? For starters the guitar being reviewed is a 2006 Standard American U.S.A. made Tele. You can get these street price at $960 with hardcase. ?So let’s start with some Specs. This is a vintage white Alder body model with maple neck. Rosewood neck versions and ash bodies are available as other options. The neck is a Modern C shape that’s a bit wider than the older Fenders, it feels fast and comfortable, not too thick or thin. Featuring 22 medium jumbo frets the neck has rolled fingerboard edges for a more worn in feel and I noticed that true to many vintage teles the fretboard and neck are ONE solid piece of maple!! ?I think this is a killer construction method Fender is using for better tone. Pickups are the standard issue Fender tele pickups that are slightly hotter than the old stock versions so they do a really great clean but are more versatile for overdriven lead tones. ?A standard 3 way switch for the classic tonal options is all you need to make this baby wail. High grade staggered Schaller tuners, 6 steel individually adjustable bridge saddles and oversized strap buttons round out a VERY well thought out design.

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?Well how’s she sound? I was very impressed with the tones from this Tele. Before I ever plugged it in I was amazed at the unplugged sound. Loud and resonant you can literally feel the guitar shake with resonance and sustain! Wow that’s really hard to find in newer guitars. So lets plug it in. It really covers a lot of ground well, from classic country twang to more modern rock like tones. All the pickups had excellent sonic capabilities, I do feel this is a modern tonal tele and meant to cover a lot of different genres well. It’s not the vintage “nasally” overly bright tele tone but a good compromise for all kinds of styles. The neck pickup is warm and clear and the bridge is cutting but not thin. I did feel in higher gain modes the bridge pickup just lacked some mojo for lack of a better term, a upgrade to Duncans or other high end pickup mfrs. in the bridge position would help the higher gain rock tones become more happening.

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?Overall construction fit and finish. Well I’ll have to tell you next to PRS made guitars this guitar is the best production line guitar I have ever played. PERIOD. It’s absolutely flawless in every way. When I went to try these out I simply walked into the local store I deal with and pulled one right out of the box new from the dealers stock unannounced out of his backroom. It was perfectly in tune and was set up perfectly, the best next to PRS guitars that I’ve ever seen. The intonation was perfectly strobe tuned and nothing was needed to be done to take the guitar to the gig. No joshin’ or blowin’ smoke here I couldn’t believe it. Nut cut perfect, nothing loose, finish flawless. Wow I certainly now believe as many people do that this is a great time to buy Fender guitars.

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? Some modern features I really liked on this guitar are: The neck, being a little thicker and wider with a 9.5” radius with rolled edges makes it really “fast’ for modern playing. The pickups are more versatile and slightly hotter with flat polepieces , the individually adjustable intonation saddles are a godsend for accurate intonation and the oversized strap buttons so you don’t have to buy strap locks is real cool. I have included some specs on these models from Fenders web site at the bottom of the article for more detailed information.

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??This guitar is a winner and I really think if you haven’t looked at the fender stuff for awhile maybe you should check these out!! This Tele features all the great classic appointments with a lot of modern touches to really bring this guitar in a new era for discriminating players, Quality abounds in every detail!! Well Done!!?The only improvement I would like to see is the?bridge pickups becoming a little more "alive' in the higher?gain modes.

Guitar Guru