TALON III

 

 

The Talon III has a basswood body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, two DiMarzio humbuckers (bridge and neck position) and one Fender single coil pickup (mid position). Ultra slim "U" shape neck radius is 17" (431.8 mm), scale length is actually 25.5" (648 mm) despite all documentation stating 25.1". It has 22 frets, and the differences with the Talon II is that it has a Floyd Rose Pro tremolo system.
Talons with a Kahler-labelled tremolo had no screws all through the neck at the nut, and no string retention bar. Other tremolos did. Some Talon IIIs have been manufactured with a "Fender HMX" logo on the headstock.

It used to sell for $989.99.

Heartfield colour codes available for this guitar: Black (506 - available from late 1991), Montego Black (564), Midnight Blue (573), Chrome Red (574), Frost Red (577) and Mystic White (589).

First documented month of manufacture: December 1990 (serial number L90224, not pictured on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: December 1991 (serial number L10885, not pictured on this site). The guitar appeared in Fender Frontline first in winter (i.e. early) 1991 and last in autumn 1992.

Click on a serial number to view an instrument's known history.

 

 

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: C91286
Remarks: Has a Kahler-labelled bridge, click here to see that.
Above photo credits: The owner, Paul S. Abrams.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: E91258
Remarks: The pickups of this Mystic White Talon III are non-stock Lace Sensors. Early 2010 the guitar was customized with a beautiful "Heartfield" inlay. Click here to see that.
Above photo credits: The owner, Paul S. Abrams.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: F91329
Remarks: Vinnie Moore was one of the very first Heartfield endorsers. Fender gave him an Honey Blonde RR59 (see that gallery), two stock Talons (IV or V, one montego black and one mystic white), a (chrome or frost) red Talon III and a midnight blue Talon III. These last two were modified to have no tone control and no middle single coil pickup. Vinnie didn't like sharkfin inlays. This Midnight Blue Talon was used on the "Meltdown" video and tour. Vinnie no longer has the backups, nor the red modified Talon.
The guitar can be seen in action in the "Meltdown" video and a live performance of Alice Cooper's "Elected" from 1991.
Above photo credits: The owner, Vinnie Moore.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: F91598
Remarks: The colour is Frost Red.
Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: H10707
Remarks: The colour is Montego Black. Note that the guitar type branding on the headstock reads "HMX", although it is clearly 100% a Talon III.
Above photo credits: The owner, Drew Hulva.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: H10871
Remarks: The colour is Mystic White. Type branding on the headstock reads "HMX", although it is also clearly 100% a Talon III. The owner's acquisition story: "For the longest time I've had trouble sleeping. Often I'm up at 2 or 3 in the morning. The Guitar Center's in So. California had great Memorial Day sales. This is when they dump their "Scratch and Dent" gear. You could get high end gear for cheep. This is a 1st come, 1st serve one of a kind deal. As usual I was up early, so I decided to head to the Guitar Center on Sunset Dr. I figured I'd be back home before the wife even woke up. I got there at 3:30AM and I was the 8th in line. The good news is that I had drummers and bassists ahead of me. This guitar had been sitting on a shelf for several years. I got it for $99.00. The problem was that it was missing a pickup and it was filthy. I thought I take the risk and see if I could find someone to fix it. I brought it to a music store/shop in No. Hollywood on Laurel Cyn and Victory Blvd and ask if they could fix it. He asked me to leave it, and he would contact Fender directly to see about parts. The story he told me is that Fender was PISSED that Guitar Center sold this guitar in this condition. It should have been returned to them to be destroyed. (It's good to know that a reputation is still important to some) They asked him to ship it to them at their expense and they would restore it to original condition. I picked it up about a month later in like new condition at no charge. (I did give the guy $50 for his trouble). I got the impression he didn't want to give it up. He loved the way it played. He hadn't seen one exactly like this, and he fell in love with it. Also I think he was a bit jealous of the deal I got. It's been my go-to guitar. It has quite a few hours on it. Still love the way it plays through my Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 which I got the same day for $75."
Above photo credits: The owner, Steve Paquin.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: H11003
Remarks: Strictly taken, this might not be a Talon III. It was first seen in the early 90s by original owner Jerry, who at the time didn't buy it. He remembers it was a competition give-away guitar with Vinnie Moore's signature on it. In December 2014 he walks into the store again, talks about the guitar with the owner, who then disappears and comes back with that exact guitar in his hands... It has a very unusual configuration: Two humbuckers (not seen on any Talons), 22 frets yet sharkfin inlays (only seen on 24-fret Talon IV and Talon V necks) and one control knob (not seen on any Talons). The Floyd Rose Pro and neck pickup position make it a Talon III body, hence it being shown in this gallery. But it's definitely unusual! When he took it apart, the body was routed for two pickups only, and the serial number was written in the bridge pickup cavity, prefixed with a "P".
Above photo credits: The owner, Jerry.

Type: 1991 Talon III
Serial #: H11193
Remarks: None.
Above photo credits: The owner, Marko O.

 

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