Fender Brent Mason Telecaster Electric Guitar - Primer Gray Reviews

Never mind the looks, this is one awesome guitar. Impressive wide range of tones and pickups that are phenomenal. Ash body is exceptionally resonate. The 7.5 radius neck is comfortable, fast and fun to play,once you get used to it if you are used to larger radius necks.

The B-bender is a really cool addition that's fun to play around with.

Just got a professional setup done on this bad boy and it's incredible what this guitar can do and how it plays.

I was hesitate about dropping almost $ on a guitar, but now I am glad I did.

Definitely an guitar players guitar for sure. WOW !!!

Bought this a little over a year ago. I usually wait until I have had enough time on stage with it and absolutely love it. It is my main guitar every night. I play country classic rock 50s and 60s rock n roll and blues. Handles everything wonderful. From clean to dirty. Love the hot stack pickup. So many tone options! B bender is easy and smooth. Locking tuners are great. I can change strings right b4 a show and s quick stretch and they never slip! Don't hesitate. Buy it and talk to Mason! Mason is an awesome sales engineer!

First let me say if you're hesitating buying a guitar from mail order you can let that concern go. Sweetwater is the only place I will buy a guitar I didn't first hold and play. Outstanding shipping, double boxed and protected very well.This Brent Mason Tele played very well with no adjustments needed right out of the box. It was seriouly in tune with just a little adjustment. Also want to give a big thanks to my new sales engineer/rep Johathan Appleton. I seeked his opinion and cousel on several calls before buying this guitar. Johathan was very helpful and patient with my questions. My last representative of 20 years at least my knowing him left the company for family reasons and Johathan stepped and I felt like I know him just as long. Folks Sweetwater provides the best support hands down over any company I have dealt with. I hope this business model never changes. It works!!!!
The Guitar: My concern was the neck radius of 7.25". I have been used for many years 30+ (yeah I have some mileage..LOL) were 9.5 etc or modern necks. So I found a place in Dallas and tried out the guitar and honestly it was quite addictive. Concerns in reviews had been the notes fretting out when bending. Don't know why the other reviewers on various forums and websites had that issue but it doesnt' fret out for me. The neck is easy for cording and bending alike. I can play anything genre on this guitar with no worries. The finish is a good satin finish. For an ash body it is not too heavy. Mine is 9.5 lbs and feels great. I do suggest you get a suade strap so when using the B-Bender so it doesn't slip.
B-Bender: One of the main reasons I bought this was to get back into some country and have this feature. Wow!! Joe Glaser is a GOD! This is the best bender on the market plain and simple. Smooth mechinisms with no slipping in pitch. Solid!
Pickups: The second reason I bought this guitar. The pickup combinations make this guitar the only one I need for the genres I end up playing at any given time. Thus, my "goto" guitar for all my gigs. I play jazz, country, classic rock, blues and stuff in between. This is perfect all round. I have new inspiration in playing.
So Brent Mason? I really didn't know who he was. My bad. I should have. A super session guitar man out of Nashville and one of the absolute best players I have seen and heard. Didn't realize all the country tunes he played on out of the eighties and 90's and beyond. Thanks to Brent and Fender for the only OEM B-Bender guitar on the market as far as I could find.
Cost: Okay, this guitar ain't cheap. However that said the cost is a good price for what you get. I tried my best to price a build out for the same wood and neck and electronics with the B-Bender. I could not get it any less expensive anywhere. If you are looking for a versatile guitar and you also want the B-Bender experience THIS IS IT! Call up Johanthan talk to him or talk to your engineer/rep here and just get it. I have played and I own some very nice guitars and this one is my new love. Thanks to Fender, Brent Mason and Joe Glaser and pickups by Seymour Duncan for producing a working man's guitar.
I don't give reviews usually and I take them seriously. I think my email is posted with this review. You got questions shoot me an email. I am learning more about this instrument everytime I play it. It has opened inspirational doors for me to experment again and learn. Even as long as I have been playing. I hope this review helps in your decision making for a new guitar experience.

I have always been a rock guitarist primarily playing PRS guitars. Lately, I decided to expand my country chops and picked up the Mason Tele. This guitar is very versatile. The middle pickup blend allows for a lot of tones and can get a very strat sound easily. The neck pickup is thick and creamy. The bridge along has a lot of the twang you'd expect. I play mine through a Bogner Shiva and it really has a lot of bite. The neck is a lot thicker than my PRA and more like an old school Les Paul. It comes with 10's (I prefer 9's) but it's very playable. The b bender takes a little getting use to for me, but it's smooth and accurate. Shout out to my Rep Ryan Murray. He has been my go-to guy for almost 10 years. If you're in the market for a versatile tele, this is the one.

