Fender Classic Player Baja ’60s Telecaster
The Overview
Well folks, it’s time for the 16th Smelly Tele post, and this post will be all about the Fender Classic Player Baja ‘60s Telecaster. Yes, that’s right! On our sweet 16, we are finally going to review a Telecaster at The Smelly Tele!
If you’ve never owned a Telecaster, you need to find one and play one. Right now. You will not find a guitar that cuts through a mix better than a Telecaster. Not only can you hear your rhythm licks at low volume, Teles gets fantastic lead tones too!
The Baja ‘60s Telecaster lives up to the hype and is well worth your consideration. I talked a bit about Fender Mexico when I reviewed the Robert Cray Standard Stratocaster, and the Baja ‘60s Telecaster is another strong example of how far the Made in Mexico Fender guitars have come.
Features
The Baja ‘60s Telecaster was designed by Custom Shop Master Builder Chris Fleming and was built in Mexico. Like the name suggests, it is modeled after the 1960’s Telecasters and features many of the same specifications that made ‘60s Telecasters classic guitars. When these were new, I think they retailed around $825. After scrounging around the internet, you’ll find these priced anywhere from $600 up to $1,100 used. I think the inflated used price is a testament to how great these Telecasters are!
The neck has a thin ‘60s c-shape profile which you are going to love. In the ‘60s, Fender veered away from the thick baseball bat like necks and slimmed down their neck profiles significantly. The neck on the Baja feels unbelievable and plays fast. The neck is made from maple wood with a Pau Ferro fingerboard and dot inlays. The medium jumbo frets on this guitar feel fantastic.
The headstock has a modern look to it, and is classic Telecaster. I don’t have too much insight for you here other than the nut is made from synthetic bone.
The Body
The model we’re demoing today came in the Sonic Blue finish. I honestly thought this guitar was white when I first bought it. It wasn’t until I looked at the guitar hanging on the wall in the twilight hours just after the sun goes down that I noticed the Telecaster had a blue glow around it. I turned on the lights and the glow went away. It’s pretty cool looking.
The body is made from alder and features an ashtray bridge with brass saddles. It has a standard Telecaster pickguard and control layout. There are two knobs, the forward knob for volume and the back knob for tone. The neck pickup is a single coil American Vintage ‘52 Tele and the bridge pickup is a ‘58 Tele. Both pickups sound fantastic as you will soon hear.
Baja ’60s Tele Controls
Now for the cool part. Chris Fleming had designed the original Baja’s and when he designed the Baja ‘60s model, he added some upgrades. First, he added a 4-way switch to the controls in lieu of the standard 3-way switch. With the 4-way switch, you get the following positions: bridge, bridge & neck (in parallel), neck, and (BONUS!) the bridge and neck in series! This is a modification that many Telecaster owners love. The 4th position with the bridge and neck in series fattens up the classic Tele tone, and you get some noise-canceling as the two pickups in series act like a giant humbucker.
But wait! Chris Flemming did not stop there! He added an S1 switch to the volume knob! If you push the S1 button on top of the volume knob, it will depress and activate two additional pickup configurations! With the S1 switch activated you get the following positions: bridge, bridge & neck (in parallel) out of phase, neck, and the bridge and neck (in series) out of phase! The out of phase positions give you a very “quacky” sound that will remind you of a Stratocaster. If you want that Stratocaster tone though, I would not rely on these out of phase Telecaster tones. The Baja Tele gets close, but this sound is something unique to the Baja Tele. Speaking of how it sounds…
How Does it Sound?
Awesome. Just awesome. The S1 switch gives you six different pickup configurations, and you are going to really enjoy exploring the tonal possibilities that this Telecaster can deliver.
For the demo, I used a Fender Champ. I recorded audio clips using a clean setting with the amp turned up to 3.5 to start, and progressively turned the volume up. On the guitar itself, we’ll start with the switch in the neck position and progress through all 6 positions. The volume knob and tone knobs on the guitar are turned to 10. I recorded this sound bite using Presonus Studio One Artist 4, Presonus’s AudioBox iTwo, and a Shure SM7B microphone.
Clean
The clean tones are super clear as would be expected. The neck pickup gives you a nice woody tone that doesn’t sound dark. The bridge pickup is spanky and twangy which is classic Telecaster.
Amp Breaking Up
Time to put a little dirt in there! You’re going to instantly love this guitar when you dirty up the tone. It adds a bit of character and sounds good in almost any situation. Between the clean tones and dirty tones, the Baja Tele is going to keep you busy searching for the “Holy Grail Guitar Sound” that is so elusive. I really hope you enjoy playing this guitar too because I can’t seem to put it down.
Crunch Tone!
The Wrap Up
I cannot express to you how impressed I was with the Classic Player Baja ‘60s Telecaster. If you’re a fan of Telecasters or if you’re looking for your first Telecaster, this guitar brings the best of the classic telecaster tones you want. Plus the S1 switch gives you an additional set of “quacky” tones, making this Telecaster more versatile than the original 1960 Telecasters.
Action & Intonation
Both the action and intonation are perfect on this guitar. I was impressed by the intonation as it can be very difficult to get the brass saddles on any Telecaster to intonate perfectly. If you’re Baja Telecaster has been professionally setup or is fresh off the factory line, it should be perfect.
Modifications
There were no modifications to the Baja ‘60s Telecaster we demoed today.
Final Thoughts
I have been thoroughly impressed by Fender Mexico again. The Classic Player Baja Tele is an amazing guitar that you will love instantly. It’s got the classic signature twang of a Telecaster, and the 4-way switch combined with S1 switch expands the tonal range. Telecasters are already highly regarded for their versatility, so doubling the standard 3 pickup configurations to 6 pickup configurations adds a lot to this instrument.
I think you’re going to like the S1 switch because it gives you two positions that sound a bit like a Stratocaster. So if you’re on the fence and trying to decide between a Tele and Strat, this could be the compromise you’ve been looking for. If you tend to lean towards Tele’s this is definitely going to make you smile. If you lean more towards a Strat, you might want to go for the Strat. While the Baja does a good job simulating the Strat tones, it’s not a perfect substitute for a Stratocaster.
The other knock on the S1 switch is there is a noticeable difference in the output volume when the pickups are out of phase. You do have a solution for this, and it’s simply to turn the amp up! I think a lot of Telecasters have differing volumes between the pickups. Typically your neck pickup is a bit quieter than the bridge, so maybe the S1 volume issue isn’t such a big deal. It is something for you to be aware of before you buy it.
I think you will be hard-pressed to find a better Telecaster for $1,000 or less. I think Fender’s factory in Mexico is really shining with this guitar, and the Made in USA sticker, while it still looks cool, will not seem so important after you test drive the Baja ‘60s Tele.
Other Guitars to Consider in the Same Price Range
If you’re more of a Stratocaster person, check out the Fender Robert Cray Standard Stratocaster. This is another fantastic guitar that shows off how far Fender Mexico has come.
If the Telecaster is a bit too bright and harsh for you, you may consider saving a couple of bucks and going with a different manufacturer. Check out the Gretsch G2655T Streamliner! This guitar still gets nice glassy highs but is a bit warmer than a Tele. It will sit a bit more in the background when playing with a band and can fatten things up in a way a Telecaster can’t.
Higher End or Better Sounding Guitars
My personal opinion is that nothing beats a Telecaster. But that is only my opinion. If you’ve got a couple of extra bucks in your pocket and you want a guitar with a warmer tone, try checking out the Gibson SG ‘61 Reissue!
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