YESS!! YESS!! YES!!

[Ian Price]

I reckon they wouldn't hold up well at all! The wannabe Twisted Tele and Broadcaster pickups in the Baja are nowhere near as good as the real deal in the CS Teles.

[Philly Q]

I always thought the Twisted Tele in the Baja was a "real" one, didn't realise it was a downmarket version.

(Not that I can remember what it sounded like!)

[Telerocker]

I reckon they wouldn't hold up well at all! The wannabe Twisted Tele and Broadcaster pickups in the Baja are nowhere near as good as the real deal in the CS Teles.

I think the quality of the timbers have a big influence too. The CS's sound so good bec Fender has really a good stock of premium woods.

[Ian Price]

I always thought the Twisted Tele in the Baja was a "real" one, didn't realise it was a downmarket version.

(Not that I can remember what it sounded like!)

I'm pretty sure they were a downmarket version. Others on here would know better though. To me they sounded incredibly weak and lacking in any real character. The flat 50s I now have sound so much better.

[Andrew W]

It's really cool that Fender are doing this but then I got to thinking, "Well the neck's going to have to go for something more robust with bigger frets and I reckon I'll want to swap out the pickups for TV Jones..." and before you know it I've just spent another £400 so, on balance, if I ever do scratch my La Cabronita itch, I reckon I'll roll my own. For folks who like the neck shape this must be sorely tempting though.

[AndyR]

I always thought the Twisted Tele in the Baja was a "real" one, didn't realise it was a downmarket version.

(Not that I can remember what it sounded like!)

I'm pretty sure they were a downmarket version. Others on here would know better though. To me they sounded incredibly weak and lacking in any real character. The flat 50s I now have sound so much better.

This was exactly my experience too. Don't know whether they are down-market or not, but I couldn't understand why everyone was raving about them (I thought I was doing something wrong!!).

They are severely helped by taking the treble-bleed out of the Baja's circuit, but I tried them in a couple of guitars when the BKPs replaced them, and the BKPs make them sound VERY down-market :lol:

(Mind you, one man's "this is the biz" is always gonna be the next man's "wtf?!" in the tone department...).



Not too sure about this La Cabronita thing... Don't feel quite as strong about it as Frank, but I can't quite see what everyone else finds so appealing about the design... it's cute, but.... Still, "one man's... etc" :lol:

[Philly Q]

It's really cool that Fender are doing this but then I got to thinking, "Well the neck's going to have to go for something more robust with bigger frets and I reckon I'll want to swap out the pickups for TV Jones..." and before you know it I've just spent another £400 so, on balance, if I ever do scratch my La Cabronita itch, I reckon I'll roll my own. For folks who like the neck shape this must be sorely tempting though.

That's the wonder of Warmoth, as Leslie Crowther used to say (or was that Woolworth......?  :?) 

[juansolo]

I always thought the Twisted Tele in the Baja was a "real" one, didn't realise it was a downmarket version.

(Not that I can remember what it sounded like!)

TBH, for stock pups I thought they were really bloody good. Just not for me.

[Copperhead]

So they got one of the alder burst ones in at my local shop. It sounds wonderful. The neck is very beefy, I'd guess around .900 and feels more like a U than a C.

I really really wanted to try the trans white ASH body one, but we're waiting to get one in as they are currently on backorder at Fender!

THEN, I checked the website and Fender has jacked up the price on the ash body trans white ones by $100.00 US!!!

I checked around and found that MF has them in stock! Not only that but they are the same price as the alder burst and the alder black models! Not only that, but they price matched my local dealer, so I bought one... $594 USD delivered.

I'll let you know how it is...

[itamar101]

So they got one of the alder burst ones in at my local shop. It sounds wonderful. The neck is very beefy, I'd guess around .900 and feels more like a U than a C.

I really really wanted to try the trans white ASH body one, but we're waiting to get one in as they are currently on backorder at Fender!

THEN, I checked the website and Fender has jacked up the price on the ash body trans white ones by $100.00 US!!!

I checked around and found that MF has them in stock! Not only that but they are the same price as the alder burst and the alder black models! Not only that, but they price matched my local dealer, so I bought one... $594 USD delivered.

I'll let you know how it is...

Wow! Congrats! I didn't anticipate the pickups sounding good... My GAS for this had died down a bit as I'm short on money anyway. But you just brought it back.

[Copperhead]

The frets are the medium jumbo, they feel like 6100's that have been dressed a few times, pretty wide but shorter than 6100.

The Fender version of the TV Jones sounded really very good. Not weird or nasally at all but very similar to A2 lower output humbuckers.

I did not like the 3 piece alder body, and the burst was very brown and dull, I called it the "turd burst".... but the guitar played and sounded fantastic. The neck is easily the fattest Fender neck I've seen in a long long time.

Also in was the Chinese Modern Player Tele. This burst looked gorgeous! And the tinted neck looked fantastic. This guitar sounds like a wonderful Strat. It has a middle pup and a humbucker with a mini toggle coil split.
Very beautiful to look at and very good Strat tones. The neck felt  thin though, and  narrow at the nut. Could not get along with the neck though this guitar was a beauty. Under $400.00 US.

[Copperhead]

I called Fender, HQ here locally in Scottsdale. They said indeed the prototypes had a super fat U shaped neck and they were glad that that spec has survived into production, and indeed they should all have that profile. "Modern C" is a generic description that covers a lot of ground and different models have their own profile" is what my contact told me.

Also look for the Cabronita to become a new made in the USA model. Fender is introducing it as a new addition to their regular lineup. The idea of bringing it out of the custom shop and into production has been a major project at Fender and they're putting a lot behind it.

According to my contact, Fender also feels that their remake of the Filtertrons are better pickups than the TV Jones ones the custom shop is using, based on direct comparisons in the prototype models.
The "Fidelitron" pickups that are being installed in the Mexican Cabronitas today will be the pickups in the US models.

Also the US model Cabronita lineup will include a single pickup model and more colors.

[Andrew W]

This is really encouraging news and answers my two main worries of the neck profile and the pickups. Hmmm, I shall have to have a go if I can find one. Thanks for the information.

[Philly Q]

According to my contact, Fender also feels that their remake of the Filtertrons are better pickups than the TV Jones ones the custom shop is using, based on direct comparisons in the prototype models.

Oooh, controversial! 

But good news about the neck profile and the US model.

I'd probably still go the self-build route, though, because that way you can pick a body of just the right weight.  Off the shelf Fenders are too hit-or-miss.

[Copperhead]

I agree. But my line of thinking is that I can't build one for what I paid, and if the one I receive isn't acceptable I should be able to flip it easily and may even come out ahead, given that Fender has already raised the MSRP $100 on the ash model.