I think it really speaks well of Fender to send you a guitar. It at least shows they want to improve. As for the price, I'm going to say something no one in the comments wants to hear...the days of cheap, good, name-brand guitars is pretty much over. Mass inflation over the last several years has done its job and fleeced those of us in the poor and middle class rungs. It's driven up the prices of raw materials and labor so much that, yes, even a Mexican guitar has to be this price to turn a healthy profit. It's not just about the materials and labor, it's also about marketing, tooling, taxes, and every kind of overhead you can think of. It's even worse for a company like Fender, who import guitars and try to do business in California. I don't know for the life of my why they insist on remaining in that state. They could probably shave a couple hundred off the price in corporate taxes and other fees and duties just by moving their HQ somewhere more business friendly like Texas, Florida, or Tennessee.
I agree bro. I live in Illinois. We have lost over 2000 businesses and 17 large employer corporations over the last 5 years. This state is 3rd worst for business in the country behind Cali and NY. I remember back in the day before the regulation press that has hit every industry it didn't matter what state you lived in you could make money. Now all the politically liberal states are doing so much to make it hard for everyone who lives there to do business it makes my head spin. I am lucky in a way. I am retired but my son's are feeling it. My oldest son had a nice little remodeling business going before the china flu but the governor here put him out of business back in March 2020 and shut him down for 8 months. We couldn't work. That was it for me. I retired after that but he had to start over. We are seriously talking about moving to Florida or Texas either near Orlando or near Houston because I need to be near a VA hospital if I move. I love Fender, and Gibson guitars. I am done with those though unless they come down about 30%. I bought a Gibson Studio and a Japanese Fender in the last year. I love them both. But I won't pay 1000.00 for a base Tele from Mexico when I can buy a Monoprice Indio for 150.00 and 200.00 in upgrades and have just as good a playing and sounding guitar as the Fender Tele from mexico that Sean did in his review. I love your channel Theguitologist, too bro. You do some good work with that. I am a subscriber.
I’m 60 years old, I came up during the time when guitar building was in the era of one had to spend between 1K to 1.5K to obtain a good guitar. 2 and 3 hundred dollar guitars were horrible. They literally couldn’t be played. Thank the guitar industry for adopting the CNC machine. Now it’s possible to purchase a $150.00 dollar guitar. And have the luxury of installing high end parts so for around $500.00 bucks you can have a 1K quality guitar. I call it a luxury because one gets to choose exactly what one wants and likes,That is traveling a little bit into custom shop territory. People spout the fact that it’s stupid to hotrod a cheap guitar? These days good bones are quite easy to find. And saving money has never been a stupid idea. Thanks for this channel and a shout out to Fender for keeping it real. But will Fender put the outcome of information gathered in this article/video. To good use,Only time will tell. Signed a Gibson and Fender customer for many moons!
@@cantfindamerica877 you are my age and I remember Gibson’s Norlin era and Fender’s concurrent CBS era in the 70s with all of the quality issues that really hurt these brands. At the very same time, you had all of these Matsumoku knockoff guitars (Ibanez, Electra, Aria, etc.) from Japan that were really good quality for a fraction of the price and was all a teenager could afford anyway! Many of these old Matsumoku guitars were scary good and collectible now in their own right. They undercut the big USA brands and when people realized how good the stuff from Japan actually was, “Made in Japan” became the new “Made in USA” and their prices are now right up there with USA made guitars. My Alvarez Yairi DYM-95C, for example, is every bit as good as a Martin and actually listed higher than a Martin back in 2006 when it was new! Made in Korea became the first “offshoring” of Japanese manufacturers and they now continue to move their manufacturing to where labor is cheaper, environmental restrictions are lower, etc. I guess we should ask who it is that is building these $150 Amazon specials and what is their overall quality of life? I also remember the old Teisco, Kay, and Sears Roebuck guitars that actually were junk but now even these are collectible and desirable. Go figure!
I was thinking $800 myself the whole way through the great video. Put the Reaper next to it and there is no comparison.Thanks Shawn and Cathy for the best guitar channel on the internet.
I stopped this video at the 50 second mark to say, I have this guitar, used I paid $699 and it's spectacular.... Now...on to the rest of the video!!!!!
Thank you very much for the review. The Fender guitar you played really sounds great.👌 I do understand the pricing, there are lots of Strat/Tele style guitars that are built well on Amazon, Walmart, Ebay such as Harley Benton and a few other Parts caster models like. They may sound good, but they are NOT "Fender". That's what you are actually paying for: *The Name, The Legacy and the Logo* .🤭 In fairness the fretboard on that tele looks killer (especially the wood grain), other minor truss rod adjustments are easy to do, I just follow all the "set-up tutorials" on RUclips. And you are actually right, the fair actual price should be around $800 given the great Fender wood and the noiseless pickups. The extra $400, you are paying is for the Name and Logo, It's like owning a part of history. So, whenever anyone buy a Fender or Gibson, always remember that it's not just the craftsmanship or even the quality you are paying for but the name.💯👍😉
Black Friday weekend of 2022, I found a Player Plus Nashville telecaster, Opal Spark ( metallic blue) on sale for 32% off. I thought it'd be a second or a blemish model. And when it arrived, the box said " pick this box last". In other words, it was the last box on the pallet. But I figured since I could return it if it was a bad one, no risk. But it was perfect. And I'm not stretching the truth. No fret sprout. No shim needed. I did lower the action, but I do that on all my guitars. Maybe I just got lucky, but I'm super happy with it. But I only paid $700 for mine and that to me is a fair price. Thanks for the post, Sean. Your channel rocks! ...P.S. Cathy's pickups sound better!
I got mine a 2016 paid 675$ (850 CAD) back then It's honeyblonde, no noiseless pickups (they are tex-mex which I prefer to get that tele twang). it had the ashtray bridge back then. I might have got lucky, it was setup better than most American ones in the store. One of my fav guitars still to this day. Around that price point it was a Monster for the price !
I’ve been waiting for this vid to drop! It’s good to hear Fender is listening and is open to criticism. That gives me hope. Everything you said is spot on. I really don’t think it’s worth a dime over $699 retail when you compare it to what’s out there for even half the price and account for the Fender name on the headstock. For what they’re asking, it should be immaculate out of the box and using higher quality materials. It should be perfectly setup and ready to go, short of a truss rod tweak at the most to account for shipping from the factory/retailer to the customer. How can it leave the factory with that plinking noise on the high e? The wiring shouldn’t be a bird’s nest of a mess, even if there’s a lot going on - they can put a few ties to tidy it up so people who need to make repairs or mods won’t have to start untangling the wiring to figure out what’s attached to where. The pickup wiring should be a bit longer in case someone wants to make mods or needs to make repairs to the electronics. You should not have to start fixing fret sprout and adding shims. Every guitar should have a contoured heel joint and not have that giant block (unless it’s a historic model, which this is not). Nobody can argue with their pickups being amazing. The guitar looks nice, but they should be using rosewood and other better quality woods - you can gorgeous, high quality wood on a FoJill for $100 bucks, so there’s like zero excuse on Fender’s part. Point is, it’s not even close to $1200. They also need to learn basic economics 101. They’ll make more money if they can sell at higher volumes for lower price point. If most people can’t afford a Fender, they’re not going to be making nearly as much money as they could if people could actually afford them. They can 100% price their guitars much lower. It doesn’t cheapen the brand in any way. Quite the contrary. They could very easily sell $500 Fenders that check all these boxes when all the imports brands can now do that for half that, short of the iconic headstock and perhaps the pickups. Thanks for always keeping it real, Sean. I hope Fender keeps sending you more guitars and really takes your advice to heart, as well as all of our input in the comments.
Just so you know I bought brand new in 1963 Jassmaster and a 1984 Stratocaster both made in America!!! Yes I want, not need a Tele, but not at 1000 bucks!!! I can have Sean make me one and Cathy make the pick-ups and have a Guitar that I can say it's hand made in America and be proud of it for 800 or less cause I truly don't know Sean's price on one!! So Fender this old Construction Worker Won't be buying a Guitar from you just for the Fender name, made in Mexico !!! Sean Excellent review and we will talk about a build as so as I pay all my Property Taxes!! God Bless Sean and Cathy!!!!
