Played some fenders today...

[Taylor007]

Note - this is a very subjective thread from a lifelong acoustic player.

I plugged into a few Fenders today at our local Guitar Center.
I played them out of a '59 Bassman: http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=2171000010

The first was a Hot Rod '52 Tele. This guy: http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0100232850
From what I have read on forums this is supposed to be the cats meow.
I noticed that it was light - a good quality according to the Tele crowd.
The fit and finish were lacking. I noticed some clips in the body where the neck joins it. Perhaps from test runs at GC, perhaps from the factory - I dunno. I wasn't impressed with the guitar at all. It had a sticker price of around $1500. The neck was sticky and the action was crap - way too low on the treble strings. Sorry to be so blunt. Again, this could have been do to GC, but who knows.

Next I played two $400 Standard Fenders. The first was a 'burst strat. Like this one but with a maple neck: http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0134600332
I think it was actually $29 more for the 'burst. I liked the guitar. More sound variation than the Tele. The high strings seemed lack tone like the Tele did. Very weak compared to the lows. But all in all decent.

The next was a $400 Tele in White (like this one but in white):http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0135102375
I liked this guitar better than the $1000 + American verison. It just seemed to offer more tone and playablilty. Again a decent guitar.

I left with the mental note that more $$ does not mean a better instrument when it comes to Fender electrics. At some point I'd like to take the electric plunge. But for now, I'll stick to the acoustic guitar.

[RP]

I've recently gone over to the Fender electric side with the purchase of a 2008 American Standard Telecaster and a G-DEC 30. I'm having a lot of fun with both. The Tele seems less popular than the Strat but not wanting a whammy bar, it was an obvious choice. However, now wanting one of each (Strat and Tele), I've since ordered a Robert Cray MIM Strat which is a hardtail (no whammy bar). Lots of folks swear by these on Harmony Central, and being MIM it comes in at a decent price. Besides being a heck of lot of fun to mess around on, I've found that the action and playability of the Tele makes my Taylor 810 feel like a club...........

[djphelan01]

Originally Posted by Taylor007

I left with the mental note that more $$ does not mean a better instrument when it comes to Fender electrics. At some point I'd like to take the electric plunge. But for now, I'll stick to the acoustic guitar.

I was looking for a begginer guitar, for a friend's son who has never played. I was checking out all the low budget stuff and I played a $99 Fender Squire strat that played great and was set up great. Now I didn't plug it in, so I would have imagined it's sound wasn't that great. For $99 that guitar played much better that some of the MIM strats that I checked out that were in the $500-$600 price range.

[Taylorplayer]

Fender offers a number of different "lines" -- some made in the Orient, some in Mexico, some in the US, and others -- ????

That's not to say you have to buy the US ones to get the best.... Rather, I would say the one I have from Japan might be the best one I've seen yet....

But, they do tend to vary (Quality wise) amongst themselves....

One thing for sure -- I don't think anyone would argue about the amp you used.... Those are awesome!

After reading this, I have to wonder: Does this response make any sense? I think I've just confused myself as well

Taylorplayer

[JDaveG]

Originally Posted by jrporter

I've recently gone over to the Fender electric side with the purchase of a 2008 American Standard Telecaster and a G-DEC 30. I'm having a lot of fun with both. The Tele seems less popular than the Strat but not wanting a whammy bar, it was an obvious choice. However, now wanting one of each (Strat and Tele), I've since ordered a Robert Cray MIM Strat which is a hardtail (no whammy bar). Lots of folks swear by these on Harmony Central, and being MIM it comes in at a decent price. Besides being a heck of lot of fun to mess around on, I've found that the action and playability of the Tele makes my Taylor 810 feel like a club...........

Did you happen to A/B the G-DEC 30 against a Spider Jam?

I'm going to buy one or the other soon, and I'm curious as to the advantages and disadvantages of each. I really like the Youtube clips I've heard of both. Seems to me the Spider Jam has the mic input which could make it acceptable for "singer/songwriter" use, but I'm not sure I'd ever use that. I'd probably use the amp 90% for practice and 10% as an "input amp" for computer-based recording.

[wgmiller]

Taylor007 opined:
The next was a $400 Tele in White (like this one but in white):http://www.fender.com/products//sear...tno=0135102375
I liked this guitar better than the $1000 + American verison. It just seemed to offer more tone and playablilty. Again a decent guitar.

Agreed! Recently (just two weeks ago) picked up the identical MIM Tele in Artic White from my local GC. Another example of the old adage that it pays to play before you buy.

I'm loving it, and look forward to the replies concerning G-Decs.

Best,
Will

[RP]

Originally Posted by JDaveG

Did you happen to A/B the G-DEC 30 against a Spider Jam?

I'm going to buy one or the other soon, and I'm curious as to the advantages and disadvantages of each. I really like the Youtube clips I've heard of both. Seems to me the Spider Jam has the mic input which could make it acceptable for "singer/songwriter" use, but I'm not sure I'd ever use that. I'd probably use the amp 90% for practice and 10% as an "input amp" for computer-based recording.

