Don't buy these 3 Telecasters | Telecaster Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Which Fender Telecaster should I buy? This comes up too often.
Fender Telecasters - there are tons of those guitars. Different Telecaster Models, from Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster, to the Player Series II Telecaster, to the Custom Shop Telecaster, and everything in between. This video answers the question "which Telecaster should you buy?", considering price, specs and features. The classic question about "Squier vs. Fender Telecaster" comes up as well as "Is a Custom Shop Telecaster really worth it?".
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Guys, don't buy the American Vintage II Tele because its spec'd out to be a vintage guitar. Don't buy the guitar that does the thing it was designed to do because it does the thing it was designed to do.
It smacks of look at me content rather than something thats been researched properly. Lord knows how Hendrix, Knopfler, Gatton, Buchanan, Gilmour et al ever managed 🙂
Honestly... It's a TH-cam channel... I'd say a younger more modern category of player, so while you out there who's critique is that he is knocking the vintage guitars for being exactly that, vintage, well... I don't know if everyone out there who reads a guitars specs, understands exactly what they will get in terms of feel, comfort, playability, etc...
Y'all know how many teles fender and Squier offer, and he's only knocking 3?!?
I have the av2 63 in crimson trans. It is my favorite tele. It plays perfect on bends all over. This guy is a joke
@@godzoo18i played one the other day, i thought it was out standing
@@BeeRumblin13 Agreed - I have the Surf green 63 - I love it!
I like the classic vibe pickups - absolutely nothing wrong with them
Gotta disagree with you on the 7 1/4 vintage radius...i love those. You just have to setup the action a little higher & have a little more relief in the neck, and it won't fret out. The rounder profile also makes chords easier. All the 60s and 70s guitar gods were using those and it didn't hurt their playing!
I agree.
@ RaylanGivens123 many of the old timers had guitars worked on/serviced and often what started at 7.25 after mods/ refrets became closer to 9.5 or above
7 1/4 - 9.5? I have no problem going back and forth
James Burton, Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan - They are played with 7 1/2 radius teles with little frets ,and they flew on them
@@RaylanGivens123 you answered it yourself - the 70s guitar gods didn’t care, but I’m not one of them.. 😅
I have a 7.25" Tele Custom and it's got really low action and doesn't fret out on a bend. I'm not convinced you need higher action or more truss rod if the fretwork is good. A lot of shredder setups simply file down frets 17-22 to be fractionally lower. You could do that too. Anyway, I really enjoy that neck. I also enjoy my HM Strat which has a 16" radius.
I disagree about the Vintera II. My Vintera II 50s Nocaster is one if finest made fenders I’ve ever had, including many custom shop models. Fender really stepped up the materials and build quality for these latest Vinteras. One of my students bought the same model and his is fantastic too. I also disagree with your assessment of the “not great Vintera pickups”. I swapped out the pickups with Fender CS Nocaster pickups. No difference. As I was doing the swap, I was blown away to find that the Vintera pickups are exactly the same (same baseplate, same magnets, same Formvar coil wire, same cloth covered/pushback wiring, same pots and switch as the USA Teles, etc. I’ll bet the Vintera II pickups are built on the same production line as the Custom Shop pickups. They are virtually identical. In the end, I put the Vintera pickups back in and saved the CS Nocaster pickups for another day. It plays and sounds great. If you can handle the huge U profile neck, the Vintera II 50s Nocaster is a much better value than the American Vintage. I got mine for $900 new and it kills. A classic vibe is a great option, but after rewiring with quality components and pickups you’ll be into your Squier about $700. Instead find a used Vintera II Nocaster (currently $750-$850).
Same here. I have a Vintera (first series) '50s Telecaster and aside from changing the neck to a road worn '50s neck from Fender, it's stock, and it's one of the best Teles I've owned out of probably 50 or 60. That includes original '60s and '70s Teles. It's not better than the Custom Shop Teles I've owned, but it's damn close, and let me put it this way - the only other Teles I own now are a Custom Shop one-off Nocaster Thinline and a 2002 Mexican built '72 RI in Shell Pink - by the way, I changed those pickups out with some from a '75 Deluxe and heard no difference, so I put the originals back in.
Same here with Viintera II 60 tele, it's plays awesome, it sounds pretty good. Also I have Vintera II 60 strat and same there -- pretty cool guitar even with such price. And yeah -- also I have a coulpe of american fenders so I am able to compare.
After 1149 was about twice as much than 429 I stopped listening.
It never was supposed to be a math channel. 😅😅
@@joeyjooones These things I am allegeric to 🤠
Hey man enjoy what you got 🤠
"Deckle" LOL!
