I am extremely happy to say I have finally ordered myself a telecaster.
I have wanted one for a very long time, ever since I started doing chicken picking and twangy stuff (or bouncy as I like to say).
I have done some research and I wanted a vintage styled one, soft V-neck style and single coils. For a long time I thought the mexican Fender Baja was my call. And they get a lot of praise.
But then I found this:
The company - FGN/Fujigen - might sound familiar as they produced the original Ibanez line.
This guitar has all the specs I wanted + details I love:
Contoured body - I want to spend a lot of time with instrument, and I care for my ribs.
Contoured neck heel, this makes a huge difference on my strat for high fret access.
More pics http://www.thomann.de/se/fgn_j_standard_iliad_owb.htm.
When considering I can get this Japan made tele, for aprox $100 cheaper than the mexican Bajas. This was a nobrainer. GAS won and I ordered it for $725 on Thomann.
There aren't that many reviews of the guitar, but I have only found praise - even for the FGN pick-ups.
The guitar also has CFS ( http://www.fgnguitars.com/cfs.html ) which supposedly has numerous advantages for string action, intonation and tone. Should be ok, even if its only half as good as advertised.
If I got it right - neck finish is satin, which is something I have wanted for a long time. I hope it will making position shifting smooth for a hand-sweatener like me!
Of course it's a bit of a risk to order a guitar online, but I have faith in Japanese luthiers (and in Thoman's 30 day return policy ).
Looking forward to hear your thoughts! Do you think the contours will affect tone (negatively)?
------
Edit - some videos of me playing the guitar:
NICE!!!! I must say fine call The FUJIGEN shop can swing the bat on the same level as many custom shops these days on nicer guitars. They still hand finish the necks on their nice guitars just like they did in the old days. Can't wait to hear what you think of this axe and hear some recordings! Enjoy
Todd
Cool! this is one of those brands that are getting increasingly popular where I live!
I remember a very detailed review (in Turkish) on their Tele model but the site right now is under maintenance, I'll check it out tomorrow to see if there are any interesting comments worth sharing here.
Good choice!
The headstock's different but the body is very similar to the Mike Stern model Yamaha ... which is a xlnt axe. I think they're made in the same place? Fuji Gen Gakki.
http://cdo.seymourduncan.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/yamaha-mike-stern.jpg
congrats! never seen those before, looks very cool. Cant wait to see / hear it in action
Found the review but the model was Neo Classic TL, which looks more like a normal Tele. The review was %99 positive but the reviewer didn't seem very proficient.
The only detail I haven't noticed was that the 2 piece body isn't combined evenly (can be noticed from the pic.s you shared) like pretty much all guitars out there, this is a good thing as it should help the guitar to be more resonant. Curious to read your comments
Most Teles (most Fenders) are 3 piece bodies.
LPs are traditionally a 2 piece mahogany body (sometimes 3, very occasionally 1) with a maple cap (top).
They generally try to do a good job of book matching the grain and in the case of most 2 piece bodies, they won't do a dead center seam. They'll offset it a bit so it's less obvious.
*I've seen 4 and 5 piece LP bodies.
Some of the classic, vintage LPs from the 50s were 2 piece.
Ouch the my guitar has arrived but my schedule does not allow me to get it yet...aarggh the famous NGD could have been last weak already.
Congratulations on the order and info about the guitar. I didn't know about that company from before, don't think they are available locally here in the stores. I like the finish color and black pickguard - it looks so funky! Also, I like the fact that it looks like a classic tele yet feels by its features modern which will be a very interesting combo. Can't wait to see it in action, will there be some mean country chicken pickin licks in store? Really wonder if the tone character of the guitar will "call on its own" for some plucking and aggressive hybrid picking.
Bruce Bouillet (Paul Gilbert's guitar partner in crime from Racer X) plays their guitars, so you are in good company!
Got it!!! First some pics, I'll share my impressions later
Congrats!
Congratulations Kristofer! Hope you enjoy your new piece of gear
Thanks guys - some first impressions ( I have only played it for 30 minutes earlier today).
All seems good except playability, string action is way high for me! This was kinda expected though, FGN state on their website only their expert line (more expensive) get the low action setup.
But the problem is I have to decide if I want to keep it and get it professionally setup. I am sucker for PLEK and you can even get a compound radius with this method.
However I don't want to be investing a PLEK on this guitar unless I dig how it sounds. And it does sound cool unplugged, but when I plug it in I get confused. However this was the whole plan - it sounds different than any other guitar I have (because I have never had a tele). So I have to spend some more time with it before deciding.
Other observations:
* Sating neck rocks, I want it on all my guitars now. Position shifting feels effortless!