In my opinion I would pay $500 as is. Through in a hard case $600. I have an Ibanez I payed $250 for that will give that guitar a run for the money. I did the same things Sean did to it. Plus it’s blue lol. Keep on encouraging people to learn how to set up their guitar. You have made me a better guitar owner. I thank you for that
Yes I was the one who hit the thumbs down and why same thing the glarry needed but the glarry was shipped bad strings I wouldn't pay squire version,, they are all off Gibson les Paul will not stay tuned to big of a fender fan for a honest review. Love you all and have a blessed day !!
12:37 12:38 Even Phil McKnight glarry is a great part's caster!😂!! Also why he didn't do any more reviews because nothing new from glarry!!! Also the frets was a good chance to do stainless steel for him!!! He also said that it's still alive and still playing!!!
I bought a Mexico Strat used at a music store. A guy traded it in because it played like crap. It was one year old and has the flamed maple top. Beautiful but sucked to play. About an hour after getting it home it plays great . A little time saved me nearly half the price. Because of Sean, and others before I found him, I've learned to do this myself. Thanks Sean for all the knowledge I've gotten in the past year.
Yeah man, I have heard SO MANY stories about people getting these expensive guitars ( or even affordable guitars) they claim are trash and unplayable, when in reality all they need is a set up. Anybody with an ounce of sense can learn to set up a guitar. Electric guitars are not as delicate as a lot of people think, I let my 2 year old grandson twang on my Schecter strings, it freaks my mom out a little she is afraid he will break something. (I hold it while he pings and twangs) It makes he and I smile.
Excellent review. I have an old Tele I bought in used in 1978. Previous owner routed out the body (porly) for some reason. I had it restored the best the guy could do in 1981. Now the body is so dried out it can't maintain screws. I brought it to my local "down home" guitar shop in San Antonio, TX. It came down to saving the neck, bridge and pickups. Need a new body that will support a humbucker in the neck position, and control plate. If it sounds anything like your evaluation, it is money well spent! Thank you for getting me smart about setups
I bought a Fender ltd edition player series strat in Ferrari yellow 2.5 yrs ago (apparently only 150 were available for UK/Europe), I bought a Fender hard case and there it still sits in darkness, in its case, until i am a good enough guitarist, worthy to play it (when i bought it I was 54yrs old and learning to play on a £76 Harley Benton st-20) it has never been played and hasnt had a set up..I am not ready yet to hold it, it is my personal holy grail to make me get better..i have another 17 guitars and have used them all...I hope the waiting will be worth it as it is my most expensive guitar I own 🙏😃
Great video man. Bad Fender. I bought a MIM Nashville Telecaster 10 years ago. It had a bad cut nut, the second string rubbed the first fret. The keys were the same ones they put on a Squier. The bridge plate cavity was cut about a 1/4" longer than the bridge plate and the pickups sucked along with the honey blond finish that looked like Skippy peanut butter. I sent it back. It was $600 then and ain't worth a penny more today. Heck I just finished modding a Washburn to a Nashville Strat. Now there's a guitar to play on, and better than any MIM Fender. Have a good one man.
To be fair it lists for $ 1,020. Get the 15% Musicians Friend discount and you're down to $867. Nashville switching is a nice feature and hey you get 3 pickups! The Deluxe Nashville used to come with a contoured heel joint which should be included. Bought mine for $ 800 and sold it for $700. The power of the Fender brand!
I got a Squier Custom Nashville Strat, and I love it. Paid the princely sum of $412 shipped...REAL similar sounds, and the setup was pretty nice as well. Just the body shape is Slab Strat instead of Slab Tele. Super versatile!
Six months ago, I purchased one of these in a blue color because the parts alone were quite a bit, I got a hard shell case thrown in, and a awesome Nashville Tele for 1000 and change. Yes, it’s made at their Mexico plant, and I would say this was the guitar of the year for 2023 in my opinion. I had purchased a couple American performers and most of the parts are obviously not from the USA and this Nashville telecaster blows them both away. It had perfect frets. The pick ups were awesome and it played great right out of the gig bag and they sent me a hard shell case. So yes it is in my opinion. But not over 1000, that’s enough. But you are absolutely correct. I had the same issues and it took me about 15 minutes to correct everything on this guitar that I got from musicians friend. A great set up and I played a couple shows with it.
It's absolutely gorgeous, out of my price range, and I'm not really sold on those pickups. Noiseless loses all the twang and kerrang I want out of a single coil.
I've shelled out 2200 bucks each for a Jackson USA Soloist and Flying V. Honestly my PRS SE upgraded and out of the box Schecter hellraiser were just as good. I'm not a bolt on fan if it's over $600. So I wouldn't pay more then that.
Original was thought on cost was about $700 to $850. After the Fret issue which is a $50 job at my local shops $650 to 800. Sounded great though, no pickup change needed. However as you have shown a lower cost well manufactured guitar with a little more work needing done and a Pickup swap to something decent. Paying a shop for the work even. You can get 2 that will be just as good.
that's a guitar that should be 650 - 700. Maybe catch it on sale for $550 or so. I love it. My father actually has one. Fender has been upping the prices man.
Shawn. I've deciphered the scribbling in the neck pocket. It says " If you give a favorable review on this overpriced fire log, we will send you a 12 pack of Natty Light, a Fojio Tele, a Gorilla combo amp and a coupon to Western Sizzler."
A killer sounding guitar, a beautiful guitar but $1200 is way out of my price range. I have an Epiphone that I paid around $450 for. Thanks for the review you did a killer job.
I have a MIA Dunable that I paid like 2.4K for a couple of years ago. After about a month or so, one of the pots died and I had to replace it w/ a CTS. Another couple of months, and the pickup selector switch died and had to be replaced w/ another aftermarket replacement of better quality. Now neither of these issues were what I'd call a big deal, and neither costed that much to have fixed, but should either of those two things have ever been an issue on a MIA that costed 2.4K? Anyways, a couple of months ago I saw this post made by some random guy on a Dunable players FB group talking about the issues he was having w/ a MIA Dunable he'd gotten. Now of course since this is FB we're talking about, the fanboys started dogpiling on the guy for bringing up what appeared to be some legitimate issues he was trying to get acknowledged and fixed. Guess the attempt to peer pressure the guy into silence backfired, b/c no sooner had he posted his thread then a lot of other ppl began weighing in w/ their own qc-related horror stories as well. The moral of the story? MIA is no longer any guarantee of quality, and probably hasn't been for like the last 40 years anyways. Now let me give two examples of what I'm about here. Now admittedly, both of these guitars I'll be talking about were bought a number of years ago, but I think they're still both valid examples of what I'm talking about. The first was a MIM HH Strat I picked up NIB for $550 which played fine, stayed in tune, and, most importantly, sounded good. The other was a used MIK Agile LP copy I got off eBay for like +/- $300 that was just as good a playing and sounding guitar as a "real" MIA Gibson LP I'd owned before.
Hi Sean! You can buy a Tease Tele built by Americans in NY... for a LOT less. Try one of these on your show, please! Ditto the comment on a Hard Shell Case. Bags are a joke! The only thing I have ever heard that costs $1000+ that comes in a bag... well Eric Clapton wrote a song once called... Oh well, thanks Sean (and I'm sure Kathey did something for this too!)!
I love that tele. I'd pay 650 max. I have 2 Fender Teles and 3 Fender Strats and a Fender Mustang and many Squier and Epiphones among others. My Fenders are my favorites. The necks are where it's at.
Way too much! I have a Harley Benton 335 that plays like a dream. But I had to like every other guitar I have owned, adjust the truss rod, new strings, adjust the action and now it plays like dream. I have had it now for 6 years. Don’t play it that much anymore but it stays in tune. Love your content. 👍🏻
No way I would pay 1200$ for it……but it sounds killer and looks beautiful! I would pay 750$ for it because it is a Fender but I could buy 3 guitars for 1200$ in todays market and with some work they would sound just as good.
Having that middle pickup is so awesome over other teles that don't have it! The sound you get using it in combination with the bridge pickup really brings on the "chime" man! The trick is... set that middle pickup nice and low into the body where the bridge pickup is still dominant in volume, but engaging the middle pickup with it gives a beautiful bell-like tone - and THAT's what playin' a tele is all about (to me anyway). It's called the "Nashville" players series because of what I just described here. With the right amp and settings, you will get some nice Brent Mason-esque tones with this guitar, even without having to replace the pickups. With today's increased labor rates and materials cost, to me, it's probably worth around $850-ish, I guess. I had an old American Tele Plus (which cost more than this one) that I really loved the playability of but absolutely hated the Lace sensor pickups in it because, although hey were hot enough, they just did not have a great tight low end spank. I believe this version here though will probably get the job done nicely. Great review, Shawn!
