Love everything about this instrument - looks and sounds phenomenal and really suits you and your style too! Great demo as ever but what a fantastic guitar!
It's funny because I have my thing for custom colors but man I agree, this one just feels right and fits perfectly in my JV story. This one is slightly younger, albeit by only 40 years 🤣
@@AudiomoMusic haha a slight age gap- a spring chicken this one ! But imagine how awesome it will look after 40 years of stories and shows and recording !!!
This is a very humbling comment, thank you so much for the kind words. I don’t consider myself a great player I just try to give people a realistic idea of what they can expect
Nice! I saw them on a shop website here and was wondering what it looked like in the flesh. Looks pretty sweet on camera!! 🤩 and that neck pickup in clean sounds pretty good!! 👍 great review/ demo, thanks 😊
I tried to find the sweet spot for the beck pickup to demo it, which I feel is the smooth fingerpicking style. When i found myself using a pick I really noticed it was a bit middy for my tastes but its by no means bad indeed. Its a great guitar I am lucky to have one, thanks I appreciate it!
Good ol Alamo music. Back when I worked in downtown San Antonio in my younger years I spent many lunch hours over at Alamo noodling on something. They never bothered me much and just let me checkout just about everything. I am tempted to get one of these Japan reissues. That late 60s strat with the big headstock looks awesome. I might have a take a trip downtown soon.
I got that model a month ago and it's a gem, getting more playing time than all my others combined. I wouldn't change a thing about it. The neck is amazing. Although 50s necks are known for their thickness, the V shape puts the extra thinkmess right in the crux of the player's thumb & index fingers, fitting perfectly. It's much more comfortable than the modern C shape; and I'm surprised it's not more common. The pickups are hotter than those of most Tele's, driving my tube amp to the edge of breakup closer to a humbucker-equipped guitar's volume setting than to, let's say, an Affinity Tele's volume. The phase shift tone is lower but usable, but the real bonus is the pickups-in-series position. Among both of those options and the standard ones, the guitar has more tonal variety than a Strat! The fit and finish are flawless and, other than tuning, the instrument was set up to play right out of the box. Perhaps the biggest impression is its weight. Mine is 6 lbs, 7.9 oz. - quite the paradigm shift from strapping on a Les Paul! The Fender 50s JV Modified Telecaster is the finest guitar I've ever played.
That's an awesome looking tele for sure. The bridge pickup in the second demo sounded great. I always enjoyed the middle position on mine. Might have to try the bridge more.
The bridge pickup of teles has been used and mistaken as a les paul for decades on records, a TON of jimmy pages stuff that people associate with gibson were really just telecasters! You should absolutely try using it more, they are great!
Stuff like this makes me really happy, not only because its a nice compliment but because i also burn out of everyone shredding everything to death or using so much gain It wouldnt matter which guitar they were demoing 🤣
Hey Jim, wondered if you would be trying one of these out. I've been looking at all of them with some serious GAS. Glad to hear they are amazing. Can't decide between the gold telecaster or the 50's strat with the humbucker in it. Great Video!
Well I am severely biased here, I have the actual JV strat so buying a new modified version of that guitar especially int he same color was instantly marked off my list. I don't think you could go wrong with either though in reality, I cannot stress enough just how good the neck is on this guitar... it's really the difference between these and other Fender branded products in a similar price range but man is it worth it.
Thank you for this lovely Demo! I like your „Indyrock“ style, nice Chords! You should found an Indyrockband! The guitar sounds very good, the Bridge PU is a real rocking one. Or is it your amp that makes nearly every guitar sounds good? But this could not be cause your Eart vs Harley B test shows that guitars(the HB) could sound thru this amp not so very good. So im waiting to hear more from this guitar on your channel. The HSS Strat from this series does also look very good. Funny thing is the story with Cooper, i love his Demos he has a „fresh and light“ style. He does not the style everybodys waiting for e.g. a Gibson SG Demo nearly clean and without ACDC riff. …i love ACDC :-)
I ordered of these yesterday. Can’t wait for it to arrive. I have a Japanese Yamaha acoustic and was seriously impressed with the quality. I think I’ll replace the gold pickguard for white, just because the gold is a bit much for me and the blonde/white combo is so timeless.
