Sunday, April 26, 2015

Fender: TL-Rose

I would like to end the Sunday on this note- my real birthday present is the Fender TL-Rose seen here.

No, I'm not a George Harrison fan who insist on owning an inaccurate repro for nostalgia's sake. The Beatles were singing the tunes of my father's time. I grew up on a healthy dose of Depeche Mode. Yes, the Japanese Fender you see here is an inaccurate reproduction of the original model, instead of rosewood engulfing the guitar in its entirety, the body sports a rosewood front & rear; the sandwiched wood in question is basswood. No, I'm not a fan of a very arched fretboard radius as well but this guitar plays well in my hands. In fact, the rather thin neck was what drove me to bring it home despite not being a fan.

I'm taking this opportunity to announce the demise of Fender Japan. That's right, Fender Japan is history. FMIC had bought over whatever Japanese stake there was to offer & they are now running the show. They have removed many duplicate models in the Japanese catalog & those which are too similar to the international offerings will suffer the same fate. Many former Japanese models have been renamed & tweaked (in terms of specs) to show the world that these are 'new' instruments emerging from the acquisition. Do you think they will sport a 'new' price tag? We very well know the answer to this question.

All in all, today is still not my birthday.

No comments: