I got a FSR Telecaster mim . I love the vibe of the higher output ceramic magnets. I know they are less expensive than the alnico pups, but I like the gritty, higher output. They mellow out nicely with a slight volume roll off. Only thing that could make it better for me would be if it had a 7.25 radius neck. It has a 9.5. Not bad, but s little flatter than I prefer.
i have just had a 07 Mexican tele handed down to me from one of my dad's friends and it's the best guitar I've ever played, I don't know why guitar players are so snobby about where fenders are made, they are still excellent quality
Went in guitar center yesterday to kill time and picked one up and 3 hours later I knew I wasn’t leaving the building without it. I bought it and I genuinely think it might be the best sounding/playing guitar I’ve ever played. Can’t put it down.
@@BlaineMcDowell-tg6rl they are truly amazing, I have an emotional attachment to mine because it was handed down to me after my dads friend passed and he left it to me in his will
I just ordered a Fender Player Plus from 2022. Modern 12" radius, rounded edges, modern Bridge, noiseless pickups, locking tuners, belly cut. Sounds and plays awesome. It´s the modern version of the Telecaster and i really like it.
I got a MiM tele about 9 months ago. Surf pearl finish is beautiful. Fret edges needed a little touch up. $20 fret tools and an hour of my time fixed that. Tone knob was right up against the plate. That was a 30 second fix with a screwdriver. Other than that it was great right out of the box. I'm not a professional musician and I enjoyed doing a little work, so I'm glad I didn't spend $1800 on an American made. They're wonderful, but even with the fret tools, the MiM was basically a third of the price
The first guitar I bought myself was a circa-2002 MIM Tele... it's still my favorite guitar. I think I paid $400 at the time, and I never regretted the purchase... it has served me well over the past 20 years or so. For me, it's just so comfortable to play and it sounds great! I ended up upgrading the pickups and tuners, and that's really all I had to do to make it really sing. And the thing aboutTelecasters... so versatile! People think it's for country twang only, they are wrong! I can play anything with it.
Nothing wrong with MiM - it is almost the same. You pay more for U.S. because you have to pay higher taxes and pay workers more. Made in Mexico by Mexicans. Made in U.S. by Mexicans.
Grabbed a 98 MIM Stratocaster Deluxe last year for $80.00. Haven't put it down since, the neck has that played in feeling and the stock noiseless pickups are buttery.
I have a 1999 MIM Nashville Deluxe Tele. Absolutely fantastic guitar! Plays like a dream, and I do like the TexMex pickups. Great tonal diversity with that Strat pup in the middle.
I found a MIM Fender Baja Tele, that just hung on the wall for a couple years in a small town music store. Marked down from $799 to $399. Custom Shop design with premium parts. Great old-school Tele with S-1 switching !
I picked up a MIM Strat and Tele Standard for just above the price for one new! Both in great condition and they are immaculate. The Tele is a shining Black with white pick guard my “Black and White Tele “
I've got 4 telecasters. An American thinline, 2 Player single coils in black and blonde and 1 player HH. I love them all. The thinline is a special instrument and has been modded some. Except for locking tuners the others are all stock. The Mexican telecasters are durable, dependable and though there are some noticeable differences in feel and tone they do everything I need them to do. From clean to gritty, rock, jazz or blues, they do it all and they do it well. And of course that half the price thing is just gravy on my turkey.
Yes. They're great. I had 4 of them in my life. Never felt the need to spend the extra on an American. Nor did I feel the need to try the Japanese. Fully satisfied 😊
The made in Mexico tele may not be perfect, but it is good enough and not bad at all. The American tele may have just a tiny little bit of better quality. That tiny little difference is just not enough for the difference in price. Personally, I'd go with the Mexican tele over the American one. I don't see how it's worth it to pay a ton extra for a tiny little difference. The choice for me at the end of the day is the made in Mexico tele.