You are coming at this from the point of view of a player who doesn't play a tele to sound like a tele rather than someone who enjoys telecasters and wants it to do the Telecaster thing. You'd be better off with an Ibanez. But I suppose you have to make content.
7,25” radius feels amazing to play wdym 😮
Fair enough! All subject to taste. :)
@@ErikSWE think the bigger picture is how good the guitar sounds. If it is a player that sounds great. Your mind will get past the neck radius. That being said. A 9.5-14 compound radius with tall narrow frets feels great. But it has to sound good too
You need a bit more skill to play it ;)
7.25" radius wasn't a problem for Hendrix, Clapton, or Page. It's all about setup.
...and the love of playing loud!!!
This past year I bought a 40th anniversary Squire Tele for $449 and it was beautiful! 💙🇺🇸👍🙋♂️🖖🏻
Me too, 50s Classic vibe. I named it buzz.
Got a Classic Vibe Starcaster used for $300 and it's a beautiful guitar - fit & finish, tone, playability, all super impressive. I owned an original '76 Starcaster for years and yeah it was a little better and a little different but overall, the Squire brought me back to that old feeling.
So, Leo Fender designed the telecaster to be affordable and easily mass produced.
What happened?
Inflation my guy
An idolism. Wanna be like jimi Hendrix?? Pay
1951 Telecaster cost $179
1951 $1 dollar worth $12.08 in 2024
= $2162
@@andrewchristie6483 Your calculations reminded me what I saw on the Five Watt World music channel. They did similar calculations of Fender guitars but maybe more concise ex. Telecaster yr 1951 $179.00 = yr 2024 $2162.00. I am aware of the cost and that Fender said about making them more affordable. But we have to also see that these guitars were for actual performers, not for students, or beginners. He presented these instruments to career payers and designed them accordingly.
Late stage Capitalism
Have 10 Teles (lefty also)....including two Harley Bentons on one price extreme....a Fender CustomShop Closet Classic on the other extreme. My recent gem....a $400 AIO TC4 with Suhr Classic T pups...really sound, feels, plays similar to my CS. LOVE IT!! AIO does a truly pro set up!! Sold my AM-ProII (so-so sound, didn't want to mod it)....can't go wrong with an LSL Tbone...amazing tone (7 lbs too). Any Tele with good bones and properly set up (e.g., Squier CV50) ...with Fralin/Lollars/Suhr/NoCaster/McNelly/MFD pups (and disconnect tone pot from neck pup) will sound and play GREAT. Continue to long live the Tele!! Loved mine in the 80's....still the gold standard.
I have a Harley-Benton TE-62cc (150 EUR) and a top of the line made in mexico fender (1300 EUR) and, while the later has the edge in feel, both sound and play great and I love both...
@@user-et8rf2rx9p 100%!! My TE-62DB is absolute flawless in every aspect. With '51 Fender CS NoCasters (go used!) ...sounds and plays like a million bucks.
10 Teles, what a waste.
@@BkBk-gy6vr Not if you own 80 guitars...and if you saw and played them (all feel, sound, and play different to me) you'd repent of such sacrilege. What next, having 10 wives is also a waste?
@lazvt8469 80 now that's even more pathetic, and I bet you can barely even play.
I appreciate your take on this! You're not bashing anybody, just pointing out things that don't seem to work, or that don't work for the money spent. Great video!
I suggest that if you are having trouble bending more than a semitone on a 7.25" radius board your action is too low. If you raise it the whole thing will sound instantly better.
No disagreement, but after rightfully pointing out the "paying for the decal on the headstock" thing, I would find it only consistent to mention that there are quite a few other players out there... Teles around 2k that best Fender AM II Pro and Ultra (Luxe) models (and rival custom shop models in a lot of cases) here in Europe definitely include Haar, Smitty, Real Guitars, Tokai, and certainly Maybach. My Maybach Red Rooster (paid 1.8k Euros new) runs circles around my 58 Custom Shop Tele (paid 5.2k Euros new). Looking at the higher end of the market, Fender CS becomes even harder to justify... K-Line, LSL, Xotic, Tom Andersons, Shabat, Mcmull, or here in Europe instruments by e.g. moews or Tonfuchs, make Fender the last choice. I play since 1976 and guarantee you that once you played a Tonfuchs Lovecaster, you will deny eve knowing Fender. (I am not affiliated with any of these.)
