Don't buy these 3 Telecasters | Telecaster Review

Which Fender Telecaster should I buy? This comes up too often.
Fender Telecasters - there are tons of those guitars. Different Telecaster Models, from Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster, to the Player Series II Telecaster, to the Custom Shop Telecaster, and everything in between. This video answers the question "which Telecaster should you buy?", considering price, specs and features. The classic question about "Squier vs. Fender Telecaster" comes up as well as "Is a Custom Shop Telecaster really worth it?".

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[BullFrog]

Guys, don't buy the American Vintage II Tele because its spec'd out to be a vintage guitar. Don't buy the guitar that does the thing it was designed to do because it does the thing it was designed to do.

[RaylanGivens]

Gotta disagree with you on the 7 1/4 vintage radius...i love those. You just have to setup the action a little higher & have a little more relief in the neck, and it won't fret out. The rounder profile also makes chords easier. All the 60s and 70s guitar gods were using those and it didn't hurt their playing!

[trev]

7.25" radius wasn't a problem for Hendrix, Clapton, or Page. It's all about setup.

[chrisambrose]

This past year I bought a 40th anniversary Squire Tele for $449 and it was beautiful! 💙🇺🇸👍🙋‍♂️🖖🏻

[lazvt]

Have 10 Teles (lefty also)....including two Harley Bentons on one price extreme....a Fender CustomShop Closet Classic on the other extreme. My recent gem....a $400 AIO TC4 with Suhr Classic T pups...really sound, feels, plays similar to my CS. LOVE IT!! AIO does a truly pro set up!! Sold my AM-ProII (so-so sound, didn't want to mod it)....can't go wrong with an LSL Tbone...amazing tone (7 lbs too). Any Tele with good bones and properly set up (e.g., Squier CV50) ...with pups (and disconnect tone pot from neck pup) will sound and play GREAT. Continue to long live the Tele!! Loved mine in the 80's....still the gold standard.

[robbyclark]

I just bought a Schecter PT special. My first ever T style guitar. Swamp ash body, roasted maple neck, rosewood board, body and neck binding, P90 in the neck, single in the bridge, brass compensated saddles, body contours, neck contour, med-jumbo SS frets, series and parallel wiring. Sounds great, plays great, paid less than $500 used without a scratch on it. It's a foreign made, but who cares? My first Schecter, too, and i am seriously impressed.

[AlpineJennings]

I disagree about the Vintera II. My Vintera II 50s Nocaster is one if finest made fenders I’ve ever had, including many custom shop models. Fender really stepped up the materials and build quality for these latest Vinteras. One of my students bought the same model and his is fantastic too. I also disagree with your assessment of the “not great Vintera pickups”. I swapped out the pickups with Fender CS Nocaster pickups. No difference. As I was doing the swap, I was blown away to find that the Vintera pickups are exactly the same (same baseplate, same magnets, same Formvar coil wire, same cloth covered/pushback wiring, same pots and switch as the USA Teles, etc. I’ll bet the Vintera II pickups are built on the same production line as the Custom Shop pickups. They are virtually identical. In the end, I put the Vintera pickups back in and saved the CS Nocaster pickups for another day. It plays and sounds great. If you can handle the huge U profile neck, the Vintera II 50s Nocaster is a much better value than the American Vintage. I got mine for $900 new and it kills. A classic vibe is a great option, but after rewiring with quality components and pickups you’ll be into your Squier about $700. Instead find a used Vintera II Nocaster (currently $750-$850).

[andersrinnan]

I like the classic vibe pickups - absolutely nothing wrong with them

[uwedasler]

No disagreement, but after rightfully pointing out the "paying for the decal on the headstock" thing, I would find it only consistent to mention that there are quite a few other players out there... Teles around 2k that best Fender AM II Pro and Ultra (Luxe) models (and rival custom shop models in a lot of cases) here in Europe definitely include Haar, Smitty, Real Guitars, Tokai, and certainly Maybach. My Maybach Red Rooster (paid 1.8k Euros new) runs circles around my 58 Custom Shop Tele (paid 5.2k Euros new). Looking at the higher end of the market, Fender CS becomes even harder to justify... K-Line, LSL, Xotic, Tom Andersons, Shabat, Mcmull, or here in Europe instruments by e.g. moews or Tonfuchs, make Fender the last choice. I play since 1976 and guarantee you that once you played a Tonfuchs Lovecaster, you will deny eve knowing Fender. (I am not affiliated with any of these.)

[Michel-rm]

After 1149 was about twice as much than 429 I stopped listening.

[robbyclark]

So, Leo Fender designed the telecaster to be affordable and easily mass produced.
What happened?

[ErikSWE]

7, 25” radius feels amazing to play wdym 😮

[javiersilva]

I've been playing for 57 years. Still play 4 times a week. Owned 100 fenders. When the vintage reissue is set up by a professional and the frets are level and crowned, it plays as good as anything else. This guy is mostly a guy that plays with a rock sound and pulloffs and hammer ons. I wouldn't listen to him.

[PaulPaul-bzoc]

I just recently purchased a used Blonde Squire Vintage Telecaster, that whoever traded it in had it set up perfectly!!! And I LOVE this guitar! it is ONE OF THE FINEST I have ever played, with the exception of my best friend's Gibson Maurader! I actually wonder if it wasn't mis-labeled a Squire! I have compared it to high-end Teles and cannot tell the difference, and just love playing it and even feel guilty if I don't play it every day! And surprisingly, I thought it would weigh less than my Les Paul, but No! This thing weighs a ton! But I dont care, it's a great guitar and another thing I noticed, it ALWAYS STAYS IN TUNE vs my LP!!! Some friends I know that are professional touring musicians have told me they have the same issue with their Gibsons vs Fenders, so call it what you will, but I think that it comes down to what feels best for each individual.

[dpajc]

Lol
I got the American Vintage II and I love it it's my favorite guitar of all times.i don't get issues bending and choking out at all. But I would prefer the 9.5" modern radius. I agree the bigger frets would be preferable but they're fine you get used to it. The thing just sounds good I love it. I fot guitars that cost double and more than double but the tele sounds the best, by far. I love the baseball bat neck on it. Lets all just agree theres no such thing as a bad tele! Even if it aint a Fender! I teles!

[darrenfleming]

You are coming at this from the point of view of a player who doesn't play a tele to sound like a tele rather than someone who enjoys telecasters and wants it to do the Telecaster thing. You'd be better off with an Ibanez. But I suppose you have to make content.

[bradatherton]

Love the "deckle" but around here we call it a dee kal 😂

[CastlesMadeOf...]

The Classic Vibe has a thin toothpick neck, not a true Tele neck. So, you'll need to change this, so you might as well change the whole guitar.

Secondly, it's not the fretboard radius, it's the setup. So, if you are fretting out then you need to raise your action. Again, original Teles had 7.25" radius.

The real answer is... Build your own quality Tele to your own specs for under 1k. You get to choose the pickups you like, the neck profile you like and the weight that suits you ;)

[taloujazz]

I totally agree with you. Every 3 year, Fender releases a guitar that is supposed to be a vintage copy of the tele or strat, but the more time passes, the lower the quality and the higher the price. It's much more interesting to buy a second hand standard serie (2010's) or american pro serie and to change the PU. At least you can be sure to get the right spec and the quality !

[partriotsfight]

I’ve owned lots of Tele’s and for now I’ve landed on my favorite one ever owned. Actually it’s my favorite guitar of any guitar I’ve owned. It’s a MIJ Richie Kotzen Signature. It’s solid. I also managed to get ahold of his Signature Strat too and it’s my favorite Strat in my collection. Quality is just great.