This is my new Fender Thinline 72 RI (reissue):

The image is stock, I’ll post one of my playing it soon. I used to be a Gibson man, and I was kind of “anti-Fender”. I liked classic rock, metal, 80′s hair bands, modern rock. But the last couple years I’ve been heavy into the blues. It’s funny sometimes – as you age you learn to appreciate different types of music more. For the first time in my life I pretty much (now) understand how and why players use different configurations of Fender and Gibson guitars and amps. Now I use my volume knob (on the guitar), and I used to just play on “10″, and the only use the amp volume. Then again – I used to have solid state amps, and now I have really good boutique tube amps.

I like the Telecaster sound, by my main instrument for awhile now has been my Mexican Tele with a Seymour Duncan little ’59 in the bridge, and a single coil in the neck. There’s something about that configuration that just suits me. It’s not too light, dirty when I want it, but not muddy like a Les Paul. It’s great for nearly any type of music.

Last week I saw a guy on the local Craigslist had a ’72 RI Thinline Tele for sale, but he was willing to trade for the right guitar. One of the guitars he wanted was a Reverend, and I just happened to have one that wasn’t getting much use. In 1972 Fender put out a Thinline Telecaster (that I’ve been able to find) in 2 different types – “deluxe” and “custom”. The deluxe ’72 Tele is unique because it has 4 knobs (like a Gibson), 2 volume, and 2 tone – in addition to 2 “wide range” humbuckers. That, and the fact that the thinline has the signature F-hole tonebox on top for a slightly brighter sound.

So, I decided to setup an appt for a guitar swap – and the guy like my Reverend, and I liked his Tele. It had a C shaped neck a little fatter then my Mexican Tele, but was actually easier to play (for me). So I took it home and cranked it up, and if there’s anything I’ve learned the last few years it’s the fact that every guitar is different. The guy I bought it from said that he switched the pots out for 500K because it was (in his opinion) too “dark”. I don’t know about dark, but I like guitars with the 500K mod because the gain rolloff is different than with standard 250K volum pots.

On my Tele with the lil ’59 Seymour pickup it starts to get dirt around 5 or 6, and progresses up all the way to 10 until it’s full bore. On the new Thinline 72 I don’t start to get dirt until about 8 (on the same rig and pedals), and the sound at “10″ on the volume is a bit different (slightly more harsh). The “widerange” humbuckers are not what you’d expect. You’re not going to get a Gibson sound, but it’s not a single coil either. It’s not exactly like a P-90 (or as dark). The best way to describe it is a humbucker that has more clarity (and is more defined). The bridge is really bright, the neck pickup is really deep and ambient.

I love my Tele with the little ’59, but the thing about this Thinline is I can set the bridge pickup at one volume, and the neck pickup at another. Then I can go from neck rhythm to bridge leads with ease. With my other Tele it’s one volume for all.

There’s another Thinline back on the market now called the Thinline 69 RI:

You can see in the image above that the Thinline ’69 is a traditional Tele in both pickups and controls. It has the F-hole cutout, but the neckplate is a 3 bolt (where the ’72 RI is a 4 bolt neck).

I’m grateful to have this as a new addition to my guitar collection, you can find it at musicians friend for about $800 bucks:

Check Musician’s Friend Price for ’72 Thinline RI Deluxe

There are some decent auctions on the Thinline as well:

Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Electric Guitar Black
	USD 639.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 20:53:23
FENDER TELE THINLINE PICKGUARD LOADED WITH DELUXE PICKUPS,
	USD 160.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 16:26:40
Fender Telecaster '72 Thinline - Natural w/Dlx Bag NEW
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 22:12:13
Fender Classic Player Tele Thinline Deluxe Bundle - Maple Fretboard, Black
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 07:14:15
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe - Tele Guitar (Black), NEW!
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 17:39:39
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Electric Guitar Deluxe 3-Color
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-09 15:38:15
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Electric Guitar Black
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-11 09:51:49
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Guitar
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 19:34:04
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Guitar
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-05 19:32:20

Original Vintage 1974 Fender Telecaster Thinline Elecrtic Guitar & Case CLEAN
	USD 3150.00 (43 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 02:47:19
Fender Classic Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe Electric Guitar Black
	USD 639.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-10 20:53:23
Fender Thinline Telecaster '69 Reissue
	USD 357.32 (10 Bids) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 03:02:10
Fender 60th Anniversary Modern Thinline Telecaster American Tele bration USA
	USD 1550.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-12 01:10:25
TELE '72 THINLINE WARMOTH BODY&NECK COIL-SPLIT FENDER P'UPS USA MADE SUPER LIGHT
	USD / 799.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 03:02:53
FENDER TELE THINLINE 72 REISSUE NECK WITH 'F' TUNERS, NOT PLAYED ON. EXCELLENT!
	USD 220.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-06 16:09:29
Fender Custom Shop Thinline Tele Sparkle Ash Modern Specs Limited
	USD 1799.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 21:56:48
Vintage Fender 69 Thinline Telecaster
	USD 6500.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 00:19:47
Fender Classic Series '69 Thinline Telecaster Tele Electric Guitar Natural
	USD 799.99 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-07 21:59:06
Fender Classic Series '69 Thinline Telecaster Electric Guitar Natural (MINT)
	USD / 550.00 (0 Bid) | Buy It Now End time: 2012-02-08 02:06:19