White or black just hits the timeless factor indeed, can't really go wrong for other but I would also go white if I were going to give it a facelift so to speak - it's just simple. You're gonna love the neck
@@AudiomoMusic guitar arrived today. The neck is insane! I think Fender do it a disservice by calling it a “thick soft V” - the neck doesn’t feel thick at all to me. It’s relatively thin but that subtle V shape helps fill the hand nicely. Beautiful rolled edges too. Top, top quality workmanship. I’m still not sold on the gold pickguard in the flesh, so will try out the white soon! Cheers.
Very nice! I have lost count of the amount of Japanese guitars that I've had come and go in my day, it's a shame people figured out how good they are now the prices are obscene for certain models online in the USA
Bob I have had many in my time, this is one of the ones that you just know is a keeper. Im a custom color guy too but this one is just so well built and feels amazing. I got a really good deal ordering directly from them, cant hurt to give them a call and see what they can do you might be very surprised
the Locking Tuners r real bad on this one - thats for shure - i´ve got one and sent it back after a week of agony......and no - it´s not worth to change them - you´d be at the American Professional II price then.....so in my opinion, keep fingers off - there r better ones at FENDERs
Thanks Jason this one is indeed incredible! I finally have a use for the fralins ive had sitting in the workroom for a while now, that will be an eye opening video for some people imo
I just ended up getting a tele an American special with matching headstock, which I’m a sucker for. Got a great deal, was to hard to pass up. I just wish fender Japan would send more guitars here, they do some of the coolest guitars IMO. I’m digging this one. Still wanna get a revstar tho.
i love american specials! For years when they first came out I actually wanted a white one with the black pickguard and maple fingerboard but I couldn’t afford it. Great guitars. I understand why Fender doesn’t have more MIJ guitars here, the mexican made sales would get crushed.
@@AudiomoMusic you are definitely right about them crushing the Mexican made fenders, not that they are bad, but the MIJ fenders are on another level and they make some the best designs. Plus the artist models are amazing and do lots of cool stuff!
Exactly! When people get mad at me saying it they arent understanding that the MIM is only bad value these days considerings its now the same price as MIJ. For years when MIM were half the price they were much more viable and good options imo but these days its a no brainer in my book given the pricing
This would bought for the sole purpose of being played outdoors and live, so yes, I am 100% keeping it ( and the fralins I have in the closet have a new home once these strings go 😍 )
always wanted a tele and plan to sell one of my guitars that I dont use at all to get one instead. As soon as I've seen those new JVs... Man, they look so good! Not sure tho if I like this one or the copper one better...
It's a really great guitar indeed, I love how light it is as well. They get all the things right that MIM doesn't even come close to as far as playability out of the box, you really can't go wrong with either and you'll be happy I'm sure.
@@AudiomoMusic yeah, when I have my money, I'll make sure to go to a dealership and try them both, see if I vibe with one... especially for guitars like those, this is so essential ^^
Can the Tele pickups play high gain stuff (punk/hard rock)? Thinking about getting the Tele 60s, but I am not sure if the pick-ups are able to handle huge amount of distortion. is the bridge pup low or medium output?
I can think of dozens of punk bands that used a variety of telecasters and continue to do so live without any problems because of how well they cut in a mix, even some with the stock electronics. You'll deal with 60 cycle hum for sure but if you're playing straight punk you're not going to have a whole ton of breaks where its going to pop its head up.. just roll off the volume between songs and you'll be fine, or if it really bothers you there are other tele styles out there that you'd never have to worry about any of that, i'm thinking of the te-1000 from ESP or the eclipse 87 NT i just demo'd, both have the body shape but much more aggressive appointments in pickups, scale length, and wood choices that are worth considering as well
It's really weird honestly, I've seen 2k dollar american made fenders also have 3 piece bodies. On paper these things used to bother me but in practice I don't notice any of it or think twice of it while I'm playing these guitars
I just got the Firemist gold ‘60’s version of this guitar. A few questions I can’t seem to find answers to anywhere: 1. Are these pickups Alnico magnets OR Ceramic? 2. What is the quality level of these pickups? Should I just swap them out for a US Fender Custom Ship Twisted Tele pair or Seymour Duncan etc ? 3. What is the quality level of the electronic components? Are these the same as a USA American Pro II etc OR are the electronics closer to a MIM or Squire and once again should I just swap them all out for CTS pots and USA selector switch and switch craft output jack? 4. What is the quality level of the actual Hardware (Bridge, Saddles, Tuners, neck plate and control jack and tone and volume knobs ? The neck plate seems really thin compared to my USA Ultra Strat and the bridge, saddles, and the control plate and tone and volume knobs look and feel like cheaper lower quality to me, but this is my first and only telecaster, so I only have my high end USA made Stratocasters (3 of them) to compare this to?? For the amazing looks and quality of the body and the pretty good neck and at MIM price point, I’m 100% okay with swamping out all of the hardware and the pickups for much higher quality to end up with a guitar at the same level as higher end made in USA models, however I don’t want to do this if the quality of all these things are equal to made in USA already?
