Fender Classic Series Classic Player Baja Telecaster Electric Guitar  

Picked up this tele in my local guitar store and played it against American Standards, Oriental versions and thinlines and found this one to be the best bang for it's buck. Bought it for just under $800 and I've loved playing it for the last couple weeks. Honestly, I haven't been able to put it down. I love the 4 way switch selection and the S-1 switch is a handy asset. Part of the reason I bought it was the fact that you can have 8 relatively different sounds; that's what an electric should do for you right? Nice maple neck with decent fret work and came perfectly set up right from the store; guys said they hadn't touched it since it had come in. I was impressed with a Mexican made tele; shocking!

Lovin' everything about this tele, except for the relatively cheap tuners, is fantastic! I plan on eventually changing them out with ones that will stay in tune through all the beating I give it. Love the finish, ash body sounds great, and I'm relatively happy with the stock pickups. A beautiful v-shaped neck that is thick enough to give a great grip and sound but allows me to play the guitar instead of be played by the guitar.

No question is this guitar the best value of a tele that I've found for the $500 - $1000 price range. Compared to American Standards, it's worth the jump up a couple hundred bucks to get this classic from the Fender Custom Shop. 

Only complaints, the tuners and the fact that Fender needs to come out with a much nicer 'deluxe' gig bag. Other than that, fantastic tele! I would recommend the butterscotch blonde version, shows the grain through a little better in my opinion and turns this instrument from great into classic. Stock pick-ups are good, neck is wonderful to play and the fretboard is smooth enough to allow versatile tones. Love the 8 tones from this guitar with the 4-way blade and S-1 switch! If I was to buy another tele in this price range I'd just buy a second Baja!

I finally was able to get my first real Fender.I had read all the reviews and I had picked the Baja

When it arrived and I opened it it was the prettiest guitar I had ever seen.

After that it was all downhill.It took a while to tune.Then I started playing it and checking it out.

I could never get it to sound right.The switching sounded the same in all positions. Then I had to keep tuning to keep it in tune but the sound was always the same.The neck is fat but comfortble.

It was used #1.I tried two more times but it was still the same.So I had to return it.I have never returned anything I t cost me almost a hundred dollars just to return it.

I am 65 years old and took the guitar up after retirement.I had played in the 60s some and always wanted a tele.I have all the classic vibes and they are great guitars,they just don't have Fender on the head stock.The baja was a beautiful guitar but I must have got a bad one.

I will get another Tele soon.They are still the best guitar out there

The S-1 switch is a neat feature, but I personally don't see much use for it.  I removed it and rewired it to standard tele format, but with a 4 way switch.  I do like the 4 way switch and I think that all teles would benefit from it.  When you get down to it, you only need three positions, but the 4 way does increase versatility of the guitar.  I find myself using all 4 positions regularly.  So that parts a keeper.  S-1 had to go though.

At first I didn't like the pickups in this tele.  They were dark and muddy sounding, which I found to be odd from a tele made of ash and maple.  However, once I removed the S-1 switch, and wired it up normally, the pick ups seem to have come alive.  They are very open and clear and crisp.  They sound like high end boutique pups now.  I'm assuming that the S-1 switch had some sort of capacitor value in it that wasn't agreeing with the pups.  I don't know, but whatever it was, I didn't care for it.  If you get this guitar, and find yourself not liking the pups, consider ditching the S-1.  Because these are some really nice sounding pickups.

The guitar is well built. I can't find a single flaw in it. The finish is nice and all components seem to be of good quality and well put together. I would pesonally like to have seen a more transparent blonde color, but you can see some faint traces of wood grain through the finish, as you should.  I replace all the nuts on my guitars (which are all fenders) with bone.  The "synthetic bone" that fender uses does not make good nuts in my opinion.

The guitar will need a set up.  I read all these reviews that say "set up was great right out of the box"....I don't buy it.  I've never seen a mail order guitar that wasn't in need of a serious set up right out of the box.  Even the high end ones.  Do yourself a favor, take it to a qualified tech, spend the money and get the thing set up.  (this includes truss rod adjustment, nut filing and touch up and preferably replacement, fret leveling (some need it some don't) and get the action set to your preference) It'll make you love it that much more because it will play so much better.  Don't kid yourself..it will need set up.  They all do.

The neck is what really sells me on this particular guitar.  It's supposed to be a soft V profile, but I don't see it. Maybe it's the flatter, 9.5 inch radius that makes it seem bigger.   It feels thick and chunky in my hand, and it plays like a dream.  The flatter radius makes it more comfortable to play, and allows for a lower action without fretting out in the upper register.  I absolutley love this neck.  If I could afford it, I'd have Fender custom shop make me necks exactly like this for all my strats and teles.  My only complaint about the neck is that to me, the finish on the back was way too thick.  But a few steel wool treatments will thin it out nicely.  If you do it right you can even get a satin kind of feel to the neck.  Did I mention that I love the neck of this guitar???

I want to make it perfectly clear that I truely love this guitar.  I bought it for the S-1 switching option, and having found that I don't care for that option to much, I've decided to keep the guitar based on the quality of it's build...mainly the neck.  I know some would say that it would make sense to buy a different tele.  I considered that, but I can't seem to part with this neck.  So I decided to mod it out to the way I like it and keep the guitar.

As far as over all value, it's a hard call for me.  If I base it on the sound of the guitar when it is fully stock, then the price is too high.  But, based on the build quality and the super fantastical feel of the neck...then it's a great value.  I would have been happier paying the price I did for this guitar, if it had come exactly like it is but without the S-1 switch.  To me, the S-1 switch is the bane of this guitar.  Everything else is great.

Over all, I've got a great tele.  It sounds just as good or better then my more expensive teles, and it's got the best neck that I've ever played on a guitar.  To me, the S-1 switch was a HUGE disappointment, but in the end, I've got a super nice blonde/black guard tele that plays like a dream.

This guitar is increable.  Period.  I have played it out and all of my bandmates and the people in the crowd agree that it sounds great.  I play Rock, Blues, Country, ect... and it fits very well.  I play this guitar through a Fender Blues Jr for smaller venues and through a 2x12 half stack for the bigger venues.  Being a Tele it sounds great for the courty music but then if you role the volue up and drive the tubes alittle harder you get that black crowe sound.  For the blues just put it on the neck pick up and go. I have always been a gibson guy and then i picked up this fnder and fell in love with it.  Don't get me wrong i love my les pauls but this is great for those songs that are alittle less rock and more country. I highly recomend this guitar to ANYONE, especially someone who is a tone chaser like me because it is very versital and makes dialing in that perfect tone for what ever kind of music much easier.

I sent this guitar back.

This review is on the Desert Sand BAJA Telecaster..The neck is very good on this guitar it felt smooth and Almost like American made Neck. The body was what you would come to expect on a Mexican guitar      nothing special IMO. I was hoping that the S-1 Switching      would make the difference in buying this guitar, But I didn't really find it useful, It sounded okay but for the price save a few more bills and get the American Telecaster. Again this is only my review. I played this with the Fender Blues Jr amp for this review.

Neck was the best part of this guitar, Smooth playing neck good finish on it slighty tinted, The Ash Body was okay at best. I had to tweak the bridge before playing.

overrated