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Fender Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster - Chocolate Burst

Solidbody Electric Guitar with Alder Body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and 2 Single-coil Pickups - Chocolate Burst
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Fender Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster - Chocolate Burst
Fender Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster - Chocolate Burst

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Jason Isbell’s Barn Burner Custom Telecaster

Along with a handful of contemporaries, Jason Isbell has ushered in a fresh era of country music by returning to the genre’s roots of storytelling-based songwriting, raw emotions, and equally raw performances. But make no mistake: Jason Isbell is no mere revivalist; he’s a contemporary artist putting a modern twist on his country and rock ’n’ roll influences. The Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster is something of an analog for Jason’s style. Based on Jason’s Custom Shop master-built Telecaster, this gorgeous instrument pairs old-school soul with new-school attitude. Finished in a Road Worn chocolate burst with just the right amount of distressing, the Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster’s alder body features white double-edge binding, contrasted with a black-white-black 3-ply pickguard. And it’s specially voiced for the kind of Muscle Shoals-inspired swamp rock that Jason and the 400 Unit break out during live performances. Combine that with a comfy mid-'60s profile neck and chicken-pickin’-friendly modified bridge, and you’ve got a barn burner of a Tele that's ready to lay down some serious grooves.

Related Videos: Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster - Chocolate Burst

Road Worn alder body offers seasoned feel and aesthetics

The Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster features a balanced-sounding alder body — a mainstay on Fender bodies with a distinctive tone that’s at the center of some of rock ’n’ roll’s most enduring classics. A Road Worn nitrocellulose lacquer finish gives this solidbody electric guitar the look and feel of a well-used vintage instrument. A 3-ply black-white-black pickguard, modified brass-saddle Tele bridge, and vintage-style tuners put the perfect finishing touches on this Tele, supplying you with seasoned aesthetics, plus rock-solid performance and tuning stability.

Custom-voiced pickups for tasty Tele twang

Jason Isbell’s Custom Shop Telecaster went through a trial by fire shortly after he received it from Fender’s Master Builders. During a live performance at Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July picnic, Jason’s pedalboard unexpectedly died, leaving him with just his Custom Shop Tele plugged straight into his amp. Jason played the whole set with this stripped-back pairing and tore the roof off. The Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster’s custom-voiced Jason Isbell pickup set delivers serious Tele twang and swamp rock bark that absolutely sings through a tube combo — no pedals required!

Mid-'60s "C"-shaped neck ensures easy playability

The Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster is a treat to play, largely because of its mid-'60s "C"-shaped neck profile. This is a pleasantly stout neck, and guitarists at Sweetwater note that its increased mass yields an incredibly natural feel, as well as excellent sustain. Its 7.25-inch-radius rosewood fingerboard is complete with 21 vintage-tall frets that feel incredible. This neck secures to the guitar’s alder body with a traditional 4-bolt plate, emblazoned with Jason’s anchor and sparrow tattoo, and includes a synthetic bone nut.

Fender Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster Electric Guitar Features:

  • Re-creation of Jason Isbell’s Custom Shop Telecaster
  • Balanced-sounding alder body epitomizes the classic Fender tone
  • Road Worn nitrocellulose lacquer finish supplies a seasoned look and feel
  • Custom-voiced single-coils with serious Tele twang
  • Mid-'60s "C" profile is pleasantly stout with increased mass
  • Easy-playing 7.25-inch-radius fingerboard with 21 vintage-tall frets
  • Attention-grabbing white double-edge binding and 3-ply black-white-black pickguard
  • Modified brass-saddle Tele bridge is perfect for chicken-pickin’ styles

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Tech Specs

  • General
  • Number of Strings 6
  • Left-/Right-handed Right-handed
  • Body
  • Body Type Solidbody
  • Body Shape Jason Isbell Custom Telecaster
  • Body Material Alder
  • Body Finish Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
  • Color Chocolate Burst
  • Neck
  • Neck Material Maple
  • Neck Shape Mid '60s C
  • Neck Joint Bolt-on
  • Radius 7.25"
  • Fingerboard Material Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay White Pearloid Dots
  • Number of Frets 21, Vintage Tall
  • Scale Length 25.5"
  • Nut Width 1.650"
  • Nut Material Synthetic Bone
  • Hardware
  • Bridge/Tailpiece 3-Saddle String-through body Tele with Brass Saddles
  • Tuners Vintage-style
  • Electronics
  • Neck Pickup Specially Voiced Jason Isbell Telecaster Single-coil
  • Bridge Pickup Specially Voiced Jason Isbell Telecaster Single-coil
  • Controls 1 x master volume, 1 x master tone
  • Switching 3-way blade pickup switch
  • Miscellaneous
  • Strings Fender, .010-.046
  • Case/Gig Bag Gig Bag
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 0140320364

