Which Tele would you choose?

[RollingThunder75]

I'm looking to buy a new Tele soon, and maybe some of you can help me weigh my options. I want a 9.5" radius with bigger frets, so I'm looking at these possibilities:

1. MIM Standard, replace the stock bridge with a vintage bridge and replace the pickups.

2. Highway 1, leave it stock

3. American Tele, leave it stock

I want a Tele that offers the best sound, best playability, and best quality for the money. I want something that'll last me a long time. I recognize that the best quality is possibly in the MIM Classic series, but I've had a Classic Strat for years, and I don't think the fatter neck, vintage frets, or the thicker finish is for me. I'm open to used guitars, but the market for used Teles around here is very weak and often significantly overpriced. I'd rather buy new so I can try it in a store or return it if I buy it online and don't like it.

In your opinion, is there that significant a jump in quality between the Standards and the Hwy 1s and American Teles besides the electronics?

Just looking for a little food for thought. Thanks!

[BroadMaster]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder75

I'm looking to buy a new Tele soon, and maybe some of you can help me weigh my options. Thanks!

Baja Tele. Great tone, neck, frets, 4-way switch.
Try it, you'll see.
michael

[AjayTele]

Amercian Tele.

The original and best.

[straightface]

The MIM's are a great deal for the money and the ones I've owned had really good necks. My American was an ok guitar stock. I changed pickups and put a Glendale bridge/saddles on it. Now I wouldn't part with it for anything. Never tried an H1.

[Rusty]

go into the purchase knowing that you shouldn't buy the highway1 if you want a new, shiny guitar that will take some wear and abuse - that finish is cool, but it's thin enough to show wear fairly easily - and it's obviously not ever going to be a SHINY, new guitar

also, don't buy the american standard if you want the vintage style 3 saddle bridge...just gotta love the standard american bridge for what it is (i have one that i love) OR get another guitar.

and then don't buy the mim standard if you just have something deep down (like a lot of people seem to) that makes you want an american made guitar. if the black, plastic truss-rod plug and the MIM serial # on the headstock are going to bug you, then find another guitar...

bottom line...play them all and pick a great example of whichever one you like best...i've played horrible vintage guitars and great new ones and vice-versa...play a bunch of 'em and pick a good one to come tell us about

[maestrovert]

Save yerself some bux...buy the Mim Std, swap out the P-ups if you've a mind to....any other mods to it are completely unnecessary though !

[GuitarJunkie84]

I'm gonna go with the highway 1. I have the texas model and love the way it sounds. Just wish I could play the thing! Very nice guitars though for the money.

[dhrcaster]

My opinion of course, but I think the weight (and wood) of a Tele is one of the most important aspects of the sound! Unfortunately, these days, the less expensive they are, the heavier they are. If you could get one of (the ones listed) at around 7 lbs. it would be a deal... but that usually doesn't happen because Fender clearly seems to place a premium on body weight. Hmmm... too bad. Most of the American standard teles I've played were A. too heavy. B. the pickups sounded way too thin and well, crappy... Of the new guitars I've played, that seemed to have the "right stuff"... I could narrow that down to the Hot Rod, Baja, G.E. Smith, and some custom shops, and Nocasters... All of these you can get around the 7 lb. weight (if you look hard enough) with the exception of maybe the Baja. But, most are at high end of the pricing spectrumI HAVE seen a few (Bajas) that were pretty light. You'd just have to try a bunch of em'. The new Hot Rod, I've seen some around 7 lbs. but they vary a lot. My G.E. Smith is right at 7 lbs. but I saw one the other day that weighed almost 8 lbs. Ouch! With Fender, it's about marketing... For us, it's: How do I get the right neck, body and pickups in one guitar, for the right price? You have to look at a lot of guitars, if you're going to buy a mass produced guitar... Custom shops, less so But they are going for what "vintage" guitars were 5 years ago

[sudancat]

Personally for the money I like the Classics and the Nashville Deluxes. If you dont like the 3 pups on the Nashvilles,eliminate the middle,put a regular pg on it, and a 3 or 4 way switch. Necks are modern Cs and med jumbo frets.

[macdog]

Go for the American. I have one and it is a brilliant guitar - beautifully made, very powerful sounding, especially through a cranked tube amp, and the satin neck is heavenly. The medium-jumbo frets can take a bit of getting used to.

Put it this way. My previous guitar was a MIJ Jag and I was very happy with it. But from the moment I played the American Tele I never picked up the Jag again.

[brgminicooper]

Have you considered the G&L Tribute line? I have a Tribute ASAT classic and think it was a much better value than the MIM Fenders...

[TELEkinetic]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder75

1. MIM Standard, replace the stock bridge with a vintage bridge and replace the pickups.

Option 1.................You'll have more fun and put a bit of yourself into it, too !

[tele12]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder75

I'm looking to buy a new Tele soon, and maybe some of you can help me weigh my options. I want a 9.5" radius with bigger frets, so I'm looking at these possibilities:

1. MIM Standard, replace the stock bridge with a vintage bridge and replace the pickups.

2. Highway 1, leave it stock

3. American Tele, leave it stock

I want a Tele that offers the best sound, best playability, and best quality for the money. I want something that'll last me a long time. ...........

