Tim Plains Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Anybody have this one? Thoughts... Haven't played one yet, but it looks like the one I want. http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-American-Vintage-52-Telecaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=510062 deepblue...just so you know I've never kissed my cousin, nor will I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Man, when I was gigging a lot of Country a few years ago with my '91, I was sure I wanted a '52. Until I saw one. And played it. It was dipped in freakin' epoxy, I mean the poly was so thick it was weird. Then, the 7.25 is as round as a baseball bat. Hated that fretboard radius. Then there is the 3 saddle intonation issue. They will NOT intonate. Anyone who says they will is a damned liar. Compensated ones will. Bent ones sorta will. Stock ones WILL NOT. I thought about it. Why buy a guitar just because it was a good guitar in 1952. The reason they kept changing things was to improve them. Best to ya Tim, but I'm a bar gigger, and I just couldn't pull the trigger. Wildwood sells em' with a 9.5 radius, and a thin skin. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Not yet I love how it looks, I love how it sounds. It can't get no better when it comes to new Teles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Uhm... hello. Check it out. Here's the 2006 Custom Shop Model. It's what they called the Diamond Anniversary Model. Identical in every way to a '52. The post was from two days ago. Just scroll down until you see the telecaster. I love mine for it's tone. It's made from two pieces of swamp ash, not regular ash. I use mine regularly, well as often as possible. http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=12016 What can I tell you about it? It's dipped in nitrocellulose lacquer. It has the original style pickup selections; deep bass neck, neck, and a hot bridge pickup. The pickguard is five hole instead of eight. The neck is maple and I believe has a 7.25 radius. What more can I tell you other than I paid $900.00 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 It was dipped in freakin' epoxy' date=' I mean the poly was so thick it was weird. Best to ya Tim, but I'm a bar gigger, and I just couldn't pull the trigger. Wildwood sells em' with a 9.5 radius, and a thin skin.[/quote'] Every 52 I played was thin skin. Not sure about the early 90's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Pardon me for pulling a Tim... ;) Great guitar. Note that the finish on mine is more opaque than the one in the MF ad and that's also true as to what is shown on Fender's web site. I suggest you play one first as they are much different animals from Les Pauls; from what I've noticed, either you love Teles or you don't. As for my particular 52 RI, it's a fairly stiff feeling guitar compared to my Strat but also very solid and loud as hell even when unplugged. There is NO hiding behind a Tele either; it's my most honest guitar and shines a spotlight on every weakness in my playing. But, it sounds great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Every 52 I played was thin skin. Not sure about the early 90's though. Not sure what year mine is but I bought it new just a couple of years ago and it has a fairly thick finish on it. No issues with it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Great guitar. Note that the finish on mine is more opaque than the one in the MF ad and that's also true as to what is shown on Fender's web site. That reminded something important: they can vary a lot. There are real beauties out there, but there are some ugly ones too. I wouldn't buy it trough MF, because you don't know what you are getting. There are some with amazing wood grain, some with crappy wood grain, some more yellow, some mor orange, some more opaque, some more glossy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Pardon me for pulling a Tim... ;) Great guitar. Note that the finish on mine is more opaque than the one in the MF ad and that's also true as to what is shown on Fender's web site. I suggest you play one first as they are much different animals from Les Pauls; from what I've noticed' date=' either you love Teles or you don't. As for my particular 52 RI, it's a fairly stiff feeling guitar compared to my Strat but also very solid and loud as hell even when unplugged. There is NO hiding behind a Tele either; it's my most honest guitar and shines a spotlight on every weakness in my playing. But, it sounds great! [/quote'] Wow Rich, the finish on your tele is as beautiful as the wood grain pattern on mine. I love that dark butterscotch finish. If I lived in NJ I'd say lets have a play date for our guitars.:D/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Agreed, Guitar slinger. When I went shopping for mine, it was the first one they hauled out from the stock room and the first thing I thought was "That doesn't look like what's on the Fender web site" as I was looking for one that has a finish more like the one in the MF link that Tim posted. But, I also thought it looked really cool. As an aside, my 52 RI Tele is the only guitar I ever bought where the first one I tried was like "WOW! This is the one!" The transaction took all of about minutes including waiting for the tubes in the demo amp to warm up, negotiating a better price and waiting for my credit card to go through. I got lucky with this Tele. By the way, what Murph said about the saddles and intonation is totally true. I've thought about going with compensated saddles but I just play that guitar at home and it never bothered me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Wow