Fender Acoustasonic Player Telecaster

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MARCH 2022 GUITARIST
FENDER ACOUSTASONIC PLAYER TELECASTER
FENDER
ACOUSTASONIC
PLAYER
TELECASTER
PRICE: £1,049 (inc gigbag)
ORIGIN: Mexico
TYPE: Single-cutaway, solidbody-
sized electro-acoustic
BODY: Mahogany (hollow) with
inset Sitka spruce top
NECK: Mahogany, modern ‘deep C’
profile, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
TUNERS: Fender standard cast/
sealed staggered tuners
NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Black
Tusq/41.9mm
FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, white
dot markers, 305mm (12”) radius
FRETS: 22, narrow/tall
BRIDGE/SPACING: Rosewood
w/ compensated Black Tusq
saddle/53.5mm
ELECTRICS: Fishman under-saddle
transducer, Fender Noiseless N4
magnetic. master volume, Blend
knob, 3-way Voice Selector lever
switch. Single mono output.
9V block battery
WEIGHT kg/lb): 2.33/5.13
OPTIONS: Colour only
LEFTHANDERS: No
FINISHES: Artic White
(as reviewed), Brushed Black,
Butterscotch Blonde, Shadow Burst
– colours over inset spruce top only.
Polyester satin matt to body; satin
urethane to neck and headstock
Fender Musical Instruments EMEA
01342 331700
www.fender.com
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The trouble is, listening through our AER
Compact 60, it really doesn’t sound like a
Telecaster, evidenced when we plug our
’69 Tele into the same amp. Even through
the ‘wrong’ amp, the ’69 has that snap at
the bridge that shouts Telecaster. The
Acoustasonic in comparison sounds a little
generic ‘narrow aperture’ sound. It’s a
marked difference to the USA Acoustasonic
Jazzmaster’s big bridge humbucker,
which certainly doesn’t try to emulate the
real thing. But the bridge pickup on our
Player Tele does provide quite a contrast,
particularly to that sweet rosewood
acoustic. Wind in the crunch from the blend
control – which is just such a cool feature
of all the Acoustasonic models – and we’ve
never heard sounds like this coming out
of our AER. Plug into a standard electric
guitar amp and, again, it ain’t a Tele, but it’s
definitely a Fender voice and yet the mainly
hollow construction of the guitar does
affect what we hear. Played cleaner or with
light crunch you definitely hear a less solid
response; with more gain and processing,
that impression is lessened.
Despite the fewer sounds here there’s
still a lot to play with and it remains a
proper acoustic guitar despite its solidbody
size. Where it scores for us, like the USA
Acoustasonics before it, is as a recording
tool: a very fast sketch pad to capture some
credible acoustic sounds with the minimum
of fuss. The Lo-Fi crunch and the magnetic
Telecaster sounds take us in new directions,
and tracking parts on a recording, not
least in a rootsy style, works really well.
These aren’t replications of classic sounds;
they’re the true sound and potential of the
Acoustasonic platform. Where you take
them is really up to you.
Verdict
This Player Acoustasonic initially comes
across as a ‘lite’ version of the USA platform
– Fender refers to it as “streamlined” –
rather than just a less-costly version of
the full package. That’s not a criticism; it
distills the flexibility and versatility of the
USA version into a more direct instrument
that pushes the electric side to the fore.
The graduation from acoustic through
electro-acoustic to electric is vividly
presented, more so than the USA models.
You almost feel that the USA model was
the catwalk concept; this is the high-street
version. As you’d expect, there is slightly
less refinement here but little to alter the
experience. But just like the USA version,
we’re presented with an instrument that
can go in numerous directions: from a
compact and lightweight electro-acoustic
to a very rootsy electric, and a guitar that
can be used in any signal chain you fancy.
PROS Clean build, excellent
weight and playability; fewer
sounds but considerable contrast
from acoustic to crunchy electric
CONS Not everyone will get the
concept, but it’s hard to fault;
very valid version of the platform
8. Yes, we’ve seemingly
lost 40 per cent of the
sounds here, but just like
the USA model, the heel
is rounded and we also
get Fender’s Micro-Tilt
adjustment through the
neckplate, which makes
setup very easy
7. In addition to Fender’s
Noiseless N4, there is
a Fishman transducer
under the compensated
saddle on the acoustic-
style pin bridge, which
is rosewood here, not
the striped ebony of the
USA Jazzmaster
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GIT482.rev_fender.indd 13GIT482.rev_fender.indd 13 20/01/2022 12:3520/01/2022 12:35