Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH

Background: This is my first 'proper' electric guitar; I was at a local guitar store which has a fine selection maybe 100 or so. The Telecaster interested me as I tried a Strat and found it a little bit to large and heavy.
The look of the guitar is striking and it had a sound to match; as I left the guitar store the salesman told me he was sorry to see it go and that his colleagues would feel the same way. If you try one you will understand this wasn't 'sales patter' - after all I'd already bought it. I couldn't quite afford it (circa £540) so I took a bank loan which took 4 years to pay off and I sacrificed a lot socially and nutritionally - but it was worth it.



Hardware: The guitar is the classic Telecaster shape maple-body trimmed with a cream plastic compound binding; the set C-shape neck is mahogany with a rosewood fretboard and abalone position inlays. The neck has 22 jumbo frets and sealed tuning machines. The nut is black graphite and the bridge is 6-saddle Strings-Thru-Body design. The bridge pick-up is Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates humbucker and the neck pick-up is Seymour Duncan '59 humbucker. Controls consist of a 3 position toggle switch (bridge/combo/neck) and a knurled master volume dial; the tone dial is also a push/pull coil tap.
All the metal hardware is is black chrome and the body and headstock are a striped-crimson colour with glaze on the review model; also available in Amber and Black Cherry Burst. I believe the guitar is manufactured in Korea and the elements and finish are of a super-high standard...I can't find any faults with it. None.



In use: The guitar is light and comfortable and the ergonomics are great all over the fretboard...no strain. The neck is quite slim and fast. Tuning is reasonably consistent with just a very, very slight flatness around the second fret on the G and B strings....but nowhere else - this could be partly due to my playing style and the way I hold e.g. the A minor shape. In practice it's not a problem as fingers will learn to automatically compensate and although I'm pointing this out it is certainly better than most guitars I've played including acoustics. High-end guitars such as Lowden and Martins are more tonally accurate IME.
Basically it's easy to play with superb (non-fatiguing) action with flawless intonation in the upper frets e.g 12th. The guitar never feels weighty or too light; it's comfortable to wear and hold for long periods and this aids playability in terms of reach and string manipulation e.g. bends and hammers.

Tonally the guitar is superb - ranging from a bright classic Telecaster-tone to a smooth, rich Les Paul honk. You can hear the guitar in action in this track (neck/combo...rhythm @0-30 secs; lead@2.00-2.20): http://soundcloud.com/arthurstone/starrygazey

More of the Tele sound (bridge/combo) from 2.00 on this track:

http://soundcloud.com/arthurstone/somaluminescence

The FMT HH covers a lot of ground tonally, particularly with the coil tap which boosts the signal (great for a switch to solo from rhythm) and the master volume which slightly overdrives the guitar with gain increase. I don't feel the need to buy another electric guitar - that said guitar isn't my only instrument and I wouldn't consider myself more than an amateur so 'axe afficiandos' might be looking for several guitars to cover the same range of tonality.



Conclusion: I highly-recommend the FMT HH - it's a dream guitar, eminently playable and boy does it sing! Great price and a great musical investment.