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10:21:00 am on March 5, 2010 | # |
I’ve acquired a few guitars over the years and one of my favorites has always been my Thinline Telecaster. There’s no doubt that Fender puts out great guitars, and this one is no exception. If you ever have a chance to try one out, you too will love the sound and feel of this vintage masterpiece!
A Thinline Telecaster is a semi-hollow body version of the Fender Telecaster, that is characterized by the f-shaped hole and reshaped pickguard. It was originated as an attempt to make a lighter weight guitar in the 60′s when the supply of light ash wood started dwindling.
There are two versions made, the ’69 version which has two Telecaster pickups and a mahogany body and the ’72 version that has two Fender wide range pickups and a solid natural swamp ash body.
I love my ’72 version. It features a semi-hollow ash body, C-shaped maple neck and bullet truss rod, a Strat bridge,temperature, three-bolt neck plate and two wide range humbucking pickups. It also features the f-shaped hole to give it a warmer and more rounded sound than the other Telecasters. The sound is definitely meatier than the original classic version. The humbuckers give it a big stadium rock concert tone. In fact, my buddies are always egging me to?swap guitars with then when we get together to play a few songs. They love the sound and feel as much as I do!
When Fender came out with the original Telecaster, they were really on to something . Then they came out with these reissues, and after checking them out,fake rolex, I really liked the feel but I was a little leery of making the purchase at first because it seems that the reissues are never as good. I ended up with a ’72 version and it surprised me- it was every bit as good as the original, or?better.
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about the micro-tilt neck, with 3 screws securing it,portfolio’s, but actually,movado watches, the neck action is terrific. The semi-hollow sound has a distinctive tone and it is great for blues, country and alternative rock music. In fact, sound is where this guitar absolutely shines. It is versatile and the wide range on the bridge is fantastic. This guitar plays very smoothly and tunes even better.
For durability, this Tele is built strong and can hold up to the heaviest heavy metal action. The craftsmanship is excellent. About the only complaint, (and one I’ve heard from other Thinline Telecaster owners), is the guitar has a lot better effect if you change out the 250k volume pot to 500k. Almost everybody seems to be making this slight alteration because it makes a dramatic difference, and the humbuckers are much more open now. That’s as close to perfection as it gets.
The finish is like glass, with the strong poly finish that holds up to the toughest acts. My friend accidentally dropped a cymbal on it and it didn’t even make a dent. I was relieved and surprised! I have the Natural Maple finish and I love the way that the grains of the wood show through. I also like the pearloid pickguard,discovered, which makes it a great classic looking guitar.
The parts are all solid,rc heli, which is something that is important, especially in reissues. Sometimes, they just don’t make them like they used to. That’s not a problem with this model. I like how it’s clean on the bridge pickup for heavy picking or even string skipping and then I like to throw it to the neck position for blues solos or jazz/blues rhythms. It gives a lot of versatility for different genres of music.