Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar  (Used)

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

I concur with Mr. Johnson from MD who wrote an excellent review prior. I had previously owned this guitar, then sold it to a friend who had fallen in love with it. I regretted it and bought another. Reason; simply put,this may be a MIM, but Fender came up with a gem at a great price. The neck is smooth and fast. Mine seems like a thicker "C", but I like a healthier feeling neck for my style of music play. The Wide Range HB in my humble opinion sounds great, but each of us has our own tastes. Yes, this is a 3 bolt neck guitar, but I've never had an issues with them. I don't toss or swing my guitar but do shake and pull back for tone emphasis, and still I've never had an issue. I did mod the guitar with a Callaham made Vintage T-bridge with brass saddles at the suggestion of my luthier buddy. It has given my guitar a brighter and longer sustain quality which I prefer on my guitars as I can always darken by adjusting the tone knobs. I own other Fenders, G&L, Epi's, Gibsons, Taylor, and Martin, and still would rate this MIM Tele as a favorite. In a recent article I read that even the pros use more MIM's than they we realize. After all, the money is in the USA mades. Not knowing, as I own USA mades as well, but happy with the Fender MIM's. For the price, you can't go wrong with this guitar.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

Take this with a grain or grains of salt. I'm no pro but, I know the sound that I like...and with my equipment, it just fell short.

I have a mex strat, (bought used) and it has flattened out, also. I have put some coin into trying to retrieve the sound that I used to get but, decided enough was enough. Hence, this purchase. I returned this one and went for the American Standard. Only been a few days now but, I think the Standard is going to make my ears happy again!!!

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

Always wanted one of these since seeing Keith Richards play one around 1981 when I was first starting to play. Got mine over the Fourth of July weekend from Musician's Friend (super fast delivery, THANKS!) and was very pleased with the overall fit and finish - beautiful sunburst, beautifully grained alder, solid neck pocket joint, screws were straight and flush, really well assembled. I'd especially praise the beautiful, dark rosewood fretboard. Just gorgeous. Sorry, Gibson! Where I would slap Fender quality control is that two of the three leads off the three way switch were missing solder connections. Someone had simply threaded the wire through the pot lug and twisted it to hold, yet never applied any solder. First impression playing was a scratchy switch that ruined my first test drive. Bummer. I would note that the pickup cavities and routes are not shielded, this is not necessarily a dig at Fender, I think they were probably just doing the 1972 thing and not using the shielding paint they apply on their modern guitars. The guitar is a decent player as is, but the guitar needed a full set up including truss rod adjustment and the fret ends needed to be filed down. Given the wiring issue and the lack of even a "rough in" set up (all the saddles required MAJOR adjustment)I can't go more than three stars for this guitar at this price point. Very nice but a little more attention to detail, huh, Fender? For those thinking about using the guitar as a modding platform, consider swapping out the Fender replica Wide Range Humbucker and the volume and tone pots for that pickup as well as the factory steel saddles which are not compensated for intonation. The 72 Custom covers a lot of ground from Blues to Classic Rock and even approaches a hollow body, jazz sound if I dial in the pickups just right. Glad I made the purchase, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, just be aware there may be some bugs in the works.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

I got this guitar (a used "mint" condition) and this was absolutely the best purchase I have made from Musicians Friend. Four of my six guitars have been from MF and by far this trumps all of them. To begin,
I got this guitar (a used "mint" condition) and this was absolutely the best purchase I have made from Musicians Friend. Four of my six guitars have been from MF and by far this trumps all of them. To begin, the packing was better than any of my other four axes, and even if UPS ended up dropping it, I don't think it would have affected it. There were no issues when I opened the box and I think this was a return from someone who may have been unhappy with the colors, because it has a maple neck and the darker 3-color SB. Their loss is my gain, because this was the exact look I wanted.

The neck on this is thinner than even the thinlines I have tried out. Once I plugged this into my Marshall travel amp, I was hooked and literally have no idea why someone would spend the extra $800 for one made in America (and I am very much a "Buy American FIRST"). The 'bucker and single pickup give the most perfect sound you can ask for in one guitar. My Les Paul Custom doesn't come close to this, so now I'm torn between my MIM Fender or LP Gold Top but have been playing the 72 Tele since I got it.

Action on the guitar was absolutely perfect, from what I can tell so far. The vintage bridge gives a great look with the sunburst, and I already mentioned the pick ups and humbucker. The most annoying part about this guitar is the plastic protection tape on the pick guard. I didn't have my screwdriver on me and still havent been able to get all the plastic off the guitar.

If you want an absolutely great guitar for blues, rock, ballads to play on stage or just hanging out, this is THE guitar.
I got this guitar (a used "mint" condition) and this was absolutely the best purchase I have made from Musicians Friend. Four of my six guitars have been from MF and by far this trumps all of them. To begin, the packing was better than any of my other four axes, and even if UPS ended up dropping it, I don't think it would have affected it. There were no issues when I opened the box and I think this was a return from someone who may have been unhappy with the colors, because it has a maple neck and the darker 3-color SB. Their loss is my gain, because this was the exact look I wanted.

