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Hatsubai « Very cool V neck »
Published on 08/12/11 at 18:46One thing that was prominent about the old school Fenders is that they had a bit of a V neck. These V necks can be very much love/hate, so be sure you know what you're in for when buying one. The guitar features an alder body, a maple neck with a maple fretboard (one piece with a skunk stripe), 21 frets, dot inlays, vintage tremolo, three single coil pickups, one volume, two tones and a five way switch.
UTILIZATION
The guitar is put together decently. It's about on par for what comes out of Fender these days. The frets themselves, while level, could use a bit more of a crowning on them. I found them to be a touch flat. The ends themselves were nice, and they didn't slice your hand every time you moved up and down the neck. The nut was cut properly, although it could probably use some lube -- either nut sauce or graphite. The neck joint on this was nice and tight with only a very small gap that is most likely not hindering any tonal aspects of the guitar.
SOUNDS
The pickups in this were a bit too vintage for me. I'm all for vintage gear, but I have trouble playing it sometimes since I'm used to higher gain and higher output pickups. The bridge pickup had a great clean sound, and the in between position was to die for. I plugged this into a nice Fender Bassman, and it was just tone for days. The neck and split positions with the neck were also tonal bliss, but I still found myself wanting some more output for those heavier lead lines. I'm more of a legato player, so these pickups make me work.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is pretty good, but be sure you like the V neck that's on this. It's a very love or hate type of neck. If you've never played a V neck before, hit up your local Fender dealer and a try a few. Some people really love them, and I think they're pretty cool, but it's not something I want every instrument to have.
UTILIZATION
The guitar is put together decently. It's about on par for what comes out of Fender these days. The frets themselves, while level, could use a bit more of a crowning on them. I found them to be a touch flat. The ends themselves were nice, and they didn't slice your hand every time you moved up and down the neck. The nut was cut properly, although it could probably use some lube -- either nut sauce or graphite. The neck joint on this was nice and tight with only a very small gap that is most likely not hindering any tonal aspects of the guitar.
SOUNDS
The pickups in this were a bit too vintage for me. I'm all for vintage gear, but I have trouble playing it sometimes since I'm used to higher gain and higher output pickups. The bridge pickup had a great clean sound, and the in between position was to die for. I plugged this into a nice Fender Bassman, and it was just tone for days. The neck and split positions with the neck were also tonal bliss, but I still found myself wanting some more output for those heavier lead lines. I'm more of a legato player, so these pickups make me work.
OVERALL OPINION
The guitar is pretty good, but be sure you like the V neck that's on this. It's a very love or hate type of neck. If you've never played a V neck before, hit up your local Fender dealer and a try a few. Some people really love them, and I think they're pretty cool, but it's not something I want every instrument to have.