Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar 

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

Texas Special Bridge seems to me too abrupt sometimes, even considering that it's a Tele. However, the guitar is great.

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

This Tele is a great instrument from the Fender "Special" line. Mine is a 2012 model (according to serial number). Five yrs ago, I had a bad experience with a Hwy One Strat (another Special line) and did not like the satin nitro finish (thin and easy to mar), the 'one way' truss rod (put 10's on and you're going to have a neck bow to some degree) and the middle pickup was always on and switch gave a bad static 'pop' when switching from position 1 to 2. They must've listened to the PEOPLE this time for real. THIS new "Special" model is just that. Special! I never used to like triple saddle teles because they were never set up well and had all sorts of buzz or the action was too high, etc.. This guitar was set up from the factory right and has renewed my confidence in this type of 'vintage bridge'..They even used real brass for better tone. The attention to detail on this guitar is fantastic for it's price range. I appreciate the high gloss finish, the well manicure nut (no buzz!), stable tuners (tighten the buttons some and it'll be even better), the fairly light weight body (weighed in just about 8lbs or slightly under), neck and body are well balanced..The 25 1/2 inch scale and big 22 jumbo frets give great intonation, even on this so called 'twangy' guitar. It has just the right amount of twang without sacrificing intonation, which I'm very fussy about. I play clean..all the time.. I really know a guitar is great if it holds it's resonance against me while playing ..unplugged, acoustically. I do that with my G&L USA Strat, and I can do that with THIS Tele. Beautiful resonance...that lasts! Once new strings settle, it holds it's intonation very well. This guitar is a pleasure to practice on quietly without plugging in. It has a nice 'acoustic' sound. Pinch harmonics sound great and have a lovely Tele 'whine' (even unplugged). Frets were smooth on edges, too. I polished mine with 0000 steel wool and they're super smooth and 'slides' are fast and every note rings clear up the fretboard. Personally, I may modify electronics, but not because they are 'bad', but only because I'm curious what a different pickup configuration will offer in tone (500k pots, mini hum, orange drop capacitors, etc). I won't comment on the Greasebucket tone circuit, because I simply don't have enough info or experience with it. Great thing about vintage white color is you can get a custom pickquard of ANY type and it'll look fantasmo! All in all a great guitar for the money, I suppose asking for a hardshell case is asking too much, but I picked this one up local and didn't have to worry about shipping it in a GIG bag. If I did buy from MF, I would *invest* in a hardshell case if I could. It's definately worth protecting the investment. Buy with confidence. I am not a Fender or MF employee, btw. Just a woman who's been playing for 31 yrs, gone through 37 guitars in 25 yrs and knows what's good. :)

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

I have been playing for a couple of years and I practice everyday. I started with the Gibson line of guitars. I have a SG, Les Paul (Standard), and a 335.

I picked up a strat (American of course) and loved it. I still use the Gibsons, but I prefer the Fender guitar.

So I went to guitar center and picked up every Tele in the store. And I have found the maple neck is a must and this Tele sounds the best for my purposes. Highly recommended!!! My point is... It has a awesome tone, great feel and I play it everyday!!!

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

Of all the Fender guitars I have owned over the years (at least 2 dozen or more), this is the best, Tele or Strat. The price is what got me to look and ultimate buy, but the quality and tone is what keeps me playing it. If you are looking for a quality Tele, American or not, definitely check this out.
This guitar has all the twang and spank one would expect from an American Telecaster.
I am rating high on Quality. I can not get enough of this guitar. The weight is perfect, neck is smooth and fast and the paint is gorgeous. Yeah, the paint! I bought the white (really a cream color). I can see the "orange peel" dimples in the paint. It looks amazing.
The "Special" line is an awesome value. In the case of the Tele, the bridge and hard shell case are sacrificed to keep the cost down. I love the brass bridge though. There is no comparison between this Tele and my Road Worn Strat. The RW Strat is cool, but this is a much nicer instrument and at the same price. This is no-nonsense, quality guitar.

