Maybe Santa will put a Page Tele under your tree tonight if you were good this year! 🔴Buy on Reverb: reverb.com/item/37924513?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly 🍭Buy at Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/kLN40 ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211
@@vlady8me that thing is as hideous as either of these two. The mirrored is fine if you junk all the mirrors. And a mirrored Tele will always be a Syd thing in my book.
Fender and Wildwood came up with a “Ready to Relic” nitrocellulose formula and it’s a pretty neat idea. The guitars age a lot faster but look brand new at first. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fender started using it on a lot more “Vintage Style” guitars. Optional of course. I just got a “Mary Kaye” Custom Shop 57 Closet Classic Strat for Christmas. I can’t wait for it to start wearing in. One piece ash bodies are fantastic!
Great video. I think the reason why the neck is road worn on the dragon is because it was more used by the time the white tele became the dragon tele, after all they were the same guitar. Also from what i've read and heard on different videos they're the same pickups just branded different, which would make sense cause once again they were the same guitar. I went with the dragon model because it's unique, i mean you can always get a white tele 😀 mine also has a thicker sound, they probably aimed that sound with those models, a thicker sound was also one of the reason why i went with that one. After your video i examined mine and found that luckily mine seems to be a one piece ash body with some small marks in the wood which probably wouldn't happen with the usa model. However they're not visible on the first look and are only present at the back and the side. I really had to search for them to see. Didn't have any issues with the rosewood fingerboard or the neck, comfortable for me but i usually never have any issues with guitar necks unless they're v shaped or painted. After watching your video i gave it a second close look and still found it comfortable. However i should mention that the fingerboard doesn't sound as dark as the others rosewood fretboards that i've played with but since i always prefer maple no issues there for me, it sounds somewhere between maple and rosewood. And i also got some sharp frets but i've seen it with other usa models too. The only thing i truly disliked about both models is the bridge, those saddles are a pain in the ass, after wanting to keep it original for some time i finally ordered a 6 saddle bridge. Overall i would say thay the positive side of this beast heavily outweighs the negative side. Cheers 😀
I almost bought the dragon Tele but went to my local GC and they had both so I played them both. I agree that the neck on the mirror Tele felt much smoother but I actually preferred the "chonkiness" of the dragon neck and it had a really great sound. However, I did notice the flaws, and the overall build quality on the Dragon was disappointing. I really wanted to like it more, but I put them both back. Full disclosure - I've never liked the look of the Telecaster, but lately, they have grown on me. I am also impressed with the range of tones a basic Tele can produce, but clean and distorted. I will certainly add a Tele to my private collection at some point, but it probably won't be one of the Jimi Page models. If they actually made a better quality US version of the Dragon that wasn't insanely expensive, I'd buy it.
Trogly, I purchased the dragon tele early on and the case I received was the tweed one - not the black one.....Also mine when unboxing was bounced around too. So much so that it actually damaged the case a little. Wonder if the black case is of better fit and quality? I let the guitar sit for a long while before unboxing, and my first impression was that the guitar needed a drastic setup, So much so when playing it for the first time the b string broke. I do like the sounds from the custom wound pickups. Mexican Quality needs to be better for this price point for sure.
@@cadams1607 - I think your right. I’ve always thought that Jimmy “borrowed” the mirror idea from Syd…. And some of his ‘66-69 clothing choices and hairdo are similar to Syd.
the dragon is by far the best of the three! the blond is nice but to spendy for me. the new mim fenders are hard to beat for the price, the older mim are impossible to beat if you can find one for three hundred dollars,that leaves you money for upgrades, and the one thing i dont like is the thick Polly finish! its worth it to me to use a heat gun and remove the rather thick crap they are finished with and do a nitro re spray. its alot less work than a good oil finish under a amber nitro, witch is my fav look.
Merry Christmas all. Trogly, this is the first time I've wanted a Tele... and it would likely be the Mexican. With that said, listening to the very first part of the blind comparison there is a clear difference in the bridge pickups. I got a little Strat from the MIM while the US came across as 100% Tele. Maybe that was due to the volume adjustment, but there is definitely something different there. Cheers, and keep up the great work!
you see it a lot more if you look at Jimmys actual dragon tele . The head is facing backwards just left of the bridge on the top left corner. You can see it a lot easier on the actual page tele. I actually have both of these teles and honestly I changed the saddles on the dragon to wilkensen compensated brass saddles. Made a huge difference. It is way brighter now. Mine also has a lot of checking on the neck. They are both really nice guitars and sound great clean or with gain.
The mystical Dragon Tele and the supro amp that made wonders in Led Zeppelin I, it also made history during the Stairway To Heaven solo, he used the same gear from LZ I, not sure if it was the dragon Tele, which wasn’t a dragon Tele anymore cause of the guy who painted it while he was on tour in ‘69 to “make a surprise” a bad surprise according to Jimmy, who didn’t understand after a while, (the Tele was striped at some point , but the neck lived in his brown B-bender Tele which was used a lot) it’s been a long time since I’ve been waiting for this review!
