Fender’s acclaimed American Standard series guitars and basses have been upgraded for 2012, resulting in the latest iterations of the company’s four archetypal instruments—the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass and Jazz Bass guitars. They’re the same great best-selling go-to instruments they’ve always been, and now feature Fender Custom Shop pickups, as well as other distinctive new design touches.

The Fender American Standard Telecaster has been upgraded with a comfortable new body contour and classic-sounding Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele (neck) and Broadcaster (bridge) pickups, making it ring more fully, brightly and crisply than ever. Left-handed model also available.
The Fender American Standard Stratocaster has been upgraded with aged plastic parts and full-sounding Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups for the very essence of Stratocaster tone. Its high-output hot-rodded sibling, the Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS, has also been upgraded with aged plastic parts, with Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups in the neck and middle positions and a Diamondback humbucking bridge pickup for an added measure of muscle that makes it more graceful and powerful than ever. Both the Fender American Standard Stratocaster and Telecaster are also available in a left-handed model.

The Fender American Standard Precision Bass and five-string American Standard Precision Bass V are now upgraded with a seismic Fender Custom Shop ’60s Precision Bass split single-coil pickup, making the latest incarnations of the indestructible workhorse instrument that revolutionized popular music, stronger and more indispensable than ever. The four-string version also comes in a striking new Jade Pearl Metallic finish option, and both basses are available in a left-handed model.

The American Standard Jazz Bass, in right- and left-handed models, is now upgraded with Fender Custom Shop ’60s Jazz Bass single-coil pickups and a striking new Jade Pearl Metallic finish option, making the latest incarnation of our timeless bass hit sing, snarl, groove and growl more powerfully than ever. The five-string American Standard Jazz Bass V and the gracefully voiced American Standard Jazz Bass Fretless now feature the Custom Shop ’60s Jazz Bass single-coil pickups; the fretless model is also available in the new Jade Pearl Metallic finish.

Just when you thought the La Cabronita Especial couldn't get any cooler, the Custom Shop has introduced this very limited run only 30 pieces worldwide of Cabronitas loaded with not one, not two, but three TV Jones pickups as well as some very versatile wiring to make this one awesome and great playing instrument. Fender's La Cabronita Especial is probably the company's most sought-after 'new' instrument in decades. Nearly every guitarist wants one, and online forums throughout the guitar universe are buzzing with players bolting their own homebrew versions together in tribute.

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Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition La Cabronita Relic Electric Guitar Black List Price: $5,200.00

Description

Just when you thought the La Cabronita Especial couldn't get any cooler, the Custom Shop has introduced this very limited run only 30 pieces worldwide of Cabronitas loaded with not one, not two, but three TV Jones pickups as well as some very versatile wiring to make this one awesome and great playing instrument.

Features

• Fender Custom LTD La Cabronita 3 PU
• Tele Vibe, Premium Tone, and Custom Shop Quality! Guitar Electric Solidbody La Cabronita
• LTD Solidbody Electric Guitar with Hand-selected Alder Body, 1-pc Maple Neck, Maple Fretboard, TV Jo

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The new Modern Player series continues that great "my-first-Fender" tradition, with thoroughly modern features and several distinctively unconventional new takes on our most revered instruments - all with outstandingly attainable value.
The Modern Player series holds a few surprises in store, too - including the long-awaited return of an acclaimed Fender bass guitar model not seen since the 1970s (back now in potently hot-rod fashion), an unrelentingly lean-and-mean version of the venerable Jaguar guitar, the resurrection of a fabled and seldom-heard Fender name from the 1960s for a scorching new guitar model, an utterly volcanic new Jazz Bass with dual humbucking pickups, and a powerful new take on the acclaimed modern-era Jaguar Bass - back in the ring with a versatile new pickup combination and streamlined control configuration.

Eight new instruments
There are eight instruments in the series; five guitars and three basses. They are the Modern Player Stratocaster HSS, Modern Player Telecaster Plus HSS, Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe, Modern Player Jaguar, Modern Player Marauder, Modern Player Telecaster Bass, Modern Player Jazz Bass and Modern Player Jaguar Bass.