Great Demo!!! Loved it! I have that same telecaster. I bought it because of the tone… Even over the new American Professional that had just come out at the time it is was released. They looked almost identical, except for the reversed volume/ tone control. I played the 2 side by side, and chose the FSR (Fender Special Release) MIM. Something about the pickups I preferred… just brighter, higher output. Ceramic magnets if I recall correctly. The only thing I don’t care for on the this guitar is the 9.5 radius of the neck; just a little too flat for my taste, and I wind up missing some notes. If it would have had the 7.25 radius it would have checked every box for me. That said, I will still never part with it. I just love the aggressive tone of those ceramic magnets. I am playing it through a Marshall JVM 410… and the tonal spectrum is amazing. As is the Les Paul Standard and the SG… Point is… it is a unique guitar… Glad I stumbled across it. I may add an American 60s Tele with mahogany body and Nitro finish (just for the smell,) and the 7.25 radius… but the FSR is staying put. 😉
I'm gonna go ahead and agree. I may take it even further though. The MIM Tele is the best guitar any brand makes overseas for the price. The PRS SE's are also good but more costly. Better than epiphone, squire, other MIC models. Also, BIG AGREE. The best combination is Gibson through a Fender and a Fender through a Marshall
i found a blacktop hh tele in a hockshop,vintage alnico overwound pickups ,vintage saddles, its a monster...alder and maple,perfect .the MIM, well its just over th cali border...ĺike the guitar face goin on, shows you love it
I used to work for Guitar Center. While working there a Fender rep once told me in an arguably racist fashion. “One is made by Juan and one is made by John” it’s all about the individual instrument and it’s QC.. Frankly as someone who has owned both USA and MIM Teles. I’ve always preferred the MIM instruments. I suppose it’s just taste.
Just bought a left handed 2015' mim telecaster in cherry red. It was an absolute steal. I'll end up spending more on the new Seymour Duncan pickups than I paid for the guitar.
I have one that looks like that. But mine says fender in big letters and squire under it. No serial number or other markings. Just an F on the back cover. No holes for the strings in the back either.
Great video! Just curious were you recording straight from the interface and into the DAW? If so what plugins were you using to make this clip? It sounded a little familiar… I use a UAD Apollo, and sometimes use the Fender Tweed plugin. This clip reminds me of the vibe. 👍
for the songs i need the tele on it did not seem like i needed an expensive axe .... the MIM has all the vibe and properly set up will play great night after night gig after gig .... have'nt tried it thru my 87 silver jubilee yet .... you did'nt not mention if you add a phase shifter you have nailed waylon jennings sound .... could not get the tele sound out of my 62 strat or my 65 jazzmaster .... seems like if you want the country type twang it's gotta be a tele
Just got my first tele, ever. Ive always been a Gibson SG guy. Sometimes ill get a Les Paul and on the rare occasion ill try a prs, height end prs I’ve owned was the CE 24. So, my question is, are the MiM tele’s known to have sharpish fret edges? Mine does.. ive owned one MiM strat, but it amazing rounded edges and I didn’t notice the frets
My first 'real' Fender was a Mexican Tele, bought new in the early nineties. It was part of the very first run MIM's. It TOTALLY SUCKED!! I remember myself loosing strap buttons due to the soft poplar, having microphonic pickups and frets sticking out the sides of the neck. It was very, very bad. Saddles that did not hold their position and no string through. I had been saving for months to get that Tele so you can imagine how big my disappointment was....
Yes they are...I Put Custom Texas Specials on my mine and swap original 6 saddles for 3 saddles...My Tele sounds sick now!!..However all in all at the of the day it's really mostly about the player's touch and skills too....SRV would kill most people even with a Strat made in China
Yes. Very good actually. Next question. I think MIM Fender kinda owns the 'bang for the buck' sweet spot actually. The cheapest entry to a guitar a pro could use on stage or in a studio and no one even comments on it. They sound right, look right and play right for a gig in an expensive studio or on a stage with rock stars in front of 50k screaming fans. To me, a Mexi Fender is the cheapest buy-in to that caliber of gear. I am typing this on a Saturday. Tonight, all over the world, hundreds of thousands of Mexican Fenders will played in bars, at weddings, bar mitzvahs, bbqs and other gigs by pro musicians. Some of the players will even be famous. MIA is very nice. But I won't tolerate anyone talking smack about MIM. Ensenada has produced some killer guitars over the decades. Clearly, they know what they are doing there. You can argue, but all the evidence is on my side. Mexican Fenders are good. Period. They can even be great, and are the best mod platform among guitars on the planet. Good? I say 'badass'
Bought one new, dead spots when low action set, tone control utterly useless. It's an on-off switch. Somebody blamed it on the pickups, but I don't know. So needs setting up, bit of fretwork doing, I think. Pretty decent sound, and I guess when sorted, it'll be fine, certainly for the price.
