played a lot of satin finishes , and this one has zero ’ grab ’ and just feels great in the hand .
Speaking of vintage , as noted in my ‘ Must Own Gear ” video on this guitar , my first electric was an “ L Series ” Jaguar that was kind of a disaster when it came to bends above the 12 th fret . This neck manages to combine vintage feel with modern elements that set the stage for the kind of ‘ let loose ’ guitar experiences where the guitar is with ( and not fighting ) you at every turn . I don ’ t mind a guitar that makes you work for it , but I love a guitar that just gets out of the way so you can go to new places – that is what makes this guitar a piece of ‘ must own gear ’ in my book !
TONE WOODS While I ’ m not a tone wood geek , it is impossible to deny that great tone starts in the bones .
The Maple neck is a one-piece maple neck . On many instruments at this price point , manufacturers often take the cheap way out and make one neck , upon which they slap whatever fingerboard on in production . That isn ’ t the way that Leo did it , and it ’ s no way to make a respectable Maple neck . These details matter because they matter sonically ! The Alder body is another ingredient from Leos ’ book of tone that contributes to the making this guitar sticky sweet to the ears . Unlike my other Teles , the ‘ dad bod ’ cutaway on the back of the guitar doesn ’ t cut into the gut when sitting for extended plays , of which this guitar has had many … and counting !
As noted in the video , the balance between the pickups is excellent . Key to making this instrument work for me was rolling off the tone control a bit in the bridge position . On distorted rhythms this enabled me to navigate medium to high gain tones to a more Classic Rock vibe simply by backing the tone control off . I don ’ t have another guitar that does this like this one and that is a big deal in my universe . My video also features a middle position demo using the amazing effects built into the Mustang GTX amp for an ‘ Edge-inspired ’ vibe that demonstrates that the guitar also gets high marks from me in the PnW end of the pond .
PUSH-PULL TONE CONTROL The push-pull function on the tone control is key to the ‘ more ’ this guitar has to offer . Noting that there is a world of players who love the sound of two single-coil pickups in parallel , I ’ m not one of them . This secret weapon enables you to engage both pickups in series , regardless of the position of the pickup selector , which is awesome when you need to hit the gas . This