Hey dudes and dudette's! I went down to Peninsula and Parklane today to try out the Smash Telecaster from SV and the Craftsman Telecaster from City Music. I brought down my own pedals, cables and amplifier to try to limit the only variable down to the guitar. Can't really do much about the acoustic dynamics of the room though ah well. Anyway i was really amazed by the build quality of both actually. Very impressed by the craftsmanship for a 200+ guitar in both cases. I would like the share abit of my thoughts about the two for those who are interested.
Smash TG lite Telecaster - S$260
Likes - Build was solid / (Craftsmanship was really good imo)
Neck profile and smoothness /
Tuners /
Action was pretty good /
No dead frets /
Bridge feel when palm muting /
Dislikes - Pickups weren't fantastic but definitely decent / (Well it's 200 bucks)
Finish wasn't thin enough to see the wood grains / ( Not the guitars fault, it's just me! )
Stock Strings / (They felt abit cheap and i busted the highest E string while bending. In my defence it wasn't even a full bend. Don't hate me please! SORRY SV but thanks for being so professional about it
)
Oh i also tried their other model which was the TG 1. The only difference the TG 1 had was that it's body was Basswood rather than Ash. Has the same likes and dislikes but overall the tone sounded more dead. Less prevailent harmonics on the TG 1 model which i dislike.
Overall sound: The neck pickup was really warm and round sounding. The Middle position was very balanced and even. Loved it. The bridge was decently twangy and didn't sound too thin with distortion.
Then i headed down to Selegie road.
Craftsman TL 30 Telecaster - S$196
Likes - Build was solid as well
Action was decent
Headstock looked quite like the real deal ( Apart from the logo of course )
Finish ( Could see more of the natural wood grains even with the coloured finish )
Tuners were smooth
Bridge
Dislikes - Neck profile / (The neck felt like it was getting a little fatter as you went up the fretboard. Could be just me )
Bridge / (Hindered palm muting a little but nothing major. Not sure of the different names of the bridge types though)
Bumps / (There were dings at the end of the neck closest to the body. But the salesman said that it was a display piece)
Neck / ( The sound when playing in the middle of the neck sounded a little more dead)
Overall sound: Neck pickup was warm as well. Middle was also nice and balanced. Bridge was very twangy but sounded a little too bright and i had to turn up the bass eq for a fuller distorted sound.
Overall Comparison:
Hmmm i'm actually at a loss to which guitar i prefer more. They both have their ups and downs. The biggest difference to me was the brightness of the sound of the two, the craftsman having the brighter and more twangy tone. Possible due to the Alder body as compared to the ash or it could be the pickups. Not too sure. And yeah obviously the craftsman is cheaper, but price wasn't really a factor when i was testing the guitars. Hmmm.. i'm more inclined to the Smash TG lite though. (Well not only because i feel bad for snapping the string =P ) Overall i think that if i get the Smash, a change of pickups could make it my permanent post rock axe
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment and correct me if i made any errors. Still quite new to the community.
