Fender: American Standard Telecaster

The new Fender is an American Standard Telecaster in this rather doom-esque green finish that threatens to be grey under certain lighting. I'm currently looking at some guitars here at the stores which are still in stock despite being discontinued (largely from the Jackson, Ibanez & Fender family. I have no further considerations for Ibanez in the mean time, the Jacksons are mostly equipped with locking double whammy bridges which I'm not too keen to invest in & so that left me with Fender. The American Standard models were discontinued this year & there are still some floating around in the market sporting their original prices. When I bought my first American-made Telecaster in 1999, I managed to get it for less than $1K. Fast forward some 18 years later, the same guitar in the series are about $900 more expensive than they used to be. Prices are moving up & it's crazy. Between the two guitars, nothing had changed much but prices continue to observe an upward trend.

I don't recall getting these in the purchase bundle back then but it's good to see them included in the hard case. I'm not too keen with a Fender brand accessory when I know there are others out there with a more proven price-quality ratio. 

The pickups in my 90s Tele didn't get played much because they were below par when it comes to tone & I have my preferences when it comes to what's good for me. The CS pickups here were semi-awful at the store when I plugged the guitar into a Marshall amp but they are different beasts with my set up at home. They will definitely remain in the instrument as I plan to keep everything stock as much as possible. The string saddles may require a re-think as they affect comfort with my playing posture. 

Yes, I opted for a rosewood fretboard this time round for a couple of reasons. Firstly, my other American Tele sports a maple fretboard so the rosewood consideration was for variety's sake. Secondly, with the CITES situation threatening to make lives miserable for guitar dweebs everywhere, availability & prices are definitely going to be affected. Fender has already discontinued using rosewood for some of its models & charging extras for the existing models with this wood type.  I find the latter account unreasonable but cost considerations are inevitable for commercial entities. They need to be careful & make it more respectable for buyers pertaining to price issues especially  so when the competitors offer products which surpass the flag bearer's quality & aesthetics among others.