The Brent Mason signature model Telecaster is the best Fender guitar I have ever played. The B bender is a added bonus. Top quality craftsmanship and components. The price tag should not discourage anyone from purchasing this guitar. If you want the best Fender guitar currently in production, this is the guitar you want.

i love it. the b bender system from glaser is very well done. I used to have a palm pedal system on a 67 tele that was really nice.

i love it. the b bender system from glaser is very well done. I used to have a palm pedal system on a 67 tele that was really nice.

I love this guitar. The 7.25 radius is almost a deal breaker though. Trying to get used to it. Can't give a bad review because of the radius though, it's clearly stated upfront in the specs. Sweetwater is a great place to buy one, that's where I got mine with no issues at all.

This guitars nails all of the sounds, including a close resemblance to a strat. I want b-benders on all of my guitars now, so cool! The primer gray paint job gets compliments. This guitar rocks!

This guitar is incredible! Fender really nailed it on this one. I purchased mine from Sweetwater and my sales engineer couldn't have been better. I had them PLEK mine, but I'm sure they play great straight out of the box. I have several guitars but I always go for my Brent Mason Tele first. Sure, it's perfect for the 90's country sound, but it's so versatile and could fit in pretty much any genre. If I had a dream guitar, this would be it. Thank you Fender and Sweetwater for this incredible instrument!

I have owned several guitars with installed benders all the way back to the 70's when Bigsby had the Palm Pedal. This is by far the best I have ever used. As for the guitar it is a Fender Telecaster... it plays like a Fender... with several pickup modifications. You can get the conventional Tele sound, a smooth gutsy sound with the mini Humbucker and pretty much everything in between. I own about 40 guitars and this guitar is without a doubt one of the most versatile. Thanks Fender and thanks Brent Mason for designing and producing a great guitar.

What is this thing? Well, it's a pretty amazing, fairly accurate signature guitar. Um, it's a Fender-approved partscaster. It's a resonant, easy-to-play musical instrument. Naw, it's a Swiss Army knife for the studio. Regardless of how you see it, it's one of the most creative guitars Fender has ever released. One of the best Teles for sure. I like being able to engage and blend all 3 pickups.
Only disappointments: Fender made a change to the burgundy-colored middle pickup; it no longer has the SD logo on it - looks pretty generic. Second, the headstock on mine will not fit in the case unless the high E tuning key is set to vertical. Weird oversight.

I have no clue who Brent Mason is. I only found this guitar after searching pedal steels and how to emulate them on guitar, and came across the B-bender system, which blew my mind in it's own right. Further searching landed me at this guitar - I think the only currently produced Fender Tele that comes stock with a Glaser B-Bender system (which from my research appears to be the best bender system available). Add to this the fact that I have always wanted a Tele for many years but just hadn't taken the plunge yet. Then when I learned about the insane pickup options this thing has, it became a no-brainer. So I ordered one sight unseen - something I'm always nervous about doing with guitars.

First off you have nothing to fear in buying guitars online through Sweetwater. They are hands-down the best online music retailer in the USA. As for the guitar itself, the honeymoon is over, and I have to say this is probably one of the finest guitars I've had the pleasure to play. It checks all of the boxes for what I was looking for. Top-quality stock B-Bender: check. Super-versatile pickup configuration: check. Playability, feel, tone: check. American-made Fender Tele? Check!

The neck feels smooth and amazing. Infinitely playable. I was surprised to find how heavy it is - like a Les Paul. And that weight no doubt has much to do with the fact that it has great tone - in all the pickup configurations. You can go from chimey strat-like sounds using the middle Hot Stack pickup to traditional twangy Tele sounds on the bridge pickup after disengaging the Hot Stack. And then on to more Les Paulish tones with the Neck mini-humbucker. ...this thing does it all and does it well!

I'm still learning how to play the B-Bender (The Bender Bunker channel on YouTube is a good resource btw), but from what I can tell, the installed Glaser B-Bender is rock-solid and top quality. It works exactly as advertised.

My only *slight* complaint is that apparently due to Covid, Seymour Duncan had to change production lines and remove the "S" logo on the middle red Hot Stack pickup. It's now just smooth and flat and generic looking and does not have that badass Seymour Duncan logo, but everything else is the same according to my Sales Engineer who checked with Fender for me. Oh well, it still sounds amazing.

Shout out to Matt Emick, my sales engineer. Pretty sure he is the best one at Sweetwater :D

This guitar is simply amazing in every respect. The build quality is what you would expect at this price point, playability is smooth as glass, but the tonal varieties and qualities are where this instrument really shines. Add the neatly installed Glaser B-bender and this is a tremendously good value compared to modding a normal Telecaster to these specs.

