Fender Telecaster - Made in Mexico, Japan & USA | What is the difference??

[@stefanogiannotti7801]

I tried a Vintera Nocaster in a music shop, the sound and the finishes were excellent to me but I didn't buy it because of the neck, too big for my taste! So I came back to my Squier CV 50s (made in Indonesia) and modified it with CTS pots, brass sadles and Fender pure vintage 51 pick ups. Now I'm happy with it, the neck is very well made with rounded edges and C shape!

[@Tcflohr]

I agree with the idea the vintera U shaped neck on the tele makes you play differently and gives the tele its own vibe. I bought a vintera tele in fiesta red with the u shaped neck after going into a store with a much higher budget, but it was the only one that really felt like a classic tele.

[@trevorarthurson6815]

100% I looked at all 3 and the MIM Vintera II was the winner, the U neck and 7.25” fingerboard was exactly what I wanted. I didn’t want a Tele with a neck like my Strat.

[@francstringer]

The Fender US varnish is special , it's a secret formula that's make a good glide on their neck .The price of the varnish make a difference too. I 've bought a Tele squier made in China the neck is thick and i'm still looking for the varnish. Thank you for the good sound of your videos and your presence.

[@frogsinthepot]

I just dropped off my Affinity Tele today for first time setup and I can't wait to get it back. Thank you for all you do, and keep up the good work!

[@TheSoundofForgetting]

I have had my AVII 63 Tele for about 2 months now & I love it🤘it feels incredible & sounds incredible! 🤘🎸🤘Keep rocking guys

[@SPR-Pedals]

After owning guitars on and off for nearly 30 years I just bought my first tele. A gorgeous Fender 50's JV Modified made in Japan. Why did I not buy a tele years ago? It sustains for days, amazingly comfortable to play with that satin V neck, and the variety of tones out of the box are fantastic. I've tried out so many diffferent tunings in the first week that I've never been able to pull off on a floating trem guitar. And the icing on the cakes was that it was 50% off in in Fender's Black Friday sale.

[@erkmenesen]

Fender USA - Mexican builders living in USA Fender Mex - Mexican builders living in Mexico

[@BigEdWo]

i have a usa tele elite, neck stamped with "chavez" :-)

[@marcospintor1333]

And they cross the border to work double shift

[@DMSProduktions]

@@BigEdWo Ay fregon!

[@ALFREDUNIT21-t9z]

That's been like that since the beginning.

[@yanuarpermana5986]

scammed

[@LuísJoel-s7k]

Fender Japan has my money

[@michaelbajorek1972]

I agree. Recently purchased a Fender Japan Jazz Bass.

[@NeverGoBack2]

But be warned! Once you own a Fender Japan you cannot go back.

[@trevorarthurson6815]

Not for me, the neck felt too much like my Strat.

[@Jeremya74]

Fender Japan makes the most sense..quality as good as American for hundreds less..that being said,with me being American,I would rather buy American..if it were say, $100 more than Japan,I'd buy American..but it's 3-400 more..my pockets just aren't that deep ...for now😉

[@NeverGoBack2]

@ having owned plenty of Made in USA and Japan I would strongly argue that they are both the same quality. I used to be an auto tech and you cannot even compare a Toyota and Chevy, sorry that’s just a fact…

[@mjphoto45]

I put on new old style 3 bridge, all new electronics w 47 ohm cap and five two seymore duncan pickups MIM. Love it

[@richardclark6807]

I can only compare Strats and teles from differing locations. I have original USA 79/80 strat (heavy but great), MIJ 60’s and AVii 62 strat. The 62 is amazingly good, feels like 9’s and so easy to play, sweet pups. The others are great to play and there is not a lot in it on sound but feel the 62 is head and shoulders above the other two. As for teles I have MIM 60’s classic (cs pups, 12” neck and rosewood board.) pretty heavy, but plays really well. I have 3 squire teles - cabronita s/s, deluxe h/h, thinline s/s with upgraded Vintera pups. They all play really well and all have different attributes which makes me play them differently. Looking at a baritone tele next. There’s just something about tele’s simplicity which makes you play differently. Love them.

[@borislavtashkov2326]

Wow, I'm just on the market for a Vintage Style Tele and those three have my attention. Thank you for this video.

[@catburn3]

Have a look at the Baja teles! Bought one in 2024 - superb guitar!

[@borislavtashkov2326]

@catburn3 Thank you. I'll research it 🤘🏻

[@philhood4604]

Squier Classic Vibe are also great

[@zezuntxiduntxi]

Hope they talk about the nut width. Pleople never do. Its important.

