Playing Fender's STRANGEST Telecaster! 

Have to disagree with you there. The "Acoustasonic Telecaster" is the strangest Tele.

Jim Root of Slipknot has a pretty unconventional signature telecaster as well. Maybe it's just something with Jims and weird teles?

Gibson: "Play authentic." Fender: "Hold my beer."

Hey Darrell, I was at Guitar Center today and I heard your voice. Actually it was a couple of teenagers consulting your channel on their phone to learn more about a guitar they were considering. I thought that was freakin cool and I had to tell you. Rock on!

Is it a Gender or a Fibson?

Probably watched this more than 5x just because I love Jimmy Eat World and this is my favorite Telecaster model in existence.

Darrell Braun: "Fender has never been afraid of trying new things." John Mayer: "Oh really?"

Times and gear I used in this video listed below :) 1. Detailed walkthrough - 2:00 2. Tone Test - 9:45 3. One Minute Solo - 13:23 4. Final Thoughts -14:38 Guitar: imp.i114863.net/QDNv3 Amp - Mesa Boogie Blue Angel Overdrive tones - True North Tweed Drive Distortion Tones - REVV G3 Mics - E906 and SR25 Enjoy :)

Bought a used JA-90 a few years ago and dropped in some noiseless Lindy Fralin p90's, such a great sounding combination

Jim Adkins talked about the design of the guitar in the Jimmy Eat World rig rundown on Premier Guitar a while back in case anyone wanted to learn more about the odd style of this guitar.

I've had this guitar in the crimson transparent finish for about a year now. I have about 10 guitars total but this is my favorite. It feels great to play with the semi-hollow body/shorter scale and the P90s pack a lot of oomph. It also looks amazing in the crimson color.

I have one of the 2004 double cut TC-90s in vintage white. These are excellent guitars, although only around 1,400 were made by the Korean factory for Fender. Jim Adkins was playing a TC-90 so that is what this signature guitar is based on. The tuners on my TC-90 are fine.

I thought I was the only one who liked the JA-90. And IMO, the strangest Tele has to be the dual-humbucker Telecaster Deluxe. That one's my favorite; love the roaring and singing tones of those Wide Range pickups.

You gotta make a cheap vs high end electronics sound test video.. maybe by upgrading this tele

I have the JA-90 in trans black and it's without a doubt in my top 3 guitars. I own several teles; this one is dynamite. Love it in the natural, too. Good video.

It's so Gibsonesque, it's a shame they didn't go with a 12" fingerboard radius.

I have a similar Squire "Telecaster Custom" with Duncan P90's and the same control layout, though different bridge. I love it and have to say my P90's are nowhere near as noisy as that guitar. Mine came with a one-piece maple neck with the skunk stripe truss rod rout and, I think, the same tuners. So, there "is" a more reasonably priced alternative to that guitar aside from the set neck and lightened/f-hole body design. I'm a real fan of P90 pickups, especially the SD Phat Cat set. Your demos are always great to hear and watch and it's clear from the wall behind you that you're a Tele fan, big time.

The nail scratches on the plate tell me that you've been playing the heck out of it. Considering that wall of beauties hanging behind you I'll accept that as a ringing endorsement of this guitar.

Wow, that really is a nice sounding guitar! I do like the set neck construction, shorter scale length & P90's. OTOH, if I got one, I'd wind up swapping out all the electronics & tuners for higher grade parts. Too bad Fender didn't have an MIA version of this.

I don’t think the pots and switches matter if you can’t tell from playing it

Definitly got a TC-90 and it is my main guitar ! It's been for more than 10 years, and i don't regret anything except for the electronics that got me in trouble a few times... I highly recommand you try it, you won't be disapointed! Cheers from france!

I think if it sounds good and plays good, who cares if it counts as a “tele” or not. That said, I have a deluxe semi hollow tele with p90s and I absolutely love it. Great vid as always! (Also you should collaborate with samuraiguitarist)

Strange how it still has a fender sounding tone with those p90s. I like it. The 'bright' tone almost has a Larry Carlton 'kid charlemagne' vibe about it.

That tele has the best tone I ever heard a tele have 👌 very soulful playing too Darrell 💯 it’s like I could feel your everyday struggles in your solos

That’s a great Tele. I love P90’s. I would buy it in a second. I love the shorter scale.

Are you Canadian? I noticed boat sound when you said not much to complain about, great job on finding things that none of us would have come across on our own, it's nice to finally have a channel that keeps you guessing

I'm really surprised that it's branded as a Fender rather than a Squier, considering that it's Indonesian.

The Merle Haggard Tele has been around a long time, and has a set neck.

fender is KILLING it lately. i'm loving my sixty six.

