JaxonKat
TDPRI Member
Evening folks! I just got through the first two weeks with my new main axe and was excited enough to talk about it. Maybe get some opinions.
Let me begin by saying I am pretty partial to vintage (pre-CBS, pre-58) Tele's, Strats and Esqy's. For me to break with tradition and use anything else is just not heard of. But it's a sketchy business toting around a 60+ year old guitar worth $$$, and I wanted something that had the same feel and vibe.
My first attempt was a failure. Tried buying a Kelton Swade, but that ended up in a big, wet mess and I'd rather not deal with that level of drama in my life right now. He almost had what I was looking for though. Just not up to the quality I come to expect in a guitar that stoopid costly. (for being basically an All Parts or some other similar assembled axe that is) What the guy at K Swade guitars gets right is the killer setup and feel. Maybe finishes, but that's highly debatable. Anywho...
I was trying to find a place to dump the two Swades I ended up with, and discovered this TMG brand at a place called Rogue Guitar up in Oregon.
Initially, I was drawn to their EXTREMELY realistic paint checking techniques. Never seen anything like it. If you put a paper bag over their weird little headstock, and handed one of their "T" or "S" style guitars to an expert, they'd have a hard time at first determining what they had. I've only seen this technique used by one, maybe two other luthiers out there, and their instruments are in the $6-8K range. So my first attraction is their ability to relic a guitar that nicely. It's funny, every time I pick it up, a little part of my brain says "be CAREFUL with that 65 year old finish!", and my brain has been partially tricked into believing this thing is part of my vintage collection.
I guess I'd also include Fano (or anyone over at the PGB) in the list of people who can really "check" a guitars finish realistically.
The TMG I ordered has a unique neck profile. This is THE perfect neck for my hand. It has the heft of a soft V, but it's more a D shape, and I'm not even sure how to describe how good it feels to me. I have average large hands and prefer bulky necks. This isn't bulky per se, it just fills my grip nicely, and has a very balanced feel to it. If I had to compare, I'd say it's a cross between a 58 les P and a 57 strat neck. I know that's weird, but this neck profile is really different. So glad I gave this guitar a chance.
Back to that "weird" headstock....
I like and live in the realm of weird, so it works for me. It's not small either. It's a nice size and blends very well into the back of the neck. They are using some type of laser CNC to do the TMG logo on the front and serial on the back. I remember he offered to fill mine in with pretty much whatever I wanted, clay, ivroid, abalone, etc. I much prefer the raw laser engraved look.
Speaking of clay, these guys used real clay dots and side markers. The fingerboard is my next favorite feature. It's a real slab rosewood, and if it's not Brazillian, I'll be shocked. It looks and feels like they pulled the fingerboard from a 58 slab Strat and mated it to their neck. Frets are the same. My fretwork I thought was a PLEK job, but they laughed at that! It's on par with dare I say Don Grosh's work even. I wish I could refret a few of my Teles with these frets. I'll have to ask him what they are sometime. They allow for the crazy bends that are part of my sig sound, so that's all I care about really. That and the fact the ends are so well done, I forget they are even there.
Lastly, the hardware... I dunno, I mean they don't make it, but it's GOOD stuff. The bridge is a cold rolled, "chopped" Callaham, with comp'd brass saddles. About as good as they get IMHO. Pickups are Filter-Tron, admittedly a first for me, but I'll be buying another of these from them with a F-tron in the neck for sure! The pick-guard is also spookily vintage looking. I asked and they do use some bakelite, but this was a Tortoise-shell material, and not sure what it's made from. Tuners are Kluson Deluxe, and with only a minimum of aging. I like em! Forgot to mention it has a bone nut, which I absolutely demand. A three way LP style toggle and Switchcraft jack finish it off. Again, no skimping in this area either.
All in all the guitar is a very well built homage to old vintage Fender guitars, but in no offending or compromising way. It's absolutely the best playing, non-vintage guitar I own, and I have some nice ones. (Custom Shop, Kelton Swade, Grosh, Fano, B3, LSL, etc.) This TMG K I L L S them all. The Grosh is the next best tho!
I invite anyone in or near the Reno, Nevada area to message me and come see this thing for yourself. Almost everyone I gave ti to immediately remarked that "it sang", "really sings", or some such similar comment. A couple of the metal heads at my local shop thought the shell pink color was not all that cool, but that's okay! They loved the action and resonance. Everyone loves the checking especially.
