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Post subject: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:00 am
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Why are there no Fender Vintage 62 Telecaster RIs now??

I spied a Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster Custom Black in a local store a year back. At the time had just shelled out for a new Super Reverb so bad timing. Now are none to be found in the channels and no 62 RIs other than Custom Shop... Should I get a direct import via Japan?? I like the Black model particularly...

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:22 am
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I've got a MIJ 62 RI and while I absolutely love it, it is a faithful vintage reissue so here's a few things to be aware of before you buy one ...

  • Fretboard radius is 7.25 inch, not a problem for me because I like a highish action with plenty of neck relief, your mileage may vary
  • The frets are very thin, not the medium jumbo ones you may be expecting on a modern Fender
  • Neck is marginally narrower at the nut than modern Fenders
  • The stock pickups are passable but rather low output, a set of CS pickups is really needed to make it into a classic sounding guitar

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:38 am
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Thanks for that input.

I have a 73 Strat and that has the teeniest neck I have ever come across on any guitar! I have lived most of my guitar playing life on that!

I am a little dismayed about your advice on the PUP output though... I teach guitar and prompt students towards Telecasters always when they want to move away from acoustic but have no idea what to plumb for. I actually advise them to go for the Squier CV50 but they often do their own thing when a cheapie deal turns up on ebay! The other Squier Tele models they have turned up with are nicely made and play OK but absolutely no life or soul in them due to anemic PUPS. I was hoping to avoid falling foul of this situation - after all, these Fender MIJ models are not inexpensive, and I cannot know try one before ordering.

I admit I am spoilt to. I plucked a brand new Chinese copy off ebay some years ago for less that $30 with a view to using it to customise to bits. It turned out to be an exceptional instrument with PUPS to die for - every classic Tele tone is proffered from the 3 settings and is LOUD! Even unplugged it rings out for ever and ever... Beautiful profiled neck with great frets. Is a stunner to look at also. But as we all know - you can never have enough guitars with the correct logo on!
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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 3:25 am
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If you're accustomed to a 73 neck then you won't find much trouble adjusting to the Tele. I should also mention that it's the heaviest guitar I own, a real shoulder-breaker but the sound and feel more than make up for that.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:29 am
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i have a 1985 MIJ '62 custom, easily the nicest guitar i own. the neck is glorious, i like the smaller frets, they are also on my 72 custom. if i built a guitar, id fit a neck with vintage spec no doubt.

being an older one, the fact that the pups are great wont be of much relevance to you i doubt. the quality of the guitar is unbelievable though.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 4:53 am
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My 85 MIJ 62 re-issue was my main guitar for a good 15 years and even when I started playing Strats more it was always out of the case and used in one way or another. I have amassed close to 30 guitars in the 40 years I have been playing and everything is US built except for 3- 80's to early 90's Fender Japan Tele's. Though I am 51 I have never been hung up on vintage instruments so I have enjoyed the changes made through the decades while I know a lot of players hate them. I would say if the price is right to jump all over that 62 re-issue, though of course if you can play it first that would be the best road to take. My 62 re-issue has been seriously tricked out as in 91 I dropped in a set of DiMazio Fast Track-1's (first year of production) and after two fret dressings when I had to get it re-fretted I had Matty Brewster of 30th St Guitars put medium jumbo frets on it as well as change the steel threaded barrel saddles to brass. I kept the original vintage ash tray bridge which I prefer on Tele's. . To be honest some guys thought I was crazy paying $300 for a re-fret on a guitar I bought new for $490 lol, but I own guitars that cost more then 7X that which do not mean as much to me as that ax.Also 2 out of every 3 guys who ever play it always ask me if I want to sell it, as that guitar can rip through the classic rock alphabet from AC/DC to Zep insanely. I have to believe the body is Basswood because the guitar is light as a feather though over 25 years of serious abuse it does not have a ton of dings and dents like most Basswood body guitars I have owned.Sometimes you just get lucky and catch lighning in a bottle as that guitar just has the "it factor," "mojo" or whatever you want to call it. I had an Ash Blonde MIJ Tele I had bought the same year which had a great finish and showed off the grain of the wood really nice and I figured if the Fast Tracks sounded so great in the 62 it should workout the same way on the Blonde one. I had a set dropped in about 6 months later and the guitar sounded like $@!&! No matter what I did I could not get a good tone and wound up putting back in the original pups.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:11 am
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I'd certainly agree that some of the MIJ guitars really have a lot of mojo and character about them and I can understand why you'd refret your tele instead of trading it in. I'm definitely not selling mine either, it's a keeper.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 3:09 pm
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Without a doubt, go get you one. I owned a 62 Reissue in 3TSB for years and only recently let it go and do regret it...the only thing that keeps me OK with it, is that I still have my MIJ '54 Esquire reissue from 85. I bought it new, and for a for a couple of years it was one of my two main gigging guitars. They are great guitars!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Japan Vintage 62 Telecaster - worth grabbing one?
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:28 pm
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As I already stated I can remember buying mine off the rack at Sam Ash for $490 what are they going for from Fender Japan these days? The last Fender Japan guitar I bought was over a decade ago off of Ebay a NOS 72 Thinline that just smokes and which I still own. It was right before Fender Mexico put out their version and I wound up getting in a bidding war with another stubborn guy which made the seller happy lol though I have zero regrets. I do remember shipping was over $100 so maybe you should see if you can find a clean all stock model on Ebay before buying direct from Japan if you want to save some scratch.


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