LTD ec-1000 or Fender JA-90?

epictring

Hey guys

I've read a couple of articles on this forum the past couple of months and today I finally decided to join in ?

I'm about to buy myself a new guitar, and I'm sure most of you know how exciting and confusing this can be at the same time!
I've been looking at the ESP LTD EC-1000 and Fender JA-90 Telecaster (Jimmy Eat World Signature). I want a guitar not EVERYONE has, and since everyone has an typical Ibanez shape guitar (don't know what the shape is called) I'm interested in something that people can drool over, and at the same time sound insane!

I play in a new upcoming Hard Rock band recording in February and I also play the occasional metal for when I'm >☹

I want to go full blast for the Fender telly but I'm not sure how it will perform on high gain because of the soapbar (P-90) pickups? If the Fender is a no-go I'll have to take the Ltd..
I'm also under the impression that the Fender is not really available in SA? No online SA guitar shop has it, so I'm buying it from Sweetwater (awesome ppl btw) for just under $1000 (about R7000)

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

edit: I am also interested in the Fender Classic Deluxe Telecaster (Francois Van Coke plays her), however the strat headstock puts me off.

Gearhead

First: do not buy one you haven't played. Online is easy but every factory makes dogs, even Fender and Gibson.
Second: if the Tele does not go rough enough, there's aftermarket pickups that will make it do anything.
Third: if you want to stand out, play different from others. Your guitar could look like an Ibby, as long as you don't sound like that.

Hope it helps.

dee

There is nothing stopping you from getting the Tele. While the P90's are definitely not exactly the first choice when it comes to metal and hard rock, you can always swap them out for something with more oomph later. Tele's are remarkably versatile.

Also I'm sure any local music shop can order this guitar from Fender for you if you ask. Just because they are not listed on the online shops does not mean they are not available.

Max

Hi epictring,

I have also contacted sweetwater regarding a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III. The price on the amp is $699 and shipping costs $399. So my total cost excluding duties is about $1099. Do you have any idea how much duties will cost on guitars, amps etc?

makepeace

Hey man, if I was you I would go for the JA-90. I like the thinline teles (f-hole is cool and different) and the other finishings on that guitar look cool (pickguard, knobs, bridge etc). What I would do though, for hard rock and metal, is replace the pups with humbuggies of some sort.

Good luck!

Sebber

I wouldn't worry about the soapbars, that SP90-3 in the bridge position will match some lower gain humbuckers in output so you'll have no problem making a distorted amp chug and wail with it (I've got Seymour Duncan SP90-3s in my Gibson and that guitar sounds amazing). The neck unit is a vintage output Seymour Duncan P90 but I wouldn't worry about that either to be honest, P90s are fantastic pickups and they cover a lot of bases as far as I'm concerned: they do cleans nicely, being single coils, but they're stronger in the midrange compared to Fender-style single coils and have higher output so they take to higher gain situations somewhat better too.

I'd go for that Tele all the way.

infernox

Buy a Cort EVL-Z6 for rock and metal!

Norman86

do Sweetwater actually ship Fender products outside the US??

just make sure about that first, as Fender is protected!

i struggled jsut to get the ashtray bridge cover and "F" logo neckplate for my strat.
Bothners said they couldnt help as they are only replacement parts, and few places in the US were willing to sell Fender outside of the US!

eventually, i got those parts from parts is parts!
good luck in the guitar though...

if i were you, i would get the fender too!
personal preference for anything with the F logo ?

Max

Well I'm in contact with the senior sales guy at sweetwater and he said he will ship the fender hot rod deluxe 2 South Africa.he couldn't tell me how much duties will cost.

Norman86

awesome! good luck! hope customs dont do proper checks on the day you get your amp, saving you money!

hows this... for the bridge cover and the neck plate, which cost R120 together, customs charges me R58 on top of that!
then we dont even take the the $35 shipping into account either. agents!

Max

That's crazy man. We get screwed in this country. The worst part of it is when you see prices on the international sites and you start drooling over it but then reality hits - shipping and duties.

