Midnight Telecaster from Japan

It came from Japan...

...but I don't like it. However, you may like it. You can make that decision for yourself after reading my thoughts on this guitar.

Above is the Fender Made in Japan Traditional 60s Telecaster Midnight. Yes, there is a Stratocaster version, but I'm concentrating on the Tele since I just talked about Strats recently.

Obviously, this guitar comes in one one color. Midnight black. It's got gold-gold-gold hardware everywhere with color-matched headcap that adds to the overall look. It's nicely done.

HOWEVER... it's a "Traditional" model, and that's where things go downhill for me.

This means a butt-adjust truss rod adjustment location where the neck has to come off the guitar to adjust the truss rod. It also means a 7.25" super-round fingerboard radius and a "U" shape neck.

In other words, yes it's built to '60s Fender specs.

I prefer modern spec Fender, but if you're looking for a '60s build that's new and from Japan with a cool look to it, here it is.

The biggest sell of this guitar for me is actually the U shape neck. That's a neck "with a lot of shoulder" to it that should result in something thick and chunky - and some players really like that neck feel.

How does it sound? No idea. But it is loaded with "Vintage-Style Single-Coil Tele" pickups from Fender, so it should sound bright and spanky like a Tele should.

What really sets this guitar apart from other Telecasters is the black-to-black body and headcap color match with gold hardware. Great look, and well done. Note that even the pickup cover for the neck side pickup is also in gold.

Every single exterior metal thing on this guitar is gold with the exception of the frets, which is fine. The look works.

Published 2018 Nov 5