Need advice on a custom Tele...

[Janalon]

So, I walk into my local music store for my weekly lesson. You've seen this mom and pop music store before. It's the type of place that rents out band instruments to the local schools, retails the affordable non-name brand guitars to middle school kids, and deals in used equipment. Well, this week was different, as a real gem is hanging on the wall behind the counter:

 

A made in America custom telecaster. Don't know the year, and didn't record the serial #. Ash body, C-shape maple neck, grover tuners, abalone dot inlays, tortoise shell pick guard, with tortoise shell trim around the edge of the guitar.

 

Kinman noiseless pickups, with a piezo bridge. In addition to the typical three-way PU selector, there is another three-way toggle to switch from singles, to blend, to piezo. Tone and volume knobs are stacked; so separate tone/volume for each singles and piezo.

 

On back there are two switches. One for "subsonic filter" (on/off) and another for mono/stereo (I guess to split electric and piezo?). There is only one outlet for a female jack... so they explained to me that the signal could be split from a stereo-tipped jack.

 

Guitar is in excellent condition. No fret wear. No scratches. The action is set incredibly low, and strings fret out above 8th fret (but I guess that is an easy fix?) The store offered a proper setup. Intonation sounded on the mark.

 

The listed price is $975 with hard case. When I asked about price, two different individuals said, "Well, make me an offer." What do you think? Is this guitar worth that price? Should I walk into the store today and offer $700 in cold cash?

 

Any advice... this will be my second electric guitar purchase. The first was an Ibanez Artcore, and this is considerably more expensive. Plus my wife agreed to the purchase without hesitation, which is rare.

 

I don't want to pass up a good opportunity (that is if this is indeed a good opportunity).

[Knottyhed]

So, I walk into my local music store for my weekly lesson. You've seen this mom and pop music store before. It's the type of place that rents out band instruments to the local schools, retails the affordable non-name brand guitars to middle school kids, and deals in used equipment. Well, this week was different, as a real gem is hanging on the wall behind the counter: A made in America custom telecaster. Don't know the year, and didn't record the serial #. Ash body, maple neck, grover tuners, abalone dot inlays, tortoise shell pick guard, with tortoise shell trim around the edge of the guitar. Kinman noiseless pickups, with a piezo bridge. In addition to the typical three-way PU selector, there is another three-way toggle to switch from singles, to blend, to piezo. Tone and volume knobs are stacked; so separate tone/volume for each singles and piezo. On back there are two switches. One for "subsonic filter" (on/off) and another for mono/stereo (I guess to split electric and piezo?). There is only one outlet for a female jack... so they explained to me that the signal could be split from a stereo-tipped jack. Guitar is in excellent condition. No fret wear. No scratches. The action is set incredibly low, and strings fret out above 8th fret (but I guess that is an easy fix?) The store offered a proper setup. Intonation sounded on the mark. The listed price is $975 with hard case. When I asked about price, two different individuals said, "Well, make me an offer." What do you think? Is this guitar worth that price? Should I walk into the store today and offer $700 in cold cash? Any advice... this will be my second electric guitar purchase. The first was an Ibanez Artcore, and this is considerably more expensive. Plus my wife agreed to the purchase without hesitation, which is rare. I don't want to pass up a good opportunity (that is if this is indeed a good opportunity).

If it's a custom shop MIA telecaster, then yeh snap their hand off. If you mean it's a MIA tele that's been modified by a previous owner, then it probably isn't such an amazing deal (I'm not sure what prices are in the US, but I'd imagine a MIA standard tele is around that price new?).

If it's in perfect condition *and* has a piezo system installed then try them for $700 if you like the guitar... (all this assuming it is a good price compared to buying new), but make sure they set it up to your liking *before* you start negotiating, it's unlikely, but the buzzing issues may indicate an underlying problem that can't be fixed with a simple truss-rod/bridge adjustment.

I wouldn't let them use the pickup upgrades or even the piezo as a way of bumping up the price much beyond the going rate for a second hand MIA tele... the pup's are irrelevent (personal taste), the piezo is useful - assuming it has been properly and proffessionally installed (you can't know that 100% buying second hand), so that might make me pay a little more.

[Lacoste]

You're not gonna regret the things you did. You're gonna regret the things you didn't do.

[csm]

A made in America custom telecaster.

 

 

Clarification: is this a Fender, or a T-style luthier job? If it's a Fender, is it a Custom Shop guitar, or a 'Telecaster Custom'? And, as asked above, is this a CS one-off, or an after-market conversion job?

