine Electric/Acoustic. I don't remember the model number but it's full size and has a Mahogany top. (More about that in another review). The only thing I wish I had asked when I bought this guitar was would you accept a check for the Taylor you're selling for $600cdn. (that's about $400 US) Assuming I could afford it, I would certainly buy another Tele of this vintage or older if this was lost or stolen. In fact I have been offered enough for this one that I could buy a new Strat and half-another Tele but will not part with this guitar. What I love about this guitar is it's a classic. Growing up as a teenager I remember all the big bands I went to see used them and it was something I always wanted to own. I think that when you own a top quality instrument you become attached to it and maybe if my first real guitar was a Strat it would have been my love. I've tried others but have gotten comfortable with this one. Kinda like marriage.

compared to my last guitar where the only thing that worked was the volume control it seems like it has a lot to me

i bought it for blues, but it can even play metal. when i first got it my friends thought i was nuts, but then they came over and were blown away.

i cant find any flaws

i've never had any problems

never had to deal with them

i've had mine for about a year and a half and i love it. when i bought it i was thinking blues but most of the people i play with are into metal, and it works for that. one of korns guitarists used one for recording their self entitled album, i think.

This is a standard tele from Mexico, a "mexi-tele" made of the finest balsa wood and tinfoil available.
The bridges are rusted, the tuners are a little better than using twigs and gum, but man, for $60, this thing is GREAT!
I didn't even play it for a month, but when I finally picked it up and started messing with it, I was totally pleased.

This thing has the true authentic Telecaster sound. I guess the pickups will rust eventually as well, but man, for a disposable Telecaster, this thing is great.

The action is so crappy, I use it primarily for SLIDE guitar.
The finish... lemme put it this way. I don't get upset if somebody drops their brick collection on the body.
The frets seem to be made out of solder, but maybe it's aluminum. They've got grooves dug into them from playing only a year, and maybe once a week at that.
But again, for $60, this thing was a steal. I use it MORE now than my real strat. Kinda depressing if you think about it.

It seems to be pretty sturdy and reliable. I haven't had any problems YET.