Think they both on equal footing and the Mex look much more exciting with a vibe bit rawer sounding .USA one a beautiful guitar .get all the case candy with both instruments.Mex have done a brilliant job and show how well they can make great guitars with a vibe ,Mex have got beautiful selected ash wood body’s to .
The process range on these puppys Is a bit steep to say you have a signature guitar. I'm still good with my mid 20 teens American Special. I think it was around 2015 I bought it.
You gotta play it like page does with the dazed and confused it’s all bending on the main riff then the second part is a b shape starting on the second fret. Still sounds the same it was basically the first album and the solo from stairway to heaven. I want one of these but I’d almost rather have an American tele painted to save money and not settle for Mexican I don’t know if it was under $900 I’d be like great but I can get a used American blonde or natural tele for under a grand if I look hard enough and just put some vintage style tuners on it, make one of those pickguards or buy one, then I can just have it painted or buy a decal which I think they sell for this reason. Really enjoy your videos, next time with the zeppelin you should plug the tele into a Supro with a tone bender or a les Paul straight into a cranked Marshall plexi using a fuzz as a boost and not blasting the fuzz instant page tone.
I personally think the dragon sounds more Pagey. I'm thinking that the slight output increase of the white one maybe accentuates that middle position pop of Nashville and that sort of thing. And Page's tele sound wasn't much in that direction. It was airy and looser. So for my tastes the dragon seems at least more immediately true to Page's unique hard rock Tele thing he was doing at that time. Ive only played on the dragon in the shop and was beaming about it. Would be awesome to just stick those pickups on some tele I liked, even a used Mexi off reverb or something.
I have to agree with you that the "Dragon" Tele sounded more like Page...more Tele-sounding with more string definition. The "Mirror" Tele sounded more like a Les Paul actually...but that's not necessarily a bad thing!
Just got my first tele the other day. Got the American pro ii and it had a mistake on it. They put the ultra neck plate on it instead of American pro ii plate. Same plate but wrong guitar name. Thought it was pretty cool but also makes me think they didn’t do a good quality inspection
For the Dragon Tele.........Jimmy Page actually traveled to the Fender plant and drew out the design lines and even chose & bought the exact same color of paints he used originally, and HE HIMSELF literally drew out the layout lines & painted the very first Fender Custom Dragon Tele.......right there in the Fender plant!!! There's a video on Fender's youtube channel showing him actually doing it. He only had to do the one guitar, and Fender's designers took the rest from there, making exact copies. Go watch the video for yourself. ( I'm sure the first one that he painted himself at the Fender plant was retained by Jimmy himself........seeing as the original one was destroyed decades ago by "a friend" who was house sitting for him while he went on some tour. Upon returning home, his "buddy" handed Jimmy his Tele........all stripped and repainted some entirely different way. Jimmy was furious. He couldn't even bring himself to use that guitar anymore.......let alone look at it. And it was for this very reason, that a unique thing happened: instead of guitar manufacturers approaching legendary artists about doing a recreation of some historic guitar they owned & used in the studio or concerts.......Jimmy Page actually contacted Fender FIRST, about recreating this guitar, with both versions. Between Jimmy contacting Fender, and not the other way around, plus the fact Jimmy actually hand painted the first custom Dragon Tele right there in the Fender plant........is probably why they cost so damned much.
@@Slammintone That's not what they said on a video specifically talking about this special edition guitar. Hey, I'm just sayin'. And this came from one of the insiders.
My wife almost left me when Dragon came to my house..i asked her-read told her,to get this guitar and ofc she said i was insane and there's no way i will buy that guitar..Well...the rest is history 😂 We are still together,but another problem is...i want Eric Clapton's Brownie now 😂 But this time i won't say a thing and just hope for the best 👍
Yep and the majority of the time recording and live, the 58and mostly the 59 Gibson Les paul. the telecaster just wouldn't have cut it live with the brutal volume of Led Zeppelin.
Jimmy is much more a Fender player than people give him credit for. Not only on many Zep recordings even after Zep he played his brown Tele B-Bender as his number 1. Page used his Les Paul's live for more output. With that being said, he would have his toggle switch on both pick ups to get simular Tele sounds lol.
All my kids pitched in and got me the Dragon Tele for my big Christmas gift. 😢I was overwhelmed to say the least. I really love it. Sounds great. No complaints. It's my number 1. Thanks Jimmy P! You brought joy to this dad.
"In case you're not familiar with who he is" If you don't know who Jimmy Page is, put your guitar down and don't pick it back up until you know who he is :)
He did have a three pickup Black Beauty since 1968, which was used extensively in LZ I and II, but yes, the Tele was his main live guitar (so, as a recording guitar that preference is also to be expected).