Great post, what is the most affordable that rivals or outperform a fender tele CS? Looking for a Great sounding and playing Tele that the neck is more modern (thinner, great playability) thanks
Agree man. I haven't tried a Haar, Smitty or Maybach, but I bet my name that those being more ''boutique'', are much better than the Fender AM pro and the Ultras (which look horrible in imho). Pickups are way better, i've seen so many reviews here in Europe. If you can't afford a great Fender CS Tele and you want a very good one, those options you mention are worth to consider and they look also great. But once you try a great Fender CS, and I know what I'm talking about because I own many Gibson and Fender Custom Shop guitars, all the standard production guitars feels plastic and souless. I can't wait to try an Xotix XSC2. That has to be a great modern super strat with vintage flavour.
@@bluematrix5001 I think Maybach is doing gret looking/sounding Teles on a great price range. Specially if you look second hand.
@@strin6lord thanks
Some just don’t have the experience or adaptability to play 7.25 rad guitars, great players can play any radius on any board
People talk about fretboard wood and tonewood; radius and fret size..... I began playing pro in my teens in the sixties, in Hollywood.... including paid studio work with some well-known artists. My main Fenders include a '66 Tele and a '66 Strat. I also own several MIM Fenders, which were by far the best deal for the money. To me, the whole idea of _"replica"_ vintage _"reliced"_ guitars is sadly hilarious, and completely ridiculous.
I also own a few LPs, SGs, etc; not to mention my acoustics, which include four Jasmine S35s which brand new cost under a hundred bucks each, and among my Martins, a 1935 D-28. And a lot more, including Squiers _(although for the most part, with notable exceptions, most of the old Squiers were not pro instruments)....._ not to mention basses, which include a '77-'78 J-bass and several MIM Ps and Js, and more.
My conclusion _(and I WILL NOT argue the point),_ is that none of this makes much difference. I like my Jasmines _(by Takamine) _*_almost_* as much as I like my Martins. I like my MIMs *_almost_*as much as I like my American & MIJ Fenders. With a basically adequate setup, it's the player that counts. Period.
Amongst all guitars on the planet, to me, a Telecaster has the most zen, by far. And it is very deep, like nothing else.
Like the Strat; arguably the best all-around electric ever made, A Fender Telecaster possesses a soul unlike any other guitar. The Tele has old school mojo nothing else remotely has, and will make you play things you would never think of on any other guitar. _(And do not underestimate the neck pup.)_
*_"Forget all about that macho shit and learn to play guitar."_*
~~ John Mellencamp
_(For further study, please refer to my "Top 40 from the Back 40" playlist. It isn't what you think.)_
🙊🙉🙈
You don’t like reissue vintage guitars because they’re speced like vintage guitars? You’ve lost all credibility with me.
Love the "deckle" but around here we call it a dee kal 😂
I just bought a Schecter PT special. My first ever T style guitar. Swamp ash body, roasted maple neck, rosewood board, body and neck binding, P90 in the neck, single in the bridge, brass compensated saddles, body contours, neck contour, med-jumbo SS frets, series and parallel wiring. Sounds great, plays great, paid less than $500 used without a scratch on it. It's a foreign made, but who cares? My first Schecter, too, and i am seriously impressed.
its a great tele style, have one myself and its my favorite guitar 👍
I tried one at a local shop and it was terrible compared to a Fender Tele.
@@BkBk-gy6vr 👍 okay, so what was your complain so far as you remember in the comparison ?
I'm actually tempted to sell my fender american deluxe tele it put towards Schecter pt fastback and the pt ex. Sooo much guitar for alot less money.
@@theiranxican7412 I played a tele deluxe yesterday at a shop and the guitar played great but the noiseless pups sounded like hot garbage. Well, that's an exaggeration, but my cheap Schecter literally sounds better than a 2k tele. I actually own a strat deluxe HSS and it sounds great. I don't understand what they did to the tele pups though? They just don't have that spank and bark that a tele should have.
Squier Classic Vibe Teles made of pine are known for being very heavy. What are you talking about?
I played CV Teles with fantastic sounding pickups...
Thats because their pickups are fantastic sounding!
We really got someone who doesn't know what vintage pickups are before gta 6
Hi, I used to think that the 7.25 radius was difficult to play on, but It really has something to see with the setup : with a perfectly right setup, the action can be just as low as any "flatter" radius and you can play bends, double-stops, etc.
For the U-shape neck, you feel It quite big at first, but after a few minutes, you do not mind anymore.
The Vintage 1951 Telecaster is a superb instrument, historically correct : it's crazy to think that you could buy THAT thing at the time, back in early 50's.
Lol
I got the American Vintage II and I love it it's my favorite guitar of all times.i don't get issues bending and choking out at all. But I would prefer the 9.5" modern radius. I agree the bigger frets would be preferable but they're fine you get used to it. The thing just sounds sooooo good I love it. I fot guitars that cost double and more than double but the tele sounds the best, by far. I love the baseball bat neck on it. Lets all just agree theres no such thing as a bad tele! Even if it aint a Fender! I loooooove teles!
same😊 have the 63 vintage II ...like vintage specs.
