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tjon901 « Cool P90 Thinline tele »
Published on 09/25/11 at 10:46I dont know who Jim Adkins is but his Telecaster sure is cool. This Telecaster features an unusual but great comination of features that help make this guitar sound very unique for a Telecaster. The guitar is based on the classic Thinline Telecaster design. The Thinline Telecaster was introduced in the late 60s to help lower the weight of the guitar when Fenders supply of lightweight wood ran low. They gave the guitar a hollow compartment on the upper part of the body and gave it an F-hole for resonance. The Telecaster is a thinline semi-hollow body with a two piece swamp ash body. The neck is a maple set in neck with a rosewood fretboard. There are 22 medium jumbo frets on the rosewood fretboard. There is a Gibson style tune-o-matic and stop tail bridge on the guitar. There are dual Seymour Duncan p-90 pickups in the guitar and a 3 way Gibson style pickup selector. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control. This is like something they would have made in the early 70s.
UTILIZATION
This Fender thinks it is a Gibson and plays very well like one, much better than a normal vintage Tele. This guitar isnt a bolt on it is a set neck. The set in neck means there is less of a heel to get in your way when playing the upper frets of the guitar. With the set neck there is less adjustability but if you take care of your guitar it shouldnt be a problem. The fretboard is a little flatter than what you would normally find on a Telecaster and is closer to that of a Les Paul. I find the Gibson style bridge setup more comfortable than a normal Telecaster ashtray bridge setup but this is subjective.
SOUNDS
I am not a fan of the traditional Telecaster sound. All of my favorite Telecasters have humbuckers or P90s in them which is the type of tone I prefer. The semi-hollow thinline body matched with the swamp ash and p-90 pickups combine to provide a very mellow sound. The lack of a big ashtray bridge also helps tame the twang a little bit too. The Gibson style neck construction helps it get the mellow Gibson tones too. With the p-90 pickups this guitar is great for mellow stuff. You can get really jazz sound with some tone knob tweaking. The guitar is also great for blues. In the bridge position some of the tele twang comes out but it compliments the smooth sounds nicely. You can really feel the resonance of the thinline body whatever you play. I like the way P90s respond to gain. They have a great high end bite to them which lets you retain a lot of clarity even when laying on the gain thick.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is not for the Tele traditionalist. This P90 Thinline has buckets of tone and great playability to go along with it. You forget you are playing a Fender with this guitar. It is a great blend of Gibson and Fender style. This is a signature model but you would never know at first glance. The only signature on the guitar is on the back of the headstock and it looks like a 5 year old wrote it. If you are looking for a Telecaster with a unique tone all its own this signature model is a great creation.
UTILIZATION
This Fender thinks it is a Gibson and plays very well like one, much better than a normal vintage Tele. This guitar isnt a bolt on it is a set neck. The set in neck means there is less of a heel to get in your way when playing the upper frets of the guitar. With the set neck there is less adjustability but if you take care of your guitar it shouldnt be a problem. The fretboard is a little flatter than what you would normally find on a Telecaster and is closer to that of a Les Paul. I find the Gibson style bridge setup more comfortable than a normal Telecaster ashtray bridge setup but this is subjective.
SOUNDS
I am not a fan of the traditional Telecaster sound. All of my favorite Telecasters have humbuckers or P90s in them which is the type of tone I prefer. The semi-hollow thinline body matched with the swamp ash and p-90 pickups combine to provide a very mellow sound. The lack of a big ashtray bridge also helps tame the twang a little bit too. The Gibson style neck construction helps it get the mellow Gibson tones too. With the p-90 pickups this guitar is great for mellow stuff. You can get really jazz sound with some tone knob tweaking. The guitar is also great for blues. In the bridge position some of the tele twang comes out but it compliments the smooth sounds nicely. You can really feel the resonance of the thinline body whatever you play. I like the way P90s respond to gain. They have a great high end bite to them which lets you retain a lot of clarity even when laying on the gain thick.
OVERALL OPINION
This guitar is not for the Tele traditionalist. This P90 Thinline has buckets of tone and great playability to go along with it. You forget you are playing a Fender with this guitar. It is a great blend of Gibson and Fender style. This is a signature model but you would never know at first glance. The only signature on the guitar is on the back of the headstock and it looks like a 5 year old wrote it. If you are looking for a Telecaster with a unique tone all its own this signature model is a great creation.