[@iamanovercomer3253]

I put a tusq nut on my 🇺🇲 strat , Mex telecaster and squire affinity FMT telecaster and all 3 guitars sound improved ‼️

[@haroldewing9729]

Tell me the address in my nuts I mean the nut width or the spacing is very important to get any guitar it's all never quite right it's never in their Court should be I currently they don't have digital calipers for micrometers.

[@Choupifr]

I just get a MIJ trad 50 from you monday and its very great. Incredibly light (3kg) and resonant. It has the best tele drive sound i never had. A few flaws (sharp fretboard edges, neck alignement is not perfect) but no deal breaker.

[@daveacosta7060]

MIM Vintera does the perfect job for half the price…

[@timesurfingalien]

Made in America. The magical term that allows you to charge more for the same piece of equipment.

[@bluegryp]

Had a ltd edition American Pro HS tele. Never quit liked the tone. Sold it and bought a MIJ HS tele modeled after Keith Richard’s Micawber. The difference was night and day. The MIJ had so much more bite and growl. Great guitar and under $1k.

[@MusicbyMaggie]

Am I the only one who actually prefers the color of the finish on the vintera nocaster? They all look beautiful, don't get me wrong, but that one looks the best to me

[@edleonard2395]

No the modern butterscotch is like mustard and they’re just too much. The nocaster yellow (and lighter) is the win here.

[@stefanogiannotti7801]

@MusicbyMaggie the color of the vintera nocaster is the best I've ever seen!

[@Spacepuffin007]

I prefer that color as well

[@trevorarthurson6815]

I got the Vintera II for the fat U neck and 7.25” fingerboard. I agree 100% about the way the neck makes you play, I didn’t want a Tele that felt like my Strat.

[@robert26788]

I've got thec50 vintera 2. Pickups sound warm but with less dynamics than the american one. Definition is ok and the outpout is not loud égout at least from the factory setting. In the future I will change the pickups. Neck is huge and its very good for chords and hybrid piking.

[@Antitrump7431]

would have been nice to add the Fender Squier Classic Vibe from Indonisia

[@joermnyc]

Owned a Mexican (boat anchor body), tried an MIJ a friend owned (nice), a USA is out of my price range. I wound up preferring an ASAT Classic (still related to Leo Fender, but not the brand.) I’d love to see this for PRS, especially the new SE bolt on models.

[@soundguy5813]

ive had many teles & strats and i had a Leo ASAT Classic it was my favorite ever gold color but i also have a contemperary squire tele its awesome . I will always kick myself for selling my ASAT !

[@SBsoton]

Good comparison video 👍🏻

[@windmillcancersurvivor2568]

Nice, nice, nice esp the driven sounds! All good, I have big paws so the bigger the better. I have a '10 Nocaster, installed a Glendale bridge and it makes sounds my Strat can't.

[@aurelienbellanger34]

The finishes on a MIJ one is very great. Picked up a 62 Custom RI with the rosewood neck, and it's a hell of a great guitar to play with. I have more pleasure picking it up playing quickly than my Les Paul 50's. Depends on everyone's favorite setup, but I would only change for better pickups, the stock ones being a bit flat-ish most of the time. I tried a AVII 51 recently, it was crazy nice to play, but the only reason why I would swap them (and spending +1000€ almost after selling my MIJ), is because of the nitro finish rather than poly..

[@stefanbo3620]

I bought a mij JV mod 60ies Tele in firemist gold, it's such a great guitar (for the money and for everything else). Not saying that the us or mexican ones aren't good or anything but the Japanese guitars just work for me

[@NoNameNo.5]

Better update this for made in Indonesia!

[@profane_kvetch]

For my money, you cannot beat a MIJ Fender.

[@haroldewing9729]

😂 James the only difference from the Japanese is it's more accurately made is better Factory tolerances and they have a much better work ethic and care. Japan is accurate. Without accuracy nothing else matters. My Fender jazz bass delivers. Mex made. Yeah for the money I want with the one that matches my hair. Hahaha

[@elbib2446]

the older,much praised mim baja tele had a chunky neck,the mij ritchie kotzen tele also has a chunky neck

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Both very much true. We wanted to stick to currently available, vintage spec'd blackguards for this video. The Kotzen tele is and amazing modern-vintage mix guitar. And yeah, the neck is huge, haha. //Kris

[@jairoperez1029]

Very interesting as always... Is there Any chance to check all this models, with the same pickups, the usa pickups perhaps, althoug if you can add an Squier Classic vibe 50s... AND check out if the price worth It😋

[@slimsantilli4476]

I have a Japanese made Yamah mike stern. The build quality is very good

[@alexdenton6586]

Fender Japan or made in Japan in general are the kings Can’t beat that

[@Zubarev09]

Ich hab zu Hause ne Partcaster Gitarre als Tele und bin sehr zufrieden damit

[@kroadster3249]

Great Video and informative. The Japan neck is Not my Favorie. The Vintera is. Only nitro is missing

[@bsharporbflat8378]

Should have included a Squier Classic Vibe in here….definitely beats a MiM. And are we soon going to have guitars called pre-tarif ?

