Fender Thinline Telecaster 1969 Reissue

I got this guitar almost three years ago as a step up from the Black Beauty copy (Washburn) I was playing. It's a Mexican reissue of the stunning 1969 Fender Thinline Telecaster, which features an unconventional design and only one f-hole. The 1972 version features two humbucking pickups, but I admit that I like the look, feel, and sound of these single-coil pick-ups much better. I'm also a big fan of the three-tone sunburst, which goes from natural in the center to red and then to a dramatic black on the edges.

According to Vintage Guitars Info (http://home.provide.net/~cfh/index.html), Fender needed a way to use some of its heavier grades of ash but didn't want the guitar to be too heavy, so they hollowed out parts of the body. Perhaps a consideration of practicality, but it works on an aesthetic level too, at least for me. (And, I must say, it is definitely light enough.)

One day I hope to own the original, American-made Thinline, but the Mexican reissue will have to do for now (until I have $2-3K to drop on a guitar, that is). It doesn't play as well as I imagine the American one would, but it actually plays extremely smoothly and I do love the way it sounds (especially the rhythm pick-up---I admit the treble pick-up is a bit too tinny for my ear).

Enjoy!