Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar 

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

If you want a guitar that is ready to rock out of the box this guitar is not it.

A customer brought me this guitar to set up today and while I really liked the guitar it was going to need some work.

Problem #1 Intonation
I could not get the intonation set without replacing the current saddles. The saddles can go go far enough back as if the bridge was installed in the incorrect spot.

Problem #2 Tuners
The tuners are very poor and would need replaced. They must have a 8:1 tuners as they are very touchy and makes it hard to get a precise tuning.

Problem #3 Neck and Frets
The neck needed a little adjustment but was unable to get the action really low due to buzz around 14-18 frets. Need to lower those frets.

Over all thoughts:
The overall tone was pretty good for the price and it weight was good. The neck was comfortable. I see a lot of good things in this guitar after you put the work and money in.I told my customer that if he decided to sell it I would buy it, or trade him another guitar or amp for the guitar.

If you enjoy working on your own guitars this is a great project, if you do not want to work on it, or pay others to do it, do not bother with it.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

All the other reviews hit it on the head. If you love the Fender feel and want a baritone, look no further. Just know you'll have to adjust the intonation (as said elsewhere, the bridge isn't placed correctly for the scale length; you won't get perfect intonation without some spring removal/saddle filing). The stock strings were absolute garbage and had no sustain whatsoever. About as much sustain as if I was fretting out constantly. And replacing the tuners with the Fender locking tuners was the icing on the cake. When I pulled mine out of the box, she felt toyish and out of tune. Now she feels like a real, quality instrument. So plan up front for the extra investment on the tuning machines and new strings, and you'll be set to rock and roll.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

First of all, what a great value. It has a really cool sound and for only about five hundred its a bargain. Also for being made in Mexico I don't really have any complaints, it was built really well although it does need a few minor adjustments to make it perfect. I got it in Ghost Gray and the paint job is stunning, not only is it metallic but it will also show shades of blue or purple depending on the light, awesome color. I would definitely buy this guitar again or recommend it to a friend.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

Very decent guitar, especially for the price. Not heavy, and the scale length isn't ridiculously long-- 27" is about right, 30" is for Bass VI stuff. So it doesn't feel like the neck is miles long--- in fact, it just feels like they added one more fret at the nut. You can't play rough, you need good technique or you'll pull or push all the strings (especially the bass strings) out of tune--- badly. But if you remember good technique, it stays tuned, right where you put it. I thought I might miss the whammy, but in fact now I think it's not right for a baritone.

I suppose I could have just gotten a seven string guitar, in order to keep the high E, but Fender doesn't make one and I like Teles. I'm replacing the pickups, I always do that. The guitar is worth the best and it will get them. There's nothing else I'd change except the next set of strings is heavier.

The baritone has to find its place in a tune, between guitar and bass, has to find that hole that needs filling. It takes some time. You can't just grab it and play it like a guitar. It's not meant for that and it doesn't WORK that way. But if you can find that hole, it's real sweet.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

This guitar is a great addition to any guitarists arsenal whether you play on stage professionally or in your bedroom. Out of the box, there are some set up issues that I highly recommend to get this guitar sounding at its best. These are the modifications I made to mine.
TOGGLE SWITCH- I don't need a 5 way toggle switch and personally it makes it difficult to switch pick ups on stage on the fly, so I replaced it with a 3 way Fender Tele switch.
VOLUME KNOBS- This was a matter of preference but I found the volume knobs to be distastefully bulky and cheap feeling so I replaced them chrome knobs.
PICKUPS- This was a must! the pickups in this thing are sub par and had to go! I replaced all three with just two humbuckers in the neck and bridge position, one being a Gibson 490r and the other a 498t.
BRIDGE AND INTONATION- I adjusted the bridge as best I could but there are some intonation issues that need to be dealt with by a professional. The low B string, as many have mentioned in reviews is slightly sharp in pitch. This means that in order to play higher notes, you have to tune it slightly flat to compensate for this. It's barely noticeable but to a trained ear can get obnoxious so I suggest having a luthier file the bridge or remove the spring as I feel its the only option. Moving the bridge further back would've solved this problem when the guitar was built.

OVERALL- This guitar is a high level guitar with a few modifications needing made stashed at a mid level guitar price. I play hard rock (Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Crossfade, etc) and use this instrument as my main stage guitar. It really packs a punch and in my opinion is the best baritone on the market right now.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

The Guitar needed some setup when I opened the box, to be expected. When I peeled the protective plastic off the pickguard a small piece of the top laminate came off with it. About an inch of the guard. Musicians friend said I could return the guitar, but I opted to keep it. I'll contact Fender directly to get a replacement guard. Other than that the guitar is great!

