u/GileadsSpawn

My first electric was an American strat that I won in a raffle when I was 16 back in 2001. It was stolen a few years later but was probably the best feeling neck I've ever played. I didn't know exactly which model but it was a maple neck and it was amazing.

Fast forward to now. I never replaced the strat and now I'm really digging the idea of a tele. I don't have a guitar shop nearby but I assume a decent tele with a maple fretboard would be similar enough, plus the legendary spank of a tele is appealing.

I'd like to keep the cost under 1500 but I'm not sure 25 years later I can get equivalent quality to what I had. I'm looking for some advice and/or recommendations.