Telecaster Fender American Performer vs American Professional 2

[muabdib1965]

Hi all, I hope this finds you well
I am based in France, and I am torn between a Tele performer and a Tele Professional 2.
First you need to know that in France telecaster availability especially for the performer is very week. In some shops you need to wait months before being abale to buy a guitar, don't know if it is the same in your country. Then, finding a professional 2 is a bit easier that finding a performer.

I am a Gibson Les Paul player but I already own a fender American Strat professional 2. I would like to add a tele to my collection.

So, my question is does the tele worst the 600 euros extra money compared to the professional. FYI, in France, a tele American performer is around 1,300 euros and a professional 2 is 1,900 euros.

I am not a professional musician, the new tele will be dedicated to play rock and mainly Rolling Stones songs (albeit, I know any guitar may play anything).

Money is not a huge concern as long as quality is there because I will keep the new guitar for years, but if the performer is a good guitar why spending more?

I am waiting for your piece of advice and I wish you all a nice day

 

[Highway 49]

I’d be looking at the difference in the frets - American Performer has jumbo frets, American Professional II has narrow tall frets.
I think the American Professional II Telecaster would be a fantastic guitar to have - really flexible and they have a great reputation - see Lee Kiernan

 

[Wrighty]

Hi all, I hope this finds you well
I am based in France, and I am torn between a Tele performer and a Tele Professional 2.
First you need to know that in France telecaster availability especially for the performer is very week. In some shops you need to wait months before being abale to buy a guitar, don't know if it is the same in your country. Then, finding a professional 2 is a bit easier that finding a performer.

I am a Gibson Les Paul player but I already own a fender American Strat professional 2. I would like to add a tele to my collection.

So, my question is does the tele worst the 600 euros extra money compared to the professional. FYI, in France, a tele American performer is around 1,300 euros and a professional 2 is 1,900 euros.

I am not a professional musician, the new tele will be dedicated to play rock and mainly Rolling Stones songs (albeit, I know any guitar may play anything).

Money is not a huge concern as long as quality is there because I will keep the new guitar for years, but if the performer is a good guitar why spending more?

I am waiting for your piece of advice and I wish you all a nice day

On the basis that you like your AmPro Strat, why consider a different model for your Tele. Money is no issue, availability on the pro ll is better.............................easy decision.

 

[Wrighty]

Repeat post

 

[Love For Teles]

Imo there's some upgrades to a pro II that, when combined with the excellent case it comes with, evens out price nicely.
I've read that the performers sound or feel slightly more 'traditional' but if you don't know for yourself what that even means, it's not relevant.
The only thing I prefer on the performer is the medium jumbo frets, as I don't like the pro II's narrow tall frets.
I think you can find more pro II's new AND used. That one gets my vote.

 

[muabdib1965]

thanks all for the replies
It is really helpful

In France it is almost impossible to find a performer in vintage white color and so it is for a professional II in Butterscotch the 2 colors I am looking for. So, it will be second choice guitar.

A friend of mine also gave the electronic and the pickups (noiseless) from a fender American Ultra deluxe, so my plan was to buy a guitar with very good piece of wood to change both the electronic and the pickups. However, my guitar teacher disagrees and says those guitars (performer and professional II) should stay as they are.

When I say money is not a concern, I am telling the entire truth. Yes, I am able to put the extra 600 euros for the pro II, but if the performer is good enough, I prefer to save the extra money.

I would I loved to have feedback regarding feelings/playability from players who tried both models

Thanks again for your support and gently help

 

[John C]

I went with the American Performer - it just felt better to me because I like the Performer's neck shape better than the Pro II's neck shape, and while I like the old Medium Jumbo frets that were on American Standards the best I far prefer the Jumbos on the Performer to those tall/thin frets on the Pro II. Basically the Performer's neck was closer to the 2013 American Standard Tele I used to have.

Pickups are a funny thing though - as much as I like the Yosemite Tele pickups I hate the Yosemite Strat pickups and prefer the Strat V-Mod II pickups. But I preferred the Fender CS pickups used on the 2012-2016 American Standards over either the Yosemite or V-Mod II; I just never found a used American Standard from that period that suited me.

 

[MelodicBend]

If you plan to modify the guitar, I wouldn't suggest paying the full price of a Professional II. The stock pickups on the American Pro series are unbelievable. Everything I have played with the V mod pickups sounds very clear and symphonic.

I know others will disagree but I don't notice much difference between the fret sizes after a prolonged play. To me, there's smaller vintage frets and NOT smaller vintage frets. I prefer the NOT.

Although blonde/yellow/butterscotch is my favorite Telecaster color, the Dark Night is fantastic. Very unique and beautiful.

If I can offer advice, think more about how you will feel about the guitar in months or years of playing it rather than what it feels like in the store or in a demo. I know I have a very bad problem when I try a guitar I like. Suddenly, it is perfect and everything else in my life especially other guitars are garbage.

