Conference napalm::guitar

    
    I'd say $300, max.

    RE: .1
    
    Brian's price is fair.....I think you can still buy an "american
    standard" Tele for under $450 with case if ya find a dealer that'll
    dicker. I KNOW you can get one for under $500.
    
    Steve D.

    Would there be any features/qualities/oddities that would make it
    more valuable? I'll have it in my hands in a week to check out. It
    was displayed at a vintage sale for $450. I can get it for $400
    from an inside source. I'm told by my cousin (the inside source)
    that it is an ok deal. My cousin is much more knowledgeable than
    I about older stuff as he is a collector of vintage gear. He actually
    contacted me 3 months ago when he first saw the guitar and thought
    it might be a good axe for me as I lean toward the blues. I do trust
    that my cousin would not steer me wrong but it looks like I need
    to do more research. 
                                                   Joe

    Is it a vintage re-issue?  I'm not sure about the yeats, but I understand
    Fender re-issued '57 and '62 Strats and 'xx? Teles.  I believe one of
    the distinguishing marks of the Tele re-issue is the Bakelite
    pickguard:  the stuff looks like black plastic, but is more brittle.
    I'm pretty certain the cream body and maple neck are two attributes of
    the re-issue.
    
    If it is a re-issue, then there should be a certificate from Fender
    stating that fact.
    
    Regards,
    John Kelly
    

    Seems like it did have a black pickguard (havn't seen it for a couple
    of months). I'll have more info in a couple of days. Any other things
    that I should look for? Maybe I should get a book on Fenders. Any
    suggestions in that area? 
                                              thanks,
                                              Joe

    
    
    
    	I just looked in my Fender instrument book and I didn't see
    anything that would distinguish an 83 tele.... at least from a
    collectable point of view.  I'm (obviously) not an expert on guitars,
    but if you're looking for a collection guitar, I don't think you could
    go wrong with an 80s tele.. I feel like Fender instruments are going to
    keep going up in value (although I wish the heck they'd stay affordable
    for hack musicians like me)  AND... I believe that teles in particular
    will become more popular in the 90s... as they become recognized as the
    "axe of choice" with more and more famous artists..  (I usually charge
    for these predictions... will you be paying by check or credit card ;^)
    
    
    	If you are looking for a musical instrument to play (trust me, I
    knoooooooow what I'm talking about on this one)... sit down and play it
    for a while, borrow it, play with friends, etc.....   see if it has a
    sound that's pleasant to you and one that fits the style of music that
    you play....  then decide whether to buy it or not.
    
    	I just finished shopping for a new strat and everyone that I played
    sounded different... of course, that me, and I'm a very sick person..
    
    	Good luck, hope you enjoy the tele
    
    
    
    Steve

    
    I have a 1971 Telecaster and I can share some of my experiences
    with you.
    
    First of all, I love my Telecaster, especially now that I have
    modified it a little. I replaced the original neck pickup with
    a Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder. This transformed it into a very
    strong contender. The original neck pickup on a Telecaster has
    much lower output than the bridge pickup. This results in a very
    thin sound (in neck position) and a very bright sound (in the
    mix position). The Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder is a single coil
    pickup, the same physical size as the original, and it drops in
    in a matter of minutes with no routing or irreversable mods.
    
    	When I first bought my Tele, the guys in the band I was playing
    hated the sound of it. They begged me to leave it home and use my
    Strat for gigs. I prefer the neck on a Tele to that of a Strat.
    
    	Telecasters are good for some things and not-so-good at other
    things. For example, Telecasters are great for getting a pedal-steel
    sound by grabbing a pair of strings and bending one. Telecasters are
    not very good for playing slide (in my humble opinion) due to the
    neck radius. The Strat seems to be the guitar of choice for slide
    due to the flatter neck. If you are looking for a clean country sound,
    the Telecaster is a good choice, but if you wish to overdrive an amp
    to get a Marshall crunch, you're better off with a guitar that has
    dual coil humbucking pickups. I do not advocate hacking up ANY guitar
    to switch from single coil pickups to humbuckers. Many people do it,
    but to me it's not a very good practice, especially considering the
    huge selection of guitar models available at very affordable prices
    in every configuration imaginable. 
    
