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Post subject: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:35 pm
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Hi All,

Looking at the Blacktop - anyone have any insight ?

Thanks!!!


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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:11 pm
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Hi tkrall,

I got my Blacktop about 1 month ago. Check out my thread here.

Now that I've had it for a bit, I don't mind giving you an indepth review. The build quality is great, the neck is smaller than my Am Std Strat and Am Special Tele, both which have the modern "C" shape neck. Basically it's a hefty neck on those guitars, the Blacktop Tele has a smaller neck all over but without it feeling thin, same basic shape just a bit smaller in all directions. Feels to me like my mits can wrap around it alot easier. The neck itself is a joy to play on, easy to get up and down and no hanging frets (atleast on the model I got).

The finish on the body is great, it's a 1 tone colour, can't be that hard to spray right?

The reversed controls for a tele is a bit different to play on, first couple of rehearsals I was turning the tone all the way down and wondering why I was getting feedback when the guitar should be turned off. But after playing it for a while you get the hang of it. The Knobs LOOK great, love the look, they're a bit too slick for quick easy adjustment when compared to the standard tele knobs. Take it or Leave it.

Tone: Fender, why didn't you tell me you made such tasty humbuckers :D Bridge pickup is EXACTLY what you want out of a humbucking pickup, has the high output bite, but doesn't pierce at all. Put a decent tube distorted amp on the receiving end and it does what you need it to do in any rock genre. Front pickup, definitely a humbucking tone, but has more bell like qualities than most. The mids aren't as prominent (at least in mine) and you get this mellow tone, at the same output volume you'd expect from a hotwound pickup. If you're looking for that Cream woman tone, or Slashs neck solo tone you need to back off the Tone knob a bit to line up the mids with the treble (in the case of the first on, back the tone knob completely off).

Clean tone wise, each of them sound like a clean humbucker, not my cup of tea really. the bridge pickup has a fair bit of tele TWANG in there, but I would suggest that is also helped from pickup placement and body thickness. HOWEVER, the middle position, with both pickups clean, is a GOLDMINE. Man, you've got clear definition of ever string, playing some Stones (beast of burden) or funky licks (superstition, son of a preacher etc) is just fantastic.

To sum up, I have a $1800AUD Am Std Strat, a $1000AUD Am Special Tele and this $450AUD Tele Blacktop is my new number one. For the price you really can't get a better guitar.

Dan

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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 1:28 pm
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I'm into the fourth week with my new Blacktop Tele and I'm lovin it. The pickups are really a little hotter than I expected and really drive my amp to breakup earlier but clean up very nicely with a slight tweak of the amp knobs. The fit and finish on these things are beautiful. Fender has done an outstanding job on this model. I didn't think I would ever find a Tele that I like as well as my old 94 MIM tele with the Tex-Mex's and HB on the neck, but this thing really rocks. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 10:26 pm
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I was looking at all the Blacktops.

Now, my experience with tailed bridges, as on the Jazzmaster and the Jaguar, is that one can accidentally whip the strings off the bridge if one is a bit too enthusiastic on one's playing. and I already have a Jazzmaster. The Bridge Tail gives a kind of sound swell to various phases of notes up and down the fretboard, and the shallow depth single pole pickups have a nice round sound... but I don't need two Jazzmaster. and if you own a Jazzmaster, what would you need a Jaguar for?

The choice was between the Strat and the Tele. The Strat was a very pretty red with maple neck. The Tele was black with maple neck. God, I wish I had a rose wood neck... rosewood never stains, or if it does, you don't see it.

Anyway, I slide modulate my strings and think that a Wobble Arm is, well, unnecessary. I had a Strat before and I openned it up and stuck 5 or six quarters... pocket change... between the Wobble Arm buttress and the body cutout, to keep it locked in position. I heard Eric Clapton did the same thing, but he used cigerette butts or something. But, yes, with the Wobble Arm in action, the strings tune against the tension of the Wobble Arm springs, and therefore against each other. Tune one string, changing the tension against the springs, and suddenly you have to tune EVERY String... What a Pain!