Fender picked you because your guitars are top notch and your channel is awesome. What a compliment them choosing you to give a review. I'm impressed and proud that this went down. Very cool! 😎🤓
I have a MIJ Squire Strat that is outstanding. The build quality is superb. All Fender parts too except for the Floyd Rose. Would love to find a MIJ Tele.
Very interesting evaluation, well-balanced. I think if a guitar is over $1000, they should supply a hard shell case with it. The price of Fenders and Gibsons have gone up ridiculously . I know when I bought my American made Fender Deluxe Stratocaster in 2015, it was about $1400 but now you are looking at about $2500.
Sean, Cathy I’m just starting to watch this video. I have to say, you know you’re doing it right if Fender connects with you and sends a guitar to be critiqued. Keep up the good work❗️🎸😎
I have a Nashville player plus, Sunburst with maple Fretboard. I scored it from Amazon for $608. I love it! The Satin neck and rolled Fretboard feels great in the hand. I get your point Shawn completely! My only issue with it: there's poly over the frets. The frets look golden in the light. I dig it and feel it was a fair price for what I paid.
I've played teles for 41 of my 51 years as a player, previously Les Pauls... 600 to 700, maybe 750 with the silent pickups.... especially when compared to what other companies are doing, even if you need a few mods. My best tele is an early pine Squire Classic Vibe that was 269 new.... eventally put direct replacement Duncan's, humbucking neck, Lil 59 for Tele in the bridge at 147 bucks back then... from jazz to Satch... a great guitar... I love you Fender... but you're pricing us out... smaller companies seem to be doing a lot more for a lot less.... and if you mod your guitars, bargains are to be had
My limit is $500. I am learning so much from Sean that I will buy cheap and fix the issues myself. I focus on frets now, I don't want to work on those. Found a cheap used Dean Vendetta with amazing fretwork. Working on bringing it back to life now.
I would only for a Schecter and Ibanez , never had one issue with either at any price point. But definitely would never spend thousands on a Gibson or Fender...
Agree. $1200 is $800 too much in my opinion. With that said my 1968 Tele that I bought in 1968 needed a setup. Frets were horrible and the neck was way out. The fret buzz made me nuts. Oh, and intonation? The guy that did the setup said intonation was not performed at the factory. I played tele’s and Strat’s for about 2 weeks before I decided on the Tele and in the end I went with sound over style and the Tele today still performs well. But I wouldn’t pay $1200. Hell, I wouldn’t pay $500. Thanks for your videos. I continue to learn.
Hmmmm. Beautiful guitar, obviously. That thing looks terrrrrrrrific. Sounds ....ok, really pretty good. But my price point on one of those? $640-675. No way I'd spend over $700 on that. No way. Include a hardshell case & I might go to $800. Great breakdown. Great job, Sean.
Great video, Shawn! I think $1200 is way too much for that guitar. While I do believe Fender has the right to pad the price a little bit for their name and rep, there are far too many good guitars for half that price available. I have been a gigging musician most of my adult life. I love both Gibson and Fender guitars. I have owned both as well. My "work" guitars are all under $700, and they play, look, and sound fantastic. I see no need to spend more because of a name on a headstock.
Fender just needs to up their detail work and get to know their audience better. Like they are doing here. Sean is 100% correct, and the way he posed those questions during the video was perfect.
I'm not going to profess to tell Fender what they need to charge for this one to feed Americans/Mexicans assembling them. But consider the Monoprice TL I bought back in Oct 2021 for $ 75 delivered with padded gig bag. I can live with the hook headstock shape. Out of the box, the Monoprice needed the same set up as the Fender did, even added a shim to get the saddle foot screws & string action height dialed in. The Monoprice was the last of the string thru body models before they went top loader & optional string thru body mod. End of the day I can replace pickups on the Monoprice with Fender pickups of choice. I can replace the electronics eventually too. CTS pots or even Fender parts are maybe $ 30, I just don't see or hear $ 900+ more for parts & labor. If I want to put the Monoprice back into specs for working electronics, I can get a loaded Chinese pickguard delivered for under $30. I think the Fender Player for finish quality is better than my Monoprice TL. But considering I'm bound to put in a ding or few, I'd only ruin that better finish at some point. The bet with any guitar is whether one can eventually be a musician & play it. The Player series is going to depreciate what the Monoprice costs & more. Just keeping that real. The Fender should be easier to resell if a bond isn't happening with the guitar or music in general. The Monoprice, I should be able to sell it for what I paid for it, but I will have to apologize for it not being a Fender from it's humble origins. With these as reasons, I see no reason to sell off the Monoprice TL for a Fender Player/Player Plus. The Chinese will win the international inflation war every time for guitars or anything else really. I mean even Tesla is moving towards Chinese EV battery packs. And for the price of the Monoprice TL, I can buy 10 of those for a Fender Player Plus. That's what Fender is going to have to address as the 800 lb gorilla in the room. Can they compete without even USA Government tariffs still leaving the playing field tilted heavily in China's favor. I'd love to help Fender out, buy Meican/USA. But the mortgage, the groceries & everyone else is making a free run at the bank accounts. Gotta pay people first before they can pay you, that horse has always been in front of that cart. I'm just not in Fender's target market, probably never will be, even as a lottery winner.
Years ago I bought an American fat tele for around $1000.00, I added the third pickup myself, and it is my favorite, most versatile guitar. This one should be priced at around $800.00 , all things considered.
I bought one of these back in 2020 and got it for $650 on a killer sale. I got the White blonde. The only change I made was to put a red pearl pick guard on it. I set it up and love how it plays. I wasn't sure I'd like the 12" radius, but I sure do. Sounds great too. Would I pay the current price for it ? Nope. But they can be found on reverb for a decent price.
Good to see ya again. Always an exciting time with you and Cathy. Now if I'm going to be honest, no guitar is worth $1200 dollars, Period. Especially when I bought a Candy Apple red Kramer Assault Les Paul style guitar HSH with ebony fret board, Floyd Rose setup that played perfect right out of the box for $224 a few years back.
In 1999 I paid 900 dollars for an American made strat plus with locking tuners a ball bearing nut and a kick ass tremelo system with 2 golds and a red lace sensors in the bridge position with Brazillion rosewood fretboard and it was a red metallic paint job with a locking hardshell case. Now they want $1100 for a guitar that needs to set up that was made in Mexico and only comes with a fucking gig bag?.I don't think so Fender
The fact that fender has made squire models that come so close in price to the guitars they put the fender name on its kinda surprising you can get any fender for less than 1200, its like they have made such a point that they can build quality guitars at a fair price point but you cant have the name till you are willing to spend.. more money less quality but you get the name... what a conundrum..
I would say no for anything over $300 out of box. No need for all the scribble. You would have thought the neck would be tight in the pocket, but it sounds beautiful in the end. Final tweaks $550 to $600
I'd value it $695 and only if it came with a Hardshell Case. In 1966 I was playing a Hagstrom III, which I loved, I think that cost about $150-$165. It was the first quality electric that I owned. With peer pressure from my bandmates and to fit the bands image, I got a 1966 Jazzmaster in white, matching headstock. Fair Trade item at the time, I believe it cost $285 with a Hardshell Case. As a 15 year old I felt I had something special, the guitar was gorgeous, flawless finish, and that case, made me feel like a pro. It made me a lifelong Fender buyer. Hear that Fender.
I played guitar for a bit about 15yrs ago and getting back into it. I had a mim strat that was $320 and installed some $89 noiseless pickups. I still dig Fender guitars but theyre just so over priced. I got an Eart ymx-sg3 strat I bought new for $160, installed some $8 d'addarrios, $21 alnico v pickups and is sounds pretty sweet! May get a set of Scarred pickups soon!👍🤟
I paid $700 for that guitar back in 2014. (Mexican Nashville Deluxe series.) The only difference is that they didn't come with the push/pull pot back then, so I put my own in the volume knob. I got out of guitars for about eight years, and was shocked to see the price go up so much. Heck, some Squires are going for $700 now! TOO MUCH!
I honestly couldn’t see paying more than $400.00-$600.00 for virtually any guitar. This coming from another working man. It is beautiful though and I do love it too!