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Reviews

4.5

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Customer Photos & Videos

Jason Isabel T guitar
Love this guitar light plays like a charm thanks sweet water for a great se up .
by dennis konecny from Medford, OR on
Music background: Professional musician for 45 years
My New Number 1
Didn't think anything could get in the way of my strat, but I haven't put this one down. The moment I heard jason isbell was releasing a signature I knew I was getting it. (My favorite modern musician). Couldn't find one in stock last year but this year I snatched one up as soon as I could.
Sounds great, plays amazing, in fact my only complaint is how terrible the fret ends were. Near unplayable until I fixed it. Not one to normally say anything about fret sprout but the price on this one means it should of been perfect out the box to me. Fix it fender. Thanks sweetwater!
by Dwight C from Macon, GA on
Music background: Used to get paid
Not the Same Review...maybe
You always read this review on Squier and MIM Fender guitars:" I've owned a lot of expensive Fender guitars and this Squier/Player/MIM is as good if not better". Well I'm not going to write that review. OR maybe I am, OK I own a lot of more expensive Fenders but this Jason Isbell is now my favorite Tele. Seriously, it's too expensive for a MIM, I can't stand "relic'ed" guitars, it's got a cut-down bridge, a big goofy looking high white hat switch knob and a black pickguard and I still love it. I really wanted not to like this guitar but as soon as I picked it up and played a couple of chords I changed my mind. This guitar rings out like no other guitar I ever played. OK I haven't compared it to a really good custom shop Fender but out of the guitars I own this Jason Isbell makes my other guitars sound like they are stuffed with cotton. Maybe I just got lucky and got a good one. The pickups are strong, beefy and twangy but I wish it had a treble bleed circuit. When you roll back the volume you loose the nice bright high end. This might be a plus for some players but I like to have the full fidelity though the volume range and use the tone control. I really didn't even know who Jason Isbell was but I wanted a Tele Custom with the binding and when I saw this one I had to try it. I would suggest you try one and see if it's got the same magic that mine has. The only way to tell if it's right for you is to get it in your hands and cranked through your amp and setup. Sweetwater has a great return policy and makes it easy to return if you don't like it. And I know because I've returned a few guitars, but not this one.
by Brooks Reid from HOBE SOUND, FL on
Muy Caliente!
In only a few words; this is one of the best Telecasters I've ever played.

I had never heard of Jason Isbell before I found this guitar - and I'm not really a fan after some brief listening (not bad, just not my vibe) but I was In the market for a Telecaster and not interested in spending my life savings while still needing something studio-worthy (I work as a Recording Engineer and producer, but also some session work - been playing Guitar for about 20 years).

This Tele is 'Chocolate Burst' - looks a lot like Tobacco Burst (My favorite finish), but the edges are a nice chocolate brown color fading in - I think it's my new favorite burst color! Just enough color to add some flavor without spoiling the natural wood grain beneath. It's also finished in Nitro - and while we could debate all day about Nitro vs Poly finishes and what they do to the tone - I for one tend to find that Nitro guitars let the body resonate more naturally - or rather, aren't dampened by the poly finish.
Double white bounding, Rosewood Fret-board (I prefer Rosewood to Maple personally), vintage correct saddles and tuners.
Mine has already begun to 'check' - See Photos. The finish as it expands and contracts with humidity and temperature will create fractures. They add character and personality in my opinion, and I love how they are unique to 'my' guitar.

Pickups -

The pickups are HOT - lots of touch sensitivity. Plugged into my 57' Tweed Bandmaster, the pickups push the amp into a natural overdrive the more you dig in - it's incredibly pleasing.

The pickups are a Tim Shaw custom design - and WOW!!! The bridge is your classic Tele sound; bright and twangy, perfect for chickn'-pick'n but sounds amazing with some overdrive or distortion.
Mid position sounds almost like a Stratocaster - It's got SpAnk! Perfect for rhythm strumming, fits great in a mix with plenty of top end clarity.
Last is the Neck Pickup - the pickup I figured I wouldn't use much (most Telecasters Necks I've played leave a lot to be desired, usually pretty dark, almost muddy). I wasn't expecting too much, but boy was I wrong!!!
The Neck Pickup is absolutely, astonishingly, mind-bogglingly! FANTASTIC!!
There is so much clarity, the top end sizzles while the mids and lows rumble. The Neck Position alone sells the guitar for me, I honestly can't believe how good it is - something I would expect to see from a Custom Shop guitar at five times the price tag.

The Tone knob acts as a high-frequency roll off.
Where a lot of people like a tone roll-down that retains the high end, to my understanding; Jason Isbell and Tim Shaw wanted to deliver a lot of high end up front that could be rolled off with the tone knob. Essentially thought better to have too-much high end and roll some off than to not have enough to start with.
I'm not sure I like one style vs another, but I've had no issue dialing a warm (or less sharp) tone with the knob as it.