I used to really love the look of Stratocasters. But with age I have come to prefer the simple elegance of the Telecaster design.

I suspected the Telecaster with Hummbuckers would have a nice clean round sound. I brought my Jazzmaster from home and compared it with the Blacktop Telecaster, using the cheapest amp in the store, set to ‘clean’. Yes, the Tele with hummbuckers was nice and clean and round, but the Jazzmaster had that nice funny tail-bridge-flare phenomena thing going on, and so I decided to save my money. So I went home with just my Jazzmaster.

…But in practice I accidentally whipped a string off the Jazzmaster bridge, and so I went back to the store and bought the Blacktop Telecaster.

Another point in its favor. It’s a good stand up guitar. One can still sit down and play, but the telecaster is relatively light and holds up well when one is on his feet.

It doesn’t ‘twang’ full blown country like a regular Telecaster, but that is what I have another Telecaster for. This Hummbucker Telecaster is a very good clean sounding… even ROUND sounding guitar. A nice tone with minimal electronics.

And, I don’t know why it is but I just play the Telecaster configuration better… somehow its easier to play Telecaster. My regular Telecaster, which I don’t even like because of the Super Twang, well I still play it a lot because it showcases my playing… its supernaturally easy to play… psychological or magical or something. Anyway, this new Telecaster comes with the same mogo. And it sounds better. Yes, there is still a bit of twang if one uses the bridge pickup, but not enough for Nashville… they’d confiscate your cowboy hat. But enough twang to satisfy a kind of country mood in any song that was not solidly whistling Dixie, so to speak. But the Neck Bridge is Clean and Round, and both pickups together give a Body more than just adding a bit more Twang, as in a standard Tele.

This Blacktop Telecaster is actually something of a Professional Grade Guitar that one could use really well for just about anything… from pretty sit down stuff to the most rough and tumble.

Oh, the Store Owner who know how I’ve retuned my Bass (Fender Jazz Bass, Somebody’s Signature) and I restrung my Violin to Viola tuning… anyway, he mentioned turning the Blacktop Tele into a Baritone Guitar by adding a fat B string to the low end and pushing all the other strings over one and drop the E string off altogether. Oh, I already tune the high B and E strings to C and F. So this Tele tuned to Baritone would be exactly like a little six string bass. I’ll let you guys know how that goes. Strings are in the mail.


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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:45 am
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I have had my Hardtop for about a month. I really love the sound. I'm thinking about getting a different neck though. I'm more used to a different radius. I'm thinking of getting a 12" radius neck. More like my main Tele. Even for another $300.00 it is STILL a bargin. And you don't have the single coil hum. I play it through a Deluxe reverb and it is exactly what I love. Having the hardtop and a regular single coil Tele.. I have it all.

Does anyone have an opinion on the 12" radius neck as opposed to the 9.5" that comes with the Hardtop?


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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:07 am
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the blacktops are all great, the tele and jag r the best. my tele plays like a monster for nirvana riffs but sounds so sweet for arpeggio's. top notch :D :D :D


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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 7:02 am
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The rosewood neck on my BT tele is a piece of crap.


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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:31 am
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hardly see how the necks $@!&, it feels really good in my hands.

i've had my blacktop tele for about a month, maybe 3 weeks. so far....LOVE IT. i had my doubts that when it was coming it wouldn't have that twang sound that most tele's have, cause it has a humbucker. i was wrong. the amount of tones you can get from it are amazing. the classic tele twang, to a mid range tone, to a overdriven sounding, to a deep roung sound. it seriously feels like its my dream guitar. it can play just about anything; punk rock riffs, to jazz, to heavy metal, to blues. it has a great vibe about it, great guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Blacktop Reviews?
Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 6:24 am
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Now that I have played with my Blacktop Tele (rosewood) I am used to the 9.5 radius and I really like it. I have since bought a Carr Mercury amp and WOW. A bit pricey but I can get all of the tone that I want.


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