Jason Isbell Signature Tele Anyone Seen One?

guitarjack66

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

Offset

guitarjack66 said:

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

It's not so much a question of whether it's affordable, more a case of whether you wanted to pay it.  I really like the look of the guitar (aside from the relic-ing) but I wouldn't want to pay £1339 for it.

stickyfiddle

Offset said:

guitarjack66 said:

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

It's not so much a question of whether it's affordable, more a case of whether you wanted to pay it.  I really like the look of the guitar (aside from the relic-ing) but I wouldn't want to pay £1339 for it.

Exactly. It's also relative - it's a nitro finished guitar based heavily on Isbell's own CS guitar that would've cost 4k. Next to that it looks like good value. Obviously next to a £300 Squier it looks expensive, but in the realms of what one could pay for a guitar it's still at the "relatively decent value" end of things.

Lewy

guitarjack66 said:

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

It states relatively affordable, and it is, given that most people could find a way of affording it if they really wanted it and were willing to spend less on other things which could broadly be termed leisure or hobbies.

Of course there are some people who are seriously strapped and couldn't find a way to get the money, and some people for whom the money would be down the back of the sofa. That's why it's relative.

For perspective, apparently the average football fan spends around £700 a year watching the game on telly, travelling to matches and buying merch. I'd say a guitar stacks up pretty well against a couple of years of watching prancing millionaires falling over.

dazzajl

guitarjack66 said:

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

guitarjack66 said:

JerkMoans said:

£1200+ and they give you a gig bag to get it home? 

The article said 'relatively affordable.' To whom is that affordable?

To someone with £1300 odd quid to spend on a tele presumably?

If you look at the whole range from Bullet through to Custom Shop I think the Mexican stuff is absolutely the Goldilocks point now. And the higher end stuff like the road worns and artist series guitars seem to have much more personality and a feel to connect to than the US ones. 

I would much rather Fender didn’t chuck keys at the reliced bodies and it will look a bit naff until those dings wear in and dirt up a bit but if the guitar feels and sounds right, I know I’d start to love it’s looks in just days. 

RaymondLin

monquixote said:

I can't get over how fake and shitty the relicing looks.

It's such a shame they can't just make them nitro so they age nicely and leave it at that. If you want to get it reliced you can pay to to it properly or better still just play the bloody thing.

Other than that it looks and sounds excellent.

Is this not nitro?  I thought all roadworns are nitro.

Ah well, not that i am in the market for one but good to know.

stickyfiddle

It's definitely nito - body and neck. No doubt not exactly the formulation that the CS would use, but not the polyester/urethane that the regular Mexi stuff uses

meltedbuzzbox

Offset said:

Greatape said:

Now £1339....ouch.

'sumptuously smooth'. This isn't just a guitar... it's an M&S guitar..

That's a loony price, sorry.

About 5 or 6 years ago I paid an extra £261 to get a brand new fender cs, with a hardcase...

Blueingreen

Intrigued by this for about 3 minutes, but the 7.25" radius is an immediate deal breaker for me.  Shame but at least it saves me worrying about the iffy relicing and instant price hike.

RaymondLin

meltedbuzzbox said:

Offset said:

Greatape said:

Now £1339....ouch.

'sumptuously smooth'. This isn't just a guitar... it's an M&S guitar..

That's a loony price, sorry.

About 5 or 6 years ago I paid an extra £261 to get a brand new fender cs, with a hardcase...

It is crazy, I thought that Chrissie Hynde one at £1100 was expensive.  Standard Roadworn has been £1k for ages, even up until this year.  £339 more for this one? Is it the binding or pickup? or the wood and parts in general.

Probably all of the above and sign of things to come i guess.

oldhorsemurphy

.

monquixote

RaymondLin said:

monquixote said:

I can't get over how fake and shitty the relicing looks.

It's such a shame they can't just make them nitro so they age nicely and leave it at that. If you want to get it reliced you can pay to to it properly or better still just play the bloody thing.

Other than that it looks and sounds excellent.

Is this not nitro?  I thought all roadworns are nitro.

Ah well, not that i am in the market for one but good to know.

Yes they are nitro. 

I'm just saying I prefer the AO approach where they make it nitro and then it's up to you if you want to get it reliced.

I don't see the point of badly done relicing.

HandwrittenHero

To be honest I probably would also have liked it non-worn but it isn’t a deal breaker since a played guitar won’t remain pristine anyway

Lewy

monquixote said:

Yes they are nitro. 

I'm just saying I prefer the AO approach where they make it nitro and then it's up to you if you want to get it reliced.

I don't see the point of badly done relicing.

If I had to choose, I'd take bad relicing on a thin nitro finish versus pristine nitro over a fairly thick poly basecoat (which is what AOs have). I say that as someone who has an AO strat with some real wear and dings on it and actually, that doesn't look better than the relicing on this Isbell model because you can just see this layer of impenetrable plastic under the nitro.

It seems that's the choice a few people are making with this guitar...they can overlook the relicing because at least it's thin nitro and the other specs outweigh it. It's a shame they don't offer a non-reliced version. I'm a relic fan and very live-and-let live about people playing whatever they want, but I imagine it's annoying if you don't like relics and it's the only option available for a model.

markj

My Isbell tele came out of the gigbag needing a slight adjustment ( less than quarter of a turn) on the truss rod. Lemon oil on the rosewood board and I had the bone nut recut by Tomson guitars for a tenner. I changed to 10.5 Curt Mangan strings and changed the grub screws to slightly shorter ones on the brass saddles on the high an low E. Out of 6 Telecasters over the years that have been AVRI 52. AVRI 64. A couple of American standards, this is absolutely my favourite of the lot. It's super resonant plays and sounds wonderful. Yes I think it's a little bit expensive for a Mexican made guitar  and the fake aging won't suit everyone.

RaymondLin

It's weird because I really like the relicing on my Roadworn Strat, it is the original run from 2008 and people back then said they were over the top but compared to the CS stuff you get these days, it's par for the course.  Apart being cookie cutter like, it's not done too bad i think and the checking on it is great.

markj

oldhorsemurphy said:

Mine arrived today and after a bit of tweaking it plays brilliantly. It sounds fantastic too and definitely a lot hotter than any other Tele I've played. 

Are you still enjoying yours? Join the Fretboard forum Isbell tele club.

oldhorsemurphy

markj said:

oldhorsemurphy said:

Mine arrived today and after a bit of tweaking it plays brilliantly. It sounds fantastic too and definitely a lot hotter than any other Tele I've played. 

Are you still enjoying yours? Join the Fretboard forum .

Cookiemonster

I am not much of a Jason Isbell fan but this does look like a great Tele. I wish they did it without the dings though

gefcon1

I have just borrowed a JI Custom Tele to try from a mate who has recently taken receipt after being on order. I gave up looking at Fender guitars years ago (mainly because they just keep producing more and more stuff nobody needs). However, I have to say that this model does play and sound really quite good.  The neck pup is has a very usable fat Strat sound. Sonically this guitar has a great vibe in all three pup positions.  So much so that I shall probably hunt one down.  Yes the relicing may not appeal to all, but for once Fender has ticked a lot of boxes with this one. Surprised and impressed!