Tele buying buying advice needed, all your Baja owners.

TheMarlin

The 50’s is a maple neck, got a nice chunky on it, soft V.  Awesome neck. 

mark123

Ive had 3 bajas,  found the yneck too big and sounds average ..maybe i was unlucky 3 times ..got a classic vibe tele  custom wiped the floor with all of them ..the only thing is the neck is a bit slim 

stimpsonslostson

TheMarlin said:

The 50’s is a maple neck, got a nice chunky on it, soft V.  Awesome neck. 

It is. I had one on a Partscaster it was great. Chunky but by no means massive. 

Musicman20

I have a Baja - 50s.

Superb fit and finish (far superior to most Gibsons)....nice weight, fat neck, looks great, and most of all the pickups are great IMO.

munckee

I had a roadworn which I tried against numerous teles including bajas and I thought the roadworn was much better, may be mainly down to the nitro finish but generally it felt better too I think.

noisepolluter

I have a sonic blue Baja CP60’s which I bought practically on impulse but like so much that I ended up selling a 2007 US standard with posh pickups that I already had.
The Baja is stock except for a treble bypass widget on the volume control. It’s my go-to guitar - the neck and pickups suit my tastes perfectly, and the body is super light and resonant. Not even bothered to put compensated saddles on it as it intonates fine even on a PolyTune. 

gusman2x

Played a roadworn a few years ago. It was hands down the best guitar I've ever played. Can't believe I didn't buy it.

Gerz6558

I've got a 50's baja. It's one the cheapest of all the guitars I own (bought used) yet it gets played the most.  I'd go as far to say it's the best all round guitar I have, pretty faultless and there's a reason it has such a rep.  All I have done is taken the thick coating off the back of the neck.

The neck is a belter.

crunchman

Gerz6558 said:

I've got a 50's baja. It's one the cheapest of all the guitars I own (bought used) yet it gets played the most.  I'd go as far to say it's the best all round guitar I have, pretty faultless and there's a reason it has such a rep.  All I have done is taken the thick coating off the back of the neck.

The neck is a belter.

When you get a good one, they can be very good.

I've owned 4 Teles.  I like the one I've got at the moment, but if you offered me the Baja back, or the CS heavy relic that I had before that, I'd choose the Baja.  (Actually I might choose the Custom Shop one and sell it, but as a guitar to own and play I'd prefer the Baja).

Gerz6558

crunchman said:

When you get a good one, they can be very good.

I've owned 4 Teles.  I like the one I've got at the moment, but if you offered me the Baja back, or the CS heavy relic that I had before that, I'd choose the Baja.  (Actually I might choose the Custom Shop one and sell it, but as a guitar to own and play I'd prefer the Baja).

It's absurdly good value for money, especially if you snag a good one for under 500 quid.

I was debating getting rid of it for one of those american original 50s telecasters, but I can't do it. Can't see it being much better than this baja.

Someone mentioned on the tdpri forum whether years down the line it will be thought of as a classic. Who knows. Suppose they have to stop making them first, can't see that any time soon!

lovestrat74

Gerz6558 said:

I've got a 50's baja. It's one the cheapest of all the guitars I own (bought used) yet it gets played the most.  I'd go as far to say it's the best all round guitar I have, pretty faultless and there's a reason it has such a rep.  All I have done is taken the thick coating off the back of the neck.

The neck is a belter.

I started doing that and then got a bit carried away...

chris78

I’ve had 3. The only thing to watch out for are the weight (they can be over 9lbs boat anchors) and the buzzing from the s1, which needs proper grounding or removing if you aren’t going to use it. Finish is thick and like @lovestrat74 I’ve removed the finish on one and had it finished in nitro. It’s not necessary, just a personal thing.
Otherwise, Chris Fleming designed them and what he doesn’t know about teles isn’t worth knowing.
The neck on the 50s is superb. The pickups are the best Fender make and what I choose on custom shop guitars at 8 times the price. It’s got a 4 way switch, which again I love as the additional position gets you in humbucker territory. 
Basically, I use the baja as the design for my cs guitars because I prefer the feel of a cs guitar. They’re that good 

djspecialist

Ah excellent, another chance to whip out my naked Baja ...



Aside from having the finish stripped off, it's also had new pickups (Bareknuckle + Oil City), the S1 has been removed and the control plate removed.

Great guitar - as others have said, the neck is a pleasure to play.

thegummy

djspecialist said:

Ah excellent, another chance to whip out my naked Baja ...

Aside from having the finish stripped off, it's also had new pickups (Bareknuckle + Oil City), the S1 has been removed and the control plate removed.

Great guitar - as others have said, the neck is a pleasure to play.

Nice, always thought a P90 in a Tele neck could be a good fit - which models are the 2 pickups and do they balance well volume wise?

Gerz6558

lovestrat74 said:

I started doing that and then got a bit carried away...

Now that looks amazing!

I must admit I've been tempted myself. Put off by some saying you better make sure that you have nice looking pieces underneath all of that poly.

lovestrat74

Gerz6558 said:

lovestrat74 said:

I started doing that and then got a bit carried away...

Now that looks amazing!

I must admit I've been tempted myself. Put off by some saying you better make sure that you have nice looking pieces underneath all of that poly.

Mine has a centre join and I could see how good the grain was through the poly so it was a no brainer as they say

djspecialist

thegummy said:

djspecialist said:

Ah excellent, another chance to whip out my naked Baja ...

Aside from having the finish stripped off, it's also had new pickups (Bareknuckle + Oil City), the S1 has been removed and the control plate removed.

Great guitar - as others have said, the neck is a pleasure to play.

Nice, always thought a P90 in a Tele neck could be a good fit - which models are the 2 pickups and do they balance well volume wise?

BK Flat 50 and Oil City Mighty 90, I think (they were installed by the previous owner).  Neck is a bit louder, but close enough.  Having the volume knob at the front is a big win though IMO.

Phil_aka_Pip

get something else

rlw

I liked the S1 switching on my 60s Baja as the out of phase was pure Peter Green. YMMV of course.   I was silly to sell it really as it was a very good versatile guitar.  Maybe not the Tele-ist Tele but pretty much on the money

robgilmo

djspecialist said:

Ah excellent, another chance to whip out my naked Baja ...



Aside from having the finish stripped off, it's also had new pickups (Bareknuckle + Oil City), the S1 has been removed and the control plate removed.

Great guitar - as others have said, the neck is a pleasure to play.

Was the pickup cavity made bigger to do that?