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

I do like this guitar mainly because the neck and fretboard play like a dream, however it needs serious work straight out of the box before this will be ready for the studio/stage.

1) The tuners HAVE to go. Like other reviewers have said, they're completely inappropriate for a baritone guitar and make fine tuning the guitar a total pain. 18:1 gear ratios are in order ASAP.

2) There simply isn't enough room on the bridge to properly intonate the guitar. You will have to have a guitar tech either file down the bridge or remove the spring.

3) The electronics aren't bad. The neck pickup is a bit muddy, but I like the bridge quite a bit.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

If you are looking for a good baritone do not hesitate to buy this beauty. The copper color is flawless. Its just a plus that this MIM is affordable as well. This is most definately a real guitar. I have mine tuned to drop C and the bridge pickups screams!!! This guitar can be very deep, bassy, muddy on the neck and then change to crunchy warm with the flick of a switch.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

I bought this guitar as a complement to my mains: something to knock about with for a fresh perspective. For this purpose it works great, providing solid sound, and a fun and interesting playing experience. It has certainly given me some new ideas.

However I have to say that out of the box it is not a professional instrument, and will require some modification before it becomes a serious working guitar:

1) The low B string cannot be properly intonated without modification to the bridge. You'll get close, but not spot on. This issue has been noted elsewhere and is not specific to my guitar. There is simply not enough room on the bridge. I'm considering various fixes: clipping or removing the spring, filing the saddle, or moving/replacing the bridge itself. I wouldn't say this problem makes the guitar unplayable unless you're an absolute tuning purist, but does require some workaround "tempering," for example tuning the open low B a tiny bit flat to compensate for the unavoidable sharpness higher up, or tuning to specific keys/positions.

2) I've only had it about three months, but I'm already itching to replace the pickups and electronics. The pots and switch have a delicate, fragile, well...cheap feel. (And those big ugly "Blacktop" knobs had to go!) I haven't heard any extra noise yet, but it won't surprise me when it comes.

The pickups are pedestrian at best, at least to my ear. They work ok: I can pull some cool tones out of them owing to the baritone construction, a basic richness that can be enhanced with a decent amp/attentive EQ (a bass cabinet is a plus). But the stock pickups lack real character. They just don't have a distinct voice, and so feel somewhat like placeholders. This is particularly noticeable at high gain settings. I haven't been able to get a really satisfyingly heavy down-tuned "stoner rock" sound out of this guitar quite yet: I'm probably going to go for some higher-output Duncans in my quest for this. (A good 7-string might be a better choice if that's what you're after too.)

3) The tuners are probably inappropriate for a baritone. Tuning present difficulties that a higher gear ratio (16:1 or 18:1) would probably rectify.

Having said all that, it is a solidly built guitar in terms of its basic craftsmanship. A proper set-up and fret dressing is probably called for, but this is true of most new guitars of course. It's well-finished, comfortable, well-balanced, and quite a bit of fun to play. The neck feels like a Fender should, but with a little extra heft: smooth and solid and substantial. Given the dearth of baritone models, it's definitely worth a try if you have the extra scratch and want to play with some new sounds, but be advised that you will probably have to put it under the knife before you are completely happy with it.

Comments about Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster Electric Guitar:

NOTE: If you are going to buy this guitar, be aware that it will not fit in a standard size case. The M.F. sales person did not know this! You need to buy the Gator HSC for long guitars ($99).

I started as a bass player, and switched to guitar, so I expected this to be somewhere in between. Be aware, this is a cool, unusual guitar, but cannot really substitute for a bass in any real applications.

So this guitar is a blast to play. Out of the box is has a chompy low, Texas blues sound. You will sound more live Stevie Ray Vaughn with this guitar than any strat. The advantages of this guitar are playing clean, or slightly fuzzed. Heavy distortion does not really fit this guitar well. The longer scale is not a problem, and the string tension is low enough that the heavier strings are hardly noticeable. You can bend the heck out of the strings with good tone.

On the down side, this is really a low-mid level guitar. There is some string buzz which will be addressed by my guitar guy soon. The tuning pegs are of a lower quality than is really useful for serious playing.

My plans for this guitar are to: 1) go with a heavier gauge string set (0.14-.068); add a Bigbsy tailpiece (for telecaster); add a bone nut; possibly change bridge pickup; add locking high quality tuners.

In all, a fun guitar, and really a hidden gem - if you have more than two guitars, you should get one of these!