Have you played a well set-up Squier Contemporary Telecaster? I bought one second hand and the flame maple on the back of the neck would not look out of place on a $3K+ custom shop model and it feels fantastic. The SQR pickups sound great. The overall guitar plays and sounds that good that it's competing with my Fender USA Jim Root Strat. It also looks mighty fine.
@@SpiritOfOrange I would just build a parts caster - even better. I don't like the idea of a foreign people building an instrument in a sweat shop - you can have it. I hope it brings a grin to your face.
@@randallscott6 1. I've not had to replace any hardware and the frets are not sharp but well rounded. It sounded good (clean or dirty amp channel) out of the box without any modification. 2. If you do not like the idea of "a foreign people building an instrument in a sweat shop" then I guess most of your clothes, packaging, electronics and even a few of the parts for your parts-caster would be out of the question for you to consume. There's a fair few Mexicans working in the Fender USA facility. 3. I'm grinning all the way to the bank 😁
LET ME know YOUR experiences with Mexican Made Telecasters (OR ANY FENDER) BELOW!!
I got a FSR Telecaster mim . I love the vibe of the higher output ceramic magnets. I know they are less expensive than the alnico pups, but I like the gritty, higher output. They mellow out nicely with a slight volume roll off. Only thing that could make it better for me would be if it had a 7.25 radius neck. It has a 9.5. Not bad, but s little flatter than I prefer.
i have just had a 07 Mexican tele handed down to me from one of my dad's friends and it's the best guitar I've ever played, I don't know why guitar players are so snobby about where fenders are made, they are still excellent quality
Went in guitar center yesterday to kill time and picked one up and 3 hours later I knew I wasn’t leaving the building without it. I bought it and I genuinely think it might be the best sounding/playing guitar I’ve ever played. Can’t put it down.
@@BlaineMcDowell-tg6rl they are truly amazing, I have an emotional attachment to mine because it was handed down to me after my dads friend passed and he left it to me in his will
Fr why are they so snobby
I just ordered a Fender Player Plus from 2022. Modern 12" radius, rounded edges, modern Bridge, noiseless pickups, locking tuners, belly cut. Sounds and plays awesome.
It´s the modern version of the Telecaster and i really like it.
I got a MiM tele about 9 months ago. Surf pearl finish is beautiful. Fret edges needed a little touch up. $20 fret tools and an hour of my time fixed that. Tone knob was right up against the plate. That was a 30 second fix with a screwdriver. Other than that it was great right out of the box. I'm not a professional musician and I enjoyed doing a little work, so I'm glad I didn't spend $1800 on an American made. They're wonderful, but even with the fret tools, the MiM was basically a third of the price
Andy Summers from the Police used to put his Tele through a Marshal Amp, but with lots of delay and Chorus - sweet combo!
The first guitar I bought myself was a circa-2002 MIM Tele... it's still my favorite guitar. I think I paid $400 at the time, and I never regretted the purchase... it has served me well over the past 20 years or so. For me, it's just so comfortable to play and it sounds great! I ended up upgrading the pickups and tuners, and that's really all I had to do to make it really sing. And the thing aboutTelecasters... so versatile! People think it's for country twang only, they are wrong! I can play anything with it.
Nothing wrong with MiM - it is almost the same. You pay more for U.S. because you have to pay higher taxes and pay workers more. Made in Mexico by Mexicans. Made in U.S. by Mexicans.
Grabbed a 98 MIM Stratocaster Deluxe last year for $80.00. Haven't put it down since, the neck has that played in feeling and the stock noiseless pickups are buttery.
I have a 1999 MIM Nashville Deluxe Tele. Absolutely fantastic guitar! Plays like a dream, and I do like the TexMex pickups. Great tonal diversity with that Strat pup in the middle.
I found a MIM Fender Baja Tele, that just hung on the wall for a couple years in a small town music store. Marked down from $799 to $399. Custom Shop design with premium parts.
Great old-school Tele with S-1 switching !
WHAT A FIND! Congratulations on that one!
I picked up a MIM Strat and Tele Standard for just above the price for one new! Both in great condition and they are immaculate. The Tele is a shining Black with white pick guard my “Black and White Tele “
I've got 4 telecasters. An American thinline, 2 Player single coils in black and blonde and 1 player HH. I love them all.
The thinline is a special instrument and has been modded some.
Except for locking tuners the others are all stock.