Norman86

thats why i hope for your sake, the customs idiots are sleeping if you get a hot rod amp shipped... coz you might pay through your but for it!
but you could get lucky and pay almost nothing!

depends on the agents on the day!

makepeace

Norman86 wrote: thats why i hope for your sake, the customs idiots are sleeping if you get a hot rod amp shipped... coz you might pay through your but for it!
but you could get lucky and pay almost nothing!

depends on the agents on the day!

you can always get it reassessed if its more than what it should be. just calculate the highest amount you might have to pay (from SARS literature, vat and excise duty) and make your decision based on that. they can't overcharge you.

Norman86

makepeace wrote:
Norman86 wrote: thats why i hope for your sake, the customs idiots are sleeping if you get a hot rod amp shipped... coz you might pay through your but for it!
but you could get lucky and pay almost nothing!

depends on the agents on the day!
you can always get it reassessed if its more than what it should be. just calculate the highest amount you might have to pay (from SARS literature, vat and excise duty) and make your decision based on that. they can't overcharge you.

And how much time and effort would you have to sepnd trying to get it reassessed?
Thats the crux of the matter, and why people just fork out the stupid customs duties!

makepeace

Norman86 wrote:
makepeace wrote:
Norman86 wrote: thats why i hope for your sake, the customs idiots are sleeping if you get a hot rod amp shipped... coz you might pay through your but for it!
but you could get lucky and pay almost nothing!

depends on the agents on the day!
you can always get it reassessed if its more than what it should be. just calculate the highest amount you might have to pay (from SARS literature, vat and excise duty) and make your decision based on that. they can't overcharge you.

And how much time and effort would you have to sepnd trying to get it reassessed?
Thats the crux of the matter, and why people just fork out the stupid customs duties!

well that depends on the relationship between the individual's respect for their money and respect for their time. i'm just saying that you don't have to let them get away with overcharging. its up to you whether you want them to or not.

this is also where the whole importing because its cheaper vs local retailer thing comes in to play.

?

Norman86

makepeace wrote:
well that depends on the relationship between the individual's respect for their money and respect for their time. i'm just saying that you don't have to let them get away with overcharging. its up to you whether you want them to or not.

this is also where the whole importing because its cheaper vs local retailer thing comes in to play.

?

Sorry for the hijack...
together, my neck plate and bridge cover, including customs was R180 odd.
I was quoted R200 JUST for the neck plate! some places, R250!

so together, it wasnt too bad including customs!

point is though, on larger items where you'll be paying into the hundreds for customs, THATS where you wanna get your money back!
to get R30 back from customs will cost me more in time and money and effort than the extra R30 i was charged!

epictring

Norman86 wrote: thats why i hope for your sake, the customs idiots are sleeping if you get a hot rod amp shipped... coz you might pay through your but for it!
but you could get lucky and pay almost nothing!

depends on the agents on the day!

I'm not so sure about that..

I've ordered a Wah pedal from them in the past, and a Vox VT100 (30Kg amp!) in January. They ignored the wah pedal because of the small packaging. But the bigger the package is (like an amp/guitar) then your almost certainly going to be caught and end up paying taxes.

How much tax?
Well when I ordered the Vox amp on eBay, I paid 15% on the value of the item. The amp was R6000-R7000 (if memory serves me well..)

Sweetwater
They DO import Fenders. I contacted my sales engineer and he said he is allowed, but they aren't allowed certain brands such as Mesa Boogie ? - I wanted to order a dual rectifier.

But anyway..Thanks a lot for the replies guys! I'm trying to go with the fender, I contacted Music Connection and they can get me the Fender for "R8190,00 incl Fender bag, cable and strap plus the FULL setup." and the Ltd for "R8900.00, incl case,cable,strap and FULL setup"

The only problem is, they can only get the Red Fender from the Fender warehouse (only 1 left). I hate that color and want the transparent black one! What now?

EDIT!: They're getting me the Ebony Transparent (Black) Colour next year ? - w00p!

They said they'll ship it to Welkom (where I live) for free from Joburg. Should I accept the offer or go fetch it in Joburg?

Thanks ?
PD