What model Tele do I have? - added pictures

[beezer]

Greetings - I recently bought a used Telecaster, S/N MZ8127354. The guitar was made in Mexico. I checked the S/N listing on this site and the sequence doesn't include MZ8... Looking more closely at the guitar I see a "Fender Special Edition" sticker on the back of the headstock. The guitar has an all natural body and neck with a tortise shell pick guard. It's very sharp and sounds great. Just curious on model and value. Thanks in advance.

[Kennedycaster]

Pictures will help.

[Toto'sDad]

Your guitar was made at the Ensinada plant in the years 2008-2009.

It's most likely a FSR ash made by Fender for Guitar Center, and Musicians Friend, GREAT guitar.

Find serial number info here:

http://guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx Don't for get to enter country of origin.

[boris bubbanov]

Toto's Dad is right, except that these FSRs can be great or they can be ordinary just like any other MIM Standard could be. You also have to be choosy, since they can be the right weight and purdy, or they can be quite heavy and/or the pieces of ash can be badly matched or be kinda unsightly.

We've seen some wonderful ones displayed here, but I have seen some real orphans at Guitar Center and you gotta exercise care when selecting one.

[beezer]

Thanks to all who've replied - attached are some pics of my telecaster.

[BritishBluesBoy]

Originally Posted by Toto'sDad

FSR ash made by Fender for Guitar Center, and Musicians Friend...

^^this^^

[Telemarkman]

Is the low E-string dangerously close the the edge of the fretboard at the upper frets?

And is the control panel and/or bridge plate crooked (angled relative to one another)?

[Tele Fan]

My father in law has one of those. Really nice player.

[boris bubbanov]

I do think that the year this was built, FMIC was switching over and upgrading the MIM Standard. I found that these FSRs tended to have the serials on the front long after the regular color Standards had gone over to the number on the back. I think Arctic White was the last factory color one available well into 2008 with this "early" neck detail while all the Lake Placid Blue Teles were the new kind. So maybe the fretwork will be a smidgen less precise; this mid 2008 switch was a tangible improvement although obviously every example is different.

[beezer]

Telemarkman - good eye, I had to go grab the guitar and look at it. The picture - for whatever reason - is somewhat misleading, even though the control switch bar looks non parallel to the bottom pickup plate. I measured and they are indeed aligned. You are correct that the low E string is a fraction of an inch closer to the outside edge of the highest fret than the high E string but it doesn't affect playability. Thanks - Beezer

[Telemarkman]

Originally Posted by beezer

Telemarkman - good eye, I had to go grab the guitar and look at it. The picture - for whatever reason - is somewhat misleading, even though the control switch bar looks non parallel to the bottom pickup plate. I measured and they are indeed aligned. You are correct that the low E string is a fraction of an inch closer to the outside edge of the highest fret than the high E string but it doesn't affect playability. Thanks - Beezer

Often a picture can be misleading due to angle, light conditions or whatever. I'm glad it wasn't as bad as it looked to be.

It's just that I've owned a Tele with a real crooked bridge plate, so I always look especially for these things.

[JDRNoPro]

Congrats! Grain on that body looks pretty nice - very unlike one of the same model (GC FSR) I looked at a couple of weeks ago. The grain mismatch and dissimilarity of the pieces of wood were quite pronounced on that particular one.

[jebbo]

Yep, that's an FSR Tele. That's pretty much a top of the line MIM Fender tele. They are great guitars. I don't own one, but I played one in GC. You'll be very happy with that guitar. It's a keeper. How much did you pay for it ?

[beezer]

$370 - How'd I do???

[backporchmusic]

Good used price. The GC online has them new for $449 (but at this stage in the game, they are likely the dregs of the run), and they are not to be confused with the current natural ash tele model at $499. Yours has tex mex pickups in addition to its ash body.

Here's a link to buy a 'new' 2007-8 model

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-F...59-i1858007.gc

[RussBert]

That's about right