Re: Anybody bought/ played the American Ultra Telecaster?

Orange Phenom [14752]

TigerPulse: 100%

Posts: 6329

Joined: 2004

Haven't played one but read about them...

Jul 13, 2020, 8:01 AM

Appears to be Fender's top of the line American made Telecaster - for $2000 it should be. My whole problem with most manufactured guitars today is that a lot of them just feel "cheap" and the craftsmanship is lacking.

I stopped buying manufactured guitars and started making the bodies myself or doing builds from quality parts. This allows you to customize your guitars to exactly how you want them and they play better than anything you find at the guitar store.

If you want to customize a Tele to meet exactly what you want - go to Warmoth (Warmoth.com) and order everything to your exact specs and then assemble it yourself. You will end up with a lot better guitar for about the same price you pay at a guitar store.

Here is a Walnut Tele build a buddy and I did. It has a Tele body but a rosewood Strat neck. The body came from a couple of 80 year old Walnut boards he found in a barn. We ordered an unfinished neck from Warmoth (compound radius - 10 at the nut and increases to 16 at the bridge) and did the finishing work myself (spray lacquer).

Here is my modified Thinline Tele that I ordered the parts (unfinished maple neck and body from Warmoth) that I assembled and further customized to how I wanted it (walnut pickguard, exact pickups, locking tuners etc...):

Both of these guitars play better than anything I have found in a guitar store.

My buddy and I are currently building another Walnut guitar for his son - Tele/Strat hybrid (Tele body with Strat pickups and controls). We routed a rear control cavity in order to keep as much of the natural wood appearance as possible on the front. I'm currently in the process of finishing the neck and the body...

Here's a shot of the Walnut hybrid before I did the grain filling work:

I've built a couple of Strats as well. The only problem with doing your own guitar builds is that it can become an addictive hobby that results in you having way more guitars than you will ever play...

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Anybody bought/ played the American Ultra Telecaster?