Regardless of what your needs are, finding the best Telecaster for you will be a lot of fun. The Tele is one of the world's most iconic electric guitars and, as such, there's a huge choice within the range. The Fender Telecaster was the very first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar and has a widespread appeal that is only rivaled by a few other guitars.
The Fender Tele has graced recordings from rock 'n' roll trailblazers including Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, right the way through to Danny Gatton and James Burton. Few other guitars have become so deeply ingrained in music history. Even modern guitar masters like Slipknot and Radiohead are riding the Tele train. What this means is that you'll be in good company if you decide to invest in one of the best Telecasters in this guide.
Whether you're a beginner electric guitar player or die-hard Fender fan, below you'll find some very tempting options in the Telecaster stable.
If you’d like to read more in-depth buying advice, then click the ‘buying advice’ button above. Keep scrolling if you’d rather get straight to the products. We've listed them in price order to help you find the right one for your budget.
Best Telecasters: Guitar World's choice
Our top picks for the best Telecaster guitar starts with the Fender American Professional II Telecaster, a seriously beautiful and versatile electric guitar that pays homage to the originals while bringing them right up to date.
If you’re currently shopping for a top-level American-made Telecaster, the American Professional II’s are certainly worth a look. Unlike some of the other options out there, these guitars pay tribute to the original models, with only a handful of modernisations and updates that aren’t detectable to the eye.
We can also highly recommend the Fender Richie Kotzen Telecaster. The singer/guitarist has been responsible for some of the greatest Fender tones in recent decades, and oftentimes that's down to the Telecaster in his hands.
A brilliant addition to our best Telecasters round-up, these DiMarzio-equipped signatures were made available globally in 2013 (having only been sold in Japan initially). They offer world-class tones with no compromise on playability.
Best Telecasters: Product guide
The Squier Affinity series is Fender’s answer to offering their unique designs and historic tones to the beginner electric guitar market. For those starting their journey in guitar, these instruments offer tremendous value for money and though they can’t offer the full Fender experience, costing around a fifth of the cheapest American-made models, these guitars are virtually unbeatable within the sub-$250 end of the market.
Whether you’re a beginner or you’ve just always wanted to add a basic Tele to the collection, with some classic finishes including the Butterscotch Blonde favored by Bruce Springsteen and tantalizing racing colors, this could very well be the best Telecaster for you.
Famously used by the likes of Bob Dylan, Thom Yorke and Jim Adkins, Thinline Telecasters were originally made as a lighter-bodied alternative, with routing cavities and a single f-hole that added to its more acoustic-sounding and warmer ‘woody’ resonance.
The only Thinline in the Fender Squier range certainly offers a lot for its budget price-point, from build to playability. Like the Vintera ’70s models, it features two Wide Range humbuckers to help players tap into warmer and more overdriven sounds – which, coupled with the semi-hollow construction – helps avoid some of the more shrill tones classic Telecasters were famous for.
A great option for those hoping to dial in rock tones or hit big-sounding chords on a budget.
Fender’s Player Series sums up everything that makes Fender guitars so popular. Simplicity and quality lie at the heart of this range of guitars, and the Player Telecaster doesn’t disappoint.
The gloss-finished alder body and bolt-on maple neck is a classic combination, and provides bags of that iconic Tele ‘twang’. The Player series single-coils reaffirm that instantly recognisable tone, but are wound just that little bit hotter - keeping one foot firmly in the present day.
The ‘Modern C’ neck profile is designed for performance as well as comfort. Its smooth satin finish helps you avoid the sticky situations that a gloss lacquer might cause, and with the option of either maple of pau ferro fingerboards, you can be sure you’ll find a style to suit you.
Perhaps controversially so, the Player Series has 22 frets rather than the traditional 21 - but the Player Telecaster isn’t built to stick to the rules. It’s here for people that want an all-new experience on a classic, simple, workhorse guitar.
- The best Fender Player Telecaster deals
After an increase in higher gain players over the course of the 1960s, Fender hired former Gibson pickup guru Seth Love to help update their debut solid-body electric design. The fruits of the collaboration arrived in 1972 as the Telecaster Deluxe, and using the all-new Wide Range humbucker to dial in more overdriven tones.