The pickups are most definitely Alnico and not ceramic. The pickups are decent but IMHO the only things worth changing on this guitar are the electronics and that's if you want to really max it out. I believe the hardware is perfectly fine as is and replacing it wouldn't be achieving cost efficient results... I've used these tuners for years and they are fantastic, the bone nut is cut well, the bridge itself is just fine as is as are the brass saddles. The only modifications to this guitar I'm going to make are a CTS pots and a 3 way switch with a switchcraft output jack, and a set of Lindy Fralin Blues Specials that I already have from a previous guitar. The pickups and electronics are the places where this guitar would absolutely benefit the most, and even if you go the higher end like I did ( although the Fender CS pickups are in some cases in more than the Fralins which is funny since Lindy makes a far superior pickup to what Fender produces for aftermarket options ), you're still coming in at less than an AM pro II which I didn't even care for the pickups on that as well.
So is it basically a Japanese Baja 50’s Telecaster with locking tuners? As the Baja had same soft V neck 4 position switch only out of phase was done with S1 switch instead of push pull pot.
ua-cam.com/video/HXPftf8zKu0/v-deo.html at 8:30 into this video I go over how to string them up and give some tips, they are great once you get the mechanism!
What is it with darn Telecasters? Went out to browse a few small guitar stores and one gigantic pawn shop, for a lap steel (my left hand is still in a cast!). My nephew picks up a Squier Tele with a Jazzmaster neck & pickup. (both the Jazzmaster & single coil in the bridge are Seymour Duncans!). The tuners, bridge & brass saddles are Fender replacement parts. A Fender hard case, and it feels and sounds way better than a mutant partscaster should! Even with a bum thumb and broken index finger, for $250.00 I had to grab it! Still have not found a steel guitar I like but the cast comes off in about 10 days and I'm itching to really play this new beast! Peace and sorry for writing a book!
Love everything about this instrument - looks and sounds phenomenal and really suits you and your style too! Great demo as ever but what a fantastic guitar!
It's funny because I have my thing for custom colors but man I agree, this one just feels right and fits perfectly in my JV story. This one is slightly younger, albeit by only 40 years 🤣
@@AudiomoMusic haha a slight age gap- a spring chicken this one ! But imagine how awesome it will look after 40 years of stories and shows and recording !!!
Your playing is one of the best of UA-cam to have a nice idea of how a guitar sound ... Really nice playing . Very good job one more time .
This is a very humbling comment, thank you so much for the kind words. I don’t consider myself a great player I just try to give people a realistic idea of what they can expect
This line is really hit home to me. The ‘60s double-bound Tele is looks and sounds heavenly. 😩
Nice! I saw them on a shop website here and was wondering what it looked like in the flesh. Looks pretty sweet on camera!! 🤩 and that neck pickup in clean sounds pretty good!! 👍 great review/ demo, thanks 😊
I tried to find the sweet spot for the beck pickup to demo it, which I feel is the smooth fingerpicking style. When i found myself using a pick I really noticed it was a bit middy for my tastes but its by no means bad indeed. Its a great guitar I am lucky to have one, thanks I appreciate it!
Good ol Alamo music. Back when I worked in downtown San Antonio in my younger years I spent many lunch hours over at Alamo noodling on something. They never bothered me much and just let me checkout just about everything. I am tempted to get one of these Japan reissues. That late 60s strat with the big headstock looks awesome. I might have a take a trip downtown soon.