I bet that heel joint is straight heaven when going to the upper register.

I have the white version of this guitar. The first time I picked it up a few years before I bought it in a guitar center I fell in love. One of those guitars you immediately click with within seconds of playing. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's a great feeling. I had that with this guitar. I ended up buying it a few years later. Amazing guitar. Cheap electronics don't really bother me as long as there's no clicking, popping or scratching. Aside from that the vast majority of people won't hear any real difference between cheap and higher quality electronic components.

This is the coolest looking telecaster I have ever seen

I always thumbs up your videos before even watching them, I have yet to be disappointed by this process

Man the P90 neck pickup is just so butter.

I have tried this guitar and the Telecaster Custom FMT HH numerous times. I call the latter the Fender Les Paul. There are several videos on it as well. Both are in my top 10 of best guitars I have ever played.

I’ve had my eye on one of these for years! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the review. I just ordered one.

Great video Darrell! Looks and sounds great, especially with your effort to get the audio recorded right.

these followed the Korean Set Neck Tele's... Squier Master Series. 2004 Thinline with a short plate Tele bridge. 2005 was a Chambered Mahogany Body & Mahog. Neck too ! both are 24 3/4" scale. Both are Loud unplugged ! Thinline has a square heel ...chambered is shaped

Makes me miss my Fender FMT HH Telecaster! Made like a PRS with a bound flame maple top and set neck. Had killer Seymour Duncans in it (59' and pearly gates plus)

That set neck style on a strat with a warm humbucker in bridge would be amazing.

Indonesian here. I do not know this beautiful Tele was crafted in Indonesia. Love those P90s!

Perfect Tele for a Gibson player. The shorter scale length I love.

It’s a Telecaster Deluxe with a Gibson bridge and P-90s instead of humbuckers. I built something like this from a kit last year.

That neck joint is the most sensual piece of guitar you will ever feel.

What you have is a Les Paul Special. I have a G&L Tele with two P-90s, a toggle switch, a stop tail piece and a tune-o-matic bridge but there's only two control knobs and it has a bolt on neck. It too is essentially an LPS and I absolutely love it. 🙂

I bought a white one. Love it!

Never played the JA tale but I "get it". My fav guitar is my warmoth 7/8 strat (24 3/4 inch scale, 24 frets).

This was so almost my first ‘good’ guitar. Went to Anderton’s to pick it up but then I got my hands on an electron stick pro jet and I’ve never looked back

I have a G&L ASAT with magnetic field pickups that kind of look like P90's. It is by far the very best "tele" that Leo ever made. I built a tele with Warmoth parts that has a smooth neck joint very similar to Peavey's. I only have it for friends that come to visit or at one of my gigs and would like to sit in.

I have the TC-90 which was what he used years ago. Love the tone, the P-90s are amazingly reactive and quiet. I've used it for everything from country to blues to metal. It has a great clean especially with the tone rolled back. Can pullmoff fantastic leads and pinch harmonics for days. I use it more than any of my gibsons.

24 3/4 scale length?!?! On a Tele?!?! Blasphemy.

The Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH also has that same neck joint looks like.

Just bought the new white JA-90 that Fender just shipped out. So excited! I'm gonna build a collection like yours! 😁

That's why I love Fender. They are always open to new and unusual stuff.

I have one on order from Sweetwater in that natural wood. Getting it setup and should have it within a week and I cannot wait. I’ve wanted one of these for years.

That is how every telecaster should look. Killer guitar!

I’d like to see a comparison to the Squier Telecaster Custom II with P-90’s if you ever get the chance.

Love the detail of your reviews. Great production and playing. But most of all your honest.

Glad to see this, I've been thinking about buying one of these. Tks.

Prob the next guitar I’m going to buy. Darn you Darrell! I just bought a tele. And it’s wine red transparent and I need a guitar with P90s and a rosewood neck. 💸👋🤩

Nice review, I’ve had a JA-90 in red for many years now and it remains my favorite guitar of any I own, even over more expensive guitars I’ve purchased since. It just does everything I ask it to.

I own one. In terms of the sound, obviously sounds nothing like a normal tele, but I love it

If you've never heard of the Fender Showmaster, you should check them out. They made them in strat and tele style bodies with a set neck, 24 frets, and Seymour Duncan humbuckers. They're fairly rare, but really cheap. I got one at a guitar center for $350, and it's easily one of the best guitars I've ever played.

I got a chance to play one for a day when I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana. They have a partnership with Fender and you can have a different guitar sent to your room daily. I liked everything about it except it seem to suffer from poor QA - or maybe previous guest abuse, but if it got some work done to it, it would be great.