The new Ensenada factory-made Vintera series offers a whole range of throwback Telecasters from the big F’s ground-breaking first three decades, but the ’70s Deluxe – available in three wonderfully classic finishes – has definitely earned its place near the top of our best Telecasters list.
The humbuckers are incredibly musical, both clean and distorted, and offer a bit less of that famous Tele twang in favour of grit and power. All in all, the Fender Vintera '70s Telecaster Deluxe is a brilliantly versatile and more wallet-friendly tribute to one of the more rock-focused models in Fender history.
What do you get when you cross two of the most iconic electric guitars ever made? Sweet, sweet music - that’s what. Fender’s Player Plus series of guitars takes the already brilliant Player Series and bumps it up a notch - with new finishes, pickup configurations and more. They’ve also blessed us with an updated version of one of their ultimate swiss-army-knife guitars - the Nashville Telecaster.
The Nashville Tele delivers precise, clean and crisp tones thanks to its set of three noiseless Player Plus pickups, combining the versatility of a Strat with that famous Tele ‘twang’ to create a guitar capable of a lot more than you think. The middle pickup on the Nashville is actually taken from a Stratocaster, in order to provide a warmer mid-range that turns the Tele from an aggressive, spiky axe into a smooth operator with increased capabilities.
The body and neck of the Player Plus Nashville Tele has had a facelift too, with a Strat-esque tummy cutaway on the back of the body aiding the otherwise un-ergonomic Tele slab body. A Modern “C” shaped neck profile, along with the flatter 12” radius fingerboard enables choke-free bends and near-endless comfort, with rolled edges the icing on the cake. If you want the trademark Tele grit, with a slightly more sophisticated touch, then the Nashville is your guitar.
At the slightly higher end of the Fender Vintera range sits the ’50 Modified Telecaster, which combines some of Fender’s most sought-after Custom Shop colors with pickups from the actual Custom Shop.
In this case, you’re getting a Vintage-Style Single-Coil in the neck and a high output Alnico 5 Twisted Single-Coil in the bridge – which, along with the four way selector and S1 switch, will be able to cover some serious tonal ground.
The neck profile is a softer variation of the V-Shape profile from the late 50s, so not quite as extreme and still quite thick-feeling. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a mid-priced guitar that screams class and can cover pretty much any kind of gig, this might be the best Telecaster for you.
As the guitarist in one of the most successful metal bands the world has seen, Slipknot guitarist Jim Root (aka #4) knows a thing or two about high-gain tones. His signature Telecaster features some less-usual appointments, including an ebony fingerboard, locking tuners, black hardware, no tone control, a Hardtail strings-thru-body bridge and his favorite active EMG pickup set.
The result of this collaboration with Fender is a high-powered workhorse that will be able to cut through the mix and have no problem voicing the kind of lower tunings bands like Slipknot were responsible for popularizing. It’s not a classic Telecaster by any means, but it is one of the best metal guitars available right now.
The fact that American guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen has stuck with his signature Telecaster for the large majority of his career speaks volumes. It’s an instrument that can take him from classic Fender tones for RnB/funky lines through to incredibly musical high-powered gains with effortless ease.
All that is thanks to a single-coil Alnico 5 DiMarzio Twang King in the neck and a ceramic stacked humbucker, The Chopper T, in the bridge.
Then there’s the contoured ash body for increased playability, a bound flame maple top to help cut through, a fatter neck profile and a series-parallel rotary switch where you’d usually find a tone control, which functions as a mid-boost. Finished in a gorgeous Brown Sunburst to match its exquisite gold hardware, this is without question one of the best Telecaster guitars in the world.
The American Professional II series brings the Fender Telecaster into the modern age while staying faithful to the original design. But a few tiny adjustments can make a world of difference – from the Treble Bleed circuit that retains the high-end when your guitar volume is turned down to its redesigned ‘ashtray’ bridge that’s angled better for the picking hand.
The Deep C neck sits in between a Modern C and U in terms of shape and coupled with the narrow tall frets offers extra hold and control. The fretboard edges are rolled exquisitely for extra comfort, and the ‘Super-Natural’ satin finish is a welcome feature.
