Fender Telecaster

How much did you pay for the strat? I have never bought or owned a fender instrument, so i don't know what they generally run, but I had an epiphone les paul which was about the same price as the tele. It was a stripped down imitation. For Les Pauls, if you want the real thing than you have to buy the real thing, even though its mucho dinero. You know this, I'm sure, as you apparently own one. So if fender is anything like the Epiphone-Gibson set up, you may be disappointed. But, as I said, I don't know anything about Fender, just speculating. My advice is to track down the model in a shop near you, play it, then decide. Thats the only sure-fire way. What someone says is great, someone else will swear against. Never fails :D

Matt

I've seen the Tele you're talking about. It's on the cover of the catelog they sent me a few weeks ago. It looks really nice and has DiMarzio pups. I really like the polished look Teles have when they've got a binding.

From what I have seen so far, the difference between MIM Fenders and USA Deluxe Fenders is much smaller then between Epiphone and Gibson USA LPs.

MIM Fenders are good guitars. Not 100% on the specifics of that particular Tele, but, some sound really great and some are just average. Two single coils and you could emulate early Zeppelin (Page played one). Three single coils and you get as much tonal variety as a Strat. Two Humbuckers and that is a little bit different, innit? But two hummers gets you similar to your Les Paul, different pick-ups and body material, so different sound. I have looked at Teles and am interested in them, too. I would also suggest trying to play as many varieties of Teles as possible at your local store and then mentally compare the difference with this "special" Tele, without actually getting to play it. It is probably a pretty good guitar and you would most likely enjoy the benefits of owning it. Good luck!