Which T Type

AGKraken

Afternoon All,

Trying to narrow down my next purchase.  I want to add a telecaster to my collection but trying to stay sub £1k.  I like to look at all the second hand ones but medium jumbo / jumbo frets is a preference of mine and the reliability of new is probably a safer choice, or am I wrong?
I’ve narrowed it down to the Fender Player, a custom builder “Baldman” suggested by Andertons and the G&L Asat Classic.  Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I do fancy a relic sunburst with maple neck but the custom shop prices are just to high for a workhorse.  

Cheers 

AGK

tony99

american special tele would suit I think, maple neck with jumbo frets on a 9.5, seen one not long ago for £700 ish, I enquired but it had already gone, think they only came in sunburst but not relic'd

stimpsonslostson

Whenever someone has a clear picture of the specs they want in a tele i always think “partscaster”. For your budget you could get something awesome. 

Failing that, would a Baja be suitable- they’re widely regarded as the best teles for the money. 

RaymondLin

AGKraken said:

Afternoon All,

I do fancy a relic sunburst with maple neck but the custom shop prices are just to high for a workhorse.  

Cheers 

AGK

MIM Road Worn!

It's exactly that.   I haven't looked too hard but I am sure there is a sunburst somewhere. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Road-Worn-50s-Telecaster/224014935840?hash=item342854a720:g:o9QAAOSwx79ewpwP

Loobs

ASAT Classic is ace, has a bit of personality too.

tony99

RaymondLin said:

AGKraken said:

Afternoon All,

I do fancy a relic sunburst with maple neck but the custom shop prices are just to high for a workhorse.  

Cheers 

AGK

MIM Road Worn!

It's exactly that.   I haven't looked too hard but I am sure there is a sunburst somewhere. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Road-Worn-50s-Telecaster/224014935840?hash=item342854a720:g:o9QAAOSwx79ewpwP

he's collection only otherwise I'd be sniffing about that, where the fux newark???

Funkfingers

Fender MIM Baja (now renamed Vintera 50s Modified or some such) is the pick of the brand new options. Hunt for a light/resonant one.

£1k might just fetch a pre-owned American Hot Rodded ‘52 Telecaster or a scruffy Old Growth Redwood Tele-bration model. (Both 9.25” radius and Medium Jumbo wire.)

timmypix

My brother-in-law has literally just today taken delivery of an ASAT Classic and sent me a few videos. He is now selling his American Special Tele. He says the ASAT is lighter and much nicer sounding both acoustically and plugged in. Pickups certainly sound better from the videos he's sent me.

tony99

timmypix said:

My brother-in-law has literally just taken delivery of ASAT Classic and sent me a few videos. He is now selling his American Special Tele. He says the ASAT is lighter and much nicer sounding both acoustically and plugged in. Pickups certainly sound better from the videos he's sent me.

link us up to his sale if you get a chance hombre

timmypix

tony99 said:

timmypix said:

My brother-in-law has literally just taken delivery of ASAT Classic and sent me a few videos. He is now selling his American Special Tele. He says the ASAT is lighter and much nicer sounding both acoustically and plugged in. Pickups certainly sound better from the videos he's sent me.

link us up to his sale if you get a chance hombre

Will do - can't find it on Facebook marketplace but can find it in the sales groups, but they're all private. I'll get a link off him and message you shortly.

tony99

timmypix said:

tony99 said:

timmypix said:

My brother-in-law has literally just taken delivery of ASAT Classic and sent me a few videos. He is now selling his American Special Tele. He says the ASAT is lighter and much nicer sounding both acoustically and plugged in. Pickups certainly sound better from the videos he's sent me.

link us up to his sale if you get a chance hombre

Will do - can't find it on Facebook marketplace but can find it in the sales groups, but they're all private. I'll get a link off him and message you shortly.

OK, I'm in most of the groups if you know which one, I'll find it

rpr

You pretty much described the Special, which was an update of the Highway. The ones I saw had thin low gloss (nitro?) finish that should relic naturally pretty quickly, Big frets , satin neck - neck seemed a bit fatter than the Standard I tried along side it. I think they came with Texas Special pickups

Rich31k

I’ve just bought a Fender Elite Tele from @rivercider, which is lovely. And if you keep an eye on eBay a few of the sold prices are below £1k

RaymondLin

How about this one? But Pick Up Only again.

https://reverb.com/item/32687518-fender-road-worn-hot-rod-telecaster-with-gig-bag


p.s. I can't believe how expensive these are used!!!! More than the Strats.

tony99

rpr said:

You pretty much described the Special, which was an update of the Highway. The ones I saw had thin low gloss (nitro?) finish that should relic naturally pretty quickly, Big frets , satin neck - neck seemed a bit fatter than the Standard I tried along side it. I think they came with Texas Special pickups

it's urethane, but very thin skin

pintspiller

It's been a while since my Tele Quest. The 50s Baja sounded great, but I didn't really like the neck. The best all-rounder was the USA Standard.

I haven't really had the spare cash to buy, but as I mostly play bass in my semi-pro endeavoursg, ItI quest on hold as I have plenty of guitars.

Yamaha77

A Tele/Esquire in my opinion is one of if not the most stripped down no bullshit electric guitar.

I own several (not just fender brands) and fail to see the point in spending any more than then player series cost/level. A decent build guitar with a good set up and fret dress is more beneficial than just simply throwing down £1k + Telecaster.

Fender designed (or ripped off gretsch if you have sight of history) the guitar to be easily maintained.

You can easily upgrade components, hardware or  pickups to align with your playing style. Find the model with specs you like, i.e vintage frets or med Jumbo's etc and colour.

As for quality I have a 2012 mex neck that is very similar to a 2019 mex neck. Their q.c and feel has improved since the late 90s and early 00s.

AGKraken

Thanks for all the feedback.  Some great comments and great suggestions.  I’m going to enjoy reviewing all the models over the next few days.  Would prefer to go to a good shop and try them all out but I don’t think my patience can handle it!!!  Cheers 

chris78

If you want a relic, the road worn as mentioned above is a no brainer. In my view, the pickups need an upgrade, but you’ll have a great guitar then within budget. If you don’t want to pickup swap, get a baja. With both, be careful of the weight. Some are boat anchors

birtner

American professional can be had at a shade over your budget and easily under if prepared to go secondhand. Never played a bad one. Vintera modified also good 

HAL9000

I’ve got a G&L ASAT. Sounds nice, but IMHO not put together quite as well as a Fender. Also, if you ever decide to move it on you’ll find it’s worth less than the hole in my last Polo.