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It has a one piece single bound mahogany body finished in nitro, a Maya japanese neck, brass bridge & saddles & during the resurrection, I had it fitted with Bare Knuckle 'Yardbirds'.
In other words, this is almost everything that is NOT a classic tele.
This guitar is simultaneously both priceless & virtually worthless, depending on your viewpoint & yet I'd take it over any Fender tele I have played.
My late muso mate was more choosy. He had had several CS tele's, Baja's & others, yet put this mongrel above them all.
The phrase, more than the sum of it's parts seems to apply
Or maybe I just need to get better at playing.
I'll always love strats, but 9 times out of 10, it's the Tele I grab. Keith, Chuck Prophet, James Brown, Meters, jazz, Fela, blues...all there
That colour is glorious.
Beautiful teles everyone.
I had a baja tele and a classic vibe. Both were excellent and I'm puzzled as to why I sold them
Just kidding - I love them. To echo what others have said, they're just simple, brilliant designs. I also think they've got the best headstock.
I've always favoured the neck pickup - with the right pickup it's a beautiful thing - either clean or with some gain - especially bluesy riffs and playing scales at the dusty end.
A good bridge pickup is great though - especially with an ashtray bridge and brass saddles. But don't write off the middle position. I use it a lot more these days and it's great for more ambient stuff as well as raucous riffs.
After a Squier Strat and a Fernandes Vertigo (cheap one), a MIM Tele - black with white pickguard and the best maple neck I've ever played - was my main guitar for over 15 years until I stupidly ruined it by making changes to it. I recently bought a Player Series one which is lovely, and an Affinity which has overwound Irongears in - but my current favourite is the Classic Vibe 50s Tele - utterly stunning maple neck and incredible vintage voiced pickups which are hotter than the player ones.
I'm also getting one of the Squier Paranormal Cabronita Teles for my 40th next year.
I've also owned a Godin Artisan TC and a Vintage V72 but my preference is the Fender / Squier stuff.
They're just amazing guitars. While the strat is probably the most popular, versatile design, the Tele just shows how right Leo got it first time.
Here's my 50s Baja, somewhat modded:
- BKP Flat 50 (I think) in the bridge
I just love it. So versatile, and just feels right!
JM build | Pedalboard plans