One last thing about the professional ii, some come with roasted pine bodies. I don't know enough about that particular material but it is easy to dent and scratch regular pine. I'd just avoid those if possible and stick with alder wood bodies.

There is a vendor here in USA that still has new Performers in Penny color for an excellent price. I don't think shipping to France would be a problem. If you're interested just ask and I'll send you the link.

Best of luck!

 

[HaWE]

Hi, I can only speak of the Am Performer.It is a perfect guitar ( at least for me ) , without any kind of problems.Regarding music stores, I am in the almost same situation than you - there are no big shops around here in my region that have a lot different models of Fender instruments for testing.So I ordered my Am Performer online.Fortunately the instrument was in perfect condition and because of a "money back" guarantee it was no risk.

 

[Warhol]

Hi,

I live in France (I'm French too) and I got 2 american Teles : a American Deluxe from 2006 (who's now called "American Ultra" but it's quite the same) and a American Vintage II 51' .. never really try a American Performer.

Spoiler: french version

Il est vrai qu'il est assez difficile d'avoir toutes les séries de Fender en Europe, surtout si l'ont veut acheter intelligemment en évitant les "tueurs de boutiques de quartiers"; c'est à dire les grosses plateformes de ventes en ligne (Thomann, Woodbrass etc ..).
Par exemple mon AVII était la seule trouvable en Ile de France et si je ne l'avais pas prise j'aurais dû attendre novembre 2023 selon ce que Fender annonçait via son distributeur au vendeur !
Donc effectivement, il n'est pas facile de faire un choix.
Dans ton cas, et si j'ai bien compris, tu veux le look d'une Fender Vintage mais avec des micros modernes.
Pourquoi veux-tu les "noiseless" ? Les as-tu essayé ?
Pour en avoir sur mon American Deluxe, je peux t'affirmer qu'ils ne sont pas vraiment moins bruyant que ceux de mon AVII 51 (pourtant tu peux pas faire plus vintage comme micros)... mais de surcroît ils sont beaucoup moins bons ... vraiment beaucoup moins bon !
Moins dynamiques, moins claquants, moins définis ... donc tu comprendras que je rejoins complètement l'avis de ton prof qui te déconseille de désosser une Fender US (quelle qu'elle soit) pour y mettre ces micros.

Ainsi je te conseille plutôt de soit prendre une American Vintage II 51' (pour le butterscotch mais bon courage pour en trouver une) ou 63' (encore trouvable je crois .. au pire sur le net), soit de chercher sur le marché de l'occasion des American Standard de fin 90/début 2000 ou bien vraiment tu veux te bricoler une gratte, de prendre une Squier CV - ou une Fender Vintera si le decalco sur la tête t'importe tant que ça - et de tout changer dessus : micros, electronique, potard etc ...

That's true that it's quite difficult to have all the series of Fender in Europe, especially for those who want to buy intelligently by avoiding the "killers of neighborhood shops" (Thomann, Woodbrass etc ..).
For example, my AVII was the only one available in Paris area and if I hadn't taken it I would have had to wait until November 2023 according to what Fender announced via its distributor to the seller!
So indeed, it is not easy to make a choice.

In your case, and if I understand correctly, you want the shape and the look of a Fender Vintage but with modern pickups.
Why do you want these "noiseless" ones? Have you tried them?
To have some on my American Deluxe, I can tell you that they are not really less noisy than those of my AVII 51 (yet you can't do more vintage as microphones)... but moreover they are much less good ... really much less good!
Less dynamic, less twanggy, less defined... so you'll understand that I'm totally agree with your teacher's opinion, who advises you against taking apart a US Fender (whatever it is) to put these modern pickups on.

So I advise you rather to either take a 51' American Vintage II (for the butterscotch but good luck finding one) or a 63' (still findable I believe .. at worst on the web ), or to look on the 2nd hand market for an American Standard of the end of 90/beginning of 2000 or if you really want to modd a guitar, just take a Squier CV - or a Fender Vintera if the decal on the head matters that much to you - and to change everything on it : microphones, electronics, knob etc ...

 

[muabdib1965]

Many, Many thanks for the replies

First you have convinced me and I will not modify (pickups or electronic) neither a performer nor a professional telecaster. the big question is about playing confort.

Are the tallest frets of the performer really that different compared to the professional? By the way are the frets from a professional 2 tele similar to those of my professional 2 Strat?
What about neck difference between performer and pro 2 teles?

Confort and ease of play are very important for me. Then according to your experience, which one is the best when looking at these criteria?

