Fender Blacktop Series

wadeaminute

Fender has a new section up on the Blacktops:

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?series=Blacktop%84%A2&section=guitars

I don't understand the general conservatism in guitar culture. I mod most of my guitars anyway. Fender has just anticipated common mods and released $450, accessible guitars. If I lost all my guitars and only had $450 to buy a new one, any of the four would be just fine. If any of them came in Fiesta Red, I probably would have ordered one already.

brandonwinmill

if the tele had a single and a humbucker i would get one. The one i want is the vintage hot rod '52 re-issue with the seymour duncan mini-humbucker in the neck. This confuses me though, why would you want a telecaster with 2 humbuckers? It would totally not sound like a tele right? I know jim root and John 5 use them with hb's.

I would have put a single coil in the bridge and a hot pickup in the neck that way it would sound like a tele but with more tonal options. This telecater and the jazzmaster will sound like les pauls i would think. I have a les paul bfg and i hate it(it's sexy though, i posted pics of her yesterday). I guess i'll be waiting because i'm not spending $1700.00 on that 52.

paltic

a demo of the blacktop jaguar

Al(ex)

Cool! They got a Blacktop Jazzmaster demo too.

foxloner

It's a sign of the financial times, no manufacturer can afford to spend the cash/time to make a finely crafted instrument anymore. The small companies that form the backbone of any country are being taxed at every turn. Healh care insurance cost for employees is going up, more VAT's are in the works and of course the lack of confidence in the economy is forcing companies to cut corners and produce lower priced products just to entice a consumer who has to make tough financial decisions these days.

My 2 cents anyway....

Steve L.

Cypress, TX

paltic

im starting to like the new jag after watching the demo

Robbmonster

foxloner said:
It's a sign of the financial times, no manufacturer can afford to spend the cash/time to make a finely crafted instrument anymore. The small companies that form the backbone of any country are being taxed at every turn. Healh care insurance cost for employees is going up, more VAT's are in the works and of course the lack of confidence in the economy is forcing companies to cut corners and produce lower priced products just to entice a consumer who has to make tough financial decisions these days.
My 2 cents anyway....
Steve L.
Cypress, TX

Sounds accurate enough to me.

Of course, Fender have never been known for risky choices and trying new things...

HNB

I think they are ok and might pick one up. They are simplified versions for people who want a basic guitar. I have seen it noted many times in many places that the price doesn't make the guitar. Good players can make good and bad stuff sound good. Maybe Fender is just trying to be realistic knowing that with people not having much money, buing a guitar at all might be too much for the budget. having a budget line of some nice guitars could draw in people who wouldn't even try to get one because of cost.

The simplie and basic setup looks cool to me. I have guitars with seven or more sound settings and variations. Having one with just volume, tone, and what pickup(s) I want might be nice for a break.

paltic

HNB said: wnsho
I think they are ok and might pick one up. They are simplified versions for people who want a basic guitar. I have seen it noted many times in many places that the price doesn't make the guitar. Good players can make good and bad stuff sound good. Maybe Fender is just trying to be realistic knowing that with people not having much money, buing a guitar at all might be too much for the budget. having a budget line of some nice guitars could draw in people who wouldn't even try to get one because of cost.
The simplie and basic setup looks cool to me. I have guitars with seven or more sound settings and variations. Having one with just volume, tone, and what pickup(s) I want might be nice for a break.

yeah, i agree with you - plus this is the dream guitar for the modders...a lot of alternative guitarist buy a jazzy and mod it anyway by changing the pickups or putting masking tapes on the rhythm controls(probably because its busted or to avoid using that 'thing') its also an s.o.p. to put hb on the bridge(the only difference in this case its because its a jazzy not a mustang)

foxloner

I think that black on black tele would go nicely with my new black jag... 😉

Steve L.

Cypress, TX

HNB

paltic said:
yeah, i agree with you - plus this is the dream guitar for the modders...a lot of alternative guitarist buy a jazzy and mod it anyway by changing the pickups or putting masking tapes on the rhythm controls(probably because its busted or to avoid using that 'thing') its also an s.o.p. to put hb on the bridge(the only difference in this case its because its a jazzy not a mustang)

Yup! If I was going to swap out all the electronics anyways, why not start with the base model? As far as I am concerned alderwood is alderwood and necks tend to vary mostly by radius, length, and frets. How much you paid for it generally doesn't seem to feel different from playing with $2,000-$3,000 guitars and $100 ones. It is about how the guitar feels to you and sounds to you. I think people look at the stuff that their favorite musicians play and think they have to have that guitar to emulate that sound. While that is somewhat true, it doesn't mean you can't use a entry strat or tele to perform songs originally performed on Les Pauls. Great players can make most anything sound good. Buy a guitar that sounds and feels right and fits your budget.

