Fender T-Bucket 300CE – Laminate Perfection

Body And Neck:
Hardware:
Sound:
Value:

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Today we’re looking at a relatively inexpensive electro-acoustic from Fender, but one which offers so much in terms of style, tone and playability. The T-Bucket 300 is a very popular model that is one of the more affordable guitars in our chart on the best electro-acoustics. Let’s take a closer look to see what Fender is offering…

Body And Neck

Off the bat, the T-Bucket 300 is a very good-looking guitar and one which offers guitarists something a little different. It has a full-size dreadnought body with a scale length of 25.3” and a generous cutaway to improve playability in the higher frets – there are 20 vintage-style frets in total. These are housed on a rosewood fretboard, which sits on a gloss-finished three-piece mahogany neck with a very playable C shape, as you’d probably expect from a guitar bearing the Fender name.

To keep the price of the T-Bucket low, the body is made entirely with laminates. There’s scalloped-braced flamed maple on the top, with mahogany on the back and sides. The decoration and paintwork ensure the T-Bucket 300 really stands out on stage and there are a couple of options to choose from – a bright 3-Color Sunburst, a more refined Moonlight Burst, and a delicious Cherry Burst – all of which show off the flamed maple top nicely. For a sub-$300 production acoustic, it feels durable and adequately setup out of the box. All good so far!

Hardware

This electro-acoustic is fitted with electronics from the well-respected brand Fishman, in the form of its popular Isys III System, with an active onboard preamp featuring 3-band EQ, volume controls, and a very handy built-in digital tuner.

The rest of the hardware enhances the reliability and even the look of this model. There’s a cool and distinctive vintage-style Viking bridge made of solid rosewood, featuring a compensated saddle made of GraphTech’s Nubone (the nut is the same material), while the headstock offers a set of chrome open-gear tuners, which are pretty solid.

Sound

Acoustically, the T-Bucket offers a very consistent, articulate and resonant sound, which is thanks to its dreadnought shape and the scalloped bracing. The maple and mahogany construction make it quite well balanced, although it leans more towards bright on the tonal spectrum. Through the Fishman system the guitar delivers a decent plugged-in tone, which is easily shaped with the onboard EQ controls.

Conclusion

All in all, Fender’s T-Bucket 300 is a very good model for the price and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. It offers a solid tone and a couple of unique aesthetic details that both beginners and performers looking for an affordable electro-acoustic will love.

For more info about the Fender T-Bucket 300CE,click here.
For more top acoustic electric guitars, click here.