
Well, I’m going to be away from the computer for the next couple of days (I’ll be posting again on Monday,) but before I disappear I thought I’d leave you with this lovely little monster from Fender – the John 5 Signature Telecaster…
John 5 is probably best known for his work with gender-bending musical madman Marilyn Manson, or perhaps for his current day job (we should all be so lucky!) playing with Rob Zombie of White Zombie fame. But as you may have gathered from his signature instrument, John is far from just a shredder.
In spite of his history of playing with shock-rock bands, John’s actually an incredibly versatile player as his resume attests: he’s said to have worked with a diverse group of artists including alt-country legend K.D. Lang, KISS guitarist Paul Stanley, Wilson Phillips, Salt-N-Pepa, and is rumored to have done a one-month stint playing on stage with Metallica (the official John 5 MySpace site states that he worked with the band in ‘88, but doesn’t specify in what capacity.)
The John 5 Signature Telecaster is a bit of a Frankenstein’s Monster when it comes right down to it, but I like it! Stand out features include a fat Bigsby Vibrato tailpiece, a Seymour Duncan “Hot Rails” Humbucker at the bridge, Fender Custom Shop “Twisted” single-coil at the neck, a shaved maple neck, and of course that heavily customized three-to-a-side headstock.
If you like a guitar that really turns heads, well, this is definitely one to consider.
The Fender John 5 Signature Telecaster Features–
- Premium Ash Body
- Shave Maple Neck (Modern C-Shaped)
- 25.5-Inch Scale Length
- Rosewood Fretboard With 22 Frets
- Narrow Dot Inlays
- Seymour® Duncan Hot Rails™ Humbucker At The Bridge
- Custom Shop “Twisted” Tele® Single-Coil At The Neck
- Master Volume & Tone Controls
- 3-Way Pickup Switching
- 6-Saddle Bridg/Bigsby® Vibrato Tailpiece
- Fender/Schaller Locking Tuners
- Black 3-To-A-Side Tele XII Headstock
- Chrome Switch Tip
And this one comes with Fender’s Deluxe Hardshell Case, in black of course, with a red plush interior to keep your sizable investment in tip-top shape.
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September 8th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Love that guitar. Love the headstock. Love the rounding out at the base of the usually-square tele bridge, which sits well with the bigsby. Groovy.
September 16th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
You might want to fact check the Metallica statement.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:07 am
Thanks Antix2. I orginally came across this information on Wikipedia, and according to John 5’s offical MySpace website he worked with Metallica in 1988, so it seems to be true.
If you can point me towards something more authoritative I’d be happy to change it.
September 23rd, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Yeah, 411 on the www is tricky but the John 5 wiki reads:
“My job was I would carry Lars out on my back after their encore.”
and I’m pretty sure that didn’t involve a guitar in any way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallica down the page ‘Temporary live members’
August 26th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
well, john worked with lynyrd skynyrd and the scorpions as well, and those ones are verified so you might as well put that instead of the metallica stuff.
ive met him 3 times, hes the nicest guy.