FENDER 69 TELECASTER THINLINE Semi-Hollow F-Hole sub-7-Pound Walnut Tele! 99454
Description
This is a 1998 Fender 69 Telecaster Thinline re-issue made in Mexico in natural Walnut finish in excellent playing and cosmetic condition. This 23-year-vintage guitar was the first production year for this model. The semi-hollow body with F-hole makes for a really light guitar (6 pounds, 15 ounces) that feels great in the hands. Players rave about the necks on these Mexican made 69 Thinlines saying they are the best feeling Telecaster necks you can find. They have a nice and chunky U-shape neck with 7.25" vintage radius.
Sonically, the pickups provide a lot of Tele tones but the semi-hollow gives a much warmer sound than a normal Tele. Amazing breakup tones and sparkling cleans. Cosmetically, it's very clean for its age with only some small marks (see pics). Frets in very good condition with some minimal flattening and a spot of worming on the back of headstock that doesn't show in the pics. It's a 9/10 condition. Get it before its gone cause they don't come around often. PS: The woodgrain on the whole guitar but especially the back is just a beauty. I do a full cleaning and setup on all guitars. No case. (Details on my setups and packing at bottom of listing.) Thanks.
This is a 1998 Fender 69 Telecaster Thinline re-issue made in Mexico in natural Walnut finish in excellent playing and cosmetic condition. This 23-year-vintage guitar was the first production year for this model. The semi-hollow body with F-hole makes for a really light guitar (6 pounds, 15 ounces) that feels great in the hands. Players rave about the necks on these Mexican made 69 Thinlines saying they are the best feeling Telecaster necks you can find. They have a nice and chunky U-shape neck with 7.25" vintage radius.
Sonically, the pickups provide a lot of Tele tones but the semi-hollow gives a much warmer sound than a normal Tele. Amazing breakup tones and sparkling cleans. Cosmetically, it's very clean for its age with only some small marks (see pics). Frets in very good condition with some minimal flattening and a spot of worming on the back of headstock that doesn't show in the pics. It's a 9/10 condition. Get it before its gone cause they don't come around often. PS: The woodgrain on the whole guitar but especially the back is just a beauty. I do a full cleaning and setup on all guitars. No case. (Details on my setups and packing at bottom of listing.) Thanks.
What You Get
-- Full setup, cleaning, and new strings.
-- FREE USA shipping.
-- 30-day return policy.
-- Ship within 1 business day--pro packing.
-- Full setup, cleaning, and new strings.
-- FREE USA shipping.
-- 30-day return policy.
-- Ship within 1 business day--pro packing.
Guitar Setup
All setups are done by our in-house luthier. Setup includes new strings (9s or 10s depending on what the nut is cut for), overall polish, cleaning any gunk off fingerboard, oiling neck, and polishing frets when necessary. We spray out any pots that are noisy, turn the truss rod (if necessary) and set string height at low-to-medium action depending on string buzz present. Since setup is highly subjective you may need to get it set to your particular needs by your personal luthier. Basses get the same treatment minus the string change. Thanks!
Packing
I use quality boxes, thick bubble wrap, and peanuts to pack guitars. I have a very high rate of successful guitar and bass shipping (meaning few damaged instruments). I have been doing this 10 years and know how to pack well--with or without a hard case. I wrote a detailed story with photos on how I pack a guitar, which you can find on my StillKickinMusic site blog. If you Google "THERE IN ONE PIECE...How to Pack a Guitar" you will find it. Thanks.
All setups are done by our in-house luthier. Setup includes new strings (9s or 10s depending on what the nut is cut for), overall polish, cleaning any gunk off fingerboard, oiling neck, and polishing frets when necessary. We spray out any pots that are noisy, turn the truss rod (if necessary) and set string height at low-to-medium action depending on string buzz present. Since setup is highly subjective you may need to get it set to your particular needs by your personal luthier. Basses get the same treatment minus the string change. Thanks!
Packing
I use quality boxes, thick bubble wrap, and peanuts to pack guitars. I have a very high rate of successful guitar and bass shipping (meaning few damaged instruments). I have been doing this 10 years and know how to pack well--with or without a hard case. I wrote a detailed story with photos on how I pack a guitar, which you can find on my StillKickinMusic site blog. If you Google "THERE IN ONE PIECE...How to Pack a Guitar" you will find it. Thanks.
Online Review
One of the best performing, and most under-appreciated guitars I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning and playing was Fender’s semi-hollowbodied ’69 Telecaster Thinline reissue. Originally conceived and sold as a lighter-weight alternative to Fender’s standard Tele, the Thinline is actually much more than just an easier-on-the-arms Telecaster — it’s a beast all its own.
One of the best performing, and most under-appreciated guitars I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning and playing was Fender’s semi-hollowbodied ’69 Telecaster Thinline reissue. Originally conceived and sold as a lighter-weight alternative to Fender’s standard Tele, the Thinline is actually much more than just an easier-on-the-arms Telecaster — it’s a beast all its own.
The Good: While the Thinline’s semi-hollowbody design is in fact quite a bit lighter than a solid body, the real benefit is in its warmer tone, slightly higher propensity for feedback (not considered a plus by everyone, but for my style it was perfect,) and of course its unique f-hole styling.
