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Post subject: BlackTop Series Baritone
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:14 pm
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Ok, First of All I am a Die Hard Telecaster Lover, Second of all I have been a Fender player for 30 years. All of that said, I saved some hard earned cash back and bought a silver, Black Top Series Baritone Telecaster and have to say,What the Hell Fender? I paid $550.00 for this and got a FENDER Telecaster with cheap Alpha Pots, Alpha Box Switch and some of the crappiest soldering I have ever seen come out of an indo-chineese factory, not alone one out of Mexico 45 miles from the U.S. The Bridge needs to be set back farther about a 1/4" then it is as intonation on this thing is a nightmare! whomever set the specs on this model screwed up! Their calculations are OFF! I've talked with other Tele Baritone owners and they all have the same things/issues, so I know it's not just me/mine. I will switch out the Pots, Switch and crappy cap, I'll switch out the tuners for 18:1 like should be on here and I'll some how get the bridge issue figured out so it doesn't appear obvious, But I am very disappointed in FENDER on this one. This could have been a Fender Legend model. As it is stock, it's a Fender Terd. :evil:


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Post subject: Re: BlackTop Series Baritone
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:09 pm
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UPDATE: Okay Baritone Owners I found out a solution that works well for the bridge and intonation issues. I removed the stock saddles and replaced them with Brass single Barrel saddles. This works out really well and I got the intonation to be spot on. I put in a CKL 5 way switch, CTS Pots and Oil Caps. This baby really came to life and the stock pickups are now clear, articulate and have the legendary Fender growl of years past. Remarkable change for under $50. I really love this guitar, and I guess the extra cash to get it right wasn't too bad because I have the ability to work on my own stuff, but for someone that doesn't, this is about $150. with parts and labor which could have easily been avoided from the start which probably would have only added a few bucks to the original price from the factory. Please Fender Factory folks, I plead with you, you make great Bodies, excellent Necks, fantastic finishes, don't skimp on the electronics to make a guitar 25.00 cheaper, it really makes no sense and diminishes your reputation of making some of the best guitars at every price point.


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Post subject: Re: BlackTop Series Baritone
Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 1:53 pm
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Thanks for your follow up post. I purchased one of these in Classic Copper a few months after they were released. I have the same complaints as everyone else- intonation problems due to a flawed (and perfectly avoidable) design being the biggest one. The pickups are garbage too in my opinion, but I didn't expect much from a MIM instrument. I giggle when I see reviews of this one and people write that it's got "classic tele tone" or "twang". ha! Those must be the players who upgraded from the guitar they purchased at Target next to the iPods and telephone cords.

At any rate... I felt compelled to call FMIC a couple months back to see if they had anything to say about the intonation issue. They were polite and all, but played it off like they've never heard of this before and of course told me I could go visit a qualified luthier. The issue of sub-par hardware is one thing, but the intonation problem is unforgivable. No more MIM stuff for me... not even their $1800 EVH amp heads that are MIM.


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Post subject: Re: BlackTop Series Baritone
Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:07 am
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Never had any issue with MIM stuff myself, but then I never really liked the Blacktop I tried a few years back, and that was just the normal BT Tele, let alone the Baritone, thanks for the warning.

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“If I had five million pounds I'd start a radio station because something needs to be done. It would be nice to turn on the radio and hear something that didn't make you feel like smashing up the kitchen and strangling the cat.”
― Joe Strummer


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