Modern Player Marauder
In addition to heralding the return of a fabled and seldom-heard Fender name from the 1960s, the Modern Player Marauder is one of the most distinctive new guitars in the family, uniquely marked by a new body style, Modern Player Jazzmaster neck pickup and volcanic-sounding three-coil Fender Triplebucker bridge pickup.
Other features include a koto body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets, five-way pickup switching with lower horn blade selector switch, four-ply aged white pearloid pickguard, Jazz Bass-style control knobs, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. The Modern Player Marauder comes in Black and Lake Placid Blue.

Modern Player Stratocaster
The Modern Player Stratocaster HSS offers the tonal versatility of two Modern Player single-coil pickups and a full-throated Modern Player humbucking pickup at the bridge, with the addition of the second tone knob serving as a push-pull coil-split switch for the bridge pickup.

Other features include an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 22 jumbo frets, five-way pickup switching, three-ply pickguard, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It's available in Olympic White and Silverburst.

Modern Player Telecasters
The Modern Player Telecaster Plus HSS is that rare bird among Telecasters - a triple-pickup model - further distinguished by a pine body and mini-toggle coil-split switch for the Modern Player humbucking bridge pickup.

Other features include C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 22 jumbo frets, Modern Player single-coil Telecaster neck pickup and Modern Player Stratocaster middle pickup, five-way pickup switching, three-ply pickguard, knurled "chrome-dome" control knobs, vintage-style Stratocaster string-through-body six-saddle hard-tail bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It comes in Honey Burst and Charcoal Transparent.

The Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe casts an already distinctive classic Telecaster model in a whole new light with a full-throated pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups.

Other features include a mahogany body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 22 medium jumbo frets, three-way toggle pickup switching, three-ply pickguard (parchment on Sunburst model; black-white-black on other models), four skirted amp knobs (two volume, two tone), vintage-style Stratocaster string-through-body six-saddle hard-tail bridge, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It's available in Three-color Sunburst, Black Transparent and Vintage White.

Modern Player Jaguar
The Modern Player Jaguar is a lean, mean and stripped-down version of the classic Fender model, with a full-throated pair of single-coil Modern Player MP-90 pickups on a sans-pickguard mahogany body.

Other features include a C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 21 medium jumbo frets, three-way toggle pickup switching, Jazz Bass-style control knobs, vintage-style Adjusto-Matic bridge with anchored tailpiece, vintage-style tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It's available in Two-color Chocolate Burst, Red Transparent and Black Transparent.

Modern Player Tele Bass
A classic Fender bass design returns with an unusual new twist delivering utterly seismic sound. The Telecaster Bass is back at last in the smart new form of the Modern Player Telecaster Bass, which boasts not one but two massive humbucking pickups.
Features include an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 20 medium jumbo frets, dual Modern Player Wide Range humbucking Precision Bass pickups, three-ply parchment (Sunburst model) or single-ply black (Butterscotch Blonde model) pickguard, three knurled "chrome-dome" control knobs (neck volume, bridge volume, master tone), vintage-style bridge with four brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. Its back in Two-color Sunburst and Butterscotch Blonde.

Modern Player Jazz Bass
The Modern Player Jazz Bass is a volcanic new take on the time-honored Jazz Bass thanks to its dual Modern Player humbucking Jazz Bass pickups. Other features include an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 20 jumbo frets, three-ply pickguard, vintage-style four-saddle bridge with brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. It comes in Three-color Sunburst, Olympic White and Black Transparent.

Modern Player Jaguar Bass
Finally, the acclaimed Fender Jaguar Bass is back in the sleek form the Modern Player Jaguar Bass, which presents a lean, mean and stripped-down version of the model with a powerful P/J configuration - a Modern Player Precision Bass middle pickup and Modern Player Jazz Bass bridge pickup - and streamlined control layout.

Features include a koto body, C-shaped maple neck, maple fretboard with 9.5-inch radius and 20 jumbo frets, three-ply parchment pickguard, three Jazz Bass control knobs (middle volume, bridge volume, master tone), vintage-style four-saddle bridge with brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. The Modern Player Jaguar Bass is available in Black.

