i_prefer_charisma's Reviews
5 reviews Back to i_prefer_charisma's Equipboard
Interesting Idea, Just A Bit Cumbersome
I've got an Olympic White Classic Player Special HH. I installed two Fender American Elite "Tim Shaw Wide-Range" pickups in lieu of the stock enforcers and I like my options quite a bit more than the stock tones. However, my major complaint with this guitar (other than the T-O-M bridge, which I replaced) is how big and bulky the body is. I had to strip all of the polyester off, down to bare alder, and then refinish it in a thin-skin nitro; just in order to have an instrument that was compact and maneuverable. None of the other Jag models that I've run into have this problem, and I'm not sure why the HH specials seem so much more bulky. Otherwise, it's a great instrument.
Wish I hadn't Sold It
I picked up one of these babies for $50 in like 2012 or so. I ended up having to sell it, but I've been kicking myself since I did so. The lead channel is full and ballsy, while the clean channel sparkles. If it weren't so heavy (like all Peavey amps tend to be) I'd give it 5 stars.
I Learned To Play On This Guitar
My grandfather is a well-known bluegrass artist in Texas and when I was around 12 years old, he passed his 1960 ES-330T down to my father, who eventually gave it to me. I learned to play guitar on a 1960 Gibson ES-330T... I had no idea how lucky I was until I was in college and started to study, modify, refinish and craft electric guitars. This guitar is the most priceless instrument I own. I'm sure many people feel like the single P-90 limits the ES-330T. On the contrary, I really enjoy the simplicity of the single pickup design. That nearly 60 year-old Gibson pup has all the range to lay into a throaty growl or you can roll off the volume knob and drift off into some sparkling clean tones. And the neck... I have never (yes, legitimately NEVER) played any guitar with a smoother, faster, more comfortable neck. These instruments ought to be worth much more than they currently sell for.
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The Only Pedal I Refuse To Sell
The circuit in this bad boy is completely unique. The output is dependent upon the input, allowing for an overdrive effect that is extremely responsive to the player's attack. With both a high peak and a low peak setting, your tonal options range from a subtle, bluesy tube OD to full-on screaming fuzz. I have like three of these on my board. The OCD is incomparable and irreplaceable.
Swap out the pups and electronics and you have an outstanding guitar.
The idea behind this guitar was a pretty novel one, but Fender missed the mark by a little bit. First off, they did away with the neck pickup's rhythm circuit. The rhythm circuit (which only affects the neck pickups) could have been used to allow the player to choose between the 500k stock pots and the Jazzmaster standard of 1meg. Also, (and as just about everyone who owns a Blacktop will tell you) the bridge humbucker is garbage. It lacks articulation and jumps into muddy, mid-heavy overdrive far too quickly. I recommend replacing it with an AlNiCo II pickup or a Phat Cat. Both provide a rounded, warm sound while still retaining high-end clarity. I actually fully re-routed the upper bout to give my blacktop a complete Jazzmaster route, refinished it in Lake Placid Blue, and threw on a tortoiseshell pick guard. I also modified the wiring to give me 1 volume control for each pickup, a passive treble-bass tone circuit and a series/parallel switch. It's my number one guitar and I love it to death.