Fender seems to never disappoint the guitar enthusiasts all around the world. They are known for taking their customer’s and potential customers’ feedback very seriously.

It is the only reason that they can deliver up to the expectations of the people. This Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum is the prime example of the same.

This model is essentially designed for beginners or midlevel guitarists who will find everything that they wish to have in their most desirable instrument in the category.

The manufacturer, Fender is up with the competition and this time they offered something really special and at an economical price. You will be seeing their prior model in the range getting upgraded with some cool exciting features. Also, check out the best acoustic-electric guitar under $300 for beginners..

Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum Review

Table of Contents

Features to Consider

It is the brilliant price to performance ratio of this Fender American performer Telecaster Hum that makes it such a special choice for guitarists. The following features would endorse this statement and will make you believe that why the upgrades in this model are so much liked by beginners and mid-level guitarists.

Construction

This one comes with a nicely covered style of Double Tap humbucker, which replaces the single-coil neck. It employs the 4-rod Almico magnets which you will find as wax potted. Just to mention here that the single-coil neck pickup was the one that comes with Alnico 5.

If you consider switching then there will be no extras on board. However, we will be having the humbucker single coil switch given right over the tone control. The fingerboard end with the curved line right behind the nut seems to be quite scuffy. The walled bridge corners are worth having a look at. It looks like that they are chewed but comparing it with the original 69 version, it appears to be nearly identical.

The auto-tune users might not be pleased much with the three brass saddles as it compromises the intonation. However, any user in love with the simplicity and actual productivity of the Telecaster Hum wouldn’t be much concerned at all. Everything mentioned here makes sit a potent music system with excellent construction that suits many of the needs and wants of the guitarists. Learn more about Fender American Performer Stratocaster review.

Neck Profile

The neck of the guitar feels quite good even when you find the fingerboard to be anemic type. Fender calls the neck profile of this instrument to be the ‘modern C’ type. This comes as a considerable deviation from those old vintage norms of Fender. The fretboard radius of this one is found to be quite wider and flatter as compared with the Vintage C with 7.25 inches of radius. You may find this one to be slightly lesser in thickness. The neck profile for users with smaller hands might just make the cording a lot difficult as compared to what you could do on a vintage fender. This might also seem a bit odd to those users who are accustomed to the 60s Fender variant. Still, there is no denying that the playability of the bend-happy type is derived well from the jumbo frets and the flatter radius combo.

Overall Sounds

It could be a tricky task to thud a humbucker on this Telecaster Hum. There is a definite contrast between the neck humbucker and the bridge single coil. If you for example are vamping on the neck then you might need to switch to the bridge. You will be experiencing a quiet steelier, thinner, and much brighter voice which may for the first time come as a shock to you.

If you turn the tables then the same neck pickup would sound quite thick and big, while covering a diverse spectrum. However, you might witness it lacking some clarity here on the other side of the range.

The humbucker comes with a certain type of snappier sound when you go on to compare this with the other competitive products in the range. On top of that, this one would be less ‘thick smooth’ type when you set it up against a single cut type. This is despite the case even while having the Seymour Duncan Set Lovers with a very low output.

Tone Control

The Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum has been fitted by Fender with the Greasebucket tone control. It is the one that rolls quite high with no definite addition of bass. On top of that, it wouldn’t have any sort of effect on the volume. This tone control is seriously a cool feature that Fender has got to offer with this one.

It is because you will be having explicit control over the tone while performing on stage. You wouldn’t have to worry about doing anything to compensate for any sort of volume loss. This you might have been experiencing with some of the prior vintage models of Fender. This for sure is a serious tone machine from Fender which would suffice your tonal control needs in the best possible manner. Also check out the Eastman SB59 Electric Guitar Review

Higher Output Tone with Modern Wiring

The Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum has teamed up with the exciting vintage-tinged tone. It is all thanks to the excellent wiring and high output which provided this one with a sound of its own. The special Yosemite bridge pickup of single-coil type comes with very useful flat pole pieces.

It offers the instrument the desired tonal balance along with the punch in the sound. There is a wide range of flexibility in shaping the tone onboard which is all at the discretion of the guitar player. The master tone knob is there to be maximized for making this work just as you would like.

This is also ideally backed up with the tone control along with the coil tap of the push-pull type. There is also a pickup selector switch of 3-way type.

Aesthetics

When it comes to the aesthetics, there will be three color Sunburst options to choose or you may well go with the beautiful Vintage White that comes with maple. Then, it is the option of the Satin Surf Green along with the rosewood or you may also opt for the Aubergine, which is probably the most liked one. You wouldn’t find any sort of ash bodies on offer here within the Performer range. However, the maple, rosewood, and the Aubergine are all known to be well weighted which is quite close to what Strats has. The rosewood is lesser desirable with its low-grade aesthetics along with its flat and dulled brown color. You wouldn’t find any striping as well on it.

Pros

Conclusion

It is a very fascinating inclusion in the product line of Fender. This Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum comes with some nice and productive upgrades. The first impression of this model is an exciting gigbag. You wouldn’t have to carry it in those rigid hard cases anymore.

A lot of players suggest that this one is just a vintage alignment but in reality, this is an instrument for the modern players. You will find the switching and tones of this instrument to match the needs of advanced effect-centric guitar playing.

You will find this one coming with a supreme build quality with the design quite unlike their vintage guitar, which is for good. The humbucker tones are its specialty and you will also find the pickups to be ideally balanced. The manufacturer could have done something better with the fretboard radius to suit users with smaller hands.