IF you could order the perfect Telecaster from Fender parts...

[Blackmore Fan]

Let's play a game. Let's assume you've been given a gift card where you can order the perfect Telecaster. The catch is that you have to use Fender parts for the important stuff--the body, the neck, and the pickups. Please, feel free to mix and match. You can improvise on the other parts of the build. What would you choose to order?

I'll post a similar question in the Stratocaster forum here.

 

[Killing Floor]

63 C for me. And of course Daphne with contours and maybe a matching head. Maple board. Flame away but I’d probably put a chrome covered bucker in the neck. Shawbucker maybe. And locking tuners, come at me.

 

[bottlenecker]

I like fender telecasters, so a fender telecaster made from fender telecaster parts would be just fine. It'd be nice if I could order it from 1958.

 

[G.Rotten]

IMO all the best Fenders are Partscasters.

This one is all Fender parts except the neck pickup (Lindy Fralin).

I guess I cheated. If I could order any Fender parts I would've ordered these parts.

 

[bgmacaw]

The big question for me is the neck profile and feel and if I'd like it.

 

[NeverTooLate]

I have played that game via the Fender Mod Shop. I am not getting exactly what I would want though.

Alder-yes
Neck Shape- I like the modern C but I am reading that U/V may be better for nerve issues. Learning about that. No idea if C to D or deep D do anything to help, no idea if it is true either.
Fingerboard that matches the color of the headstock. My Player Plus has exactly the same colors. I hate seeing body, fretboard, and headstock being all different colors. I love mine which is a darker maple, kinda looks like roasted.
Pickguard Material: how about none? A more modern look is welcome.
Pickups: HH most likely to be replaced with Di Marzio HH.
Tuners: locking.
Bridge: modern.
Strings: 10-38 but 9-42 is fine.

If it were possible, I would do 10-14 roasted neck and headstock that matches the body color.

As for the many colors that the Mod Shop offers, I like a lot but I do not love any. Hot Rod Red or Sunset Metallic, maybe, but hard to tell without seeing one in person. I have a candy apple red and I like it a lot but I think Hot Rod Red and no pickguard would go better with HH

 

[Jakedog]

Any old alder body is fine. As long as it has no contours, and is not black, blonde, white, or sunburst. Any of the custom colors are fine.

American Standard/American Series neck from 95-04 is what works great for me. I’m a recent convert to rosewood. So let’s do that.

Same with pickups and electronics. That same era.

Same with bridge.

Sperzel tuners.

Mint guard.

I’m done.

 

[tlsmack]

I would love American Pro II Deluxe, swap the V mods for the new CuNiFe wide range. Keep the Deep C neck. Maybe add Electrosocket jack cup, and locking tuners I like that it has a four bolt neck and a contoured heel, and a 3 saddle bridge.

 

[mixmkr 2023]

I just bought a CV 60's...but cheated with staggard Kluson vintage tuners (18:1).
Love the 3 tone burst and especially the binding.
A player of 6 decades...I'm thrilled. Don't need a case...won't leave the studio.

 

[jvin248]

.

Pretty much the Baja Tele model.. chunky maple neck, 4-way switch, Strat neck pickup.

Or Esquire with the new wide range humbucker bridge pickup (CuNiFe) wired with the 4-way switch controlling both bobbins. Chunky maple neck.

Jazzmaster Pro II 'panoramic' tremolo on either.

.

 

[bobio]

Let's just say, the number of T-style guitars I have has 2 digits, yet I only have ONE Tele that is 99% as it came from Fender.

Bought the 2018 Fender American Special in Autumn Blaze metallic new from GC.
I installed Rutters Straight Compensated brass saddles and Fender F style locking tuners with vintage buttons.
Everything else is bone stock and will stay that way.



The rest were put together with mostly Fender parts, but parts that never met until I assembled them
You will notice that more often than not, I have ventured outside of the Fender catalog for electronics and pickups.

Highlights of a few of my favorite Teles with the most Fender parts content.

Most recent, Fender 3 color burst Player body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Toneshaper electronics with 4-way switching, Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.



Before that one, Fender Classic Series 60s olympic white body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Toneshaper electonics with 4-way switching, Fender CS Texas Special pickups.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.



Right now I am working on another one, hope to have it done before the New Year.
Fender Classic Series 60s red body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Obsidian Custom 3-way switching with push/pull coil splitting pot, Seymour Duncan Strat Hot Rails pickup in the neck and Tele Hot Rails pickup in the bridge.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.

 

[Jay Jernigan]

Interesting premise, OP. I don't know if the Fender parts I like are available, at least, separately. I smell research approaching.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

View attachment 1065146

The big question for me is the neck profile and feel and if I'd like it.

Me likee purple!!!

 

[Monoprice99]

Body:

Bodies | Fender

Fender replacement bodies: made at Fender manufacturing facilities to the exact same specifications as those used on our instruments.

www.fender.com

Neck:

Necks | Fender

Fender replacement necks: made at Fender manufacturing facilities to the exact same specifications as those used on our instruments.

www.fender.com

Tuners:

Tuning Machines | Fender

Fender electric guitar tuning machines are sure to keep your Fender instrument tuned and performance-ready. Shop vintage and modern tuning machines.

www.fender.com

Pickups:

Pickups & Preamps | Fender

Capture real Fender tone with genuine electric guitar and bass pickups and pickup sets for Strat, Tele, Jaguar and more, all in vintage and modern styles.

www.fender.com

Bridge:

Bridges | Fender

Shop bridges for Tele, Strat, Jaguar and more. There's no better way to keep your intonation stable than a genuine Fender electric guitar bridge.

www.fender.com

Controls:
Not sure you can partscaster order that as a complete prewire ?