Played one of these back when they first came out and liked it a lot. It was a cool guitar! Didn't have the bones at the time to buy it; and had forgotten about them for a while. My LP Jr. is the only P90 git I own at the moment. You've stirred my interest for these again. May have to seek one out. The trans red one I played was really nice! BTW - fairly new subscriber here. Really enjoy your content Darrell. Thanks a bunch. PEACE!

Really enjoyed the 1 minutes solo. Nice phrasing in there. Tone was excellent. Definitely a good guitar for that. I even think that the P-90 humming sound is cool and a good part of the experience. Thanks for sharing!!!! I really have to get myself a tele!!! No sure though I would get that model as my first tele guitar!!!

The set neck should have been done YEARS ago! My tele is one of the least expensive guitars l own at $450.. it is made by Wolf, it has a 5 peice neck thru design, walnut deck ash body, ebony board, the neck is mahogany/ash/walnut and has a graphite nut. Swithed out tree to Graphtech, pick ups to SD vintage Hotstacks, took off the standard chrome tele knobs and threw on some sweet walnut knobs and it is one of my favorite guitars.. sustain is as good as it gets, the heel? Omg! Its so smooth and contoured it is the easiest to play by far, the frets were FAR better than l was expecting for simply $450.. l only polished the light oxidation off them and they were done.. likely not a Jescar wire but it works, very level which again..l was not expecting. My favorite tele Fender makes is the "Tuff Dog" signature Waylon l think it is..not sure but its gorgeous and also has that set neck contoured..lil too much$$$ for me but its so nice. Why is it a company can offer a neck through, 5 wood, ebony board guitar for under $500 but a company like Fender offers set neck (not even Neck-Thru) and it breaks the bank? Should they not move into the 21st Century before the 22nd Century? I know their machining and CNC is all set up for the ol tried and true bolt on stuff..it does work l get that but hell..so did rotary phones and 8 tracks.. you shouldn't produce and sell guitars with "if its not broke, dont fix it" attitude about modernizing and not giving people a guitar that IS worth the selling price. Todays tech is off the chain but you wouldn't know it by Fenders guitar line.. going from a 3-way to a 5-way pickup selector is not exactly "Keeping up with the Joneses" maybe a NEW body style or how about SS frets? Maybe a serious quality bridge? Something not made out of a flat plate with a bend and some holes drilled in it or stamped steel saddles..its 2020.. Fenders trem should be better than a Vega trem after all these years but no..lets make it 2pt and wait another 50 years to make a change. Enjoyed the vid...THANKS!

Gibson: I bet you can't. Fender: hold my beer...

Honestly, this guy is just the man

Gibson : let's try making a strat killer Fender : Hold my beer

I've never had a Tele. But I put a Tele neck pup ( Fender Twisted Tele) in my Korean made Epiphone acoustic guitar. Grounded the strings with a brass saddle. I gotta say- It sounds Amazing! It was a little dark with a 250K volume so I put a 1M with a resistor on it and it's plenty bright until I dial down a bit. Fabulous! Great acoustic sound. Even works with fuzz and drive!

For me Fender really REALLY have to expand their market...Metal guitars are getting more popular...will not be a bad idea to have a Fender Metal Series with neck thru or set necks, jumbo frets, thinner profile neck, Seymour Duncan or EMG pickups, locking tuners and hard tail bridge...they don’t have to be necessarily black, they can have black pickguards and hardware and have sparkle finishes like the classic candy apple

Oh and i love p90s. I have the fender fsr special edition 50s tele. American 58 bridge and p90 neck. Awesome git Ive lots of p90 gits and most were great. This one is good but i may have to play it.

I traded a couple epiphones for a 2009 one and man is it amazing

If LP and Tele had a baby.

I have this guitar (red finish) and I love it, it's probably my favourite guitar despite feeling unsure about it at the beginning. You were spot on about good/bad things, here is some more info if you/anyone is interested. They were made in a Cort plant Indonesia, and for a few years also came in a black finish. Pickups have springs underneath (height adjustment) and if you swap those with some foam it will be less microphonic using high gain . Strangely they seem to be cheaper in the US, than in the UK/EU, but I got a good deal on it 2nd hand. These are the mods I've done to mine to make it a lot better than original. 1. Fender staggered locking tuners 18:1 (requires drilling) 2. New string tree 3. Schaller straplocks 4. Schaller rolling bridge 5. New pots, caps and wiring 6. Freeway switch 7. Fret job / slight fretboard rollover Cheers man, enjoy your guitar!