    As far as a 1983 Telecaster is concerned, I wouldn't consider a late 
    model Tele to be collectable at all, unless it was built by Fender's
    custom shop with some unique features/finish. To me, a late model Tele 
    is a good utility instrument, and is a pretty good value considering 
    all the instruments with $1000+ pricetags. To me, a collectable instrument 
    is one which is relatively hard to replace. A late model Tele is a cinch 
    to replace. Drop in any music store, and you can buy one off the rack.
    "Collectable" Tele's would include '48 Broadcasters, Nocasters, early 50's 
    models, Thinlines, most of which would carry very high pricetags. A few 
    years ago, you could get American made Fender Teles and Strats for
    $300 and up. Today, it seems these instruments are selling much higher.
    
    Most people feel that American made Fenders are much better than their
    Japanese couterparts, but this is not true in most cases. American made
    Fenders do hold their resale value better than Japanese made (at least 
    on the US market), but the overall quality is about the same for both.
    It is hard to fully understand the differances because Fender has so
    many differant product lines (Squire, Contemporary, re-issues,
    Standard, American Standard, etc). If you compare the Standard Japanese
    product with the Standard US product, they are almost identical. I have
    heard that virtually *ALL* vintage reissued guitars are now made in 
    Japan. Can anyone verify/dispute this ??
     
	Hope this helps.
    	Mark Jacques
    

    
    "Vintage Series" Strats, Teles and basses are all US made.  The
    reissued Jazzmasters, Tele Customs (binding, rosewood neck) are Japanese.  
    
    To confuse the issue, I've just seen mention of a "reissue" series,
    Strats and Teles called in "50s" and "60s" versions (note that the
    *Vintage* models are labeled 52, 57, 62, i.e. specific years).  No idea
    where these are made, but I'd certainly guess Japan.
    
    							Brian

    Yes, I just spotted a vintage re-issue Strat in a music store
    (rosewood neck, cool Sonic Blue finish).  When I asked the price,
    I was told $499.  This is dramatically less than I thought Fender
    vintage models were selling for.  Turns out it's a made-in-Japan
    vintage re-issue.
    
    Btw, except for the name and the shape of the headstock, this guitar
    seemed exactly like the Fernandes vintage Strat copies I've seen.
    My guess is that these guitars are being manufactured by the same
    factory/people.  This is a plus for someone looking for an authentic
    vintage copy; Fernandes and Tokai vintage copies have always seemed
    to me to be truer to real vintage Strats than the American made Fender
    re-issues.
    
    /rick

    I'm not sure what Japanese outfit is manufacturing for Fender, but
    I am under the impression that they have either bought out an
    established Japanese firm, or have entered into a captive contract
    with one (in other words, they only make products for Fender).
    I could be totally wrong.  
    
    I have a soft cover book at home about the Stratocaster (red cover). 
    This book is dated in the early 80's so it is not quite current. 
    Anyways they claimed that the first reissued guitars were made in US, 
    but were not very authentic. The next series of vintage reissues were 
    Japanese made, and were extremely close to the originals. Then they 
    started making reissues in both the US and Japan, but they marketed 
    the US made versions in the US and the Jap versions worldwide (except 
    US). Fender seems to be intentionally muddying the waters with all
    kinds of differant product lines.
    
    Another company that is following in Fenders footsteps is Gibson.
    Gibson owns Epiphone, and is now putting the Epi name on a line of
    Korean made instruments which includes  the Emperor, Sheridan (both
    of which are old Epi models), Les Paul copies, SG copies, and the
    Accu-Bass which has a Precision body with a mutant Fender neck.
    All of the Epiphones I have seen offer great value. I am surprised
    that Gibson (or St Louis Music, Gibson's parent company) are not
    marketing the Epi line very aggressively. It could become a very
    popular line with the right ad campaign. The Accu-Bass sells for a
    mere $219 with gig bag. The SG std copy is a mere $319. The rest
    are priced to sell at around $500.
    