The Tele was the most played on Zep I and II. Page played Les Pauls live for more output. Both The Tele and Les Paul make Led Zeppelin. I love both guitars.
Reportedly: Jimmy recorded a ton of Zep songs on a tele through a Supro amp. The Rig didn't work well on stage so the LP & Marshalls took over for live performances...
He said he chose Marshall amps because of their reliability and if something did go wrong, he would be able to find a replacement no matter where he was touring around the world.
JImmy really liked the Supro (he modified) for recording in Zep. He used it quite a bit on the first three albums and a fair amount on the fourth. The Tele was used in his Yardbird days playing guitar (before that he played bass) and pretty much all you hear on the first few albums (as far as electric goes) is the Tele. Not to be forgotten Jimmy's solo's playing with the Violin Bow started with the Tele and his big bends on the earlier recordings use to push down behind the nut on the high E & B strings to get that trem/ bend effect that is hard to do on a LP. Tele truly doesn't get the respect it should being played on Zep albums. LP is fantastic but all has it's place. EVen his 59 Danelectro (Kashmir)
@@dlewtweentorla1210 So true, David! Studios have the album shaping ability, stage is a different congress... Buzzy guitars, delay though long cables, effect malfunctions.... It all leads to "Management" taking over.... Maybe the band would have put out something different in later years, but "management" pushed the group to the point... I often think of the Pink Floyd lyric of 1980, "You may feel a little pin prick, is there anyone home". Tele is , in my mind, a Zeppelin standard.
I ADORE my Mirror Tele. I can't hardly put it down. I won't put the mirrors on it though because the finish is just so awesome I can't bring myself to do it. I actually think the mirrors look stupid but man without them it's a BEAUTIFUL Tele.
Towards the end of another year, almost 4 years of watching this channel, learned so much, seen so much, and I never get tired of it, whether or not you see this I just want to say thank you since you edit these videos yourself and this is your job, we appreciate it, keep up the good work, have a brilliant Christmas and a happy new year too.
I agree. This is fantastic content that would not be available without the tech we take for granted and I am grateful for Austin's willingness to put the work in to share his passion and knowledge with the world. It's a tremendous thing.
You should definitely check out the Fender “Road Worn” series! They were mim guitars with a very light paint and clear nitro coat so it wears away vert quickly so it doesn’t take years to get that “road worn” look and feel.
In the studio he used multiple guitars. And you can tell by the tones on the album he used the Tele quite often. Live he favored Gibson LP and double neck SG. But live (to me) never sounded the same or as good as the studio. This was because of Jimmy’s sound engineering magic. He did things in the studio that would be pretty much impossible to play live, unless you use feeds like some newer groups do. Anyway I grew up in through the late 60’s and early 70’s (my high school years) and Jimmy was the biggest influence on my guitar playing.
Jimmy Page had one of the greatest Telecaster tones in rock! "Led Zeppelin 1" is all Telecaster, and it's fantastic. In fact, that is Page's strength as a player imo.....his ability to coax amazing tones from his guitars. "Physical Graffiti" for instance, is a master class in stunning guitar tones.
That's an interesting comment. Ive never thought it out but I guess you're right. There's just so many different sounds he has. I think it's more varied than anyone. I think some of it is in the recording process. But what's a Jimmy Page rhythm sound? Which one there's too many. My favorite Page sound is after the breakdown on Heartbreaker
@@bobbiemiles-foremaniii8747 Yeah, “Heartbreaker” has a few cracking tones on there! The intro to “Ten Years Gone” is the best clean humbucker tone I’ve ever heard. And “The Rover” is like “Heartbreaker”, with the number of amazing guitar tones in one song!
I'm using high quality headphones and during the blind test, I thought the mirror tele sounded significantly better. It had a more open, fuller sound, like night and day.
I've got the Mirror Tele and it's seriously awesome. I've played the Dragon one as well and it felt like total trash to me. Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder though.
your so right Larry, during the blind test I thought to myself whatever the blue Trogly is, is the winner lol. I'll get the Mirror one for sure its $1100 more for a lot of reasons. If you want the Dragon kool look I can understand the people that do. Id rather spend the money for what I really want. I gotta get one lol.
@@joebryant8500 i put full size 250k cts pots,fender 3 way switch and switchcraft jack in mine and its fabulous. My neck was a great example.almost rolled fret edges its so smooth.pickups are alnico and a very similar reading to trogly's white one.both mine and it, have steel saddles,vintage tuners and a vintage gloss neck.the $2500 guitar just has nitro finish.difference is the squier has narrow tall frets and a 9.5 radius.which are much more preferred with players vs a 7.5 radius.body on the squier is pine vs ash.the pine has more resonance.so while not a $2500 guitar.more around the $600-$650 range with the upgrades. I doubt if you played mine and that white one side by side.that you could justify to yourself the price increase.unless your just a total brand snob.
