Over the years, I've owned a lot of Teles, including my favorite - a '71 Thinline. But as far as playability and versatility, this one is a keeper. I must admit, it took me a little while to get used to the feel of the contoured back - a totally different feel than the contour of a Strat - but it's a really comfortable guitar to hold for a long gig. The noiseless pickups are a big feature for me after a lifetime of dealing with ground hum - plus with the S-1 switching, I can get tones I never dreamed of ever getting with a Tele...without sacrificing the tone that made me want to be a Tele player in the first place. And the contour of the maple neck feels different (in a good way) than any other Tele I've played. The locking tuners are a nice touch. I must also say that's it's a well-constructed guitar - everything good and solid, playable right out of the box.

That said, I'm not a big fan of the way they've matched the wood on the top - it almost looks there's part of a knothole there or something. I thought it was just an aberration with my guitar, but others I've seen are similar. Also, although many prefer the molded SKB case, I'm a traditionalist and replaced it with the old style Fender case.

This is now my primary guitar, replacing an American Standard that I played for over 20 years. And, I can easily see this being my go-to guitar for many years to come.

PDMan owns this item

i bought the 2010 deluxe tele (60th years anniversary version) in last year. the sound is incredible with Marshall JCM-800! a lot better than Standard Tele with just US400 more even the 2011 upgraded version of standard tele with new pick up! Fender may take a considerartion to increase the price of deluxe tele or lower the price of standard tele....

raymondlok owns this item

A beautiful machine, my second tele, and the longest owned guitar Ive ever had. (and Im not changing it!). This guitar almost plays itself its so easy. Sounds fantastic in the studio and live, great tone and feel across a wide scope of tones. Mine is the 09 though so no S3.
And the belly cut contouring brings the tele into the present with a comfortable shape. Excellent.

Cookie68 owns this item

This tele has a lot more chime and twang than other teles and G&L ASATS that I have had. I can't help playing a litlle country on it even thought I got it mainly for blues. It has nice smooth neck and the frets are big enough and have smooth edges. Mine has a cherry finish with a sparkle pickguard and looks super up close and at a distance. If you are a tele player, this model is very playable. Not quite as easy as a strat, but fine. The fit and other workmanship are excellent.

slickstring owns this item

I picked up thisTele about two years ago. It had the nice Cherryburst finish, maple neck and seemed like an upscale version of the classic Telecaster design. It has locking tuners, the S-1 switching system, that I loved in the American Deluxe Stratocaster. Beautifully finished with the pearloid pickguard. I traded it in because it just never cut it for me. The S-1 seems kind of silly on a Tele. You are pretty much only using the bridge pickup as it is......bright and singing. Why fatten it up?? And it just sounded too thin for my taste. A Telecaster should just stay simple. That is what has made it last for sixty plus years!

This is by far the best tele I have played on and owned. The noiseless pickups are beautiful, the action is perfect out of box, and this guitar plays so well. I wouldn't change anything.

manderson263 owns this item

I have owned and played a 1974 Fender Stratocaster S/N 524004 and enjoyed ever minute of it and continue to do so. I have always wanted to add the distinctive sound of the Telecaster, so just recently I added an American Deluxe Telecaster, SB with rosewood fretboard. It has taken a little getting used to, but now that I have set it up to suit my playing, it is fantastic. I have always heard players say the the Telecaster has a distinctive sound and now I know what they mean. The Tele sound of this American Deluxe with the S1 switch is fabulous. The quality of the instrument is second to none. The controls are all really neatly placed to make it so easy and fast to make any adjustments for pick-up selection, tone and volume change etc. I am glad I was finally able to make this an addition to my guitar collection, and would highly recommend it any serious guitar player, amateur or professional.

DorNo owns this item

I have to be honest and say that I initially didn't think I'd be coming back to this guitar as much as I do. I use a lot of clean tone and am running into a Vox AC30, but didn't want to stay in a country-ish tone for much. I have to say that this guitar is amazing for so many other types of tone. The addition of the S-1 switch really brings this guitar to life. It gives a lot of versatility without the need to do random pull/push pots later on. The guitar feels very solid and the compound fretboard makes it the only guitar I have where I can fret full bar chords really high up the neck. All in all, a great buy and with all the nice finishes (compound fretboard, locking tuners, strap locks, S-1 switch, etc.).

withfoam owns this item