Fender Jim Root Telecaster

135
FENDER JIM ROOT TELECASTER REVIEW
L
et’s have some
introductions. Staring
out from the bloodshot
eyeholes of a jester
mask and standing 6’6” in his
stocking feet, Slipknot’s Jim Root
is officially the last guitarist you’d
want to meet in the proverbial
dark alley. The Fender Telecaster
is altogether more respectable.
Pushing 60, this venerable bare-
bones workhorse has traditionally
been far more popular with
rockers, bluesmen and punks
than the horn-flicking denizens of
the metal fraternity.
With that in mind, TG was
surprised to hear, back in
2004, that Root was plotting a
signature Tele based on his own
Flat Head model. But should you
maggots cough up £699 for it?
The sizzle: Root has equipped
his Tele with a spec that will
even intrigue Slipknot haters.
There’s the mahogany body in
place of the usual ash or alder;
✮✮✮✮✮
SUMMARY
TG says… It’s a Tele, Jim, but not as we know it
For:
It’s a cool twist on the standard Tele vibe
Against: But there’s a lack of Tele snap and tweaking options
p Control
One control? Yep,
Jim reckons that’s all
you need for metal
p Body
Root updates this
50s classic with a
mahogany body
Fender Jim Root Telecaster
You don’t have to be a masked psycho to appreciate this Slipknot model…
twin EMG pickups where you’d
typically find stock singlecoils;
and locking tuners, a single
volume knob and a flat black
finish that stands out against the
lacquer-coated competition.
It all adds up to a guitar that
demands a second glance, even
if you thought The Subliminal
Verses was shit. “I wanted to
design this guitar so that even if
you don’t like us at all, you’ll still
think it’s great,” Root confirms. “It
doesn’t have Slipknot plastered
all over it. It just has everything
that players want.”
We say: Is this a Tele we see
before us? The snub-nosed
headstock and iconic body
outline might be the same as
in 1950, but Root has played
fast and loose with the rest of
Fender’s blueprint. Pick this baby
up and you’ll notice a marked
weight increase over stock
Teles due to the density of the
mahogany. Grip the neck and
you’ll find yourself fretting like a
demon due to the C-profile and
12-inch radius board.
The tone could be a little
divisive. Telecaster purists will
argue that this model is defined
by its snap ’n’ pop, and there’s
none of that here, with EMG’s 60
and 81 units specialising in fat,
thick filth, the mahogany lending
further warmth to chugging
rhythm parts, and the lack of a
tone control meaning you can’t
bump up the treble.
But let’s not get hung up on
what Teles are ‘supposed’ to
sound like. So it ain’t traditional.
Make no mistake – this Tele
rocks like a bastard. So will you.
Henry Yates
p Hardware
This Tele’s metal
bits boast a coat of
‘none more black’
Tele’s with EMGs:
it shouldn’t work
but we love it!
£699
At a glance
Fender Jim Root
Telecaster
BODY: Solid mahogany
NECK: Maple, bolted,
C-shape
FINGERBOARD: Maple
with dot inlays
SCALE: 25.5”
PICKUPS: EMG 60 and
EMG 81 humbuckers
CONTROLS: 1x volume,
3-way pickup selector
HARDWARE: Black Schaller
locking tuners, string-thru
hardtail bridge
FINISH: Flat Black
[pictured], Flat White
CONTACT: Fender UK
01342 331700
WEB: www.fender.co.uk
p Pickups
This is no old-school
Tele thanks to those
active EMG ‘buckers
This axe features
a set of locking
Schaller heads
TGR175.gear_fender Sec1:135 3/4/08 11:48:54