Fender Deluxe Telecaster Guitar Review

The Fender Telecaster line is a tradition that started decades ago. With it, Fender helped to revolutionize the American music scene. Since then, the Telecaster has persisted as one of the most recognizable guitars in the world. This applies both in its signature style and distinct, powerful sound. Fender's new American Deluxe Telecaster continues this longstanding tradition of excellent sound and quality. Let's take a closer look at this Tele to see what it's all about.

Features: The body of the Deluxe Telecaster is made of premium alder wood. Since this is just about the highest line of Telecasters out there, only the highest quality wood is selected to make up the body. There are several finishes available as well. These include vintage classic Fender looks like three tone sunburst, and more modern looks such as olympic pearl. Depending on the finish, the pickguards vary as well. For instance, the montego black finish features a gold colored pickguard. The top on every guitar, additionally, is hand bound by Fender. This both increases the durability and looks absolutely stunning. The neck of the Deluxe Telecaster is made of maple, and has hand rolled edges with a nice satin finish. The fretboard can either be made of maple or rosewood, depending on the choice of the buyer. It has twenty two medium jumbo frets and abalone dot inlays as an added aesthetic feature. It's definitely easy to tell that there is extensive and careful work going into the frets of every one of these guitars. The tuning heads are staggered, and lock to keep the strings in tune. The bridge, meanwhile, is stainless steel with six chrome saddles. Electronically, the Deluxe Telecaster has two Fender SCN single coil pickups, knurled chrome knobs, and a five way S-1 selector switching system.

Playability: The Deluxe Telecaster's premium quality build certainly shines through in how playable it is. The hand rolled edges on the neck make it one of the most comfortable instruments you could ever play. And forget about any dead frets or strings that don't ring out fully. The body is well contoured, and fits well for just about any guitarist. There really is nothing to complain about in the playability department.

Sound: The SCN single coil pickups on the Deluxe Telecaster make a world of difference in sound. They were specially designed to try and eliminate literally all excess noise except for what you are playing. And, according to just about every user, they do an excellent job of it. Also, the S-1 switching system adds a versatility that is rare among Telecasters. There is virtually no limit to the range of tones you can find using this guitar.

Overall: If you have pockets deep enough and are looking for one of the best instruments money can buy, the Fender Deluxe Telecaster is definitely a great choice. It has clearly benn well taken care of from the factory to the store shelves, and will serve well as any musician's main axe. You can find the Fender Deluxe Tele in music stores for around $1,250.