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All the things you mention are quite positive, but I have one question. I absolutely can't stand narrow/tall frets. Jumbo, or medium jumbo are fine. Narrow/tall feel like speed bumps to me. Does your guitar have the narrow/tall. If so, you obviously like them, so that's fine. I guess it's...

Bravo! This guitar is a thing of beauty. The wear is HONEST. I don't like relic instruments because I feel they are dishonest. I do agree that the relics sold by Fender and some other manufacturers are overdone in the wear-through department. I don't want to buy a guitar that looks like it...

Hello Lovecaster, Your caution is right on. The previous owner worked with you and answered your questions. It doesn't get any better. In many ways, used tube amps are more predictable than solid-state amps. When a SS amp breaks down, it causes a heap of hurt and trouble. ALL circuits have...

Dear FireFunRevival, What a fantastic story and memory. After many years, our favorite acoustic guitars become almost a part of us. I have a 25-year-old Martin jumbo with cutaway that has mellowed to sound beyond wonderful. But please, can I have another???? I also love my Martin 12-string...

Hello Haven 42, Fabulous question. I'm in my 80th year and have played Fender Strats and Teles since the early 1960s. First a little background. Leo Fender was hard of hearing. No, really, he had a lot of trouble hearing the high frequencies. What sounded harsh to you and me, sounded right...

Great question. I do the same thing. I think it's better both scientifically and musically. But I do have a question for our more advanced electronics-expert players. What about amps like the Fender Princeton Reverb. It has a full compliment of tubes and no standby switch? Perhaps the...

1965. Yes, that makes me an old timer. It was their new electric 12-string, with the hockey-stick headstock. Don't ask me how many Fender guitars and amps I've bought in the last 57 years, because it numbers in the multiple dozens. The folk-rock "craze" was going strong in the 60s, and...

Good question. You can do two things. The easiest is to take off the back plate and see how many springs are being used. Also check to see if they are straight from point to point, or angled. If they are angled, there is more tension than if they are straight. You might try removing one...

Hee hee, you are gonna get very strong opinions based only on personal preferences. Is the color blue better than the color green? If you like green, I could jump up and down until I turn red trying to convince you that blue is better, but to no avail. I love the sound of 60s Strat pickups...

Hello Bongo, Interesting comment. You know what WOULD be tough? Listening to a Strat pickup without any a = b, or a=b=c comparisons. Many of us could tell the difference between Texas Specials and say, Vintage Noiseless, but hearing them alone, any pickup would be much more difficult to...

I guess I would have to say meh. There is no right or wrong answer here. I could jump up and down all day insisting that the color blue is prettier than the color green. But if you like green that's too bad for me. What I don't like about SOME 3-color sunburst Fenders (and also some Gibsons...

Good choices Lost Plectrum, Most players know that Fender pickups have AlNiCo magnets. Texas Specials, Fat 50s, and most others have AlNiCo 5 magnets. Fat 60s have AlNiCo 2 magnets. They sound very different as a result. There's fabulous low frequency response. Neck and Middle sound almost...

Greetings, I didn't find my perfect Strat, I had to build it. We all have our playing styles and special requirements. For me, I use brass finger picks and a plastic thumb pick. So, the middle pickup ALWAYS gets in the way. I started out with an HSS Strat with a gorgeous flame maple top...

I agree. A lower action is possible when the neck angle is right. A tapered shim is thicker inside the neck pocket than it is at the end of the pocket before the neck. That will tilt the neck MORE close to the body (pushing the nut end down). If the action is high at the 12th and higher...

You touched on many of the variables that control string height. You really have to look at all of them to get the best action. As you probably know, Fender came out with their tilt-neck option. By turning a screw in the neck pocket, you can change the neck angle. To accomplish the same...

I guess there are two kinds of errors, colors that weren't supposed to be there, and actual quality issues. I bought a MIM Player Telecaster, and neither pickup was soldered in place. When I opened up the guitar, the wires were just sitting there, unconnected. How the hell that got by quality...

I tried to find one from my birth year, 1944, but so far, no good. Is it ok if I substitute one of those Gibsons that were made by the women in their factory during WWII? There's a great book on this subject, if anyone is interested, called The Kalamazoo Gals. They were amazing.

You nailed it, PCollen. The time for further action is when buzzing is present. The rate of wear that is being experienced is rather fast. He shouldn't be producing dead spots after only a few months, no matter how aggressively notes are being bent. After a full fret crowning and dressing...

I'm sorry for your trouble. You describe the problem very well. There is a huge difference between hum and hiss. A certain amount of hum with single coils or electrical interference can happen with any tube amp. White noise hiss is something else altogether. I've played through dozens upon...

I'm sorry for your trouble, and I believe LostPlectrum has the solution. One or more of the frets is probably either higher or lower than they should be. There is no excuse for Fender to sell high-priced, supposed-to-be quality instruments that need fret or neck adjustments. If you haven't...

Oh no, no, no. I hate to be negative, but why can't Fender leave well enough alone? What's the point of a ToneMaster Princeton Reverb? The tube reissue isn't heavy, it has a fabulous sound, is available in 10 or 12 inch speaker versions, and is one of the best recording amps on the planet...

Hello Kingmarc1982, I suggest the Fender Princeton Reverb. Sweetwater has a limited edition on sale for exactly $1,000. It's made in the USA and has an Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker. This is an outstanding amp with a fabulous clean sound. Since you use pedals for crunch, it also provides a...

I have NEVER liked relics. Why would I want a guitar that looks like it has been dragged behind a bus for three hundred yards? They are dishonest. I got news for all players out there. You will not play like Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or anyone else who used beat-up...

I cast another vote for the Deluxe reissue (NOT THE TONEMASTER). However, I also vote to tame the highs a bit. You can clip the cap or replace the stock Jensen with a heavier magnet speaker. I put a Eminence Swamp Thang in mine and it sounds amazing. The Princeton (again with a speaker...

This is a good question. I would say that it does effect the value because it would be otherwise perfect. Perhaps a couple of hundred bucks. I know players pay many thousands of dollars for relic instruments, but that's the entire instrument. A sixties-vintage Strat with many more chips...