The beauty of a Telecaster has always been its lack of pretense. It's the instrument that proved a guitar could be a tool first - no carved tops, no apology, just a plank that just so happened to change the course of music. So there's a quiet tension in a dressed-up Tele, and the Select series leans right into it.

Start with the body: chambered ash, capped with a flamed top and finished in a hand-sprayed violin burst that Fender lays down in gloss lacquer rather than paint. The result keeps the weight under eight pounds and gives the guitar a resonance you feel before you plug in - a ring and a bloom that a solid slab never quite delivers.

The appointments follow suit. A compound-radius maple neck eases from 9.5" at the nut out to 14" up the board, so first-position chords sit comfortably and bends up top don't choke. Locking tuners, a synthetic bone nut, and six bent-steel saddles on a brass plate round it out. This is a guitar set up to go to work.

Plugged in, the special-design pickups do something Teles don't always manage: they hold onto the snap and cut you'd expect while filling in the low end, so nothing turns thin or shrill no matter how hard you push the front end of your amp. Roll the no-load tone control wide open and the circuit steps out of the way entirely - useful when a solo needs to cut through a loud room. We've found this guitar just as happy chiming through clean Americana as it is digging into garage rock, with enough warmth on the neck pickup to carry a jazz line or two. If your idea of a Tele involves worn lacquer and honest scars, this one might feel a little polished for the part. But if you've ever wanted a boutique-grade Telecaster without the boutique price, the Select earns its keep - built and finished with the kind of care you'd expect to pay a lot more for.

The guitar shows light signs of wear, including a few small nicks and indentations here and there. Frets are in great shape with just a touch of wear. Setup is spot on and the guitar is ready to go!

• Fender Special Design Telecaster Pickups
• Serial # US12183414
• Weight: 7lb 9oz

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The Music Emporium has been a fixture of the Boston music community since 1968. We're a shop built by musicians - players, luthiers, photographers, and gear obsessives - and that shapes everything about how we do business.

Every instrument we ship is inspected and set up by our in-house guitar techs before it leaves the shop.

We're a Fender Showcase Dealer, Collings' largest dealer worldwide, and a Martin Custom Shop Expert Dealer. Our showroom is at 165 Massachusetts Ave in Lexington, MA.

Questions about any instrument are always welcome. We're happy to talk gear.