Any views on American professional teles?

mli3

I've had mine a couple of months now and like it a lot

not_the_dj

I've got the strat and that neck is just superb, same spec on the Tele I think. 

darthed1981

The enormous price hike seems to be taking the mickey, not that Gibson are any better!

not_the_dj

darthed1981 said:

The enormous price hike seems to be taking the mickey, not that Gibson are any better!

What price are you comparing them to? 

darthed1981

not_the_dj said:

darthed1981 said:

The enormous price hike seems to be taking the mickey, not that Gibson are any better!

What price are you comparing them to? 

The American Standard Strat and Tele seemed to always sell for between £1000 and £1300.  The new "professional" series, the new American standard in all but name, seem to be around £1600 +

Fender and Gibson are businesses, they can charge whatever the market can take, and I'm down with that.  Do feel it is taking the mickey a little bit though, after all they are still mass produced.

Chris_J

I bought my American Professional Tele for 1350, yes that's more than the old Standard, but, not excessively so when you factor in current exchange rates etc

It's awesome BTW. Plays great, neck is just right, it's light and it sounds like a Tele, with a slightly fuller sounding neck pickup.

not_the_dj

darthed1981 said:

not_the_dj said:

darthed1981 said:

The enormous price hike seems to be taking the mickey, not that Gibson are any better!

What price are you comparing them to? 

The American Standard Strat and Tele seemed to always sell for between £1000 and £1300.  The new "professional" series, the new American standard in all but name, seem to be around £1600 +

Fender and Gibson are businesses, they can charge whatever the market can take, and I'm down with that.  Do feel it is taking the mickey a little bit though, after all they are still mass produced.

£1399 for a Pro. Sure the Standards got reduced as end of line to a grand, but list price isn't really an enormous price hike. 

Majorscale

Not played one yet but interested in the necks. The old USA standard profile was way too skinny, are the new pros much bigger?

Chris_J

Majorscale said:

Not played one yet but interested in the necks. The old USA standard profile was way too skinny, are the new pros much bigger?

They fill the hand a bit better as there's more of a shoulder before the c starts. 

darthed1981

not_the_dj said:

£1399 for a Pro. Sure the Standards got reduced as end of line to a grand, but list price isn't really an enormous price hike. 

OK fair point - not an enormous price hike, but one likely to be justified by currency fluctuations, and while the pound goes back up against the dollar (which it has) the guitars stay the same indefinitely.

Now Gibson, there is a significant price hike

Adamski

Played a few at the weekend and whilst I was very sceptical about the subtle changes and big price hike, they all really do add up to a superb guitar. They gave my CS a run for its money. The Tim Shaw pickups are brilliant and the neck is a nice handful while still being slim enough. 

Epic guitars, even for £1399. Played a Suhr Classic Pro alongside it and they were easily equal, maybe the Fender was even better....

crunchman

darthed1981 said:

Now Gibson, there is a significant price hike

Just wait until they are offloading them on Amazon because they don't sell at the higher price.

I played an American Pro Tele at the weekend at the Guitar Show.  It was through headphones on a modelling amp on the Fender stand so it was difficult to properly judge the tone but it definitely sounded like a Tele.  I must say I did like the neck.  It's an improvement on the modern C they have been using in recent years.