Your reviews are the best man
I have to say, I am impressed by your knowledge of Fender guitars! 😊
That is one nice guitar ! Sounds great, looks awesome, nice work !
The neck pickup is the thing I like most about Teles. But maybe that's just me and my preference for more jazzy, warm tones.
I got that model a month ago and it's a gem, getting more playing time than all my others combined. I wouldn't change a thing about it.
The neck is amazing. Although 50s necks are known for their thickness, the V shape puts the extra thinkmess right in the crux of the player's thumb & index fingers, fitting perfectly. It's much more comfortable than the modern C shape; and I'm surprised it's not more common.
The pickups are hotter than those of most Tele's, driving my tube amp to the edge of breakup closer to a humbucker-equipped guitar's volume setting than to, let's say, an Affinity Tele's volume.
The phase shift tone is lower but usable, but the real bonus is the pickups-in-series position.
Among both of those options and the standard ones, the guitar has more tonal variety than a Strat!
The fit and finish are flawless and, other than tuning, the instrument was set up to play right out of the box.
Perhaps the biggest impression is its weight. Mine is 6 lbs, 7.9 oz. - quite the paradigm shift from strapping on a Les Paul!
The Fender 50s JV Modified Telecaster is the finest guitar I've ever played.
I own serial # 115. Beautiful sounding and looking guitar. Plays very easy.
The neck is just butter on these, they did such a great job. I'm happy you love yours as well!
That's an awesome looking tele for sure. The bridge pickup in the second demo sounded great. I always enjoyed the middle position on mine. Might have to try the bridge more.
The bridge pickup of teles has been used and mistaken as a les paul for decades on records, a TON of jimmy pages stuff that people associate with gibson were really just telecasters! You should absolutely try using it more, they are great!
So nice to hear actual vintage-style playing on a vintage-style guitar. Clean rhythm is hard to come by on UA-cam!
Stuff like this makes me really happy, not only because its a nice compliment but because i also burn out of everyone shredding everything to death or using so much gain It wouldnt matter which guitar they were demoing 🤣
Hey Jim, wondered if you would be trying one of these out. I've been looking at all of them with some serious GAS. Glad to hear they are amazing. Can't decide between the gold telecaster or the 50's strat with the humbucker in it. Great Video!
That late 60s white strat with the big headstock also is tempting. I'm sure they are all awesome guitars.
Well I am severely biased here, I have the actual JV strat so buying a new modified version of that guitar especially int he same color was instantly marked off my list. I don't think you could go wrong with either though in reality, I cannot stress enough just how good the neck is on this guitar... it's really the difference between these and other Fender branded products in a similar price range but man is it worth it.
Thank you for this lovely Demo! I like your „Indyrock“ style, nice Chords! You should found an Indyrockband! The guitar sounds very good, the Bridge PU is a real rocking one. Or is it your amp that makes nearly every guitar sounds good? But this could not be cause your Eart vs Harley B test shows that guitars(the HB) could sound thru this amp not so very good. So im waiting to hear more from this guitar on your channel. The HSS Strat from this series does also look very good. Funny thing is the story with Cooper, i love his Demos he has a „fresh and light“ style. He does not the style everybodys waiting for e.g. a Gibson SG Demo nearly clean and without ACDC riff. …i love ACDC :-)
Looks amazing, sounds amazing, i need to try one!
You really should! you'll be pleasantly surprised I imagine!
I ordered of these yesterday. Can’t wait for it to arrive. I have a Japanese Yamaha acoustic and was seriously impressed with the quality. I think I’ll replace the gold pickguard for white, just because the gold is a bit much for me and the blonde/white combo is so timeless.
White or black just hits the timeless factor indeed, can't really go wrong for other but I would also go white if I were going to give it a facelift so to speak - it's just simple. You're gonna love the neck
@@AudiomoMusic guitar arrived today. The neck is insane! I think Fender do it a disservice by calling it a “thick soft V” - the neck doesn’t feel thick at all to me. It’s relatively thin but that subtle V shape helps fill the hand nicely. Beautiful rolled edges too. Top, top quality workmanship. I’m still not sold on the gold pickguard in the flesh, so will try out the white soon! Cheers.
It would also look great with a black pickguard, which contrasts with the maple neck and the white body.
Beautiful tone!
Thanks a lot!
