Fender Tex-Mex Fat Tele

1996 Model. Bought new for $450. Everything has been said about the features. I have a unique finish. It's a translucent red with a black woodgrain showing through. I love the sound. I have a standard Tele and two Strats. This guitar sounds like nothing else I've ever played. I'm playing it through a Marshall 8240 stereo chorus amp, a Marshall DFX 30 and a Peavy Classic 30. It sounds great through all of them. The fit and finish are top rate and it's a very well made guitar.

I play classic R&R and country. Perfect for both.

Flawless.

I've had the guitar nearly 6 years now and I'm sure it will last. I would use this guitar any day without a backup. Never had a problem with it.

Fender. Enough said.

Been playing for over 30 years. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely try to find another one.

Mine is a '94 which bought used in Nov., 2001 so I've had lots of time for an objective evaluation. It was mint when I purchased it, in fact I thought it was actually a new guitar, when I found it was made in '94 WOW. The finish is milky white with a bit of grain showing through, very close to the way my '59 slab neck Tele looked when I bought it 37 years ago. The quality was quite surprising to me as I had been led to believe that Mexican Fenders where not all that great, what a surprise. This guitar plays extemely well. I won't bore with the details others have already covered. It is a Tele, nothing fancy but very versitile.

The pickups are little noisy but thats part of the Tele mojo isn't it?
The 5 position switch give an incredible range of tones, and TBX tone control lets you add some top end sparkle to the humbucker. I've noticed after reading all of the reviews on this axe that some people out there don't realize that the tone pot is a TBX control with a centre detent that gives you the equivelent of a normal tone pot maxed out. When you crank the pot wide open it adds top and bottom to your tone. I love this feature. The only weak point might be the bridge pickup is not as fat as my '59 but what can you expect?

I mentioned earlier that this baby was used when I got it but it was and still is mint. I went to heavier strings,10-46 Martin SP's, adjusted the truss rod set the intonation and thats all I've had to do. Judging by this particular guitar it's hard to figure how the Mexican stuff has such a bad rap.

I've played live with it on numerous occasions without incident and it stays in tune just like my '59 Tele. I don't take the old girl out to very many gigs anymore so this one makes a very dependable replacement and at a fraction of the replacement value. TELE TUFF!

I've been playing for 38 years, several of those professionally. My wife tells me I own more than enough gear and I guess she's right. I have a '59 Tele, '88 Strat Plus, G&L ASAT Special, DeArmond T-400, DeArmond M-77T, Epiphone Dot LTD, Tackamine GX-200T solid body electric and a Yamaha APX-10. I have owned many more over the years so I have a pretty good idea of what a good guitar is. I won't bore you with the amps,peddles etc. If they still made this guitar I would recomend it to anyone who really likes the Tele thing.

POPLAR BODY, MAPLE NECK, LIGHT YELLOW PAINT, WHITE PICKGUARD, CHROME BUCKER AT THE NECK AND TELE SINGLE AT THE BRIDGE, VINTAGE TUNERS AND BRIDGE, ONE VOLUME, ONE TONE AND 5 WAY SWITCH. 21 FRETS AND A " U " SHAPE NECK. THE NECK IS A BIT LARGE FEELING AT FIRST, BUT IS EASY TO GET USED TO. THIS GUITAR IS HEAVY. GREAT FEEL.

MY MUSIC STYLE IS A MIXTURE. I RECENTLY FOUND MY RECORDED COPY OF THE MOSCOW MUSIC PEACE FESTIVAL. I GOT TO WHERE CINDERELLA WAS PLAYING. TOM KEIFER WAS PLAYING A TELECASTER ON GYPSY ROAD. IT SOUNDED SO COOL I HAD TO CHECK OUT A TELECASTER. YOU CAN GET YOUR BASIC ROCK & ROLL, HEAVY ROCK, PUNK AND BLUES SOUNDS FROM THIS GUITAR. I PLAYED IT THROUGH A MARSHALL AVT 50 1X12 COMBO ON THE CLEAN AND DIRTY CHANNELS AND IT SOUNDED GREAT. THE BRIDGE PICKUP SOUNDS BETTER THAN THE NECK HUMBUCKER WHEN PLAYED DIRTY, BUT THE NECK BUCKER SOUNDS GREAT WHEN PLAYED CLEAN. NO! YOU CAN'T GET A SHREDDER HUMBUCKER SOUND OUT OF IT, BUT IT DOES WELL FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.

