SeriesFender Road Worn

The 72 Telecaster Deluxe is an interesting guitar. It has more in common with a Les Paul than a tele and is very 70s in design. In the late 60s Fender was trying to compete with Gibson for a guitar that was good for hard rock music. The traditional singlecoils that Fender used in most of their guitars were not well suited for higher gain types of music and applications. Around that time Fender hired a guy who used to design pickups for Gibson. He made Fender a humbucking pickup to use in their guitars. This pickup was the Widerange pickup. The 72 Deluxe tele is very 70s in design. It has a neck similar to that of a 70s Stratocaster. It has the large 70s headstock which I like. It has the 3 bolt neck joint with the micro tilt adjuster. The Deluxe has a strat style hardtail bridge instead of the ashtray bridge because there are humbucking pickups in it. It has dual Widerange Fender pickups and a Gibson style control setup with a volume and tone knob for each pickup and a 3 way toggle to switch among them. UTILIZATION This guitar plays very nicely. The Deluxe has larger frets than the stratocaster at the time and the fretboard radius is flatter. It has more of a Gibson type feel to it. The reliced finish actually makes the guitar feel better. The fretboard edges are nice and smooth and places where your body comes in contact with the guitar are smooth as well. Since this is a bolt on Fender guitar there is quite a large neck joint heel where the bolts are and this may get in the way of the higher frets. The 3 bolt neck is not a problem although some people hate it. It works just as fine as the 4 bolt ones did and with the microtilt you dont have to take the whole neck off to shim it. I think people just saw back in the day that it had one less bolt and assumed it was worse. Now there are high end boutique guitar makers making strat style guitars with 2 bolt necks. The controls may be awkward for someone who is use to a traditional tele setup. But this is not a traditional tele. SOUNDS The Widerange humbuckers are built for heavier music than the single coils but they are not super high output. They have a very vintage voice to them. This is probably the smoothest sounding solid body telecasters out there. The tone of the pickups is very p90 ish but with more bottom end. It does not have the telecaster quack that tele players may be use to. With the smoothness there is a bit of a loss of clarity in the tone. Overall there is a nice old school woody tone to the guitar. This guitar also has a great jazzy tone. It is very warm without getting boomy. OVERALL OPINION This is one of my favorite Telecaster designs. I am not a huge single coil fan so I like the humbuckers. The flatter neck with the larger frets is very easy to play. I also always liked the large headstock Fenders to the small ones. Fender originally wanted all their guitars to have the large headstocks in the 50s but to save money on wood they reduced the size so they only had to use one piece of wood for the neck. If you want to get a 72 Telecaster Deluxe Reissue and want it to look like it was made in 72 the Road Worn version is a nice option to have.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT - I owned a "road worn 50's Stratocaster" about 8 years ago and LOVED it. Thats the model that was discontinued..I bought one of these new Pieces of garbage from Musicians friend thinking it was the same thing...It.Is. Not. (although Musicians friend and Fender continue to sell the guitars with the old pics..stop it guys..)...The "roadworn" bit is false advertising. The"relic" work on these guitars looks more like some factory blemishes.I could live with that, (even though, , false advertising.Take down those old pics Fender retailers) but what is REALLY sticking in my craw is the so called 'soft V neck profile" ...The original roadworn 50's neck was marvelous..It had a soft V neck profile" ..The new fake version DOES NOT have a "soft V neck profile" P ..IT DOESN'T HAVE A V NECK AT ALL...anywhere, soft or hard..Just a common Fender tapered C neck..This is fraud. I will not be buying another Fender

Body: Ash, blonde finish with a thin coat of nitrocellulose lacquer that is worn in areas. Neck: Maple, U-shaped, 7-1/4' radius, 25-1/2' scale length. Pickups: Single coil Tex-Mex (2). Hardware: All chrome, vintage-style tuners and bridge. Strings: Came with Fender .10s, changed to DR .12s. My Set-up: I use whatever small combo amp is handy with all knobs to 10 (except for the treble, which I back down a bit). I adjust the guitar to have the tone knob at 70% and the volume at 85%, giving me tons of headroom. My profile: Eclectic guitarist from Southwestern Pennsylvania specializing in jazz, rockabilly, swing, classic country, alt-country, and punk/new wave. This guitar was purchased for me as a gift from my girlfriend. Because it was a gift, I did not ask the purchase price, but I do remember it being listed at around $800.00 while I stared lovingly at it in the guitar shop. List price is $1199.99 and most online retailers seem to offer about 25% off. <a href="http://www.pittsburghguitars.com/">http://www.pittsburghguitars.com/</a> First and foremost, the tone is killer. Through practically any amp I can replicate the exact range of sounds I need -- thick, jazzy chords to super-skinny twang. The combination of the ash body and the old-school lacquer really allow the tone of this guitar to shine. Another pro is the hardware. This guitar stays in tune despite my best efforts to manhandle the strings into unhappy positions. The tone and volume pots are smooth and quiet, a real benefit for someone who makes constant adjustments during play. My feelings about the 'road worn' aspect are mixed. While I love the way the tone and feel of the guitar are changed by distressing the instrument, I believe some of the dings and dents are simply cosmetic and add little more than an aesthetic. The single coil pickups can be a bit tough to reign in, but that is to be expected from anything that is known to not 'buck the hum.' This is a fantastic guitar. Well built, fine components, solid and sleek. As mentioned above, it stays in tune like a champ and I've had no issues with any of the hardware despite my near constant fiddling. Certainly the quality may be diminished for those who dislike the road worn look. Many complaints are made -- both online and in local shops -- about why you 'don't buy shoes with holes in the sole' and other comparisons. My simple reply is that these holes add to the tone and playabilty -- more or less. This is my new go-to guitar. Period. It feels great and it sounds even better. I am biased because it has sentimental value (it was a gift), but you can't argue with the tone. Bottom Line: A solid addition to my collection and a new workhorse for gigging. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this guitar from Sam Ash Illinois for the paltry sum of $629 plus tax. I have always loved Teles and needed a reliable and versatile gigging guitar. The range of tones that can be rung from this guitar is incredible. Everything I ask of it, from Hank Williams to Metallica it it undertakes wiyh aplomb,almost daring me to find it new challenges. The neck is a delight. Chunky enough to prevent fatigue, yet much faster than I can fully exploit. It has rock solid tuning, and perfect frets, high enough for outrageous bends, yet without badly affecting intonation. Sustain is outstanding, and unusually for a guitar, the pots actually do make a difference throughout their entire range. The finish is beautiful, and lets face it... nothing looks cooler on stage than a Telecaster slung low... The machineheads although fine at the moment, don't give the impression that they will last as long as the rest of the guitar. A small concern as at 36 years old now,I intend to be buried with this guitar a long time in the future. Solid alder body, maple neck and fingerboard, 21 beautifully finished frets. Gloss polyurethane finished neck (very slick). One word sums it up, SOLID... The quality of construction is superb, only one loose screw found on purchase. Fender Mexico is no poor relation. The finest guitar I have ever owned, and that is saying a lot (I own 11 at the moment, including vintage US Fenders). The perfect guitar for any gigging musician who does not want to carry around 7 or 8 guitars, for that particular tone needed for one or two songs. The 72 Custom Telecaster has it all and more. I am buying a spare on my next visit to the States. And what about that price? They are practically giving it away. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com