The Mexican telecasters are durable, dependable and though there are some noticeable differences in feel and tone they do everything I need them to do.
From clean to gritty, rock, jazz or blues, they do it all and they do it well. And of course that half the price thing is just gravy on my turkey.
Hahah just gravy on my turkey! Love that! You are right! That’s why I love this one and never want to get another one!
Yes. They're great. I had 4 of them in my life. Never felt the need to spend the extra on an American. Nor did I feel the need to try the Japanese. Fully satisfied 😊
yes... mexican made fenders are a special breed of guitar
I get a 2018 Telecaster as a present and I love it.
I've got a '22 MIM Tele. Absolutely love it and it's been pretty much flawless. It's the guitar I can't put down.
I brought a Mexican tele it was surf pearl and I got it at guitar center after saving up for 5 months to get it. I had no problems it sounded great.
Oh man that Baja is awesome! ❤❤❤❤
The made in Mexico tele may not be perfect, but it is good enough and not bad at all. The American tele may have just a tiny little bit of better quality. That tiny little difference is just not enough for the difference in price. Personally, I'd go with the Mexican tele over the American one. I don't see how it's worth it to pay a ton extra for a tiny little difference. The choice for me at the end of the day is the made in Mexico tele.
Great Demo!!! Loved it!
I have that same telecaster. I bought it because of the tone… Even over the new American Professional that had just come out at the time it is was released. They looked almost identical, except for the reversed volume/ tone control. I played the 2 side by side, and chose the FSR (Fender Special Release) MIM.
Something about the pickups I preferred… just brighter, higher output. Ceramic magnets if I recall correctly. The only thing I don’t care for on the this guitar is the 9.5 radius of the neck; just a little too flat for my taste, and I wind up missing some notes. If it would have had the 7.25 radius it would have checked every box for me. That said, I will still never part with it. I just love the aggressive tone of those ceramic magnets. I am playing it through a Marshall JVM 410… and the tonal spectrum is amazing.
As is the Les Paul Standard and the SG…
Point is… it is a unique guitar… Glad I stumbled across it. I may add an American 60s Tele with mahogany body and Nitro finish (just for the smell,) and the 7.25 radius… but the FSR is staying put. 😉
It’s good for the price, soundwise perfect but the fret edges are too sharp, you’ll need a luthier to sand them down a bit for smoother feel.
I'm gonna go ahead and agree. I may take it even further though. The MIM Tele is the best guitar any brand makes overseas for the price. The PRS SE's are also good but more costly. Better than epiphone, squire, other MIC models.
Also, BIG AGREE. The best combination is Gibson through a Fender and a Fender through a Marshall
i found a blacktop hh tele in a hockshop,vintage alnico overwound pickups ,vintage saddles, its a monster...alder and maple,perfect .the MIM, well its just over th cali border...ĺike the guitar face goin on, shows you love it
I used to work for Guitar Center. While working there a Fender rep once told me in an arguably racist fashion. “One is made by Juan and one is made by John” it’s all about the individual instrument and it’s QC..
Frankly as someone who has owned both USA and MIM Teles. I’ve always preferred the MIM instruments. I suppose it’s just taste.
🤣🤣 that’s funny. It’s definitely a mix of taste and luck!
They're both made by Juan lmao.
I bought a Telecaster Thinline II (humbuckers and F hole) in 2006, it has wonderful tones. It's a keeper. The MIM is just snobbery!
Buy a fret file and a set of pickups and you can make your MIM play and sound as good as a MIA
Just bought a left handed 2015' mim telecaster in cherry red. It was an absolute steal. I'll end up spending more on the new Seymour Duncan pickups than I paid for the guitar.
I have one that looks like that. But mine says fender in big letters and squire under it. No serial number or other markings. Just an F on the back cover. No holes for the strings in the back either.
Great video! Just curious were you recording straight from the interface and into the DAW? If so what plugins were you using to make this clip? It sounded a little familiar… I use a UAD Apollo, and sometimes use the Fender Tweed plugin. This clip reminds me of the vibe. 👍
for the songs i need the tele on it did not seem like i needed an expensive axe .... the MIM has all the vibe and properly set up will play great night after night gig after gig .... have'nt tried it thru my 87 silver jubilee yet .... you did'nt not mention if you add a phase shifter you have nailed waylon jennings sound .... could not get the tele sound out of my 62 strat or my 65 jazzmaster .... seems like if you want the country type twang it's gotta be a tele
I’m thinking of getting the player and doing three mods: get brass saddles, a tusq nut and string tree, and fender locking tuners.