The original Thinline was produced from '68 until '71.
Fender's American Vintage series is the closest you can get to a vintage Fender guitar without buying the real thing from yesteryear or moving into the more elite Custom Shop.
This new addition – along with the American Vintage '72 Thinline and Custom Teles - is already available in lower-cost Fender ranges, but not at this quality or with this much vintage detail.
The '69 Telecaster Thinline, aims to replicate the original Thinline, which appeared in 1968 and lasted until 1971.
Classed by Fender at the time as a 'semi-acoustic' it was offered initially with just mahogany or ash bodies with a natural finish. Semi-hollow construction aside, it retained the Tele's dual single-coils and master volume/master tone control layout.
Build
"One reason why the Telecaster has survived is that it has graced every genre from country, jazz and blues through to modern rock and metal."
The historians tell us that the Thinline concept came about in an attempt to reduce the weight of the Telecaster.
Here the solid slab body is machined from the back leaving a centre section that stops just after the end of the bridge surrounded by hollow 'wings'. A back is then added and a single f-hole cut on the top's bass side.
This lightweight American Vintage version uses mahogany for the body - there's no ash version - and we get either the two-color burst or Olympic white, which is £72 cheaper. For a guitar that retails not too far short of £2k, it seems a miserly color choice reinforced by a complete lack of options.
The body and neck finish on all these models is 'gloss lacquer' (aka nitro-cellulose) applied to a high standard, although on this sample there's a light patch around the f-hole and a splodge of darker color on the inside of the soundhole making things a little untidy.
An original '69 Thinline would have been finished in polyester so, strictly speaking, this finish is inaccurate but few will have a problem.
According to Fender's Neil Whitcher: "The finish is a more modern nitro-cellulose lacquer with a poly undercoat; we felt that this would be a tonally superior option to go with for the guitars."
The guitar features an all maple one-piece neck/fingerboard with a rear skunk stripe, and uses a body-end truss rod adjustment and the classic four screws and rectangular neck plate neck-to- body join.
The 21-fret face is clearly lightly finished in a slightly orange-toned gloss. We get the original small fingerboard radius, small frets and a modern 'C' profile that most players should feel comfortable with.
It also sports 'F' logo tuners, with their distinct squared off buttons, and a single butterfly string tree that increases the string angle behind the nicely cut synthetic bone nut. It's nicely done but that gloss finish does look and feel a little bit cheap, and rather sticky, too.
Spec'd with two American Vintage single-coils, one meg ohm volume and tone pots and the ubiquitous three-way lever pickup selector, it's period correct business as usual save, of course, for that scratchplate, which holds all the electronic components plus the neck pickup.
As usual the output jack is side-mounted and, of course, the bridge pickup is mounted in an old-style Tele bridge plate with three steel saddles.
Sounds
One reason why the Telecaster has survived all these years is that it has graced pretty much every genre from country, jazz and blues through to modern mainstream rock and metal.
It's not always an easy ride: some swear by the bridge pickup (and swear at the neck pickup), others find an endless soul and funk groove from that middle, hollowed mix. There are even a few of us that actually like the neck single-coil for its smooth, jazz-edged voice.
On the '69 Thinline platform, and compared to an original solidbody '69 Tele, we have a different flavor. There's immediately less mid-range solidness to the sound, which makes that bridge pickup even spikier; conversely both the middle mix and neck pickup sound wider and fuller.
Definitely more hollowbody sounding, it's a step towards, perhaps, a P-90-style ES-330, with of course more Tele-like spike and Fender-ness.
This guitar was originally conceived at a time when Fender began to lose its way. However, 40 years on the guitar has been elevated into Fender's top drawer, thanks to numerous often left-field players who wanted a piece of 'vintage' Fender but simply couldn't afford the high-value classics.
Although this guitar has been available for some time in both Mexican- and Japanese-made guises, this American Vintage guitar improves on both those and the original, with its lightweight build and lacquer finishes.
Features such as the three-bolt neck joint and bullet truss rod adjusters (when done properly) make a lot of sense, too. The small frets and fingerboard radius, not to mention the paltry colour choice, won't endear it to all, but with street prices already around £1.5k, this updated blast from the past remains a powerful draw.
Verdict
The best-yet production version of a now-classic Tele, with excellent vintage detail and sounds.

