I’ll post more later here or elsewhere. I jumped on the telebass . I have 5 other basses… I have no use for a new one… but the second I saw the tele was being put out in mocha I knew I was getting one the second Sweetwater had them (an unboxed model I got mine at $50 off and there’s nothing wrong with it… god I love Sweetwater). WHY fender and squier have not put out more models in mocha is one of the music industry’s great mysteries to me.
Mine came today, I’ve played it for about an hour so far and LOVE it. It sounds and feels amazing and is just sooooo damned sexy looking. I was expecting the neck to be lighter and for there to be more of a disparity between it and the head and body. Mine at least has a darker neck than that… not quite as dark as the headstock but almost. I thought I would be going tort guard before unboxing but while I may eventually so do really like the black guard. I know… how does it play? Yeah, it’s what’s most important, but I don't want anyone underestimating just how pretty this bass is.
I have a good spread of basses from which to judge it. A rascal to compare it on the humbucker (the tele is better), a CV telecaster bass from 13 to compare it to another single PU instrument, a VM 70s jazz (too different really), and a Fender classic series 60s jazz (also too different).
So the sound is smooth, warm, and balanced across the board… that last item I was worried about given that my Rascal is boomy on the low end. Don’t get me wrong I can hear a distinct difference on this tele between DG and EA strings. The DG are clear without being shrill or edgy or tinny and do not sound weak or thin. They sound like they should. The EA strings have a really nice growl to them the lower on the neck you go, especially in 1st position with rounds, but as you move up the neck while the growl mellows they still sound excellent. At 12th they sound as good as my 60s jazz… different definitely but so very, very good.
Opens don’t sound off or weird in comparison to the same fretted notes, chords sound excellent, raking sounds just like it should. I cannot speak to slap as it’s just not something I do really. The wide ranging humbucker is the real deal, I don’t know if they will have the varying quality ones like the rascals did or not. Like balanced sound across the strings I was also worried about the placement of the pup. With my rascal being boomy I tend to play more on the bridge pup on it, which I do on no other bass… hell on other basses often I have the neck on solo on many songs. My worries were unnecessary on this one too. There is no mud like those 70s teles it sounds just as good and sexy as it looks.
At this point, mind you only an hour in, I could see ditching a bass or three and just having this one and my fender jazz. That being said prying my VM Tele Bass away from me would take a pretty penny or 100,000-ish.
I’ll post more later after I’ve had more time with it as well as pics and audio when I have a chance. Ask questions you might have and I’ll answer what I can.
Cheers
Mine came today, I’ve played it for about an hour so far and LOVE it. It sounds and feels amazing and is just sooooo damned sexy looking. I was expecting the neck to be lighter and for there to be more of a disparity between it and the head and body. Mine at least has a darker neck than that… not quite as dark as the headstock but almost. I thought I would be going tort guard before unboxing but while I may eventually so do really like the black guard. I know… how does it play? Yeah, it’s what’s most important, but I don't want anyone underestimating just how pretty this bass is.
I have a good spread of basses from which to judge it. A rascal to compare it on the humbucker (the tele is better), a CV telecaster bass from 13 to compare it to another single PU instrument, a VM 70s jazz (too different really), and a Fender classic series 60s jazz (also too different).
So the sound is smooth, warm, and balanced across the board… that last item I was worried about given that my Rascal is boomy on the low end. Don’t get me wrong I can hear a distinct difference on this tele between DG and EA strings. The DG are clear without being shrill or edgy or tinny and do not sound weak or thin. They sound like they should. The EA strings have a really nice growl to them the lower on the neck you go, especially in 1st position with rounds, but as you move up the neck while the growl mellows they still sound excellent. At 12th they sound as good as my 60s jazz… different definitely but so very, very good.
Opens don’t sound off or weird in comparison to the same fretted notes, chords sound excellent, raking sounds just like it should. I cannot speak to slap as it’s just not something I do really. The wide ranging humbucker is the real deal, I don’t know if they will have the varying quality ones like the rascals did or not. Like balanced sound across the strings I was also worried about the placement of the pup. With my rascal being boomy I tend to play more on the bridge pup on it, which I do on no other bass… hell on other basses often I have the neck on solo on many songs. My worries were unnecessary on this one too. There is no mud like those 70s teles it sounds just as good and sexy as it looks.
At this point, mind you only an hour in, I could see ditching a bass or three and just having this one and my fender jazz. That being said prying my VM Tele Bass away from me would take a pretty penny or 100,000-ish.
I’ll post more later after I’ve had more time with it as well as pics and audio when I have a chance. Ask questions you might have and I’ll answer what I can.
Cheers
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