Nice guitar there my man. I myself have a 1993 fender Japan 62 reissue stratocaster that feels and plays great 👍🏿
I have the same guitar (not sure of the year), and a Japanese '52 reissue Telecaster.
Very nice! I have lost count of the amount of Japanese guitars that I've had come and go in my day, it's a shame people figured out how good they are now the prices are obscene for certain models online in the USA
I'm a sucker for a Tele and i admit it but that one, came at a time when I'm looking for a regular Tele, AGAIN. lol i like it that much!
Bob I have had many in my time, this is one of the ones that you just know is a keeper. Im a custom color guy too but this one is just so well built and feels amazing. I got a really good deal ordering directly from them, cant hurt to give them a call and see what they can do you might be very surprised
the Locking Tuners r real bad on this one - thats for shure - i´ve got one and sent it back after a week of agony......and no - it´s not worth to change them - you´d be at the American Professional II price then.....so in my opinion, keep fingers off - there r better ones at FENDERs
Wow that is one impressive Tele! It seems to check all the boxes and your playing made it sound great.Does it come with a case or a bag?
It comes with the deluxe gig bag.
That's beautiful.
It really is just an example of a classic design that got it right the first time!
Incredible beauty! Nice job Jim!
Thanks Jason this one is indeed incredible! I finally have a use for the fralins ive had sitting in the workroom for a while now, that will be an eye opening video for some people imo
Rolled over fretboard edge? Or flat edge? How chunky is chunky? To me thats a 57 tele or 56 strat neck.
I just ended up getting a tele an American special with matching headstock, which I’m a sucker for. Got a great deal, was to hard to pass up. I just wish fender Japan would send more guitars here, they do some of the coolest guitars IMO. I’m digging this one. Still wanna get a revstar tho.
i love american specials! For years when they first came out I actually wanted a white one with the black pickguard and maple fingerboard but I couldn’t afford it. Great guitars.
I understand why Fender doesn’t have more MIJ guitars here, the mexican made sales would get crushed.
@@AudiomoMusic you are definitely right about them crushing the Mexican made fenders, not that they are bad, but the MIJ fenders are on another level and they make some the best designs. Plus the artist models are amazing and do lots of cool stuff!
Exactly! When people get mad at me saying it they arent understanding that the MIM is only bad value these days considerings its now the same price as MIJ. For years when MIM were half the price they were much more viable and good options imo but these days its a no brainer in my book given the pricing
Beautiful guitar! How is it that light?! Are you going to keep this one?
This would bought for the sole purpose of being played outdoors and live, so yes, I am 100% keeping it ( and the fralins I have in the closet have a new home once these strings go 😍 )
Awesome
always wanted a tele and plan to sell one of my guitars that I dont use at all to get one instead. As soon as I've seen those new JVs... Man, they look so good! Not sure tho if I like this one or the copper one better...
It's a really great guitar indeed, I love how light it is as well. They get all the things right that MIM doesn't even come close to as far as playability out of the box, you really can't go wrong with either and you'll be happy I'm sure.
@@AudiomoMusic yeah, when I have my money, I'll make sure to go to a dealership and try them both, see if I vibe with one... especially for guitars like those, this is so essential ^^
Yay for small shops!
We have to do our best to keep them alive and well
Can the Tele pickups play high gain stuff (punk/hard rock)? Thinking about getting the Tele 60s, but I am not sure if the pick-ups are able to handle huge amount of distortion. is the bridge pup low or medium output?
I can think of dozens of punk bands that used a variety of telecasters and continue to do so live without any problems because of how well they cut in a mix, even some with the stock electronics. You'll deal with 60 cycle hum for sure but if you're playing straight punk you're not going to have a whole ton of breaks where its going to pop its head up.. just roll off the volume between songs and you'll be fine, or if it really bothers you there are other tele styles out there that you'd never have to worry about any of that, i'm thinking of the te-1000 from ESP or the eclipse 87 NT i just demo'd, both have the body shape but much more aggressive appointments in pickups, scale length, and wood choices that are worth considering as well
The neck is the most important part of the guitar IMHO.
I 100% agree, I actually made a video about that last year! Give me a good neck and I'll make the rest of it work!
