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I picked this up at Sam Ash. I had visited two or three weeks previously looking for a guitar in the 300-400 dollar range to move up from my cheap Strat copy. I liked the Tele sound, after all, they're very versatile. I knew that plenty of my favorite bands (the Wallflowers to the Clash, pretty wide range) used them and I wanted to see how one played. I narrowed it down to the Telecaster vs. an Epi Goth SG, but I knew that if I was ever in the mood for twange, the SG would not deliver in it so I picked up my $350 Telecaster.

I love almost everything. It was a floor model, the gorgeous Wine Red guitar I picked, so the dude at Sam Ash put new strings on it for me and set it up (and gave me a deal on the strap and bag). The action was perfect, low with little buzz (I'll get into that later). the look is great-honestly, it looks like a $950 guitar rather than $350. The tone is stellar-I'd read that the pickups were muddy, but I don't get that at all. It sounds great even through my cheap 10-watt amp. I can't wait until I get my Roland Bluescube to really compliment this thing.

hmm...it buzzed early on...I guess. See, the notches in the nut were cut small and I had the guitar salesman put on Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom's (I hate power chords, but I do love the fat bassy feel and sound of the low strings) so at first, the strings didn't sink all the way down and the man at the store put the action wicked low to compensate. but three days later, when they'd settled, it was going buzz-crazy. I freaked and thought I'd bought a lemon, but then I realized and fixed the action and all was better. There still is some buzz, but that's natural.

So I guess the only thing I disliked was how stupid I am...

This is a Tele here, so it's built like a tank. I haven't been too klutzy with the thing yet, I'm still in that mode where you first get the instrument and you treat it like it's pure gold and a week later it's on your bed covered with coke (the beverage...) and blood. anyway, well, the construction is good, seeing as it was made in Mexico...some things needed tightening, but hey, it's a floor model, and I have a screwdriver.

This is, without a doubt, a great value. It's got the tone and looks and build you usually get for much more, but it's only $350. The moral of the story is, if you're not a moron like me, and you like playing the guitar (other than heavy metal and this crap they're selling on MTV under the name of punk these days) this should suit you. It's a Telecaster, it can handle most styles of music. It may not sound like a million bucks, but it sounds like more than it goes for, and it's worth it.

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