Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar (Used)
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- Product #512138
Luscious custom-shop touches for modern playability and tone!
The Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster takes the best of old and new Fender craftsmanship to create a fantastic guitar built for the serious player! Visually very accurate to the look of a '52 Telecaster, it has a list of sought-after Custom Shop upgrades to make any Tele player drool. It's got a top-of-the-line thin-skin nitrocellulose lacquer finish that ages quickly and beautifully as well as letting the natural tone of the wood shine. The neck has been streamlined for smooth playability with a satin-finish back, 9.5" fingerboard radius, and medium-jumbo frets. The three brass saddles on the vintage-style Tele bridge are compensated to allow for more accurate intonation. And a Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini-Humbucker at the neck and a custom-wound Tele bridge pickup deliver the hot tones called for in modern music.
The rest of its features are true-blue '52 Tele, like the American Vintage model it's based on: a premium ash body, one-piece maple neck with U-shape profile, Fender/Gotoh vintage-style tuners, a one-ply black pickguard, and chrome hardware.
The U.S. Vintage Hot Rod Series from Fender offers new instruments with specs, looks and features that make them feel as if you were the third owner of a vintage instrument. Here's your chance to own that beautiful player's guitar, but in brand new shape and freshly set-up from the Fender factory!
Check the drop-down menu to the right to select colors and/or other options.
Features
- Thin-skin nitrocellulose finish
- Premium ash body
- 1-piece maple neck
- U-shape profile with satin finish on back
- 9.5" fingerboard radius
- 21 medium-jumbo frets
- 25.5" scale length
- Nut width: 1.650"
- Chrome hardware
- Fender/Gotoh vintage-style tuners
- Vintage-style Tele bridge with 3 compensated brass saddles
- 1-ply black pickguard
- Custom Vintage Tele bridge pickup
- Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini Humbucker neck pickup
- 3-position blade pickup selector
- Master volume and tone controls
- Setup with Fender Super 250R Nickel Plated Steel strings (.010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046)
It's a vintage Tele with modern tonal teeth!! Order yours now!
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Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 35 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
Most Liked Positive Review
My Number 1 guitar!
he only critisism I have is the case... I don't care about the 'vintage' look of the case, it is pretty inconvenient, doesn't stand up etc. I wish they had a ...Read complete review
he only critisism I have is the case... I don't care about the 'vintage' look of the case, it is pretty inconvenient, doesn't stand up etc. I wish they had a provided a good solid molded case that was more practical.
I just don't understand some of the folk here, who are negative on this guitar.
I have owned dozens of guitars, including other Fenders, Gibson Les Pauls, Gretschs as well as some cool acoustics. I am a tone junky and mostly concerned with preserving the tone.
What this guitar did for me was complement my 1961 Bandmaster, Blues Junior, Blues Deluxe and Blues Devillle and it matches perfectly with every amp.
I play out a lot in my two bands in Seattle, and I constantly get complements on my sound, no mattter what combination I use.
I love the authentic twang of the bridge pickup, and the stacked seymour duncan neck pickup just rocks! It allows me to leave my Les Pauls at home. It is like having 2 or 3 guitars with me.
I have owned this guitar for about 18 months and I am actually here shopping for another one (as a backup) as I have played the living snot out of the one I have and it actually needs a refret, and I can't bear the thought that I would be without it for the month or so it will take to refret.
I love the vintage vibe. Mine is looking pretty vintage already, the nitro finish ages perfectly.
I would recommend this guitar at twice the price.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
52 tele
good tone, but bad pickguard.my local dealer asked fender to replace my warped pickguard but they refused..the guitar is only 2 months old. if fender will not honor their guitars any better than...Read complete review
good tone, but bad pickguard.my local dealer asked fender to replace my warped pickguard but they refused..the guitar is only 2 months old. if fender will not honor their guitars any better than that I will not buy anything from them again.
Reviews
Reviewed by 35 customers
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Pros
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
I bought this guitar sight unseen, and being so I was a bit apprehensive about it. When I got the guitar and plugged it I must say I was impressed. The first thing that called my attention was how smooth it was to play, being used to a Les Paul, it was almost as if this guitar played itself. The variety of tone due to the Seymour Duncan mini humbucker on the neck and a single coil on the bridge is also a big plus on this guitar. It has a sharp attack on the neck position, a fuller tone on the middle one and the classic tele twang on the bridge position.
Some people complained in other reviews that the wood had some darker marks on it, this is definitely true, and although it does not bother me I thought it was worth mentioning for those aesthetically inclined, for this is something you cannot see on the site's picture.
The tweed vintage case is very beautiful but I'm not so sure how practical it would be on a gig situation, being that it is a bit heavy and kind of hard to make it stand still. However it's not much of a concern being that you can just get another one if it becomes too much of a hassle.
