This review is about quality and value. If you are seeking a T-style guitar, in broad terms you must choose between dozens of Fender models and even more t-shaped instruments of varying similarity to some Fenders.. If you won't be happy unless you have a Fender Elite or a Custom shop tele and can easily toss $2K or more without a second thought, then do so. If, on the other hand, you want an excellent t-shaped guitar with great sounds, exceptional playability, excellent craftsmanship and several design features only found in premium instruments, and you still want to pay the rent and eat regularly, then look seriously at a Schecter PT Fastback IIB. It has a t-shaped alder contoured body, a rosewood large radius rosewood with 22 jumbo frets, a satin finished maple neck, 2 wide-range Schecter alnico humbuckers with coil tapping, a large functional and stylish pickguard, and a Bigsby B50 vibrato coupled to a TOM roller bridge. New street price is in the $600-700 range. How closely does it match "real" tele sounds? No two rigs sound exactly the same, so I really can't say, but Schecter PTs have been selling briskly for decades, and models like the Schecter PT Fasdtback IIB are the reason why.

I'm not sure a Fender gives you this much performance at twice the price. Great fretwork, fit and finish, and really great electronics. You won't find anything this cool from Fender either. Was set up perfectly out of the box, didn't even need a truss rod adjustments but this is the quality you always get from Schecter. MusicianMadness also had great service and they kept me well informed about a minor delay, but still got it to me quickly. Packaged nicely so it arrived in one piece.