Fender Player II Tele MN MOC

Fender Player II Tele MN MOC review

The Fender Player II Tele MN MOC offers a different take on the familiar Telecaster look. Its Mocha finish and maple fingerboard set it apart from more common color combinations, while the chambered mahogany body gives the guitar a notably light feel for its material. The supplied owner feedback describes an instrument that looks and sounds convincing, with a few setup details worth checking as soon as it comes out of the box.

The model has been available since October 2024. Its listed price is 769, and the item number is 595455. It is sold as a single guitar, with neither a case nor a gig bag included.

Build, finish, and feel

The body is chambered mahogany, with no separate top. In the owner's experience, the finish was clean, and the visible grain came through the Mocha color. That finish gives the guitar a less conventional appearance without changing its straightforward Telecaster layout. The review also describes the instrument as unusually light for mahogany, a quality attributed to the chambered body.

The maple neck has a Modern C profile and a maple fingerboard with black dot inlays. Its 241 mm (9.5-inch) fingerboard radius, 42 mm (1.650-inch) nut width, and 648 mm (25.5-inch) scale are clearly specified. There are 22 medium jumbo frets. The owner praised their polishing and rounded edges, and found the neck finish comfortable to play, including when their fingers were somewhat damp. The lightly rounded neck edges also contributed to an agreeable feel.

Fender fits a synthetic bone nut, Fender ClassicGear tuning machines, and nickel-and-chrome hardware. The three-ply parchment pickguard adds a pale contrast to the Mocha body. The overall design stays close to the classic Telecaster formula, but the color and exposed mahogany grain give this version its own character.

Pickups and controls

The guitar has two Player Series Alnico 5 Tele single-coil pickups, with a three-way selector and separate volume and tone controls. The owner found the pickup sound suitably Telecaster-like and saw no reason to replace or modify them. That is a useful endorsement for players who want the familiar bright, direct character associated with this pickup layout, rather than a guitar that needs immediate changes to its electronics.

The owner did have a reservation about the volume control. In their experience, its useful range was concentrated near the beginning of its travel: past roughly the first 45 degrees, the tone became too dull, and the signal soon disappeared. They suggested that a treble-bleed circuit might help preserve brightness as the volume is reduced. That is an individual observation, not a confirmed issue across all examples. The same owner felt that the control knobs had more mechanical play than preferred, though this did not stop them from functioning.

Bridge and setup checks

The six-saddle Telecaster bridge uses a string-through-body design and block steel saddles. The supplied strings are Fender USA 250L nickel-plated steel, gauged.009 to.042. On the reviewed guitar, the action arrived high, and all six saddles were set at a pronounced angle. The owner leveled the saddles using their two adjustment screws and reset the string height, after which the instrument became comfortable to play.

The owner believed the guitar had been packed at Fender's San Bernardino warehouse and had not been reopened, so they suspected the saddle position came from the factory. That report makes a careful initial setup check sensible. It does not establish that every Player II Tele MN MOC will arrive the same way. The owner also replaced the factory strings because they would not stay in tune reliably, even after stretching. New strings and a basic setup may therefore be worth considering if an individual guitar behaves similarly.

The selector switch also moved unintentionally for this player on occasion. They were unsure whether it failed to engage firmly or whether their hand was brushing it. Treat this as a personal handling note rather than a universal fault.

Verdict

The Fender Player II Tele MN MOC makes a strong case for players who want classic Telecaster pickup character in a less familiar finish. Its chambered mahogany body, maple neck and fingerboard, and light feel were highlights in the owner's account. The pickups needed no modification, and the neck received especially positive comments for its finish, fretwork, and rounded edges.

There are practical cautions. The reviewed guitar needed its saddle positions and action corrected, and its factory strings were replaced after tuning problems. The volume control's response and the selector's feel may also merit a close look during a hands-on inspection. With those checks in mind, this Mocha Telecaster stands out as a distinctive-looking Player II model with a familiar sound and a comfortable playing feel.