The Telecaster Custom was originally built between 1972 and 1981, and came about as a reaction to the popularity of Gibson Les Pauls in rock and roll music. It can get simpler, but this is the minimum I can get away with in a gigging guitar, as I need to be able to switch between distinct rhythm and lead tones at various times without pedals. That’s precisely why I can get my tone on the Squier Telecaster Custom just as easily as  I ever did on my old Gibson Les Paul. Is this down to the body material? “Our issue with ash right now is twofold,” Tim explains. £199.99; By Simon ... but it was actually the Telecaster Deluxe, also introduced in 1972, that featured a pair of Fender humbuckers and the unashamed Gibson Les Paul control panel, albeit with a Stratocaster headstock. Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Custom - 3-tone Sunburst … What is is? And while many pickup makers, Fender included, have made repros, they’ve had to use a different recipe. Guitar World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. With 1-ply pickguards and maple necks, they are exquisitely simple and highlight the instrument’s super-elegant, minimalist lines. 2 pickups with volume and tone each. Slinging a Custom around your neck is one of the easiest ways to up your rock 'n' roll credibility, but even the Mexican-built Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom has an official price tag of £946. The American Custom is the Fender of modern times-and then some. Well, I can’t get it to work at all. Some may prefer a flatter, modern profile, but for me this is perfect, melding into the arch of my hand like a glove, providing maximum confidence and speed in whatever I play. ₩ 1,700,000. (Although it actually does feature a smaller ‘F’ under the Squier logo). BA1 1UA. If you hadn’t already guessed. It’s got that steely bite in spades and with a little added compression it has you practicing your country licks for days - a different sound from the rawer and beefier clout of a typical early 50s ride. I’m also a huge fan of a neck p90, especially on a mahogany-bodied guitar. Neck: Maple, C-Shape, (Gloss Polyurethane Finish), Fingerboard: Maple, 7.25″ Radius (184 mm), Pickups: 2 Duncan Designed™ P90-2 Pickups with Alnico 5 Magnets (Neck/Bridge), Bridge: 6-Saddle Strings-Thru-Body Tele Bridge. It’s got a story and character all of its own and continues to write new pages almost every week. What you have is a bent steel ‘retainer clip’ with teeth biting into the walls of the jack socket hole, held in place only by the tensioning of the jack socket nut itself. Please refresh the page and try again. The typical single-coil mix’s funky sparkle sounds enhanced. Despite being one of the most premium bridges on this list, and indeed the market, this is really the only bridge you’re ever going to need, and it comes … Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Its high 9.97k DCR reflects the extra coil winding necessary to add bass to the sound, hence the enlarged size of the design. 3-way toggle. It’s far from a one-trick pony, though: from beautifully clear cleans to notable definition with some overdrive and dense effects, it has huge potential on this platform. At first people laughed at it, for it’s strange design. For cleaner and arguably more authentic country/bluesy styles, maybe you’ll need the more traditional Tele setup. Here, the bridge features a slightly hotter 60s wind with a DCR of 7.41k measured at output. Fender’s CBS era is especially reviled, with accountant-led manufacturing leading to poor quality. Or even professionals? Fender American Original ’70s Telecaster Custom review Featuring the original-style Cunife Wide Range humbucker, this Tele Custom has that '70s thing to a T By Dave Burrluck 06 August 2020 Recently Fender has started re-releasing many of their classic guitars, but 3 … For many, a Telecaster is simply about its bridge pickup, and this supplies the cut with a little extra heat. However, the Squier weighs in lighter. After considerable research and investment, the proper Wide Range with its Cunife magnets is finally back. No trem. I got that same feeling with the Telecaster. The Micro-Tilt saves you having to shim the neck to alter its angle. Look out for a twin-humbucking Tele Deluxe later this year. For clean playing,  the unit is much less offensive, giving you the all the depth that’s missing with overdrive, and the zingyness now useful rather than annoying. For example, the Wide Range measures approximately 79 by 45mm compared with the 70 by 38mm of a regular covered Gibson-style ’bucker. Solid and reassuring, but also with that elusive but unmistakable quality of being effortless to play, to the point where you take more risks, get more creative, and push your playing that little bit harder, because you know the guitar won’t let you down. Charles Saufley. Sure it has its flaws, but these pale into insignificance compared to the amount of guitar you get for your money. In fact, there were plenty of good ideas let down by bad practice. Thank you for signing up to Guitarist. In stark contrast to these modern appointments, we have the more vintage-inspired 7.25″ radius maple fingerboard. For me, the neck should always sound bigger, warmer, maybe at the expense of some high-end. This Squier Telecaster Custom also holds great sentimental value for me. Blighted with Fender's allegedly unstable 3 bolt adjustable neck joint and the characteristic 1970's-style "notchless" upper cutaway, the Custom was also tarnished by negative … Put everything together, and similarly to the amazing BOSS Katana 50 (full review here), we have a great-sounding, dependable, gig-able instrument for under £200. History has been harsh on both the three-bolt neck joint and the Micro-Tilt pitch adjustment. Original spec is cool but we’d probably opt for 500k pots. The medium C neck profile is exactly that: fairly modern standard in lower positions, 21.5mm deep at the 1st fret, but not filling out quite as much as the American Pro’s neck at 22.6mm by the 12th fret. If the pennies don’t allow for the Standard, Fender’s budget, Eastern-made offshoot has some credible offerings. One piece bridge. Of course, given regular use, the socket works loose until, eventually, either the input jack itself twists its way free of its solder joints, or, in my case