Never said it wasn’t a good sounding guitar! ;) let’s not get upset, this is an opinion - and yours may differ, which is totally fine. :)
I picked up a used American Original 50’s in mint condition. I love that thing. Has the vintage sounding pick ups, nitro finish and 9.5” radius. Feels like best of both worlds to me.
dude , no disrespect, i had a classic vibe Tele. It was Heavy. You are wrong. My American professional Tele is Ash and is my second lightest guitar, next to my Ibanez. Its not a math channel, but your inaccuracies and Bias abound.
Top end - G&L FULLERTON ASAT CLASSIC ‼️ blows fender out of the water.
Budget+ Tease SBH-HD guitar for $250! , a lot of guitar for the money and great customer service ❗
I see YT vid with negative title + negative pic with silly facial expression - I go somewhere else.
... I agree.
Nice. I was happy to hear you give love to the squire classic vibe. All the classic vibe stuff is amazing. I’m a budget gearhead and modder, and I’ve played some amazing squires. The stigma attached to them are undeserved.
Have an American Pro II Tele which I love. But looking for another guitar, specifically with a baseball neck and 7.25 radius. Like my guitars to be different as possible. Don’t know what you like until you work with it for a while. Plus I like to experience all the different styles
The Classic Vibe has a thin toothpick neck, not a true Tele neck. So, you'll need to change this, so you might as well change the whole guitar.
Secondly, it's not the fretboard radius, it's the setup. So, if you are fretting out then you need to raise your action. Again, original Teles had 7.25" radius.
The real answer is... Build your own quality Tele to your own specs for under 1k. You get to choose the pickups you like, the neck profile you like and the weight that suits you ;)
So....$1149 is TWICE the price of a $429 Squier? It's OK that you skipped math class....as long as it was to practice guitar!
That's what I was thinking lol Like 3 times as much??
I’ve owned lots of Tele’s and for now I’ve landed on my favorite one ever owned. Actually it’s my favorite guitar of any guitar I’ve owned. It’s a MIJ Richie Kotzen Signature. It’s solid. I also managed to get ahold of his Signature Strat too and it’s my favorite Strat in my collection. Quality is just great.
Classic vibe weighs a ton. I told my old man they were pine and he pissed himself laughing. 65 years as a joiner and he said that is not pine. Way too heavy.
I owned one ( bought it when the 'classic vibe' series first came out ) I was told the body was pine, so I don't know ? It looked like pine ! .....but that thing was HEAVY !!! ( I traded it for that reason)
A mate told me there are hundreds of species that can legally be labelled "pine" From the far North to the Southern Med you will find a wide varying variety. Some for house building, some for furniture and some for making sustainable heating stove pellets. The good stuff is expensive as it can be hardened and it is very light-weight. The 1st Esquires and some Broadcasters were pine bodies and they sound totally different even unplugged. I bet you could build a good version yourself.
Every time I see your telecaster fretboard, I just assume your favorite dessert is fudge.
It’s the custom shops way of aging the fretboard and not dirt from my fingers. 😅
@@joeyjoooneslooks like fudge
Fender Mexico stepped up entirely, and the Vintera taking its "pinnacle of vintage-specs price point" is an apt substitution for the American Vintage II. Nitro matters more to some than others, and if you're not getting a tele with ANY possibility of modding it in the future, then I think Leo would be a little upset - making a modular guitar and all.
I own a now 10 year old blackguard butterscotch 50's Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster and unless Fender/Squier did something different with the pickups, the stock ones I have are classic killer ALNICO pickups that sound like a classic Tele should! I feel no need to upgrade them at all unless I was looking for a more hot-rodded or mellower sound.
I own a vintage 2 and absolutely love it. It looks and sounds amazing. I do have big hands so the neck doesn’t feel clunky to me. I’ve never had issues bending notes or my fingers getting stuck or having notes die out on me. As long as the guitar is set up well, it won’t fight you at all
7 1/4 just needs a good setup and a little higher action and it won't fret out, I agree
Playing for 50 years( Yes 50) and when Tokai showed up in London the Staff at Big F were $h!++ing themselves. Tok did'nt use blue prints cos they actually sent real people out to buy old Fenders and they just reverse engineered the best examples. Old Strats and Teles actually have fretboards that start at 7.25" and even out to 9,5/10" . No cnc machines just hand sanding and good eyesight and a few actual guitar players to test them.Fenders ought to be amazing after 70 years of practice. Go to a shop and try the Guitar before you buy it, avoid on-line. You have to like the instrument to be able to develop and get into Music properly. Then again remember we are dealing with planks of wood and metal screwed together and that leaves the Instrument vulnerable to the climate expanding and contracting those materials. If you buy a Fender you have to be prepared to learn how to do your own settups and adjustments, that will make you bond with it and keep it.