Why is there no magnets on the bottom of the dragon tele bridge pickup..? www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/fenders-new-page-tele-whats-under-the-bridge-pickup-in-this-pic.2037088/
Not gonna lie there's no way I'd drop $1400 on a made in Mexico with a not-entirely-satin neck when 1-200 more gets me an American Professional II with that new "supernatural" satin neck finish (which puts even EBMM to shame). Any chance there's one of those coming up, perhaps on the first Fender Friday of 2021?
I searched all over the interwebs for the actual neck dimensions of these models and then I remembered that you always take measurements so I tuned into this video. i got the info that I was looking for and a whole lot more. I love your videos. I ended up picking up a used USA mirror version. Thanks for the work you put into your content!
Yep, the bridge pickup got completely destroyed by the paint, the solo in stairway is the neck pickup of the reassembled tele, as he took the neck off and put it on a B-bender tele. After stairway was recorded he put the neck back on the B-bender and left the body alone until fender spec’d it out
That dragon Telecaster pioneered zeps sound. Whole first album with a supro amp was recorded with this. I hand built a replica of this guitar and it turned out awesome. Page used 8-38s for crazy bending on this guitar
@@mcamp9445 lol no Quite a few players tuned down a half step to lower tension more than anything. A singlecut LP Junior's factory strings were .14s, for example. Ernie Ball eventually did put out Slinkys but I doubt many outside of Nashville (which Jimmy was obsessed with) were running 8s at this time. The trick of the day was tossing your wound G, buying a bajo string & using it as your E, moving the stock B & E to lower positions. Still left one with bridge cables for bass strings.
I know you're a Gibson specialist, but I love when you review other makers. Always fun to hear what features/specifications appeal to you or things that surprised you.
>plain Jane white Tele >$2500, $4900, TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND FUCKING DOLLARS! "But Gibson charges too much for a logo" Masterbuilt? How about a Reacharound?
It's a shame because both of them sound rather cheesy to me. Think il go with an Ultra telecaster. Would be cool though to have the paint job on a better quality tele and listening to the new ultras I'd much rather spring a bit more money for a very notable difference in quality. Damn shame they couldn't have done a better job of a Page replica.... maybe they thought it was a good way to get more money out of less quality....
@@argo_z That's absolutely incorrect actually. Jimmy says he painted the Dragon tele completely by himself and played in on Led Zeppelin I. When he returned home from their tour, the ceramics artist that was watching his house repainted the guitar in sage green/earthy colors and Jimmy said he absolutely hated it and could never connect with the guitar Jeff Beck originally gave him again. This is when we switched to the bronze Les Paul. So yes, Jimmy did paint the guitar himself.
Interestingly, the more "hollow" and scooped sounding Dragon was a LOT more like actual Jimmy's Tele tone (without fuzz), compared to the beefier blonde! Listen: ruclips.net/video/lfLMvO3EwMA/видео.html
I swear I also thought the same the moment I heard the MIM Dragon's cleans. Jimmy's pickups didn't sound hot at all. But Trogly is mostly a LP guy, the way I see it, he's into "louder = better" type of mentality like so many other people.
@@iagobroxado It could also be the pickup height. By the way, I was looking to get that amazing clarity Page gets out of his LP's neck position, so looked carefully at some pictures. Guess what, the neck pickup is lower than the pickup ring! And yes, it works, it turns out, you can dial some of the mud out of it that way.
@@Pandamasque Also could be pickup height indeed! I wonder if Trogly was fair enough to adjust them the same. I do believe these are the very same pickup models - Ohms definitely aren't everything, but heck, both are Page models, just too close Kohm readings, cosmetically the same - makes you at least wonder. Hey man, I have been thrilled by how great Jimmy's #1 Les Paul sounds with the volume control on his neck pickup turned down - it's almost like a strat. About 20 years ago when I watched TSRTS (VHS hehe) for the first time and during the SIBLY intro he starts the "quiet part" I couldn't believe he didn't have coil taps and he was getting all that single-coily tone just by turning the volume down!
Trogly, great review; and I love your channel. Keep doing what you do. Comment section... Oh lawd, 50 million tele fanboys retelling what everyone who cares about Page already knows: Page played tele on Zep 1 and the "Stairway" solo. Yeah. Got it. ...Of course, it's not what he chose live, and he didn't even buy it. It was a gift. Calm your plank worship. It's just a guitar.
It was never about jimmy’s lead playing for me.. I always loved his production and orchestration. Rain Song, Ten Years Gone, In My Time of Dying, Stairway. He always had a wonderful ability to write intricate parts and pair those parts with bold and strange guitar tones. He’s not like a Slash or a Brian May where you can pin one guitar on him… he had a lot of tools in his tool box.