THIS GUITAR IS USED. IT HAS BEEN GIVEN THE ONCE OVER BY THE SHOP OWNER. THE PAINT HAS SOME ROAD WARE AND THE MAPLE FRETBOARD IS A LITTLE DIRTY, BUT IT IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. VERY DURABLE.

CAN'T BEAT IT.

I OWN AND HAVE OWNED SEVERAL FENDER STRATS AND THE COMPANY STANDS BY THEIR STUFF. GREAT SUPPORT.

I WILL BE BUYING THIS GUITAR HERE IN A FEW WEEKS. I GOT IT ON HOLD. I HAVE COME FULL CIRCLE WITH GUITARS. I STARTED WITH A BLACK OVER WHITE FENDER STRAT IN 1985 AND HAVE GONE THROUGH ALL THE WARLOCKS, EXPLORER, FLYING V, BITCH, MOCKINGBIRD, STAR, AND SHRED GUITARS LIKE ESP MII, JACKSON SOLOIST, KRAMER BARETTA..........ECT. I LOVE FENDER, MEXICAN, JAPANESE AND AMERICAN ALIKE. I HAVE HAD THE BEST LUCK WITH THEM. I STILL WOULD LIKE TO GET INTO A JACKSON THOUGH. THIS TELE WOULD BE ALOT OF FUN. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET IT. IF YOU LIKE A LITTLE CHANGE IN YOUR SOUND, A TELE IS A GOOD WAY TO GO.

Features:

MODEL #: 013-5502
NECK: Maple
NO. OF FRETS: 21
BODY: Poplar w/ Ash Veneered Top
FINGERBOARD: maple
SCALE LENGTH: 25.5" (648mm)
WIDTH AT NUT: 1.650" (42mm)
HADWARE: Chrome
MACHINE HEADS: Vintage Style
BRIDGE: Vintage Style
PICKGUARD: 3-Ply Black
PICKUPS: Special Design Humbucker (neck) & Special Tele (bridge)
PICKUP SWITCHING: Special 5 Position Blade
Positions:

1. Neck Humbucking Pickup
2. Tapped Neck Humbucking Pickup (front coil)
3. Bridge and Neck Pickups
4. Bridge and Tapped Neck Humbucking Pickup
5. Bridge Pickup

CONTROLS: Master Volume, Master Tone
COLOR: 3-Tone Sunburst
SOURCE: Mexico
U.S MSRP: $559.99
STATUS: Discontinued
INTRODUCED: 1994
DISCONTINUED: 1/1997

I play modern day blues, jazz, rock, & i mess around w/ experimental sounds (think radiohead & r.a.t.m). i run this axe into a bedrock 50-watt tube head (w/ a 1-12 in. bedrock speaker & in a bedrock cab).

*note: see my review on the bedrock.

i preferably use just the clean channel. my fx chain goes like this:

mim fat tele ->
old crybaby (post thomas organ)->
ibanez TS-5 tubescreamer (waiting to upgrade)->
line 6 dl-4->
bedrock 50 watt mini stack

the guitar itself is very versatile b/c of the pickup configuration.

1. Neck Humbucking Pickup: meaty humbucker tones

2. Tapped Neck Humbucking Pickup (front coil) : much like a
a strat in the same pickup position but with a little more girth.