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

Overall I have so much praise for this guitar I cant even put it into words... check it out for yourself
Everyone is saying "its just a tele," but that doesn't mean its not special. The pickups sound great, especially the neck pickup. The jumbo frets make playing very easy and smooth. Just an amazingly designed guitar
It's American made... nuff said
Great value, I love this guitar

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

At that price point where the specials are in the ballpark of a standard quality control needs to be better on the american specials.Not trying to knock fender to much i do love there guitars have 3 of them but to me a USA made Fender should be the very best
Not much just a tele.
Had one in white two days ago returned it 3 hours later had problems tuning guitar and staying in tune i gave the guitar a look over before i returned it noticed neck pocket to body was not that good and the nut could have been the problem didn't look to be cut that good.The guitar set-up was very bad (store is to blame also not just fender) returned it for a american standard very very happy with the standard great tele! Here is the thing i paid for a USA made fender and the guitar was a lemon maybe i just hit a bad one to me if a tele or strat is stamped usa made the quality should have been there.Now for the american standard quality was spot on.
To me the american standard or deluxe are the ones to buy for the little extra cash get the standard if you think by saving a few bucks and the specials will be as good as a standard you might be surprised.

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

A great guitar!
I have owned this guitar in the sunburst finish for a little over a year now so I have a pretty good understanding of what this guitar can do. First off, the neck is awesome. Smooth finish with no gloss makes it very fast and hand friendly. Maple fretboard is very responsive, fast and compliments the pickups tone. The two Texas single coils are distinctive sounding in all three positions. The bridge position has a great twang just like a Tele should have. This pickup is also great for more overdriven solo lines. The middle position has a clasic electric guitar sound that Leo Fender would be proud of. When you roll back the tone knob the greasebucket tone circuit makes this middle position sound a little more mellow for an almost p-90 sound. The neck pickup is probably my favorite one to use. When clean it is very responsive and great for blues, fingerpicking sounds and mellow lines. Overdriven it is pretty warm still, but the type that might have been used in late Beatles recordings by Harrison. This guitar is very solid and has survived a few drops and scrapes with almost no apparent damage. The sunburst finish is beautiful. The gloss is not too thick on top, but keeps the guitar nice and shiny looking. Overall, this is the best guitar I have ever owned yet and it is the fifth one. I really do not know what else I could ask for in an electric guitar.
Incredible value, get them while the prices are still reasonably low. This guitar seems like an American because it is!

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

This is a wonderful guitar.

I am not a professional player, but I have been playing for almost thirty years and over the last few years I have been getting more serious about playing and have acquired a number of nice guitars to which I can compare the American Special Telecaster (AST).

The AST has great pickups. When I plug it in after playing my 2005 American Deluxe Stratocaster, it is noticably louder. While it doesn't have the tonal range of the Stratocaster, the Greasebucket tone does allow for quite a bit of variety. It has the same level of volume and bite as the pickups on my 2010 Traditional Plus Les Paul, which is also louder than the Stratocaster, although has the distictly crunchier and fatter Gibson sound than the AST's twanginess. To my ear, the harmonics (squeal-ability) on the AST fall between the Les Paul and the Stratocaster.

The bridge on the AST intonated perfectly out of the box and the action was low, whereas on my Stratocaster it took considerable time and effort to get the individual saddles set up (but once I did, it was dead-on and has stayed that way). On the AST, I lowered the saddles slightly and tightened the truss rod a half turn, and that was it.

The AST feels solid. The finish is as good as on my Stratocaster (which chips if you smack it), but obviously not as nice as on the Plus top Les Paul. The hardware is all very nice. Nothing on the guitar looks or feels "budget model". I find myself reaching for the AST more than the Stratocaster or the Les Paul, which both cost over twice as much. By comparison, my Gibson Melody Maker - although it plays nicely and also came set up well - looks and feels like a much cheaper guitar, even though it doesn't cost much less than the AST.

Fantastic value. I can't think of a better American-made guitar out there in the price range. Fender may have one-upped some of its more expensive models with this guitar. I'm no investment advisor, but I'd encourage you to buy one before they discontinue it or raise the price!

Lastly, The 2011 AST has a '60 Years - Telecaster - 1951-2011' neck plate, which adds to its cool factor.

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

I have owned this guitar for about 6 months now, and it is amazing! It sounds great, the intonation is great, but the action is just a little low when it is first bought (as with every other guitar) and has fret buzz. Nothing that a nice set up can't fix! The pick ups sound great for jazz, blues, rock, etc anything except metal.

Comments about Fender American Special Telecaster Electric Guitar:

if your on the fence on this one like i was go ahead and get it.this guitar rocks, i adjusted the pickup height and put some 10's on it and omg!! wish it came with hard case though.