Fender American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster Butterscotch Blonde, Ex-Display

Quick Product Summary

The Fender American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster in Butterscotch Blonde – Ex-Display takes the familiar Telecaster platform and adds a third pickup to create one of the most versatile configurations in Fender's current professional range.

Two Coastline™ '63 Single-Coil Telecaster® pickups occupy the traditional neck and bridge positions, while a Coastline™ '57 Stratocaster® RWRP pickup sits in the middle. Combined with five-way switching, the Hotshot can move from recognisable Telecaster snap and twang into glassier, more Strat-like combined-pickup sounds without sacrificing the fixed three-saddle Tele bridge.

This Butterscotch Blonde version is particularly distinctive because Fender pairs the classic blackguard-inspired finish with a rosewood fingerboard. A Modern “C” maple neck, 9.5-inch radius and 22 medium-jumbo frets give it contemporary playing comfort, while vintage-style hardware and staggered ClassicGear tuners keep the visual character firmly rooted in traditional Fender design.

Offered here as an Ex-Display example, it is a strong choice for players who want a serious, highly adaptable Telecaster and value the instrument itself over receiving an untouched sealed-box example.

At A Glance

Feature	Details
Brand	Fender
Series	American Professional Classic
Model	Hotshot Telecaster®
Model Number	0114970350
Finish	Butterscotch Blonde
Condition	Ex-Display
Body	Alder
Fingerboard	Rosewood
Neck Profile	Modern “C”
Pickup Configuration	SSS Tele / Strat hybrid
Included	Deluxe Gig Bag
Main Appeal	Telecaster character with five-position three-pickup versatility
Best For	Country, blues, rock, indie, funk, pop and session work

Ex-Display Condition Report

Condition: Ex-Display

This guitar has been used for display purposes rather than supplied as a completely untouched sealed-box instrument.

No specific cosmetic marks, faults, repairs or modifications have been supplied for this listing, so none have been assumed or added.

The guitar will be checked by the Fair Deal Music team before leaving the shop.

For additional reassurance on this individual instrument, ask us about a video demo before purchase.

What's Included?

• Fender American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster®, Butterscotch Blonde

• Fender Deluxe Gig Bag

• .050" saddle-height adjustment wrench

• 1/8" truss-rod adjustment wrench

✘ Hard Case Not Included

Condition Notes

This example is being sold as Ex-Display.

No specific cosmetic blemishes or functional issues have been supplied for the listing.

Fair Deal Quality Control Assessment

Before leaving Fair Deal Music, the guitar will be checked across the areas that matter most to day-to-day ownership and performance, including:

• All three pickups

• Five-way pickup selector

• Master volume and tone controls

• Output socket

• Bridge and saddle hardware

• Tuning machines

• Neck and fret condition

• General structural condition

• Playability and setup

Our aim is to make sure the guitar is ready to be played and enjoyed when it reaches its new owner.

Service / Setup Work

This Hotshot Telecaster will be checked and set up as required before dispatch.

As with any guitar, setup can move slightly during transportation because of changes in temperature and humidity. Minor adjustment after delivery can occasionally be beneficial depending on climate, string preference and individual playing style.

Why Choose The Fender American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster?

Telecaster Bite With Extra Pickup Versatility

The defining feature is the middle Stratocaster pickup. Instead of being limited to the traditional three Telecaster settings, the Hotshot gives you five positions, adding bridge/middle and middle/neck combinations that bring extra sparkle and hollow, scooped textures into the equation.

Coastline Pickups With Vintage Inspiration

Fender's Coastline pickups are based around classic Fender voices but are slightly overwound for additional warmth and punch. You still get recognisable Telecaster clarity at the neck and bridge, with the '57-style middle pickup broadening the tonal palette.

Modern “C” Neck With Rosewood Fingerboard

The Modern “C” profile, 9.5-inch radius and medium-jumbo frets make this a much more contemporary playing proposition than a strict vintage recreation. The rosewood fingerboard also gives the Butterscotch Blonde version an unusual visual twist compared with the maple-board blackguard combination many players expect.

