Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? This Tele is surprisingly well made. I remember the very first run of MIM guitars, many years ago, and they left a lot to be desired. The Blacktop series absolves all the sins of previous inferior models, and really showcases the quality control at the Ensenada facility. Reliability How has it stood up over time? I have only had this instrument for a little over a week now, and forsee no issues other than normal maintenance and cleaning. If you take care of it, it will take care of you for many years to come. General Your general opinion of this product. In the realm of $500 tele's, this guitar has to be the king. Great feel, great playability, and great tone. It's hard to beat. You could spend a whole lot more, but why? Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? This thing plays exceptionally well. And after some tinkering on it, it now plays just as good as my American Deluxe Tele; wrap your mind around that for a minute! Not too heavy, and I love the belly scarf. The neck has a modern C profile, and feels great in my hand. The reversed controls took a little getting used to, and is no longer an issue. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? In my experience, the import guitars I have owned did not come equipped with very good pickups. They were mediocre at best. I was pleasantly surprised by the Blacktop pickups! I can best describe them as being of the 'hot vintage' variety, in fact, they sound a lot like a SD JB model, but with a slightly different eq tweaking and resonant peak. I would dare to say they will cover all but the most extreme types of musical styles. Run through my supersonic twin, they sounded wonderfully creamy, very touch sensitive, and meshed very well with the inherent tele twang. Run through my 6505+ half stack, I ran the cat out of the living room! These pickups work ridiculously well with high gain structure amplifiers. Crunchy, twangy goodness, with harmonics leaping of the neck from everywhere! I already had a set of Fralin's that I was going to put in there, but I decided to run with what I have. They are good. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? I received the guitar with a flawless silver finish. Great finish on the tinted neck as well. Action How was the action out of the box? The action was good for me right out of the box. My only beef with the instrument was, the intonation was not even close. You would think that this would be set up at the factory, but not on this one. Not a huge deal, I had it all dialed in in about half an hour.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Great quality. Straight out of the box It played great. It needs a little setup but it is a solid guitar. Reliability How has it stood up over time? I have had it for a couple of weeks now and this thing is staying in tune. The tuners are really doing their job. General Your general opinion of this product. I really like the silver finish with the maple neck. It really is a beautiful guitar. I love telecasters with humbuckers. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? It plays great. I bought it as a backup for my 72 Telecaster Deluxe Reissue but I think it will become my main axe. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? I love telecasters but am not a fan of single coils, so the Blacktop series with the humbuckers is the perfect combo. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The silver really sparkles. I can't wait to see what it looks like under stage lights. Action How was the action out of the box? the neck is really fast. It makes running up and down the frets easy.

Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The black finish is flawless, I couldnt find a single mark anywhere. Action How was the action out of the box? Action was a little low but thats something I set up when I put 10's on it. I have been doing the complete setup myself for about 15 yrs now. Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? The quality is every bit as good as the USA models. The only thing I wish Fender would spend more time on is getting the intonation at least close to dead on. This goes for USA and Mexican. The state of the art factory in Ensenada does quality work. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Every one I have had is still going strong. My cousin has played a Strat as his main gig guitar for over 5 yrs and has had no problems. I put Fat 50's in it when I got it before I sold it to him. General Your general opinion of this product. Im very impressed with the Fender Mexican guitars. Every one I have had has been extremely well made. The finish on the one I got (black) is flawless. Almost every USA black guitar has had swirl marks. Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? The frets are nice and smooth and level. No buzzes, I have had USA guitars that needed fret work right out of the box. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? The humbuckers have a very good tone. The single coils in the other models are lacking and I usually replace them with Custom Shop pickups.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? I cal the difference from this mexican made and american other than the hh Reliability How has it stood up over time? It's brand new but I t feels sturdy enough General Your general opinion of this product. This Tele just makes me wanna play . hard to put it down Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? accessable I dunno how to explain it Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? hot Finish How did the stain or paint job look? beautiful candy apple red and rosewood fingerboard Action How was the action out of the box? feels good to me

Finish How did the stain or paint job look? The paint is great but the neck is the star of this guitar. It had a comfortable chunkiness to it and exuded great quality, almost vintage or aged. The maple looks awesome and straight as an arrow. The frets are finished nicely. Action How was the action out of the box? Felt like a dream come true. Low action and awesome sounding strings with the perfect gauge for my style of playing. Sting bends are very easy with no buzz or dead psots. Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? For a MIM guitar, this one rivals those made in the USA. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Like all Fender products, this guitar should need little maintenance and should be very reliable over extended time whether studio or touring. General maintenance and care should be normal as with all guitars. General Your general opinion of this product. I have been playing telecasters for a while. I love the twang and was needing something with more heft for a rock project. This guitar, loaded with humbuckers, solved the problem. Great fit, finish, feel , and most importantly; tone! Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? A very fast player with an incredible sound for rhythm or lead. The guitar is a little heavy, but average for telecasters. The added body contour on the back feels very nice. The placement of the volume, tone, and selector switch is reversed relative to other telecasters. It is too easy to reduce the volume by mistake if playing rhythm. Could be useful for some players, but troublesome for me. I prefer the traditional layout. I did, however, try to unscrew and reverse the order, but the routing made it impossible without cutting more of the wood. Could be possible but I decided to adjust my playing to prevent accidental volume reduction. Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Hot, mellow, thick, thin? All of the above The tonal variations should suit any style of music.

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Some better QC at fender could have prevented my only real complaint which was the bad solders. The neck pick up is muddy and i will switch. Might not bothers as much as me. Reliability How has it stood up over time? Haven't had it long but had 2 bad cold solders on the switch that i had to fix when i got it. General Your general opinion of this product. I love the concept Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? feels like a tele. I play 11's so it lends itself to chunky rhythmic style Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? see above Finish How did the stain or paint job look? great Action How was the action out of the box? okay but i changed string gauges and had to change the set up anyway

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? excellent build . no flaws at all Reliability How has it stood up over time? just got it, but if it's like my other tele it'll last forever. General Your general opinion of this product. All around great guitar. Well balanced Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? neck feels a little thiner than regular MIM tele. frets are smooth. not real big fan of the reversed controls so i'll probably change that . Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? pick ups are a real surprise ,definately hot with a overall dark tone. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? got the black finish and it is flawless , love it Action How was the action out of the box? Good enough out the box, but changed strings out for some 10's and adjusted the action a little, and now it plays like a dream !

Quality Would you consider this product to be made well? How dependable? Plays great, stays in tune, pickups sound awesome, nice finish...it's a Fender! Reliability How has it stood up over time? It's a well made guitar. Can't go wrong with Fender. Even the MX guitars play and sound great! General Your general opinion of this product. This is the Tele I've been waiting for. This guitar has incredible tone and sustain, and the comfortable feel of a Telecaster neck. It's perfect for blues, classic rock, or country chicken picken' Playability and Feel How does it feel, Heavy, Fast, Chunky? How was the neck? Are the controls easy to get to while playing? Nice, Tele feel, medium-jumbo frets. Plays like a Fender! Tone Bright and snappy? Dark and smooth? Were the pickups hot, mellow, thick, thin? A little brighter than a Les Paul, more like a Telecaster Deluxe or a PRS. Finish How did the stain or paint job look? Looks great! Love the black amp knobs, candy apple red with the black pickguard. Sharp guitar! Action How was the action out of the box? I played one at a store and it played great!