Fender Vintage Hot Rod 52 Telecaster Electric Guitar (Maple, with Case)

Feature:
The guitar I bought came with a vintage, gold/orange/brown fender case. It's so funky dudes and ladies, guaranteed to pick up compliments no matter who you are gigging with. One tone knob and one volume knob: really you don't need more. I get most of my tone from the amps and pedals anyway, so this actually makes fiddling easier for all you tonefreaks who are concerned about that.

Quality:
I bought mine used, but it's still flawless. Almost every guitar I have ever owned started to show it's shoddy craftsmanship at the strap hookups (this might be the funny way I play standing up, but they would straight up fall out) and there would always be a problem with a lose jack input. Nothing like that here, smooth sailing. Keep the fretboard clean and it's guaranteed to keep fresh.

Value:
Great great value if it's what you are after.

Desirability:
Dudes and madames, the ash body is just crazy amazing. It feels so smooth. The unusual headstock, the maple, the oldschool pickup sitting right next to the very oldschool bridge... it's good stuff. It's got a very classic, vintage look about it (obviously) and any other guitarists you come across will definately appreciate it. The average folk finds it pretty damn classy as well. Overall though, as soon as I saw this badboy hanging at one of my local stores, I had to have it.

Sound:
It delivers without fail the classical Tele-twang I've always wanted. Moreover, the modern neck pickup pumps out some seriously smooth clean tones, poifect for jazz or blues. This guitar really shines though with just a touch of overdrive for some crunch. Also, it does suprisingly well with gain-heavy tones. Although the fretboard itself and the style of the guitar does not lend itself to metal, if you have some buddies who want to pump out something furious you can definately lay down some nice leads. Overall, it's just supoib.

Ease of Use:
Pick up and play. If you're used to smaller frets, the transistion to these bigger ones takes a bit. I find that when I'm playing my 52 for awhile, it takes me a couple minutes to get back into my other guitars just because it has such a smooth, wide feel that nothing else I owns matches up to. I lovelovelove it.

Support:
Never had to deal with support. That's why quality got such a high score.

Overall:
I'm satisfied. If this one goes down by some unfortunate occurence (theft, fire, fat dude mistaking it for something comfortable to sit upon), another one is filling in the ranks ASAP. I can go from my indie-crunch to smooth jazz in seconds. Really, it's just versatile and beautiful.

Feature:
The guitar is simple, with a three position switch, a volume knob and a tone knob. However, i find this is perfectly adequate to get the tone i want out of it, as each position of the selector switch is so distinct. The guitar came with a very nice vintage case, a short cord, some cleaning equipment and a mediocre strap, but personally I don't expect a quality strap with a guitar.

Quality:
The guitar itself is impeccable. My only complaint is that the pick guard is a bit too tight and therefore bends outwards in the middle, as there are fewer screws to hold it down, I believe because it is a Vintage model.

Value:
This guitar is 600$ beyond a normal MIA telecaster, and while Im happy i have it and am glad i spent the money, a good portion of that 600$ comes from it being a 52 Reissue i would wager, which to me seems silly. But to me, still completely worth it.

Desirability:
This guitar is beautiful. The finish is just clear enough to see the wood, and the neck and headstock are practically the same color, giving it a very unique appearance. If a telecaster shape is what you like, this will not disappoint.

Sound:
While Im a beginner guitarist, Ive been playing bass for 5 years so ive been around electric instruments a fair amount. When I decided to buy a guitar, I was looking for something with great versatility, as I wanted to play everything from Hardcore to reggae. With this guitar, i feel i found that versatility. It can be just as bright as I want for playing something like the specials and heavy enough for Suicide File.

Ease of Use:
Along with its versatility, this guitar is th easiest to play out of any that I tried. For reference, this included several Les Pauls and SGs, some other telecasters and one strat (I dont like the looks of strats so i didnt try many). Out of all these types, i found the American telecasters to have the best feel, and since this guitar had the sounds i wanted i went with it. The simplicity of controls makes it very simple to find the sounds you want.

Support:
I have not yet dealt with any support issues and cannot comment

Overall:
I have hardly played my Rickenbacker bass all summer due to my enjoyment of this instrument. Considering i played bass at least a few hours a day until then, this is high praise!