When doing the "blind" test, I could immediately tell that the white U.S. model had a richer, fuller sound, whereas the Dragon was not quite as full and a bit brittle sounding, IMO. The sonic quality of my hearing is a bit compromised these days, but even with that issue, it was still easy to tell the two apart on the clean setting. With the distortion, it became more difficult to tell them apart. I would definitely spend the extra $$$ for the white Tele though. Often it is the little things that, when added up, make the difference!
Most of Jimmy Page's leads were on a Tele and most of Presence and In Through The Out Door were recorded on Strats (and his electric DADGAD stuff was on a Danelectro) :)
I want to Specially appreciate you for being a big fan.💞 Thanks for your nice comment on my post, it means a lot to me. I want you to send me a direct message💌 via hangouts using my personal email or you can as well add me up on WhatsApp through my mobile number that will be indicated below. Also endeavor to add your name to the text so I can know you are the one texting because I don’t reply unnecessary messages. Hangouts mail: JimmyPageactive@gmail.com WhatsApp number: +1(325) 221-5738
Maybe Santa will put a Page Tele under your tree tonight if you were good this year!
🔴Buy on Reverb: reverb.com/item/37924513?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly
🍭Buy at Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/kLN40
❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/
👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211
Cool Review(s).
Rubber Grommet = Surgical Tubing (seriously, that is what they use).
Merry Christmas Austin, thank you for you content.
Lets see them compared to the Terry Kath CHICAGO Fender Baja Telecaster Tribute. Kinda apples and oranges, but circles, man.
@@vlady8me that thing is as hideous as either of these two. The mirrored is fine if you junk all the mirrors. And a mirrored Tele will always be a Syd thing in my book.
After listening to the demo the American Tele/Pickups sound a little fuller with more authority.
Walmart
Nothing sold more LP's than Jimmy Page's Telecaster..
You mean albums or Les Pauls?
😂
@@josemariareyes3448 Both..
Yeah that’s a good way to think about it.
Also, many double neck Gibsons owe their sales to a Fender 12 string Strat.
Well almost sold more. Slash saved the whole Gibson company.
Fender and Wildwood came up with a “Ready to Relic” nitrocellulose formula and it’s a pretty neat idea. The guitars age a lot faster but look brand new at first. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fender started using it on a lot more “Vintage Style” guitars. Optional of course.
I just got a “Mary Kaye” Custom Shop 57 Closet Classic Strat for Christmas. I can’t wait for it to start wearing in. One piece ash bodies are fantastic!
that ash is so nice in that finish being natural
I've been waiting for this for over a year and what a great Christmas present this is
Great video. I think the reason why the neck is road worn on the dragon is because it was more used by the time the white tele became the dragon tele, after all they were the same guitar. Also from what i've read and heard on different videos they're the same pickups just branded different, which would make sense cause once again they were the same guitar. I went with the dragon model because it's unique, i mean you can always get a white tele 😀 mine also has a thicker sound, they probably aimed that sound with those models, a thicker sound was also one of the reason why i went with that one. After your video i examined mine and found that luckily mine seems to be a one piece ash body with some small marks in the wood which probably wouldn't happen with the usa model. However they're not visible on the first look and are only present at the back and the side. I really had to search for them to see. Didn't have any issues with the rosewood fingerboard or the neck, comfortable for me but i usually never have any issues with guitar necks unless they're v shaped or painted. After watching your video i gave it a second close look and still found it comfortable. However i should mention that the fingerboard doesn't sound as dark as the others rosewood fretboards that i've played with but since i always prefer maple no issues there for me, it sounds somewhere between maple and rosewood. And i also got some sharp frets but i've seen it with other usa models too. The only thing i truly disliked about both models is the bridge, those saddles are a pain in the ass, after wanting to keep it original for some time i finally ordered a 6 saddle bridge. Overall i would say thay the positive side of this beast heavily outweighs the negative side. Cheers 😀
A need that dragon🐉tele in me life ......a true bit of rock n roll history 🤘
Merry Christmas
ive wanted the dragon tele for so long and im glad to see a review on it
Really interesting to see them side by side. Fab review!
I almost bought the dragon Tele but went to my local GC and they had both so I played them both. I agree that the neck on the mirror Tele felt much smoother but I actually preferred the "chonkiness" of the dragon neck and it had a really great sound. However, I did notice the flaws, and the overall build quality on the Dragon was disappointing. I really wanted to like it more, but I put them both back. Full disclosure - I've never liked the look of the Telecaster, but lately, they have grown on me. I am also impressed with the range of tones a basic Tele can produce, but clean and distorted. I will certainly add a Tele to my private collection at some point, but it probably won't be one of the Jimi Page models. If they actually made a better quality US version of the Dragon that wasn't insanely expensive, I'd buy it.