 

Whatever ... if you've played it and it says,'Buy me, big boy, and let's have fun. You know you want to ...' then your only consideration should be financial -- can you afford it without jeopardising your survival budget? -- and since your wife's already agreed, it's no-prob in the diplomatic zone.

 

It sounds amazing. Go for it, and keep us informed.

[Janalon]

Clarification: is this a Fender, or a T-style luthier job? If it's a Fender, is it a Custom Shop guitar, or a 'Telecaster Custom'? And, as asked above, is this a CS one-off, or an after-market conversion job? Whatever ... if you've played it and it says,'Buy me, big boy, and let's have fun. You know you want to ...' then your only consideration should be financial -- can you afford it without jeopardising your survival budget? -- and since your wife's already agreed, it's no-prob in the diplomatic zone. It sounds amazing. Go for it, and keep us informed.

 

 

This is a Fender, and not a luthier's interpretation of a T-style guitar.

 

The shop actually has a guitar tech on board who is branching out into making variations on the Telecaster design and various Fender amps. The guy is quite accomplished, and has made quite a few innovative. I actually asked if it was made on site, and the salesman's reply was that it was a Fender Custom Shop guitar.

 

Is there anyway to verify whether it is indeed a Custom Shop or MIA Tele with after-market modifications? Does it really matter either way?

 

The guitar choose me... right of the wall. I plugged it into a Peavey Classic 50 and was amazed by the clarity and lack of hiss. I used to own a PV Classic 30, so I have a feel for this amp. I now own a Hughes & Kettner Puretone, which is a 25w class A amp. I play mostly clean on the edge of OD, with a tube screamer to add volume boost and that mid-range tone. So I'd like to think this would be a good match to my current setup.

 

I have enough cold cash in the bank to purchase this guitar outright. My wife and I are public school teachers, so we build a nest egg for the summer months so we don't have to work. Only problem is I don't get paid again until September 15th, but we should have enough $$$ and credit to last until then. It's my guitar fund that is rather shallow: only $70 set aside for guitar equipment. So this would dip into "our" money.

 

The biggest point of contention is we are trying to start a family, and my wife has earmarked every last penny for just that. Yup, the biological clock is ringing loudly in her ears. So her direct comment was to buy it now before we have kids, because I won't be able to buy another "playtoy" for a while. That's all talk, as I have tons of stipends and side jobs which will produce good $$$ throughout the year. But at least she feels in control, and I have the blessing to go ahead with this purchase.

[JC777]

But it if you like it. Even if it is a MIA that someone hot rodded. $700 seems reasonable.

[C-4]

Get specific questions answered directly from this shop. Remember that a stock guitar by Fender is worth more then one that has been modded. Stock is ALWAYS worth more. Fender is worth more then a guitar built by a luthier or a luthier that modded any guitar, be it a Fender or a no-name parts guitar, REGARDLESS OF WHAT CRAP THEY TRY TO FEED YOU!

The fact that it has Kinman pickups makes it non-stock to begin with if it is a Fender!

Remember that you might have a very hard time unloading this guitar later on IF it has been modded by anyone and if it is not a totally stock brand name recognizable guitar, such as a Fender.

Don't let any GAS {censored} your mind up on a passion-sale. Believe me, there are plenty of great guitars of all types out there and you have only seen this particular one.

If you still want it, you had better have them do a set up on it before any cash changes hands at all, as it needs work now, and you don't need to be stuck with a guitar that you cannot play, just because the store says that it "can" be adjusted. What are they waiting for on the adjustment anyway? They may tell you that they want to set it up to the person who buys it's personal taste, but if it is currently not totally playable, the guitar may sit there awhile. Besides, raising the action up a bit for a person who likes that, is really no big deal. Don't let them tell you it is a lot of work!

Have them remove any back plates and pickguards to see how the routing was done to the body, if any exists. See if the plates look stock, check the Fender website to see if such a model actually exists. Go to the Fender forum and ask there.

Trust no store employee for valid info that you can find out by looking around yourself. You may be surprised at the outcome!

[Janalon]

Thanks for giving me this insight. These are questions I may not have thought to ask. Good stuff!

I'm heading over there soon to give it another look. Although I'd love nothing better to come home with it today, I'll ask for them to set it up before making my decision. Also, I'll snap a few pics on my cell phone so I can upload them to the forums for you guys to give a look.

[Knottyhed]

Get specific questions answered directly from this shop. Remember that a stock guitar by Fender is worth more then one that has been modded. Stock is ALWAYS worth more. Fender is worth more then a guitar built by a luthier or a luthier that modded any guitar, be it a Fender or a no-name parts guitar, REGARDLESS OF WHAT CRAP THEY TRY TO FEED YOU!

