i used to own this telecaster, had it for 3 months and then decided to trade it in. It had a too large and heavy neck/ body. It didn't feel right and just didn't give enough of a funky and warm sound. I went for a hss strat.

lady33blue owns this item

Every bit of excitement I had when I first bought this item has completely been extinguished. As the previous review mentions the bridge pickup constantly grounds out and even after taking it back to the store to have the tech "fix" it the issue started occurring not 30 minutes after getting all the way back home.

For a brand that is so revered as Fender's I really expected better quality. I have owned guitars from other manufactures on both ends of the price spectrum for many years and I have never had any wiring issues.

Don't get me wrong when the thing works it sounds and plays great, but so far I've had it working for me a total of 30 minutes at best. Until Fender issues a recall to fix this issue, I'd avoid buying it.

frank_rock owns this item

I love my bandmate's 72 tele deluxe, but I prefer a four bolt neck plate, a 9.5 radius rosewood 'board, and I've never felt the wide range humbuckers were as suited to my playing style as more traditional humbuckers. It's also quite costly - around £720 in the UK. So when the 'Shiftycaster' was released for £510, I ordered one without having played it.
I'm a Foo Fighters fan, but I've never been fussed about signature models - I'm only interested if the spec is right. This struck me as having all the right bits, so I was looking forward to opening the box back in November when it arrived.
I ordered over the internet, and when it arrived it was clear from the packaging that it hadn't been disturbed since it left Mexico. The case is made by the same firm that makes the tweed vintage reissue cases, and it's excellent. The guitar is beautiful, with a really comfortable neck and a thoroughly pleasing tone. However, there were issues. There were some very untidy fret ends, the nut wasn't well cut, the intonation was all over the place and the selector switch would only intermittently select the neck pickup. As it happens I have a reasonably priced genius guitar tech near me, so £40 later, I have a perfect guitar. I've done around twelve gigs with it over the ten weeks I've had it, and I'm really pleased.
All things considered, I regard a £550 outlay for a guitar this good as great value. There are two spec departures from Shiflett's stage tele - he has a maple board and I'm glad the signature has rosewood. His guitar also has a silver pearl pickguard, and I'm not sure why a white pearl guard was put on the signature - but I've decided to go the whole hog and I'm having a silver pearl one made - but that's just a taste thing. If you're happy to do a little work on the guitar when it arrives, this is a brilliant buy.

flatout owns this item