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Fender Classic Series '69 Telecaster® Thinline Electric Guitar, 2 Tone Sunburst, Maple Fretboard List Price: $1,099.99 Sale Price: $799.99 You save: $300.00 (27%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours 3 new from $799.99

Description

The semi-hollow body design of 1968's Telecaster Thinline guitar was originally an attempt to reduce the weight of ash-body Telecasters. With its f hole and reshaped pickguard, it was a truly distinctive take on Fender's first great instrument. The Classic Series '69 Telecaster Thinline brings it all back, with features including a lightweight semi-hollow mahogany body with f hole, U-shaped maple neck with 7.25"-radius maple freeboard, vintage-style single-coil Telecaster pickups and vintage-style bridge and tuners.

Features

• Vintage style single-coil Tele pickups and a light-weight, semi-hollow mahogany body combine to offer a really unique and musical voice.
• U-shape neck, 7.25" freeboard radius, and vintage style frets combined offer playability that's great for riffing, rhythm playing and rhythmic leads.
• 4-Ply White Pearloid pickguard sets this model apart visually, and inclusion of a deluxe gig bag allows for easy transport.

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Fender’s tribute to one of their most renowned instruments is a fantastic blend of old school, don’t-fix-what-isn’t-broken mentality and current, more reliable technology.

Few guitars are as historically important as the Fender Telecaster. In fact, you could argue that the stalwart instrument is the most influential guitar of all time. Since its official release in 1949 as the Broadcaster, the Telecaster has been prized and praised for its no-nonsense tones, and simple and elegant design. It’s been used in pretty much every form of music that ever called for a guitar part and spawned countless variations tailored towards players of all walks and musical styles. And while countless electric guitar innovations have come and gone in the 60 years since the Telecaster’s birth, the core Tele’s design has remained relatively unchanged—standing the test of time and flash-in-the-pan musical fads.

To honor the 60 years of the guitar’s life—and its immeasurable impact on music—Fender released the 60th Anniversary Telecaster. But the guitar is more than just a simple vintage-themed reissue. It also feature several modern appointments and refinements that make it an especially sweet playing Tele.

Birthday Tele-bration
The 60th Anniversary Telecaster model screams with vintage vibe and sophistication when you open the guitar’s custom SKB hardshell case. The guitar’s mustard-hued ash body is finished Fender’s nitrocellulose-based lacquer, which is closer in composition to the finishes that Fender used before changing to a nitro overcoat and poly undercoat finish (to increase strength against dings and wear). The ash wood grain was clearly visible through the body’s paint job and the finish felt smooth and glassy underneath my fingertips.

Classic Telecaster appointments include a black pickguard, three-way switching, and volume and tone controls, while the pickups are from Fender’s own American Vintage Series. There are some noteworthy updates that are less than totally obvious—Fender used the popular Delta Tone No-Load tone circuit, which eliminates attenuation issues for brighter, more powerful tones. And instead of using a vintage-correct set of three brass saddles, the Anniversary uses a more tuning- and intonation-friendly six saddle set.

Tele lovers have long understood that the unique feel and shape of the legendary guitar’s neck can be as integral to the tone as its body and electronics are, and the 60th Anniversary features a traditional one-piece maple neck with a 25.5” scale length with more modern features like a 9.5” fretboard radius, medium jumbo fretwire, rolled fret edges and a modern C profile. A traditional four-bolt neck joint kept the neck snug against the body, along with Fender’s Micro-Tilt adjustment feature and a classy-looking 60th Anniversary Edition neckplate.

Sultry Delta Tone
Before I even plugged the 60th Anniversary Tele into a warmed-up Fender Twin Reverb reissue combo, I could almost instantly tell that this wasn’t your average guitar. The guitar’s resonance unplugged was immediately noticeable while I fingerpicked a simple, country-infused riff, with each pluck of the piece’s bass notes causing the neck and body to purr lovingly against my body and fretting hand. In addition, the rolled edges of the fingerboard and superb fret job allowed me to throw in various double stops and bends between each chord, with a negligible amount of resistance from the back of the neck’s finish.