Cobainer5182

I just got mine from MF today. I was really suprised how well it played right out of the box. The sunburst finish is pretty sweet, and the frets are smooth all the way down. The tuners are the same as the American series Strats and Teles(with "Fender" written on the back of them). The bridge is a like a modernized Jazzy/Jaguar style. They have one string size groove per saddle as opposed to the several small ones as the old ones have. Similar to the Mustang. I was pleasantly suprised by that. I dont think I will be in a rush to change it anytime soon. The knobs are all smooth and seem to be good quality. The pickups are also pretty damn good for a $450 guitar. I feel the neck p/u may be slighty hotter than my USA RI but still has a good Jazzy quality. The bridge humbucker is amazingly decent. I almost picked up a SD distortion for the bridge when i ordered the guitar because frankly i have never had a Fender stock humbucker hot enough for me. I am glad I didn't. I am not saying that it is a super hot or that ground breaking of a p/u, but it is a really nice sounding stock humbucker on a cheaper guitar. Reminds me of a SD JB minus a bit of clarity. I am sure there will be haters to my post, but this is all my opinion. I think if you have even a slight intrest it is worth your time to at least try one.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x318/boxofstrangers/9-21-10004.jpg

paltic

Cobainer5182 said:
I just got mine from MF today. I was really suprised how well it played right out of the box. The sunburst finish is pretty sweet, and the frets are smooth all the way down. The tuners are the same as the American series Strats and Teles(with "Fender" written on the back of them). The bridge is a like a modernized Jazzy/Jaguar style. They have one string size groove per saddle as opposed to the several small ones as the old ones have. Similar to the Mustang. I was pleasantly suprised by that. I dont think I will be in a rush to change it anytime soon. The knobs are all smooth and seem to be good quality. The pickups are also pretty damn good for a $450 guitar. I feel the neck p/u may be slighty hotter than my USA RI but still has a good Jazzy quality. The bridge humbucker is amazingly decent. I almost picked up a SD distortion for the bridge when i ordered the guitar because frankly i have never had a Fender stock humbucker hot enough for me. I am glad I didn't. I am not saying that it is a super hot or that ground breaking of a p/u, but it is a really nice sounding stock humbucker on a cheaper guitar. Reminds me of a SD JB minus a bit of clarity. I am sure there will be haters to my post, but this is all my opinion. I think if you have even a slight intrest it is worth your time to at least try one.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x318/boxofstrangers/9-21-10004.jpg

good for you mate! 😎

Al(ex)

Cobainer5182 said:
I just got mine from MF today. ...

Congrats on the new blacktop! I want one too!

SmutVendetta

Cobainer5182 said:
I just got mine from MF today. I was really suprised how well it played right out of the box. The sunburst finish is pretty sweet, and the frets are smooth all the way down. The tuners are the same as the American series Strats and Teles(with "Fender" written on the back of them). The bridge is a like a modernized Jazzy/Jaguar style. They have one string size groove per saddle as opposed to the several small ones as the old ones have. Similar to the Mustang. I was pleasantly suprised by that. I dont think I will be in a rush to change it anytime soon. The knobs are all smooth and seem to be good quality. The pickups are also pretty damn good for a $450 guitar. I feel the neck p/u may be slighty hotter than my USA RI but still has a good Jazzy quality. The bridge humbucker is amazingly decent. I almost picked up a SD distortion for the bridge when i ordered the guitar because frankly i have never had a Fender stock humbucker hot enough for me. I am glad I didn't. I am not saying that it is a super hot or that ground breaking of a p/u, but it is a really nice sounding stock humbucker on a cheaper guitar. Reminds me of a SD JB minus a bit of clarity. I am sure there will be haters to my post, but this is all my opinion. I think if you have even a slight intrest it is worth your time to at least try one.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x318/boxofstrangers/9-21-10004.jpg

Nice. How do ya like it?

wadeaminute

I played the Jaguar, the Jazzmaster, and the Tele Blacktops yesterday. Didn't like the necks on the Jaguar and the Tele, but the Jazzmaster felt right to me. Two distinct tones on the Jazzmaster, which was cool.

Lupercal

I'm pretty torn, to be honest. I've been wondering about a Jagmaster, seems cheap and easily modifiable. Can't afford the £600 or so for a classic Jaguar so thought about getting something more in my price range - then Fender drops these. To be honest, as soon as I compared the Jag and Jazz I knew which one I wanted...

The thing is, I feel if I were to buy a Jaguar or Jazzy then I'd want one with all the stuff on it. I'd like a good choice of colours and pickup variations...and the Blacktops, although affordable, aren't like the classics. Sure, who doesn't like sunburst? But when you could grab one in that dark green shade (forgot the name of it) with a matching headstock, tort pickguard and everything else, seems like no contest to me.

The demo's only probably do partial justice, but I'll have to see what happens. Might be another thing that Fender stops after a short period of time that'll be worth a lot for collectors in the future...

Earth

All the switching on the originals suck anyways. The rhythm circuit on both is dark like you turned your tone to 0, and the bass cut switch on the jag is useless.

They are a gadgets guitar for sure but the novelty wears of real quick then you gut it to have just 1 toggle switch and have a good guitar. Unless your a j mascis type trem user you dont need that either, hence, the BT Jaguar is a very cool Jaguar IMO and if I wanted another Jag I'd get it.

LeftyInNeedTypical

Ohhh man. We have a blacktop series Black Friday sale at my local Sam Ash....All guitar, Strat, Tele, Jaguar, and Jazzy ll $445.00....SUCH A GOOD DEAL!!!! Plus they all have humbuckers. I'm excited, not to mention if you spend $200 dollars there this Saturday you get a free steel string guitar and case. Might buy a new amp. Anyway, I like the Blacktop Series, just my opinion.

LeftyInNeedTypical

I was excited to post on this, please excuse me for posting things already mentioned in my post above.

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