I recently picked up an Olympic White Squier Bullet Mustang HH for my kid and thought it would be interesting to compare it to my 2009/2010 Arctic White Fender Standard Telecaster. Now in theory the “Crafted in Indonesia” Mustang should be a bit creamier than the MIM Tele, but after ten years the Tele is a bit more yellow. I think both look great, though. More pics after the jump!
Fender just replaced the long-lived American Vintage series with this new American Original series. Watch below as these guys unbox and play all the new guitars. Which one is your favorite?
I still can’t decide!
Totally want one of these.
Just found this. Love Mick Jones. If you haven’t seen this clip from Rude Boy where he sings Stay Free you should!
In this one he discusses his ’59 Tele, goes through some of the settings on his Princeton amp and finally pulls out his signature Custom Shop Telecaster–one of just two done in “semi-orange.” Also shows off some of his favorite chords. Watch!
Two cool links if you’re into Keith Richards. The first is this page, which details most of Keef’s guitars and amps. The second is this thread on TDPRI, where a member details how he sold Keith Richards a black Telecaster Custom in Texas back in 1975. More pics after the jump!
This guy scored a fairly butchered ’66 Tele off Craigslist and did a full restoration himself. Check out the epic photo thread on TDPRI. Amazing workmanship!
I actually got this MIM Standard Tele a few weeks back, but am finally posting pics now. I bought it off Craigslist for $275. This is the guitar I should have bought first when I started playing again–instead of the cheap Chinese Tele (which I recently gave away). It’s rock solid, has a great sound. On the whole, I’d say it’s slightly better quality than my Blacktop Tele–especially the pots. I’m half considering putting on a vintage bridge and maybe a black pickguard, but I think I’ll play it stock for a while. All I’ve done so far is put on new strings–D’Addario 10-52s (light top, heavy bottom). Pics after the jump with my Blacktop Tele and my Robert Cray Strat.
In my opinion the Telecaster is the coolest guitar ever built. And the original Blackguards? The coolest of the cool. But if you want an original from the early 50s, it’s gonna cost you, big time. So what’s the next best thing? The incredible Blackguard Book by Nacho Banos, which takes a very detailed look at Fender Telecasters built from 1950 to 1954.
The book itself is huge–you better have a strong coffee table! It measures 12″ x 12″ and comes in a hard case. Nacho is only publishing 5500 copies, and they are each given Tele-style serial numbers from 0001 to 5500 (mine is 2095). Inside you will find 50 guitars disassembled and photographed in stunning detail. The book devotes a chapter to each year from 1950 to 1954 and also provides an abundance of technical details on the guitars.
Be warned: this book will increase your GAS. I originally bought it with the idea it would help me spec out a partscaster. But now it has me pretty much sold on a Road Worn 50s Telecaster. Or maybe I should save a little more for a American Vintage ’52. Hmmm….
So should you buy it? Says builder Ron Kirn on TDPRI: “If you’re into Teles and don’t have this book, who ya tryin’ to kid???”
One note on ordering. I got mine for $85 plus $10 shipping from JK Lutherie. It was shipped promptly with no issues. But the site seems to be down at the moment. I’ll update this blog if I get more info.
More pics of the book after the jump!
