What makes the Classic Vibe Tele so great?

Sassafras

Don't know if it was a CV but I had a Squier Tele for a very short while. The pickups were virtually indistinguishable from each other. Never come across that before on any guitar.

Creed_Clicks

They look bloody great anyhow. Just browsing the classifieds in Ireland, and granted it´s obviously way smaller than the UK, but the amount and variety of used telecasters, on the cheaper end, available is unreal. You´d never need to buy new and there seem to be so so many options and styles available now.

DrCornelius

notanon said:

DrCornelius said:

Anyone tried the revelation TE54 yet ? Similar price to the Squier and if it’s as well made as their Jazzmaster it’ll be a good buy ?

I tried a TE54 superb value. A soft V neck which tapered off.

Cheers, another one for my growing GAS wishlist then...…...

JezWynd

Creed_Clicks said:

They look bloody great anyhow. Just browsing the classifieds in Ireland, and granted it´s obviously way smaller than the UK, but the amount and variety of used telecasters, on the cheaper end, available is unreal. You´d never need to buy new and there seem to be so so many options and styles available now.

They look great but feel plastic in hand. Fender outdid themselves with the poly finish on these guitars, it's like they've been dipped in the stuff.

gordiji

chris78 said:

A mate of mine was shopping for a tele this weekend and I got him to go through the ranges at guitarguitar. Every step up in price gave an upgrade in sound and feel, until he got to American original.

Does this mean he was disappointed with the original & the improvements stopped or better all the way up ? (it's the comma after 'feel' making me doubt your meaning).

Johnnyseven

I thought the poly finish on my 50's CV was nicer than on the Baja I, briefly, had. The Baja looked like a Werther's Original.

Rigid_Digits

Had a Baja. Still have CV50s. Miles better.

Rigid_Digits

thegummy said:

One word - hype

One word -  Wrong

CountryDave

I’ve had a few Teles over the years. My no1 is a US 52ri and no2 is a Japanese Paisley.
Picked up a white 50s CV a few months ago, updated the wiring and stuck the pickups from the Paisley in and it’s a brilliant guitar.
The neck doesn’t feel particularly slim, not a whole lot different profile to the other two really and I’m normally quite picky about neck shapes.
edit: just had them back to back and while the CV is slimmer, it is of a similar profile, eg decent shape around the shoulders, rather than a v shape.
Quite happy to gig it alongside anything else I own.

Heel

The CV Butterscotch is great value for money. As are their Strats. It shouldn't be too difficult to make a good solid body guitar, and I've found the CV series to be functional, upgradable and a lot of fun to play. Far better than most starter guitars of the past.

rossi

i have had a CVC Tele .Sweet guitar .A bit heavy .Neck is slim but OK for me .Baja is better but more expensive and finish just as thick .

thegummy

Rigid_Digits said:

thegummy said:

One word - hype

One word -  Wrong

Maybe you don't understand what hype means or are very defensive about your guitar but if you don't think the Classic Vibe Tele is hyped then you must have barely read anything about guitars on the internet.

Regardless of how good anyone thinks the guitar is or isn't, or how cheap it is, it's quite possibly the most hyped guitar the internet has ever known.

mikeyrob73

thegummy said:

Rigid_Digits said:

thegummy said:

One word - hype

One word -  Wrong

Maybe you don't understand what hype means or are very defensive about your guitar but if you don't think the Classic Vibe Tele is hyped then you must have barely read anything about guitars on the internet.

Regardless of how good anyone thinks the guitar is or isn't, or how cheap it is, it's quite possibly the most hyped guitar the internet has ever known.

With good reason imho 

thegummy

mark123 said:

Wonder if its cost  factor that the classic vibes don't have fat necks? 
It would double the sales if they did.

From what I've read/heard from guitar makers, apparently most people prefer slim necks.

Obviously plenty of people prefer fat necks too - and aside from personal comfort preference, a fat neck gives such an impression of quality.

But I'd probably guess that having a slim neck is one of the reasons a lot of people like the CV Tele.

JezWynd

Johnnyseven said:

I thought the poly finish on my 50's CV was nicer than on the Baja I, briefly, had. The Baja looked like a Werther's Original.

Agree. I can't imagine why they felt the need to give it that finish, it's a very decent guitar apart from that.

thegummy

mikeyrob73 said:

thegummy said:

Rigid_Digits said:

thegummy said:

One word - hype

One word -  Wrong

Maybe you don't understand what hype means or are very defensive about your guitar but if you don't think the Classic Vibe Tele is hyped then you must have barely read anything about guitars on the internet.

Regardless of how good anyone thinks the guitar is or isn't, or how cheap it is, it's quite possibly the most hyped guitar the internet has ever known.

With good reason imho 

That's fair enough - I'd even extend it to budget Teles in general. As long as they're done properly, Teles that price and even cheaper should be pretty good guitars.

Some might read the hype, buy one and find it's as good as they'd ever need a Tele to be so feel the hype was right - it is a special guitar. That's assuming, though, that other Teles in that price range wouldn't be as good but I think in reality they would be.

So I think really it's the idea that a good Tele doesn't have to cost a lot that is the message rather than Fender happened to have priced one of their best guitars too low and have created some kind of loophole that can be exploited.

Imagine someone asked if there were any Gibson Les Pauls that were as good as an Epiphone.

jonnyburgo

Ive got a Vintage Icon V52. The " relic " one. Not the best relic outvthere but was improved with a bit of home dinging. What is nice is that the finish is one very thin coat with a very thin clear matt laquer over the top. The neck is smooth and unfinished and is also one piece so no seperate maple fretboard. Not sure what that means but the whole thing vibrates and resonates in the hand quite nicely.

Lewy

JezWynd said:

Johnnyseven said:

I thought the poly finish on my 50's CV was nicer than on the Baja I, briefly, had. The Baja looked like a Werther's Original.

Agree. I can't imagine why they felt the need to give it that finish, it's a very decent guitar apart from that.

You could say the same of most of the older US made 52 AVRI teles I’ve ever seen. Obscenely thick poly under the nitro top coat.

JezWynd

Lewy said:

JezWynd said:

Johnnyseven said:

I thought the poly finish on my 50's CV was nicer than on the Baja I, briefly, had. The Baja looked like a Werther's Original.

Agree. I can't imagine why they felt the need to give it that finish, it's a very decent guitar apart from that.

You could say the same of most of the older US made 52 AVRI teles I’ve ever seen. Obscenely thick poly under the nitro top coat.

Yeah, the nitro coat sometimes seems like a cynical selling point sprayed on a standard poly finish. Certainly seemed that way on the Classic Lacquer Teles I've had.

Mickeyji

Also, the fretwire material is very soft on these guitars. Expect to have gouges and divots in no time if you have a heavy-handed approach to fretting.