1990 Fender 52 Reissue Telecaster

I’ve worked my way through 3 Telecasters in my playing career. One made in Mexico model from ’92 or so, a ’93 American Standard and this here 1990 USA 52 Reissue.

In 1996 I started working in a vintage guitar shop. It was a dream gig for someone who couldn’t stop rambling on about guitars. I was playing a 1993 Fender American Standard Telecaster at the time. This was back before guitars were like golf clubs or potato chips. I really couldn’t imagine having more than just the one. I still like the idea of choosing one guitar, bonding with it and using it exclusively but…f#$& that.

It didn’t take very long working at that guitar shop for me to turn on my own Telecaster. I found that once I had the opportunity to hold and play 50s, 60s and even 70s Telecasters the shortcomings of my modern USA Standard Telecaster became glaring. To me at least.

One day in ’97 this 1990 Fender USA 52 Reissue Telecaster walked into the shop. It had belonged to a touring guitar player and had been out on the road so it was played in nicely. It wasn’t a 50s Tele but it sounded and behaved like one. It spoke to me. I listened. I threw in my own Telecaster and as much other gear as I could gather to make some sort of deal for it.

This was my only electric guitar from 1997 to 2005. We played a lot of shows and wrote and recorded a lot of music together. It still ends up somewhere on just about everything I record. It has that Tele thing that my USA Standard didn’t – that unmistakable lightly compressed midrange honk that Fender had “improved” right out of the USA Standards.

It needs a fret job. The frets are low with lots of divots in the cowboy chord area. It’s heavy for a Telecaster – just over 9lbs. It has a pretty thin neck. Those last two are pretty unfashionable things but it sounds like a Telecaster should, feels great in my hands and I love it.