Fender American Standard Telecaster
Home Guitar Reviews Fender    American Standard Telecaster	80% Overall Features 6 Sounds 8 Finish 7 Reliability 10 Overall 8 Taken from 3 reviews

Submitted by: Gregory on 12 August 2007

PricePaid: 830.00 USD (New) Purchased From: Sodja Music (Cleveland) Model Year: 2003 Features: [8] Left-handed. American made. 3-Color Sunburst alder body, with 22 medium jumbo fret maple neck and fretboard. Case included. I love the rolled edges on the fretboard/neck. This makes playing very comfy! Sounds: [10] This guitar impressed me when I first plugged it in. The tone is just what you'd expect from a Telecaster. A good clean sound with that Tele chime-like quality. I must say, when compared to my old 1988 Standard Stratocaster (Japan), the American Tele pickups definitely have more bite and body to their sound. I'm running this through an all tube Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp (with Hot Plate)...a great match! I can dial in some good growl with this setup. The only real draw back to a guitar like this is the fact that it is really only suited to certain styles of music...not extremely versatile like a Strat or Les Paul is...but if you're a tele freak...you won't be disappointed! Action, Fit & Finish: [5] The setup wasn't too bad on this. It plays really nice...I use 9's on this axe and string bending is a breeze. The G string does have some buzz to it though. Maybe an issue with the nut. The finish is polyurethane which seems to hold up nice...it still has a great polished look to it. I was a bit disappointed with some other minor cosmetic issues. There appeared to be some left over protective material on the fret wire which needed to be scraped off. The chrome finish began to peel off of one of the machine heads early on. Also, the body of the guitar appears to have some faint splits in the grain of the wood. This does not really hurt anything, but it is surprising since their is an additional cost for having a 3 tone sunburst where the grain of the wood can be seen through the finish (higher wood grade requirements for the body). Reliability & Durability: [10] Very dependable so far. This guitar seems to be pretty tough structurally (I do some minor neck bending for tremolo effects). Has some minor intonation issues, but stays in tune really well. I'd would like have it set up one day. I'd like to also mention that the bridges on these models are far superior to the ones seen on the standard series. The saddles are nice beefy blocks of stainless steel compared to the thin stamped saddles on the standards. Overall Rating: [8] Overall I love the guitar. Worth the money. It's exactly what it is supposed to be...solid, good sounding, and comfortable to play. If stolen or destroyed, I'd replace it immediately.

Submitted by: Karl Svensen (United Kingdom) on 14 September 2005

PricePaid: 495 GBP (S/H) Purchased From: private sale Model Year: 1978 Features: [5] This is a standard 1978 Telecaster that I bought in 1991 for £495. At the time it seemed a lot of money as the 70's ones weren't very sought after. It is a obviously a USA model with a rosewood neck and Fender logo tuners. The finish is a lake placid blue colour which doesn't seem right for the year, however I've had it in bits and it hasn't been resprayed. Perhaps it was an early 70's body - who knows!! The finish has faded over the years as it's a different blue beneath the scratchplate, which is white. The tele design is as old as you get, and is as basic as you get but it works. Sounds: [7] I play both kinds of music - country AND western ... (you've seen the Blues Brothers haven't you?). No really, I play a bit of everything but most of my earning work is "middle of the road". The tele is well suited but the bridge is too thin and cutting for a lot of solo work. I have to role back the tone otherwise the sound takes your head off. I use it with a Fender Twin which probably doesn't help, cos that only does clean and brite. I would like to put a humbucker in the neck position so that it would even out the tone when I had it set in the middle but as the guitar is increasing in value, I don't want to start chopping it around. I have tried a "hot rails" type humbucker in the neck but it was all balls and volume but no warmth. Acousticly it has good sustain - the body is a solid lump which probably helps. This means that when I stick it into an amp and crank it up, it has as much sustain as any Les Paul that I've used. If I was honest, I prefer the tone and flexibility of my strat but the tele plays better. Action, Fit & Finish: [9] The guitar plays like a dream which is why I love it so much. It has low action, a slim neck and looks good. The only drawback is that it is quite heavy - but that adds to the sustain as I mentioned above. Reliability & Durability: [9] The guitar is 27 years old. The paint job has faded but the chrome is still good. It stays in tune regardless of how much abuse it gets. The top frets are wearing out and it chokes on bends but given that it's well used, the frets must be made of some quality nickel to have lasted so long without getting stoned (I wish I could say the same about the player). Overall Rating: [8] Hey - go buy a 70's tele if you want something basic, solid, reliable and classic that is flexible enough to cope with most styles of music.

Submitted by: Matt J on 02 March 2005

PricePaid: 499 GBP (New) Purchased From: Private sale Model Year: 1978 Features: [6] Standard 70's USA Tele finished in a custom blue colour, rosewood neck with 22 slim frets. I guess the body is made of Ash by the weight. It is fitted with the traditional Fender p/u's you'd expect in a Tele and has the closed Fender brand 6 in a row tuners. I always thought that it was a standard finish but having read a couple of books, it appears it was a custom finish. It hasn't been resprayed as I can tell from when I've had the neck off. It's like a Lake Placid Blue without the gentle sparkle Sounds: [8] I play most styles of music, from country, through blues to rock. The Tele is basic but there is quite a variation on the tone between the neck (warm full mellow) to the bridge (thin harsh cutting) pickups. I normally plug straight into my Musicman RP112 (65w 1x12) and work the amp from the volume pot on the guitar. The only downer is that as with all Tele's, as soon as you turn down the volume pot on the guitar, the tone capacitor cuts in and it gets all thin. I keep meaning to get my soldering iron out to remove the cap, but I think - hey, it's part of the Tele sound! I must admit, ideally I'd like to put another pickup and 5 position switch in it to give me the Stratty out of phase tone, but the guitar is getting too valuable to route holes in. The only problem I get is an uncontrollable squeal off the neck pickup at really high volume. I am told that the pickup needs to be dipped in hot wax as the windings are becoming microphonic (and it will get worse) but this sounds like a bit of a drastic course of action. Action, Fit & Finish: [8] I've set it up myself and it has a low action and plays like a dream. It doesn't choke on stringbends and has good acoustic sustain. As far as the paint goes - who knows?! It's blue and it's fading but it's not cracking. The chrome work is good and I've kept the rosewood in good condition with a small drop of oil every now and then Reliability & Durability: [10] What can I say - it's a 70's Tele. It stays in tune, it's built like a Volvo and it sounds great. The neck pickup might be on the way out, but that's not bad after 27 years!! Overall Rating: [9] The only thing that's missing on any Tele is the middle Strat pickup. You still get the out of phase tone between the neck and bridge, but it's not as pronounced as on a Strat. I've used this guitar for years and it's never let me down. I don't think another Tele could replace it - it's not that simple. I've had Strats of various sorts, a Musicman and a Les Paul, but the Tele is the best all rounder.

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