Greasebucket Tone Circuit

Fender's Greasebucket™ tone system is designed to reduce high frequencies without adding the extra bass that can sometimes appear when a conventional passive tone control is rolled back. This helps keep darker settings defined and usable.

Vintage-Style Three-Saddle Tele Bridge

The three-saddle strings-through-body bridge with slotted brass barrel saddles keeps an important part of the traditional Telecaster formula intact. You gain the additional middle pickup without giving up the fixed-bridge character that attracts many players to a Tele in the first place.

Comparison Against Popular Alternatives

American Professional Classic Hotshot vs American Professional Classic Telecaster

The regular American Professional Classic Telecaster is the more traditional choice, with two Coastline '63 Tele pickups and conventional Telecaster switching.

The Hotshot is better suited to players who want greater tonal variety from one instrument. Its middle Stratocaster pickup and five-way selector introduce two extra combined-pickup sounds while retaining the familiar neck and bridge Tele voices.

Hotshot Telecaster vs American Professional II Telecaster

The American Professional II Telecaster uses two V-Mod II Tele pickups, a Deep “C” neck, narrow-tall frets and a top-load/string-through bridge with compensated brass bullet saddles. It also includes series switching and a moulded hard case.

The Hotshot takes a different route. Its Modern “C” neck and medium-jumbo frets feel more conventional, while the third pickup delivers tonal variety through additional pickup combinations rather than auxiliary switching. Choose the American Professional II for the refined two-pickup professional Tele formula; choose the Hotshot if three-pickup flexibility is the priority.

Hotshot Telecaster vs American Vintage II 1963 Telecaster

The American Vintage II 1963 Telecaster is aimed at players seeking a substantially more period-specific experience, with a 7.25-inch radius, vintage-tall frets, Pure Vintage '63 pickups and vintage-focused construction.

The Hotshot is much more modern in feel. Its 9.5-inch radius, medium-jumbo frets and five-way SSS switching make it better suited to players who want classic Fender influence without being restricted to vintage geometry or a traditional two-pickup Tele layout.

Who Is The Fender Hotshot Telecaster For?

This guitar is particularly well suited to:

• Telecaster players who want more tonal flexibility

• Stratocaster players attracted to the stability and response of a fixed Tele bridge

• Country and roots musicians

• Blues and classic rock players

• Funk and clean rhythm guitarists

• Indie and alternative musicians

• Pop and covers-band players

• Studio and session guitarists

• Players who regularly switch between bright single-coil textures

• Guitarists wanting an unusual professional-level Fender

• Buyers looking for additional value from an Ex-Display instrument

Looking for advice on choosing between a traditional Telecaster, Hotshot Telecaster or Stratocaster? Our experienced team of musicians can help you compare pickup layouts, neck profiles and practical playing differences by phone, online or in our Birmingham showroom.

Suitable Genres And Playing Styles

Country & Roots

The fixed Telecaster bridge and Coastline '63 bridge pickup provide the attack and definition associated with traditional country guitar. The extra bridge/middle position adds another clean rhythm texture without forcing you to change instruments.

Blues

The neck pickup gives you a warmer single-coil voice, while positions two and four add glassier combinations that work particularly well with clean, edge-of-breakup and lightly overdriven amplifiers.

Rock

Telecaster bridge sounds remain focused under overdrive, while the additional pickup combinations make it easier to create contrasting rhythm and lead textures within the same set.

Funk & Pop

The middle pickup and combined positions give the Hotshot a considerable advantage for clean rhythmic playing, where note separation, transient attack and a slightly scooped response can be especially useful.

Indie & Alternative

Three single coils make an excellent foundation for chorus, modulation, delay, reverb, fuzz and more experimental pedalboards. Switching position can significantly change how those effects interact without changing your basic rig.

Studio & Session Work

The Hotshot concept makes particular sense in a recording environment. Five genuinely different pickup settings give a player greater scope to layer guitar parts while retaining the feel and tuning stability of a fixed-bridge Telecaster.