Switchcraft , Emerson CT’s pots , monotone plug bezel and switchcraft plug. Roller bridge and a bigsby, graph tech tuners. Now you’ve got a keeper

You should've installed .13-.56 strings on this like Jim Adkins does haha!

Please Darrel! A comparison between shape necks, U, C, D, V, etc, I really needed. Thank you, your opinion is really important and there is no videos about it that explains pros and cons of each one.

I absolutely love this aesthetic.

Nice guitar Darrell ! I have a 2015 Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH with the set neck also

After watching one of your build video I thought I needed to built a Thinline with P90s. Then I saw this one. Amazing.

This bad boy flies under the radar: super comfortable to play, decent quality and price and just different enough if you like that but benefits from a pickup change IMO. I have Lollar firebirds in mine.

Strangest Tele i've had was a Indonesian made Fender with a Mahogany body and a carved spalted maple top, set Mahogany neck and it was supposed to have 2 Seymours but the previous owner had removed the neck pickup and replaced it for a Les Paul Jr style pick guard so it was more like an Esquire..... played and sounded awesome.... still kicking myself for selling it. Strangest thing about that guitar was the fact it was slightly narrower at the waist and top bout, didn't fit my case while a normal telly did but it was noticeably more comfortable as the normal tele body.

Just bought this guitar and awaiting delivery. Just subscribed and excited to watch this video.

Great vid Darrel, I recently purchased a TC-90 that took me a long time to hunt down here in the Maritimes, as only 700 of each color were made. Interesting that, from what I have seen, Fender never refers to the TC-90 as a "Telecaster." It doesn't say Tele on the headstock, and it's listed only as a "Special Edition" in their catalog. Obviously it has Tele cues and TC in the name, but it seems Fender clearly avoided using the Tele nomenclature for this hybrid beast.

That thing is WEIRD. I love it

That's one of the best guitars I've heard you play on your Channel and you're dead on the notes on the timing is all because you like it so much I just don't have the money

A friend of mine had a guitar very similar to this and he put a little mandoline pickup under the pickguard and wired up one of the tones as a vol/ noise reduction control, it really worked. You lose a tone control but if you're like me you don't use them anyway and never split.

Jim Adkins used to use Les Pauls back in the 90s-early 2000s but he would use a red telecaster occasionally also which he preferred the look of. He was offered to play a TC90 which is almost identical to the JA99 but had a 1 vol 1 tone layout and had a double cutaway then was offered a sig in which he made some adjustments to suit a more Les Paul style which he preferred (he would roll back the volume on his neck pickup and switch between the neck and bridge for clean and dirty sounds, hence why the switch is at the top right) Nothing too strange if you’re a massive fan and understand the concept of the guitar before it’s inception but it’s quite innovative and a really excellent guitar.

This with humbuckers and mahogany body/neck is what the Troublemaker Tele should have been

regardless of what its considered that guitar has got soul man , love that sound . great vid ty darrell

i used to want a regular fender strat but i saw this video and remembered i saw a red version of this guitar at a guitar store a town over... i have the money, time for new guitar!

I recently sold my JA90 for a Jazzmaster. Wonderful guitar, lovely thick tone, great for rock

I had a tele just like this a few years back. A budget model by an english maker called "wesley" really wish i had'nt sold it

That's some nice playing my friend. Obviously TONE TONE TONE for days!!! Nice demo Darrell! Thank you for going there!

Honestly, that’s not the strangest telecaster I’ve seen. The most obscure one I’ve come across I actually own! It’s a fender FSR custom telecaster so it was very limited production (only 25 made according to the fender customer service rep I talked to when I read the serial number to him). It’s all black with ivory binding, a thin neck profile, neck through construction and a mahogany body and neck with a carved top. It came stock with an emg 81-85 combo and 3 way switching with only a master volume and master tone knob. In my opinion it’s the ultimate metal tele, and the best guitar I’ve ever played! Thoughts?

If I were to have a signature tele, it’ll doublebound (binding). Sunburst finish, thin line, b bender, mahogany body, flame maple neck, curly maple top, dual humbuckers with coil split.

I own the Special Edition Custom Telecaster FTM HH that's even more Gibson than this. It has a mahogany body, set neck, and cream binding. It's the closest to a Gibson as Fender will likely ever get. You should review that guitar. I actually love it to death. It is one of my best sounding guitars and has some of the best fretwork I've ever seen on any guitar, surprisingly. Highly polished and smooth, beautifully rounded off on the ends. Makes bending a dream. The only thing I'm not crazy about it is the Indian Laurel fingerboard. It's a little light for the color body I got, black cherry burst. But I'm hoping it'll darken over time as I play and oil it as needed