FENDER 69 Telecaster Thinline Upgrades Semi-Hollow Sunburst Clean! 6.5-lb Tele 47825

UPGRADES:
-- Telecaster Thinline Deluxe neck (medium jumbo frets, C-shape, 12" radius)
-- Rio Grande bridge/Fender Noiseless neck pickups
-- Fender locking tuners
-- Kluson bridge w/ brass saddles

This is a 2016 Fender 69 Telecaster Thinline re-issue in Sunburst finish in excellent playing and cosmetic condition. The stock 69 neck is U-shape 7.25 radius and thin frets--big chunky throwback neck. This guitar has a much more modern feeling flat neck, better for fast runs and solos, compared to most 69 Thinlines. For the right guy, that's a game changer on this model.

The semi-hollow body with F-hole makes for a really light guitar (6 pounds, 5 ounces!) that feels great in the hands. Sonically, the pickups provide a lot of Tele cleans but also provide great breakup tones. Cosmetically, it's very clean with no dings or scratches. Only imperfections are playing scuffs, one spot near the lower horn where the pickguard is warped, and a tiny mark around the neck pocket. Frets in good condition with only mild wear. NO case. Thanks.

About Me
My store is a one-person small business that has been selling used guitars and basses for 15 years now. I do a basic setup and cleaning on every instrument I sell, so depending on workload it may be 1-2 business days before your guitar ships. When it arrives you can depend on it being, clean, set up, and securely packed. Check my feedback for confirmation. Thanks!

Guitar Setup
Setup includes new strings (9s or 10s depending on what the nut is cut for), overall polish, clean and oil fingerboard. We spray out any pots that are noisy, turn the truss rod (if necessary) and set string height at low-to-medium action depending on string buzz present. We do a basic setup since setup is highly subjective you may want to get it set to your particular needs by your personal luthier anyway. Thanks!

Packing
Search "How to Pack a Guitar + Hot Girls" on YouTube for a video showing how I pack. I use quality boxes, thick bubble wrap, and peanuts to pack guitars. I have been doing this 15 years and know how to pack well--with or without a hard case. You can also read my packing blog post on my StillKickinMusic website. If you Google "Still Kickin - How to Pack a Guitar" you will find it. Thanks.

Online Review
One of the best performing, and most under-appreciated guitars I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning and playing was Fender’s semi-hollowbodied ’69 Telecaster Thinline reissue. Originally conceived and sold as a lighter-weight alternative to Fender’s standard Tele, the Thinline is actually much more than just an easier-on-the-arms Telecaster — it’s a beast all its own. 

The Good: While the Thinline’s semi-hollowbody design is in fact quite a bit lighter than a solid body, the real benefit is in its warmer tone, slightly higher propensity for feedback (not considered a plus by everyone, but for my style it was perfect,) and of course its unique f-hole styling.

Did I say warmer tone?

That’s right, I played a ’69 Tele Thinline on stage for about two years, and one of the things that made this instrument so endearing was the fact that it produces all the twangy goodness you expect from a Tele, but with a warmer, more rounded tone.

In fact, with the pickup switch set in the neck position, and a fair amount of overdrive applied, you can achieve an almost humbucker-like growl — something I’ve never come close to with a solid-bodied Telecaster.

On top of that, the dual vintage-styled single-coil pickups are surprisingly quiet in the buzz department, and the chambered mahogany body sports a gorgeous, thick, high-gloss finish… did I mention it’s thick! Seriously, the finish kind of puts Gibson to shame.

Another stand-out feature is the ’69 Thinline’s U-shaped maple neck, which, at a typical Tele scale-length of 25.5-inches makes for a tight, punchy feel beneath the fingers (absolutely glorious for rhythm work,) and a rock-solid base for string bending. Trust me, I pull strings like they’re going out of style.

Other nice touches include a fat, swirling 4-ply pearloid pickguard, top-hat pickup-switch, and Fender’s vintage styled three-saddle strings-through-body bridge.

The Bad: My only real complaint with the ’69 Telecaster Thinline is its Fender/Schaller tuning machines, which in my opinion could be a bit more solid (I was known to pull them out of tune quite quickly.)

Then again, in the less than $700 price range this seems like a very minor gripe for the overall quality of this instrument, and heck, you can probably afford to put some nicer tuners on there if need be.

In fact, unlike some of the much more expensive Gibsons I’ve owned, I never had any problem with the Tele’s hardware tarnishing (in spite of the fact that I sweat badly under stage lights,) or its finish getting overly scratched — I guess that’s just one of the benefits of a Fender.

The Specs: Semi-hollow ash or mahogany body, maple neck U-shaped neck, 25.5“ scale length, maple fretboard with 21 frets, a pair of vintage-styled alnico magnet single-coil pickups, master volume & tone controls, 3-way pickup switching, f-hole, chrome hardware, pearloid pickguard, and vintage F-style tuners.

The Final Word: This one’s a no brainer… I can whole-heartedly recommend Fender’s ’69 Telecaster Thinline — it’s both a bargain at this price range, and also a solid performing, but uniquely styled Tele.

The Thinline offers not just a lighter-weight design, but also a warmer tone, great sustain, and a highly playable and comfortable neck. It’s got all the benefits of a standard Telecaster, but with a few extra bells & whistle thrown in for good measure.

And at this price point how can you go wrong?