AliExpress Thinline body?

[Tony474]

I’ve spotted a nice-looking double-bound Thinline Tele body in cherry red on AliExpress, imaginatively branded “Fend” and sold by “Bood Music Store” for a very reasonable price, with six-day delivery to the UK. Quoted weight is 1.5kg, or about 3 lbs 5 oz.

I’m thinking about using it to replace the heavy original body of my Squier 50s Classic Vibe, purchasing the appropriate pickguard separately but using the rest of the CV’s hardware.

I’ve always fancied a Thinline anyway, but this will enable me to enjoy the playability of the Squier neck without breaking my back every time I use it on a gig.

Has anyone purchased a Telecaster body from an AliExpress supplier? If so, how well did the existing neck and other parts fit?

Please note: I don’t seek opinions based on national origin or international politics. I seek replies only from those with direct personal experience.

 

[RandomKaren]

I have never used aliexpress but it says free returns in 90 days and if you use PayPal you're covered. I bought a jazz bass neck from China on ebay and it fitted the body I had.

 

[unclebilly]

I’ve made a few purchases from Ali express. The product has been good quality but does have fake manufacturer names and packaging…

 

[Nicko_Lps]

I’ve made a few purchases from Ali express. The product has been good quality but does have fake manufacturer names and packaging…

Ive made 2 orders, 1 went great and 2nd did not come at all.

Contacted the seller, they kept replying with barely broken English, contacted Ali Express themselves and they closed the case blaming me.

Their "version" is that my order was in the post office and i should get it from there.

The post office told me aliexpress ships many orders in dedicated containers with the tracking number REPORTING the item is most likely there but when the container reached its destination my parcel was not inside.

They closed the case, they did not allow me to reply again, they did not refund the order and that was it.

 

[Guerilla Electro]

I have made hundreds of purchases on AE, every week for the last 10 years (guitar parts , electronic parts, pedals ..) : only once ( during lockdowns ) I did not receive the package , and I was fully refunded , I only use Paypal .

 

[Tony474]

Update: I've gone ahead and ordered the body at a total cost of £143.56 (GBP) including shipping and 20% UK VAT. Payment was made via PayPal, so with the "protections" offered by AliExpress and PayPal I feel covered in case anything goes wrong. Now I just have to await delivery and hope that the claimed weight of the item is somewhere close to the reality.

Thanks to those who have replied. I feel encouraged!

 

[Nicko_Lps]

I did not receive the package , and I was fully refunded , I only use Paypal .

Makes sense, they cant scam clients using paypal.

 

[RandomKaren]

They closed the case, they did not allow me to reply again, they did not refund the order and that was it.

I had eBay behave like that - closing a case and refusing to respond further - but I claimed against them in PayPal and won so got my money back at eBay's expense. Heh.

 

[Nicko_Lps]

I had eBay behave like that - closing a case and refusing to respond further - but I claimed against them in PayPal and won so got my money back at eBay's expense. Heh.

I got my lesson i guess, i will use my paypal next time so they wont be able to pull their scam when they feel like doing so.

 

[Telegator]

I’m curious if the body will match the Squiers neck. I assume the Squier neck is fender spec. Please give us a report.

 

[Tony474]

I’m curious if the body will match the Squiers neck. I assume the Squier neck is fender spec. Please give us a report.

From specifications it seems so. I hope they are accurate. I’ll report here once the item has arrived.

 

[azureglo]

You mean like this one? Mine had a few flaws so they gave me 25% store credit towards a second one that was perfect.

The thread is here: Protone Repro that will answer questions about neck fit, amount of funk built into the tone wood, neck dive, neck ache etc

 

[Tony474]

You mean like this one? Mine had a few flaws so they gave me 25% store credit towards a second one that was perfect.

The thread is here: Protone Repro that will answer questions about neck fit, amount of funk built into the tone wood, neck dive, neck ache etc

Yes indeed, that looks pretty much like the one I’ve ordered. It hasn’t arrived yet, but it’s left the Netherlands on the final leg of its journey to the UK. I hope mine will be flawless, but your story is encouraging. Looks good in your photos!

