FenderSpecial Edition Custom Telecaster FMT Electric Guitar, Crimson Red Transparent, Laurel Fingerboard

I received this amber colored Fender Special Edition Custom Tele FMT HH from Amazon a couple of days ago. I must admit, I was a little nervous buying a relatively expensive guitar online and sight-unseen. So, needless to say, I went over it with a fine tooth comb when it finally arrived. And I must tell tell you, I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The finish on the one I got was beautiful and flawless, back and front, from the headstock on down. The flame maple top looks really nice to me and the cream edging around the top , and the neck as well, really enhances its good looks. The wood in the fretboard looks a nice dark color and the abalone fret markers on the fretboard look nice also. I could see where in certain lighting conditions these markers might be a little hard to see, but I would be saved by the easily seen black fret markers on the light cream edging alone the neck. The hardware on the guitar is kind of metallic black looking to me and works well with the black Seymour Duncan pups.I was also surprised at how well my was set-up right out of the box. I let it acclimate to room temperature, plugged it in and gave it a spin. Of course it needed tuning, but to my surprise it was not very far out of tune. I visually checked the neck and it looked straight and the Truss Rod needed no adjusting as the very slight concave that was already dialed in was perfect for me. The action was low, just as i like it, and with no fret buzzing, huurah! I also checked for dead frets and didn't find any. The intonation as set up was slightly off, but pretty darn good for out of the box! I'll adjust that later. So I am thinking someone took their time to set this guitar up nicely before it left the factory, and it held together pretty good on the long trip to finally get to me.Now, the best part was plugging it in and finally playing it! Those Seymour Duncan Humbuckers lived up to their reputation and sounded GREAT! I l already love playing this guitar! It sounds good sand feels good in my hands.I will note that I did find one thing I would like to change. The saddle adjustment screws stick up a little bit too far for my liking and feel a little sharp on the palm. Will look for some shorter ones.Overall, I am very pleased with this guitar thus far and think it was a good deal for the money.

For the price..this was a no brainer.. great guitar and has become my go to.. The HH is amazing and the finish is top qual.. the sound is great, hardware good quality.. not a top end tele..but a little closer and it would have been 3x the cost..I'm totally satisfied I bought this..just wow.

Think high end Les Paul, as far as sound and playability. This is not your typical Telecaster, but you can get the classic Tele sound out of it. The frets are very smooth and rounded on the ends. No sharp edges at all. The fretboard “flatness”, the action and even the intonation were all very close to perfect right out of the box! The Seymor Duncans are a really great combination with the split coil and selection options. The flame maple top is stunning and the fit & finish is right there with custom shop expectations. Genuinely equivalent to $5k guitars that I’ve owned, at 1/5 the price. A little known, gem of an instrument.

Experienced player and hobby luthier/guitar tech/hotrodder here. I was looking for my go-to guitar when writing and recording demos for my band, and wanted something very lightweight and versatile. I love Strandbergs, but they're the wrong vibe for what I'm doing these days, and I wanted something a little more traditional. Always loved Telecasters, but the traditional pickups don't cover the territory I want.So I took a chance on the Tele FMT HH, and I'm very happy I did: as many have said, it's a guitar that can cover a lot of terrain, whether it's clean single-coil sparkle, bluesy grit, or hard rock. (I'd stop short of modern metal -- a Duncan Pearly Gates isn't going to get you there -- but you could always drop in a Black Winter :-D) Ergonomics are just the way I like: flattish radius, reasonably thin neck, and a very lightweight instrument.Fit and finish on this one were pretty good, which is what I'd expect from an Indonesian-made Fender. The flame maple is not bad at all for the price point, the cream binding is a nicely upmarket touch. A few tiny finish irregularities, etc. Hardware is decent -- the tuners are smooth and affirmative, I didn't notice any backlash or slop. Electronics seem fine. I'm not in love with the Pearly Gates -- top end seems a bit harsh -- and am tempted to drop in a Duncan Pegasus, but that's just personal taste.And now, the bad news: the setup was not up to par for what I've come to expect from an Asian factory guitar at this price point. There was way too much relief in the neck, the action was comically high, the low E string nut slot was cut too shallow, and the frets, while not rough, had visible vertical sandpaper grit marks from the final pass of the sanding beam they'd received -- I'd guess somewhere in the 600-800 grit region. And, like I said, they felt reasonably smooth -- it's not like they were scraping horribly against the strings when you'd bend 'em. But they definitely felt a bit draggy or sticky on bends.So, I took about a mm of relief out of the neck, lowered the saddles nearly two turns, finished the fret polishing with 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 3000 grit, and then a couple grades of 3M Zona polishing paper. If you've never played a guitar that's had frets polished to this extent, and you do much string bending or finger vibrato -- it's totally worth the time and effort. Restrung with Elixirs, checked the intonation (which was okay) and had a really superb guitar.Now it plays like a dream. Even with the setup issues, this guitar is a tremendous value at around a thousand US dollars. Just be prepared to drop another hundred or so at your local tech if you aren't doing the setup yourself. (Mind you, I would suggest this for ANY guitar under two grand. It is absolutely astonishing what a good setup can do -- and how easily a poor setup can make a great guitar feel like a disaster.)

I needed a fixed bridge guitar and always wanted a tele. Bits so generic that another fancier guitar took its place. This one is current. A couple of Dunkins, the Pearly Gates on the bridge is a great choice. I love that pickup. Lots of harmonic tone that’s really noticeable with even a little gain. Crazy harmonic with heavy gain. There’s a lot to love about this tele. I’m surprised that they don’t offer it in an American or Mexican model. A lot of great guitars are made in Indonesia. Amazon had a 5 month payment plan that worked perfect for me. I ended up buying something else the same way. I couldn’t recommend this guitar enough.

I like the shape and color of this Fender model and the pickups but it was not set with the right strings so it’s a bit hard on fingers.It is not a Strat quality but is bery playable when properly setup.