Seems like everyone and their brother has a “signature guitar” anymore. You seem them from time to time in Guitar Center or the latest Musician’s Friend catalog, but never all at once. The kind of seem to come and go. I decided to list my favorite signature guitar models all at once for you to check out. These are my favorites from Eddie Van Halen, Dave Mustaine, Dimebag Darrell, Michael Schenker, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde, George Lynch, Kirk Hammett, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Slash, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Randy Rhoads, John Petrucci, Angus Young, and Steve Morse. I wish I had them all!

 

Van Halen Wolfgang Signature Guitars

 

Dave Mustaine Signature Guitars

 

Dimebag Darrell Signature Guitars

 

Michael Schenker Signature Guitars

 

Tony Iommi Signature Guitars

 

Zakk Wylde Signature Guitars

 

George Lynch Signature Guitars

 

Kirk Hammett Signature Guitars

 

Buddy Guy Signature Guitars

 

Eric Clapton Signature Guitars

 

Eric Johnson Signature Guitars

 

Jeff Beck Signature Guitars

 

Steve Vai Signature Guitars

 

Joe Satriani Signature Guitars

 

Randy Rhoads Signature Guitars

 

John Petrucci Signature Guitars

 

Steve Morse Signature Guitars

 

John 5 Signature Guitars

 

Angus Young Signature Guitars

This is my “HSS Strat Review” – or “What I Hate Standard Strats!”

I never used to to think I was really either a “Gibson” or “Fender” kinda guy. The first guitar I became really partial to was my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow body. Well, now that it’s rewired with “Pearly Gates” pickups in both the neck and bridge – maybe that’s why! I had quite a few before this that I got rid of for one reason or another. There are two things I look for in a guitar, and they are “tone” and “versatility”. A standard strat (to me) has NO tone whatsoever in the bridge position, the neck is great for jazz or blues, but all positions lack…..well for lack of a better term – “balls”.

I play a wide variety of music from pop, to rock, southern rock, country, blues, classic rock, dance, disco, a bit of everything. When you’re talking about versatility, I tend to think that humbuckers are the way to go because you can go “balls out” if you need to for say “Gimme 3 Steps”, but cut it down for a very bluesy “Fool For Your Stockings”. You’re good for either “Brickhouse” or “Free for All”.

On the other hand, I saw a guy in a bar not to long ago with a great rig playing the hell out of a standard strat on a Pink Floyd cover and he sounded great! Then the next song was “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC, and my jaw dropped when I heard the tinny, trebly, horrible fake-distorted sound of that strat! There’s just no way that guitar could EVER sound heavy enough for that (or any other) hard-rock based sound.

In addition – I even owned (and paid $900 for) an “official SRV signature” strat from Fender’s custom shop last year. I finally sold it (digusted) a week later, because (while very playable) it just wasn’t versatile enough (sound-wide) for me at the time. Now fast forward to last month, when I was in my local GC, and I checked out 2 or 3 of the HSS (humbucker, single coil, single coil) “fat” strats, both American and Mexican made. I plugged these into a Vox, 3 different Marshalls, a Peavey, a Fender, and a Line 6. I have to say – I wish I would have bought one of these a long time ago…

The HSS or “fat strat” gives you a humbucker in the bridge position, and then 2 single coils. So if you want to belt out Pink Floyd on the neck with chorus and bad-ass delay, great! But you can go “balls-out” in bridge with your AC/DC and Angus impressions no problem! Now, to be sure – I STILL wouldn’t recommend this for death metal or anything (check out the Ibanez ART300 for that), this type of strat is probably the only kind that can handle most types of hard rock. I had forgotten how many of these there were back in the 80′s, and that would probably explain why I hadn’t seen many of them in the store over the years (again) until now. Back in the 80′s in the land of hair metal – these were called “heavy metal strats”, and those are kind of rare to find today.

Here are some great deals on HSS Fat Strats on eBay right now, the retail for a mexican made strat is about $399, and American Made is $799+. You can get great deals both new and used on eBay for these guitars.

Here’s the latest auctions on eBay for “HM” or “Heavy Metal” strats, there are usually under 6 or so for sale at any given time (there are getting rarer by the day).