Cheap guitar of the week #19 - Sawtooth Telecaster

Very cheap. But is it any good?

The Sawtooth Telecaster style guitar is a brand I've seen crop up over the past year or so. From the reviews I've read, buyers describe this guitar best as "okay."

What's the biggest selling point of this guitar? The price. At the time I write this, it's dirt cheap. In addition, Sawtooth is also lefty-friendly and still keeps it cheap, which is a big plus...

...but is this guitar out-of-the-box ready to play? That I can't say for sure.

I would label this guitar as another handyman special of sorts. What that means is that you may have to level the frets using a cheap fret leveling kit before you can really start playing this thing. And you may have to lightly file a few fret edges.

If you're okay with that, then the Sawtooth is safe to buy.

Also, if you were looking for a project Telecaster style guitar, you can't do any better than the Sawtooth. Where project guitars are concerned, you need cheap. And this guitar is cheap and complete. Buy it, level out the frets, install some new pickups and electronics (optional,) and you're good to go.

How does it play? I've no idea. But since the price is so low for it, it's worth the risk to find out. My guess is that it probably has the same playing characteristic of a Squier Bullet series guitar. And that's not a bad thing.

While the price is right, if you want something better but still cheap, the Squier Affinity Telecaster is still the best for a good, cheap Tele. That one I have played, and can confirm it's good. Great neck on it, too.

Published 2015 Jul 22