One of the bright and shining stars of 1970s guitar manufacturing was the Fender Telecaster Deluxe, which aimed to bring some competition to Gibson.

The large pickguard single cut Telecaster Deluxe came loaded with Seth Lover designed Wide Range humbuckers that featured a unique magnet alloy known as CuNiFe (copper, nickel, and iron for those following along). Its 4-knob control layout and bass side toggle switch give a polite nod to LP stylings, but sonically it approaches a much different territory.

The Telecaster Deluxe's tone is perhaps the most unique in the canon of Telecaster, maybe outside of the Thinline model. These aforementioned Wide Range humbuckers have a distinct clarity and chime like the way a great mini-humbucker does, but the tone and response is smoother, and the notes compress and bloom much differently. Less focused and more...wide ranging?? In all seriousness, these tend to be less forward and in-your-face sounding.

Any way you slice, we love the sound and feel of this guitar. The late 60s "U" carve is such an underdog - comfortable and quick with a lean taper, and enough meat on the bone to have more substance than a slimmer late 50s or early 60s carve.

And finally.....we get to tell you about the weight. THE WEIGHT.

We're willing to go out on a long limb here and say that you won't find a Telecaster Deluxe - vintage or modern - that is as light as this one. It's borderline featherweight at 6lbs 13oz!!

Love the look, sound, and feel of a Telecaster Deluxe, but want the consistency and quality of a custom shop build? It's this one, hands down.