Same model is $1420CAD up here to the north of you. Fender will drop prices on the slow moving models, I think, but not the popular ones. Great review as usual!
I bought my first fender telecaster back in 1993 for $350. Had to hide it from my wife at the time but was happy as a lark. Still have it but not the wife, lol… works for me… nice axe btw. Take care… I would say it should cost no more than $500.
Really wanted to buy this kind of guitar. Until I saw this video. Also, seeing other videos from this channel made me buy a DIY kit and started to build my own telecaster. I'll change the hardware with some quality items(decent bridge, locking tuners and fender noiseless pickups) and still going to cost me 1/3 of this Player Plus from Fender
Another great review! I’m hoping that Fender pays attention to your comment about actual worth and makes the changes necessary before the imports put them out to pasture!
The best part of that guitar is the pickups, and the switching. It has an amazing array of voices, all Fenderish in tone. With any Strat-style, I find myself favouring the middle setting, with both the in betweens as second choice. Actually, it's the same with the G guitars; Gibson, Gretsch, Guild and Goya. You know, the ones whose G strings are often out of tune?
Thank for the review Sean I have this guitar and I agree with you. Love mine I can pretty well tune it and play something else and about 3 or 4 days later maybe have to tune one string. I watched one guys review on it and he had a issue with the bottom E string on the neck he said it was really close to the edge of the fretboard.
Recently bought a Fender American Pro II Thinline Strat for $1900 with tax. Loved it but could not justify the cost so back it went to GC. I went on Ebay bought a strat thinline body and a gorgeous neck with a rosewood fret board, on other sites I bought Fender noiseless Strat pickups, Hipshot locking tuners, Guyker trem bridge, Obsideon David Gilmore wiring harness which gave me basically the same options pickup options as the American Pro II, all other parts such as pick guard neck plate and the like from Amazon. Total cost a touch over $600 and I have one great almost direct copy of the American Pro II Thinline. It sounds and plays incredible and is a keeper.❤
Thats cool! But remember that not everyone can put a guitar together and set it up correctly, have the correct luthier tools to make sure the neck and bridge is aligned correctly, able to check fret level etc. But yes 1900 for American Pro 2 is too much. I didnt pay that much for mine new. Also remember that Fender has lowered the prices some. But they need to lower more in my opinion.
Sean, just saw an advertisement on YT last night and they’re selling Japanese recreations of 50’s or 60’s Fender Stratocasters for half price! Regular price was $1,200.00+, a limited quantity are on sale now for $600.00+.
I agree with all your comments about value. The only thing you didn't mention is resale value if that is important to you. Fender will hold more value than a no name brand regardless of if it should. When buying a guitar you should always set aside money for a good set up or learn to do it yourself. Even high end guitars will need set up work.
I watched this last night and slept on it. I'm a piano player, sure I'd like to have a Steinway D, BUT my old Kawai is fine.. Some people fill storage lockers with guitars and stack Martin D-28s in boxes like fire wood. The pictures are out there. If I was going to buy just one electric guitar, it would be a Fender Stratocaster. A Mexican made would be OK, If I didn't have the money I would finance it. I would expect more exotic wood for my $1200 too...
I have to say. I 22:29 get Fender's pricing on that guitar. I agree with Sean that it is probably worth 800.00 all day but given that it does have the Fender name, what is that name worth? Is it worth any money at all or is it worth 20% of the value of the guitar? If it is 800.00 at 20% that's 160.00 so that works out to 960.00. now we are real close. Would I buy that guitar if I was in the market for a 3 single coil pickup guitar with the combo wiring for 1050.00 plus tax since most shipping is now included from most retailers? Most likely yes or the Strat sister to that one only because I think the Fender name is worth 200.00 . That's my 2 cents worth of thought about this. Thanks Sean for the honest review again bro. You do us right out here in what you do with your reviews and I hope Fender takes to heart your comments. 22:29
The plus sign carved in the bottom of the neck I'm guessing stands for player plus series. That little metal circle at the base of the neck may be from when they used to have an adjustment screw that was in the back of the neck plate. Old school. Even with todays inflation I think it's a 600-700 bucks axe. And it should come in a case.
I would venture to say that my PartsCaster T-Style guitar, with my new neck and Scarred Pickups will hang right up there, close to the Fender Player Series... My "Sean Blue" Scarred Guitar from Sean and Cathy is a pleasure to play and the Red Scarred Guitar that I bought from y'all is probably every bit as good as the Fender Player Thank you, Sean and Cathy and thanks for the great video...
Any guitar $800 and above should have a hard-shell case period. Because it has a 3rd pickup and comes with a gig bag I say $799 and that my story and I'm sticking to it!
Have had one since 2014 before they were called Player Series. I'm pretty sure I paid $800 back then. This inflation is BS in 10 years, another $400. I can say that there was no fret sprout. Had an EVH Wolfgang special made by Fender every spring had to file the fret sprout to me that says they weren't drying their wood long enough come on Fender. Didn't happen to any of the other 15 guitars I had hanging in the same room.
Yeah that’s a beautiful Telecaster but actual $ value Id buy it at $800! I paid about $400 for a MIM HSS Fender Stratocaster about 12 years ago. It was brand new at Guitar Center. It was a special run, red burgundy with Indian Laurel fret board, alder body, maple neck, small headstock. A great guitar I still play it several times a week as it is one of my 24 guitars! Lol 😂
Here's some info on what USA made Fenders used to retail for when I was in high school. From 1992 through '94, my local music store sold Fender American Standard stratocasters for $590. The black abs plastic fender USA hardshell case was included. That was the retail price for a regular opaque color finish and 3 American Standard single coil pickups. So yeah, inflation today is really bad.
Hay Shawn Hay Cathy I got a Monoprice Telecaster it has the Wilkinson bridge and pickups $214 to the Door yah that fender is nice I don't know if it is a thousand dollars better I think I'm going to keep my thousand and enjoy my Monoprice and keep watching your channel ♥️
I had the nashville deluxe telle , white blonddidnt have the coil split. Locking tuners upgraded string tree. Player made in mexico. Loved it . 850 dollars. Wis i hd gotten the one you have. 1200 is steep but if i had it id give it . They sound great. Really enjoyed the vedeo.😊
My thoughts, if I'm buying a guitar north of $1,000.00 US, it better be perfect. I'd say it's only worth about $600.00. I own a Squire Affinity Tellecaster. I bought it at guitar center. I only paid $150.00 used, and it was perfect, and one of my go-to guitars
I also own an Affinity Tele and by what I'm seeing from Sean..... I'm glad I paid $400 New (Canadian) for mine and had barely anything needed to be done to it.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I think it really speaks well of Fender to send you a guitar. It at least shows they want to improve. As for the price, I'm going to say something no one in the comments wants to hear...the days of cheap, good, name-brand guitars is pretty much over. Mass inflation over the last several years has done its job and fleeced those of us in the poor and middle class rungs. It's driven up the prices of raw materials and labor so much that, yes, even a Mexican guitar has to be this price to turn a healthy profit. It's not just about the materials and labor, it's also about marketing, tooling, taxes, and every kind of overhead you can think of. It's even worse for a company like Fender, who import guitars and try to do business in California. I don't know for the life of my why they insist on remaining in that state. They could probably shave a couple hundred off the price in corporate taxes and other fees and duties just by moving their HQ somewhere more business friendly like Texas, Florida, or Tennessee.
Well said Brad
I agree bro. I live in Illinois. We have lost over 2000 businesses and 17 large employer corporations over the last 5 years. This state is 3rd worst for business in the country behind Cali and NY. I remember back in the day before the regulation press that has hit every industry it didn't matter what state you lived in you could make money. Now all the politically liberal states are doing so much to make it hard for everyone who lives there to do business it makes my head spin. I am lucky in a way. I am retired but my son's are feeling it. My oldest son had a nice little remodeling business going before the china flu but the governor here put him out of business back in March 2020 and shut him down for 8 months. We couldn't work. That was it for me. I retired after that but he had to start over. We are seriously talking about moving to Florida or Texas either near Orlando or near Houston because I need to be near a VA hospital if I move. I love Fender, and Gibson guitars. I am done with those though unless they come down about 30%. I bought a Gibson Studio and a Japanese Fender in the last year. I love them both. But I won't pay 1000.00 for a base Tele from Mexico when I can buy a Monoprice Indio for 150.00 and 200.00 in upgrades and have just as good a playing and sounding guitar as the Fender Tele from mexico that Sean did in his review. I love your channel Theguitologist, too bro. You do some good work with that. I am a subscriber.
