Fender Telecaster

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Like a part of me. Best guitar ever!

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

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

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

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

Never dealt with Fender

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

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

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

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

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

Fender is just plain cool!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See above for comments re: durability.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Modifications I am considering:

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

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

Pickguard: White pearloid, strictly for looks!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MiM Standard - Usual Features

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Never dealt with Fender, probably will never have to.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not familiar with Fender customer service.

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

new black tele, maple neck.

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

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

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

seems very sturdy

i hate the new fender

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

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

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.

No Habla.

After all my bellyaching, I'd STILL have to give this guitar high ratings. It plays as good as any $400 tele (except for the frets being crappy) and the pickups give me that kickass tele tone.
Worth every dollar I paid for it.

This is a 1977 Tele I bought used for $250!The guitar had no case and the idiot who was selling it had it painted black with spray paint! I striped the guitar of all color and now she looks great in her natural ash finish.I have replaced the neck pickup with a S.D.Alnico II pro hambucker.The guitar came with the most amazing bridge Tele pickup I have ever heard.It is a 70/s Schecter Quarter Pounder and is the most punchy pickup I have ever heard (SORRY GUYS IT IS SIPMPLY IMPOSIBLE TO FIND ONE OF THOSE,THEY DON/T MAKE THEM ANYMORE). This guitar has one of the thickest baseball bat necks (I love it and it sounds so mauch better thatn the new skiny american standard necks).Only drawback:HEAVY!,HEAVY!,HEAVY! (It is heavier than my Les Paul Custom!).Talking about features:come on be serious it is a Tele (I have added a nice tortoise shell pickguard though)

The best Tele I have ever heard.It is heavy,beaten and ugly but she smokes all other Teles (even the mega priced custom shop models) The bridge pickup has all the twang in the world and the neck humbucker alone is pure jazz!The combined pickup possition is as funky as it gets!

I have installed jumbo frets.The neck plays beautifuly and the action is great (I use 011/s). The guitar is extremely beaten but it is a Tele it is SUPPOSED to be beaten.

This thing is a leathal weapon.Built like a tank,and heavy. It will outlast all of my guitars!!!(and me !)

Fender is a great company they have always replied when I asked for their help (I live in Greece!)

Don/t listen to the crap about 70/s Fender guitars being inferior. They have gotten this rumour out only to devaluate them so they can buy them for peanuts and than sell them for a fortune!! 70/s Teles RULE!!!!

It's a Japanese Fender Tele made in '94. I got it as a steal from a store-$245!! It has the normal Tele setup but with a vintage 3-prong bridge. It's got a fantastic neck pick-up (one of those silver ones). It has that fantastic telecaster tone. The bridge pick-up is less than desirable. I turned the tone up and used this pick-up and the tinny high twang killed three cats next door. My friends ears started bleeding. I think I might get it replaced. The strings come through the body and it has a beautiful sunburst-wood grain (photo) finish. The stings go through the body. the fretboard is smooth with nice frets and fantastic action. The tone is great! It sounds great clean and with properly set distortion. I'm in love with it except for that nasty bridge pick-up (wich is actually fun to use because of that abrasive sound!).

The sound is sweet and full of that Telecaster character. (except fer that dern pick-up :). I'm in a modern rock band and we get heavy and fast at times. it sounds perfect. we also have tons of clean stuff. of course, it sounds perfect! as long as the tone level is kept in check, then it is a dream.

The action is PERFECT. I can fly on it! It's set good to where it won't rattle too much on the low strings. Everything is in great shape!

This guitar would be the most durable guitar in the universe. that is if you didn't mind dings and scratches (haha). I think they give the guitar character. but the finish is very easy to tear into. it could get some dings from hardly anything. It only has two, and they weren't by me. Personally i'm going to be carefull when plugging a cord into it. besides that, i can gig out and play as hard as i could and everything would be great. sturdy parts.

I got no papers or anything on the guitar. it's under no warranty or anything, but the Fender folks are nice enough. i suppose i could get it fixed some where if it ever needed it.

I saw the guitar, I had to have it, I sold my other piece-of-crap guitar and bought it. I would probably buy it again 99 times out of 100. It's the greatest deal that i've had. It's a great sounding guitar and a very high-quality import. I've played other americans and imports and none have been better. I don't even care about the stupid bridge pick up. maybe I could do something neat with that sound. who knows?

it`s a vintage telecaster. solid body, it was made in the `60`s. it`s pretty heavy but the weight is very good distribuited i replaced the original pickups because they literaly "died", i placed blue lace sensors instead.

i play mostly hard rock and blues and this guitar gives me everything i need. I use a marshall valvestate. it sounds great with this guitar, a lot better than ith my oter guitars(a PRS eg model, and a floyd rose strat). GREAT tone! belive it or not, with only two single coils i can get a lot of sounds.(very differents)

i never saw it original, but if i see it great with 30 years on, i guess it was better new. there was only one BIG problem, the bridge was the vintage 3 piece bridge. and it was giving me some problems, but i changed it fo a new one, a 6 one, and no it`s a lot better, although, the neck as made for a less wider bridge.

the guitar was made to last !! well man, what can i say, it has 30 years on it`s shoulders and it`s still like new! that`s what i love about it it once fall from the strap, and nothing happened to it, i guess this is a tank not a guitar. i changed the strap buttons and put on some straplocks, you never know what can happen.

i`ve never have to deal with the company, anyway i guees the warranty expired a long time ago.

i`ve been playing for 5 years now, but i`ve been really interested in guitar info, so i know a lot. i also own a PRS and a standard strat if stolen, i would definitely would buy another one.