3. Bridge and Neck Pickups: entering tele-land now. cant relate
this to anything else, but it sounds like what it is. a humbucker
and a tele bridge. its sounds good

4. Bridge and Tapped Neck Humbucking Pickup: sounds like a mix
between a meaty strat pickup and a tele.

5. Bridge Pickup: classic tele sounds.

each pickup selection varies from the other. all together they compliment each other very well. where one lacks, another pickup selection makes up. the guitar gets little to zero noise.

my only complaint is that i find myself w/ the tone knob always half-way when using the bridge pickup. it has a lot of treble bite, but it can be easied by downing the tone knob.

i had to restring & adjust the action to my liking when i got the guitar, but other than that, it was perfect when i got it. the finish was fine. the pickups were set at the right height. cosmetically this guitar is very practical. its not a custom shop beauty. nor is it a tom anderson, but in my eyes its a versatile tone monster.

i have had the guitar since '96. it replaced my first guitar which was an 80's fender squire strat w/ a floyed rose and humbucker in the bridge. for four years i played in all my garage bands and played on stage a good bit w/ out a back up. it never failed. recently the humucker just stopped. i had it sent off for repairs at a local music store and i got it back in the same condition plus w/ the pickup's rewired wrong. i didnt like that. i emailed fender got the part list & schematics for the guitar and went to work on the guitar. the wire to the humbucker had a short in it. i just super glued it in place where the wire didnt short out. i did that a few months ago. its still working great, and i also rewired back to its original wiring out of the factory. i'll give the guitar a 9 b/c of the short.

when i needed fender they helped me asap. they sent me the schematics for my guitar free of charge. they normally charge for it if you cant get off the web. since my guitar was discontinued i had to email fender's customer support and get an actual hard copy of the schematics. they were friendly and fast, just the way i like it.

until 2000 i gigged w/ this guitar and no back up. i bought an epiphone dot b/c i wanted to get a semi-hollow body. i bring it as a back up when i gig just in case a string breaks on my tele. the tele is always my first choice. when i bought the guitar i had a limited knowledge of what makes a guitar sound great, but when i plugged this guitar in, i knew that it sounded and played great. you dont have to be an engineer to know a good sounding guitar when you hear one.

Made in 1996 in Mexico, 21 frets, ash top on poplar(check the old catalogs), standard Tele volume and tone controls, 5 way switch for the most versatile range of tones of any guitar I've owned(over 50 in 20 years),standard Tele single coil in 6 saddle string through body bridge, chrome covered humbucker in neck position, both pickups are original and work great, amber tinted maple neck with 50's spaghetti logo and skunk stripe on back, black paint job with black pickguard, vintage style tuners stay in tune(never had a Tele that didn't stay in tune forever), does it all extremely well, only changed the string tree to the round early 50's style(which says a lot to me as I love to tinker with my guitars).

This guitar suits all styles I play(which is just about everything from punk to jazz) with no problems at all. I'm using a late 70's Twin Reverb and a mid 90's JCM900 4102, various effects(yes I'm a pedal junkie). It's a little noisy on the bridge pickup(no more than other Teles). This guitar has fabulous tones on the 2 and 4 switch positions, merely great on 1,3, & 5, amazing versatility, no complaints here!!

Bought used from a vintage dealer and was set up pretty good. Took it home and changed to 10-38 Fender 150's, reset intonation and action. String changes only since, pickups needed no adjustment, no other cosmetic or functional flaws whatsoever.

Very reliable and durable. I'm pretty kind to my guitars so I can't say what would happen if you beat up on them. Nothing has fallen off or needed adjustment. I wouldn't EVER do a gig without a back up because you just never know.

I've been playing the guitar since 1980, and would try to replace this guitar if it got away from me. I've only seen a couple black ones and they were pretty beat compared to mine. If you find a clean one in a color you like, buy it!! You will love it and be amazed for a long time with it's features, versatility, and tone.

Made in Mexico,maple neck,poplar body,vintage style tuners,6 saddle bridge,strings thru body,humbucker in neck pos. single in bridge pos.5-way switching.

