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Comments
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Its not without its shortcomings, the finish is very thick and the neck is not to everyone’s taste but they play well and get the job done.
I sold it on because I wanted a ‘real’ tele and regretted it. I’ve been through several teles since and now have an even lesser Bullet, which actually suits me even better.
Pluses:
it's a properly grown-up tele for not a lot of dosh
really well-built, pretty much flawless in fact
sounded very good, played very well
looks fantastic
Cons:
finish is a bit on the thick side
neck is slimmer that some might like
electronics are not so great (easily fixable for cheap on a tele though)
All in all I don't think the hype is unwarranted. I also tried a 50s one for a short while and all the above applied, pickups were possibly nicer though.
If you fancy a slightly fatter neck, Fender on the headstock (and can live with the small frets and 7.25 radius) you can also spend a bit more for a used Classic series but at their price the Classic Vibes are hard to beat I think.
As above though, very thick poly finish, skinny neck (thinner than a 60s fender, which isn’t right on a tele), electronics that could do with an upgrade and generally 5-6 piece bodies.
A mate of mine was shopping for a tele this weekend and I got him to go through the ranges at guitarguitar. Every step up in price gave an upgrade in sound and feel, until he got to American original. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get a good tele, but if you’re looking cheap, a used classic player or baja will be a big upgrade on a classic vibe. If you can stretch, a used highway one/American special will be another upgrade and they aren’t daft money either.
When I was shopping around for a tele under £500, these were better than the MIM player teles. Most of the squier/fender stuff is suffering from skinny necks these days, and the CV teles are very much guilty of this. I had a CV 60s tele for a while. It was lovely, but after a few months the neck just became uncomfortable to play for anything more than 30 mins or so.
The Vintage 75 teles have good sized necks, wilkinson hardware, and alder bodies. Some have a classic tele headstock too.
Here's a reduced price one for new -
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/223670922490
Only downside is, for me, the best sounding ASAT is the Special, with the big pickups and saddle lock bridge, which is not as traditional looking as the Classic, with the tele sized pickups and bridge.
I've got the V72 semi-hollow with the bridge singlecoil and neck mini bucker, and it's fantastic. Stays in tune, satin neck feels great, top Wilkinson parts and pickups, and actually looks great too. And the clarity and richness of the pickups is a massive surprise - in particular the bridge singlecoil with the ashtray bridge and brass saddles - it growls and snarls. I actually prefer the sound to that of my MIM Tele. The only thing I'd want on the Vintage from the MIM Tele is the silky neck.
After playing the V72 I actually want to investigate the other Vintage Teles further, and their offset stuff.
Bandcamp
It would double the sales if they did.
Besides not everyone likes fat necks, shock, horror
Also if they did make them, the sales might well impact on the higher priced ranges.
Similarly the thick finish, if they thin skinned them...