So I bought a couple of Monoprice Retro Classic Telecasters and will partscaster that as parts fail & need replacement. I don't think it's going to happen in this lifetime. For now, that's my perfect Telecaster. Can't say that in the 1 year & months that it's ever disappointed me. Any of the guitars that I have are waiting on me to take them to what they are capable of. I'm the disappointment/let down in the room, that 800 lb gorilla.

 

[Ricky D.]

Olympic white body, three ply pick guard, binding. U-neck. Strat neck pickup, OV bridge pickup. String through, ashtray bridge, threaded steel saddles.

 

[Jay Jernigan]

Let's just say, the number of T-style guitars I have has 2 digits, yet I only have ONE Tele that is 99% as it came from Fender.
The rest were put together with mostly Fender parts, but parts that never met until I assembled them

Highlights of a few of my favorite Teles with the most Fender parts content.

Most recent, Fender 3 color burst Player body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Toneshaper electronics with 4-way switching, Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.

View attachment 1065153

Before that one, Fender Classic Series 60s olympic white body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Toneshaper electonics with 4-way switching, Fender CS Texas Special pickups.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.

View attachment 1065155

Right now I am working on another one, hope to have it done before the New Year.
Fender Classic Series 60s red body, Fender roasted maple neck.
Obsidian Custom 3-way switching with push/pull coil splitting pot, Seymour Duncan Strat Hot Rails pickup in the neck and Tele Hot Rails pickup in the bridge.
The rest of the hardware is a combo of Fender, Callaham, and Rutters.

View attachment 1065157

I'm okay with possibly being in the minority on this: I like those Hot Rails. Got a neck version in the bridge position on an old Strat with a push pull for series/parallel on it. The pot serves as a front/rear blender. DiMarzio VVBlues round out the compliment. Not much it won't do. Maple and alder. Bright guitar.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

I answered without checking if Fender makes all these features. I think so, except for the varying radius neck and the pickup-blending option at *, below.

Thickish C-shaped maple cap neck.

Standard 9.5 radius fine, but a 9.5-to-12 would be nice, too.

Medium-jumbo frets. Nothing too narrow, in any case, as I tend to squeeze notes sharp.

Slightly rolled fretboard edges.

Flatsided, 6-saddle bridge. (Yeah, very modern, but I neither like shred "music" nor shredding my hand on saddle screws, and the traditional bridgeplate raised sides get in my way.)

A fairly powerful bridge pickup, so I can dial down the ice pick and still get good twang and girth.

A mini-humbucker neck pick up.

*A blend control so I can mix bridge and neck pickups. So maybe the tone control can be lifted, ala the fairly common S1 feature, to trigger the blend-together option. (Actually, is this an option, something that one can buy and install?)

Butterscotch blonde. (Although a lot of sunbursts--especially the darker/redder ones--are very beautiful.)

Black pickguard.

The grain doesn't really matter, and I'm intrigued by pine. I'd rather have grainy and knotty woody-looking wood than something so even that it's bland.

Very knurled & domed volume and tone knobs. With a good bit of resistance to them.

While I do enjoy my Cabronita's Bigsby and like (good) trem systems generally, I could go traditional enough to dispense with that on my dream Tele.

I have something much like with my '52 Hotrod. But it's a few features different/short. (And I probably should sell it.)

 

[Willie Johnson]

The Brad Paisley Esquire, but with a different finish (Penny, or maybe Texas Tea) and a bridge and bridge pickup from the Noventa.

 

[Sax-son]

Any old alder body is fine. As long as it has no contours, and is not black, blonde, white, or sunburst. Any of the custom colors are fine.

American Standard/American Series neck from 95-04 is what works great for me. I’m a recent convert to rosewood. So let’s do that.

Same with pickups and electronics. That same era.

Same with bridge.

Sperzel tuners.

Mint guard.

I’m done.

Good choices!

 

[Sax-son]

If we are talking strictly parts, these are my top choices:

I love Warmoth Swamp Ash Bodies.
Musikraft, Allparts and/or Fender American Standard Necks (post 1996) Maple for vintage blackguards and rosewood for anything else.
Frailin Pickups, Dimarzio's a close second.
Fender Ashtray bridge with either Gotoh or Philidelphia Luthier Supply intonated saddles.
Gotoh vintage (not the new Klusons) tuners or Sperzel non locking.
SmokeyB wiring harnesses. (CRL, Oak Grigsby, Sprague orange drops, CTS pots) I can build my own, but I am too lazy.
Fender or Warmoth remaining hardware pieces. (String ferrules, string trees, strap buttons, control plates, knobs, etc.)
Pickguards depending on the color, the cheap ones are just fine as long as they fit.
Fender screws
Bone nuts
Electrosonic jack cups. The Rutter's version is cool and top quality, but way too expensive for such a part in my opinion, but if you have money to burn, why not?