So the neck on the "Dragon" Tele is fatter than the neck on the "Mirror" Tele?
Merry Christmas love you all and best wishes for a New Years
Merry Christmas to the Trogly family
Merry Christmas!! Anyone else think the mirror one looks like Noddy Holder's hat at Winterland?
Trogly, I purchased the dragon tele early on and the case I received was the tweed one - not the black one.....Also mine when unboxing was bounced around too. So much so that it actually damaged the case a little. Wonder if the black case is of better fit and quality? I let the guitar sit for a long while before unboxing, and my first impression was that the guitar needed a drastic setup, So much so when playing it for the first time the b string broke. I do like the sounds from the custom wound pickups. Mexican Quality needs to be better for this price point for sure.
Great video of Jimmy playing the Dragon with the Yardbirds Dazed and confused on RUclips.A must see!
I have one of the Dragon-Teles and I LOVE it! 🎸
Great „fat“/„warm“ sounding Tele Singlecoil-Pickups - oh it’s one of my favourites!
Terry Kath of Chicago had a mirrored Telecaster too. Very underrated. Jimi Hendrix said he thought Terry was a better player than him.
Pretty sure Syd Barret was the first to have a mirrored tele.
@@cadams1607 - I think your right. I’ve always thought that Jimmy “borrowed” the mirror idea from Syd…. And some of his ‘66-69 clothing choices and hairdo are similar to Syd.
the dragon is by far the best of the three! the blond is nice but to spendy for me. the new mim fenders are hard to beat for the price, the older mim are impossible to beat if you can find one for three hundred dollars,that leaves you money for upgrades, and the one thing i dont like is the thick Polly finish! its worth it to me to use a heat gun and remove the rather thick crap they are finished with and do a nitro re spray. its alot less work than a good oil finish under a amber nitro, witch is my fav look.
Merry Xmas Austin. Nice job on the review/comparison/demo. Must say your playing is much improved since 1st tine saw you.
Merry Christmas all. Trogly, this is the first time I've wanted a Tele... and it would likely be the Mexican. With that said, listening to the very first part of the blind comparison there is a clear difference in the bridge pickups. I got a little Strat from the MIM while the US came across as 100% Tele. Maybe that was due to the volume adjustment, but there is definitely something different there. Cheers, and keep up the great work!
Still don't see the dragon, guess I don't have an artistic eye 😅. Merry Christmas all!
you see it a lot more if you look at Jimmys actual dragon tele . The head is facing backwards just left of the bridge on the top left corner. You can see it a lot easier on the actual page tele. I actually have both of these teles and honestly I changed the saddles on the dragon to wilkensen compensated brass saddles. Made a huge difference. It is way brighter now. Mine also has a lot of checking on the neck. They are both really nice guitars and sound great clean or with gain.
The mystical Dragon Tele and the supro amp that made wonders in Led Zeppelin I, it also made history during the Stairway To Heaven solo, he used the same gear from LZ I, not sure if it was the dragon Tele, which wasn’t a dragon Tele anymore cause of the guy who painted it while he was on tour in ‘69 to “make a surprise” a bad surprise according to Jimmy, who didn’t understand after a while, (the Tele was striped at some point , but the neck lived in his brown B-bender Tele which was used a lot) it’s been a long time since I’ve been waiting for this review!
The recording of stairway to heaven solo on zeppelin 4 was apparently done on a telecaster
Christmas eve is not complete without a dose of Trogly!
20:01 i dont know,but i really like that finish checking looking .
I think the Mexican one actually sounds better. Fuller/richer tone in the mids to my ear.
What’s with the mirrors
Think they both on equal footing and the Mex look much more exciting with a vibe bit rawer sounding .USA one a beautiful guitar .get all the case candy with both instruments.Mex have done a brilliant job and show how well they can make great guitars with a vibe ,Mex have got beautiful selected ash wood body’s to .
Used a tele in early Zep as well.
they both sound noooice
Liked the Mirror tele more tonally, but prefer the look of the Dragon tele. It’s too bad Fender didn’t offer the USA model in both finishes.
The process range on these puppys Is a bit steep to say you have a signature guitar. I'm still good with my mid 20 teens American Special. I think it was around 2015 I bought it.
I like the white one. I have a natural Tele … no dragon.
You gotta play it like page does with the dazed and confused it’s all bending on the main riff then the second part is a b shape starting on the second fret. Still sounds the same it was basically the first album and the solo from stairway to heaven. I want one of these but I’d almost rather have an American tele painted to save money and not settle for Mexican I don’t know if it was under $900 I’d be like great but I can get a used American blonde or natural tele for under a grand if I look hard enough and just put some vintage style tuners on it, make one of those pickguards or buy one, then I can just have it painted or buy a decal which I think they sell for this reason. Really enjoy your videos, next time with the zeppelin you should plug the tele into a Supro with a tone bender or a les Paul straight into a cranked Marshall plexi using a fuzz as a boost and not blasting the fuzz instant page tone.
