Indio/Monoprice Tele Review

[schmee]

OK, so I've had my $70 Tele type for a while. Decided to do a couple things to it so just passing along info:
-The bridge was not grounded. Did that.
-I replaced the bridge segments with Fender sinter cast satin ones. Nothing wrong with the function of the old ones which were chrome, but they were a little rough around the edges, I like the sinter cast ones and they are cheap.
-The pickups are ceramic. Surprisingly I like the tone.... but I haven't played a gig with them and dont know that I will really..
-I really like the neck shape, not thin, not thick, almost a very soft V near the nut end.
-The "Indio" logo is just thin paint and comes right off with some Goof Off. Headstock is now bare.
-The finish on the neck is not super thick and shiny. Definitely not thick like an SX etc.
-The neck is 2.25 at the heel, unlike Fender, Squire etc which are 2.19. So if you would want to change necks, you'd have to live with the gap.
-The ferrules fell out when I removed the strings! I epoxied them in place.
-The body seems to be Poplar... my best guess. Doesn't appear to be Basswood.
-The tuners are the same common ones used on many Asian import cheap guitars including Squier.
-The frets are quite well done but they are vintage style small frets.
-The pots are mini's, quite smooth and work well. For how long I'm unsure!

 

[notme]

Which model did you get, the less expensive solid finish one or one of the fancy quilted version? Im thinking of grabbing the blonde one.

 

[tubegeek]

OK, so I've had my $70 Tele type for a while. Decided to do a couple things to it so just passing along info:

Thanks for that explanation - I've been wondering. I'd be sorely tempted to reshape the headstock, too, but then, I'm kind of an idiot.

How did you get it so cheap? Were they on sale at some point?

"I spent most of my money on Booze, Broads and Boats. The rest I wasted" - Elmore Leonard

I always heard it was "squandered" and that it was Mets pitcher Tug McGraw explaining how he spent his bonus. You could look it up.

 

[schmee]

Thanks for that explanation - I've been wondering. I'd be sorely tempted to reshape the headstock, too, but then, I'm kind of an idiot.

How did you get it so cheap? Were they on sale at some point?


I always heard it was "squandered" and that it was Mets pitcher Tug McGraw explaining how he spent his bonus. You could look it up.

Yeah, I think it was a sale a few months back.

 

[Darly]

OK, so I've had my $70 Tele type for a while. Decided to do a couple things to it so just passing along info:
-The bridge was not grounded. Did that.
-I replaced the bridge segments with Fender sinter cast satin ones. Nothing wrong with the function of the old ones which were chrome, but they were a little rough around the edges, I like the sinter cast ones and they are cheap.
-The pickups are ceramic. Surprisingly I like the tone.... but I haven't played a gig with them and dont know that I will really..
-I really like the neck shape, not thin, not thick, almost a very soft V near the nut end.
-The "Indio" logo is just thin paint and comes right off with some Goof Off. Headstock is now bare.
-The finish on the neck is not super thick and shiny. Definitely not thick like an SX etc.
-The neck is 2.25 at the heel, unlike Fender, Squire etc which are 2.19. So if you would want to change necks, you'd have to live with the gap.
-The ferrules fell out when I removed the strings! I epoxied them in place.
-The body seems to be Poplar... my best guess. Doesn't appear to be Basswood.
-The tuners are the same common ones used on many Asian import cheap guitars including Squier.
-The frets are quite well done but they are vintage style small frets.
-The pots are mini's, quite smooth and work well. For how long I'm unsure!

Hey quick question, is the Neck Pickup routed for a humbucker as well. I might buy one to Mod

 

[schmee]

Hey quick question, is the Neck Pickup routed for a humbucker as well. I might buy one to Mod

I don't think so. I should have taken a pic I guess.

 

[tubegeek]

FYI there are a couple of Open Box Indio Teles on the site dirt cheap.

 

[Darly]

FYI there are a couple of Open Box Indio Teles on the site dirt cheap.

Yeah it's why i'm wondering if I can put a humbucker in it without having to buy tools

 

[Darly]

I don't think so. I should have taken a pic I guess.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Vinny29]

OK, so I've had my $70 Tele type for a while. Decided to do a couple things to it so just passing along info:
-The bridge was not grounded. Did that.
-I replaced the bridge segments with Fender sinter cast satin ones. Nothing wrong with the function of the old ones which were chrome, but they were a little rough around the edges, I like the sinter cast ones and they are cheap.
-The pickups are ceramic. Surprisingly I like the tone.... but I haven't played a gig with them and dont know that I will really..
-I really like the neck shape, not thin, not thick, almost a very soft V near the nut end.
-The "Indio" logo is just thin paint and comes right off with some Goof Off. Headstock is now bare.
-The finish on the neck is not super thick and shiny. Definitely not thick like an SX etc.
-The neck is 2.25 at the heel, unlike Fender, Squire etc which are 2.19. So if you would want to change necks, you'd have to live with the gap.
-The ferrules fell out when I removed the strings! I epoxied them in place.
-The body seems to be Poplar... my best guess. Doesn't appear to be Basswood.
-The tuners are the same common ones used on many Asian import cheap guitars including Squier.
-The frets are quite well done but they are vintage style small frets.
-The pots are mini's, quite smooth and work well. For how long I'm unsure!