[@elbib2446]

had a few teles,mim/mij not a usa,though ive played a few,and owned usa strats.my friend has a usa dark knight tele,its a great guitar,but my fave is still my 2010 mij 62 b tele,rosewood neck,i also have a 2010 mij tokai tele,with maple board,which is also very good,sold all my mim teles eventually

[@ScottJamesHicks]

I have always hated butterscotch. But, I want a vintage style Tele. lol.

[@randyfolkner9496]

Long live the telecaster 😉

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yes sir!! 🙌 //Kris

[@nathancourtney2006]

Really appreciate what you’re doing. If you haven’t yet, could you review guitar / amp modelers? I’m my humble opinion if they don’t have usable presets for the average musician. (No studio equipment). The manufacturers are missing a demographic of potential users. Thank you Nathan

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Hi, we showed a lot of different modellers over the years, please check out the channel (mostly the Guitar Check playlist will be useful). You're right, many of these don't have ideal factory presets for "normal guitar players". The presets are usually fx show-offs for pretty unusual and extreme sounds. There are differences and some of them are very intuitive to use and set up. For example we both really enjoyed the user experience of the hotone Ampero and the Headrush units. Cheers //Kris

[@nathancourtney2006]

@ Thank you for your recommendations I’ll check them out.

[@davidpearson6346]

Beware shopping with Thomann. Recently purchased the Dave Mustaine Flying V which was received in a terrible condition. Unplayable high E string. When correctly tuned it buzzed in the same way it would if tuned right down. Bridge not correctly adjusted. Not set up or check down on the guitar whatsoever. Seems the rumour about this with Gibson guitars is true. The E string snapped by itself within the first few minutes of having the guitar. Not whilst playing it. I had to replace it and try to make a temporary bridge adjustment myself before at some point taking to a guitar store to correctly set the whole guitar up. The fact it was sent out in this condition is one thing. But Thomann only finally responded to my email enquiry after two weeks and multiple emails sent to them. (Replied fast before purchase when enquiring about the guitar but their priority at that point is to secure a sale!). For a guitar that was £2,069, and sent in the condition it was Thomann have stated in their response that this IS acceptable and offered……a feee pack of strings. Beware if you’re shopping with Thomann as you may end up with a similar experience. Won’t be shopping with them ever again.

[@HeartShapedBox93]

Very interesting, thank you. Compare that to a small local shop where I bought a Squire Tele for £300. They threw in a hard case they had lying around, and the tech spent 15 minutes setting it up after I’d decided to buy it, despite the fact I’d chosen it because of the way it played and didn’t ask him to.

[@Choupifr]

I buy from Thomann since 15 years now and i never had a single issue with them. I had some guitars that were horrible, because of bad factory quality control, but the return policy always saved the day.

[@Someone-lc6dc]

Loved the intro and outro chords and solo. Can't you make a guitar lesson out of it? By the way... Could anyone recommend a way to learn music theory without going to a music school? (I'd love to spend a year or two in a music school but at my age it's probably impossible.)

[@brunonjezic6208]

Come on Fender make Nocaster road worn in nitro! I need that big neck in my life! I all ready started to save up for the guitar that doesn’t exist jet but it needs to

[@jamesc2827]

I have a MIM Fender FSR Standard Ash Tele I normally go 10's but was swayed into trying 9's I thought it would not make a difference but it does. in my case 10's are way better. If I did a lot of heavy bends it would make sense with the 9's. The 9's seemed to give a higher pitched overtone then I would prefer

[@StevesSlideandJazz]

I love my Harley Benton teles more than my fender teles!

[@doug1274]

Why?

[@Jeremya74]

I dont need to hear sound comparisons..what sound/tone its makes is up to you and what you like..i want to see hardwear,quality,ect comparison..am i getting the same guitar with all three, type of comparison. Thanks guys!

[@dmac-333]

The only thing that matters is how it plays. Seriously.

