Fender Classic Series '72 Deluxe Telecaster Guitar

The Fender Telecaster line of guitars has long been considered a very versatile and high quality group. This applied from back in the days when country and blues legends were playing them all the way to today, with the likes of Brad Paisley and Keith Urban preferring them. In homage to the now classic models, Fender offers several reissues and remakes of previous versions. One of these is the Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster. Let's take a closer look at it to see how well the reissue was made.

Features: The body of the '72 Telecaster, like most all Fender instruments, is made of alder wood. There are three finishes available with this Tele, including black, walnut, and sunburst. All three, in exact dedication to the original, were available with the real '72 Telecaster as well. The headstock of this reissue, oddly enough, is actually a '70s era Stratocaster version. The neck of the Classic Series '72 Telecaster is made of maple, as is the fretboard. It has twenty one medium jumbo frets, a one piece modern C shape, black dot inlays, and a three bolt neck plate that actually has a little give. It's designed to avoid any bowing of the neck. All of the hardware on the '72 Telecaster, including the tuning heads, pickup covers, and bridge, is made of chrome. In a second difference from the Telecaster that most musicians naturally picture, the bridge on the '72 Tele is a six saddle strings through body style. In essence, it's a Stratocaster bridge. Electronically, the guitar has two volume and two tone control knobs, a three way selector switch, and two Fender brand humbucker pickups. Judging by the electronics, this guitar's nuts and bolts are more like a Les Paul than a Telecaster.

Playability: One factor that the odd qualities of the '72 Telecaster didn't affect is playability. The Fender brand tuning heads keep the strings in tune in just about any situation. Also, the lightweight body, despite different electronics, is easy to play whether standing up or sitting down for long amounts of time. Additionally, the Stratocaster style neck is very easy to play on. You'll have no trouble moving up and down or making difficult technique maneuvers.

Sound: As you could probably expect out of a guitar with two humbuckers, the Classic Series '72 Tele doesn't really sound like a Telecaster. If you use the bridge pickup and turn up the treble on your amplifier, you might be able to get a tone close to the traditional one. But if you're looking for the classic Telecaster tone, this probably isn't the guitar for you.

Overall: The Fender Classic Series '72 Deluxe Telecaster is a very nice quality reissue of a very unique instrument. It's technically a Tele, but you'll find shortly after picking it up that in reality, it's an animal all its own. You can find the '72 Telecaster in music stores for about $750.