Hear hear!
Maybe one
And to think that some people are saying that with the advent of synth and rap that the guitar's days are over. Lol, what a joke.
I’m 60 years old, I came up during the time when guitar building was in the era of one had to spend between 1K to 1.5K to obtain a good guitar. 2 and 3 hundred dollar guitars were horrible. They literally couldn’t be played.
Thank the guitar industry for adopting the CNC machine. Now it’s possible to purchase a $150.00 dollar guitar. And have the luxury of installing high end parts so for around $500.00 bucks you can have a 1K quality guitar. I call it a luxury because one gets to choose exactly what one wants and likes,That is traveling a little bit into custom shop territory.
People spout the fact that it’s stupid to hotrod a cheap guitar?
These days good bones are quite easy to find. And saving money has never been a stupid idea.
Thanks for this channel and a shout out to Fender for keeping it real.
But will Fender put the outcome of information gathered in this article/video. To good use,Only time will tell. Signed a Gibson and Fender customer for many moons!
You are correct. The cheap guitars back then were completely horrible.
Thank Hartley Peavey.....he was the first to use CNC
@@cantfindamerica877 you are my age and I remember Gibson’s Norlin era and Fender’s concurrent CBS era in the 70s with all of the quality issues that really hurt these brands. At the very same time, you had all of these Matsumoku knockoff guitars (Ibanez, Electra, Aria, etc.) from Japan that were really good quality for a fraction of the price and was all a teenager could afford anyway! Many of these old Matsumoku guitars were scary good and collectible now in their own right. They undercut the big USA brands and when people realized how good the stuff from Japan actually was, “Made in Japan” became the new “Made in USA” and their prices are now right up there with USA made guitars. My Alvarez Yairi DYM-95C, for example, is every bit as good as a Martin and actually listed higher than a Martin back in 2006 when it was new! Made in Korea became the first “offshoring” of Japanese manufacturers and they now continue to move their manufacturing to where labor is cheaper, environmental restrictions are lower, etc. I guess we should ask who it is that is building these $150 Amazon specials and what is their overall quality of life?
I also remember the old Teisco, Kay, and Sears Roebuck guitars that actually were junk but now even these are collectible and desirable. Go figure!
I was thinking $800 myself the whole way through the great video. Put the Reaper next to it and there is no comparison.Thanks Shawn and Cathy for the best guitar channel on the internet.
I stopped this video at the 50 second mark to say, I have this guitar, used I paid $699 and it's spectacular....
Now...on to the rest of the video!!!!!
Thank you very much for the review. The Fender guitar you played really sounds great.👌 I do understand the pricing, there are lots of Strat/Tele style guitars that are built well on Amazon, Walmart, Ebay such as Harley Benton and a few other Parts caster models like. They may sound good, but they are NOT "Fender".
That's what you are actually paying for: *The Name, The Legacy and the Logo* .🤭 In fairness the fretboard on that tele looks killer (especially the wood grain), other minor truss rod adjustments are easy to do, I just follow all the "set-up tutorials" on RUclips. And you are actually right, the fair actual price should be around $800 given the great Fender wood and the noiseless pickups. The extra $400, you are paying is for the Name and Logo, It's like owning a part of history. So, whenever anyone buy a Fender or Gibson, always remember that it's not just the craftsmanship or even the quality you are paying for but the name.💯👍😉
Black Friday weekend of 2022, I found a Player Plus Nashville telecaster, Opal Spark ( metallic blue) on sale for 32% off. I thought it'd be a second or a blemish model. And when it arrived, the box said " pick this box last". In other words, it was the last box on the pallet. But I figured since I could return it if it was a bad one, no risk. But it was perfect. And I'm not stretching the truth. No fret sprout. No shim needed. I did lower the action, but I do that on all my guitars. Maybe I just got lucky, but I'm super happy with it. But I only paid $700 for mine and that to me is a fair price. Thanks for the post, Sean. Your channel rocks! ...P.S. Cathy's pickups sound better!
I got mine a 2016 paid 675$ (850 CAD) back then It's honeyblonde, no noiseless pickups (they are tex-mex which I prefer to get that tele twang). it had the ashtray bridge back then. I might have got lucky, it was setup better than most American ones in the store. One of my fav guitars still to this day. Around that price point it was a Monster for the price !
"The Neck" is the heart of the instrument along with fret Level and truss rod adjustment. "A.K.A. Setup!"
Thousands of people would argue that wood is the heart. 😂😂😂
I’ve been waiting for this vid to drop! It’s good to hear Fender is listening and is open to criticism. That gives me hope.
Everything you said is spot on. I really don’t think it’s worth a dime over $699 retail when you compare it to what’s out there for even half the price and account for the Fender name on the headstock. For what they’re asking, it should be immaculate out of the box and using higher quality materials. It should be perfectly setup and ready to go, short of a truss rod tweak at the most to account for shipping from the factory/retailer to the customer. How can it leave the factory with that plinking noise on the high e? The wiring shouldn’t be a bird’s nest of a mess, even if there’s a lot going on - they can put a few ties to tidy it up so people who need to make repairs or mods won’t have to start untangling the wiring to figure out what’s attached to where. The pickup wiring should be a bit longer in case someone wants to make mods or needs to make repairs to the electronics. You should not have to start fixing fret sprout and adding shims. Every guitar should have a contoured heel joint and not have that giant block (unless it’s a historic model, which this is not). Nobody can argue with their pickups being amazing. The guitar looks nice, but they should be using rosewood and other better quality woods - you can gorgeous, high quality wood on a FoJill for $100 bucks, so there’s like zero excuse on Fender’s part.
Point is, it’s not even close to $1200. They also need to learn basic economics 101. They’ll make more money if they can sell at higher volumes for lower price point. If most people can’t afford a Fender, they’re not going to be making nearly as much money as they could if people could actually afford them. They can 100% price their guitars much lower. It doesn’t cheapen the brand in any way. Quite the contrary. They could very easily sell $500 Fenders that check all these boxes when all the imports brands can now do that for half that, short of the iconic headstock and perhaps the pickups.
Thanks for always keeping it real, Sean. I hope Fender keeps sending you more guitars and really takes your advice to heart, as well as all of our input in the comments.
Just so you know I bought brand new in 1963 Jassmaster and a 1984 Stratocaster both made in America!!! Yes I want, not need a Tele, but not at 1000 bucks!!! I can have Sean make me one and Cathy make the pick-ups and have a Guitar that I can say it's hand made in America and be proud of it for 800 or less cause I truly don't know Sean's price on one!! So Fender this old Construction Worker Won't be buying a Guitar from you just for the Fender name, made in Mexico !!! Sean Excellent review and we will talk about a build as so as I pay all my Property Taxes!! God Bless Sean and Cathy!!!!
In my opinion I would pay $500 as is. Through in a hard case $600. I have an Ibanez I payed $250 for that will give that guitar a run for the money. I did the same things Sean did to it. Plus it’s blue lol. Keep on encouraging people to learn how to set up their guitar. You have made me a better guitar owner. I thank you for that
Yes I was the one who hit the thumbs down and why same thing the glarry needed but the glarry was shipped bad strings I wouldn't pay squire version,, they are all off Gibson les Paul will not stay tuned to big of a fender fan for a honest review. Love you all and have a blessed day !!
12:37 12:38 Even Phil McKnight glarry is a great part's caster!😂!! Also why he didn't do any more reviews because nothing new from glarry!!! Also the frets was a good chance to do stainless steel for him!!! He also said that it's still alive and still playing!!!
I bought a Mexico Strat used at a music store. A guy traded it in because it played like crap. It was one year old and has the flamed maple top. Beautiful but sucked to play. About an hour after getting it home it plays great . A little time saved me nearly half the price. Because of Sean, and others before I found him, I've learned to do this myself. Thanks Sean for all the knowledge I've gotten in the past year.
Yeah man, I have heard SO MANY stories about people getting these expensive guitars ( or even affordable guitars) they claim are trash and unplayable, when in reality all they need is a set up. Anybody with an ounce of sense can learn to set up a guitar. Electric guitars are not as delicate as a lot of people think, I let my 2 year old grandson twang on my Schecter strings, it freaks my mom out a little she is afraid he will break something. (I hold it while he pings and twangs) It makes he and I smile.
