Fender G-Dec Junior

Hello and welcome to the next installment of "Guitar Builds"! Well, this post isn't about a guitar or a guitar I built. Its about my recently purchased Fender G-Dec Junior guitar amp. Once again after reading many guitar forums, I noticed a lot of people mentioning how they take their guitars to work with them and play/during their lunch break. I thought to myself, what a great idea! Electric guitar is a lot more fun to play than acoustic, and with technology today, quieter. There has been an increase in small modeling amps that are very portable and sound great. Some also run on batteries, and most allow you to plug in your set of headphones and mp3 player so you can play along without disturbing the people around you. Exactly what I need.

With an upcoming vacation, and running out of things for me to do on my lunch break at work, the hunt was on. Being that I had Memorial Day off, I decided to start looking. I auditioned the Vox DA5 and the Roland MicroCube. Both were ok, had some great features, but the overall sound was too thin and I didn't buy into their versions of amp models. Then I found the Fender G-Dec Junior. First it looks like a Fender Blues Jr or Pro Jr which gives you the sense of "real" amp. Second, I felt like it did a better job of recreating the classic amp models it advertised. I know it will never sound like the original, but I would consider them close. It has built in effects(that I will rarely use), a tuner, headphone/line out (great for late night playing & recording), and mp3/CD player input. It is not battery powered, but it does have one thing that no other amp like this can boast... a built in band. Different styles of music for you to practice with, and you can change the key of what you're jamming along too. Now this is a feature I didn't think I would really care about, but its awesome. A very cool learning tool.

Like I said before, the amp models sound pretty darn good. Being somewhat of a "throwback", I prefer the more vintage sounding amps. My favorite "amp" of choice on the G-Dec is the Bassman. I also like the Champ, Blackface, and British models. I'm still in the process of tweaking what I like, but dialed in the Bassman right away. One of the drawbacks to this amp is that it doesn't "remember" your settings based on the "amp" you're playing. Its not a huge deal because they're easily adjusted, but YOU have to remember it and change accordingly.

Last night I was able to spend about an hour with my '52 Tele, the amp, some headphones, and my mp3 player. I started out jamming with the band and trying out the different musical styles, and spending some time on some that I don't usually play. I could tell I was already broadening my musical horizons, and learning more notes. Next, I set the mp3 player to a Freddie King album and went to town. I very easily got into the songs. I felt like with the headphones on, I was more in touch with what was going on. I stopped playing, and really felt like I had accomplished something.

With all that being said, this is a great amp. Its perfect for what I need it for, and its a keeper. I got it for a steal ($150) at Guitar Centers Memorial Day sale, and its worth every penny. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. Fender really hit a home run with this one.

Squier Tele Custom II

Well, I've owned this guitar for about a month now and I can't say enough about it. As I've posted on serveral guitar discussion pages, my new found love of P90s and my love for Telecasters prompted me to buy this fantastic guitar. I also own an Epiphone Casino which also has P90s and is really responible for me buying this particular guitar. The sounds I can get out of these pickups, and both my Casino & Tele Custom II are simply amazing. I can't get some great Zeppellin to Hendrix tones as well as B.B. King, Freddie King, Muddy Waters tones. Just fat, dirty, smooth, and these can growl. Awesome for slide work too.

The guitar itself weighs in around 7lbs. I purchased it as a scratch-n-dent from americanmusical.com for $185. Even though I recently finished my dream Telecaster, this one may see more playing time. Don't get me wrong, both guitars are great, but I'm starting to feel this one is a bit more versatile. It also has more output than my other Tele which is to be expected since the Custom II is equipped with P90s. Normally I would upgrade the pickups in any Squire, but these are great and are staying. At least for a while.

All in all, I would definitley recommend this guitar. You can't beat the price. You get a great guitar new for $230. Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Fender '52 Telecaster Build

Greetings all and welcome to the first post on my Telecaster build. This one is pretty much my baby, and what I'm hoping will be one of my last guitars. Man, I can hear my wife laughing now. Anyway, I have recently gotten back into Telecasters thanks mostly to the Squier 51, and the fact that I just couldn't get what I wanted out of a Stratocaster. I've discovered I'm more of a two pickup kind of guy. With that being said, I've always thought Telecasters were beautiful guitars, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford what I wanted, until now. Since I've been modding guitars, I've learned how to install various parts and pickups which put me in the unique position to build exactly what I wanted. I live in an apartment, so building one from scratch is out of the question. I also wanted it to be a "genuine Fender". In order to do that, I had to buy all Fender parts, with a few minor exceptions.

The Body: $170 off eBay

I've always liked the butterscotch 52 Telecasters, but the color that really did it for me was Honey Blonde. I also really like the transparent white blonde, which the 50s Classic comes in, but I thought I could get a better deal by building my own. So I found a Honey Blonde Fender Nashville Telecaster body on ebay for $150 plus $20.00 shipping. Nashville Teles have a "swimming pool" route because they have three pickups instead of the traditional two. This worked out great for me because I may want to put a humbucker in the neck postion later on down the road.

The Neck: $220 from a member @ tdpri.com

The neck is from a 50s Classic Telecaster and I got a great deal on it. The reason I went with this one is two fold. 1) The 50s Classic Telecaster is a great guitar, and I haven't played a bad one. 2) The finish is the same as an American 52 Telecaster Reissue, and played better. Plus I saved a lot of money. This is actually the second neck I bought for this project. The first was also from a tdpri.com member, but it was an Esquire neck. No difference really, other than the decal. I only payed $185 for the Esquire neck, but if this build goes well, it will go on the next build.

Pickups: $130 from guitarpartsresource.com

Aside from the neck and body, this is where I spent the most money. I decided to go with Fender Custom Shop NoCaster pickups. Based on a lot of recommendations, these are great for blues and classic rock. Keep in mind, I'm also going for all Fender parts on this one. I've never played Nocaster pickups, but I have played some that are similar. I really liked the ones I played, so I went for it.

Hardware: $85

The remaining hardware includes, pots, control plate, bridge, saddles, knobs, and pickguard. I got the pots off eBay and they are pre-wired. They are from a Highway 1 Texas Telecaster with the new Greasebucket wiring. I saved myself some time on this one since all I have to do is wire the pickups and input jack. If I don't like the "greasebucket", I'll wire it differently. I ordered a "vintage" control plate, bridge plate, and brass saddles from Muscian's Friend. I spent hours looking for a "vintage" 3-saddle bridge on eBay/other retailers, but they were all $40 or more. I ordered the bridge plate and saddles seperately from MF for a total of $25. Why anyone would go the other route is beyond me. I already had the input jack, and I'm using a 1-ply Allparts pickguard. Everyone was out of the OEM 52 pickguard. The input jack and pickguard are the only parts on the guitar that were not made by Fender.

Total: $605

That's right. Total was $605 and I couldn't be happier with the way it came out. She plays great, but still needs a little tweaking. The Custom Shop '51 Nocaster pickups are amazing. They're a little quieter volume wise that I expected, but thats what volume knobs are for. I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a guitar. It plays like a dream, and it simply gorgeous. Here are the pics to prove it!