[@shipsahoy1793]

Absolutely dmac .. that's all there is to it. I have instruments thst are $200 and $2000 that play, but I've also seen the reverse that didn't, and sometimes just a setup doesn't save them!

[@dmac-333]

@@shipsahoy1793 100% agree.

[@belo1971]

Pit a ISA nit width on a Japan products and it would be KILLER !!!!! only US ones have normal size necks 😅

[@Eliminator-rl9sn]

For me the neck and play feeling is very important. The best sounding guitar is worthless if I can not play it. According to my experience Mexican made guitars can be as good as the US made.

[@xammai9679]

American vintage for me.

[@ashikabbasali1836]

I have 2 American 1 Mexican and q inoneskon use American for recording all strats except 1 American. Mark 1 love feedback on my original guitar instrumental played by me and produced and composed by me American are best because I shred all are good to play because of tapered necks and high quality

[@joecosta7626]

it would be enough to read the specifications of each one and understand the price differences, it's that simple

[@DMSProduktions]

Soundwise, there was alm NO difference in the bridge pick ups, but the neck pick ups all sounded different to each other!

[@sebjean7793]

I prefer the made in Japan soundwise , but for collection made in usa..

[@davidpearson6346]

Contacted you multiple times now in regards to a guitar sent out to me that was set up really badly, despite being a £2k Gibson. Customer services have acknowledged each email but aren’t responding to the issue.

[@josephhughes9490]

Imagine. Kris checking out Teles.😅

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yeah, it's a shocker, isn't it? 🤣 Happy new year Joe! //Kris

[@josephhughes9490]

@ThomannsGuitarsBasses Happy New Year Kris. Hope you got what you wanted for Christmas 🎁

[@francescodefendi3201]

Two Vintera II (50maple and 60rosewood) or an American Vintage II? Price would be the same (more or less)…Ah ok, 2 AVII 😂… But I think I’ll go with the first option 👍🏼

[@teddybear9029]

The u.s.a fender has much more of a richer sound, it’s night and day too my ears.

[@roddyrobertson5393]

HB TE-52 just as good 🙂

[@B.D-Hamm]

It would be nice to see an honest answer as to where the individual parts are made matterless of where they are constructed and thus "made." I personally suspect that most of the parts are far Eastern matterless of the badge. Dare Fender confess?..I doubt it. I owned a USA Tele that was no better than a MIJ E series. A MIJ copy brand was better than both. The best Tele came from a Californian boutique builder and seems sad that such an iconic guitar can be so easily equalled or bettered.

[@ragwort3369]

I'm willing to bet good money that there's no discernible difference whatsoever in practical terms between any of them (or indeed between them and the CV Squire Tele which is my main gigging guitar these days). After all, any Tele is a chopping board on a stick with some rudimentary electrics, and it doesn't seem to me to matter much where something so simple is nailed together.

[@horschy4856]

Within this video there comes a question in mind. I only play guitars on the cheaper side, and I pay some euros to my Luther for making them great. My question know ist: Can you really go wrong with a guitar above 1000$?

[@M5guitar1]

What about Fender France?

[@trevorarthurson6815]

It’s NoCaster blonde NOT Butterscotch. 😁

[@PotatoChips1223]

I heard fender japan has better build quality than in the US

[@rolandwheeler4842]

SAME brand and gauge strings? Imagine the MIA is probably using a high-end brand, maybe the others???

[@thebrysmith3]

They mention that the American Vintage II is set with 10-46 and the other two with 9's.

[@thebrysmith3]

I have a made in Japan Fender Aerodyne Special Telecaster that is never ever going away.

[@HeartShapedBox93]

Given how utterly shite America is as a country (I mean, they’ve voted Trump in TWICE, don’t have free healthcare and don’t have the balls to ban guns despite regular school shootings), I would rather buy a guitar made in Syria than a guitar made in the US.

[@shipsahoy1793]

No English links ? WtF?

[@ALFREDUNIT21-t9z]

Japan all the way .

[@JochenReulbach]

...breast saddles?

[@80sRadDad]

Just get a Gibson and be done with it

[@Miguel_Madureira]

I still don’t Have a Jap Fender 😢

[@jimicunningable]

My Player needed the D string intonation adjusted and a couple of frets polished. My Player 2 was perfect. I had a Dlx US 2011 Strat for ages. I paid a LOT for the fact that it was made here. It was a great guitar, but it was in NO F WAY 1K better. I've had real Les Pauls, Keisels & Jacksons too. NOT A GOOD VALUE AT ALL. woo. F paying bloated fat F board members for nothing but fame. It's dumb!!!