* Neck shape is a non extreme D-shape, so not quite as thick as my Les Paul. I'll need some getting-used-to here as well.
* it's super lightweight!
* finish is awesome, neck joint feels solid
* pickup selector feels a bit shaky and weak.
* The guitar is comfortable to play with its different body and neck joint contours
* it came with a seymour Duncan and not the the advertised FGN pup will email Thoman about that
From the pictures it looks like a SD Vintage Stack (noiseless)
You're right it does look like those.
Btw I just saw this, it seems I got the modelled copy from Thoman's site. Wood structure on the back is indeed identical. Pretty cool!
I should also add that I haven't even tried lowering the saddles yet, if I am lucky I can get decent action without bringing it to a luthier. I should say I have never had much success doing these adjustments by myself in the past, though.
Incase it helps, there is something called a radius gauge that helps aligning the strings;
Its not a must but gives the idea of when detail adjusting the strings must be aligned to the fretboards radius (curve). But overall string height on detailed adjustments is really a personal thing imho.
The one thing that should be done by a luthier is the nut height because they are usually glued or each string space needs a different file type. Keep in mind nut height is the last thing thats adjusted. Let us know if you need any help.
Ok - big grin on my face now:
This axe is awesome! I have been getting so many new tones with it. Just by hitting the low e-string really close to the bridge I head deep into country twang territory.
I am almost wondering if there is a treble bleed installed, because rolling down the volume knob works extremely well (but maybe this is because of the twangy tonal character of teles?).
Also I have been experimenting changing the picking spot with like 15 cm back and forth when soloing - and it gives me extreme tonal variations (sounds a little like Scofield).
Also, the difference between the neck and bridge pickup sound is bigger than any of my other guitars. And the in-between position is really different (still getting use to that one).
The pups are probably the noiseless ones Mertay suggested, there is very little noise and I can play my hi-gain sounds with this axe (though it sounds much more trebl:ish). I am still waiting for Thoman to get back to me about this.
Except for the string action, I cannot think of anything negative with this axe. It's lighter than any of my other guitars, and I am already getting used to the neck which is fat but in a good way, probably better than my les paul.
So I think this one is a keeper!
Glad you liked it, have fun! By the way I love how a Tele bridge can sound on extreme distortion, sort of reminds me of my tonezone but less rude.
I once commented I had a friend who had 5-6 guitars and he loved a cheap (but modified) squier Tele the most, now another friend got into Tele's after playing his guitar and tomorrow we're going to check some Tele's for him the stars must be aligned somehow, I notice many people/friends buying Tele's these days
what are the frets like, do they feel different to play compared to regular frets?
Glad you are digging it! The duncan pup is a bit of an upgrade from the stock pickup yeah? Bonus!
I never had a guitar Plek'd though did level the frets after 15 years of use. Can't comment much on that, I know Gibson pleks all its expensive guitars so it should have a feeling difference but I doubt major change in string height.
Most important to me is tell the luthier to lower the nut height as much as possible without buzzing, that to me makes the biggest difference on playability.
So the PU's aren't noiseless as I understand, correct?
For electronics, as much as I love customizing I recommend not to rush into that. Changing pots/capacitors has a huge chance of changing the sound so if you already like it then a change might be a risk. We also don't know whats inside it, for example most humbucker guitars come with 500k pots but my ibanez had 1mohm pots as default and after the change I had to adjust more than I planned...
Though as far as I know 4 way switches are very popular on Tele's, if I remember right the extra position adds neck parallel. There is no risk of tone change in this mod.
Also ask the luthier if it already has a treble bleed cap. but if it doesn't check out this thread; http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/415880-treble-bleed-comparison-frequency-response-curves.html
After reading this I installed a 0.001 uF capacitor as treble bleed, this means it actually lessens bass of the PU as volume is turned down So you can get really bright/spanky tone out of the telecaster. This is also a popular modification and has no effect when volume is all the way up. Worked great on my humbucker guitar, should work better on your tele.
I have one Tele that has a 4-way switch to get the pkups in series - I don't like that tone and wouldn't do it again.
It's turns the neck and bridge into one big humbucker ... but not really. Generally just a dull tone that's a bit louder.
Taking the tone control out of the circuit (Fender S-1 switching) is also popular and just way too bright in a bad way IMO. Teles don't need to be brighter and it seems from your descriptions that you got a good one. Don't mess with the electronics.
Yes I am also leaning towards not touching electronics too much, but my understanding is that phase cancellation and series mode can be added without affecting current tone.
I agree with Klasaine on series sound, as already having the breathing tones adding a thick one won't suit such a guitars palette.
