New Talon Day

Anything about the various Talon model guitars
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Julz
Heartfield Student
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri May 25, 2018 8:35 pm
Australia

New Talon Day

Post by Julz »

My latest Talon, also the first that has a finish other than Black or Pearl White

Heartfield IV Refurbish

It's a TA-IV, I believe the colour is Chrome Red (If it's Frost Red, please correct me). Original Heartfield case was included in excellent condition which is a big deal.

The guitar was pretty filthy when purchased but it scrubbed up nicely and now presents as a solid 8/10.

During the clean, I came across some peculiar things.

Some parts of the Floyd Rose PRO differ from other PRO examples I have. Firstly, the fine tuners don't have a bevel around the top. Secondly, there is a stamp on the baseplate under the fine tuners reading "APMW INC. MADE IN U.S.A." which I've discovered is a division of Kahler :shock:.

The bridge pickup is not a H1 but a DP152 (Super 3). I have to assume this was installed by a previous owner but I'm intrigued as to why someone would replace the original with something that is essentially the same. Another interesting aspect is the 'DiMarzio' silkscreen logo is completely gone from the H3 (neck) pickup bobbin as if deliberately to match the unbranded DP152. It looks like it may have been done at the factory. It gets me thinking, could there have been a supply shortage of H1 at FujiGen and DP152's were ordered to cover the shortfall?

Another possibility is a previous owner put something silly in there like a Seymour Duncan and a later owner sensibly attempted to restore it close to the original spec. The long shot possibility is the H1 was faulty and replaced with a Super 3 under warranty and Fender directed their authorised service personnel to delete the DiMarzio branding on the other pickup to remove the mismatch :?:

Finally, the AANJ carve is much more rounded than every other TA I-V I've seen (Note: entry model 'Talon' should never be included in these comparisons given the major spec differences). Obviously this is a welcome oddity so I compared the heel joints of all my other Talons and the carves are pretty consistent but for this one. The lower horn also has more rounded corners than my other ones. I put this down to the variables that come with hand finishing performed by multiple individuals.
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Richard
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Re: New Talon Day

Post by Richard »

I do think it's Chrome Red. Frost Red tends to be almost a bit pink in artificial light. Thanks for the detailed low-down on this guitar. I will be added to the Serial Numbers database this weekend.
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Black Fender-labelled DR-6
Warmoth-based Fender Stratocaster
Positive Grid Spark 40 amp
Looking for a black Fender-labelled Talon V
http://www.karsmakers.nl
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