Pieman Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Has anybody tried out the '50s butterscotch blonde telecaster or the double bound '60s sunburst custom model? Not the Always seem to get good reviews. Made in China unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonge Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 I have a 2016 MIC butterscotch tele - a little brickish (8.5 lbs) but it sounds good and plays well. The previous owner swapped in a set of brass Glendale saddles and Fishman Fluence Gristletones so I can't say how the original pickups were (the original parts were included in the gig bag). It is certainly giggable as are the other MIC or MII(Indonesian) tele variants around here (72 Thinline, Cabronita). Even pickled up a red metalflake Squire Bullet tele for $119 new that would be giggable other than the cheap pickups (but the beauty of the tele is that pickup swaps are easy - there's a set of used GFS Cool Rails going in on the next string change). Vintage frets on an Indian Laurel fingerboard with a lightly sealed maple neck. Also a brick-o-caster, but the metalflake is cool and it plays great. Wish cheap guitars had been that good when I was learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieman Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 "Vintage frets on an Indian Laurel fingerboard " Can you comment on the Indian Laurel fingerboard as to sound and feel. At some point, Fender switched from rosewood on the '60's Custon Vibe Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonge Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 Indian Laurel feels 'lighter' and has longer grain; seems like it's not quite as fat sounding as rosewood (an analogy might be how korina sounds not quite as punchy/sharp as mahogany - maybe a little less highs or upper mids). I'd guess it's sorta in the middle between balsa and pau ferro if you can imagine that (the paulownia of rosewood). It takes a little off the the brightness of the heavy (poplar?) body. I really like the smaller vintage frets though and the maple of the neck feels like bare wood. Fender builds the Bullets down to the MSRP prices around $179 - if it retails there they aren't paying much for that fingerboard blank. If they expand that to the mid-line guitars they're probably just saving cost. If I were looking for a '62 double bound tele, I'd hold out for an older one with a rosewood fingerboard. That's the original recipe. I had a really nice MIJ '62 that I traded for a Washburn N4 back in the days when I wasn't into teles. Should have kept that one and just bought the N4 outright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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