I bought mine used with some minor damage to the bottom. Its butterscotch and otherwise in perfect condition. This is my 3rd Tele, I returned a Deluxe some time ago because I thought it sounded kind of thin, too much treble. My other Tele is a 72 re-issue, which I love (after getting the routings sheilded). But this guitar, the tone is sooooo clear, blusey, easy to play,old school looking. What a fine music machine.

Bought it because it played like butter off the shelf. The u-shaped neck feels splendid, and it has a smooth even tone, although not necessarily the typical tele tone. The SCN pickups sound wonderful and fresh even though different,and the S-1 gives it a little more bite playing both pickups together.

I bought the guitar right from the factory. For me, it came with a nice cable, a good case, polish, a cloth, a leather strap, and strap locks. The S-1 isn't that great, the 4 way switch on the custom shop models does the same thing. It has more sustain than other teles, which I like, and it's a light guitar.

I am a huge fan of this instrument. I had a classic Tele from the late 60s and I think this particular version of the Tele is every bit as good, if not better. That's not to say that all of these are as good as a vintage Fender and don't expect it to appreciate to the same sort of astronomical prices after 40 years, but know that it's super solid, the hardware is top notch and the SCN pups are quiet and capable of sounding very vintage. The fretwork on mine is as good as the Custom Shop version I was consdering and the neck on mine has a very nice flame to it (I haven't seen that on any others of this model, but there must be more out there). I like my American FSR Strats too (in particular an older FSR that has a factory Floyd), but this has become my primary axe as it's just sweet beyond compare and never goes out of tune at all. Save your money and buy an instrument you'll keep forever and that matches the Custom Classic Tele in nearly every way (the Blonde color's a little lighter on the Custom Classic and they all come with figured necks, but that's pretty minor in the scheme of things, especially on a workhorse like the Telecaster).