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Post subject: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:17 am
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Found a tele at GC that is being advertised as a 2002 American Deluxe. it has noiseless pickups and the tilt adjustment for the neck but there is no contour on the back of the body. The serial is Z2039433. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Flhtc88


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:05 pm
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I believe the deluxes of 2002 should have a serial# beginning 'DZ'


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:50 pm
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+1 jmatis,

On 2002 Fender Frontline magazine I see clearly serial number on Deluxe ; DZ...Page 68

American Deluxe Tele are easy to see,

Noiseless pickup
Locking tuner
Pearloid dot on the neck
Contour body on the back


Flhtc88, look GC are wrong :(


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:56 pm
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jmattis wrote:
I believe the deluxes of 2002 should have a serial# beginning 'DZ'

Technically, yes but it's not as consistent as you might expect. You occasionally see an AD without the D in front of the Z. You also saw it sometimes in the 90s where there was no D before the N. Of course it was easier to tell back then if the number was not consistent because the abalone markers would give it away as being a Deluxe but since Fender stopped putting abalone in the AD series necks it's now easier to assume the number is right and the designation is wrong. Fortunately for the OP in '02 they were still using abalone. That should be a leading indicator in this case.

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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:02 pm
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As far as the lack of belly relief goes ... well I think that's a no brainer. AD Teles had the belly cut so regardless of the neck's designation the body is not an AD.

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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:57 pm
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I paid $900 for what was supposed to be a AD from the La Mesa store. It's going back. For $200 more I can get a cherry burst that I know is a American Deluxe. My local Guitar Center (North Olmsted, Ohio) is fantastic, I know a bunch of the guys and I can't imagine them trying to screw a customer (or at least this customer). I find it hard to believe that La Mesa didn't know what they were selling. I'm more than a little unhappy with the situation. I'd love to know exactly what I bought and what it's worth.


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:18 am
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Flhtc88 wrote:
I'd love to know exactly what I bought and what it's worth.

An email to Fender's consumer relations with the serial# usually gives you the original specs.
And sending pics to the forum (plenty, detailed, big) usually gets you an answer that covers even more.


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:04 am
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jmattis wrote:
Flhtc88 wrote:
I'd love to know exactly what I bought and what it's worth.

An email to Fender's consumer relations with the serial# usually gives you the original specs.
And sending pics to the forum (plenty, detailed, big) usually gets you an answer that covers even more.



+1

jmatis , ask to your dealer what he think about that . He must have a explanation.


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 12:16 am
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jmattis wrote:
Flhtc88 wrote:
I'd love to know exactly what I bought and what it's worth.

An email to Fender's consumer relations with the serial# usually gives you the original specs.
And sending pics to the forum (plenty, detailed, big) usually gets you an answer that covers even more.


+1 for the photos. Videos are also welcome.

Why not sending a PM to John C? :idea:


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:41 am
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I'm waiting for the OP to post some photos.

He doesn't say if the headstock has the chrome logo - it almost sounds like he's stumbled on an American Series Tele modded with the noiseless pickups.

For the record - a 2002 American Deluxe Tele would have all the following features:

1. Vintage Noiseless pickups
2. Top-bound body (white on most colors, tortoise shell on the white blonde)
3. Contour on the back of the body
4. Raised chrome headstock decal
5. Abalone dots on the fingerboard (that look blue-green)
6. Parchment pickguard on most colors (tortoise shell on the white blonde)

Back then these would not have had locking tuners (that started with the 2010-spec) or a contoured neck heel (that started with the 2004-spec).


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 5:41 pm
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The serials can be misleading, I have a 2000 American deluxe power Tele, serial starts with Z0.

It's definitely an American deluxe, even though the serial worried me at first and the salespeople at Guitar Center had never seen this particular model. Dead giveaways:
Belly contour
Tortoise binding & guard (perfectly matched)
Vintage noiseless pickups
Abalone dot inlays
Chrome "Fender Telecaster" logo on the headstock
Bone nut, very detailed flush fretwire - might be a hand rolled neck, not sure what year they started but it's crazy smooth.
Schaller strap locks

No locking tuners - cast & sealed Fender logo Schallers

I also emailed Fender customer service with the serial number and they sent me a great info sheet on the guitar, even had the date that the build on it was completed. If in doubt for any reason, shoot them an email - another poster listed the address above. They got back to me within six hours or so.

Cheers!


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:22 pm
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Neverendr wrote:
very detailed flush fretwire - might be a hand rolled neck, not sure what year they started but it's crazy smooth.



The hand-rolled edge necks debuted in 1998, almost 2 years before the American Deluxe Power Telecaster comes into production. This model was shortlived as it lasted only 1 year.

Discontinued in 2001.


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 6:51 pm
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Thanks Chromeface, I had a feeling it had the hand rolled edges but you know what they say about assuming. I appreciate the confirmation.


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 6:40 am
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I should have put into my post that 2000 is the year that seems to be pretty much confirmed where Fender wound up using "regular" serial numbers on American Deluxes for a while - like Neverendr's American Deluxe Power Tele - but it wasn't for the full year, just some of the runs of necks. I've not heard of that happening in 2002 but anything's possible.

Absolutely not germane to this discussion but Fender did stop using the extra "D" prefix on American Deluxe serial numbers in 2010 when they changed formats (and they stopped using the "S" prefix on Artist Series models as well).


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Post subject: Re: Is this an American Deluxe?
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:33 am
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The American Deluxe Power Telecaster sported active electronics for the piezo.

You're presented with two stacked concentric knobs with separate volumes and tone controls for both piezo and magnetic pickups, one of which is an active midrange booster offering 12dB of sheer gain. The 3-way mini toggle allows the interaction between the Vintage Noiseless pickups and the Powerbridge - or both.

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There was also a special sub-rumble cut switch below the battery compartment filtering the excessive feedback generated from the onboard mid boost circuit.

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Personally I opted for a splittable neck humbucker and a 5-way super switch to complement the Powerbridge.


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