Trick to a good out of phase sound is when one pickup is noticeably higher output to the other, I remember my luthier doing that to a 2 humbucker guitar and he had to lower the neck and rise the bridge PU noticeably. Never heard on a Tele but it might actually work very nice, I found this when surfing the net;
Seems like a push-push pot but since we don't want to change the pots (at least yet) I do know a mini switch can be added but by drilling a hole to the pickguard if thats ok for you?
or found a 5 way switch diagram but this needs a super-switch (more expensive than normal switches) and I'm not sure if you'll like a 5 way switch as you get more into the tele-vibe; http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-technical/337724-deaf-eddie-5-way-tele-switch-2-tone-2-volume-pots-need-wiring-help.html
I do like compound radius guitars but never played a Tele with it. It's really a personal choice but to be safe the FGN's frets have a curve as advertised though it can't be seen, would be safe to ask about this if its a problem for the machine.
For treble bleed on your other guitars, its not a hard process only a capacitor is added and it doesn't have to be an expensive one either.
Yeah that's a really nice sound!
The plek machine supports CFS (I checked with them) - but what I don't know is if "fake" compound radius (done in the plek machine by polishing the frets) maybe defeats the purpose of CFS. I do however know that the higher end FGN guitars ship with "true" compound radius and CFS - so I guess it should be ok.
About single coils in series - that's what I have in my strat with the S-1 switch engaged, and I think it gives a nice humbucker "sort of" sound. I used it here (you can see the S-1 switched engaged if you look at the white volume pot):
As I understand the plek machine won't polish much the upper frets but lower the height on the lower frets from center (would be opposite on an ibanez type guitar but since you have a tele...).
This is all about your personal preference but you're used to a scalloped guitar so maybe also consider if you'll like lowered frets close to the neck pickup.
If you're cool with series sound then seems the 5 way super switch seems best for you (better than drilling a hole on the pickguard), worst case you'll just use the current switch if you ever want to go back which isn't a problem.
In order to get compound radius the plek machine will accentuate the radius on the lower frets (the ones far away from the pickups) - and possibly flatten the radius of the higher frets. And you are right the latter might be an issue for me since I don't like small frets at all for soloing (for bending and legato).
I will talk with the plek guys and hear what they say, a compromise might be to only polish the lower frets.
Let us know how things go
I've done a couple of installs of the Fender TBX mid-boost Tone circuit board. Makes a nice addition to a Tele.
Also, quite a common thing is to turn the Control Plate around and move the Vol to the Tone place and Vice versa so that the Vol is under your picking hand, Tone in the middle and P/up switch is now at the back.
Got her back!!!! I am extremely happy and will post more details soon. Until then here is first video:
https://www.facebook.com/kristofer.dahl/videos/10153401480767069/
Nice! it looks better in your hands than in the catalog liked the design even more now
SMALL WORLD!! You had it "PLEKd"?
I was just getting to understand what "PLEK" is since the guitar I just got was PLEKd at the factory. Evidently, only custom shops and high end guitars like USA GIBSONS get this treatment normally. But every single rick hanes guitar gets it at the factory. is it expensive on it's own?
That's not bad at all! I wonder if I can find a local place to PLEK my ibbys. I'm gonna google it
Ok so here is what I did with it:
Plek'd neck with compound radius, somehwere around 8,5 (nut) to 10,5 (highest fret) - so nothing extreme. But more importantly, string action (and thereby playablity) is now amazing without any string buzzing.
I reversed the volume control and pup switch (thanks for the tip!). I added 5 way switch to also give me access to both out-of-phase and series (the facebook video clip above is played in series mode). Intonation compensated brass saddles.
Locking tuners.
Wish you could see the grin on my face now
New clip! https://www.facebook.com/kristofer.dahl/videos/10153410086642069/
I played with the bridge pickup, and it's cool to hear some of the twang actually shines through inspite of the high gain sound.
Also as I get used to it, I am able to play trickier stuff. I can tell you this would have been completely impossible with the factory action.
After I mod.ed my bridge pu to have more high-end, I also enjoyed digging into the notes. I seriously encourage you to focus that more as tone variety at high gains (on even higher gain and fatter tone which you used) lots of different sound can shine.
What comes to my mind is you can half-harmonic pinch during runs, use fatter sounding pick, roll the tone gently down to get an alternate neck-like tone...also as much as the tones want you to dig in the notes, relax the left hand even more cause there is some lightness advantage to speed runs as I think you noticed that when playing hammer on-pull off's
Do make more clips I'm curious on how you'll approach the neck PU too
Thanks for the link! Looks like I"ll have to ship my guitar off. I found one place in Florida though which is semi close
...and some videos of me playing the guitar!
sound good !!!
Laurent
Well, he just got a Jackson flying V, does that count?
Nice!! I think I've gone blind as well That's an original axe to be sure!
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