Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Damn you HCEG. Someone posted a link to Ishibashi's used page the other day and this gorgeous TL52 was screaming my name. I've been jonesing for a 52RI for a few years now but the massive Fender pricehike has precluded me from picking one up. I had a 50s Classic Tele for a while which was a great guitar but it just wasn't a Blackguard ya know? Anyway I placed the order last Wednesday and it showed up on at work here today. Amazing shipping time considering the fact that it came from half way around the world and that there was a Federal Holiday on Monday. (excuse the photo quality I did not have my good camera on me) Anyway she was a beautiful girl right out of the box and looked even better than the photos on Ishibashi's website. It's a 3pc Ash body but the grain has been very well joined. It's got a poly finish which gives it kind of that candy coated look but that does not bother me too well. The pups are Texas Specials which I've never really had any experience with. When I plugged her in I dug the sound. A bit hotter and warmer than my SD Broadcaster but that works out pretty well for me actually. The neck is a soft V which tapers down a bit as you go higher up the neck. It's nice and slick and feels great. I have fairly small hands so a vintage radius actually works pretty well for me. She's obviously been well played. All of the hardware is pretty dulled from sweat but I don't mind. It means it means that it's been a genuinely well loved and played guitar. My only disappointment was in when I popped the hood on her. Mini-pots and a PCB board switch...bleh...but WAIT! The Texas Special neck pup is 3 conductor which means I can install a four-way switch for series and parallel like a Baja. Woohoo! To the guitar store. Unfortunately they had to order the switch for me but I went ahead and grabbed some new Dimarzio custom taper tone pots (my favs.) I'll just leave the PCB switch in place until the 4-way comes in. Shiny new pots and cap. I gotta say the Dimarzio vol pot sure does look a lot like a CTS hmmmmm. I also threw on a Bakelite guard I had laying about. I like it more than the matte plastic one it came with. And last but not least a family photo (no acoustic pictured obviously) The Tele in the middle is waiting on a new neck. I ordered a Mighty Mite V with a rosewood board while I was at the guitar shop today. Should be in next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superrust Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Great looking for sure. The Japanese make some great guitars. HNGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chqtarzan Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Very hot!HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scoogs Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 You must not like Telecasters too much, huh? HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 You must not like Telecasters too much, huh?HNGD! Can't really say that I'm a fan. Nope not at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretmonster Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Absolutely stunning guitar and I dig your mods. Cool collection. What's the jazzbox on top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Nice guitar. I don't know why Fender Japan uses such crappy innards. My Jazzmaster has those hideous mini pots and really cheap switches. I suppose they are thinking about the consumer culture where electronics get used for 2 years and then thrown away--like cell phones and TV's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Lou-Dog Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Yeah, most of the CIJ Fenders electronics are probably the only weak point of the guitar.Happy NGD! Japanese Fenders FTW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimibetan Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Congrats!!! HNGD!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Nice guitar. I don't know why Fender Japan uses such crappy innards. My Jazzmaster has those hideous mini pots and really cheap switches. I suppose they are thinking about the consumer culture where electronics get used for 2 years and then thrown away--like cell phones and TV's. Yeah it's really odd that they would cut corners on something like that. My roommate has a MIJ Jaguar I'm tempted to take a look and see what kind of switches and pots that's using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Absolutely stunning guitar and I dig your mods. Cool collection. What's the jazzbox on top? Thanks. It's a Xaviere XV-900 with a Mean 90 and Dream 90. Inexpensive and great guitar once you get the kinks worked out. And according to one thread here I don't think we're supposed to call it a jazz box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 are you sure those are tex special pickups? Cloth wire, slight stagger, seperate neck cover ground, and white string they look like Fralins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 are you sure those are tex special pickups? Cloth wire, slight stagger, seperate neck cover ground, and white string they look like Fralins. Not sure to be honest. I'm not really familiar with Texas Specials. I may have to do some more research into them I guess and find out for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Angry Tele Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Not sure to be honest. I'm not really familiar with Texas Specials. I may have to do some more research into them I guess and find out for sure. Nevermind...I just looked them up and they look like CS Texas Specials (I was thinking TexMex)...Great pickups! I have a CIJ 52 that I refinished in nitro, its a great guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Very nice....the body is joined really well. Ishibashi are great to deal with. And EMS is the greatest postal service I've ever seen. Efficient doesn't even begin to describe how good their service is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3 Chord Monte Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Nice guitar. I just snagged a used 1997-98 CIJ 62/65 Telecaster from Ishibashi in Tokyo last week. I didn't even realize the place was Ishibashi until I looked at the receipt. The guy must own six or seven shops in Ochanomizubashi. It's an amazing neighborhood to shop for guitars. There are guitar shops lining both sides of the street. I was after a Robben Ford clone, and after trekking through about a dozen shops I found one. Congratulations on your new axe, it's a beauty. By the way, mine also has the cheesey mini-pots and lightweight switch. Other than that, it's a great guitar. Super shape for a ten-year-old axe too. It's an A serial number with USA, cloth wired pups. The hardware on mine is also a bit dulled or oxidized. I think it's just weathered. It looks good to me. Can you tell that I'm happy about my new purchase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Congratulations and Happy New Guitar Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndersonTech Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Nice. Lamb Chop my world famous white german shepard says four paws up. - w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AshboneWish Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Is lamb Chop a stand-in for Aslan? sweet Tele! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispscott Posted May 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 Congratulations on your new axe, it's a beauty. By the way, mine also has the cheesey mini-pots and lightweight switch. Other than that, it's a great guitar. Super shape for a ten-year-old axe too. It's an A serial number with USA, cloth wired pups. The hardware on mine is also a bit dulled or oxidized. I think it's just weathered. It looks good to me. Can you tell that I'm happy about my new purchase? Man, if I saw that on their site I would be hard pressed to decide between that and the 52. That's one of my favorite Tele styles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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