Fender J5 Telecaster

John 5 is a great player and I like much of the stuff he does but I do not know what Fender was thinking when they decided it was a good idea to put out a signature guitar based on his personal Telecaster. The John5 Tele has many nice features but with all of them together I find it hard to believe there are many Tele players looking for all these same features as John5. The guitar has a bound ash body and a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It has an oversized headstock which is beveled out on the face of it to make behind the nut bends easier. John5 is noted for his behind the nut bend technique. On the oversized headstock you have 3x3 tuners like you would get on a Gibson. The neck has 22 medium jumbo frets. The pickguard is chrome and so is all of the hardware. It has a Fender Enforcer pickup in the bridge position and a Twisted Tele single coil pickup in the neck position. The guitar has a volume control for each pickup there is no tone control. It has a 3-way Gibson style toggle pickup selector where it would be on a Gibson.

UTILIZATION

The guitar plays as nice as any Telecaster. The Frets are a good size so you can get some good bends going. The fretboard is flatter than what you would get on a vintage telecaster. The headstock is pretty ungainly. It is the size of an old Fender 12 string headstock but it only has 6 strings. There is lots of room for behind the nut bends but I like most people am not that advanced of a country player so I probably wont ever do that technique. Compared with a normal Telecaster headstock there is plenty of room on the normal one to do those bends so I do not really see what the need is for a headstock twice the size is. I have seen John5 doing behind the nut bends on normal Telecaster headstocks so it doesnt seem like much of a problem to him. The chrome pickguard is cool at first but 5 seconds later it is covered in fingerprints and makes your guitar seem really dirty. Two master volumes and no tone control is something I like. I do not use the tone control much. I usually leave it wide open. Removing it from your guitars circuitry can help improve your tone a little bit. I would rather have a normal tone knob or no tone knob not some crazy inbetween crap like you get on some Gretsch guitars where they give you a tone switch and let you pick between two. I am not a big fan of ashtray bridges either. They usually have some sharp ends that can poke your hand. One think pictures cannot show you is how heavy this guitar is. It feels like you are playing a Les Paul.

SOUNDS

This guitar is crazy hot for a Telecaster. The pickups are super powerful and give you a really bright Telecaster sound. John5 plays his Tele with a lot of gain and has a really bright sound. With the bright humbucker you can kinda get the bright tele sound but without the noise a single coil would give you. I am not a huge can of the high gain bright sound thing but for what this guitar is made for it does it well.

OVERALL OPINION

I think the market for a signature model like this is pretty small. People who normally play Telecasters want a real Telecaster with single coils and whatnot. People who play metal are not going to want a Telecaster to begin with. I think Fender should have just made John 5 his own guitars and left it at that. I do not really think he has that much of a following. If you are one of the few people who want a metal Telecaster with a Chrome pickguard, a huge headstock and a single coil in the neck position this guitar is for you.

Beautiful black telecaster super shiny with a mirror plate ideal for restyle on stage because it will make you shake your head. execeptionelle finish for a Mexican Fender. Two volume buttons, one for each microphone and a 3 position selector and more a head type esp kh-2. Mics are in a fender custom twisted handle and a bridge fender Customs Enforcement.

UTILIZATION

The handle is typically fender (but I find it a little wider), however it offers a great Confore and good access to the treble. The weight poses perhaps the problem, (8 kg) but hey .... the volume buttons are very convenient to go from great clean sound in overdrive, super short set

SOUNDS

Then my children, your rembaler ibanez and BC Rich. its clear the micro twisted execeptionnel offers clear sound with a lot of heat on his easel Miros you hair stand on your head: what power worthy of EMG is ideal for metal palm muting very aggressive and with a clean unimaginable (for the solos)

OVERALL OPINION

Thank you to John 5! Finally a metal fender adapt what happiness. It far exceeds other ibanez and bc rich (but bluesmen assure you it is also made for you) And its look is very original very good guitars Ultar Polivalente (although rather oriented metal / hard)

Fender Artist Signature Tele-John5 (made in Mexico)
-22 Frets, a Fender Enforcer humbucker in bridge and a single twisted custom shop (I think) in stick
Fixed bridge-
-A volume knob and a tone with a switch placed as a Les Paul (see photo) and it's still much more convenient ...
The Channel: C-profile (it seems to me, but after some knowledge in this field)

UTILIZATION

The handle is super-fun to play both games on agreements solos (when you see the game on John5 includes more ...)
-Access to treble is super easy
"I love the Telecaster, so I can not say that it is not good for cons I'm a little disappointed in the head that completely breaks the profile" female "and the Tele onc makes it much more aggressively. I would rather have him as its own model (ie, head slightly cut to welcome Tele hand when playing "behind the nut")
-That is plug and play, one branch and the sound is to go.

