We all love those classic Fender tones, almost everyone can agree that the desert island single coil guitar will most likely be in this classic guitar style. Soon after Leo Fender sold the company, a lot has changed for them and a lot of the tradition that we all loved in these awesome tone monsters has gone in a direction that’s less traditional. Making a profit can change sometimes how things are done. So what do you do when you want to dig deep into the fender tone realms? You buy a TMG Guitar. Let me introduce to you TMG’s take on the Fender Stratocaster, The Dover.
The Dover is a “strat style” guitar with all of the features of the past. All the measurements and feel are totally vintage spec with an awesome set of TMG single coil pickups that are made from only NOS parts. This axe is not just another remake, it’s a force to be reckoned with. The relic job on the solid swamp ash body is a closet classic style that looks beautiful on stage and in the studio. There’s a lot of attention to detail and soul put into the craftsmanship of this instrument. The maple neck is silky smooth with what I consider to be a beautiful marriage of vintage feel with a modern action. I see my favorite brands like Kluson, Emerson Custom, and Callaham making some very welcomed appearances on the hardware and electronics. It covers a lot of ground from “Mayer/SRV” Tones to even “Edge/U2” sounds.
Today I’ve asked my close friend Leo Cabrera to track some demos with me in the studio, he plays for a very well known hispanic P&W band called Generación 12. He’s a very accomplished player that I look up to very much and I’m very happy he joined in for this review. Leo had this to say after playing it for the 1st time…
The Dover sounds big, not thin or brittle like other strat guitars I’ve played. Once you get your hands on it, you find an inspiration machine that begs to be played. I appreciate that all the positions are usable, even the bridge which I long avoided on strats. I loved playing it. Leo Cabrera (translated from Spanish)
For todays audio samples, I’ll be tracking the Dover into a 1961 Silverstone Twin Twelve mic’ed up with a MD421 and an NOS Panther Ribbon mic. Both are summed, compressed and EQ’ed with the same settings into my Universal Audio Apollo Twin. Here are the audio samples.
The TMG Dover is surly one of the best Strat style guitars on the market. Recently, I had someone in the studio with both a vintage 1967 Strat and a Fender custom shop strat worth over $5,000. After playing the Dover he went and sold his custom shop fender to get his own TMG. After getting my hands on his 67′ Strat, I’d say that the Dover keeps the spirit Leo Fender originally intended for the Stratocaster. If your interested in getting one please contact TMG about any of the great models they feature.
The new ownership has rewritten the company history and they will work hard to build the guitar of your dreams. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one, please comment and share. Thanks and Godspeed!