fromnabulax Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I've been looking at these Airline reissues for a while but was somewhat concerned for the cost, along with the fact that their cases are very expensive which adds an additional $135.00US to their cost, and shipping on top of that. I ordered some straps on the cheap from them a few months back and am on their email list. Late last week they sent me a notice that they were discounting several of their discontinued models by 30%! Jumping over to their page I saw this '59 Town and Country DLX which I had already been admiring was among those being heavily discounted. Although I had wanted the cream colored model, this red burst being priced so nicely made its choice a no brainer for me. I placed the order on Thursday, it shipped on Friday, and is here on Tuesday. Not bad from Canada and through customs. Although it looks like triple himbucker, the neck and bridge pups are both single coil hiding under those caps. Each pup has its own volume and tone control with a master volume below. I might be concerned about those knobs being in the way up there if I was a flatpicker, but since I fingerpick my hand rests steadily and the knobs don't interfere at all. In the few hours I've been playing it I have not yet once accidentally knocked the knobs about either. This thing has incredibly low action which I expect to raise a bit once I get slightly heavier string on it. The pups are mighty hot, so I'm riding with my master volume pretty low since I don't use overdrive or distortion. Just a touch of reverb and delay for me, thank you. Rather than a Strat or Tele, I would liken the tone overall to a Jazzmaster set on its rhythm circuit. The bridge pup can certainly bite if needed, but the neck pup flows like pure buttery maple syrup. I expect to replace the fake Klusons with the real thing, and I expect to pop some toggles in there for more control over mixing the pups. The three way limits me to only one pup at a time and since I don't use effects, I'll want a lot more flexibility in mixing them. The body is chambered mahogany and therefore pretty light. It sounds awesome playing blues, jazz and country as well as old school Rock and Roll. The body as you can see in the bottom picture is bound in a white (likely to pick up a lot if dirt) rubber strip to emulate the binding in the original two-piece molded fiberglass models back in the 1950's. The case which came with the guitar at no extra cost is huge, form fit for this guitar and built like a tank. Last but certainly not least, the guitar is a lot of fun to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I've never seen anything like that.... WOW....that's a beauty is that a tone and volume for each pup and then a master volume? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Waaay too many controls HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 I've never seen anything like that.... WOW....that's a beauty is that a tone and volume for each pup and then a master volume? Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Waaay too many controls HNGD! Perhaps built to compete with an airliner Beautiful catch, congrats, HNGD! I think the case is worth the money, too, for itself and for the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 wicked guitar man! You could individually pre-set each pup volume and tone for the rhythm, lead and bridge parts and then just keep switching to the relevant pup during a song! Serious string length going on - do 10's feel like 11's or 12's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Due to the 25 1/2" scale strings should feel like on a typical Fender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 3... 2... 1... Blast off! HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Very cool guitar I only know of Airline guitars because Joey Burns from Calexico uses the 3p/up 59 as shown here; http://www.casadecalexico.com/photos/PDXInstore1.jpg Didn't a lot of surf players use them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Due to the 25 1/2" scale strings should feel like on a typical Fender. I'd bow to your experience on that Cap - my understanding was that the total length of string was what determined tension levels not the scale length (though generally that would be indicative). I'm always learning in this game :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Whenever I see one of these, I automatically think of Jack White, or that '60s group "Vanilla Fudge" I think they called themselves? I wonder why they used humbucker covers for single coils...and these are remakes of the original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Sweet! Honestly, how are these guitars? I automatically think of Jack White when I see these guitars. First time I seen one was when I first seen the video to The Hardest Button To Button on TV when I was a kid when it first came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted April 29, 2015 Author Share Posted April 29, 2015 Sweet! Honestly, how are these guitars? I automatically think of Jack White when I see these guitars. First time I seen one was when I first seen the video to The Hardest Button To Button on TV when I was a kid when it first came out. Here's the real deal... As I wrote, I no