The uncanny resonant qualities of the Tele only got better as I plugged it into the aforementioned Fender combo. Each note sustained and bloomed with a high amount of sustain, something that was uncharacteristic of the guitar—most players have had to rely on compressor pedals to overcome that common ailment. Fender’s American Vintage bridge pickup also scored high points in terms of touch sensitivity and sag, yielding an impressive range of tones as I varied my pick attack from light and precise to fast and strong. The top end of the pickups bit and snarled with quick snaps of pull-offs and Jerry Reed-esque fragmented chord progressions, and backed off with a smooth, detailed purr when I gingerly plucked jazz progressions.
The Fender Telecaster has never had a reputation for being a dull-sounding instrument, yet the Delta Tone’s ability to cut itself out of the circuit added a great-sounding, forceful, punchy bite to the Tele’s natural sting, without being too overbearing or icepicky.

Adding their Delta Tone circuit to the 60th Anniversary Tele was a spot-on decision by Fender. Its ability to completely cut out the tone attenuation is perfect for guitarists looking to put more sass in their tonal strut. DIY’ers have been adding a variation of this mod to their guitars this to their guitars for decades, by paining a thin coat of clear nail polish over the portion of the tone pot’s internal disk (where the tone pot would normally touch at its maximum setting). This breaks the connection between the pot and the circuitry, increasing the volume slightly and adding a fair amount of top end sparkle. The Fender Telecaster has never had a reputation for being a dull-sounding instrument, yet the Delta Tone’s ability to cut itself out of the circuit added a great-sounding, forceful, punchy bite to the Tele’s natural sting, without being too overbearing or icepicky. Since the Tele is already a pretty bright-sounding guitar, I had to keep the Tone control just below its top setting for most of my playing—then roll it back up to max when I need some high end spank on leads and fills.

Dirty Deeds
Dirty tones with the Tele were equally smooth and defined through a 2011 Mesa Boogie Multiwatt Dual Rectifier head. With the amp set to the clean channel and the Push mode engaged, the Tele ripped through like a bolt of lightning, carried along by a creamy midrange and snappy low-end response. Feedback wasn’t an issue until the amp reached more extreme gain settings, but I was content with leaving it in the realm of smooth, slightly crunchy classic rock territory. Again, keeping the Delta Tone-enabled Tone control below its maximum setting was essential to taming the sound, unless I needed a razor sharp top end that sliced through like a hot knife through butter.

Teles from the ’50s tended to have pretty beefy neck profiles, commonly referred to as a “boatneck”. I was a little worried that this particular neck wouldn’t have the same beefy feel as a correct-spec, early ’50s Tele, but it had enough meat on its bones to sit comfortably grab notes, while also allowing me to move up and down the neck with ease. The only amount of resistance I met when I would try to fly up and down the fretboard was against the neck’s coat of slightly sticky lacquer. Whether or not a coated or an uncoated neck makes for the perfect Tele neck has been a debate amongst guitarists since the instrument’s inception 60 years ago. Regardless of the fact that I had very little issues moving quickly around the frets, you’ll need to apply your own judgments in this instance—it’s an intensely personal thing for Tele players, one that can make or break a great playing experience.

The Verdict
Fender’s tribute to one of their most renowned instruments is a fantastic blend of old school, don’t-fix-what-isn’t-broken mentality and current, more reliable technology. The additions of the company’s Delta Tone circuit, lacquer finish, modern C neck shape and six saddle bridge offer even more precise tonal tuning, and the vintage snarl that put the Telecaster—and Fender—name on the map is there in full force. For those players who aren’t keen on a finished neck, the company offers a multitude of other models for consideration. However, for those who want a near-perfect blend of old and new to cure their Tele jones, this one’s hard to beat.

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ESP Explorer
Forget all about your Les Pauls and your SGs, if you’re a serious metal player this is your guitar of choice. Just ask Metallica frontman James Hetfield who has been thrashing the shit out of one since the mid-eighties. Inspired by the Gibson Explorer, the ESP edition comes with the added punch of doom spewing EMG pick-ups that may as well be made from congealed devil blood.

Danelectro DC 59Rickenbacker 481
A guitar that looks like the future as imagined by the people who dreamed up The Jetsons. The body of the guitar is identical to the iconic 4001 bass from the same manufacturers and is no less striking in this six string format. Comes complete with two humbuckers (a rare feature for Rickenbacker) and the icing on the cake of 24 slanted frets to fit the natural position of your hand and increase playability. Famous players include Tom Petty, The Byrd’s and most recently Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno.

