Every pickup setting provides sufficient power
and mass for thick lead tones. You can definitely
play heavy riff rock with this guitar.
contours are a world apart from an oldschool Tele. The neck employs a compound
radius (9.5" at the nut, flattening out to
14" up high) and a grip that gradually
transitions from C to D shape. The feel is
light, slender, and wicked fast.
Well Heeled
Moving over the heel to and from the
highest frets is about as effortless as it gets
with a bolt-on neck. The medium jumbo
frets are immaculately installed, with no
rough edges whatsoever. The Elite is built
for comfort and speed.
Our review model benefited from an
expert setup. It played perfectly right out
of the molded plastic case (included).
Intonation is excellent, thanks in part
to a modern bridge with six chromedbrass saddles. The tuning pegs are also
modernized. They lock, and they employ
short posts for a sharper string-break at
the nut. (No buzzing here!) Another nice
detail: the heel-mounted, wheel-style truss
rod nut for fast neck-relief adjustments.
Not Your Father’s Twang
The Elite sounds terrific, though not
quite in an antique Tele way. The
22-fret maple neck
redesigned pickups are notably less noisy
than traditional single-coils. The neck
pickup delivers the jazz-ready warmth
you expect from a fine Tele rhythm
pickup. However, the bridge pickup’s
tone is markedly modernized. It does
excellent bright, clean tones, but without
some of the characteristic “whine” of the
traditional lead pickup. But what it lacks
in clangy twang, it makes up for with
greater beefiness. (You can definitely play
country on the Elite, but the result will
probably be more 21st-century Nashville
than mid-century retro tones.) The
combined pickups have a pretty, acousticlike airiness.
There’s also a fourth option: A pushpush S-1 switch in the volume knob
changes the combined-pickup setting
from traditional parallel wiring to series
wiring. Variations on this scheme have
long been popular Tele mods. As usual,
this higher-output provides greater level,
but darker tones. Some players like
this mod because the extra output can
drive an amp harder than the traditional
configurations. Ironically, players who
have come to rely on series mods may
require it less here than on most Teles.
Locking tuners
with short posts
Every pickup setting provides sufficient
power and mass for thick lead tones. You
can definitely play heavy riff rock with
this guitar.
And don’t get me started on the Elite’s
sustain. I expected rich resonance based
on how the guitar rang when strummed
acoustically. But plugged in, the sustain
is nearly surreal. Clean notes last and
last. For overdriven tones, tack on several
more “lasts.” Check out the final crunchy
chord in the demo clip that accompanies
the online version of this review. It rings
for approximately 47 days. (It felt like
that, anyway.) The Elite just doesn’t want
to shut up.
The Verdict
Fender’s American Elite Telecaster is a
bold update from traditional Teles. It
will appeal to guitarists in many styles,
but it’s especially suitable for players
reared on sleek, modern, hard-rock
guitars, and the slim, shapely neck
will delight speed demons. The Elite
isn’t a tone clone of vintage models,
but it compensates with extra output
and mass. Considering the Elite’s
quality materials, ingenious design
details, excellent build quality, and
U.S. manufacture, the $1,799 price is
reasonable. Well played, Fender!
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A
REVIEW DEMO of this guitar.
Fender American Elite Tele
$1,799 street
fender.com
Tones
Playability
Build/Design
Value
Medium jumbo frets
PROS Excellent build. Fast,
comfortable feel. Great tones. Noisefree pickups.
CONS Not for Telecaster purists.
premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 141