The one takeaway that was worth noting is frets . For the money the best guitars out there might be Partscasters .
My first Tele was a '68 blonde w/maple neck and white pickguard I bought brand new (in 1968) for $170, which included a hard case. I was 14. Later, I loved the looks of George Harrison's all rosewood Tele, and was becoming not so thrilled anymore with mine, so in 1970 at 16 I completely disassembled my Tele, removed the body finish completely down to the wood, stained it a dark color and gave it a few coats of shellac - then reassembled it. Looked great! But still wasn't quite what I wanted. Wish I still had that one. But I sold it so I could buy a used '65 SG Special, which I do still have. If I had to pick between the two, I'd stick with the old SG w/P90s. That guitar thru my old '69 Marshall Super Lead 100 (which I also don't have anymore) had THE SOUND. Of course, it also was WAY too bloody loud! I don't think I ever turned that thing up past 4 (no master volumes back in those days).
this is an early April fools joke, right your intro in the beginning with all that distortion could be one of my 30 guitars all the different brands
I had two 50s classic vibe teles at one point. I will tell you they are anything but light! They’re yellow wood pine which is far denser and heavier than the standard white pine we associate the species with. Both of them were around 10 pounds.
Thanks! I learned something today. :)
I understand what you’re saying about the American Vintage guitars, but they’re honestly perfect the way they are and for a lot of people -just not your thing. I’m the guy who’s always dreamed of owning the real deal, but that’s not likely to happen unless I part with a big chunk of my collection. So I have an American Vintage 64 Tele because I WANT it to be like the original, its quirks and all. I find it to be a really comfortable guitar to play. I also owned a 52 (didn’t love the neck shape, too thick, so I sold it to get this one) and a 65 American Vintage Strat. They’re perfect for what they are, they’re just not what you’re looking for. If somebody wants the real-deal experience without paying vintage or custom shop prices, these really are the next best thing, hands down, fender has ever offered.
I havethe American elite . Not for everyone . All the purust compñain about it . I like the torsion bar wheel at the bridge ,similar to what music man does . Also love the compound radius neck and the stock noisless pickups with s1 switching . Never had any issues with electronics . Also like the belly cut and neck pocket . Great to have all these choices out there
Agree completely. Especially at the end where you speak about the Am Pro II. I have one of those and its amazing. The 9.5" radius is so much easier to play especially if you're an older player like me whose hands are arthritic. It's extremely playable with the medium tall frets. Bends don't "cack out" and the guitar has sustain for days. My only beef with my Am Pro II is, for that much money, it should come with locking tuners. Thanks for the vid. You're spot-on.
Most Telecasters do a superb job when it comes to playing a warm, sweet, jazzy tone but these young TH-cam yokels just understand the instrument unless it has some degree of distortion.
I am a lefty and fell in love with the Classic Vibe tele in a store a couple of years ago and bought it without hesitation. It is a pine body, but it's actually my heaviest guitar, out weighing even my Les Paul by a half pound. I did change the pickups in it, and now it's perfect. I also got very lucky in that the neck has very highly figured flaming in it. Very beautiful. I almost think neck was destined for a Fender but ended up in the Squier pile accidentally. lol Regardless, this Squier is actually my favorite guitar. I pick it up 9 times out of 10 and it's also my cheapest guitar by far. Go figure.
I got Fender Vintera 50s Tele with 7.25 radius, fat U profile, 21 very small vintage frets and vintage style truss rod. After one month ordered custom neck from local luthier, with 12 radius, modern C profile, 22 frets, satin finish neck back, cevlar modern double tross rod with adjustment in the neck head and medium jumbo frets. Now it feels awesome but have a wish to change pickups to something like on custom shop or dimarzio fast track t bridge + area t neck.
Sounds about right. Those tiny frets are hard to play.
So you paid for an entire guitar, only to replace everything but the cheapest and most unimportant parts? You might be better off getting a new body and hardware, and selling the fender as it came.
That neck sounds great, how much did you pay for it and is an American luthier?
@@powerchuffer I bought it used and as a second guitar for me
@@bluematrix5001 No, it's not in US but it was about $300 for materials and work
Nonsense! Pine's okay. But alder and ash are two of the best common guitar woods around. Alder is a great tone wood. Produces good attack. While it doesn't have as pronounced a grain as ash (IMHO) alder does look good under a clear finish, if you wish to do it that way. As ever, maple or mahogany are the go to neck woods. Fingerboards have usually been rosewood, laurel, or maple. Cheers!