Teles don’t need locking tuners they stay in tune by themselves really good
Are mexican standard teles from 99-2000 year good? how would it compare to a modern player series or player series II tele?
Just got my first tele, ever. Ive always been a Gibson SG guy. Sometimes ill get a Les Paul and on the rare occasion ill try a prs, height end prs I’ve owned was the CE 24. So, my question is, are the MiM tele’s known to have sharpish fret edges? Mine does.. ive owned one MiM strat, but it amazing rounded edges and I didn’t notice the frets
My first guitar and favourite, nice
My first 'real' Fender was a Mexican Tele, bought new in the early nineties. It was part of the very first run MIM's. It TOTALLY SUCKED!! I remember myself loosing strap buttons due to the soft poplar, having microphonic pickups and frets sticking out the sides of the neck. It was very, very bad. Saddles that did not hold their position and no string through. I had been saving for months to get that Tele so you can imagine how big my disappointment was....
Yeah, but that was 30 years ago. That'd be like me judging Nissan based on the '74 Datsun B-210 I had when I was a teenager.
Yes they are...I Put Custom Texas Specials on my mine and swap original 6 saddles for 3 saddles...My Tele sounds sick now!!..However all in all at the of the day it's really mostly about the player's touch and skills too....SRV would kill most people even with a Strat made in China
wowzers, great vid. is this a Telecaster Player series with stock pickups ? thanks
which exactly kind of pickups are you using on that telecaster? thank you
Yes. Very good actually. Next question.
I think MIM Fender kinda owns the 'bang for the buck' sweet spot actually. The cheapest entry to a guitar a pro could use on stage or in a studio and no one even comments on it. They sound right, look right and play right for a gig in an expensive studio or on a stage with rock stars in front of 50k screaming fans. To me, a Mexi Fender is the cheapest buy-in to that caliber of gear. I am typing this on a Saturday. Tonight, all over the world, hundreds of thousands of Mexican Fenders will played in bars, at weddings, bar mitzvahs, bbqs and other gigs by pro musicians. Some of the players will even be famous.
MIA is very nice. But I won't tolerate anyone talking smack about MIM. Ensenada has produced some killer guitars over the decades. Clearly, they know what they are doing there. You can argue, but all the evidence is on my side.
Mexican Fenders are good. Period. They can even be great, and are the best mod platform among guitars on the planet.
Good? I say 'badass'
Are the brass compensated saddles stock on the mexico version?
On this specific year model yes
Bought one new, dead spots when low action set, tone control utterly useless. It's an on-off switch. Somebody blamed it on the pickups, but I don't know. So needs setting up, bit of fretwork doing, I think. Pretty decent sound, and I guess when sorted, it'll be fine, certainly for the price.
Any fretwork out of the factory seal box is a warranty claim or a flat out replacement.
Mim fenders are good - i would stay away from Squire though
The Classic Vibe Squire pickups are solid… especially the first generation Classic Vibes… Those guitars sell for more $ used than they did new.
Have you played a well set-up Squier Contemporary Telecaster? I bought one second hand and the flame maple on the back of the neck would not look out of place on a $3K+ custom shop model and it feels fantastic. The SQR pickups sound great. The overall guitar plays and sounds that good that it's competing with my Fender USA Jim Root Strat. It also looks mighty fine.
@@SpiritOfOrange Squire- yes, anything will sound good, you need to replace hardware and do things to neck and frers.
@@SpiritOfOrange
I would just build a parts caster - even better.
I don't like the idea of a foreign people building an instrument in a sweat shop - you can have it. I hope it brings a grin to your face.
@@randallscott6
1. I've not had to replace any hardware and the frets are not sharp but well rounded. It sounded good (clean or dirty amp channel) out of the box without any modification.
2. If you do not like the idea of "a foreign people building an instrument in a sweat shop" then I guess most of your clothes, packaging, electronics and even a few of the parts for your parts-caster would be out of the question for you to consume. There's a fair few Mexicans working in the Fender USA facility.
3. I'm grinning all the way to the bank 😁
The difference from a us model is 50 miles
I know a little I know a little
I have had 2 Teles, one USa, One Mex. I just find the Tele very boring, dull. There both gone!
No Japan better 😊