I view and purchased this instrument as a utility in that it can produce the general tonal qualities of 3 to 4 different guitars without the need more guitars due to space limitations.

If you're even considering this instrument, I would suggest ordering now while you can. You will not regret it. Currently matched with a Marshall code series modeling amp and Carvin wireless and it all works flawlessly though the sound variations being nearly limitless is somewhat overwhelming which i see as a good problem to work through.

I must call out my fantastic sales engineer, Bart Auburn who, with the help of the team at Sweetwater really deliver the very best experience and care with my orders. I can't say enough about how much difference this makes in the purchase experience.

Fender did a great job building this guitar.

If you're a telecaster player your other tele's will not be happy to see this guitar in the room as they won't be getting any wheee near the playing time they are use to.

Great feel, great tone, the Novel and unique middle pickup settings make this quite a versatile guitar capable of playing
Organically in a lot of different musical settings.

I'm extremely happy and if you are lucky to get your hands on one, you'll be too!

Everything you ever wanted in a Telecaster, and then some. Well built with all top shelf parts and components. Plays great with a good solid weight. Well worth it to me.

As good as it gets- this guitar is excellent, everything expected and more!

The pickups and wiring allow so many different combinations of tone.

The Glaser bender works flawlessly and is adjustable from b to g.

Signature Spec issue
The only reason I am not giving it five stars is that the item received did not match the original signature specs - fender locking tuners were substituted for the spertzel locking tuners without calling it out in the specs. I will be ordering them as soon as I can to replace the heavier fender ones.

First off, I want to say that this is a great guitar. I returned mine because of my own playing quirks and because I didn't know what I was buying. I wanted a B-Bender and this was the only tele that came with one. But I was not prepared for the neck. I'm sure it is exactly how it is supposed to be, but I am used to slim necks and this one is a baseball bat. With a 7.25 radius, which I did not understand the implications of. I found it hard to play, and the low action with that radius brought the high strings very close to the middle pickup. I am not used to a middle pickup, and I kept hitting it with the pick. These are not flaws, but I wanted to inform other people who might be as clueless as me as to what they are getting.

Having said that, this guitar is pretty amazing. The tones are superb and all sorts of variations are possible. You can B-bend to your heart's content and it won't go out of tune. Set-up, action, intonation were all on point.

I've only had this guitar for a couple of days, but with as many nice instruments as I have, and as long as I've been playing, it took no time to recognize the quality and versatility of this instrument.

Despite the drab paint job and mismatched hardware colors, the guitar just oozes quality. All of the hardware looks and feels top notch. Fret work is clean, bone nut is perfect, locking tuners are solid, bender feels great and is easily adjustable, and overall fit and finish is excellent.

Cosmetically, I wish they would consider offering this with a couple of different options - matching hardware colors and maybe a couple of different finish options. I know it wouldn't be a "replica" guitar at that point, but it could still be a signature guitar and the cosmetic appeal would likely open up a bunch of additional buyers who want a very high quality, very versatile telecaster with a bender installed.

Sonically, there's nothing to complain about here. The bridge pickup just tears through everything from twangy country licks to searing rock power chords and leads. The front pickup is not my personal favorite - the low to low-mids just feels a touch off to me, but its still nice and also versatile. (and with some tweaking on pickup height i may be able to improve it a bit). The middle pickup is interesting. It tends to mellow out the sound a little when used with the other pickups, and has a nice funky vibe when used on its own. I don't think it quite nails the strat sound, but its certainly close enough.

The controls are not necessarily the most intuitive - again, i know its a replica guitar, but at some point i may consider moving the push/pull for the middle pickup to the middle control...that seems to make a bit more sense. (Frankly, a 5 way switch with the option to have bridge and neck together would make even more sense) But, little quirks aside, it all works great and you should easily adapt to the controls.

I've never had a proper bender before - I have what is basically a "palm style" g-bender on another guitar, and this just feels so much better than that one. It's very easy to adjust the tension to your preference, and dial in the tuning of the bender.

All in all, this is an amazing telecaster - high quality, crazy tonal flexibility, and a top notch bender pre-installed. It really is a great guitar at a very reasonable price considering what you are getting. knocking 1/2 a star just for the minor quirks noted above.

I've been looking for a factory Nashville/B bender Telecaster. Every model on the used market costs more than the Brent Mason does new and they don't have as good of pickups! Not to mention, they don't use the Glaser bender which is the state of the bender art and a lot less invasive than the other models Fender installed in the past. This is the only guitar in the current Fender catalog with a bender. As a bonus, it easily converts to a G bender if you prefer that set up.