I didn't do a comparison for reasons that had to do with having a gift certificate from a small shop that carries several select brands including Fender, Taylor, Huss & Dalton, Martin, and their own line of imports http://www.guitarworksinc.net/. Folks on Harmony Central by and large really liked the G-DEC, and to minimize my own confusion and due to being an old fart, I decided to stick with Fender........

[GAD]

I've never been a huge fan of Fenders as I wrote in another thread. Both Fenders and Gibsons are seriously overpriced IMHO, and you can get a whole lot more for your money from other companies.

When I looked at buying a new electric for the first time in 30 years, I played LOTS of guitars. My soft limit was about $1000, but I could afford whatever I really wanted. I played them all - from $200 Ibanez to $2000 Strats to $4000 Les Pauls and ES-335s. I quickly discovered that I only liked the well made guitars, and that the truly well made guitars from Fender and Gibson *barely* started at $2000 - and I mean barely. At $3000 you started to get some real quality, and at about $3500-4000 I found guitars that I really liked.

As soon as I gave up on Fender and Gibson, and started looking at other brands, I started playing Jacksons and ESPs and to a lesser extent Ibanez (though some of their prestige can get pretty high too). I also look at some other brands like Schecter. The Schecter Hellraiser C1 was a finalist for me. It's made in Korea I think, but played really well, sounded good, had a beautiful top and was less than $700 (though without a case). Sadly the GC techs annoyed me so much that I walked away from it.

I ended up buying a Jackson soloist Japanese model (lots of pics in my sig).`It played as well if not better than any other guitar I played, looks great, and sounds awesome. For $500 more I could have had a US-Soloist with single coils, but I liked the archtop on the one I got. The one I got is a Sam Ash exclusive model.

I am a huge PITA when it comes to quality gear. It has to look great, sound great and play great. I'll pay double my expected limit for the perfect guitar - Hell I'd pay triple for a real winner. I tend to keep things like guitars forever.

Bottom line for me - don't limit yourself to the big names. I was disappointed in even some of the US-made Fenders. Seems you need to spend real money to get real (to me) quality with the big names.

GAD

[trpullen]

Unless it comes right out of the box in front of you, you can't judge any guitar line by the way it feels at GC. I played a really nice 52 HR Tele there but...it looked really new. That Duncan in the neck was choice.

[Jeff D]

Yeah I don't think there is that great of a reason to buy an American fender when you could buy a Mexican and put top quality wire, pots, and pickups and still come out cheaper then an American.

[Kabookie]

You owe it to yourself to check out G&L guitars, named for George Fullerton and Leo Fender. The latter was known to have remarked he wanted to build the most popular electric guitars when he started Fender. He was also known to have said now he wanted to build the best electric guitar in the business when he and Fullerton started G&L in 1979, 14 years after Fender sold Fender Musical Instruments to CBS. The MFD (Magnetic Field Design) pickups are simply superb and surpass comparable pickups offered currently by FMIC. From the G&L website, here's their description of the MFDs:

"The patented Magnetic Field Design® pickups use a ceramic bar magnet installed underneath each coil, with soft iron adjustable pole pieces to transfer the magnetic field to the surface of the pickup. By contrast, traditional Alnico type pickups, such as used in the Legacy and George Fullerton models, use nonadjustable Alnico pole pieces leaving the only adjustment being pickup height. The Magnetic Field Design has this adjustment, but further offers individual adjustment of each pole piece, letting the player effectively adjust the output of each string on each pickup. Magnetic Field Design yield about twice the output per wind, making the pickup quieter while allowing a greater overall output. The sound of Magnetic Field pickups is slightly warmer with a broader frequency response. One major Nashville session guitarist remarked that the G&L S-500 with Magnetic Field single coil pickups sounded as balanced and "sweet" as his favorite old vintage Alnico equipped axe. The difference is that the S-500 sounds that good right into his amp without all the EQ tweaking of his mixing console that made his other guitar sound so good. When he ran his S-500 though his studio rig, he was truly amazed at the rich and warm, yet clear and sparkly sound."

Before buying a Fender, I would highly recommend checking out a G&L. You may well be pleasantly surprised, brah. Just my dos centavos worth. Play on, pick often, and prosper. Best regards....Kabookie

[trpullen]

if it were me, and I wanted a Tele with a Humbucker in the neck, I would look at the ESP Ron Wood



or the G&L Bluesboy

[Mosspoh]

Originally Posted by Jeff D

Yeah I don't think there is that great of a reason to buy an American fender when you could buy a Mexican and put top quality wire, pots, and pickups and still come out cheaper then an American.

I love the mexican strats for that very reason. You can buy a used for dirt cheap. Throw in pickups of your choice. Upgrade everything on it and have it sounding equal or better to an american for a lot less. If you want something to hold value then you won't do that but if you just want to play then who cares?