Need sound advice!

[Josiah]

on choosing the perfect tele for me. I humbly beg the opinion of you teleholics out there, as I am a tad bit inexperienced and am not familiar with all the various manufacturers, etc.

Considerations:

1) I'm on a tight budget, so $250-300 is upper limit.
2) I prefer rosewood fretboards.
3) I will most likely be putting new pickups, pots, etc. in.
4) Gotta look like a classic and have mucho cajones.

Can anyone help me?

[newtwanger]

Well, that would just point me in one direction

http://www.squierguitars.com/product...tno=0321200507

Can't go wrong.

[sonicland]

You can get used MIM Standards for $250 - 300 on eBay. I paid $275 for the one in my avatar and it's my #1. Changed the pups to 62 reissues but other than that it's stock.

[marshman]

I'm just wondering--if you're unfamiliar, not experienced, and working with a small-ish budget, why are you considering changing the pickups? A set of p'ups that are a significant improvement over the stock units are going to run you about 1/3 of your budget. Obviously, it's not essential to change 'em right off the bat, but you're setting yourself up for disappointment by going in thinking you're gonna need to upgrade it immediately.

My first tele, recently acquired, is a MIM Squier series Fender. While the p'ups are not particularly impressive in any way, it was the first 'normal' tele I'd ever picked up in which the two units were balanced--that is to say that one was not obscenely louder than the other. Man, I love that guitar.

ps--real teles have maple boards!

[pengipete]

It's not really possible to advise you on a specific guitar without knowing the prices in Iraq. It's entirely possible that a $200 guitar can cost the equivalent of $500 in another country. In fact a $200 Squier in the US costs around £200 in the UK - that's twice the price.

As general advice:

Avoid cheap, no-name oriental imports and guitars badged with the store's own name.

Look for a solid body - probably Alder at your budget - much better in the long run than plywood.

Avoid flashy guitar with tons of "free extras" or over the top finishes - they're designed to distract you from the poor quality of the guitar.

If at all possible go to a store and play the actual guitar you are going to buy - budget guitars can vary wildly in quality even from the same maker.

If you must buy mail-order only buy a well known make such as Squier and then only from a reputable store with a returns policy - remember that you can soon lose a lot of money on return postage so take that into account.

Don't be afraid to look at used guitars - it's the best possible way to make your money go further - but never buy used without seeing the guitar in person.

If in doubt, take a more experienced friend with you - it's worth the price of a lunch.

Everything that Marshman said is right.

[Josiah]

Thanks for the recommendations and opinions. all this stuff hadn't occured to me...
I've had a Squier '72 Custom Tele but humbuckers don't sound right.
I had a Jay Turser Tele that i replaced the neck pickup in because i was hearing more noise than tone. That one got stolen.
Both had maple fretboards but the other guitars i own/have played with rosewood just feel more comfortable to me. I love tele's though so my natural thought was to find one w/ rosewood fretboard.
I'm afraid mail order is my only option right now but i could wait until my next visit back to the States. I can't even get on eBay here!
New p. ups isn't necessary if it sounds good....
I'm all mixed up i guess. You guys have helped though.