the retainer clip fails and drops out, rendering it useless. It has a slightly ‘sticky’ feel after some hours of playing, though not in a soft fashion. With Striking finishes combined with contemporary features and detailed craftsmanship, new American Custom Telecaster and Stratocaster models are not only beautiful to behold, but also highly functional in a pure Fender fashion. It’s plummy, flutey, musical, and the ideal foil to the brashness of the treble selection. Receive notifications of new posts by email. For most of my gigging life, I’ve lived on the Gibson 498T in the bridge position of my Les Paul, which provided just the right balance of power and cut to be able to sustain into harmonic feedback but also be heard above a band mix. I hope you all enjoy the video. Controversially for some, we have a 241mm (9.5-inch) radius to the ’board, not the original 184mm (7.25 inches), but in combination with the neck shape and the smooth, slinky feel of the fingerboard face and frets, it works extremely well. This guitar was initially flagged by the Fender Custom Shop, and then declined in production coréennne. November 25, 2019. Sign up below to get the latest from Guitarist, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! And then there’s the new Wide Range humbucker at the neck, very firmly mounted with four screws but with a much larger footprint and wider aperture than a standard Gibson-style humbucker. We’ll look at it’s features and see how suitable it is for those looking to upgrade. You may remember an article I wrote a while back Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, well, I ended up with the guitar!  It’s true it disappeared from display the day after I saw it in the guitar shop, but the buyer was non-other than my wife, as a surprise present for my birthday! In reality, if the craft is good, as it is here, both work superbly. I’m sure you’ll have a faithful friend for life too. Combining the Wide Range with the classic Tele bridge single coil was an inspired move. Disclaimer. This Wide Range, as we said, sounds a little lower powered but with that additional clarity. Those two string trees ensure a good back angle behind the nut for the top four strings. It’s a popular choice on Custom Shop guitars, though it’s only available as a set with the bridge pickup. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). To remove the scratchplate there are 15 screws, and to service, replace or even take a look at the bridge pickup you need to remove the entire bridge assembly. Player-friendly features include a slim, comfortable “C”-shaped neck profile with an easy-playing 9.5”-radius fingerboard … While 2020 is all about the 70th anniversary of the original Fender Broadcaster, the return of this humbucker is certainly worth getting the bunting out for. Fender had introduced a model called the Custom Telecaster in 1959, but this guitar was merely a standard Telecaster with a bound body; it was in the Fender line until 1972 in its original run, with … I can set up perfect intonation and action with the 6 saddles individually adjustable saddles, as opposed to the compromise of 3. Back with a review for my newest addition to the family! The revamped Telecaster Custom debuted in 1973 with a sunburst finish as standard. 1972 was a magical year for the Telecaster, as the venerable design spawned options and new designs left and right. Despite the spec sheet telling us the guitar ships with 0.010-gauge strings, these are nines and while it gives the guitar a slightly lighter feel than any of our references, it does add to the slinky playability. It won’t slice my hand open on the traditional Tele slider switch. The frets present no issues either, not so big that they impede long slides up and down the neck and not so skinny to hamper bending. I can switch between different volume/tone setups for the pickups. It sounds fatter than a normal Tele, but cuts through better than a Les Paul, thanks to the high output P90’s. Back with a review for my newest addition to the family! A faultless guitar with a wide-ranging voice that feels far from a reissue and very much now. The Squier Telecaster Custom’s one-piece maple neck is superb at any price point, let alone the sub-£200 one. You will receive a verification email shortly. I’m in love with this Squier Telecaster Custom. Always less popular is the three-bolt neck join that, incidentally, actually uses a bolt in the central lower position below the usual machine screw. But 50 years on, many of the designs from that period are viewed in a different light and numerous (once derided) models have long since found their way back into both fashion and Fender’s catalogue. In fact, this piece feels more like it’s come from the modern-day Custom Shop than the 70s. On the plus side, this clearly defined ‘fault’ can easily be rectified with a decent pickup replacement. If you aren’t willing to pay big bucks for something a lot further up the Fender foodchain, all that’s left outside of the used market is something along the lines of the Squier Classic Vibe (Below) or Vintage Modified series. I’ve held off for the moment, I wanted to get a feel for the guitar first and a new pickup represents almost 50% of the instrument’s overall value. It listed in January 1973 for $315, about $30 more than a standard Telecaster. It’s a simple fix, you simply replace the socket with either an ‘electro-socket’ which is a standard Telecaster socket but with screw holes on the inside, or, if keeping the original appearance isn’t a concern, a standard Gibson style socket-plate with the screws on the front-face will solve the problem permanently. You’ll know the most vintage-aimed American Original guitars are the closest you’re going to get before you move up to the Custom Shop, but this Tele is not a slavish reissue. The Fender Telecaster is arguably the most durable electric guitar ever made, and a lot of that original design has made it onto the Squire Telecaster Custom. The Telecaster was fist introduced by Leo Fender in 1951. I can carry it in a gig bag without fear of the neck snapping or damage to the trem system. Where the Squier Telecaster Custom differs is the 3-way toggle switch on the upper bout and the tone and volume for each pickup, Gibson style. All-black Telecasters with maple fingerboards are a thing of beauty.