TE-52 NA Vintage Series : Not bad for the price

I purchased this guitar a year or so ago, so I have had some time to play it and develop an informed opinion. As usual, it shipped quickly and arrived well packed. The first thing I noticed when I pulled it out of the box was how heavy it was. It easily rivals my LP or my T-60 in terms of weight. This isn't really a bad thing, just something to be aware of.

Moving on to looks. The neck has a nice, smooth satin finish. I prefer these to glossy necks. There is also some nice flame in the maple depending on how the light hits it. The body is three pieces of ash. Two of them are well matched, one of them stands out pretty noticeably. I am a hobby player and only really play for myself, so the looks are not super important for me. That being said, it still would have been nice to have it looks consistent.

My guitar shipped with the Wilkinson alnico pickups. They are probably the best sounding stock pickups I have ever gotten on any of my "cheap" guitars. I may end up replacing them at some point in the future, but for the time being they will stay in. When I had the pickguard off, I noticed that the neck was routed for a humbucker (for anyone interested in modding).

Overall, this guitar fills the spot of a traditional tele style in my collection quite well. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a beginner looking for a solid guitar to start with.