 

[Lorenz1973]

This is the Thinline Sunburst, double binding Tele body from China, not Aliexpress but ebay. Usually the same items are sold on Aliexpress but on Ebay there's more choice anche better dealer communication.
I noticed that sometimes on ebay there are 2 sellers of same item, I believe they're the same guy. It's the 2nd body I buy from china, the first was a strat. I usually check first the images, the more the better. It's about 2 years that I check regulary ebay to find the body I'd like. I also checked original fenders, but excluded very expensive CS, I didn't find anything.
Then this appeared. It's the colour, grain and finish I was searching for. Good communication with the dealer, he also confirmed that what I see is what i get. About 200 euro, of which 50 are for shipment, quite fair to me .
Less than 10 days for delivering (fron Hong Kong to Italy).
When I opened the box I was astonished.
The quality is amazing, perfect binding, sunburst, two pieces of what looks like alder wood (ad declared by the seller) and a very nice wood grain as expected. The neck pocket size is perfect.
Very happy with my purchase.

 

[Tony474]

Update: mine arrived on 26th October and I’ve now completed the transplant of the neck, hardware and electronics from the Squier CV50, with a black pearl pickguard that looks superb. Fit and finish were perfect, and it works and sounds as it should.

That said, after all these years the CV neck no longer suits me perfectly, so I’ve bought another from an eBay seller, this time with a rosewood board, and it’s lovely. What I now plan to do is restore the CV to original and buy new premium components and electronics for the Thinline. That’s a job yet to be accomplished, but the important thing is that the body itself is excellent and leaves nothing to be desired.

 

[dannyh]

I've looked at their stuff for years...good to hear of these good experiences.

 

[Flyboy]

My only fear of Ali/DH Gate bodies is their depth and finish.

 

[KelvinS1965]

I was considering an eBay Thinline body for the same reasons as the OP as I have a very heavy Tele I self built. I thought it might make the resulting Tele a bit different from a regular one I already have. However, I've listened to a number of Tele vs Thinline comparisons, but usually they had different pickups, so I found it hard to tell any difference due to the body.

Not sure I'll go ahead now as I feel like I'll still have two Teles that essentially sound the same/very similar, which I can't really justify (plus a spare body left over too). Still good to hear of the experiences in case I change my mind (again!). I do like the looks of a double bound body too and the one I found is Sonic Blue (one of my favourite 'Fender' colours), or the sunburst one like @Lorenz1973 has.

 

[Gary in Boston]

I'm always surprised that Fender doesn't clamp down on the millions of un licensed copies that glut the market.

 

[KelvinS1965]

Went down a little Thinline rabbit hole last night, watching a few videos comparing Thinline to Teles (again). I also got a prompt reply from the eBay seller of the Sonic Blue DB I fancied and the weights are between 1.3 and 1.6kg, so will certainly cure the weight problem of my avatar Tele.

Still not convinced it would sound much different to my regular Classic 50s Tele though, so now I'm wondering about routing the body to fit Jazzmaster pickups instead. Thinking white/parchment pickups against a parchment pickguard and a shortened Tele bridge could look quite nice. I think I'd have to glue some wood inside the body for the bridge pickup to screw into, but that might help with potential neck dive due to the very light body weight.

While it wouldn't be the same as an actual Jazzmaster, maybe it would give some of the flavour and should be noticeably different from just having another Tele, but with a hollowbody. I have most of the parts to do this and it would even free up some parts I could try to sell on afterwards such as the original butterscotch body, one pair of DiMarzio humbuckers (one currently in the neck) and one pair of Fender OV single coil pickups (one currently in the bridge). Overall it might end up cost neutral, or even money left over.

I think I need to do some measuring up and I may have to go to a shop and play some Jazzmasters against Teles, just to see if I really like the sound of them in person.