Did I say warmer tone?
That’s right, I played a ’69 Tele Thinline on stage for about two years, and one of the things that made this instrument so endearing was the fact that it produces all the twangy goodness you expect from a Tele, but with a warmer, more rounded tone.
In fact, with the pickup switch set in the neck position, and a fair amount of overdrive applied, you can achieve an almost humbucker-like growl — something I’ve never come close to with a solid-bodied Telecaster.
On top of that, the dual vintage-styled single-coil pickups are surprisingly quiet in the buzz department, and the chambered mahogany body sports a gorgeous, thick, high-gloss finish… did I mention it’s thick! Seriously, the finish kind of puts Gibson to shame.
Another stand-out feature is the ’69 Thinline’s U-shaped maple neck, which, at a typical Tele scale-length of 25.5-inches makes for a tight, punchy feel beneath the fingers (absolutely glorious for rhythm work,) and a rock-solid base for string bending. Trust me, I pull strings like they’re going out of style.
Other nice touches include a fat, swirling 4-ply pearloid pickguard, top-hat pickup-switch, and Fender’s vintage styled three-saddle strings-through-body bridge.
The Bad: My only real complaint with the ’69 Telecaster Thinline is its Fender/Schaller tuning machines, which in my opinion could be a bit more solid (I was known to pull them out of tune quite quickly.)
Then again, in the less than $700 price range this seems like a very minor gripe for the overall quality of this instrument, and heck, you can probably afford to put some nicer tuners on there if need be.
In fact, unlike some of the much more expensive Gibsons I’ve owned, I never had any problem with the Tele’s hardware tarnishing (in spite of the fact that I sweat badly under stage lights,) or its finish getting overly scratched — I guess that’s just one of the benefits of a Fender.
The Specs: Semi-hollow ash or mahogany body, maple neck U-shaped neck, 25.5“ scale length, maple fretboard with 21 frets, a pair of vintage-styled alnico magnet single-coil pickups, master volume & tone controls, 3-way pickup switching, f-hole, chrome hardware, pearloid pickguard, and vintage F-style tuners.
The Final Word: This one’s a no brainer… I can whole-heartedly recommend Fender’s ’69 Telecaster Thinline — it’s both a bargain at this price range, and also a solid performing, but uniquely styled Tele.
The Thinline offers not just a lighter-weight design, but also a warmer tone, great sustain, and a highly playable and comfortable neck. It’s got all the benefits of a standard Telecaster, but with a few extra bells & whistle thrown in for good measure.
And at this price point how can you go wrong?
Did I say warmer tone?
That’s right, I played a ’69 Tele Thinline on stage for about two years, and one of the things that made this instrument so endearing was the fact that it produces all the twangy goodness you expect from a Tele, but with a warmer, more rounded tone.
In fact, with the pickup switch set in the neck position, and a fair amount of overdrive applied, you can achieve an almost humbucker-like growl — something I’ve never come close to with a solid-bodied Telecaster.
On top of that, the dual vintage-styled single-coil pickups are surprisingly quiet in the buzz department, and the chambered mahogany body sports a gorgeous, thick, high-gloss finish… did I mention it’s thick! Seriously, the finish kind of puts Gibson to shame.
Another stand-out feature is the ’69 Thinline’s U-shaped maple neck, which, at a typical Tele scale-length of 25.5-inches makes for a tight, punchy feel beneath the fingers (absolutely glorious for rhythm work,) and a rock-solid base for string bending. Trust me, I pull strings like they’re going out of style.
Other nice touches include a fat, swirling 4-ply pearloid pickguard, top-hat pickup-switch, and Fender’s vintage styled three-saddle strings-through-body bridge.
The Bad: My only real complaint with the ’69 Telecaster Thinline is its Fender/Schaller tuning machines, which in my opinion could be a bit more solid (I was known to pull them out of tune quite quickly.)
Then again, in the less than $700 price range this seems like a very minor gripe for the overall quality of this instrument, and heck, you can probably afford to put some nicer tuners on there if need be.
In fact, unlike some of the much more expensive Gibsons I’ve owned, I never had any problem with the Tele’s hardware tarnishing (in spite of the fact that I sweat badly under stage lights,) or its finish getting overly scratched — I guess that’s just one of the benefits of a Fender.
The Specs: Semi-hollow ash or mahogany body, maple neck U-shaped neck, 25.5“ scale length, maple fretboard with 21 frets, a pair of vintage-styled alnico magnet single-coil pickups, master volume & tone controls, 3-way pickup switching, f-hole, chrome hardware, pearloid pickguard, and vintage F-style tuners.
The Final Word: This one’s a no brainer… I can whole-heartedly recommend Fender’s ’69 Telecaster Thinline — it’s both a bargain at this price range, and also a solid performing, but uniquely styled Tele.
The Thinline offers not just a lighter-weight design, but also a warmer tone, great sustain, and a highly playable and comfortable neck. It’s got all the benefits of a standard Telecaster, but with a few extra bells & whistle thrown in for good measure.
And at this price point how can you go wrong?
