Tough question

[jnstrom]

I understand asking what year tele should I be looking for is a tough question. But I will ask are there some years better then others.

Im trying to narrow this purchase down a bit. I have an American Strat and love it but want Tele too! Any help/opinion would be appreciated. Thanks

[DanD]

I'd be more inclined to narrow my search down by model. i.e. Thinline, Deluxe, Custom, etc...

You'll find that there were good ones made in every year.

Time to start playin' as many as you can lay your hands on.

My only other suggestion would be to keep an open mind as to country of origin. I wouldn't dismiss Japanese, Korean, Mexican or Chinese Teles.

[jeru]

+1 everything that DanD said.

Read up here and elsewhere on the interwebs, decide what type/specs you want, then play a whole bunch of guitars. They will vary more from guitar to guitar than they will from year to year.

[rudutch]

the 2 I liked best - (out of 7)
2003 (?) Am series ash - U shaped neck
2004(?) Tokai goldstar fat-ass full width neck that I really like

The fender sounded better, the tokai feels better

[refin]

I've owned about 15 strats,and right now the overall best I've ever had is a 1988 MIJ.......absolutely killer neck.Nabbed it from a friend for $200,had it re-radiused to 9.5 and new frets.Best overall neck ever.....

[JM3]

I have a 2003 MIA 52 RI
light resonant and funky, nice thin and playable tele neck( not big like a NOcaster) Though I really do like the 52 nocaster ALOT
A/B'd with an authentic 55 and they sounded identical
I think the later years on 52 RI are more accurate

[melody]

Like others here have posted play play, and play a few more Tele's till you know it's the one.. Then you will start gassing for more gear its a never ending process.

[holmis63]

I played a lot of Teles before i settled for a Baja, very affordable, actually i prefered it before the AV´52:s i tried!

If you can find a Squier pro tone that is a even more affordable option, very nice Guitars!

If you have a lot of money, go for a 60:s tele!

[chuckocaster]

try an american standard tele, a 52, and a 62. that'll give you a somewhat decent cross section of teles. there are a lot of others in between, but this will at least give you an idea of what you like. from there i'd play all the others like posted above. i personally like a cross between a 52 and a 62. i like the early tele lead pups, but with a strat pup in the neck slot with 62 type wiring. i don't really care for newer type teles, but that's cause i don't like flatter boards.

try them all out, and see what you like.

[Erock_Germany]

Lots of nice Teles out there. As many said, narrow it down. I always start with the neck - do you like rosewood or maple fingerboards. When it comes to a Tele, I for some reason like the maple. In a Strat it is rosewood - go figure.

I think this kind of states, a Tele is a different beast in itself. I have had a few over the years and am now totally hooked on my Baja. There are nice rosewood Teles out there and nothing beats the looks of a double bound Tele Custom body.....

Regardless, a Baja will ROCK for a down to earth price!

[Don]

I just sat in with some country musicians last night and brought my USACG T-Style with me. That guitar lets me express myself like no other!

It's a swamp ash USACG T-style body, a USACG .900" thick soft "V" shaped 1-piece maple neck with a 9.5" fretboard radius and tall, skinny 6105 frets, Fender '52 re-issue hardware except for Glendale saddles (the set with the aluminum E/A saddle. I won them in a raffle, otherwise the stock Fender saddles would be on the guitar), Fralin Blues Special bridge p/u and a Fralin Stock neck P/U.

I finished and assembled it myself about 5-1/2 years ago. The total cost was about $800US!

I LOVE this guitar!

[Don Wiklund]

I understand asking what year tele should I be looking for is a tough question. But I will ask are there some years better then others.

Im trying to narrow this purchase down a bit. I have an American Strat and love it but want Tele too! Any help/opinion would be appreciated. Thanks

I've said this many times before and I know it really bugs vintage enthusiasts and purists but as far as tone and playability go the year a Fender guitar is made makes absolutely no difference. I own old ones and new ones and at the end of the day a Fender guitar is exactly equal to the sum of it's parts. Nothing more and nothing less.

Yes, I know that there are different neck profiles etc. but I'm one of those players that owns a lot of guitars with different necks and they all feel fine to me. I don't think I'll ever understand why some make such a big deal out of that. I'll go even further and tell you that as long as they have the same pups and I'm playing through the same amp I don't hear spit difference between any of them cheap or expensive. After all Fenders are little more than a slab of wood with a neck attached neither of which IMHO have anything to do with the sound the guitar makes. That distinction is reserved for acoustics.The only reason to worry about year (or much of anything else for that matter) is if you are a collector or buying as an investment. But, that's a whole other can of worms.