    The guitar market can easily be compared with the motorcycle market.
    There are tons of really hot bikes that are made in Japan, and sell
    for reasonable prices, but most of the old hard-line bikies still
    prefer Harley Davidson. Even when Harley was owned by AMF (and was
    building the worst bikes on the road) faithful HD riders continued
    buying them for ridiculous prices. The Harley Davidson of today is
    owned by it's corporate employees, and they are making an excellant
    bike (but pricey). They have introduced the new "Evolution" engine
    which many people are raving about. Fender and Gibson both went
    through phases where they were owned by an uncaring conglomarate.
    In Fender's case it was CBS, and in Gibson's case it was Norlin. 
    CBS screwed up Fender's reputation by cost-reducing the line, 
    introducing a Solid-state line of amps, adding the micro-tilt
    neck and bullet truss rods, etc. Norlin screwed up the Gibson
    reputation by forcing them to add a volute to the headstock on
    most models, and in general by cost-reducing and lowering the
    overall quality control standards. I believe that both companies
    had short term profits in mind, and were not concerned with
    longevity.
    
    Mark
    

        So I goes to pick up the tele to try out for a few days, But
    guess what? It was sold the day before for $425. If I had got there
    first it would have been mine for $400. Well now I've changed my
    sights a little bit. I have my eye on a Schecter w/Bartallini pickup
    and a maple neck. It looks like a Tele for the most part. I do like
    the pickup as it has a switch to change from humbucker to single
    and gives me boths sounds. Its a little rougher looking but thats
    ok cause if a wall stumbles into me while I'm playing and bangs it a
    little it wont bother me to bad. Price $250 but still working to
    get it lower. Any ideas on this piece? Thanks for all the previous
    info folks.
                                                       joe
    
    
    

I tried a Schecter once and it ROCKED !

It had old DiMarzzio Super Distortions in it and a Floyd.  Looked like
a strat, but it didn't feel like one.

jc

    Pete Townsend plays Schecter Tele's.
    
    	joe.

       
       
       
       
       
       Is anybody playing the G & L ASAT?  It looks like a Tele to me
       but it's built by Leo's new company.  I'm looking for comments
       (especially from Telecaster players) and prices.
       
       
       
       
       
       

    I don't have an ASAT, but I played one a few years ago and really liked
    it.  It was one of the best feeling Tele style guitars I'd played.  
    
    I remember seeing some TV show on Leo Fender awhile back where he
    talked about the design of the stock pickups in the ASAT.  He listed
    these as one of his inventions and said the design was patented.  It's
    supposed to have less magnetic pull on the strings, higher output, and
    less succeptability to hum.  I don't honestly remember much about the
    pickups except that I thought they were ugly and kind of cheap looking.
    
    I have no idea how much the guitars cost, I have seen one in a few
    years.
    
    Greg

    RE - ASAT pickups ...
    
    Kinda sounds like Lace Sensors, huh ?
    
    Scary

    The intent is the same, but the implementation is different.
    
    Greg

    Anyone heard of a Tele that came stock with a Bigsby tremelo?  A friend
    of mine's looking at one and never heard of a stock Bigsby.
    
    Thanks,
    Greg

    I believe I have seen these in some old fender advertising reprinted
    in Tom Wheelers book. Never seen one "up close & personal though".
    
    How about one with a Bigsby AND a Clarence white string bender?
    Wouldn't that be too hot to handle? :+)

    Re: .18
    
    Teles with Bigsbys were available from sometime in the sixties up into
    the early seventies straight from the factory.  It required use of a
    different bridge plate than a standard Tele.  In any case, they are not
    very common.
    
    						Merle Travesty

    I saw a Tele with a Bigsby in the late 70's...the lead player for a
    great Boston-based country band, Wheatstraw, was using it.  The
    player's name is Rocky Stone.  I played his guitar and asked him about
    the Bigsby: he said he bought the guitar with it already installed, so
    it's not clear if it was a factory option.

    Great!  Thanks guys!  As usual, you are a wealth of good information!
    
    Greg

     Years ago I played one o' them Telecasters with a Bigsby on it
     at Marlboro Music. It came that way from Fender. The thing I
     remember clearly about it was, the bridge was the same as the
     one on my Fender Jaguar I owned at the time.

     Neal