Fender American Special Telecaster

The Fender American Special Tele is today's iteration of a classic guitar. It's a sturdy, made in America tone machine! It has an alder body which helps give it a very clear tone and a maple neck for that signature Tele twang. It has a Texas Special single coil Neck pickup and a Texas Special single coil Tele bridge pickup for that icy Telecaster bite. It's 25 and a half inch scale and 22 jumbo sized frets make it a quick and comfortable play with a good slick action.

UTILIZATION

The American Special is a dream to play, the neck is very smooth and fast and it feels great to just run up and down it for hours. The frets are all dressed perfectly and the radius is very comfortable. It's a little on the heavier side but nothing unbearable for sure, and totally comfortable to sit with. The upper bout and high frets are easy to get to and the guitar sounds fantastic all the way up and down the neck. Great for rhythm or lead players.

SOUNDS

The guitar can go from a chunky warm rhythm sound, to an ice-pick blues, to a hot rock sizzle, and back down to a mellow jazz twang. It's got a fantastic range of sounds and handles everything you throw at it very well, from spacy reverbs to crushing distortion. I've had a lot of fun squeezing different sounds out of this axe, and it's a must have for my live shows.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall I have yet to find anything wrong with the American Special Tele. It's got everything I look for: quick neck, great tones, speedy action, good design and pretty looks. It does everything I ask and more and it's hard for me to even put it down once I've picked it up and started noodling up and down the neck. A really fantastic effort from Fender here!

The Fender American Special Telecaster is a recent introduction by the company to fill the void between the Mexican made Standard models/Classic Series reissues and the US Standards. The end result is one of the best value for money Teles that you can get today. It features an ash body, maple neck and fretboard, 22 frets, standard Fender tuners, standard Telecaster bridge, and a typical Telecaster pickup layout but with slightly hotter pickups to please today's modern player. For the most part it's like a standard Telecaster, but the feel of it is designed so that players who are used to a more modern style of guitar will take to it. A common complaint I've had with some Fenders is that the vintage feel turns me off (IE: some of the ressiue models). Not so with this guitar... it has the modern playability and hotter tone that I've come to love from my modern guitars.

UTILIZATION

This guitar's about as ergonomic as a Tele will get without major modifications to the design. It's a tad on the heavier side given the tonewoods used, but that seems to be par for the course for many modern Teles nowadays. It doesn't have any features such as body contours but considering the fact that it sticks to the classic design as a general rule it's quite nice to play. The upper fret access is decent, though the single cutaway/neck joint design is definitely a setback for someone who is used to a sleeker design.

Getting a good tone out of this guitar isn't difficult. It sounds like you would expect... a bright and crunchy sounding Telecaster that is honest and will showcase mistakes easily. It works well with a variety of amps and tonal styles so that is a plus for sure.

SOUNDS

The tones out of this guitar to me are pure Tele at their core, but with generally a bit more punch and attitude that stems from the slightly hotter circuitry. The classic Tele tone is there throughout though, cutting through the mix regardless of the tone used or style being playing. Through a clean amp, the tones range from jazzy and dark to bright and jangly, perfect for a whole host of different musical styles from jazz through to country. Switching to a more aggressive driven tone brings out some fantastic harmonic overtones from the pickups and the gain is put to excellent use along with the inherent Telecaster brightness for classic or modern rock/punk type tones.


OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Fender American Special Tele is a great guitar for someone who is looking for a great Telecaster that combines the best of the vintage guitar with more modern features to suit today's player. It's very reasonably priced at about $850 new and is definitely worth a look considering it's one of the only USA made Fenders to sell for under $1,000 new. Definitely check one out when you get the chance!

The Fender telecasters are a solid built instrument that has a fantastic weight and balance throughout the instrument. They usually feature ash or alder Wood in the bodies with a maple neck. They always come in a single coil version unless you get the deluxe version what's sometimes has a humbucker pick up install. However this one has two single quill pick ups installed with a volume and tone control knobs. It's a very basic guitar probably the most basic set up the defined.