Did you get the rosewood fret board or the maple fret board? I want to get the blonde Monoprice Indigio Tele now on sale for 79.99 but it only comes with a rosewood fret board. I have read online in other posts that it is not rosewood, either a substitute wood or synthetic? Could anyone conform this? A substitute wood woudl be fine, dontl want it if its synthetic. Would I be better off getting the blue one with the maple fret board? The maple fret board looks real nice. Looking for some opinions of people that have played both. Are they the same profile or is one chunkier then the other?

 

[schmee]

Did you get the rosewood fret board or the maple fret board? I want to get the blonde Monoprice Indigio Tele now on sale for 79.99 but it only comes with a rosewood fret board. I have read online in other posts that it is not rosewood, either a substitute wood or synthetic? Could anyone conform this? A substitute wood woudl be fine, dontl want it if its synthetic. Would I be better off getting the blue one with the maple fret board? The maple fret board looks real nice. Looking for some opinions of people that have played both. Are they the same profile or is one chunkier then the other?

I got the Rosewood, I'm not 100% that it is wood but sure seems like it. You can feel the grain, the grain is not uniform. I do have another cheap tele type with faux fretboard, and it's pretty obvious.... although plays great.

 

[Vinny29]

So you like the Monoprice rosewood (or substitute) fret board? Anyone out there play the Monoprice maple fret board?

 

[bchrismer]

I had a burst one in the shopping cart, decided to hold off until evening, and they were sold out by the time I was ready to pull the trigger. Planning on using it for the donor for my reso-tele project.

 

[ald1972]

I acquired a Nio Indio recently. I can confirm pretty much all the observations from the OP and will add my own thoughts ...

• It has the standard body thickness of 1.75 in. Most budget Teles seem to have a 1.5 in. thickness - so that is notable.
• Monogram indicates that the fretboard radius is 9.5 in. It definitely seems flatter than that. I'd say it's at least 12 in. and I *suspect* it's 350mm (13.77 in.) - which is a very common fretboard radius for Asian-manufactured guitars.
• The nut is cut very well on mine. No complaints at all.
• The frets are extremely level on mine. Even with extremely-low action there is no fret buzz anywhere. It's also worth mentioning that the truss rod seemed to be sensibly-adjusted "as-shipped".
• The fret ends, however, were extremely sharp. I had a local tech smooth them down and he remarked that "I've only ever handled one or two guitars with sharper fret ends in twenty years".
• The knobs and switches seem...OK. The tone knob seems to impinge on the guitar body slightly at the end of its travel.
• The tuners do seem cheap - but seem to work well enough for now.
• I think the pickups are absolutely great for the price point and very good overall. The neck pickup is shockingly-usable. There are only two Tele neck pickups I like better than this one - the neck pickup on a set of Wilde Bill Keystones and the "Twisted" neck pickup on a Baja telecaster. The bridge is also quite good overall. The bridge pickup is a bit warmer and has more midrange than many Telecaster pickups, I think, but you can still get "typical Tele bridge" sounds out of it. I'll end by saying that I much prefer these pickups to the stock pickups on the current Fender Player Telecaster.

One of the more interesting observations, IMO, from the OP was the suggestion that the body was probably poplar instead of the indicated basswood. That also seems possible to me, too. I've played a few basswood-bodied Telecasters and none of them had much going on in the low-end response. The Indio seems to have a pretty solid/interesting low-end response.

 

[notme]

Nice review! I like mine a lot, after filing the fret edges down. Does yours stay in tune? My G needs attention more often then Id like.

 

[ald1972]

Nice review! I like mine a lot, after filing the fret edges down. Does yours stay in tune? My G needs attention more often then Id like.

Ditto. The G is always the trickiest on any guitar, obviously, but it seems particularly unstable on the Indio. New tuners do seem like a worthwhile investment.

 

[jtcnj]

old thread but, how do these guitars balance while standing - neck dive or no?
And to those who have had them a while now, still satisfied?

 

[jtcnj]

I'll add to this for others searching for info.
I got the blonde with rosewood fretboard, back in Sept. 2021.
On sale, around $90. to my door.

Nut is the weak spot, poorly cut plastic.
Made my first bone nut from a blank.

Hardware and electronics at least ok, function well.
Truss rod responds as it should.

Tuners not great but ok; no real urge to change them.
Stays in tune well with new strings properly wound.

Fret ends sharp but reasonably level.
Just fine after a little file work on the ends, mainly the bevels, not the end tang sprout.

Medium C neck profile very comfortable.
Balances well standing, no neck dive.

Pickups sound ok, no plans to change.
But, I'm no tele expert.

pretty nice padded bag included, much nicer than the SX ones I have / had.

Not one bad thing to say in this price range, especially if you can correct the things I listed yourself.

Tele on

 

[notme]

Yes i still like mine. I installed a bone nut, put on Boomers, swapped in an alnico neck pickup. Quite happy for the price paid
They have a natural finish ash dlx tele on ebay for $160, although i think it will arrive the same, ie fret ends.