In the neck pickup, alnico 5 under the bass strings delivers detailed low end while alnico 2 under the treble strings adds warmth and clarity, whereas the bridge is powered exclusively by alnico 5 magnets. While the original American Professional series had this same configuration, the V-Mod II’s on this updated model have been tweaked, culling some of that harsh high-end.
The neck heel has been tentatively carved away to enable smooth upper fret access. Little touches like this from Fender are what makes the world of difference with the Pro II range. It’s all of these tiny extras and adjustments which – without affecting the visual aesthetics of such a classic guitar – make the American Professional series a very dominant presence in our best Telecasters round-up.
If you know who Jason Isbell is, you’ll be more than aware of his killer guitar chops. For those who are unaware, Isbell is one of the leading faces of the Americana movement. Being the main man in a genre which gets its sound from modernising and innovating on the classics, it’s only fair that he gets his own signature Fender Telecaster.
Let's not beat around the bush. The Jason Isbell signature Telecaster is gorgeous. The reliced Chocolate sunburst finish provides a subtle twist on the iconic ‘burst that Fender is so well known for - and isn’t the only subtle twist this guitar has in store. The special Jason Isbell pickups were designed in collaboration with the almighty Tim Shaw - and aren’t found in any other Telecaster on the market - delivering the typical bright, punchy ‘sparkle’ that Isbell is known for.
There are some old-school aspects to this Tele too - like the ‘60s “C” shape maple neck and 7.25” radius fingerboard. These combine to enable smooth playability, easier thumb-over-the-top ability and that vintage vibe that makes you feel like you’re playing a living, breathing instrument. It’s perhaps on the higher end of the price scale for a Mexican-made Tele, but we’d suggest you give it a go. You might just take one home with you.
Fender’s American Ultra Series was one of those event launches that we only see every few years or so. It sees Fender revise its flagship US models, rolling out a number of contemporary features to suit today’s player, with compound radius fretboards, tapered heels, newly sculpted bodies, noiseless pickups and locking tuners. The Fender logo is rendered in gold foil on the headstock.
The American Ultra Tele wears these updates well. It has a compound 10”-14” radius that feels right, especially atop the new Modern D profile neck. It’s a profile that plays quick but fills the palm in all the right ways, with its satin finish a super-smooth enabler for swift position shifts.
There are a suit of stunning new finishes – Texas Tea and Mocha Burst are particularly mind-blowing – but for all the modern accoutrements, the American Ultra Tele is still a textbook Tele, with raunchy twang and more than a little snarl when you turn the gain up. The S-1 switch allied to the 3-way pickup position switching makes it sound a little like the greatest hits of Tele tone. That in itself is enough of a recommendation.
Read the full Fender American Ultra Telecaster review
Best Telecasters: Buying advice
How to choose the best Fender Telecaster for you
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While it’s worth bearing in mind that there are no rules when it comes to what you use, solid-body guitars are generally considered to be more suitable for those looking for punch, thickness and sustain. Semi-hollow guitars are renowned for their openness and clarity, often favored by more chordal players.
Luckily for you, Telecasters come in many forms. It’s worth having an idea of what kind of sounds you hear in your head and which kinds of musicians have been associated with the many models on offer. The solid-body models will often show off more of that traditional Tele ‘twang’ that you’ve heard so much about. They’re usually bright, and a bit more ‘in your face’ - perfect if you want to cut through a mix. The semi-hollow Thinline models that offer more of a natural acoustic resonance that shows off more low-end rumble that is absolutely unbeatable if you’re a rhythm player or just want some extra fatness in your tone.
What pickups are right for me?
When choosing the best Telecaster for you, also think about whether you want/need single-coils or humbuckers. While there have never been more aftermarket electric guitar pickups available to help players hone in on their favourite tones, it makes sense to invest in a Telecaster that can handle the sounds you’re looking for.
Fender’s typically noiseless and lower-output single-coils work wonders for those playing funk, RnB and country, though higher-gain players may be more suited to higher-output pickups like humbuckers. To get a better idea of how much power you need, look at the guitarists you’re hoping to sound like.
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