Rich' date=' the finish on your tele is as beautiful as the wood grain pattern on mine. I love that dark butterscotch finish. If I lived in NJ I'd say lets have a play date for our guitars.;)/ [/quote'] Thanks, man! It wasn't what I was expecting when I went shopping for a 52, but I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Anyway there IS a thin skin line: http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-American-Vintage-Thin-Skin-52-Telecaster-Blonde_W0QQitemZ220318820431QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item220318820431&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Then there is the 3 saddle intonation issue. They will NOT intonate. Anyone who says they will is a damned liar. Compensated ones will. Bent ones sorta will. Stock ones WILL NOT. That's exactely why fender sells those guitars with an aditional 6-saddles modern style bridge. I just think it kills the tone and the twang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Let me just say this. I meant NO disrespect for the 52RI Tele. I almost bought one myself. It's a classic, good on ya, bla bla bla. I just couldn't jell with it as a bar playing working musician. I'm not a collector, investor, whatever. The 7.25 is NOT for me. I had (have) a Tele with the 9.5. And adjustable saddles. So I really didn't need one that didn't fit my hand, wouldn't intonate, and had buzzy pickups, JUST because it was a 52RI. I love the way they look, and the "mojo" . But I've got to gig it. Rich, California, yours are both the ones I looked at. Best to ya. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Hey thanks Murph. If I could buy another telecaster at this time, I would certainly like a neck with a larger radius like 9.5. I would also like a humbucker in the neck. Kind of like the California Series Fat Telecaster that Fender sold in 1997. Cool story behind those Fenders. The added humbucker is nice too. That's why I'm a big fan of Pats Guitars up in Washington. He puts together some real sweet modern Telecasters. Check out his Voodoo Lounge Telecasters. They're sweet! http://www.patsguitars.com/us.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 Tim - GREAT GUITAR. It's the best Tele Fender makes, in my opinion... and I've played a lot of Teles. Haven't got around to actually buying one yet, but when I do it will definitely be the 52. My good friend has one - in fact, he liked it so much he played it exclusively for a year (impressive considering he has over 30 high-end guitars) and now he's getting it re-fretted. If you want a Tele, the 52 is definitely the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 They are okay, but I don't care for the neck...Have you played one yet? You know that there are reasons why they improved the tele over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thanks for your input guys. Butterscotch / natural are definitely eye catchers! They don't intonate, eh? What can I tell you about it? It's dipped in nitrocellulose lacquer. I read that the '52s have a poly finish and then dipped in nitro. Any truth to this? KSG' date=' I've only played an '08 American Standard. The neck was identical (and I mean identical) to my Strat's neck. I'd like something that feels different. You know that there are reasons why they improved the tele over the years. That's a pretty funny line. They've also improved LPs over the years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 They don't intonate' date=' eh?[/quote'] Debatable. I don't own the '52, but it looks to be a standard vintage style bridge just like my '62 reissue. I have no problems with setting the intonation accurately. It is theoretically not as accurate as an adjustment for each string, yet I manage to set mine with every string change. Murph will tell you otherwise, and he has (I assume) attempted to intone the actual 52 reissue, so his experience might be more valid there. I'm mot sure what the problem with the 52 bridge might be. Maybe Thunder and Rich can chime in if they've had any problems with intonation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadCase Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 R9, I'm not sure if those are nitro or not (I'm assuming you want that) I don't think that they are???(could be wrong) The one you're looking at is nice,but I had to go w/ this myself... It's a '52 Hot Rod, nitro-yes. Intonation is OK by me. My Strat is cool but never really did it for me. Tele is the way to go my man... this thing is BADASS! Try one. Happy hunting. P.S. You know you're gonna want a '57 Twin or a Bassman don't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Tim: The Hot Rods are nitro-finished. The American Vintage 52 (with 3-way switch rather than the 5-way installed) is poly finished, but has the neck dipped in nitro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 '52VR Tele... Well, I gotta be honest, I've got one here and I'm not too impressed with it. The bridge pickup is nothing but treble with no twang and the neck pickup just puts out a muffled sound. Glad I got to try one out but not the guitar for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 No twang? Try another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 I hate to say this Tim............... I TOLD YOU SO. I was gigging a Tele, did the TDPRI forum, bought some Brad Paisley......... Then....... Reality set in. I bought an ES-339. Whew. The Tele hype is all Hype, They aint all that............. Best to ya. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 I TOLD YOU SO. I will never doubt you again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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