Excellent review. I have an old Tele I bought in used in 1978. Previous owner routed out the body (porly) for some reason. I had it restored the best the guy could do in 1981. Now the body is so dried out it can't maintain screws. I brought it to my local "down home" guitar shop in San Antonio, TX. It came down to saving the neck, bridge and pickups. Need a new body that will support a humbucker in the neck position, and control plate. If it sounds anything like your evaluation, it is money well spent! Thank you for getting me smart about setups
I bought a Fender ltd edition player series strat in Ferrari yellow 2.5 yrs ago (apparently only 150 were available for UK/Europe), I bought a Fender hard case and there it still sits in darkness, in its case, until i am a good enough guitarist, worthy to play it (when i bought it I was 54yrs old and learning to play on a £76 Harley Benton st-20) it has never been played and hasnt had a set up..I am not ready yet to hold it, it is my personal holy grail to make me get better..i have another 17 guitars and have used them all...I hope the waiting will be worth it as it is my most expensive guitar I own 🙏😃
Great video man. Bad Fender. I bought a MIM Nashville Telecaster 10 years ago. It had a bad cut nut, the second string rubbed the first fret. The keys were the same ones they put on a Squier. The bridge plate cavity was cut about a 1/4" longer than the bridge plate and the pickups sucked along with the honey blond finish that looked like Skippy peanut butter. I sent it back. It was $600 then and ain't worth a penny more today. Heck I just finished modding a Washburn to a Nashville Strat. Now there's a guitar to play on, and better than any MIM Fender. Have a good one man.
To be fair it lists for $ 1,020. Get the 15% Musicians Friend discount and you're down to $867. Nashville switching is a nice feature and hey you get 3 pickups! The Deluxe Nashville used to come with a contoured heel joint which should be included. Bought mine for $ 800 and sold it for $700. The power of the Fender brand!
I got a Squier Custom Nashville Strat, and I love it. Paid the princely sum of $412 shipped...REAL similar sounds, and the setup was pretty nice as well. Just the body shape is Slab Strat instead of Slab Tele. Super versatile!
Six months ago, I purchased one of these in a blue color because the parts alone were quite a bit, I got a hard shell case thrown in, and a awesome Nashville Tele for 1000 and change. Yes, it’s made at their Mexico plant, and I would say this was the guitar of the year for 2023 in my opinion. I had purchased a couple American performers and most of the parts are obviously not from the USA and this Nashville telecaster blows them both away. It had perfect frets. The pick ups were awesome and it played great right out of the gig bag and they sent me a hard shell case. So yes it is in my opinion. But not over 1000, that’s enough. But you are absolutely correct. I had the same issues and it took me about 15 minutes to correct everything on this guitar that I got from musicians friend. A great set up and I played a couple shows with it.
It's absolutely gorgeous, out of my price range, and I'm not really sold on those pickups. Noiseless loses all the twang and kerrang I want out of a single coil.
Props to fender for having the guts to even do this!
Exactly!! lol
And this is why I love this channel you tell it like it is I was thinking 600 to 800
LOVE the strat and tele, bought both in the 70's. They were OVERPRICED back Then. I Now Make my Own guitars. Thanks Sean, I Agree.
I've shelled out 2200 bucks each for a Jackson USA Soloist and Flying V. Honestly my PRS SE upgraded and out of the box Schecter hellraiser were just as good.
I'm not a bolt on fan if it's over $600. So I wouldn't pay more then that.
Original was thought on cost was about $700 to $850. After the Fret issue which is a $50 job at my local shops $650 to 800. Sounded great though, no pickup change needed.
However as you have shown a lower cost well manufactured guitar with a little more work needing done and a Pickup swap to something decent. Paying a shop for the work even. You can get 2 that will be just as good.
Late 80's mim stat 300 bucks,adjust for inflation 400. Fair price .
that's a guitar that should be 650 - 700. Maybe catch it on sale for $550 or so. I love it. My father actually has one. Fender has been upping the prices man.
Shawn. I've deciphered the scribbling in the neck pocket. It says " If you give a favorable review on this overpriced fire log, we will send you a 12 pack of Natty Light, a Fojio Tele, a Gorilla combo amp and a coupon to Western Sizzler."
I got a charvel tele with all the bells and whistles made in the same factory it was $1000 canadian that's like $600?
A killer sounding guitar, a beautiful guitar but $1200 is way out of my price range. I have an Epiphone that I paid around $450 for. Thanks for the review you did a killer job.
I have a MIA Dunable that I paid like 2.4K for a couple of years ago. After about a month or so, one of the pots died and I had to replace it w/ a CTS. Another couple of months, and the pickup selector switch died and had to be replaced w/ another aftermarket replacement of better quality.
Now neither of these issues were what I'd call a big deal, and neither costed that much to have fixed, but should either of those two things have ever been an issue on a MIA that costed 2.4K?
Anyways, a couple of months ago I saw this post made by some random guy on a Dunable players FB group talking about the issues he was having w/ a MIA Dunable he'd gotten. Now of course since this is FB we're talking about, the fanboys started dogpiling on the guy for bringing up what appeared to be some legitimate issues he was trying to get acknowledged and fixed. Guess the attempt to peer pressure the guy into silence backfired, b/c no sooner had he posted his thread then a lot of other ppl began weighing in w/ their own qc-related horror stories as well.
The moral of the story? MIA is no longer any guarantee of quality, and probably hasn't been for like the last 40 years anyways.
Now let me give two examples of what I'm about here. Now admittedly, both of these guitars I'll be talking about were bought a number of years ago, but I think they're still both valid examples of what I'm talking about. The first was a MIM HH Strat I picked up NIB for $550 which played fine, stayed in tune, and, most importantly, sounded good. The other was a used MIK Agile LP copy I got off eBay for like +/- $300 that was just as good a playing and sounding guitar as a "real" MIA Gibson LP I'd owned before.
Hi Sean! You can buy a Tease Tele built by Americans in NY... for a LOT less. Try one of these on your show, please! Ditto the comment on a Hard Shell Case. Bags are a joke! The only thing I have ever heard that costs $1000+ that comes in a bag... well Eric Clapton wrote a song once called... Oh well, thanks Sean (and I'm sure Kathey did something for this too!)!
I love that tele. I'd pay 650 max. I have 2 Fender Teles and 3 Fender Strats and a Fender Mustang and many Squier and Epiphones among others. My Fenders are my favorites. The necks are where it's at.
for 1200 would be nice to have a roasted maple neck & some cool binding i like my head stocks to be painted the same color of the body..
I bought my first real guitar back in the 60's. A used Gretsch Country Gentlemen for $400, that was over a month's pay back in the day.
Way too much! I have a Harley Benton 335 that plays like a dream. But I had to like every other guitar I have owned, adjust the truss rod, new strings, adjust the action and now it plays like dream. I have had it now for 6 years. Don’t play it that much anymore but it stays in tune. Love your content. 👍🏻
No way I would pay 1200$ for it……but it sounds killer and looks beautiful! I would pay 750$ for it because it is a Fender but I could buy 3 guitars for 1200$ in todays market and with some work they would sound just as good.
That’s awesome brother. I truly appreciate hearing the honest truth. 🤣 sounds funny. But honesty is hard to come by in this day and age!!
Having that middle pickup is so awesome over other teles that don't have it! The sound you get using it in combination with the bridge pickup really brings on the "chime" man! The trick is... set that middle pickup nice and low into the body where the bridge pickup is still dominant in volume, but engaging the middle pickup with it gives a beautiful bell-like tone - and THAT's what playin' a tele is all about (to me anyway). It's called the "Nashville" players series because of what I just described here. With the right amp and settings, you will get some nice Brent Mason-esque tones with this guitar, even without having to replace the pickups. With today's increased labor rates and materials cost, to me, it's probably worth around $850-ish, I guess. I had an old American Tele Plus (which cost more than this one) that I really loved the playability of but absolutely hated the Lace sensor pickups in it because, although hey were hot enough, they just did not have a great tight low end spank. I believe this version here though will probably get the job done nicely. Great review, Shawn!
Great video! $1200? Naw. Half that price? Yep. 😁😁
Fender picked you because your guitars are top notch and your channel is awesome. What a compliment them choosing you to give a review. I'm impressed and proud that this went down. Very cool! 😎🤓
I have a MIJ Squire Strat that is outstanding. The build quality is superb. All Fender parts too except for the Floyd Rose. Would love to find a MIJ Tele.