longer use pedals. I haven't in a long time. No distortion, no overdrive, just a hint of delay and reverb. Therefore I want and need a guitar with a pure clean tone that sounds like a dream all on its own. As such, I love single coil pickups to give me that extra bit of tone at lower volumes. Nowadays most of my professional work is done as a solo. Kind of lounge light jazz, standards and pop. I provide ambient sounds and atmosphere. I need to blend into the background and not intrude on someone's dinner or party chatter. That means a nice clean and smooth low end feel. Nothing too sharp or jarring, but smooth and laid back tones. I use a lot of hollow and semi hollow guitars, but I also have a few a few solid body guitars that can also pull this off. I have an Epiphone '56 Les Paul P90 PRO that when set just right can sound like a million dollars. This Airline I was suspicious of. I know all about the Jack Black's and several others who go for a much dirtier sounding tone than want for myself. Even at the Airline site nearly all of the YouTube sound samples while expertly played used various levels of distortion. I simply was unable to find a real sample of how this thing actually sounded clean and fingerpicked Wes Montgomery style. I finally came upon a clip where a guy in passing and almost accidentally actually played a couple of notes cleanly and I knew at once this thing was capable of getting a tone I might be able to work with. So the guitar shows up yesterday, I stretch out the strings, tune it up and plug it in. Whammo. No tweaking, no amp twiddling, no crazy adjustments, just the single coil neck pickup at around 7, and the tone rolled down to about 4 on the guitar, and there it was. The perfectly smooth, velvety and sweet tone I look for. I hit the middle humbucker and it needs a bit more volume, but it sounds really warm. I go to the single coil bridge pickup and this thing has me sounding like Hound Dog Taylor! Funky, dirty, mean and low down with absolutely no distortion! I mentioned that the action is set really low on here, but even after popping .011s on it, there is absolutely zero fret buzz anywhere on the neck. I can go up to the 20th fret on the e string and do a full tone bend with no buzz, choking or fretting out. The scale length is shorter than I am used to and I will occasionally miss those two extra frets, but the neck is fast and wide enough to be forgiving to these 59 year old becoming arthritic fingers. Not only am I thrilled with the jazzy possibilities with this axe, but I simply can't wait for my next full band blues jam. This baby's going to wail. In terms of build quality I found only one wee issue. The truss rod cover on the treble side was screwed down too tightly and cracked the cover badly enough to break it. I sent an email to Airline and a few moments ago got a UPS shipment notification that a new one will be here by Friday. That friends is customer service! I really don 't intend to crank this baby up for any Tony Iommi riffage, or bound off into dropped tuning land ala contemporary metal, so I can't really offer a valid opinion on its strengths there. I can only tell you that for ultra clean guitar this is far warmer than a Strat, less metallic than a Les Paul, and deeper without being darker than a Tele. It really is far closer to a Jazzmaster, but a Jazzmaster simply can't get skanky the way this baby can at it's bridge pickup. I am already in love with this guitar,and at less than$900.00US with a great case and shipping,I am not sure there's a better deal for me out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 This greatest thing about this is that you love it. [thumbup] [thumbup] I mean that in a very complimentary way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 This greatest thing about this is that you love it. [thumbup] [thumbup] I mean that in a very complimentary way. Couldn't agree more. My brother-in-law bought one of Eastwood's Tokai Hummingbird style guitars a while back and its great that when these companies go out of their way to make something different from the standard variation of a Fender/Gibson that people actually buy them and love owning them. Fromnabulax - check out this beastie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fromnabulax Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Couldn't agree more. My brother-in-law bought one of Eastwood's Tokai Hummingbird style guitars a while back and its great that when these companies go out of their way to make something different from the standard variation of a Fender/Gibson that people actually buy them and love owning them. Fromnabulax - check out this beastie... Phil drives me crazy, but man what a really cool guitar. And still looking in great shape too. Must've been sitting in cold storage somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autumn Light&Shade Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 HNGD! that is some beauty you've got. Being curious and before I got too carried away I checked the website, leftys are available, oohh maybe just maybe and lots of sugar coated talking I could get one. Happy for you that you are enjoying your new guitar :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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