Because the world’s first mass-production solidbody electrical guitar quick approaches its seventy fifth birthday, Fender continues to supply variations on the theme. However the greatest takeaway from the design’s diamond anniversary is perhaps that variations straying comparatively little from the unique idea nonetheless fare greatest with gamers.

The Mexican-made Participant II Sequence Telecaster checks many of those packing containers with traditional appears to be like plus two single-coil pickups with Alnico V magnets, conventional controls, and four-screw neck attachment with iconic headstock form and “spaghetti” emblem. The maple neck with rosewood fretboard and strong alder physique additionally align with many classic variations (different choices are chambered ash and chambered mahogany). Look extra carefully, although, and also you’ll discover a number of modifications that separate the Participant II from a classic reissue.

The fretboard has 22 medium-jumbo frets enabled by a slight extension, with a headstock-accessible truss nut; the bridge plate has no sidewalls and carries six individually adjustable die-cast saddles; the neck pickup’s height-adjustment screws are by means of the pickguard reasonably than into the physique beneath it, and the vintage-look tuners have threaded ferrules reasonably than screws by means of the again. Eleven gloss-polyester end colours can be found (with satin polyurethane on the neck), some assigned maple fretboards and others rosewood, like our Birch Inexperienced evaluate mannequin – a shade near a wealthy foam inexperienced that’s rather more interesting in individual than the pea-green impression it makes on-line.

The Participant II Tele performed very nicely proper out of the field; its snug “trendy C” neck profile will attraction to any participant who’s not hooked on girthy ’50s shapes. Examined by means of a British-voiced dual-EL84 head with 2×12 cab and a tweed Deluxe-style 1×12 combo, it was certifiably Telecaster by means of and thru, from clear to imply and all over the place between. Even at what we’d take into account an inexpensive value for a real Fender mannequin, the Participant II delivered the important parts which have made the Telecaster arguably the most-versatile electrical guitar obtainable for 3 quarters of a century – spanky and chimey, but meaty into clear tones, twangy and trenchant into edge-of-breakup settings, and inspiringly uncooked and expressive into overdrive. It’s merely one other nice Telecaster from the corporate that invented the shape.

This text initially appeared in VG’s October 2024 situation. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.