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For years i have wanted a USA 52 Tele Reissue but with one little mod.... A modern 6 saddle bridge. Been wanting one as real 1952 teles is what Pete Townshend used on a few of my favourite recordings he has done... In his boathouse studio these days he has 2 of the Fender reissues teles along with his custom Clapton strats... Since a lot of his guitars get broken he sold off a fair bit of his expensive vintage toys.

But my question is what is it like playing on a vintage radius fretboard? 7 1/4 sounds pretty round! The roundest board i have ever owned is a 9.5.....

When I was in London England at the Hard Rock Vault I got to pick up one of Jeff Becks 51 Esquires from his Yardbird days..... Pretty darn interesting seeing the neck joint was done by hand.. Neck felt like a rounded over 2x4! That same day i also got to hold Hendrix's Flying V from The Rainbow Bridge concerts.... As well as a few Pete Townshend guitars... I liked that Vault over there. When in London check that place out guys.

WhoFan

a 7 1/4 radius is pretty tight...one of my Strats is 7.25...I can still play on it, but it does fight back quite a bit! You will find out that if you get it refreted with fatter frets (even with the 7.25 radius) it will play better. Also, for what it's worth, a big part of the tone of a good tele is in the 3 saddle bridge with brass saddles.


Originally Posted by the guy who invented firea 7 1/4 radius is pretty tight...one of my Strats is 7.25...I can still play on it, but it does fight back quite a bit! You will find out that if you get it refreted with fatter frets (even with the 7.25 radius) it will play better. Also, for what it's worth, a big part of the tone of a good tele is in the 3 saddle bridge with brass saddles.

Ya i figured the radius would be tight... I have heard stories of solo bends fretting out.... I know that the old 3 Barrel tele bridge has a lot to do with tone but i prefer the advantages of the modern thick metal 6 saddle... also that is the bridge Pete has on his reissues....

Part of me is wondering if i should just get a Warmoth kit Tele made to look like the 52, over the real Reissue Fender... But what i like about the fender is it is finnished in Nitro and the neck shape should be like a real 52....

WhoFan

are you sure the real 52ri teles are nitro? ... everyone i've played has been heavy thick glossy

let me tell you this...if you do a Tele from parts you can get a neck from Tommy at USACG and get whatever neck shape you want, and the quility will be amazing!

As for the nitro finish...there are NO Fender guitars being made with a true nitro finish right now except for the Eric Johnson Strat (and Im still not 100% sure about that)...any fender you see being sold with a nitro finish still has a Poly base coat...


Originally Posted by the guy who invented firelet me tell you this...if you do a Tele from parts you can get a neck from Tommy at USACG and get whatever neck shape you want, and the quility will be amazing!

As for the nitro finish...there are NO Fender guitars being made with a true nitro finish right now except for the Eric Johnson Strat (and Im still not 100% sure about that)...any fender you see being sold with a nitro finish still has a Poly base coat...
i learn something new every day i'm on here. Wonder why Fender would use a Polly base coat..... is it cheaper? Back in 1995 i had a guy build me a strat out of Warmoth parts and he finnished it in nitro.... it feels different then my other guitars with the polly.... i find no real sound difference but the feel is different.


Originally Posted by WhoFani learn something new every day i'm on here. Wonder why Fender would use a Polly base coat..... is it cheaper? Back in 1995 i had a guy build me a strat out of Warmoth parts and he finnished it in nitro.... it feels different then my other guitars with the polly.... i find no real sound difference but the feel is different.poly is a little cheeper, but it is also a lot easier to work with...you'll notice that most if the guitars Fender offers with a nitro finish are relics and you'd never notice a flaw in the finish!

I had a 52 and it was nitro. High dollar guitar. Hated the neck radius.

I GASsed for one of those for years...until I finally had a chance to spend a few weeks with one. It's a shame that Fender is fsking guarded with the Butterscotch color, because that's what a Tele should look like (don't even get me started on the current Std. series color offerings...ecchh!) but there was nothing about that instrument that inspired me to spend nearly $1500. Neither the feel nor the sound was especially inspiring to me. It may be authentic to the vintage model (or maybe not, I don't know all the particulars) but I would much rather have a hotrodded Standard (even if white and sunburst are the only decent colors nowadays) over the '52RI.