I once had a players tele. The mod base was superb. I swapped the pups, the electronics, the tuners and the bridge with vintage repro parts. The result was a superb Instrument that rivalled Fender custom shop. The moral of the story is, if you don’t find a perfect guitar, buy one that feels good and change what you need to, to make it perfect. The guitar was ~500$ + ~500$ worths of mods. I still regret letting it go.
Great assessment of the difference between models and price points.
I currently have only one telecaster, which is the American Ultra with the stainless steel frets, compound radius and it comes with the Gen 5 noiseless pickups.
I swapped the pickups out for the custom shop 51 No Caster pickups, which sound much better to me.
So, this is yet another option (although sticking to your value theme, probably just getting the American Elite and swapping the pickups is a better value, I’m not so sure the stainless steel frets make much difference)
My next tele will be a team built custom shop, either a 1960 that’s double bound, or a relic 52 like yours.
I had a Vintera II Tele for a while. The neck was too chunky for my hands but even with that it was an outstanding instrument. The pickups were just fine too. It pained me selling it but a 60's neck is more suited to me. Still... I almost dealt with it because the guitar itself was that good.
The vintage tall frets are harder to play , and they are indeed tiny , but the guitar sounds "different"
with those frets . A lot of tele players love this and you get used to the frets . Just dont switch guitars too often . The only drawback I found was the strings were slippin under my fingers , because they stayed so close to the fretboard . Great playing btw .
Thank you Joyyy! Have you ever tried the Telecaster Highway One? If yes, what do you think about it?
P.s. What type of pick up do you use on your Telecaster, that in my opinion, will become legendary?! Thanks!
The difference between 7.25 and 9.5 is not as huge as you may think and if setup is done corretly, you can bend as high as on 9.5 you would normally do. As for vintage tall frets, these are the same height as medium jumbo [Vintage Tall are .045 and medium jumbo are .046]. The only noticible difference between Medium jumbo and Vintage Tall is the width, medium jumbo are substentially wider. You may also find medium jumbo frets that are .036 [so about the same height as oldschool vintage frets - but again jumbo will be wider]. In fact 6130 - medium jumbo - used by Fender are like that.
I've got a Vintera bigsby. Killer guitar. Did change the pickup like everyone does even on USA made guitars. It's a perfect quality platform to customize it. Proper wood also. I'll never buy a pine guitar again. It's fragile, is never dried properly, and it never sounded good to my ears.
Did a Tele build last year using an American Ultra body & a Pro II neck. Went pretty neat. I love how they rethought that neck heel. Much more ergonomic...☺
I agree with all of your points. Harley Benton TE-62CC has a neck with a 12" radius, satin finish on a modern C profile, decent pickups that are certainly playable for $200. You might think the flat radius is a downer for the Tele but it's really not. I can go back and forth with a 9.5 inch radius guitar neck that is similar (Fender Am Std strat) and after a minute its barely noticeable for me. Another $20 for gotoh brass compensated saddles and it has become a player.
Thank you for all the info, but after watching it, I remember why, I admire Brian May, his tone, and his red special. Hopefully soon you can show them side by side to test.
A good musician doesn’t need an expensive set just shred em until they don’t work or change em when u can afford em
Fender Classic Player Baja ’60s Telecaster 9.5 radius, medium jumbo frets, rosewood fretboard, special four-way (including both pickups in series) and S-1™ switching, faded sonic blue $500 sold.
You wouldn’t necessarily get yourself a 1951 American Vintage ii tele in order to get a modern playing experience. Fender have a few items in their range precisely for that. But then again, as a happy owner of an AVRI ii, my opinion is probably not without bias.
Hey Chris, fair enough! I guess a lot of people just don’t want to fight the guitar as much anymore, which is why bigger frets and 9,5 radius are standards nowadays - in my opinion it’s just superior to what fender did in the 50s
I purposely brought a 51 AV2 for the original experience. Not something I would play all the time, love the hell out of it. Plus I bought it with case candy for 1,500
I was hoping not to see on your list the Tele i ordered, and good god I didn’t. As a beginner bass player and studio freak I bought myself a Squier CV60 thinline Tele for short recording sessions. Can’t wait to get it 🎸
@@Tropico1020 great money for value on that one!
Nooiice !
Good video. And you play really well. Perhaps I'm in the minority but I've never had a problem with a 7.25" radius or the vintage frets. I know what you mean about notes choking out on bends but if you have your guitar set up well that doesn't happen. I have really low action and my vintage Fenders still bend just fine. I don't like big frets. To me they're like bumps in the road. My favorite fret wire is whatever they use on Gibson custom shop guitars. I know that doesn't help much. But I think that size is the perfect fret wire size.