All in all it seems to me like a very well built guitar.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Good Pick Up
- Good Tone
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- Rock Concerts
- School Bands
- Small Venues
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
This thing drips tone. The humbucker goes from sweet blues to screaming rock. I like the butterscotch finish with the tinted neck The vintage tuners are a nice touch as well. This one came from the factory nicely setup and ready to roll...... the frets and neck feel wonderful.
Did I mention tone?
BUY THIS GUITAR!
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
Been playing fenders over 40 years.. up until this guitar my go to was my '74 strat.. this guitar feels great in my hands but what really wins my heart is the mini humbucker growl.. already thinking about getting a 2nd one..
I pass my custom shop tele to play this one.. 1/2 the price and it plays & sounds better..
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
he only critisism I have is the case... I don't care about the 'vintage' look of the case, it is pretty inconvenient, doesn't stand up etc. I wish they had a provided a good solid molded case that was more practical.
I just don't understand some of the folk here, who are negative on this guitar.
I have owned dozens of guitars, including other Fenders, Gibson Les Pauls, Gretschs as well as some cool acoustics. I am a tone junky and mostly concerned with preserving the tone.
What this guitar did for me was complement my 1961 Bandmaster, Blues Junior, Blues Deluxe and Blues Devillle and it matches perfectly with every amp.
I play out a lot in my two bands in Seattle, and I constantly get complements on my sound, no mattter what combination I use.
I love the authentic twang of the bridge pickup, and the stacked seymour duncan neck pickup just rocks! It allows me to leave my Les Pauls at home. It is like having 2 or 3 guitars with me.
I have owned this guitar for about 18 months and I am actually here shopping for another one (as a backup) as I have played the living snot out of the one I have and it actually needs a refret, and I can't bear the thought that I would be without it for the month or so it will take to refret.
I love the vintage vibe. Mine is looking pretty vintage already, the nitro finish ages perfectly.
I would recommend this guitar at twice the price.
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
It is a great playing tele, I love the flatter radius and bigger fret wire, The nitro finish is the icing on the cake. My tele is super light and resonant most of the other ones I've played are way heavy compared to mine, not to say mine is better than the others. My main concern is the cheap method of using three piece body's instead of two piece body's, which would make it so much better for the money, evan if they raised the price for a two piece body
Excellant neck, Love the nitro finish.
I Dont like the three piece body, needs a two piece at the least.
I bought mine in 2008 before the price was lowered.
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
Save up, trade your cheap(er) guitars and go get it!
Excellent guitar, love the combo of mini hum/custom vintage bridge pickup.
Really nicely balanced weight, neck feels great, especially if you have large hands, long fingers.
Neck does get a little too sticky when you sweat, but hey, if you want a girly guitar then look for something else. This guitar was built for players with a character.
Plug it in a Dr. Z or a tube amp of your choice to get the full experience what this guitar can sound like.
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
good tone, but bad pickguard.my local dealer asked fender to replace my warped pickguard but they refused..the guitar is only 2 months old. if fender will not honor their guitars any better than that I will not buy anything from them again.
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
I knew I wanted a maple neck and with at least 1 humbucker... so that narrowed down the selection field right there.I was playing a more expensive guitar in a shop in NYC when the clerk came up with this tele in hand. He said "What you've got there is great, but I think this is the best sounding guitar we have in stock." I picked it up and without even plugging it in I was sold. Seriously. The feel of this thing is just AMAZING. It was exactly what I'd been looking for, but couldn't put into words... and I already own a 90's tele.Then I plugged it in. My first reaction was "holy c--p". This is an amazing guitar for any player, but especially for what I play (mostly rock, country and bluesy rock through a 4x10 hot rod deville.)
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
Just got this tele today and I can't put it down! I love the satin finish on the back of the neck. I hate it when guitars get the gummed up feelin' when your playing hard and you have sweaty palms. So far this baby plays smooth from start to finish. I was a little skeptic about the mini hum-bucker at first but after playing around with it I fell in love. It has a warmer sound to it than the typical neck pickup fender uses. The mini humbucker can get your some great blues distortion sounds as well as clean smoothes. The back pickup can spank with the best of them so no complaint there. I would also like to note the neck radius. The 9.5' neck is bigger than most so its not recommended for players that like smaller ones. I have bigger hands and actually prefer the fatter neck. I would recommend this to anyone but would advise that they try it out first because its not your standard tele. Which happens to be why I like it so much!
Comments about Fender Vintage Hot Rod '52 Telecaster Electric Guitar:
This guitar gives me my favorite tones from Cream-era Clapton to Rockabilly Burton. It's no slouch with Zep tones or mellow jazz. No frills, just beautiful simplicity...a real guitarist's guitar. Simply stated, this guitar does it all. It has a very playable, comfortable neck. Quality all the way!
