Are American Made Fender Telecasters the Best?
JAPAN VS USA GUITARS COMPARED
Whenever I see the word ‘BEST’, I always ask, what does BEST mean? To me BEST is what is BEST to you! So are made in USA Fender Telecasters the BEST? This is one of those general questions that gets asked a lot, and there isn’t a definitive answer. Although quality control on guitars in general is at the highest level it’s been in years, every guitar goes through a process of being handled by humans and can have flaws. I thought it would be interesting to compare a Fender American Professional II Telecaster against a Fender Made in Japan Hybrid II Telecaster. Again this is one sampling from each series and will not apply to all models, but I thought it would be a cool comparison.
HYBRID II VS PROFESSIONAL II
I can only compare the guitars that I currently have on hand, so I will be showcasing two similar Fender Telecasters that I purchased recently. We will directly compare an American Professional II Telecaster that has a really cool Dark Night finish and a Made in Japan Hybrid II Telecaster with a sharp Black finish. Let’s go over all the specs in detail taken from Fender’s USA and JAPAN websites. Try to notice how many of the specs are identical.
AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II TELECASTER - Model #: 0113940761
BODY
Body Material
Alder
Body Finish
Gloss Urethane
Body Shape
Telecaster®
NECK
Neck Material
Maple
Neck Finish
“Super-Natural” Satin Urethane Finish on Back of Neck with Gloss Urethane Headstock Face
Neck Shape
Deep "C"
Scale Length
25.5" (648 mm)
Fingerboard Material
Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius
9.5" (241 mm)
Number of Frets
22
Fret Size
Narrow Tall
Nut Material
Bone
Nut Width
1.685" (42.8 mm)
Position Inlays
White Dot
ELECTRONICS
Bridge Pickup
V-Mod II Single-Coil Tele®
Neck Pickup
V-Mod II Single-Coil Tele®
Controls
Master Volume, Master Tone
Switching
3-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. Neck Pickup
Configuration
SS
Auxillary Switching
Push-Push Tone Control Activates Series Mode
HARDWARE
Bridge
3-Saddle Top-Load/String-Through Tele® with Compensated Brass “Bullet” Saddles
Hardware Finish
Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines
Fender® Standard Cast/Sealed Staggered
Pickguard
3-Ply Black
Control Knobs
Knurled Dome
Switch Tip
Black
Neck Plate
4-Bolt
MISCELLANEOUS
Strings
Fender® USA 250L Nickel Plated Steel (.009-.042 Gauges), PN 0730250403
Legal Notice
ACCESSORIES
Case/Gig Bag
Deluxe Molded Case (Included)
MADE IN JAPAN HYBRID II TELECASTER Model #: 5660100306
BODY
Body Material
Alder
Body Finish
Gloss Urethane
Body Shape
Telecaster®
NECK
Neck Material
Maple
Neck Finish
Satin Urethane Finish on Back, Gloss Urethane Finish on Front
Neck Shape
Modern "C"
Scale Length
25.5" (648 mm)
Fingerboard Material
Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius
9.5" (241 mm)
Number of Frets
22
Fret Size
Narrow Tall
Nut Material
Bone
Nut Width
1.650" (42 mm)
Position Inlays
White Dot
ELECTRONICS
Bridge Pickup
Hybrid II Custom Voiced Single Coil Telecaster®
Neck Pickup
Hybrid II Custom Voiced Single Coil Telecaster®
Controls
Master Volume, Master Tone
Switching
4-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups (In Parallel), Position 3. Neck Pickup, Position 4. Neck and Bridge Pickups (In Series)
Configuration
SS
HARDWARE
Bridge
3-Saddle Vintage-Style Strings-Through-Body Tele® with Slanted Brass Barrel Saddles
Hardware Finish
Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines
Vintage-Style Locking
Pickguard
3-Ply Eggshell
Control Knobs
Knurled Flat-Top
Neck Plate
4-Bolt
OTHERS
Strings
Nickel Plated Steel (.009-.042 Gauges)
ACCESSORIES
Case/Gig Bag
Gig Bag
All the specs side by side for close inspection.
HOW CAN I BUY A MADE IN JAPAN FENDER GUITAR?
If you live in Japan or nearby, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a Made in Japan Fender guitar. However if you live in a market that doesn’t carry MIJ guitars, you may not have too many options. I managed to purchase my guitar through a Japanese online guitar store on Reverb (affiliate link). Check out my link and search for Kinko Music. I live in Canada and received the guitar in 4 days! Great service and highly recommended.
SO which is better?
Both guitars are great and share a number of similarities when you compare their specs side by side. The biggest difference to mention is the price. An American Fender Professional II Telecaster is roughy double the price of the Made in Japan Hybrid II Telecaster. Does that mean it’s twice as good? I wouldn’t say so. American made guitars have a history of being the most valued models in the world, and this trend continues today. However I truly believe this Hybrid II Telecaster is almost spec for spec as good. It’s so close! I’ve made a full video breaking down each guitar part and comparing them side by side. Check out my full video to see the full evaluation in which I award points in each category and declare an overall winner at the end!
