Synchro
Tele-Holic
I had a nice tax refund this year, and decided that it was time for another Tele. As has been the case with several Tele purchases, I found that I actually preferred the feature set of a relatively inexpensive model, in this case the MIM Deluxe Tele Thinline, an interesting hybrid with binding on the top, but not the back, Fender Noiseless pickups (which were my strong preference) and a Candy Apple Red finish. While I don’t recall seeing these recently on Fender’s website, it is a 2021 serial number and came NOS, from Adorama. I did not expect it to come with a good setup and my expectations were met. It had not been out of its box since leaving the factory in Ensenada. I actually prefer to receive new guitars this way, because I prefer to do my own baseline setup.
So I did. Starting with setting up the bridge, which was absolutely random, being grossly out of intonation, but before I could do that, the OEM strings were the worst I’ve ever seen. Considering that it was never played, and was made in 2021, the strings had to have been pretty awful to begin with. One new set of DR Blues, Pure Blues 9-42 later, I was able to do my setup. I got it playing quite well and loved the nature of the guitar. As planks go, this one had a lot of spank.
Then I plugged it in. Within seconds, it became obvious that there was a wicked hum, which went away as soon as you touched the strings. It sounded like a classic ground problem, so just a few hours into my ownership experience, I undid my setup work and tore it apart to see if the bridge was grounded. As it turns out. the bridge was grounded, but the source of hum was elsewhere. I’ll spare you the details of the troubleshooting, but it turns out that the problem was an excessively long pair of wires from the volume pot to the output jack. Five inches would have been sufficient and this was over 11” long and untwisted. Basically, I had an antenna for detecting EMI. Replacing it with shielded two conductor cable and grounding one end of the shield, took care of the problem. I also used some copper tape and shielded Tele body that was as quiet as my Humbucker equipped Custom Telecaster FMT HH. But it was just a body at this point and I had to reassemble the rest of the guitar.
In the meantime, I had bought a set of Highwood Contoured Vintage (style) Saddles from StewMac. So I must confess to blasphemy, because these are actually Strat saddles, but they don’t threaten to lacerate my picking hand, so I‘m good with it. I reattached the neck, and setup the bridge again. The fretwork was pretty good and I was able to set it up for quite low action without any penalty in sound quality. Actually, the limiting factor was the length of the intonation adjustment screws for the bridge saddles. As soon as a find a slightly longer screw I can actually lower the action of the high E even further without having it intonate flat. Even as if it, the action is excellent.
The four way switch is a pleasant surprise, adding a sound that one does not normally associate with a Tele. I’m not sure just how to describe it, but both pickups in serial is humbucker sound, but not necessarily a Les Paul sound. It’s mellow, but powerful. I took this guitar to band practice and found myself using both pickups in serial when I wasn’t going for maximum treble spank.
Overall, this guitar has been a good purchase. The wiring problem was irritating, but simple enough to correct. It plays well and gives me an axe that loves having its strings bent and rewards me with a springy, bright sound. It’s a good Country guitar, sounds good for Blues, and it Rocks. Besides that, the Art Deco looks of the Thinline really appeal to me. The workmanship, with the exception of the wiring, is quite good. I’ve had Fender Custom Shop guitars that had more fit and finish issues.
Here’s a photo of the Tele, during its receiving inspection.
So I did. Starting with setting up the bridge, which was absolutely random, being grossly out of intonation, but before I could do that, the OEM strings were the worst I’ve ever seen. Considering that it was never played, and was made in 2021, the strings had to have been pretty awful to begin with. One new set of DR Blues, Pure Blues 9-42 later, I was able to do my setup. I got it playing quite well and loved the nature of the guitar. As planks go, this one had a lot of spank.
Then I plugged it in. Within seconds, it became obvious that there was a wicked hum, which went away as soon as you touched the strings. It sounded like a classic ground problem, so just a few hours into my ownership experience, I undid my setup work and tore it apart to see if the bridge was grounded. As it turns out. the bridge was grounded, but the source of hum was elsewhere. I’ll spare you the details of the troubleshooting, but it turns out that the problem was an excessively long pair of wires from the volume pot to the output jack. Five inches would have been sufficient and this was over 11” long and untwisted. Basically, I had an antenna for detecting EMI. Replacing it with shielded two conductor cable and grounding one end of the shield, took care of the problem. I also used some copper tape and shielded Tele body that was as quiet as my Humbucker equipped Custom Telecaster FMT HH. But it was just a body at this point and I had to reassemble the rest of the guitar.
In the meantime, I had bought a set of Highwood Contoured Vintage (style) Saddles from StewMac. So I must confess to blasphemy, because these are actually Strat saddles, but they don’t threaten to lacerate my picking hand, so I‘m good with it. I reattached the neck, and setup the bridge again. The fretwork was pretty good and I was able to set it up for quite low action without any penalty in sound quality. Actually, the limiting factor was the length of the intonation adjustment screws for the bridge saddles. As soon as a find a slightly longer screw I can actually lower the action of the high E even further without having it intonate flat. Even as if it, the action is excellent.
The Proof Is In The Playing
The sound is pure Tele. I wondered if the high impedance of the Noiseless Pickups might detract from the highs, but this is not the case. This sounds as good to my ear as the Fender single coil, vintage spec pickups I had my first Tele. Currently, I have a set of 9-46 hybrid strings, which gives it good low end, yet makes for easy bending. Eventually, I intend to put Thomastik BeBops, pure nickel, roundwound, round core, in .047, .034, .026 on the bottom three strings with .009, .011 and .016 plains up top, but I want to make sure that I won’t be taking it apart again, before putting on high end strings.
The four way switch is a pleasant surprise, adding a sound that one does not normally associate with a Tele. I’m not sure just how to describe it, but both pickups in serial is humbucker sound, but not necessarily a Les Paul sound. It’s mellow, but powerful. I took this guitar to band practice and found myself using both pickups in serial when I wasn’t going for maximum treble spank.
Overall, this guitar has been a good purchase. The wiring problem was irritating, but simple enough to correct. It plays well and gives me an axe that loves having its strings bent and rewards me with a springy, bright sound. It’s a good Country guitar, sounds good for Blues, and it Rocks. Besides that, the Art Deco looks of the Thinline really appeal to me. The workmanship, with the exception of the wiring, is quite good. I’ve had Fender Custom Shop guitars that had more fit and finish issues.
Here’s a photo of the Tele, during its receiving inspection.