Have a nice day

 

[Tommy_T]

I have an American Special Tele (a predecessor to American Performer) and American Pro II Strat. The frets on the Am Special tele are the same jumbo frets as on the Performer and Am pro II strat has the same frets as am pro II tele. I also have a ’62 reissue strat with small vintage frets. In my experience, the difference in jumbo frets and those in Am pro II is not that big compared to the small vintage frets. The jumbo frets are as tall as the Am pro II ones, but a little wider. It took awhile to get used to the jumbo frets, but now I appreciate the different feeling when I switch between the Tele and the Am pro II Strat. It also makes you play differently, which is not a bad thing.

The neck on the Am Special Tele is a little too thin to my liking (I prefer the Am pro II neck), but still I like the smoothness and overall feeling of it.

If you want a similar feeling guitar than your Strat, go for the Am pro II Tele, but if you want something different and little more vintage-feeling, go for the Performer.

I also tried the Am pro II tele in my local store a few months ago. I really liked it, but it didn’t make me want to sell my Am special tele.

 

[Warhol]

Confort and ease of play are very important for me. Then according to your experience, which one is the best when looking at these criteria?

Have a nice day

No one will ever be able to answer you correctly.. it's as if you were asking "in your opinion, do I need a brunette woman or a blonde?"

Personally, I love the 50's baseball bat-style neck, I think they're the ultimate in comfort, so my American Deluxe tends to give me cramps because I'm not used to playing on a slim neck anymore.
However many people are looking for this model precisely for that, and they would be unable to play on my AVII

 

[muabdib1965]

Thanks
for the brunette woman or blonde, I think i'll take both!!!

Basically, I am a Gibson player and I am familiar big Les Paul neck, however I prefer Gibson slim tapper. According to your opinion, which one neck from Performer or Pro 2 is closer or near the slim tapper?

 

[John C]

Thanks
for the brunette woman or blonde, I think i'll take both!!!

Basically, I am a Gibson player and I am familiar big Les Paul neck, however I prefer Gibson slim tapper. According to your opinion, which one neck from Performer or Pro 2 is closer or near the slim tapper?

Currently owning the Performer and having owned a Pro II Strat for about 3.5 months I would say that the shape of the Pro II necks is closer to the slim taper than the Performer.

There's not a lot of depth difference between the Performer neck and the Pro II neck - they should be the same depth at the first fret (both are spec to .820")but the Pro II neck will be a tiny bit thicker at the 12th fret (Performer spec is .870" and Pro II spec is .920").

Most of the Gibson slim taper neck guitars I've tried out over the past 3-4 years have had a fairly pronounced D shape to them - something that I don't care for. Both Fender necks are C shaped, but the vast majority of Pro II necks have fuller shoulders than the vast majority of the Performer necks, which to my hands makes the Pro II feel closer to a Gibson slim taper neck. Which is why I parted ways with the Pro II Strat I had after 3.5 months of ownership. I currently have the Performer Tele and a 2020 model Les Paul Tribute which has an "in-between" neck - it's their 50s C shape but the depth is in-between that of a typical 50s neck and the 60s slim taper neck.

You already have a Pro II Strat; I would say unless you have issues with the neck shape on it (or you specifically want your Tele to have a bit of a different feel) go for the Pro II Tele. You should already have a good idea of how close the Pro II neck is to a Gibson slim taper from the one you own; while all guitar necks vary to a certain extent you should be able to find a Pro II Tele with a neck very similar to your Pro II Strat.

 

[muabdib1965]

thanks all for the replies
I am still wondering if a different playability and feeling on a Pro 2 deserves the extra money compared to a performer. Now as I am convinced to keep the guitar stock, the main difference between both teles performer and Pro 2 is the different pickups.

The idea will be to use the guitar in non-standard tuning in order to play Rolling Stones music. So according to your experience which pickups between yosemite or V-mod 2 is best to do so?

have a nice day

 

[John C]

thanks all for the replies
I am still wondering if a different playability and feeling on a Pro 2 deserves the extra money compared to a performer. Now as I am convinced to keep the guitar stock, the main difference between both teles performer and Pro 2 is the different pickups.

The idea will be to use the guitar in non-standard tuning in order to play Rolling Stones music. So according to your experience which pickups between yosemite or V-mod 2 is best to do so?

have a nice day

Sorry; my only experience with directly comparing the V-Mod II to Yosemite pickups is with the Strats; I never plugged in a Pro II Tele because I really liked the neck better on the Performer - which is just my personal preference.

 

[muabdib1965]

Hi all and thanks for advices

I finally manage to buy a professional II telecaster butterscotch blonde. It will be be there next week. I found a shop 300 miles from my home selling the guitar at a bargain price (-20%) because this was the last one in the shop. They wanted to sell it at a bargain price before the new 2023 ones arrived

Then the price difference between performer tele and professional was below 400 euros which I consider more reasonable
I will keep you informed

 

[Eddiebaby1]

There's going to be a 2023 Am Pro II ?

 

[muabdib1965]

I do not think so as the guitar is currently in stock. Are differences between 2023 guitars vs 2022 professional 2 teles?