I'm already talking to Jonathan at Rogue about ordering another one in a Mary Kaye finish. What do you guys think?
Let me begin by saying I am pretty partial to vintage (pre-CBS, pre-58) Tele's, Strats and Esqy's. For me to break with tradition and use anything else is just not heard of. But it's a sketchy business toting around a 60+ year old guitar worth $$$, and I wanted something that had the same feel and vibe.
My first attempt was a failure. Tried buying a Kelton Swade, but that ended up in a big, wet mess and I'd rather not deal with that level of drama in my life right now. He almost had what I was looking for though. Just not up to the quality I come to expect in a guitar that stoopid costly. (for being basically an All Parts or some other similar assembled axe that is) What the guy at K Swade guitars gets right is the killer setup and feel. Maybe finishes, but that's highly debatable. Anywho...
I was trying to find a place to dump the two Swades I ended up with, and discovered this TMG brand at a place called Rogue Guitar up in Oregon.
Initially, I was drawn to their EXTREMELY realistic paint checking techniques. Never seen anything like it. If you put a paper bag over their weird little headstock, and handed one of their "T" or "S" style guitars to an expert, they'd have a hard time at first determining what they had. I've only seen this technique used by one, maybe two other luthiers out there, and their instruments are in the $6-8K range. So my first attraction is their ability to relic a guitar that nicely. It's funny, every time I pick it up, a little part of my brain says "be CAREFUL with that 65 year old finish!", and my brain has been partially tricked into believing this thing is part of my vintage collection.
I guess I'd also include Fano (or anyone over at the PGB) in the list of people who can really "check" a guitars finish realistically.
The TMG I ordered has a unique neck profile. This is THE perfect neck for my hand. It has the heft of a soft V, but it's more a D shape, and I'm not even sure how to describe how good it feels to me. I have average large hands and prefer bulky necks. This isn't bulky per se, it just fills my grip nicely, and has a very balanced feel to it. If I had to compare, I'd say it's a cross between a 58 les P and a 57 strat neck. I know that's weird, but this neck profile is really different. So glad I gave this guitar a chance.
Back to that "weird" headstock....
I like and live in the realm of weird, so it works for me. It's not small either. It's a nice size and blends very well into the back of the neck. They are using some type of laser CNC to do the TMG logo on the front and serial on the back. I remember he offered to fill mine in with pretty much whatever I wanted, clay, ivroid, abalone, etc. I much prefer the raw laser engraved look.
Speaking of clay, these guys used real clay dots and side markers. The fingerboard is my next favorite feature. It's a real slab rosewood, and if it's not Brazillian, I'll be shocked. It looks and feels like they pulled the fingerboard from a 58 slab Strat and mated it to their neck. Frets are the same. My fretwork I thought was a PLEK job, but they laughed at that! It's on par with dare I say Don Grosh's work even. I wish I could refret a few of my Teles with these frets. I'll have to ask him what they are sometime. They allow for the crazy bends that are part of my sig sound, so that's all I care about really. That and the fact the ends are so well done, I forget they are even there.
Lastly, the hardware... I dunno, I mean they don't make it, but it's GOOD stuff. The bridge is a cold rolled, "chopped" Callaham, with comp'd brass saddles. About as good as they get IMHO. Pickups are Filter-Tron, admittedly a first for me, but I'll be buying another of these from them with a F-tron in the neck for sure! The pick-guard is also spookily vintage looking. I asked and they do use some bakelite, but this was a Tortoise-shell material, and not sure what it's made from. Tuners are Kluson Deluxe, and with only a minimum of aging. I like em! Forgot to mention it has a bone nut, which I absolutely demand. A three way LP style toggle and Switchcraft jack finish it off. Again, no skimping in this area either.
All in all the guitar is a very well built homage to old vintage Fender guitars, but in no offending or compromising way. It's absolutely the best playing, non-vintage guitar I own, and I have some nice ones. (Custom Shop, Kelton Swade, Grosh, Fano, B3, LSL, etc.) This TMG K I L L S them all. The Grosh is the next best tho!
I invite anyone in or near the Reno, Nevada area to message me and come see this thing for yourself. Almost everyone I gave ti to immediately remarked that "it sang", "really sings", or some such similar comment. A couple of the metal heads at my local shop thought the shell pink color was not all that cool, but that's okay! They loved the action and resonance. Everyone loves the checking especially. I'm already talking to Jonathan at Rogue about ordering another one in a Mary Kaye finish. What do you guys think?
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