Vintage TC200TCS

A great body nice classic colours, and awesome yet classic pickups.
I love it!!

Makes a great sound with or without an amp. I love playin Quo and the TC-200 gives of the great classic sound I like.

The action of the tele is awesome. No flaws so I just picked up and played.

No chance the tele plays brill live. I know ive used it in gigs 5 times! It is a dependable and cheap guitar. Perfect from beginners to pros.

A beautiful guitar for an amazing low price. Sounds good looks goood and easy to play. Ive bin playin for three years and this guitar has been reliable and good sounding.

Probably manufactured 2004 or 2005. Country of manufacture unknown.
Gloss finish 22 fret maple neck with satin finish maple fingerboard and black dot markers. (Rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dots available.)
Gloss black solid colour tele-style body with white scratchplate. (Blonde with black scratchplate available.)
Body material is said by manufacturer to be Eastern Poplar.
Bolt-on neck attached to body by 4 screws through chromed steel plate.
2 Trevor Wilkinson single-coil passive pickups (neck / bridge), three-way blade-type pickup selector, 1 master volume / 1 master tone control with knurled chromed steel dome-topped knobs. All controls for passive electronics mounted on removable chromed steel plate.
Trevor Wilkinson WTB 'ashtray'-style bridge with 3 brass compensated saddles adjustable for height and intonation. Through-body stringing.
Trevor Wilkinson 6-in-line tuners, chromed metal, small oval buttons.
Plastic nut. 1 chromed steel string tree for high E and B strings. 2 steel strap buttons.
Gold 'Vintage' logo to front of headstock. Serial number on paper label (!) on rear of headstock.

Excellent pickups for the price, all the standard Telecaster noises. Smooth neck pickup is very usable, gives good clean sounds from country to jazz. Sharper/louder bridge pickup gives a range of rock, country and blues tones, plenty of twang if needed, not too much top. Intermediate position basically a softer variant on the bridge.

Typical, noticeable volume drop when switching from bridge to neck pickup. Tone control not linear in operation, but offers some control over treble 'edge'. Volume control also affects tone, so combinations of volume and tone produce subtle variations in sound.

No obvious problems with noise or hum. Controls are quiet. Pickup selector is positive. Control knobs are push-on metal type and the pots feel a little flimsy.

Taking into consideration the low price I would classify the fit, finish and action as supplied as satisfactory, with the following exceptions.

The truss rod (adjustable from the headstock)was positioned in such a way that it was only just possible to get a hex key into the truss rod. The access hole is lined with a black plastic insert, and it was obvious where some of this had been removed with something like a Moto-Tool to make the truss rod head accessible. This is the only fault on the instrument that I would describe as potentially serious, but in practice only a small adjustment of the truss rod was necessary. Worth checking this point in the shop, nonetheless.

Although correctly positioned on the neck, the top E string ran at the far outside edge of the bridge pickup polepiece, almost off the polepiece altogether. This could be compensated for by wedging a solid object between the E / B saddle and the side of the ashtray, pushing the saddle sideways, but there was no way truly to centre the E string above its polepiece. The B and G strings were also off centre to a lesser degree. Effect on sound was limited, however.

On close inspection the edges of the fretboard between certain frets were visibly rough, as though the fret ends had been rather carelessly filed. No effect on playability.

The nut slot for the A string appears to have been cut significantly lower than the slot for the low E string. I would consider replacing the nut.

All parts were securely fitted and the neck joint was tight and appeared to be correctly aligned.

Persistent string buzz at fret 13 on the D and G strings suggests that fret 14 has been left slightly proud of frets 13 and 15. Not hard to correct.

Action was OK though not super-low with the supplied strings (09-42). Pickups were too close to the strings, easily adjusted. Intonation was approximate but easily adjusted. The Wilkinson bridge, unlike the original, has compensated saddles, which potentially gives greater accuracy of intonation while preserving the traditional bridge style. In my opinion, the supplied strings are too light to make the best of the guitar's potential and will be replaced with a 10-46 set. A very low action would probably be impossible without significant string buzz unless set up by a professional. Not an issue for me as I play with a medium action.

This is a bargain-basement version of a very basic guitar. It has the advantage of better quality parts than most at this price. I was impressed by its value for money. It is most suitable for a beginner or a bedroom player who wants the Tele sound and look on a small budget. It would benefit from a pro setup. It would make a perfectly adequate back-up guitar but is probably not the perfect choice as a main instrument or for heavy gigging. The neck/body seem good enough to stand some upgrading, but the supplied pickups are better than one would expect anyway.

The Vintage line of instruments is manufactured by John Hornby Skewes, with whom I have had no dealings. The local music shop from which I bought the instrument is friendly enough. Any significant fault on an instrument this cheap would probably require the whole guitar to be replaced anyway.

If you want a standard Tele-type guitar of traditional appearance and sound but can't afford Fender prices try to look at this TC200 and the Squier Tele. I would strongly recommend that you physically inspect the actual guitar you intend to buy, as cheap guitars tend to vary much more from sample to sample than expensive instruments. I would be unwilling to buy a Vintage instrument (or any other very cheap guitar) online, for example. Be prepared to spend a little more to have your local luthier set it up properly.

On the basis of this example, the TC200 is good value for money and I recommend it. I would be happy to buy another if it were stolen, and I would expect to have to spend quite a bit more to better its basic sound. The lowish ratings I have given for features and finish reflect the fact that this is a very simple and inexpensive instrument. In my eyes this is a plus - less to go wrong, and the manufacturer can spend money where it counts instead of on unnecessary bells and whistles.

Telecaster copy, made in India. V.heavy!!, I'd estimate 50% heavier than a Squier tele.

Usual tele features, or lack thereof. Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard.
Strings through body, individual saddles, easy to adjust.

The tcs denotes tobacco sunburst, but, its very light tobacco. Fat neck, medium frets. Low action, crappy tuners.

The first thing that struck me was the sustain. It goes on forever!.
The sound is clear and bright, almost cutting, on the vridge PU, muddy and smoky, very evocative on the neck, and full and resonant when both are in operation. This guitar is totally electrically silent!. No hums, buzzes or nasties. Great for riffing. Imagine Led Zeps 'rock-n-roll' on a tele.

VAstly better sound than the Squier I tried.

The action is loooooow. The pickups were OK, but the bridge needed to be dropped a tad. Slight misalignment on the bridge placing, intonation out. Finish not very tough, it aint a Danelectro in that department. Slight oxidation on the chrome, nothing worth mentioning. The nut is perfect, and you can't get a fag paper in the neck joint. Neck perfectly straight.

Its a well made, sturdy tele clone. Reminicient od a true Yank tele. Body and neck v.sturdy. Tuners shyte, as ever on cheapo guitars.

I'd gig with it AFTER swapping the tuners

JHS have been OK in the past with my beloved Danelectro. No reason to doubt them now,

Been playing for two years, also own a Danelectro 59DC, with which I remain enamoured. I just fancied a tele, and I didn't like the 'nasty' ( it's all subjective ) sound of the Squier. This is rich when you want it to be, and biting when needed. If I lost it, or had it nicked, I'd save harder and buy a Mexican Tele, but I am glad I bought this.