Very interesting evaluation, well-balanced. I think if a guitar is over $1000, they should supply a hard shell case with it. The price of Fenders and Gibsons have gone up ridiculously . I know when I bought my American made Fender Deluxe Stratocaster in 2015, it was about $1400 but now you are looking at about $2500.
Fenders have gone up a bit but the amount Gibsons have gone up by is absolutely ridiculous.
Sean, Cathy I’m just starting to watch this video. I have to say, you know you’re doing it right if Fender connects with you and sends a guitar to be critiqued. Keep up the good work❗️🎸😎
I have a Nashville player plus, Sunburst with maple Fretboard. I scored it from Amazon for $608. I love it! The Satin neck and rolled Fretboard feels great in the hand. I get your point Shawn completely! My only issue with it: there's poly over the frets. The frets look golden in the light. I dig it and feel it was a fair price for what I paid.
I've played teles for 41 of my 51 years as a player, previously Les Pauls... 600 to 700, maybe 750 with the silent pickups.... especially when compared to what other companies are doing, even if you need a few mods. My best tele is an early pine Squire Classic Vibe that was 269 new.... eventally put direct replacement Duncan's, humbucking neck, Lil 59 for Tele in the bridge at 147 bucks back then... from jazz to Satch... a great guitar... I love you Fender... but you're pricing us out... smaller companies seem to be doing a lot more for a lot less.... and if you mod your guitars, bargains are to be had
Straight up 👍
I will never spend over $400 ever again. I’m not a label chaser and no label is worth thousands of dollars.
400? I’m sorry , bro . I’m all for getting good deals but .. 400 bucks ? Geesh
My limit is $500. I am learning so much from Sean that I will buy cheap and fix the issues myself. I focus on frets now, I don't want to work on those. Found a cheap used Dean Vendetta with amazing fretwork. Working on bringing it back to life now.
I would only for a Schecter and Ibanez , never had one issue with either at any price point. But definitely would never spend thousands on a Gibson or Fender...
@@juanvaldez5422Exactly , do you know how many killer Schecters and Ibanez's are out there for $400-$600...
Agree. $1200 is $800 too much in my opinion. With that said my 1968 Tele that I bought in 1968 needed a setup. Frets were horrible and the neck was way out. The fret buzz made me nuts. Oh, and intonation? The guy that did the setup said intonation was not performed at the factory. I played tele’s and Strat’s for about 2 weeks before I decided on the Tele and in the end I went with sound over style and the Tele today still performs well. But I wouldn’t pay $1200. Hell, I wouldn’t pay $500. Thanks for your videos. I continue to learn.
Hmmmm. Beautiful guitar, obviously. That thing looks terrrrrrrrific. Sounds ....ok, really pretty good. But my price point on one of those? $640-675. No way I'd spend over $700 on that. No way. Include a hardshell case & I might go to $800. Great breakdown. Great job, Sean.
That Leo Jaymes you built still sounds the best and others.
I'd put in shorter saddle height screws before adding a shim, or just grind the originals shorter on the bottom side
Great video, Shawn! I think $1200 is way too much for that guitar. While I do believe Fender has the right to pad the price a little bit for their name and rep, there are far too many good guitars for half that price available. I have been a gigging musician most of my adult life. I love both Gibson and Fender guitars. I have owned both as well. My "work" guitars are all under $700, and they play, look, and sound fantastic. I see no need to spend more because of a name on a headstock.
Fender just needs to up their detail work and get to know their audience better.
Like they are doing here.
Sean is 100% correct, and the way he posed those questions during the video was perfect.
I'm not going to profess to tell Fender what they need to charge for this one to feed Americans/Mexicans assembling them. But consider the Monoprice TL I bought back in Oct 2021 for $ 75 delivered with padded gig bag. I can live with the hook headstock shape. Out of the box, the Monoprice needed the same set up as the Fender did, even added a shim to get the saddle foot screws & string action height dialed in. The Monoprice was the last of the string thru body models before they went top loader & optional string thru body mod. End of the day I can replace pickups on the Monoprice with Fender pickups of choice. I can replace the electronics eventually too. CTS pots or even Fender parts are maybe $ 30, I just don't see or hear $ 900+ more for parts & labor. If I want to put the Monoprice back into specs for working electronics, I can get a loaded Chinese pickguard delivered for under $30.
I think the Fender Player for finish quality is better than my Monoprice TL. But considering I'm bound to put in a ding or few, I'd only ruin that better finish at some point. The bet with any guitar is whether one can eventually be a musician & play it. The Player series is going to depreciate what the Monoprice costs & more. Just keeping that real. The Fender should be easier to resell if a bond isn't happening with the guitar or music in general. The Monoprice, I should be able to sell it for what I paid for it, but I will have to apologize for it not being a Fender from it's humble origins. With these as reasons, I see no reason to sell off the Monoprice TL for a Fender Player/Player Plus.
The Chinese will win the international inflation war every time for guitars or anything else really. I mean even Tesla is moving towards Chinese EV battery packs. And for the price of the Monoprice TL, I can buy 10 of those for a Fender Player Plus. That's what Fender is going to have to address as the 800 lb gorilla in the room. Can they compete without even USA Government tariffs still leaving the playing field tilted heavily in China's favor. I'd love to help Fender out, buy Meican/USA. But the mortgage, the groceries & everyone else is making a free run at the bank accounts. Gotta pay people first before they can pay you, that horse has always been in front of that cart. I'm just not in Fender's target market, probably never will be, even as a lottery winner.
Years ago I bought an American fat tele for around $1000.00, I added the third pickup myself, and it is my favorite, most versatile guitar. This one should be priced at around $800.00 , all things considered.
I bought one of these back in 2020 and got it for $650 on a killer sale. I got the White blonde. The only change I made was to put a red pearl pick guard on it. I set it up and love how it plays. I wasn't sure I'd like the 12" radius, but I sure do. Sounds great too. Would I pay the current price for it ? Nope. But they can be found on reverb for a decent price.
Good to see ya again. Always an exciting time with you and Cathy.
Now if I'm going to be honest, no guitar is worth $1200 dollars, Period.
Especially when I bought a Candy Apple red Kramer Assault Les Paul style guitar HSH with ebony fret board, Floyd Rose setup that played perfect right out of the box for $224 a few years back.
Fender has to step up their game,
There's a lot of competition out there.
You could get a much better guitar for that price. Rock on!!
In 1999 I paid 900 dollars for an American made strat plus with locking tuners a ball bearing nut and a kick ass tremelo system with 2 golds and a red lace sensors in the bridge position with Brazillion rosewood fretboard and it was a red metallic paint job with a locking hardshell case. Now they want $1100 for a guitar that needs to set up that was made in Mexico and only comes with a fucking gig bag?.I don't think so Fender
The fact that fender has made squire models that come so close in price to the guitars they put the fender name on its kinda surprising you can get any fender for less than 1200, its like they have made such a point that they can build quality guitars at a fair price point but you cant have the name till you are willing to spend.. more money less quality but you get the name... what a conundrum..
I would say, maybe $650 with no case. A $1200 guitar should ship with a case not a gig bag. I liked the body, that knot didn't bother me.
I would say no for anything over $300 out of box. No need for all the scribble. You would have thought the neck would be tight in the pocket, but it sounds beautiful in the end. Final tweaks $550 to $600
I'd value it $695 and only if it came with a Hardshell Case. In 1966 I was playing a Hagstrom III, which I loved, I think that cost about $150-$165. It was the first quality electric that I owned. With peer pressure from my bandmates and to fit the bands image, I got a 1966 Jazzmaster in white, matching headstock. Fair Trade item at the time, I believe it cost $285 with a Hardshell Case. As a 15 year old I felt I had something special, the guitar was gorgeous, flawless finish, and that case, made me feel like a pro. It made me a lifelong Fender buyer. Hear that Fender.
I played guitar for a bit about 15yrs ago and getting back into it. I had a mim strat that was $320 and installed some $89 noiseless pickups. I still dig Fender guitars but theyre just so over priced. I got an Eart ymx-sg3 strat I bought new for $160, installed some $8 d'addarrios, $21 alnico v pickups and is sounds pretty sweet! May get a set of Scarred pickups soon!👍🤟
I have a Squire that is set up perfectly, it was a special edition. Everything has been updated and I would stack it up against any high end model.
