5 of the BEST Teles EVER Made!! - Which One Should You Get?

Looking to add a Telecaster to Your collection? Here are my top 5 to consider!
If you found this video helpful, be sure to like and subscribe :)

Guitar List:

DARRELL'S GUITARS & GEAR LIST!

DARRELL'S RECORDING SETUP:

DARRELL'S AMPLIFIERS:

*Links to gear in the video description may contain affiliate links

T-SHIRT STORE:

TAB STORE:
Songs, Lesson Worksheets, and Guitar Techniques!

PATREON:
Become a Patron!

ALBUM:
iTunes:

OTHER FAVOURITE GEAR:

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

[randallcl]

Don't forget G&L, they are still Leo Fender designed. I own 3 G&LS and two Squiers T-types and my favorite is the G&L Tribute ASAT Special with Leo's Jumbo MFD pickups. Fantastic guitars in the $500US range.

[bennyblues]

I bought a Baja Tele in 2017. I can say without a doubt that is the best guitar I ever played. So versatile with 4 - position switch and S-1 selector for setting the 2 pickups out of phase. You can play everything with only one guitar!

[ashadedelayed]

I agree - my FMT Tele from Indonesia is my favorite guitar. Those SD pickups clean up nice and rock the heck out without effort. I got the red to black burst and it draws the eyes away from the guitars around it. Its also super light and has very useful curves that make playing it comfortable in all positions.

[kkjhn]

The Baja was part of a line of guitars built in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico from 2007 to 2018 and designed by Custom Shop master builders Dennis Galuzka, Gregory Fessler, and Chris Fleming. The neck is a soft V profile 9.25 radius with 21 medium jumbo frets, and it has a Custom Shop Vintage Broadcaster pickup in the bridge with a Custom Shop Twisted Tele at the neck. It also has an S-1 switch with a 4-way selector that gives the following combinations, S-1 up and down position 1 bridge, position 3 neck, S-1 up position 2 bridge and neck pickups (in parallel), position 4 neck and bridge pickups (in series) (fatter tone than Position 2 and more output than Position 1, 2, or 3), S-1 down position 2 bridge and neck pickups (in parallel) out of phase, position 4 neck and bridge pickups (in series) out of phase. Just a few years ago you could find these used for around $600 which you still can if you look hard, but they average around $800 to $1000 which is still a great deal for what is as close to a Custom Shop Tele that you can get at that price.

[ipuya]

My favorite Tele was mentioned in your list. A 2011 butterscotch blackguard Baja! 6 tones, Ash body, soft V neck, and weighs less that 7 pounds. Sounds amazing and i play it daily!

[caseylee]

My favorite Tele is my Fender American Pro 1, 3 tone sunburst. But while I was on vacation last week I found a Baja butterscotch Tele for $450. Just cleaned it, changed the strings and set it up. This may become my favorite- I love that out of phase tone with the s1 switch! As always, great video, DB!

[barbmelle]

From Leo: Hard to go wrong with a Telecaster in your collection. An Alnico 2 Strat pickup in the neck of a telecaster is a cheap way to get the better neck sounds while keeping the twang available. Adding a 4 way selector switch works out great too.

[sumi_plays_games]

I love my mom's 1960's Fender Placid Blue Telecaster made in Japan.

[bosse]

My dream guitar. Hopefully I will own one one fine day.

Albert Collins, the Ice Man, made me a fan of that guitar.

[arnolddealiii]

Hey Darrell check out the Fender Vintera 50’s telecaster modified. It’s basically a rebranded Baja telecaster with a new name and a few new colors. Big price tag also 🫤

[vegasaxeman]

AMEN EH! Lol... sorry about the Canadian thing... I bet you're sick of it...
Seriously Darrell, I have to thank you and bless you a thousand times! As per your review on "THAT PARTICULAR GUITAR" I pulled the trigger and got one. I'M HAPPY THAT I DID! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!
Thank you for all of your good advice over the years and THANK YOU FOR NEVER TALKING "DOWN" TO YOUR VIEWERS like so very many "6-string commandos" do. YOU'RE THE BEST!
Keep the faith, keep fighting the good fight, and KEEP-ON-A-ROCKIN'
God bless and take care...

[barondavis]

Thanks for the post. I’m glad to hear you mention Sire. I have a V7 bass and I think it is the best bass for the money. I was hoping the guitars were the same.
Do I like it more than my USA fender p or G&L 2000? No, but the sire was less than 1/3 the cost.

[jamlemon]

Glad you mentioned the Baja. Love my 08 Baja, 1st Tele I’ve owned and probably the best electric I’ve played. Converted me to Teles.

[wjniemi]

I have a 1975 Tele Deluxe that I played onstage an estimated 15, 000 hours. What a great guitar, it does everything I need a solid body guitar to do. I bought it in '76 from a guy at The Jockey Club in St. Paul for $225 with a HSC.

[rayschoch]

My Fender substitute was a Glarry GTL in "Burleywood." I put a DiMarzio "Hot T" in the bridge, and my guitar tech did a superb fret job (polish and smooth the ends). Looked good, sounded great, played great, and only weighed 5.7 lbs.

[edvaca]

I have a Baja as my main! Been playing it for years. So good!

[DarrellBraunGuitar]

Which Tele did you like the most, and which one would you like in your collection?
Do you have a favourite Tele that I didn't mention here? Let me know! Enjoy :)
Tele links:

[williamstanford]

I have a 2008 Nashville Tele with B-bender. Made in Corona, CA, and just outta sight.

[telecastersRthebest]

I absolutely love my 2012 American Vintage ‘52 but I also would like to own a Deluxe someday.

[rogerlawson]

The 60's Baja Tele is it for me. I own two and I am getting most of my tele's necks to mirror that neck. I am looking for the 50's Baja and plan to have that neck reshaped to the 60's Baja. I am hooked on it. Chris Flemming got it perfect. Good video.