Fender Special Edition Lite Ash Telecaster

Made in Korea (I don't know if North or South Korea, but I don't give a shit LOL)
US parts (it's good to know that the wood comes from the Miami experts series)
Bridge: Yes, fortunately
Birdseye maple, type C neck
22 frets
Seymour Duncan pickup
1 volume 1 tone
Lubricated tuners

UTILIZATION

To use it you have two options, either you take a course or you figure it out for yourself.
For the rest:
The neck is type C, which means it's thick (but it's not a beam either)
22 frets, which isn't bad (more than enough to entertain yourself)
Access to the upper frets is average, it's hard to hold a bend (compared to a Strat).
Other than that, it's really fast, but be careful if you have fat and big fingers because you'll press several strings at the same time LOL
Personally, I love the swamp ash body, it's cool. To my knowledge, only this guitar and the Strat of the same model use this wood.
It has a normal weight and it's well distributed, which is important when you play 2 hours live onstage.

SOUNDS

In this regard it's the best! I had tried lots of Teles, because from what I had heard about them I thought they'd be the best for the music I play. On a Squire you need to invest $500-$600 to have something decent (and then it costs almost the same as a Mexican). And then you need to invest $800 more on the Mexican...And then there's all the copies, which aren't worth it.
But I'm digressing...
I play pop (funk, soul, r&b, reggae) and it's amazing.
I play a fender blues junior with a digitech RP 500 pedalboard, it's amazing.
The bridge pickup is killer, its twang is marvelous and the neck pickup add some balance for rhythm guitar.
It's versatile but with character.

OVERALL OPINION

I've had it for 3 days. I was able to negotiate and get it for $300 (hehe!!! I know I'm pretty good), it wasn't in the best shape, but once I cleaned it up and adjusted it (although I should get a luthier take a look at it), it's stunning.
I had an SG but I don't play much rock, then a Mexican Strat with US pickups, it was OK yet without character, but this one really does it for me.
At this price point (and even if you find it more expensive) it's really worth it. It will shut the mouth of guys who spend 12000 bucks on a US model.

Primarily a singer, I've been playing guitar for about 10 years, been in a band (drummer!), and have continued to record and play with other musicians on a non-professional basis. My styles range from folk to hard rock, with heavy power-pop leanings -- Big Star, not Green Day.

Played it for two hours at Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. It was on sale for $629.

As its name implies, one of this Telecaster's selling points is its light weight. I usually play either an SG or a Flying V, and most Telecasters feel like a sack of bricks. This Lite Ash Telecaster feels ergonomic and very light, and doesn't have the neck-heavy issue of most SGs. The Natural finish is great, the bird's-eye maple neck feels good, and the sounds kept me glued to a little Fender Frontman amp at the guitar store for about two hours. The clean tones have that bright liveliness that's signature to a Telecaster, and the distorted tones are dynamic and responsive. This neck is the sweetest Fender neck I've ever played, even including my friend's $1200 American Stratocaster.

The large frets take a great deal of getting used to -- if you fret your notes hard, it's easy to pull the note out of tune. This guitar probably needed a setup. The three brass saddles in the classic Telecaster style make palm-muting harder than on Gibson/Epiphone tune-o-matic bridges. And as with most Telecasters, you have to be careful with amp EQ, because the bridge pickup can be ear-shatteringly bright. Upper-fret access can't compare with the SG and Flying V I'm used to, but this has never been the Telecaster's forte, anyhow.

Wonderful. Good finish, great neck -- the woods are beautiful, and the whole guitar looks and feels classy in an understated way.

Ever since I'd ditched my old Squier Strat, I hadn't given Fender guitars much of a chance. But I've always loved the sound of Telecasters, and this Lite Ash Telecaster addressed all the issues I ever had with the Telecaster model in general. It is light, it has the signature sound, it looks superb, and for once my left hand, weaned on Gibson scale lengths, didn't feel uncomfortable. Highly recommended.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Korean-made guitar.
3-saddle bridge that, contrary to what many people say, doesn't detune the guitar anymore than any other.
Magnificent neck in birdseye maple with a fingerboard of the same wood.
Relatively good Seymour Duncan pickups, the guitar has punch.
3 pickup selectors.
Awesome.

UTILIZATION

The neck is disconcertingly easy. It slides like butter, it bends like rubber, it borders perfection. It has nothing to envy high-end models.
The weight is very well balanced, the guitar isn't heavy.
Access to the upper frets is easy, too, you can go all the way to the top of the neck and do bendings without any problems.
Awesome.

SOUNDS

This is where it kicks serious ass: It suits almost all possible styles. I play essentially the clean channel, but I also like to use a good overdrive or distortion or wah-wah and it rocks. Very funky, it's great.
The lows are jaw-dropping, we once used it to replace the bass in a rehearsal with my band.
I never use a big amp, I only have a small Vox Amplug with speakers. But that doesn't stop it from sounding big, very big.
The middle channel is my favorite, but the other sound possibilities (even if I haven't tried everything) balance a good quality sound.
Awesome.

OVERALL OPINION

I love it. I bought it 4 days ago and I can't stay away from it. Its value for money is simply unbeatable, the price difference to get an American Standard isn't worth going broke. Excellent guitar, especially for $400. If you ever stumble into one, give it a try, you'll be seduced.
Awesome.

Fender made in Korea, Seymour pickups, 1 vol, 1 tone... but everybody knows that.
In my view, the only defect is a poor shielding, but that can be quickly fixed with an aluminum sheet. The birdseye maple neck + fretboard are really nice.

UTILIZATION

The neck is nice, the weight is perfectly distributed.
You need some time to get familiar with it: A Tele is not an easy guitar to play and even less so to make it sound!

SOUNDS

It sounds great clean, it's amazing!
I play it mainly with a Traynor or with a Palmer pocket amp.
With the bridge pickup and the Tone to the max on the neck pickup, I add a heavy distortion and it sounds awesome!!! (yes, yes, even Obituary works!)
With a blue box you get a killer sound...

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using it since 2005, it's a 2004 model. It will get a patina over time, which is fine because I had a hard time getting a good feeling with the neck. You just need to let it age a bit. This is the only guitar I use for clean sounds and the only one with single-coils, the rest of the time I have EMG 81s, which will stay with me until death do us apart. I just love it. It turns 10 this year and it just sounds better and better.
I paid $780 back then, which seems a good deal. I would buy it again with my eyes closed. I wanted to make it active (Emg) but after thinking it over, I decided to leave it "as is.". The only mod I did was to add some shielding with the aluminum sheet to control the buzz when playing distortion. If you find one secondhand, go for it!!!