Well so much for that idea....

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metalchurch
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Well so much for that idea....

Post by metalchurch »

I was planning a build up of a Tele for this winter based on Fender's HM Strat. I was gonna nickname it the "Heavy Metal Tele." Or HMT for short.

Now mind you I wasn't sure on a logo or anything and this was gonna be a right handed guitar so I could sell it easier and I've been greedy with my builds so far cause they's all lefties. :lol:

But I wasn't gonna rebadge it as something it's not cause we would not want that floating around out there.

Anyway to make a long story short, I found out that Fender did indeed make an HM Tele, it might be rare cause I've never heard of them making one. And yeah they are authenic, I talked to the owner and he bought it brand new. (Sunburst Tele)

I might still build one using the HM-Tele as an influence, also the Kramer Mick Mars Tele & Charvel Tele's have usable features I could use.

It just caught me off guard when I first saw them.
Here they are:

Image

Image

Charvel Tele (black):

Image

Kramer Tele (white):

Image

Whatever I decide to do, I'm definitely gonna do some mod's to the body like maybe a scalloped lower horn;Like This:
Image

And maybe recessed strap buttons, and perhaps a re-located jack plate like this:
Image
Image


And a recessed neck plate like this:

Image

Either way I'll definitely put my 'mark' on it and take ideas from everywhere and incorporate them into this. Actually some of my ideas I've never seen grouped together on 1 guitar before.

Not sure yet if it's gonna be bottom routed, or top routed w/pickguard?
I need to figure out the control and pickup layout.
So far I'm thinking 1 EMG'85 (bridge) and 1 EMG-SA (neck) with an EMG AB (+20db preamp boost) or an EMG PA-2 (kind of the same as an AB, but it is activated by a on/off toggle.

Those are simply rough ideas off the top of my head. I might go w/ passive pups also like a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge w/ a staggered look, like a Strat, and a Duncan Cool rails for the neck.

That would be unique to only have 2 single coils.
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MeYatch
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Post by MeYatch »

I never knew fender actually made an HM tele. I don't like that headstock though.
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

I'm with you on that one man. inever imagined that Fender would have made such a thing. The Tele to them is sacred and it's usually not associated with Metal, but in fact just the opposite.

Maybe they were aiming the marketing toward all of the Tele copies that sported a Floyd and a Humbucker?

I remember a while ago me and you were discussing this project, and thats one of the main reasons that i ran it by you, because you have a fairly extended knowledge on Fender's.
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Post by MeYatch »

The HM Strat and the HM Jazz bass both have normal headstocks. The pointy headstock on a tele just looks weird.

I don't know why its a thinline either, that seems to fly in the face of what they were attempting to accomplish.
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

Actually Mitch not all HM Strat had the 'Fender' headstock.
Not sure on the year maybe the 90 or 91 had a pointy headstock like this:

Image
Here's 2 Strat headstock versions:
Image

Image

Image


It was either the first year or so, or the very last year of production.
Looks like a Fender Heartfield sort of.
Last edited by metalchurch on Friday Sep 05, 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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lonewolf
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Post by lonewolf »

Back around 2000, I was buying up HM Strats (got a new-old-stock black one for $350!!!) and ran across the HM Teles. There are good models and bad models. The ones you pictured are the good all MIJ ones.

I'd like to find a good dual humbucker HM ______ and put Barden Two-Tone pickups on it. I wish they made a good hardtail HM Tele.
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

I agree w/ ya, I would like to see hardtails in both the USA Strat & Tele line, and also the Mexican Strat & Tele line.

I do not like the stock Strat Trem at all. And also that would have been the perfect base to make my Jake Lee Charvel.
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Post by songsmith »

I never want to see that 80's-looking Fender logo again! And I'm a huge Tele fan. It made it look like those old plywood-bodied junkers from the 80's. That's gotta be the ugliest thing Fender ever made.--->JMS
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Post by metalchurch »

Colton and I think a few others on here own an HM Strat, I don't know if their guitars have the 'Strat' headstock or the 'pointy' one?
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Post by metalchurch »

songsmith wrote:I never want to see that 80's-looking Fender logo again! And I'm a huge Tele fan. It made it look like those old plywood-bodied junkers from the 80's. That's gotta be the ugliest thing Fender ever made.--->JMS
It definitely gives off the impression that it was a rushed effort to combat the other guitar manufacturers' who were copying the Tele and slapping a Floyd on it.

I think that these were "Pre-Lawsuit years"

And I hear that the HM Strats played very well actually. Almost up there with the MIJ Strats of that era.
They were also fairly expensive for their time.
Last edited by metalchurch on Friday Sep 05, 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by metalchurch »

There was another Floyded Fender out during that era called the Fender 'Talon' it may have been the predecessor to the HM Strat or it was inspired by and it replaced the HM Strat.

