Been offered a... Baja Telecaster

4string

A friend has offered me a near immaculate (one small ding and a small crack in the finish near the neck pocket) Baja Telecaster. Probably about two years old - it has the push button on the top of the volume control. Is there anything specific I should be looking out for? Does anyone have strong feelings on the model (I like the thick neck :-) )? Finally, what might I be paying - 'EvilBay' seems to be looking North of £400. Thanks.

gusman2x

Gets a lot of love. Around £400 sounds fair. Less is always better I guess.

axisus

I recall that on the old Music Radar forums, the Baja was the tele of choice for most people.

lustycourtier

Ive had 2. Both the ungodly heavy with think paint. Loved the neck, hated the S1 switching, paint and weight. Price seems about right

DiscoStu

Very popular and hold their value well.

What colour is it? The Blonde (black guard) is worth more than the Desert Sand (white guard). There was a Lake Placid Blue one a couple of years later which folk seemed to like.

badlydrawnbanjo

They change hands on here for around £350 (mine went backwards and forwards at that anyway). Great guitars if you can handle the girth!

4string

Thanks for the comments. @lustycourtier this is a light weight as far as my Telecaster experience goes, though, yes the finish does 'feel' thick. On saying that, not as thick as on my mid-90s Japanese 72 Custom. That feels like shrink wrap. 

4string

@DiscoStu this is the slightly transparent blonde. And it has a compensated brass 'ash tray' fitted. @badlydrawnbanjo interesting, the price that has been mentioned is just a little more than that.  I might haggle.

DiscoStu

4string said:

@DiscoStu this is the slightly transparent blonde. And it has a compensated brass 'ash tray' fitted. @badlydrawnbanjo interesting, the price that has been mentioned is just a little more than that.  I might haggle.

The Blonde is the popular one. It's the one I've got too!
£450 tops for a Blonde, but usually go for over £400. I swapped my saddles for Wilkinson compensated ones.

lustycourtier

I remember them being £350 new :-( Must ve been 2007?

DiscoStu

lustycourtier said:

I remember them being £350 new :-( Must ve been 2007?

Not sure they were as low as that but the price has certainly shot up.
£665 new now.

badlydrawnbanjo

I bought @jonnyburgo's from him but couldn't get on with the size of the neck (I love a fat neck now though..) and sold back to him a week later.

DiscoStu

Weights vary quite a lot with the Bajas.
You can check out serials and weights on this owner's club link (yours may even be on there):

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/131546-baja-owners-club-101.html#post5867301

4string

@discostu thanks for the link - that is a fascinating list of weight variation. I think I will pull the trigger on this one. 

Neil

DiscoStu said:

Weights vary quite a lot with the Bajas.
You can check out serials and weights on this owner's club link (yours may even be on there):

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/131546-baja-owners-club-101.html#post5867301

Blimey, quite some differences there!

Over 2lb in some cases. 

gubble

I hear a lot about Baja Telecasters.

 

As i'm being a bit lazy can anyone tell me what makes them different from a regular tele?

richardhomer

I'm sure I'm being overly cautious here - but are you certain the crack near the neck pocket is 'finish only'?

Something structural in that area is best avoided.

The way to check is to flex the neck (using quite a lot of force) to see if the crack opens.

If it doesn't, you'll be fine - though bear in mind it might worry a future buyer.

not_the_dj

gubble said:

I hear a lot about Baja Telecasters.

 

As i'm being a bit lazy can anyone tell me what makes them different from a regular tele?

4 way selector with S1 switching is the main difference AFAIK from the "Standard" Tele. 

They also have different finishes and neck profile, and I think traditional 3 saddles.

DiscoStu

gubble said:

I hear a lot about Baja Telecasters.

 

As i'm being a bit lazy can anyone tell me what makes them different from a regular tele?

Designed by Chris Fleming from Fender's Custom Shop and made to his spec in the Mexican factory.

Excellent pickups - Broadcaster in the bridge and a Twisted Tele in the neck.
S1 switching - not everyone's thing (I like it) but you don't HAVE to use it.

A big old baseball bat of a neck.

So Custom Shop style guitar but at MIM prices. It's Fender's best selling guitar.

Mine's one of the heavier ones (9.6lbs) and I love it.

gubble

ok that sounds an awesome instrument. got to try me one

 

To the shops - with Du Hast !!

jeztone2

I tried one recently, really liked it