Fender FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar 

Comments about Fender FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar:

I bought my 5th one in apple sparkle and what a looker. Musicians Friend is the only one that sells it in this color. I love the neck,looks,and sound of these guitars and get complaments every time I open the case. I play it through a mustang iv and couldn't be more happy. Thanks again Musicians Friend

Comments about Fender FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar:

My fouth 2012 deluxe. The retro looks with the green sparkle makes for a great looking guitar. Sounds great clean and dirty. Not a big deal but would of liked to have the felt washers between strap buttons and body. I've never unerstood why when you have the volume and tone knobs turned to 10 the letering is upside down on all fenders, there is a reason but i don't what it is.All in all i love this guitar.

Comments about Fender FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar:

I really like humbuckers and this fender has them. I have a american telecaster standard but I wanted one with humbuckers. Setup good out of box. MIM is good for the beginner. The only thing I don't like is the fret ends as I think they are too sharp.

Comments about Fender FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe Electric Guitar:

This Telecaster has a unique sound with Fender's Wide Range Humbuckers. They have a "thicker" sound than single coil pickups, but they are also not quite as thick-sounding as Gibson PAF-type humbuckers that are commonly found on Gibsons, Epiphones, and even Fender's own Blacktop series guitars.

Many think of a 72 Telecaster Deluxe as Fender's competitor to a Les Paul, or other solid body, two humbucker guitar. To some degree it is, but Fender's take, sounds, well, "more chimey". Part of this is the different pickup design of the Fender Wide Range Humbuckers, and also that this guitar has a longer scale length than a Les Paul, and a bolt on neck, instead of a Les Paul set neck. These construction and spec details make some difference in the sounds of this Telecaster, and also account for part of the reason Gibson/Epiphone guitars sound different from Fender guitars in general.

The build and finish quality of my Surf Green Flake FSR 1972 Telecaster Deluxe is excellent. The parts seem well made and feel fairly solid and substantial to the hand. Everything looks and seems built as it should be on my example. The only thing I had to do with this guitar, was adjust the action a bit to my particular preferences. A good set up (action and if necessary truss rod adjustment) after receipt of guitar, should make this guitar extremely playable if it isn't immediately out of box. With the flake finish, this is a guitar that will get noticed, but also retains a classic kind of vibe, and doesn't look obnoxious. In a dark(ish) club, this guitar will shimmer a bit, depending on the light, but it's not like you're playing a giant, ostentatious, electrified Swarovski crystal. Whatever your assesment of the pictures are, in the real world, this is not a gaudy, over the top looking guitar, in my opinion.

The tones on this guitar are quite diverse, and there are more than just three tones, especially when you make full use of the two volume knob/two tone knob setup. The bridge pickup is fairly "barky" and thick, somewhere between a P-90, and a PAF type humbucker, though closer to a humbucker. The two pickups in combination offer lots of nice chimey bell tones, as they should. The neck pickup offers the darkest tones of the pickup selections, of course.

Credible country tones are possible with the bridge pickup, with a fair amount of twang and spank, especially when the strings are new, and with tone control of that pickup left wide open, or slightly dimmed. Great pickup for adding some overdrive and grit. Same with the two pickups together. The neck pickup sound really nice for clean toned jazz, and with overdrive, creamy lead lines. Whether this guitar is ideal for high gain situations, I have no idea. I play clean tone, and sometimes with a bit of overdrive, but not so much that the character of the pickups is hidden by the gain of a pedal or amp. I always want to hear the guitar in the sound, no matter what I'm doing.

It seems like this is a guitar that can work in a lot of different kinds of music, based on the diversity of available sounds of the guitar, and you'll get a bit of rock star visuals to go with it. It's a great addition to my collection, and gives me another group of tonal options, in addition to my PAF type humbucker, single coil, P-90, and acoustic guitars.

One thing you may not know is that this model has "the belly cut", which basically allows the inner edges of the body, which are closest to your body (belly/ribcage), to be ergronomically sculpted in such a way that doesn't jab into your sides. This allows for long-term playing comfort, and should be standard on every Telecaster, or Telecaster style guitar, from any manufacturer. Also, this guitar does NOT have "the forearm cut" which allows less rubbing of the inside of your right forearm against the top back outside edge of the body. A small negative, perhaps for some. That said, "the belly cut" on this and other guitars is the most meaningful ergronomic contour of the two, in my opinion.

You won't see a duplicate of this guitar at every gig. Musician's Friend is the only retailler to offer the Surf Green Flake finish and color option, and is why I bought it here. The other three color options of Turquoise, Tangerine, and Vegas Gold Flake finishes are available more widely through other retailers, including Musician's Friend. Also, apparently, FSR guitars stand for "Fender Special Run", so this is somewhat of a limited edition guitar. Whether this Surf Green Flake guitar is one of 300 or one of 1,000, I can't determine or sort out from marketing/sales hype/info, but it seems like it will be a fairly rare guitar. I bought mine for all of its features, sounds, and style, and it's "collectablity", such as it may or may not be, was the least concern by far. I buy guitars to gig with and play, not as a "collector" item, and if they happen to end up collectible, it's just a nice bonus.

Lastly, this guitar seems to have "good bones" and is fairly resonant and playable right out of the box, at least for me. It seems to sing, acoustically even without being plugged up. This is important. I hope and expect that in 20 years from now, if I have this guitar, that it will open up a little and become even more resonant and toneful than it already is. I've experienced this phenomenon with a number of electric guitars and basses from Fender and other manufacturers, and I expect the same with this Telecaster in the long term.

I'm really happy with this puchase, and I can't wait to make "my new friend", "my old friend".