What Is A Hotshot Telecaster And Why Does It Have Three Pickups?

The Hotshot idea comes from a style of modified Telecaster that became popular with Nashville players. A Stratocaster-style middle pickup was added between the traditional Tele neck and bridge pickups, with five-way switching opening up additional tonal combinations. The goal was straightforward: retain the things players loved about a Telecaster while gaining some of the useful intermediate sounds associated with a Strat.

For working players, that arrangement can make one guitar considerably more adaptable. You can move from conventional Tele bridge twang to bridge/middle sparkle, an individual middle pickup, middle/neck combinations and the traditional Tele neck position without changing instrument. The fixed Tele bridge also remains especially appealing to players using pedal-steel-style bends or aggressive double-stops.

Story & Context

The three-pickup Telecaster concept has strong links to Nashville guitar culture of the early 1980s, where players were looking for a way to broaden the Telecaster's tonal range without giving up its familiar fixed bridge and playing response.

The basic modification involved installing a Stratocaster single-coil between the normal Tele pickups and adding five-way switching. Fender's own history of the design highlights prominent players including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Brent Mason, helping establish the modified three-pickup Tele as a sought-after working musician's tool.

The American Professional Classic Hotshot brings that concept into a factory Fender model. Rather than simply adding another pickup, Fender voices the guitar around Coastline '63 Telecaster pickups and an RWRP Coastline '57 Stratocaster middle pickup, combining two distinct parts of Fender's single-coil heritage.

The American Professional Classic range itself arrived as Fender's modern interpretation of classic professional instruments, balancing vintage-informed sounds and aesthetics with neck specifications and hardware designed for regular contemporary use.

Technical Specifications

Specification	Details
Product Name	American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster®
Model Number	0114970350
Series	American Professional Classic
Orientation	Right-Handed
Colour	Butterscotch Blonde
Body Shape	Telecaster®
Body Material	Alder
Body Finish	Gloss Urethane
Neck Material	Maple
Neck Finish	Satin Urethane
Neck Shape	Modern “C”
Fingerboard Material	Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius	9.5" / 241 mm
Scale Length	25.5" / 648 mm
Number Of Frets	22
Fret Size	Medium Jumbo
Position Inlays	White Dot
Nut Material	Synthetic Bone
Nut Width	1.685" / 42.8 mm
Bridge Pickup	Coastline™ '63 Single-Coil Telecaster®
Middle Pickup	Coastline™ '57 Single-Coil Stratocaster® RWRP
Neck Pickup	Coastline™ '63 Single-Coil Telecaster®
Pickup Configuration	SSS
Controls	Master Volume, Master Tone
Tone Circuit	Greasebucket™ Tone System
Switching	5-Position Blade
Bridge	3-Saddle Vintage-Style Strings-Through-Body Tele®
Saddles	Slotted Brass Barrel
Tuning Machines	Fender® ClassicGear™ Staggered
Hardware Finish	Nickel / Chrome
Pickguard	1-Ply Black
Control Knobs	Knurled Flat-Top
Neck Plate	4-Bolt
String Trees	Dual-Wing
Strings	Fender USA 250L Nickel Plated Steel .009-.042
Case / Gig Bag	Deluxe Gig Bag
Condition	Ex-Display

Specification Note

Exact individual weight and serial number have not been supplied for this listing and have therefore not been estimated or added.

Power Requirements

The Fender American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster uses passive single-coil pickups, so no battery or external power supply is required.

Connect the guitar to a suitable guitar amplifier, modeller, audio interface or pedalboard using a standard instrument cable.

Fair Deal Music Verdict 🎵

★★★★★ 5/5

The American Professional Classic Hotshot Telecaster is one of the most practical twists on the Telecaster formula because the extra versatility does not come at the expense of what makes a Tele useful in the first place.

You still have a fixed three-saddle bridge, familiar Telecaster neck and bridge voices and straightforward master controls, but the additional Strat middle pickup introduces two extra combined positions that can dramatically expand what the guitar covers during a gig or recording session.