I play blues country rockabilly until I have the bucks for a '52 reissue this will do just fine,in fact I'll be keeping it.That's right.Amp used:Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Effects:Danelectro BLT(echo),Morley JD-10.The bridge p/u is pretty darn good twangy not fingernails on a chalkboard trebly.Some hum when used by itself,no big deal.The neck humbucker on its own is dead quiet don't mean to rave here but man it sounds nice for blues clean or dirty.Pos.2-3-4 yield Stratty tones,fairly quiet.Gets a 9 for sound,versatility,tone.

Bought used so no comment on factory setup.I put on 11-49 guage strings had truss rod adjusted checked intonation(learn to do this stuff,you can make any guitar play and sound decent if you do)and there you go.Solid,solid instrument.The vintage tuners work well and look cool too.

See rating.

Bought used never dealt with Fender

20 years playing,other gear mentioned above somewhere.It didn't cost a bloody fortune and it works for me.It's a keeper.Love that neck humbucker.

9.. coil tapping on the humbucker.. volume and tone control.. personally, i think this is fine, but i'm being objetive, and there could be a dedicated tone and volume for the pickups, and a master volume.
poplar body.. a fine wood for a 60's telecaster tone.. not like ash. more like alder..
5 piece body, i belive. not the more premium body ever, but for thepirce it's fine.
the neck is gorgeous in looks , construction , and tone.

i noticed how "tight" this guitar sounds.. it simply has a great low end sound. not a chunk a chuknk, thudding tone perfered by heavy metal guitars, but a led zepllin esque tone. it's pickups are great for the money, nice country, blues and rock from the bridge, and jazz, rock, blues, heavy rock, and everything else on the neck. the wiring makes this guitar the most versitle i've played .. ( i've played a few strat, and les pauls in my day, and my main guitar is a g+l asat, which though cost 1000 more than the tex mex, does not have the tight factor.. and really, for the money, is not as fun a guitar really...

7.. the neck was a bit out of alignment.. i loosened the screws and gave it a tug, tightedn them up and fill the small gap left in the neck pocket with a piece of cardboard. all nice now...
the finish is perfect, the hardware is good, the frets were only slightly rough, but the guitars plays great, and the componet ( i took apart to th guitar for this test) are all super high quality.. crt seitch, cts pots... and those knobs are massively heavy. those will cost you about 8 bucks each in the store.. considering what i paid for this guitar, it's a bargain. mexico is just as good as the us factory

8
finish does chip a bit easil.y probably the polyester finish.. yet the guitar itself is a rock

never wrote them

if you like a versitle guitar for old style playing and are on a budget, this will suit you fine!

Made in Mexico, 5-way selector switch, Tele single coil bridge pickup with a humbucker in the neck position, MAple neck,

With a five way selector switch you can get a wide range of sounds, in the bridge position i find it to be too treblie(if thats a word) but when you engage the humbucker the sound gets pretty warm.

Sets up well and easy to adjust pickups

I've been playing sice i was 9(16 years), I own a 94 fender jazz bass , a 91 p-bass, Ibanez ergodyne, Guild acoustic, takamine acoustic, Jay turser(copy of a 135), fender hotrod deluxe Amp, Peavey TKO combo, Mesa Boogie 210 cabinet, peavey T-max Power amp.

Tex-Mex Fat Tele - Single coil (bridge), Humbucker (neck) 21 fret maple neck, black - poplar body, 5 position pickup selector.

I would rate this 10 with the pickups I have in now and 8 for the pickups (Tex-Mex's) that came with it. I installed a DiMarzio PAF classic humbucker and a Harmonic Design Vintage Plus in the bridge. The guitar sounds fantastic. Great variations of sounds.

Been playing for at least 30 plus years. This is one of my most favorite guitars since the pickup change. It has tone to die for and its fun to play. I would buy another one in a heartbeat for the price I got this one for.