Fender American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline

Hold the (Thin)Line!

Wildwoodians, the Telecaster Thinline has captured the musical imagination of multiple generations of guitar players with its stylish good looks and sweet tone. We have a feeling that the American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline is going to steal the hearts of guitar players all over again! It exhibits the aesthetic and sonic charms of its vintage predecessor in spades, and it makes for a delightful vintage-inspired playing experience.

Originally, the Telecaster Thinline was a practical solution to an engineering problem. Fender needed to keep churning out instruments, but they were running out of lightweight ash. In 1968, former Rickenbacker design wizard turned Fender Tone Scientist Roger Rossmeisl saved guitar players' backs the world over by saying "Why don't we just hollow it out?" and a legend was born. Though creating lightweight guitars was the aim, chambering the body gave the Tele Thinline an open, airy tone and imparted a bit of acoustic-like responsiveness. Though the original came equipped with standard single-coils, by 1972 Fender switched to beefier-sounding Wide-Range humbuckers that (to put it scientifically) totally ruled.

So, capturing the magic of the originals was a tall order, but the fine folks at Fender nailed it. The American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline has that trademark Thinline responsiveness and openness, and the real CuNiFe Wide-Range humbuckers sound glorious. If you've never played them before, they're something special--full-bodied, open huge-sounding, but with outstanding clarity and articulation and an overall brighter tone.

But, tone is only half the equation when it comes to a vintage playing experience. Feel matters too, and the 1972 Tele Thinline delivers in that regard, too. It has an utterly buttery period-correct slim C neck profile to go with a 7.25" radius for easy chording and vintage tall frets that allow for easier stringbending and less left-hand effort. And, they nailed all the little details like the 3-bolt neck plate, bullet truss rod, pearloid pickguard, F-stamped tuners, 6-saddle string-through hardtail bridge, and ash body.

All in all, the American Vintage II 1972 Telecaster Thinline delivers a fantastically accurate take on a legendary flavor of vintage Fender tone. We have no doubt it will inspire Fender fanatics to embark on all sorts of wonderful fretboard adventures.