SOUNDS

She should definitely my style of play that is rock / blues ranging from clear sounds to sounds much more aggressive to the metal, hard rock.
I played mainly on a Dual Rectifier which is once again highlights the aggressive guitar.
-The neck pickup delivers warm sound and very very clear but it is mostly the bridge pickup which sounds impressive it delivers extremely aggressive, incisive / sharp while keeping an extreme clean ...
Even if I use it more for the aggressive than clear, we must admit that many styles are affordable (john5 even plays with the country)

OVERALL OPINION

it must take a short years that I have and, apart from the headstock to the guitar masculinizes I must say it worth, I was looking for a Telecaster that I would achieve very powerful sound and sharp and I had planned to buy a standard and to change the pickups or a custom eventually I fell in love with the Tele, and the same, the game of the artist ...
for the price / quality ratio it's still a bit expensive for the Southwestern but the guitar itself I think the price is justified ...

- This guitar was manufactured in Mexico has an ash body
- 22 frets medium (such as fender classic), a simple micro Custom Shop Twisted Tele (neck), an Enforcer humbucking (bridge)
- Fixed bridge traversing rope bridges American Tele 6
- 2 volume, 3-position selector
- Bolt-on maple / rosewood fingerboard with 22 frets profile u with mechanical Fender / Schaller Deluxe staggered head and a custom
- Glossy black finish with chrome hardware

UTILIZATION

Too bad, the frets are not jumbo but it's a very subjective opinion
-The mechanical, imprecise, fleeing for my part and sometimes become impossible to use ... a change for Grover locking is required for users concerned with more precision in the tuning
-The controls are very inefficient, because when they are at very low sound always escapes! (More on my TV they were reversed) ... I hesitate to change them to a volume and a tone of good quality
- The pickups deliver a sound above what is typically found on a Mexican and trade, it gives a wide range of sounds available even if the professionals and experts will find the sound slightly boring and a little below violin making
- When the handle to it's very comfortable (fender forces) ... to the junction where the access is acute, it must be said, unfortunate (especially for a guitar trying to approach the metal) ... over a set neck or crossing would have brought a lot at the sustain just right ... but it is at home and fender, which is-most-, Mexican
(But I'm a little hard because for most of the guitars sets this problem is classical)

SOUNDS

The guitar suits all styles (if you're not a pro) but its use remains a little behind for the real metal (whatever ...) ... So we prefer to play the nude or undue his favorite ...
A transistor (type Hughes and Kettner Matrix) it does not deliver its full potential, especially at the neck pickup, where the grain is restrained ... Prefer a good tube amp vintage (or not will depend on your style) so that it starts to sound like a really great guitar!

OVERALL OPINION

This beautiful and original guitar lacks one thing: an American-made!
Because for 900 euros (700 if you're doing well), although the violin is really excellent (fenderiennes standards require), the mail is very bad for this price (jack loose, screw through / twisted bare wires ...)... and we feel that it is here that Fender has saved ... That for only a few hundred euros more than the price of our little Mexican in France is little access (United States) to the model of John 5 signature with the quality of finishing so famous Fender custom shop with the added bonus (if desired) an original Bigsby (see music123.com if it is not stopped) ...
Too bad also that for this price (still high for a Mexican) we do not provide us with Fender Hardcase matches this signature model (where a marker bearing the image of John as its electroacoustic would have shown any belonging to the artist, because his name is mentioned nowhere on the instrument!)

In short, even if I criticize a lot this instrument is exceptional in its design, configuration and appearance novel, directed by an artist as innovative as John 5 .... The only regret is that this guitar is not American, which would reduces its faults, its resale price increased hand and would have made him legendary (perfect?)
In any case a guitar that does not let go and you'll want to pamper and change your image!