Yamaha SG2000
If the Danelectro is the Strat alternative then this is your Les Paul competitor. Looking like the love child of a Gibson Les Paul and SG, the SG2000 combines a through neck with a double cutaway – making high fretting and long sustains a doddle. Probably one of the most versatile guitars on this list owing to the built in coil taps. A feature which basically lets you transform your humbucker into a single coil pick up, allowing you to get a lot more sound for your money. Effectively, it’s like having several guitars in one. Carlos Santana is one of the most famous guitarists to play the Yamaha SG using one regularly during the earlier stages of his career.

Fender Jaguar
Originally used by the surf bands of the 60s and later adopted by shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine and Chapterhouse, similarly attracted to their unique tones. The Jaguar was also one of the influential sounds of 90s grunge and Kurt Cobain is one of its most iconic users – recording most of Nevermind on one. It’s for this broad range of sounds that the guitar remains a popular tool for ‘gigging’ bands. The body of the guitar incorporates a floating bridge pick-up making it actually a far more technically sufficient bit of kit than its better marketed brother and sister, the Stratocaster and Telecaster. Sonic Youth use a Jaguar to create some of their more unique chiming style sounds.

The Player Series Tele marries vintage look and affordability with modern features

When Fender introduced its Custom Shop Relic models in the mid-90s, few could have guessed how big the market for relics would become. Guitarists by the score craved vintage authenticity and new-guitar reliability in the same instrument. Replete with strategically placed arm-wear; nicks, dings, and checking; corroded hardware; and other signs of extensive use, Fender’s relics could be dead ringers for their vintage inspirations. But most importantly, these guitars cost a fraction of the price of their predecessors and unlike vintage instruments, were replaceable—handy for touring guitarists who didn’t want to take their beloved original instruments on the road.

While those first Fender relics may have been accessibly priced, they weren’t necessarily cheap. But in 2009 Fender began using the same proprietary aging process for its new Ensenada, Mexico-built Road Worn guitars to bring vintage specs and feel to an affordable level. This year, the company released the Road Worn Player Series, which are still affordable, but add a lot of modern player-friendly features and mods like higher-output pickups and bigger frets that weren’t available on vintage-inspired models. I checked out the Road Worn Player Telecaster, with its neck-position humbucker and relatively flat fingerboard radius and was impressed with the effortless and effective combination of modern and time-tested design attributes.

Pre Hot-Rodded Styling
Our Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster could easily be mistaken for a guitar that its owner retooled 25 years ago and has since played several nights a weeks in a smoky bar. The black nitro finish (it’s also available in candy apple red) looks like an weathered high-quality refinish, and the PAF-style neck pickup is typical of the sort of hot-rodding that was common in the ’70s and ’80s to old single-coil guitars. Some of the details, like the 21-fret maple neck, spa-ghetti headstock logo, and eight-screw pickguard look vintage. While others, including the squared-off tuners and six individual bridge saddles, are more current.

The Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster has medium jumbo frets and a 9.5-inch radius (as opposed to the vintage 7.25), which gives it an unmistakably modern feel. Electronics include a Seymour Duncan 59 humbucker and a Fender Tex Mex single-coil bridge pickup, which is slightly hotter than a vintage-spec unit. And the three-way switch switches between bridge, two-pickup, and neck pickup settings.

Our Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster is a well-made guitar. While you can fast get into subjective territory assessing the quality of something that has been intentionally abused, the finish—actual nitro and not the smothering poly often used on inexpensive modern guitars—is nice and thin and the patterns of wear look convincing and not overdone. The neck fits nicely in its pocket. Though on the fingerboard, the fret ends are a little rough and the action a tad high—details that can be addressed easily enough by a good tech.
“Vibrant overtones popped out on the simplest barre-chord work and the guitar responded to blues-based soloing with an excited snap.”

The Sound and the Feel
The medium C-shaped neck, with a smooth satin finish, also lends a modern feel to the Player Tele. It’s fast and extremely comfortable to grip in all positions from the to the highest frets. Whether playing complex chords or single-note lines I never felt like I was fighting the neck. And thanks to the 9.5-inch radius, it was easy to bend the strings pretty aggressively without the notes fretting out.

Unamplified, this Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster is livelier than most guitars you encounter in this price range, which may owe something to the thin finish. Vibrant overtones popped out on the simplest barre-chord work and the guitar responded to blues-based soloing with an excited snap.