UTILIZATION


Fender American Special Telecaster Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

* Body: Alder
* Finish: Olympic White, Gloss Urethane
* Neck: Maple, Modern "C" Shape
* Fingerboard: Maple
* Frets: 22, Jumbo Frets
* Scale Length: 25.50"
* Nut Width: 1.69"
* Hardware: Chrome
* Tuning Keys: Fender Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
* Bridge: Vintage Style 3-Saddle Strings-thru-body Tele Bridge
* Pickguard: 3-Ply Black/White/Black
* Pickups: 2 Texas Special Strat® Pickups Pickups
* 3-Position Blade
* Master Volume
* Master Tone 1: Greasebucket Tone Circuit (Rolls Off Highs without Adding Bass)
* Case: Deluxe Gig Bag included

SOUNDS


The tone o these guitars are fantastic because they have a great sustain in a very unique sustained any Fender Stratocaster guitar. To feel and weight of the guitar is a little different than the Fender Stratocaster because it doesn't have the curvature that a Fender Stratocaster body has. The top of the guitar the back of the guitar is pretty much flat so you don't have that unique curves that you have on a Fender Stratocaster guitar. Overall it's a great instrument has a great soul and a great tone for pretty much any style of music out there. If you are running this guitar through it a high gain amplifier or a clean amplifier such as a Fender deluxe or Princeton amplifier and you're getting a great soulful tone that is addictive.

OVERALL OPINION


You can find these guitars pretty much any where guitars are sold online or in many guitar shops. They're extremely popular and one of the most influential and highly used instruments in rock 'n roll music. Right around $1000 you can find these instruments but if you look good enough you can find him use for right around $600 yourself. I highly recommend these guitars to any guitar player because it's a great personal and Schmidt and a nice collect dirt guitar for your collection or for kicking or recording.

Fender is probably the biggest music company in the world when it comes to amp and guitars. They have been played all over the world from beginner learning guitar players to the best professionals in the world. Any guitar who has ever been playing the guitar longer than a few year most likely have picked up owned a Fender Stratocaster at some point.

This is great guitar for those needing a solid sounding Fender telecaster made in America. This guitar has a great feel and suburb tone to match. The instrument get get a great sustain and a nice rounded clean tone all the same. It is one of the most easily recognized guitars shapes and guitars in the world.

UTILIZATION


Fender American Special Telecaster Solidbody Electric Guitar Features:

* Body: Alder
* Finish: 3-tone Sunburst, Gloss Urethane
* Neck: Maple, Modern "C" Shape
* Fingerboard: Maple
* Frets: 22, Jumbo Frets
* Scale Length: 25.50"
* Nut Width: 1.69"
* Hardware: Chrome
* Tuning Keys: Fender Standard Cast/Sealed Tuning Machines
* Bridge: Vintage Style 3-Saddle Strings-thru-body Tele Bridge
* Pickguard: 3-Ply Black/White/Black
* Pickups: 2 Texas Special Strat® Pickups Pickups
* 3-Position Blade
* Master Volume
* Master Tone 1: Greasebucket Tone Circuit (Rolls Off Highs without Adding Bass)
* Case: Deluxe Gig Bag included

SOUNDS

The tone is a slap in the face of anyone who think that a Telecaster is a country guitar. This guitar can do any style of music except metal. You can play county rock, pop and everything of every genre in between. You can dial this guitar into a nice grind and get those single coils singing with ease on a nicely distortion amp.

I have always liked the tone of a Fender Telecaster with a good Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp. I would use an Ibanez tubescreamer in front with a Line 6 DL4 delay pedal and the combination from all of that gear as just a delight. The tone and sustain was phenomenal and pleasing to the ears. This guitar was just a pure enjoyment to play with and even record with. I would change the pickups though as Fender pickups are about the worst in the business.

OVERALL OPINION

At new these guitars come in right at around $850 which is a steal of a great price. If I were in the market this would be about the best you could do for an American made Fender guitar. I would recommend everyone to own at least one Fender Telecaster. They are a great addition to the team.