I have the dragon one and I love it
The Dragon has a poly body, nitro neck:)
I personally think the dragon sounds more Pagey. I'm thinking that the slight output increase of the white one maybe accentuates that middle position pop of Nashville and that sort of thing. And Page's tele sound wasn't much in that direction. It was airy and looser. So for my tastes the dragon seems at least more immediately true to Page's unique hard rock Tele thing he was doing at that time.
Ive only played on the dragon in the shop and was beaming about it. Would be awesome to just stick those pickups on some tele I liked, even a used Mexi off reverb or something.
I have to agree with you that the "Dragon" Tele sounded more like Page...more Tele-sounding with more string definition. The "Mirror" Tele sounded more like a Les Paul actually...but that's not necessarily a bad thing!
My belief is that the Telecaster was owned by the Yardbirds and was used by Clapton, Beck and Page as each one was in the band .
Happy Christmas kiddo!
It’s not really a blind test because the tail on the dragon pickguard shows up.
Just got my first tele the other day. Got the American pro ii and it had a mistake on it. They put the ultra neck plate on it instead of American pro ii plate. Same plate but wrong guitar name. Thought it was pretty cool but also makes me think they didn’t do a good quality inspection
@@guitarocd9984 right that’s what I thought. Trick people it’s an ultra with out noiseless pickups. Haha
@@guitarocd9984 lol
Merry Christmas Austin and all the troglodytes , love your work..
I played the Dragon tele and absolutely hated the neck.
The neck profiles are different. One has a taper from thin to thick on the American. I have found the Mexican one to have a much thicker neck.
For the Dragon Tele.........Jimmy Page actually traveled to the Fender plant and drew out the design lines and even chose & bought the exact same color of paints he used originally, and HE HIMSELF literally drew out the layout lines & painted the very first Fender Custom Dragon Tele.......right there in the Fender plant!!! There's a video on Fender's youtube channel showing him actually doing it. He only had to do the one guitar, and Fender's designers took the rest from there, making exact copies. Go watch the video for yourself. ( I'm sure the first one that he painted himself at the Fender plant was retained by Jimmy himself........seeing as the original one was destroyed decades ago by "a friend" who was house sitting for him while he went on some tour. Upon returning home, his "buddy" handed Jimmy his Tele........all stripped and repainted some entirely different way. Jimmy was furious. He couldn't even bring himself to use that guitar anymore.......let alone look at it. And it was for this very reason, that a unique thing happened: instead of guitar manufacturers approaching legendary artists about doing a recreation of some historic guitar they owned & used in the studio or concerts.......Jimmy Page actually contacted Fender FIRST, about recreating this guitar, with both versions. Between Jimmy contacting Fender, and not the other way around, plus the fact Jimmy actually hand painted the first custom Dragon Tele right there in the Fender plant........is probably why they cost so damned much.
No, Jimmy and an artist friend drew the lines and hand painted the prototype at his house.
@@Slammintone That's not what they said on a video specifically talking about this special edition guitar. Hey, I'm just sayin'. And this came from one of the insiders.
@@howabouthetruth2157
That video is edited. Search the web. There’s a LOT on contradictory information out there.
The dragon tele just sounds better to my ear
I read that the guitar wasn't gifted to page that the guitar was the property of the yard birds and Jimmy page got it when he joined the yard birds.
Good video
My wife almost left me when Dragon came to my house..i asked her-read told her,to get this guitar and ofc she said i was insane and there's no way i will buy that guitar..Well...the rest is history 😂 We are still together,but another problem is...i want Eric Clapton's Brownie now 😂 But this time i won't say a thing and just hope for the best 👍
The Dragon has a better vibe but sounds way too much weaker. Still would go Dragon and just swap out the pups.
Merry Christmas, Page actually recorded quite a bit with a Tele.
The stairway to heaven solo was recorded on a tele
Yep and the majority of the time recording and live, the 58and mostly the 59 Gibson Les paul. the telecaster just wouldn't have cut it live with the brutal volume of Led Zeppelin.
@@CaptainCraigKWMRZ "You Shook Me" was recorded with a Gibson Flying V. Id kill to have seen that.
Jimmy is much more a Fender player than people give him credit for. Not only on many Zep recordings even after Zep he played his brown Tele B-Bender as his number 1. Page used his Les Paul's live for more output. With that being said, he would have his toggle switch on both pick ups to get simular Tele sounds lol.
The saying goes, "Page's Telecaster sold a ton of Les Paul's"!
First Zep album: telecaster
Stairway solo: telecaster
Ten years gone solo: telecaster
Ten Years Gone was a strat no?
