{"id":560,"date":"2018-07-05T18:54:54","date_gmt":"2018-07-05T18:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bunnyears.net\/guitar\/?page_id=560"},"modified":"2018-08-18T05:10:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-18T05:10:52","slug":"ibanez-talman-tm302pm","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bunnyears.net\/guitar\/electric-guitars\/ibanez-talman-tm302pm\/","title":{"rendered":"Ibanez Talman TM302PM"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Year<\/strong>: 2017
\nFinish:<\/strong>\u00a0Blue Sparkle
\nOrigin:<\/strong>\u00a0China
\nMods:<\/strong>\u00a0Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickups, Schaller straplocks, proper Tele metal knob
\nAcquired:<\/strong>\u00a0February 2018
\nStill owned:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes<\/p>\n

What kind of guitar nerd loves Fender but doesn’t have a Telecaster? Me. I’ve always liked what they do and how they sound, but I never found myself drawn to the slab body and traditional colors. I wanted a Tele for people who don’t want a Tele.<\/p>\n

Ibanez to the rescue. I’ve lusted for one of their offset Talman guitars since the 90s, and they re-issued them in some new finishes and configurations in the mid-2010s, one of which was a Tele layout and an alder body, a six-saddle bridge, and locking tuners for stability. After watching and waiting for a very long time, I spotted the right one: A used (but pristine, damn near new) version in that irresistible Blue Sparkle finish, whose owner had already upgraded with 500k pots and\u00a0Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound<\/a> pickups. These somehow offer the Tele sparkle with the additional girth of a heavy-rock\/high output pickup. And I got it at an unbeatable price, which is the reward for lurking on Reverb for months.<\/p>\n

While some folks are hesitant about guitars made in China, this gives them a good name — it’s rock-solid and flawless, and was easy to set up for my preferences. The neck profile is on the fuller side of C but it feels a lot like the Retronix R-800<\/a>, so I adapted quickly. I play differently on it, in a good way. And OMG that growl is amazing; the power-packed pickups really elevate this one for me.<\/p>\n