I don't know for sure like what years all this took place, but I know they did.
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Post by MeYatch »

metalchurch wrote:I agree w/ ya, I would like to see hardtails in both the USA Strat & Tele line, and also the Mexican Strat & Tele line.

I do not like the stock Strat Trem at all. And also that would have been the perfect base to make my Jake Lee Charvel.
Hmn, I just browsed through Fender.com and Musiciansfriend.com and couldn't find a USA hardtail strat, I was not aware that they didn't make them anymore. However I'm not aware of any teles that have trems. I'm sure it has happened before, but its certainly not the norm.
metalchurch wrote:Colton and I think a few others on here own an HM Strat, I don't know if their guitars have the 'Strat' headstock or the 'pointy' one?
Colton's has the normal strat headstock.
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Post by metalchurch »

The Talons are known to be described as tweaked Ibanez RG guitars. The Talon has a basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, one (DiMarzio?) humbucker (bridge position), two Fender single coil pickups (neck and mid position), 22 frets and a Floyd Rose II tremolo system. Ultra slim "U" shape neck radius is 17" (431.8 mm), scale length is 25.1" (637.5 mm).

It used to sell for $849.99.

Heartfield colour codes available for this guitar: Montego Black (564), Midnight Blue (573), Chrome Red (574), Frost Red (577) and Mystic White (589).

First documented month of manufacture: December 1990 (serial number L90226, not on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: December 1991 (serial number L10311, not on this site). The guitar appeared in Fender Frontline first in winter (i.e. early) 1991 and last in autumn 1993.


The Talon III has a basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, two DiMarzio humbuckers (bridge and neck position) and one Fender single coil pickup (mid position). Ultra slim "U" shape neck radius is 17" (431.8 mm), scale length is 25.1" (637.5 mm). It has 22 frets, and the differences with the Talon II is that it has a Floyd Rose Pro tremolo system.

It used to sell for $989.99.

Heartfield colour codes available for this guitar: Montego Black (564), Midnight Blue (573), Chrome Red (574), Frost Red (577) and Mystic White (589).

First documented month of manufacture: December 1990 (serial number L90458, not on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: August 1991 (serial number H11193, see below). The guitar appeared in Fender Frontline first in winter (i.e. early) 1991 and last in autumn 1992.

Heartfield:
Image

Image
Last edited by metalchurch on Friday Sep 05, 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

Fender hasn't made a hardtail in quite sometime, but of course the Fender Custom Shop will make one.

Here's a nice HM Strat that I found:

Image

And it has the strat headstock obviously.
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Post by metalchurch »

Upon further research I found that "Heartfield" are a subsidary of Fender.
(Like Squire or Epiphon to Gibson)
And "Heartfield" makes the "Talon", so the "Talons" are a model made by "Heartfield, and not 2 entirely seperate guitar lines like I initially thought.

Damn Fenders anyway, nothin can be simple with them can it? :lol:
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Post by orangekick »

I think Fender was making one off their USA models with a hardtail option. It may have been the Big Apple Strat, or Double Fat Strat as it was called later.
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Post by lonewolf »

Last edited by lonewolf on Friday Sep 05, 2008, edited 3 times in total.
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

Jeff, it's not working....
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lonewolf
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Post by lonewolf »

metalchurch wrote:Jeff, it's not working....
Yeah, its not...probably too many characters for the site software. Try copying and pasting it into the address bar. Leave out the [URL] references.
...Oh, the freedom of the day that yielded to no rule or time...
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Post by Chuxema »

metalchurch wrote:Jeff, it's not working....
Highlight all of the text and copy and paste in yer browser.
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Post by Ron »

There was an asterisk in the url, I couldn't work with a cut and paste either. It's fixed now.

Here ya go Joe
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

Jeff I've been eyeing this up for a while: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Strat-Project-L ... dZViewItem

But I always pass on it in favor of something else. I'm getting alot of ideas for some Strat styled projects so I've been combing ebay quite a bit looking for parts
Thanks for the correction Ron.
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Post by lonewolf »

The guy uses left and lefty, so searching for both of these (instead of left*) brings up 7 more items:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... age=search
Last edited by lonewolf on Friday Sep 05, 2008, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Killjingle »

have u seen the Jim Root Slipknot Fender tele with EMG81? Its pretty cool
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metalchurch
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Post by metalchurch »

lonewolf wrote:The guy uses left and lefty, so searching for both of these (instead of left*) brings up 7 more items:
I use all of these when searching for stuff:

LH
Left
Lefty
Lefthand
Lefthanded
Reverse (as in headstocks)

Chad, yeah I saw the Jim Root Tele, it's kind of cool actually. Probably sounds good also. I don't like Slipknot, so I don't know first hand.
That Mick7 guy has a nice Ibanez w/ a reverse headstock and painted green.
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