This is the most important point to remember when negotiating. If the guitar is modded, it generally becomes less valuable - doesn't matter if the mod is an improvement or not. If a guy wants to buy a second hand tele - he generally wants it stock. If you ever sell it on, it will be harder to sell because of that.

Even though these mods may be valuale to you, don't let the sales guy fool you into thinking it increases the value of the guitar.

I'd also take the Fender custom shop sales pitch with a pinch of salt... get the serial number and check it out before you believe that one. He's probably saying "it's a Fender Custom" - meaning it's a customised Fender, but trying to leave you with the impression it is a Fender custom shop. Classic sales patter.

Having said all that: Bottom line, sounds like you love the guitar, sounds like you can afford the guitar so it sounds like you should get the guitar

Just look before you leap and haggle hard

[Janalon]

Alright, here is what went down.

I entered, and my guitar teacher was at the cash register. I trust the guy, we have a good relationship, but I know he respects the business interests of the store. If the guitar is a good fit for me, and if the price is right for the store... then it's a good match. I don't think he would try to screw me, but I went into the conversation questioning and cautious.

First, I asked him to clarify "custom". He backpedaled a bit, and added that it wasn't a Custom Shop Fender. After that, he added that it had some custom features when compared to standard American Ash Tele's. So, I pushed the issue of "custom", and wanted him to verify if it was factory made, or was customized with after-market products. He verified it was factory, but didn't know the exact model.

That is when we both sat down at the computer, and researched together. Using a combination of blue book, Fender's website, Harmony Central, and Google, we correctly identified the model:

Fender American Deluxe Power Telecaster

We looked at the neck and action. The action is set incredibly way too low. Otherwise the neck looked straight. They couldn't offer a setup on the spot, as the tech is on vacation. They will get the tele a proper setup when he returns in a week. You might call me nieve that I didn't leave it at that. I trust the guy not to screw me, especially since I've been going for lessons for several years.

So I made my offer of $700 (for the used sticker price of $975). He had to call the store owner. The two had a phone conversation for a few minutes, and then my guitar teacher returned with $750. Apparently the store owner wanted $800, but was willing to settle on that price based on the account of my being a regular at the store.

Well, I hesitated, and asked for them to double check that price through the blue book and Harmony Central product review database. The blue book offered a used price at $1,100 You can check HC for price paid. The guys allowed me to skim through HC reviews. Only 10 posts, but they each gave the guitar a fairly decent review. I know to read with a grain of salt (people only post if they love or hate a product). More reassuring was the different used prices people paid: $750 on upward. Check for yourself.

So there I was, pitted with getting a rare find at a decent price. Not to mention I've had my eyes on a Tele for a while, and the piezo was an added bonus. So I bought the guitar-- $750 on the table, right then and there. I'll take pics later, but for now here is an image hotlinked from a HC news release about the power Tele line.

[JC777]

We looked at the neck and action. The action is set incredibly way too low. Otherwise the neck looked straight. They couldn't offer a setup on the spot, as the tech is on vacation. They will get the tele a proper setup when he returns in a week. You might call me nieve that I didn't leave it at that. I trust the guy not to screw me, especially since I've been going for lessons for several years. So I made my offer of $700 (for the used sticker price of $975). He had to call the store owner. The two had a phone conversation for a few minutes, and then my guitar teacher returned with $750. Apparently the store owner wanted $800, but was willing to settle on that price based on the account of my being a regular at the store. Well, I hesitated, and asked for them to double check that price through the blue book and Harmony Central product review database . The blue book offered a used price at $1,100 You can check HC for price paid. The guys allowed me to skim through HC reviews. Only 10 posts, but they each gave the guitar a fairly decent review. I know to read with a grain of salt (people only post if they love or hate a product). More reassuring was the different used prices people paid: $750 on upward. Check for yourself. So there I was, pitted with getting a rare find at a decent price. Not to mention I've had my eyes on a Tele for a while, and the piezo was an added bonus. So I bought the guitar-- $750 on the table, right then and there. I'll take pics later, but for now here is an image hotlinked from a HC news release about the power Tele line.

The action is set incredibly way too low??
Do you play slide or country?
If you don't the lower the better.

Congrats on the guitar.

[marauder6666]

I've got an American Deluxe Telecaster and it's awesome, the Power has a piezo pickup in the bridge for acoustic sounds, there's a little switch on the control plate to turn this on.