MIM Tele

as good as a american, not a chance.
but for dollar value, there amazing bang for your buck. I say go for it

I have played some pretty bad ones and some really great ones.
my advice is to shop in person. look at all the details; ie., nut, neck joint, fret work (are the fret ends jagged or smooth?), electronics (switches work, no noise from knos, smooth action). then look at the finish for flaws. strum them un plugged. how does it sustain? sound?
then plug in and play chords up and down the neck. any buzzing? intonation way off.

you will find a nice guitar that way.

I had a great one-i want it back-i sold it to a friend when i needed cash and he wont sell it back!!!It had a great neck on it.
but you really have to play a bunch of them because there all a little different.

I love mine. Bought it last August and I've hardly put it down yet!

Intonation's perfect; the pick ups are excellent, the bridge P/U's got a real bite to it and the neck P/U - well, if you want that famous "Tele twang" it's there!

I've never played an MIA Tele, so I wouldn't notice the difference - but I do notice a big difference in MY playing lately. It just seems to me to be the perfect all-round guitar; rock, blues, country, metal, it'll handle anything.

:D :D :D

Vic

Thanks guys! :D
On the Amarican Std they have bent steel saddles I want know do they make any diffrence?

I have played some pretty bad ones and some really great ones.
my advice is to shop in person. look at all the details; ie., nut, neck joint, fret work (are the fret ends jagged or smooth?), electronics (switches work, no noise from knos, smooth action). then look at the finish for flaws. strum them un plugged. how does it sustain? sound?
then plug in and play chords up and down the neck. any buzzing? intonation way off.

you will find a nice guitar that way.

This. I've seen MIM fenders that were amazing guitars for the $400 price tag, and I've seen some that were (quite literally) falling apart in my hands despite being new from the factory. Try before you buy, or at least go with some place with a great return policy.

Try before you buy, or at least go with some place with a great return policy.

Musician's Friend

Good Luck with that Fender !

Thanks guys! :D
On the Amarican Std they have bent steel saddles I want know do they make any diffrence?

Thought that was on the Strat ... but I guess since going to the six, separate saddles on the Tele, the switch to bent steel is not surprising. I'm not sure if it makes a difference or not. Fender claims it does. In any case, this sounds like an easily replacable part, so I would not make it the basis of my decision. American STD axes have other differences that probably make more of a sonic impact anyway: body materials, pups ...

I cannot give you a yea or nay on the MIM Tele, other than to echo the "Play what you buy advice" above. This advice really applies to nearly all guitars except for those that are unbelievable bargains ( Squier '51, PRS CE models ...). And in those cases, you may need to put some work into setup and hardware "straightening and tightening." I will recommend another less expensive Tele: Lite Ash. These are made in Korea, and of very good materials and build quality. They come with "vintage" style brass barrel bridges, thru body stringing and Seymour Duncan pups. You should be able to get one new for between $475 and $600. The one I have I bought for someone else; then the plans changed. It was so nice, I kept it.

Greg can you get perfect intonation on that with the old style saddles?

For the price, I really love mine! I also own an American Tele (60th Anniversary) and it compares favorably IMHO. I say go for it! If you're shopping in person, you shouldn't have a problem. Good luck!

:D :D :D

Greg can you get perfect intonation on that with the old style saddles?

Not perfect, but not bad -- certainly no worse that an acoustic with a single, slanted saddle. I bought a set of Wilkinson compensated brass saddles (with whole bridge assembly) from Guitar Fetish specifically to install on the Lite Ash. But I've not found the Lite Ash to be so bad intonation wise. The the saddles are still in the box.

What I think I'm going to do is when I get some money together I'll go to the pawn shop and see if they got anything wroth while.

What I think I'm going to do is when I get some money together I'll go to the pawn shop and see if they got anything wroth while.

LOL... a "Blue-Collar" shop for a "Blue-Collar" guitar....sweeeet!! :)