In your opinion, is there that significant a jump in quality between the Standards and the Hwy 1s and American Teles besides the electronics?

Unless you are buying used I don't think option 1 makes any sense at all.
It is one thing if you already own the MIM Standard and want to upgrade it, but buying and upgrading isn't going to save you all that much over buying a more expensive model, and it will be worth much less than you put into it. Also you won't know how it is going to sound until you are done, and it might not be exactly what you want.

As for which is "best for the money" I think Fender has set there pricing these days where each step up in price is pretty much worth it for what you get. There is one Fender guitar that I do think offers the "best value" in Fender's lineup, the Nashville Tele. It retails for $549 ,only $150 over the MIM Standard. For that $150 you get better pickups than the MIM standard , better tuning machines and a deluxe gigbag. It does have a 9.5" radius and medium jumbos.

I do think the is a big jump in quality going from MIM standard to HWys and American series. The fretwork is much nicer and I like the rolled fingerboard edges a lot.

[neocaster]

Your requirement is straightforward enough. If that's really what you want, go to as many shops as you can and play everything, new and used alike. Don't be impatient, don't give yourself a deadline. When you find the one, leave with it.

[RollingThunder75]

Thanks so much for the replies so far. If you got more, keep 'em coming!

Some things came to mind as I was reading the responses:

The idea behind getting a MIM Standard is that, by modifying it, I can have a guitar that actually sounds better than a stock Highway 1 or American. I could have a modern neck and a vintage everything else. The potential issue is the quality of the neck, frets, and body wood. I've had two Standards in the past. One was sunburst, so I didn't keep it long. The other was a FSR in Electron Blue that I modded with super-hot DiMarzio rail pickups, like a moron. Both were before the 2006 upgrade, so they had the little vintage frets, which I've come to the conclusion I don't like.

I had a Highway 1, too. Blonde with a maple neck. It was a 2003, so it was before they even did the Greasebucket upgrade. It was really bright and thin sounding by nature, and when I rolled off the tone, it got rid of the ear-piercingest highs, but made the rest of the sound kind of flabby and undefined. I had it for a couple of years, and I think I got tired of the sound and a little tired of the guitar in general. It was really light, so it was a bit neck heavy. I sold it because I didn't think that it was IT, if that makes any sense. I played one of the upgraded Highway 1s the other day, and it sounded really nice and didn't get bland when I rolled off the tone. Plus, they make it in black now, so I can Joe Strummer it up.

[Rumble]

Hwy 1: It's got the same all American alder body and maple neck as more expensive models. The vintage-style hardware makes it similar to the 50's models. I got my sunburst model for about 400 bills used (w/ comp brass saddles) and slapped a Gibson 490r in the neck. Now it's got a big unique sound, and I can still get the classic Tele twang by playing only the bridge pickup. People complain about the thin finish but will pay $5000 for a guitar artificially reliced. Mine will relic quickly through natural playwear. I wouldn't trade it for any other one, even the Hot Rod, because the Hot Rod only has the mini humbucker and I like the big one.

[BroadMaster]

Originally Posted by Rusty

and then don't buy the mim standard if you just have something deep down (like a lot of people seem to) that makes you want an american made guitar. if the black, plastic truss-rod plug and the MIM serial # on the headstock are going to bug you, then find another guitar...

bottom line...play them all and pick a great example of whichever one you like best...i've played horrible vintage guitars and great new ones and vice-versa...play a bunch of 'em and pick a good one to come tell us about

I think it's a shame so many malign the MIM for it's country of origin. It's made on Fender Toolings. And even more important.... most of LEO'S
employees were of hispanic decent. Folks are paying small fortunes for those same 'mexican made in america' guitars, now.

Play as many as possible, buy the one that blows your hair back, point of origin be damned. By the way, those folks at the Baja, Cali/mex plant are from a region where guitars have been built for decades. They're nice. Especially for the price.
Michael

[blue metalflake]

Only ever tried them in shops, but from that bunch I'd go for the Highway1. Play it before you decide, cause like a wife, you gotta live with it.

[Filthy McNasty]

+1 on the Baja. Other than that I would go for the MIM Standard and do the mods.

[RollingThunder75]

Originally Posted by BroadMaster

I think it's a shame so many malign the MIM for it's country of origin. It's made on Fender Toolings. And even more important.... most of LEO'S
employees were of hispanic decent. Folks are paying small fortunes for those same 'mexican made in america' guitars, now.

Play as many as possible, buy the one that blows your hair back, point of origin be damned. By the way, those folks at the Baja, Cali/mex plant are from a region where guitars have been built for decades. They're nice. Especially for the price.
Michael

To me, the question of MIM vs. MIA is NEVER the people who are making the guitars. Whether it's from Ensenada or Corona, the guitar is made by highly skilled professionals who hopefully take great pride in their work, because they should.

The only difference between the two is 1) quality of components, and 2) what is "good enough" for the supervisors in one factory may not be the same as what is "good enough" for the supervisors in the other factory. The difference isn't that the good folks in Ensenada wouldn't know HOW to do it if they were 90 miles north.