« Another decent mid level guitar »

The Fender Standard Tele is made in their Mexico plant to offer an alternative to the Fender American line, which is pricey for some people. This guitar has been in production for several years and many players use them as great country or rock guitars, or as modding platforms to replace the parts to make it as good as some of the higher end Teles that exist. This guitar comes stock with an alder body, a maple neck with 21 frets, Fender tuners and bridge with six saddles, and the typical Tele layout of two pickups with a single volume and tone control set, along with a 3 way selector switch. Here's the full list of specs:

Body: Alder
Body Shape: Telecaster

Neck
Neck Shape:Modern "C" Shape
Number of Frets:21
Fret Size:Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays:Black Dot Position Inlays
Fretboard Radius:9.5" (24.1 cm)
Fretboard:Maple
Neck Material:Maple
Neck Finish:Tinted Satin Urethane
Nut Width:1.650 (42 mm)
Scale Length:25.5" (64.8 cm)
Neck Plate:Standard 4 Bolt
Truss Rod Nut:3/16" Adjustable Hex Nut

Electronics
Pickup Configuration:S/S
Bridge Pickup:Standard Single Coil Tele Bridge Pickup
Neck Pickup:Standard Single Coil Tele Neck Pickup
Pickup Switching:3-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls:Master Volume, Master Tone

Hardware
Hardware:Chrome
Bridge:6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Tele Bridge
Tuning Machines:Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
String Nut:Synthetic Bone
Switch Tip:"Barrel" Style Switch Tip

Tools
Truss Rod Wrench:0.1875"

Miscellaneous
Strings:Fender USA Super 250L's, NPS (.009-.042 Gauges)
Unique Features:Vintage Styling, Fender Transition Logo, Parchment Plastic Parts

Accessories
Case/Gig Bag:Standard Gig Bag
Pickguard:3-Ply Parchment
Included Accessories:Standard Gig Bag
Control Knobs:Knurled Chrome

UTILIZATION

The design of a Tele isn't quite as ergonomic as the Strat, as it lacks much of the contouring and is usually a bit heavier in weight when compared to the streamlined and light Stratocaster. However, to my ears this contributes to a thicker and punchier tone that generally leads me to prefer Tele tones over Strat in a wider variety of settings. The upper fret access on the Tele is decent, but limited somewhat by the fact that it is a single cutaway design.

Getting a good sound out of this and any other Tele is quite simple. They are a very user friendly and responsive guitar (IE: you get out of it what you put in). If you're a light touch player, it'll respond that way. If you dig in, it'll bite right back. This responsiveness is apparent in the Mexican made Teles despite their low price and it contributes to getting a great tone very easily.

SOUNDS

I've tried many of these guitars through a myriad of different amps that were designed for both clean and high gain. I tended to prefer this guitar with cleaner amps such as Fenders for that classic country pickin' tone, or perhaps that really unique bassy jazz tone that the Tele offers as well. However, it also works very well with mid and higher gain due in part to the thicker mass of the body as well as the bright bridge pickup and maple neck. These factors lead to the creation of a rock tone that will cut through any mix with ease! Watch that tone knob... as things may get TOO bright in some cases, but you can work around it especially if you're using a darker amp. It works very well for rock rhythms and blends quite nicely in a setting with a Les Paul or other similar humbucker equipped guitar too.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I feel that the Fender Standard Tele is a great guitar for someone who wants that rippin' Tele vibe for not a lot of cash. They come in a variety of cheerful colours and for the $500 new that they cost you really can't go wrong. Again, as with the Strats, I will say that the electronics aren't the best in this guitar (I prefer the ones used in the USA Strats and Teles) but with a pickup/electronics swap you're set to rock!