@@AudiomoMusic Thanks, I’ll look it up👍
ua-cam.com/video/vbX5BMFhogs/v-deo.html it's weird looking at this backdrop haha
Traditional tuners but locking?! Sweet! Three-piece body though? hm... gorgeous regardless
It's really weird honestly, I've seen 2k dollar american made fenders also have 3 piece bodies. On paper these things used to bother me but in practice I don't notice any of it or think twice of it while I'm playing these guitars
@@AudiomoMusic totally! Us guitarists get far too precious about stuff. If it looks, feels and sounds good to you then who cares! All the best dude :)
I just got the Firemist gold ‘60’s version of this guitar.
A few questions I can’t seem to find answers to anywhere:
1. Are these pickups Alnico magnets OR Ceramic?
2. What is the quality level of these pickups? Should I just swap them out for a US Fender Custom Ship Twisted Tele pair or Seymour Duncan etc ?
3. What is the quality level of the electronic components? Are these the same as a USA American Pro II etc OR are the electronics closer to a MIM or Squire and once again should I just swap them all out for CTS pots and USA selector switch and switch craft output jack?
4. What is the quality level of the actual Hardware (Bridge, Saddles, Tuners, neck plate and control jack and tone and volume knobs ?
The neck plate seems really thin compared to my USA Ultra Strat and the bridge, saddles, and the control plate and tone and volume knobs look and feel like cheaper lower quality to me, but this is my first and only telecaster, so I only have my high end USA made Stratocasters (3 of them) to compare this to??
For the amazing looks and quality of the body and the pretty good neck and at MIM price point, I’m 100% okay with swamping out all of the hardware and the pickups for much higher quality to end up with a guitar at the same level as higher end made in USA models, however I don’t want to do this if the quality of all these things are equal to made in USA already?
The pickups are most definitely Alnico and not ceramic. The pickups are decent but IMHO the only things worth changing on this guitar are the electronics and that's if you want to really max it out. I believe the hardware is perfectly fine as is and replacing it wouldn't be achieving cost efficient results... I've used these tuners for years and they are fantastic, the bone nut is cut well, the bridge itself is just fine as is as are the brass saddles.
The only modifications to this guitar I'm going to make are a CTS pots and a 3 way switch with a switchcraft output jack, and a set of Lindy Fralin Blues Specials that I already have from a previous guitar. The pickups and electronics are the places where this guitar would absolutely benefit the most, and even if you go the higher end like I did ( although the Fender CS pickups are in some cases in more than the Fralins which is funny since Lindy makes a far superior pickup to what Fender produces for aftermarket options ), you're still coming in at less than an AM pro II which I didn't even care for the pickups on that as well.
So is it basically a Japanese Baja 50’s Telecaster with locking tuners?
As the Baja had same soft V neck 4 position switch only out of phase was done with S1 switch instead of push pull pot.
Basically yes, a modern version of one of those but the neck is a satin and not the heavy gloss the bajas had. All preference at that point
Just got one an I am blown away by the Japanese quality, have owned many American fenders and I have to say these are better in every way.
The detail is nuts, and honestly Fender Japan is just the tip of the iceberg
I don't like the vintage locking tuners. If somebody made a video how to properly string up with them, that would be awesome. :D
ua-cam.com/video/HXPftf8zKu0/v-deo.html at 8:30 into this video I go over how to string them up and give some tips, they are great once you get the mechanism!
@@AudiomoMusic hey that's awesome! Thanks for the follow up
Having a soft V neck. Would it be hard for someone who likes a c shape
i would so no, it's still modern feeling. it's not an extreme V which i would say yeah that would be tough to switch to
What is it with darn Telecasters? Went out to browse a few small guitar stores and one gigantic pawn shop, for a lap steel (my left hand is still in a cast!). My nephew picks up a Squier Tele with a Jazzmaster neck & pickup. (both the Jazzmaster & single coil in the bridge are Seymour Duncans!). The tuners, bridge & brass saddles are Fender replacement parts. A Fender hard case, and it feels and sounds way better than a mutant partscaster should! Even with a bum thumb and broken index finger, for $250.00 I had to grab it! Still have not found a steel guitar I like but the cast comes off in about 10 days and I'm itching to really play this new beast! Peace and sorry for writing a book!
Japanese modified vintera for more €?!?
Except built to an infinitely higher standard and consistency level