I agree with your suggested price. Very nice guitar, though. They are pricing themselves out of business.
Loving that Tele string rattle Sean! Love your videos! Hello From Canada!
I think the metal disc embedded in the neck heal is meant to be a contact point for a Fender body that has a micro tilt adjustment.
I paid $700 for that guitar back in 2014. (Mexican Nashville Deluxe series.) The only difference is that they didn't come with the push/pull pot back then, so I put my own in the volume knob. I got out of guitars for about eight years, and was shocked to see the price go up so much. Heck, some Squires are going for $700 now! TOO MUCH!
I honestly couldn’t see paying more than $400.00-$600.00 for virtually any guitar. This coming from another working man. It is beautiful though and I do love it too!
I really apperocate videos like these. Every time I think about getting a new guitar videos like these bring me back down to earth
Same model is $1420CAD up here to the north of you. Fender will drop prices on the slow moving models, I think, but not the popular ones. Great review as usual!
On eBay before covid-19 it may have sold for $650.
I bought my first fender telecaster back in 1993 for $350. Had to hide it from my wife at the time but was happy as a lark. Still have it but not the wife, lol… works for me… nice axe btw. Take care… I would say it should cost no more than $500.
Really wanted to buy this kind of guitar. Until I saw this video. Also, seeing other videos from this channel made me buy a DIY kit and started to build my own telecaster. I'll change the hardware with some quality items(decent bridge, locking tuners and fender noiseless pickups) and still going to cost me 1/3 of this Player Plus from Fender
Another great review! I’m hoping that Fender pays attention to your comment about actual worth and makes the changes necessary before the imports put them out to pasture!
The best part of that guitar is the pickups, and the switching. It has an amazing array of voices, all Fenderish in tone. With any Strat-style, I find myself favouring the middle setting, with both the in betweens as second choice. Actually, it's the same with the G guitars; Gibson, Gretsch, Guild and Goya. You know, the ones whose G strings are often out of tune?
Thank for the review Sean I have this guitar and I agree with you. Love mine I can pretty well tune it and play something else and about 3 or 4 days later maybe have to tune one string. I watched one guys review on it and he had a issue with the bottom E string on the neck he said it was really close to the edge of the fretboard.
I bought an 03 Mexi Strat from George's in 03, $289. Best off the wall guitar I ever had.
Recently bought a Fender American Pro II Thinline Strat for $1900 with tax. Loved it but could not justify the cost so back it went to GC. I went on Ebay bought a strat thinline body and a gorgeous neck with a rosewood fret board, on other sites I bought Fender noiseless Strat pickups, Hipshot locking tuners, Guyker trem bridge, Obsideon David Gilmore wiring harness which gave me basically the same options pickup options as the American Pro II, all other parts such as pick guard neck plate and the like from Amazon. Total cost a touch over $600 and I have one great almost direct copy of the American Pro II Thinline. It sounds and plays incredible and is a keeper.❤
Thats cool! But remember that not everyone can put a guitar together and set it up correctly, have the correct luthier tools to make sure the neck and bridge is aligned correctly, able to check fret level etc. But yes 1900 for American Pro 2 is too much. I didnt pay that much for mine new. Also remember that Fender has lowered the prices some. But they need to lower more in my opinion.
Sean, just saw an advertisement on YT last night and they’re selling Japanese recreations of 50’s or 60’s Fender Stratocasters for half price! Regular price was $1,200.00+, a limited quantity are on sale now for $600.00+.
Its fantastic that Leo Fender created that Tele, and you appreciate the machine!
$500 is my top Dollar for that Mexican Tele
I agree with all your comments about value. The only thing you didn't mention is resale value if that is important to you. Fender will hold more value than a no name brand regardless of if it should. When buying a guitar you should always set aside money for a good set up or learn to do it yourself. Even high end guitars will need set up work.
I watched this last night and slept on it. I'm a piano player, sure I'd like to have a Steinway D, BUT my old Kawai is fine.. Some people fill storage lockers with guitars and stack Martin D-28s in boxes like fire wood. The pictures are out there. If I was going to buy just one electric guitar, it would be a Fender Stratocaster. A Mexican made would be OK, If I didn't have the money I would finance it. I would expect more exotic wood for my $1200 too...
I have to say. I 22:29 get Fender's pricing on that guitar. I agree with Sean that it is probably worth 800.00 all day but given that it does have the Fender name, what is that name worth? Is it worth any money at all or is it worth 20% of the value of the guitar? If it is 800.00 at 20% that's 160.00 so that works out to 960.00. now we are real close. Would I buy that guitar if I was in the market for a 3 single coil pickup guitar with the combo wiring for 1050.00 plus tax since most shipping is now included from most retailers? Most likely yes or the Strat sister to that one only because I think the Fender name is worth 200.00 . That's my 2 cents worth of thought about this. Thanks Sean for the honest review again bro. You do us right out here in what you do with your reviews and I hope Fender takes to heart your comments. 22:29
The plus sign carved in the bottom of the neck I'm guessing stands for player plus series. That little metal circle at the base of the neck may be from when they used to have an adjustment screw that was in the back of the neck plate. Old school. Even with todays inflation I think it's a 600-700 bucks axe. And it should come in a case.
I would venture to say that my PartsCaster T-Style guitar, with my new neck and Scarred Pickups will hang right up there, close to the Fender Player Series...
My "Sean Blue" Scarred Guitar from Sean and Cathy is a pleasure to play and the Red Scarred Guitar that I bought from y'all is probably every bit as good as the Fender Player
Thank you, Sean and Cathy and thanks for the great video...
Any guitar $800 and above should have a hard-shell case period. Because it has a 3rd pickup and comes with a gig bag I say $799 and that my story and I'm sticking to it!
I was thinking same thing. I concour
I bought a Mexican Fender Nashville Tele in 2002. I paid $499 brand new in a hard shell case.
Have had one since 2014 before they were called Player Series. I'm pretty sure I paid $800 back then. This inflation is BS in 10 years, another $400. I can say that there was no fret sprout. Had an EVH Wolfgang special made by Fender every spring had to file the fret sprout to me that says they weren't drying their wood long enough come on Fender. Didn't happen to any of the other 15 guitars I had hanging in the same room.
Yeah that’s a beautiful Telecaster but actual $ value Id buy it at $800! I paid about $400 for a MIM HSS Fender Stratocaster about 12 years ago. It was brand new at Guitar Center. It was a special run, red burgundy with Indian Laurel fret board, alder body, maple neck, small headstock. A great guitar I still play it several times a week as it is one of my 24 guitars! Lol 😂
One thing about tellys they trpple as well as a Getfiddle. 2 a pot passer at the dinner table if you have a long dinner table to a cutting board .
Here's some info on what USA made Fenders used to retail for when I was in high school. From 1992 through '94, my local music store sold Fender American Standard stratocasters for $590. The black abs plastic fender USA hardshell case was included. That was the retail price for a regular opaque color finish and 3 American Standard single coil pickups. So yeah, inflation today is really bad.
Hay Shawn Hay Cathy I got a Monoprice Telecaster it has the Wilkinson bridge and pickups $214 to the Door yah that fender is nice I don't know if it is a thousand dollars better I think I'm going to keep my thousand and enjoy my Monoprice and keep watching your channel ♥️
The plastic part under the neckplate is only for a small shim, it helps keep your screws from bottoming out in the neck.
I had the nashville deluxe telle , white blonddidnt have the coil split. Locking tuners upgraded string tree. Player made in mexico. Loved it . 850 dollars. Wis i hd gotten the one you have. 1200 is steep but if i had it id give it . They sound great. Really enjoyed the vedeo.😊
A mass produced Mexican Fender, $500 max in my book.
Yep, sweet. 750-800 w/ a tweed hard shell case.
My thoughts, if I'm buying a guitar north of $1,000.00 US, it better be perfect. I'd say it's only worth about $600.00. I own a Squire Affinity Tellecaster. I bought it at guitar center. I only paid $150.00 used, and it was perfect, and one of my go-to guitars
I also own an Affinity Tele and by what I'm seeing from Sean..... I'm glad I paid $400 New (Canadian) for mine and had barely anything needed to be done to it.
That metal plug in the heal is in my Dean neck. There is a grub screw in the body. I assume for adjusting the neck angle.