The Vintera 2 series is amazing, but the guitar setup and the postion of the strings on the neck are sometimes not playable
I bought an Amazon Warehouse Return 50s Classic Vibe Tele for £220 ($280) and it's extraordinarily amazing. Add a fret dress and full set up and health check for £100 and I love it. Circa $6000 for a so-called special build is ludicrous. I really don't know who Fender think they're kidding, Great video and playing by the way.
What do you think about the mexican Nashville Tele?
The best Tele I ever played was a Japan model
I agree, a japanese Fender Tele is one of the best you can get, especally the models built in the 80s, and they are still affordable on the used market.
I totally agree with you. Every 3 year, Fender releases a guitar that is supposed to be a vintage copy of the tele or strat, but the more time passes, the lower the quality and the higher the price. It's much more interesting to buy a second hand standard serie (2010's) or american pro serie and to change the PU. At least you can be sure to get the right spec and the quality !
I've had a 2004 squier standard series telecaster, since 2004 and I still have it till this day. The things I did modified were the tuners, pickups and electronics and it has been amazing, as the neck and frets are coming to its end I could refret the neck but I'm on a mission on getting a custom order telecaster neck 👍🏽
I have a vintera 2 tele, and i love it. The reason that i bought it instead of the classic vibe tele is because of the fatter neck and 7.25 radius, which the classic vibe doesn't have.
So the tone used on the intro is not a classic tele tone.
And definitely a Ibanez tone.
Gonna pass.
Need a video on what guitar face is best to use with each style. 😂
in the 60's there was no such thing as 'vintage' or 'custom shop'
And yet some of the best rock sounds even today ...are those old guitars without added modifications or changes of any kind!!
what bands was he with? any records?
I have a Baja telecaster & it’s my favorite guitar
I had a squier classic vibe tele that was 9.5 pounds! Not always lighter.
That’s why I got rid of mine 👍
I had a Masterbuilt Telecaster which I eventually sold. It wasn't a bad guitar it was just too expensive for what it was. I have owned 14 Fender Custom Shop guitars - one being the Masterbuilt. I couldn't see a difference between the Masterbuilt and the Teambuilt. Just get a Teambuilt and find a really good guitar tech to set it up the way you like it.
Had to skim through just because I've been playing Teles for 40 years. IMHO. You better become a master builder if you want to play your dream guitar. Because everyone is different and you're gonna end up changing everything before you get it right. So you might as well start learning how to work on guitars if you want to play the rock star studio guitar you're dreaming of. Or become a rock star and pay someone to do it. Get a custom shop made to your specs. No guarantees there. How are you going to sift through the hundreds of options without trying em out? My advice is to learn how to work on your guitar.
I got a Player Limited Tele with Vintage 64 pickups and an ebony fretboard a few months ago. It's the same price as those Vinteras you're talking about. It's possible to find the right Tele at any price as long as you know what to look for.
Hi Mr. Jones, I would like to ask something about telecaster hh vs. Telecaster Chrissie Hynde. What are the diferences between them? Congratulations and greetings from Brazil! 🙂🤙🏻
I bought a 1994 Tele made in Japan for $550 . Its an awesome guitar , plays great , very good neck and string separation . The pickups are punchy and sing . Its also very light , basswood body . MIJ Teles are absolute bangers for the buck!
I love my player plus, it has all the good modern things you need. And a great sound.
Simple, if you want a more modern tele then buy a Player plus with a 12" radius. The Squire classic vibes only classic appearing, it has a 9.5 radius instead of the 7.25 on most vintage Fenders. I love the 7.25, I mostly play rhythm and its more comfortable. They make something for everyone, just know what you want before you buy.
I believe that the best bang for the buck has been the Roadworn series and the Baja Teles. Too bad they stopped making them.
All telecasters are perfect.
I really agree. I like the 60's MIJ tele, a Squier CV, a MIM tele, and the American Special were my best tele buys. I passed on the narrow 7.25 which I could not bend and saw other player flub bends. The frets are also not my cup of tea. I am really satisfied with the Squier CV and the MIJ tele, the MIA special were ok
Modern guitar playing is about show of ,speed , hi gain and to much drama,i moved many years ago from a strat that was 7.25 to a modern guitar with flat radius and i liked it,strat 7.25 was my first 5-6 years of guitar playing and shaped something about my playing,on recent years i got a new AM pro tele 9,5 radius,my first ever tele...i went for new strat and did not liked it,latter on i got nice EKO strat style with 10 or more radius.,,,now after many years i miss something about the fill with 7.25 strat that i used to have,next time i will try a strat i will go for 7.25,in the 80s i had one original 70s strat and one original 65-66 hardtail strat ,i sold them for the modern hi gain and speed of metal sound ,'floyd rose and van helen style...,i wish i was smarter in those days to keep the guitars,i can imagine what pleasure it was to have them today
Joey Jones: “The Vintera pickups are not that great”
My Vintera 50s Mod that came from factory with custom shop twisted tele: entered the chat
that's nice!
