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tjon901 « Anniversary Telecaster »
Published on 07/17/11 at 19:54To celebrate the 60th birthday of the Telecaster Fender has come out with a special edition that blends some old features with new features to make what arguably is the ultimate telecaster. The guitar features an ash body with a thin nitro finish. You can see the grain of the ash under the finish. It has a classic black telecaster pickguard and 3 way switching with volume and tone controls. The tone control is a no-load tone circuit where you can completely take the tone knob out of the circuit. The pickups are from Fenders American Vintage series. The neck is a one piece maple neck with a 9.5 radius a little flatter than what an old telecaster would have. The fret edges are nicely rolled for a comfy feel.
UTILIZATION
The one piece maple neck comes with 22 medium jumbo frets on a 9.5 radius. This makes the guitar play more like a modern guitar. These frets are a lot bigger than what you would have gotten back in the 50s and the fretboard is also a lot flatter than what you would have gotten. The neck is a more modern C shape and this with the rolled edges mean you can really wrap your hand around and get a good feel on the neck. The ashtray bridge does not have the sharp edges to it like an old tele would have so it is much more comfortable for your picking hand. The bridge also has 6 saddles for adjustment different than the 3 you would get with a vintage tele bridge.
SOUNDS
This telecaster has a really big sound thanks to the good pickups and the no load tone control. The no load tone control does a trick that many guitar players were doing over the years. The players modified their tone controls to at the maximum setting act as if there was no tone control in the circuit. When the tone knob is maxed on this guitar it is like there is no tone control. Most guitars will sound a lot better and more powerful without a tone control. So with this guitar you get the tones of a tele with the tone control on and without it because then the signal has less resistance inside the guitar. It is going straight from the pickups to the volume and out to the jack. Because the tele is naturally a bright guitar you may need the tone control sometimes to get bluesy or jazzy tones and this guitar can do those tones well. This guitar also does the traditional tele stuff great. It has all the great twang you would expect with a telecaster.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a great tele with an old style finish and modern style playability and a powerful tone. I wish all guitars came with a no load tone pot. Its a great option to have the power of no tone control in the guitar and the versatility it gives. Fender threw some great parts on to this guitar. If Fender cut 90 percent of their models and just made 1 Strat model and 1 Tele model like this I am sure they would sell just as well. If you are looking for a Telecaster that combines old school looks with modern playability and hardware this is a good guitar.
UTILIZATION
The one piece maple neck comes with 22 medium jumbo frets on a 9.5 radius. This makes the guitar play more like a modern guitar. These frets are a lot bigger than what you would have gotten back in the 50s and the fretboard is also a lot flatter than what you would have gotten. The neck is a more modern C shape and this with the rolled edges mean you can really wrap your hand around and get a good feel on the neck. The ashtray bridge does not have the sharp edges to it like an old tele would have so it is much more comfortable for your picking hand. The bridge also has 6 saddles for adjustment different than the 3 you would get with a vintage tele bridge.
SOUNDS
This telecaster has a really big sound thanks to the good pickups and the no load tone control. The no load tone control does a trick that many guitar players were doing over the years. The players modified their tone controls to at the maximum setting act as if there was no tone control in the circuit. When the tone knob is maxed on this guitar it is like there is no tone control. Most guitars will sound a lot better and more powerful without a tone control. So with this guitar you get the tones of a tele with the tone control on and without it because then the signal has less resistance inside the guitar. It is going straight from the pickups to the volume and out to the jack. Because the tele is naturally a bright guitar you may need the tone control sometimes to get bluesy or jazzy tones and this guitar can do those tones well. This guitar also does the traditional tele stuff great. It has all the great twang you would expect with a telecaster.
OVERALL OPINION
This is a great tele with an old style finish and modern style playability and a powerful tone. I wish all guitars came with a no load tone pot. Its a great option to have the power of no tone control in the guitar and the versatility it gives. Fender threw some great parts on to this guitar. If Fender cut 90 percent of their models and just made 1 Strat model and 1 Tele model like this I am sure they would sell just as well. If you are looking for a Telecaster that combines old school looks with modern playability and hardware this is a good guitar.