Yes, primer gray is ugly but it's a replica so that's the only color on the menu. If it came in baby blue or sea foam green, I'd have gone that route. Color aside, this guitar will allow me to leave my Les Pauls at home.

I'm in a country band that dabbles in rock and blues. I've been using an American Std Tele for country and an LPC for dirtier rock tunes. The Mason has enough grunt to handle the rock stuff.

Sweetwater set it up with 9 1/2 gauge, medium low for me. Out of the box it was 95% on target. The odd thing was, this guitar wasn't immediately satisfying when I plugged it in. It took me a couple hours of knob turning and pickup combos to find what I was after.

I've heard some reviews complain about the weight. It's ash and heavier than alder or pine but it weighs less than either of my LPs so I can't relate to the detractors. It's an enormously capable guitar with a horizon wide tone palette. The more I play it, the more I appreciate what it can do. The only complaint I have is, the 3 knobs cramp the control space a bit and it's hard to grab the pickup selector on the fly. If only it had the angled slot!

It's my first experience with a B bender. After a few hours I can already play some convincing steel sounds with it. I was on the fence for months. I wish I hadn't waited this long.

The nut on mine wasn't cut properly, not even close. Other than this QC issue the guitar is great.

Purchased guitar and plek service together. As expected,action needed a little touchup but tuned right in to my taste. Frets were finished and polished to perfection and no sharp ends. Guitar does NOT come with a Fender case, but rather an ill fitting cheaper C and G case. Padding blocks are set in too short causing the high E key to unwind about half a turn when the guitar is laid in its cradle. I can either fix the case or swap out one of my other actual Fender cases. A 3k guitar should come with a case that fits, hence 4 stars instead of 5. Everything else A+ and service tops.
.

Overall this tele plays nice.Had to fine tune the bender some and one thing I notice is the middle pickup volume really does not kick in well till it's full on,,seems like it would be more noticeable as you increase it for a better blend but does give you a stratty sound so to speak when fully clockwise.

The neck is primary reason I purchased. 41.3 mm at nut, regular C shape. Everything I expected and happy with that. However, the 7.25-inch radius I am not thrilled with. It is no dealbreaker, but confirms my preference for a slightly flatter radius, anywhere between 9.5 and 10. The Brent is not difficult to play because the more rounded neck, I simply play differently than if the neck were flatter. This is fine because I value versatility less than many players. I would rather have a strat and Tele vs one guitar that sounds like both. So why the Brent? The neck, as I said. This was the only fender I could find with 41.3 mm at nut and regular C shape. Almost every other feature, plus neck radius, not my cup of tea. The locking tuners do not seem to help keep strings in tune better than other guitars in my experience, at least not on this guitar. But it's not what I would call a chronic going out of tune thing. It's a guitar, going to happen. B bender I could take or leave, but is fun now and then. Never played one. So anyway, all this just for an uncommon neck width and shape I just had to have. It's whatever. I am keeping this guitar. I will likely just play chet Atkins stuff on it, no shred. That's what multiple guitars in my collection are for, multiple styles. Right tool for right job. Note the string guage begins at 10 making it tougher to play the Brent guitar. But I got used to it. As I said, this will Influence me to play a specific style instead of shredding all over the place. Sometimes that is a good thing. Imagine that. A guitar that reminds u to actually play something musical for a change. Derek Spaulding has been a great help on my musical journey. Bought the Brent and a few others thru Derek. Will continue to work with him. Top notch, has not let me down. So final verdict on Brent: Buy it if u intend to play a particular non shred style. Fast country, the Brent obviously works. Standard rock, sure. But if u want to get all yngwie, pick up a flatter radius. For that, I do. Otherwise, pick up the Brent and have fun.

Love this Guitar. I have a very nice collection of quality guitars and seem to go for this one, my SG modern and PRS custom 24 floyd over all of the others. Hard to believe I really love the way this feels and plays over my Les Paul HP and Strat. Suppose it's all about person preference. For me, this is in my top 3 guitars. Also, I love the mismatch hardware and primer finish. The pickups sound great for this style of guitar. If I'm playing with distortion, I do set this one down and grab my BC Rich or ESP. Really all of my guitars sound better than this one when it comes to shredding w/ distortion. Doesn't change that I love this guitar

It was a beautiful, great sounding guitar, but I couldn't play it. This unit has a 7.25 neck radius, which I neglected to notice when I ordered it, making it very difficult to play. As far as the bender and pickups, it was great.

I love the tone of the guitar, but I can't play it due to the radius of the neck. When I bought it, I wanted a b bender, and I somehow missed the 7.25 radius. I have tried to play it twice and put it back in the case. I wish I could just send it back and trade it for something else.