Fretwork -
Frets themselves came out of the box pretty well polished and smooth. Ends are smoothed along the board with no modifications really required. I did end up giving all the frets a polish at my first string change, as well as cleaning/rolling up a few of the ends, mostly to my own taste.
The fretboard itself has a slight rolling on the edge which gives the guitar a slightly "played-in" feel. Though the board itself is likely sanded down slightly to give this effect, it's pretty easy to tell this was designed this way and not actually "played in over the years". It's still a nice touch that makes a neck play a little better vs stock.

Hardware -
As for the remainder of the guitar's hardware; the pots and knobs are smooth, selector switch is smooth and feels solid, pickup ashtray, string tree, saddles, screws, pickguard, and strap knobs are all solid, well made and secured well.

Cons (sorta) -

Made In Mexico -
I have a couple MIM Guitars from the 90's that are on par with just about any of the American made Fenders, but I can't say the same for the modern MIM line. They're far less expensive than the American made line, but the attention to small details is definitely present in the American made line vs the MIM.
MIM Can still sound and play great, but they'll probably cost you some time in modifications and set-up.
If you have no experience working on guitars, I would recommend having Sweetwater do a set-up (at the very least) for you, this guitar included.


Finish -
Personally I'm not a fan of the "relic" dings and sanding done to the finish to make the guitar look older and already played in. It's just not my thing, I'd much rather ding and work the finish off of my guitar myself - a badge of time spent with the instrument. Though it's not a deal-breaker for me, the sound and feel of the instrument is far more important than how it looks in my humble opinion. However, I can see where this could be an issue for some musicians.

Hardware -
The brass saddles are NOT compensated and have a bit more trouble intonating properly - out of the box, mine doesn't intonate as well as some of my more modern designed guitars - but I also expect that with this being a more "vintage" design. I may end up replacing the saddles with a compensated variant as the guitar ages.
Second is the Tuning Pegs - another more vintage styled piece of hardware. For me they work just fine, but I have definitely been spoiled with locking tuners over the years. I tend to have to tune between songs - especially with lead heavy playing. I may end up putting locking tuners on in time, but it's something to take note of.
Neither of these things are huge issues for me.

The Real Con -

Lastly is the nut...
I'm surprised the nut that shipped on the guitar made it past inspection.
The nut itself definitely needed slot filing for the strings, and while you'd expect to make some minor modifications to fit the string gauge you're playing (I believe the guitar ships with 10's - I prefer 9's personally), this nut was abysmal.
The nut was very low - great for low action, but the string slots were almost non-existent. The high-E string for example, had what resembled a small incision with an exact-o knife! The only string that was properly seated out of the box was the A string.
After some play testing, the B string (not properly seated) would 'pop' out of the nut slot whenever you'd bend the string beneath the 7th fret. NOT GOOD!


I originally hoped I could just get my nut files and set-up the nut to my gauge strings - this nut was just too low to file better slots for the strings. The nut would have to be replaced.


I ended up spending the time to file and shape a block of bone as a replacement (Shown in the picture). The original nut material was fine, but I think the bone added to the ring and resonance of the guitar by maybe 10%.
This modification, in my opinion, was absolutely necessary to get the guitar playable. I imagine not every guitar coming out of the factory is going to be like this, but if you're not experienced in replacing nuts on guitars, I'd highly recommend either having Sweetwater put a new one in for you (and having it set-up for your string gauge preference), or buying a pre-slotted TUSQ nut to drop in yourself (it's actually pretty easy to do).


Overall, you're getting a Nitro finished, double bound tele with a great neck and INCREDIBLE pickups.
For the money this guitar punches WAY above its price-point.
With some minor modifications and a proper set-up this guitar can easily compete with the American Made Ultras and maybe even the Custom Shops. I know I will be using it in the studio for years to come and can't wait to see how the paint-job ages.

Also a big shout out to my Sales Engineer Erik Bothwell, who alleviated my concerns about shipping the instrument. After receiving the instrument I am confident I can buy from Sweetwater again, that my instrument will be delivered undamaged and packed as snug as a bug in a rug! Thanks again Erik!
by Jakob on
Music background: Audio Engineer, Producer, Musician 20+ years
Really really surprised me

The sound is great, the neck feels great. I did buy some compensating saddles which is what I do for all 3 saddle teles but man this thing sounds and feels good. The worn areas are not like a custom shop obviously and could be up for debate but the fit and finish on this guitar is great. The pickups, which I planned to replace, just sound great. Really happy.

by Sweetwater Customer from IA on

It’s impossible to imagine a world without Fender guitars, and if you’re like many of the guitarists at Sweetwater, then Fender not only made the first guitar you ever bought " they made the last one too! From building the first mass-produced solidbody electric guitars and basses in the 1950s to creating some of the most influential amplifier designs in history, it’s no wonder why Fender is one of the biggest names in the business. As one of the world’s largest Fender dealers, we have countless guitars, basses, amps, effects pedals, and accessories in stock and ready to ship, whenever you need them. We’re always getting our hands on their latest creations, and there’s nothing we love more than to tell our customers all about them! So, whether you’re looking for your first axe or a Custom Shop creation, make sure to give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700.

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