The Butterscotch Blonde and rosewood combination is also refreshingly unusual, giving this particular version plenty of visual identity.

Best suited for: Working guitarists who love Telecaster feel and attack but need more single-coil tones from one instrument.

Customers usually upgrade from: Fender Player and Player II Telecasters, Nashville-style Teles and conventional two-pickup professional instruments when broader tonal coverage is needed.

Most commonly paired with: Clean or edge-of-breakup valve amplifiers, modelling amps, compressors, overdrive, delay, reverb and modulation pedals.

Our tip: Don't think of the middle pickup as simply an extra sound. Positions two and four are the real reason the Hotshot is special, giving you noticeably different clean and effects-friendly textures while retaining the traditional Tele bridge.

Showroom feedback: The clever part of this guitar is how familiar it remains. It still feels fundamentally like a Telecaster, but the five-way switching makes it considerably easier to cover a full set or studio session without reaching for a second guitar.

Why Buy From Fair Deal Music?

When you buy from Fair Deal Music, you're choosing one of the UK's most established, independent family run music retailers since 1987.

Our Birmingham showroom is backed by a knowledgeable musician-led team who understand guitars, amplifiers, effects and recording equipment and can help you choose the right equipment for your playing style and budget.

When you shop with Fair Deal Music, you can buy with confidence thanks to:

• Expert advice from knowledgeable musicians

• Carefully checked new, used, pre-owned and ex-display equipment

• Competitive prices on leading music brands

• Secure online ordering

• UK delivery available

• Friendly support before and after your purchase

• A large Birmingham music showroom

• Decades of experience with both new and pre-owned musical equipment

Whether you're choosing your first serious Telecaster, comparing professional Fender ranges or looking for a versatile instrument for stage and studio work, our team is here to help.

Trade In. Trade Up. Save More.

Thinking about upgrading? Your next piece of gear could cost less than you think.

We're always happy to consider part exchanges and trade-ins on a wide range of musical instruments and equipment. Whether you're looking to upgrade your guitar, keyboard, amplifier, drum kit or studio gear, your existing equipment could help reduce the cost of your next purchase.

Simply get in touch with our team for a no-obligation valuation, and we'll be happy to discuss the options available.

It's an easy way to unlock the value of the gear you no longer use while making your next instrument even more affordable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Ex-Display mean?

This guitar has been used for display rather than being supplied as a completely untouched sealed-box example. It will be checked by Fair Deal Music before leaving the shop.

Does the Hotshot still sound like a traditional Telecaster?

Yes. The neck and bridge positions use Coastline '63 Telecaster pickups, so the core Telecaster voices remain available. The added middle pickup simply expands the sounds you can access.

What does RWRP mean on the middle pickup?

RWRP stands for reverse wound, reverse polarity. It is used in the middle position so that certain combined-pickup settings provide useful noise-cancelling behaviour while retaining the characteristic sound of two single coils working together.

Is the Hotshot suitable for string bending and lead playing?

Yes. The 9.5-inch radius and medium-jumbo frets are much more contemporary than vintage-spec Fender geometry and work well for string bending, vibrato and lead playing.

How does the Modern “C” neck compare with the American Professional II?

The Hotshot uses Fender's Modern “C” profile, while the American Professional II Telecaster uses a fuller Deep “C”. Players wanting a slightly more conventional contemporary Fender neck may prefer the Hotshot.

What does the Greasebucket tone control do?

The Greasebucket circuit reduces treble while limiting the extra bass build-up that can occur when rolling down a traditional passive tone control. This helps darker settings retain definition.

Is this a good alternative to owning both a Telecaster and Stratocaster?

It can cover some useful territory from both designs, particularly because of the middle Strat pickup and five-way switching. It does not become a complete Stratocaster replacement, but it provides considerably more Strat-like tonal options than a conventional Tele.

Who will benefit most from the five-way switching?

Gigging musicians, studio players and anyone covering several musical styles will get the most value from it. The extra positions make it easier to create contrasting rhythm, clean and lead textures without changing guitars.