Squire Infinity Telecaster Butterscotch back when they were $175 put better pickups in it, sounds fine plays nice. dig the neck and just the overall feel and sound. Thanks for your Fret Info, A friend @ GC also told me Jumbo Frets are the way to go.
Im a Telecaster guy and I have over a dozen, not all Fender though, and I have bought a couple of budget models.
My best sounding and most comfortable Telecaster is my 1984 Japanese Squier, this guitar was perfect from the get go, It was perfectly set up when I bought it in 1984, I would never sell this guitar, it is like a part of my body, despite it being gigged in the '80s and '90s it is in extremely good condition for an '80s guitar with a nitro finish, the fretboard and neck gloss is worn a little and the bridge has lost its lustre but apart from that it is unblemished.
I have lost count of the amount of musical friends that have asked if I would sell this guitar or at least give them first shout if I did decide to sell.
Ok, but are you selling your guitar?😂
You're completely wrong about the weight argument. I've seen Classic Vibe Telecasters as heavy as 11 lbs... Like unreal. It's a big problem with them. I've seen a few at the 8 1/2 lbs mark but nothing under that personally. This is because the Indonesian factories that produce them are on a time/budget limit, so don't properly kiln dry the timber prior to cutting and finishing. This added moisture in the wood results in a heavier finish weight guitar body.
I don't want to defend the guy, it's all nonsense, but you're also wrong about the weight. The difference in weight between well-dried wood and "badly" dried wood is a maximum of 0.2 lbs for a Tele body.
It's all math and knowledge about wood and its processing.
I swapped mine for Joe Barden’s Danny Gatton pickups. Super sounds. ❤❤❤❤❤
It’s like yeah we know the expensive shit sounds cool
excellent advice Joey. Rock On Babay
I don’t know what you for Problems with the Tele have-my first E-Git. was a butterscotch Tele they is now 40years old and she is Great 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I bought a Vintera Roadworn Tele, and it’s the best guitar I’ve ever owned. Genuinely beautifully made, and wonderful to play. I’ve owned about a dozen guitars and have never bonded with one like I have with this.
Edit: it’s worth noting that I’m a rhythm player. The truss rod adjustment is annoying - that’s definitely a negative.
I get the points you are making but as for me, I' m not like this. I played a friend's 60s Vintera II and really liked the 7.25 radius and the bigger neck shape. Made me want one with a vintage neck. So I tried the Vintera II 50s, was ok but not more than that. The shop still had a Crissie Hynde Signature, sounded good, looked cool, but the neck was way too thin for me. Tried cheap, expensive and very expensive ones, all quite nice but nothing spoke to me more than the AV II 51 so I payed a deposit. For the way I play ( I play blues, vintage to heavy rock and r&b, mainly through a 2203 and, yes I play bends a lot) it felt very comfortable. Maybe I' m used to a bit of resistance from the guitar, may help my intonation, I guess.The neck is big, but not as big as on my 2016 SG Faded and a lot more comfortable than the Vin Nocaster's. And it sounded at least as good or better than all the others (to me, of course). Anyway, it still seems to be true: try before you buy! Great sound and great playing btw! Greetings!
The Best Telecaster IMO isn't by Fender Co. Its a G&L ASAT Classic Fullerton. I'll never go back to Fenders
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the Vintera II as a guitar (pickups and neck profiles, ect. being subjective), but at $1150, I'd rather buy a used American Special, Standard, or Professional w/a case for the same or less money.
Completely disagree on the Vintera II. The Squier CV Tele is not even in the same league, seriously. The neck is pencil thin and extremely unstable (you can literally hear the flexing when detuning the strings), Indian Laurel fretboard instead of rosewood (some very nice and dark ones on the Vintera II), crappy tuners (they might hold the tuning but the ratio is horrible), nato body instead of alder and of course the fretboard radius and fret size (it's preference but I love the 7.25" radius with the vintage tall frets).
So all in all, I'd say you get your money's worth, especially with the new Vintera II 60s Tele.
Play a silver sky that is properly setup and you will find out that a 7.25 radius and vintage fret wire feels pretty damn good to play