TE-30 BE Standard Series : Really good cheap guitar

Bought this as I have never tried a telecaster before. Was looking specifically for one with a maple fret board and this was by far the cheapest about.

The finish is really nice. High gloss, but you can see the grain through the finish (not just loaded with paint). No massive blemishes or rough spots except one slight chip on the neck joint. The neck is smooth and lacks the sticky lacquer you'd expect from a guitar this price.

The sound over all is good. The bridge pickup is very snappy and unsurprisingly suits chicken pickin' style stuff really well. Can get a bit screechy at high gain. The neck pick up is woolly. Works really well clean or with light gain, but can become too compressed at high gain. The middle position with a bit of light drive sounds amazing.

Seems to hold tune well so far, and the volume and tone knobs again manage to avoid the usually hassle of cheap guitars in that they only work at either full on or full off. Very impressive guitar for the money.

The neck is a bit of a baseball bat, which will suit some more than others, and may make it a tough guitar for beginners. The action on this particular guitar was quite high, but again thats a matter or personal preference.

Brilliant for the money, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap knock about guitar, or as a spare for a gigging tele.