I plugged the Tele into a Blackstar HT Stage 6 amplifier, dialing in a clean tone and activating the guitar’s bridge pickup. Right out of the gate, the sound was slightly fatter than you’d typically expect of a Tele, but it did have that unmistakable twang that works so well for pedal steel–style bends.

When I switched to the neck pickup, it came as little surprise that the guitar reacted like a Tele on steroids. This pickup had a rich and spongy tone that added excellent definition and presence to John Scofield-style jazzy lines as well as substance and grit for some classic shuffle It’s a wide sound that you can adjust be at home in a great variety of idioms, from roots rock to reggae and even punk—just what would be expected from a no-nonsense multipurpose guitar like a Tele. And it’s all very easily shaped with use of the tone knob and volume control.

The Verdict
The Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster, incorporates some of the mods most commonly applied to vintage Teles in a brand new instrument that looks convincingly loved and well travelled. The Road Worn Player surpasses the sound, both acoustic and plugged-in, of most guitars at this price range, and incorporates features, like a nitro finish, generally found on Fender’s more expensive guitars.

The Fender Road Worn Player Telecaster would only be cooler if it came with a slightly better factory setup, were available in finishes other than black and red, and came with an optional rosewood fretboard. But all things considered, the Road Worn Player is a superb guitar for the price—a perfect, blank slate of an instrument for La-Z-Boy instrumentalists and working pros alike.

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Norman Harris has long been associated with The Midnight Mission charity in Los Angeles, an organization that provides basic necessities to the homeless, including counseling, education, training and job placement across the greater Los Angeles basin. Harris' shop is frequented by celebrities, and he has previously organized benefit concerts with Tom Petty, Richie Sambora, Jackson Browne, Los Lobos and REO Speed Wago.

Pattinson autographed the Fender and posed for a photo with it, proving its authenticity. Norman's shop held onto the guitar until recently, when Harris decided to list it on eBay to correspond with the release date of Pattinson's latest film, Remember Me. Timing the auction just right will result in more money raised for The Midnight Mission. Look for the guitar to pop up on eBay later today.

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These Wide range humbuckers are an entirely new, updated design
The Thinline Deluxe combines two of the guitar world's most classic designs – the Telecaster and Gibson's ES-335. In the construction stakes Fender has excelled with all the Classic Player series guitars, but the Thinline is even better.

The overall fit and finish is genuinely superb, especially considering its price. Moreover, a silky black finish is entirely blemish-free, even around the tricky f-hole.

Just like the original, we have a more traditional slab Tele body – unlike the solid Deluxe there's no belly contour. However, thanks to its semi-solid design, it's light and comfortable; even lighter than many originals we've encountered.
"Blues players, this is your Fender/Gibson hybrid sound."

Meanwhile, its distinctive and shapely, off-white pickguard gives this Thinline that desirable vintage vibe, enhanced by its correct, early seventies-style Tele neck and headstock.

We also get Fender's modern, flatter-than-vintage 9.5-inch radius with bigger frets along with the original-style six saddle bridge. In addition, the neck features four, rather than three bolts.

Strummed acoustically, although the Thinline's intrinsic character is very similar to the solid, humbucker-equipped Deluxe, because of its semi-hollow construction it's less dense sounding with an airy, swirly tone.

Clean, the bridge pickup's soft low-end and bumped mids help mellow this sprightly guitar. More gain gives individual notes plenty of cut and thrust, while open chords sound lush, thick and resonate in typical semi-hollow fashion. There really are few limits tonally.
Sticking with the overdrive, the middle position offers sweet and snappy Gibson-type tones, perfect for edgy rhythms – blues players, this is your Fender/Gibson hybrid sound.

The neck offers a creamy mid-range with ES-335-like thickness, which carries a similar single-note, airy resonance. Overall, the Wide Range humbuckers aren't as hot as a modern ES-335 and are brighter and snappier, in true Fender style.
This guitar represents astonishingly good value. It takes two iconic models and brings a real Fender-y take on the ES-335 format that will surely appeal to both traditional Tele and Gibson semi-hollow lovers.

A very affordable blend of ES-335 tones, but with a snappier Tele edge that really opens this guitar up to myriad playing styles.

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