The neck on this is thinner than even the thinlines I have tried out. Once I plugged this into my Marshall travel amp, I was hooked and literally have no idea why someone would spend the extra $800 for one made in America (and I am very much a "Buy American FIRST"). The 'bucker and single pickup give the most perfect sound you can ask for in one guitar. My Les Paul Custom doesn't come close to this, so now I'm torn between my MIM Fender or LP Gold Top but have been playing the 72 Tele since I got it.

Action on the guitar was absolutely perfect, from what I can tell so far. The vintage bridge gives a great look with the sunburst, and I already mentioned the pick ups and humbucker. The most annoying part about this guitar is the plastic protection tape on the pick guard. I didn't have my screwdriver on me and still havent been able to get all the plastic off the guitar.

If you want an absolutely great guitar for blues, rock, ballads to play on stage or just hanging out, this is THE guitar.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

Just purchased a reissue "72 Tele Custom. I bought it to match a "72 reissue Strat I have, both are in the traditional 3 color sunburst color and they look really nice sitting side by side. The Tele is well made, low action, nice fit and finish can't complain. The tone/sound of it, isn't nearly what I had expected from a hummbucker neck pickup and a single coil bridge pickup. I rarely use the bridge pickup on any of my guitars, so I'm always on the neck pickup or a combination of the neck and middle pickup (like on a Strat, 4th, 5th position on the switch). The Tele sounds very thin, not much power, and kinda clunky on the hummbucker. I was expecting a traditional hummbucker sound, and this guitar ain't got it. Don't know what I'm going to do next, get rid of it, or install a better hummbucker. You'd think for the price, Fender would put a decent pickup on this thing. I don't think this guitar sounds anything like they did in 1972. Yes I WAS around in 1972, 21 years old then, been playing for about 7 years by then. Bottom line, I don't think Fender did a very good job in re-creating this guitar.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

I purchased this model because I regrettably sold my original sunburst Tele Custom twenty years ago, having originally purchased it in 1976. It brought back so many memories for me. With the exception of having a 3 saddle bridge on this one instead of 6-saddle that came with my '76 model (and a bit less blonde color in the sunburst design), this puppy is almost identical to my original.

I always liked the smaller headstock, larger humbucker and more modern controls of the custom model over the standard Tele.

Having never purchased a guitar on-line before, I really didn't know what to expect as far as how the product would be packaged for shipment. My fears were erased when the package arrived at my door in great condition. Since I had purchased the vintage hard shell case with my order, my guitar was carefully packed in the case and then placed in a standard box.

Simply put; Have complete confidence that your instrument will receive the utmost care from the fine folks at Musician's Friend during the packaging phase!

If you're looking for a truely exceptional value in a Fender guitar, I highly recommend this model.
Can't beat the classic features of the Custom model. Love the smaller headstock, pickup selection and more modern look of the control set, etc.
Having never purchased a guitar on-line before, I really didn't know what to expect as far as how the product would be set-up upon arrival. I therefore now assume that most if not all guitars shipped from the supplier will need to be adjusted upon arrival. I had to adjust the truss rod, set the string innotation and height (action) before getting it to my preferred feel and settings.

However, once set, I fell in love with this model all over again!
Very good value if you're looking for a true Fender classic!

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

This guitar is a tone monster, if you want to pull a tone out of this guitar (the exception being modern metal tones) this is the guitar for you. I play rock, country, and jazz gigs and this guitar kicks me in the gut tone-wise every time. My only issue, which is really a non issue for any guitarist was having to get it set up. I own several Gibsons and several Fenders (American made) and this guitar holds its own and than some.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

I own several Fenders and Taylor acoustic electric guitars, and a couple of Epiphones. I also hear the negative comments about the MIM being inferior. I can tell you from owning them, that buying MIM may be inferior for other brands, but Fender shows no weakness when it comes to putting together their's. The 72 Tele Custom is a dynamite guitar, offering the option of a humbucker and single pick. I've dialed in my amps for each guitar I own, and this Tele is nothing but pure joy. The price is excellent to boot.

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

I don't understand the reviewers on here who complain about the pickups and the tuners on this guitar. I haven't had any issues with either; the guitar has to be re-tuned occasionally, but no more than any other guitar that I've played. As for the pickups, they do what they're supposed to do. The humbucker gives you the thick, more harmonically complex sound, while the bridge gives you the Tele scream. If yours isn't screaming, perhaps you need to change your amp and/or pedal settings; I play through a pretty mediocre Peavey Express 110 that I bought back in 1995 with Boss Super Overdrive and Digital Delay pedals. It sounds fantastic to me. This is a great guitar. Yes, it's made in Mexico. Yes, you'd be doing more for the American economy if you bought an American Special (a model that I also own and recommend). For the money, though, this is a fantastic instrument and if you're seriously thinking about buying one, I'd say 'go for it.'

Comments about Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom Electric Guitar:

After first starting with an LTD M-1000, then moving to a Gibson Explorer, I can confidently say that this guitar is my favorite guitar I've ever owned. It blows those other two out of the water with playability, versatility, and just a wide range of dynamic tones that you can conjure out of an instrument. It's a gorgeous guitar and I love everything about it.