Features
The Deluxe is unique amongst Telecasters in that the neck has an enlarged headstock - a very similar 21-fret neck was used by Fender Stratocaster models manufactured in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. The main difference between the Telecaster Deluxe and Stratocaster necks from this period is that the Telecaster Deluxe neck used medium jumbo frets while the Stratocaster necks featured narrower fretwire. The Telecaster's neck also features the "Micro-Tilt" angle adjustment device located in the heel of the neck, similar to other Fender models of the period.
The body shape was similar to other Telecaster models of the era, with one minor difference - a "belly cut" contour similar to that featured on all Stratocasters was added to the back of the guitar. The Deluxe also had the same "glitch" in its shape as the other Telecasters - a slightly less-pronounced curve where the upper bout meets the neck joint, compared to earlier (and later) Telecasters. This was attributed to more modern routing machines installed in the production line at the time. The 2004 re-issue differs from the original in that it does not have the 1970s "notchless" body style.
The Fender Custom Shop produced Factory Special Run limited-edition versions (FSR) of the guitar in 2005. These FSR '72 Tele Deluxes are made in Corona, California (USA).
The Deluxe features 2 Seth Lover-designed Wide Range humbuckers with "Cunife" (Copper/Nickel/Ferrite) rod magnets in the place of pole-pieces. This design yielded a brighter and clearer sound more similar to that of single coil pickups. They were wound with approximately 6,800 turns of copper wire, yielding a DC resistance of approximately 10.6 kΩ (compared to a standard Gibson P.A.F. humbucker typical DC resistance of 9 kΩ).
The 2004 reissue version of the pickup was redesigned by Fender employee Bill Turner in order to achieve a similar sound in the absence of cunife magnets. While looking almost identical to the original 1970s version it differs greatly in its construction, featuring an alnico bar magnet underneath non-magnetized pole-pieces. It is in fact an ordinary humbucker placed in the larger Wide Range Humbucker casing, and the gap is filled with wax. This is one important reason the reissue Deluxe sounds different from the original guitars. Another reason is the use of 250kΩ volume and tone pots, while the original used 1 MΩ pots. Using 250kΩ pots with very hot humbuckers results in a dark and muddy sound; a common remedy is to replace the controls with 500kΩ pots, which is generally agreed to improve the sound of the reissues. (These same reissue pickups are used for the current 1972 Custom and Thinline Telecaster Reissues.)
Most Deluxes produced have a "hard-tail" fixed bridge, although for the first couple of years of production a vibrato bridge could be ordered with the guitar - this was the same bridge used on most Stratocasters. As this was not a standard option, models with the vibrato bridge are quite rare. Fender reintroduced the Tele Deluxe with the tremolo bridge option as a part of the Classic Player series as of 2009 together with a new variant featuring Black Dove P90-style single-coil pickups .
The volume/tone knobs used on the early Deluxes were very similar to those used on Fender's "Blackface"/"Silverface" range of amplifiers with a chromed "skirt" tip on the top, however in the late 1970s these were replaced with black knobs identical to those used on the Stratocaster.
For 2010 Fender has released a limited factory special run of 72 Deluxe Telecasters in their Road Worn Line available in black and olympic white nitrocellulose finishes with the neck and body being aged in appearance, along with aged hardware.
Read more about this topic: Fender Telecaster Deluxe
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