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johnrae « Great Tones »
Published on 03/19/13 at 15:50The 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!
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!