USED Fender American Professional Telecaster Sunburst 2018 w/Fender Elite Molded Case

The original mass-produced solid body electric guitar – The Fender Telecaster – remains remarkably unchanged to this day. Used by everyone from Brad Paisley to Jimmy Page, the “Tele” has stood the test of time. This nice 2018 American Professional Telecaster embodies all that is good about Leo’s original slab guitar, with thoughtful updates that don’t detract from its roots.

 This is an excellent condition 2018 American Professional Telecaster with only signs of normal handling. No chips, dings, or dents. Zero fret wear. No case candy.

 This 2018 Fender Telecaster features:

• Lightweight Alder body 7.4 pounds
• Urethane Sunburst finish
• Modern Deep C maple “skunk stripe” neck, satin finish
• .840” at the 1^st fret, and .915 depth at the 12^th
• 25.5” scale, 1-11/16” nut width
• 9.5” radius Rosewood fretboard
• Dual action truss rod
• Narrow tall frets
• Bone nut
• Tortoiseshell pickguard
• V Mod neck pickup – 5.53K ohms Alnico 2/5
• V Mode bridge pickup – 7.1K ohms Alnico 5
• Volume control with treble bleed, tone control
• 3-way pickup switch
• Elite molded case
• Made in Corona, CA

Leo Fender did not design the Telecaster to be iconic: It was designed to be easy to manufacture and repair. It just turned out to be one of the most influential electrics of all time. What has changed most about the Tele is mainly minor but meaningful.

The original brass-plated covered neck pickup was intended to mimic that of a bass guitar (there were no electric bass guitars yet in 1951). And the familiar neck+bridge pickup selection did not exist on early Teles (that came in 1967). Tele pickups got progressively cleaner and more useable over time, and the Fender V Mod neck pickup blends Alnico 5 magnets for nice attack on the wound strings and Alnico 2 for smoothness on the plain strings.

The bridge pickup assembly was derived from their lap steel guitars (if it ain’t broke…) and over the years varied widely in output and magnet types. Alnico 5 is favored for maximum bite and twang, and the V Mod pickup has plenty of Tele brightness without being icy.

Necks were originally one piece with no truss rod, and they failed early and often. Rosewood was introduced circa 1959 to look more “upmarket” and this American Professional sports traditional narrow tall frets and a 9.5” radius fretboard. The neck is not phone-pole thick like early Teles, and the “Deep C” neck feels more like medium to us, and we like it. Thankfully one vintage feature they dispensed with is the bottom adjust truss rod, which is an anachronistic pain in the neck.

Remarkably unchanged over the past 70 years, and frankly most of the changes were for the better. This 2018 American Professional is a classic workhorse guitar for any enthusiast or professional.