You Shook Me is a Flying V.
@@adolfoholguin8169 Nope, Tele.
@@Zoso_1990 Flying V!!!
First coincidentally opening my first tele for Christmas in a few hours a deluxe
Awesome and Congrats, a very good Christmas for you Harry.
Got my first Tele this Christmas as well! I hope yours makes you as happy as mine did. I know it will. Merry Christmas.
Wow! What a gift.
please ...be sure to remove all the staples from the box BEFORE sliding the case out
All my kids pitched in and got me the Dragon Tele for my big Christmas gift. 😢I was overwhelmed to say the least. I really love it. Sounds great. No complaints. It's my number 1. Thanks Jimmy P! You brought joy to this dad.
Stairway to heaven solo was recorded using a telecaster
AND his Fender 12.
"Whole Lotta Love" and "Rain Song".
@@markjamesmeli2520 Vox phantom xll
You’re the first person to mention this under a Jimmy Page video
@@Zeppelin180 I know I'm edgy af
"In case you're not familiar with who he is" If you don't know who Jimmy Page is, put your guitar down and don't pick it back up until you know who he is :)
One word, Kashmir
Enough said
@@truckercowboyed2638 kasmire got my into zeplin but what got me playing was dazed and confused live 1969
100% right Thor. It should be a written rule lol.
Didn't he record the absolute masterpiece Led Zeppelin debut with mostly a Telecaster?
Entirely with it. He didn't have the les Paul.
Were all (or most of) the songs on the supro?
He did have a three pickup Black Beauty since 1968, which was used extensively in LZ I and II, but yes, the Tele was his main live guitar (so, as a recording guitar that preference is also to be expected).
Also the stairway to heaven solo
The Tele was the most played on Zep I and II. Page played Les Pauls live for more output. Both The Tele and Les Paul make Led Zeppelin. I love both guitars.
Reportedly: Jimmy recorded a ton of Zep songs on a tele through a Supro amp. The Rig didn't work well on stage so the LP & Marshalls took over for live performances...
He said he chose Marshall amps because of their reliability and if something did go wrong, he would be able to find a replacement no matter where he was touring around the world.
JImmy really liked the Supro (he modified) for recording in Zep. He used it quite a bit on the first three albums and a fair amount on the fourth. The Tele was used in his Yardbird days playing guitar (before that he played bass) and pretty much all you hear on the first few albums (as far as electric goes) is the Tele. Not to be forgotten Jimmy's solo's playing with the Violin Bow started with the Tele and his big bends on the earlier recordings use to push down behind the nut on the high E & B strings to get that trem/ bend effect that is hard to do on a LP.
Tele truly doesn't get the respect it should being played on Zep albums. LP is fantastic but all has it's place. EVen his 59 Danelectro (Kashmir)
@@dlewtweentorla1210 So true, David! Studios have the album shaping ability, stage is a different congress... Buzzy guitars, delay though long cables, effect malfunctions.... It all leads to "Management" taking over....
Maybe the band would have put out something different in later years, but "management" pushed the group to the point...
I often think of the Pink Floyd lyric of 1980, "You may feel a little pin prick, is there anyone home".
Tele is , in my mind, a Zeppelin standard.
@@edwardmonsariste4050 Sure, why wouldn't you when you are touring??
@@electroKrunch That was from The Wall album circa 1979, and the lyrics aren’t in order, but point taken :)
Pull those damn staples with a pair of pliers . . . they can do a worse gash to your arm.
jimmy page really just coppied early syd barret pink floyd esquire with mirror!!!!
I actually own the dragon tele model and absolutely love it, for 1400 bucks it’s definitely worth the money in my opinion
Is the art a decal?
does yours have that much checking on the neck? mine hardly has any...
I ADORE my Mirror Tele. I can't hardly put it down. I won't put the mirrors on it though because the finish is just so awesome I can't bring myself to do it. I actually think the mirrors look stupid but man without them it's a BEAUTIFUL Tele.
they look stupid anyway imho. something to do with witchcraft anyway.
Towards the end of another year, almost 4 years of watching this channel, learned so much, seen so much, and I never get tired of it, whether or not you see this I just want to say thank you since you edit these videos yourself and this is your job, we appreciate it, keep up the good work, have a brilliant Christmas and a happy new year too.
Here here!
I agree. This is fantastic content that would not be available without the tech we take for granted and I am grateful for Austin's willingness to put the work in to share his passion and knowledge with the world. It's a tremendous thing.
I love it too but the playing is rough.
@@IrisGalaxis i remember this channel back before the "headless sg" became one of the most popular video by him. Time sure flies
You should definitely check out the Fender “Road Worn” series! They were mim guitars with a very light paint and clear nitro coat so it wears away vert quickly so it doesn’t take years to get that “road worn” look and feel.
The Nashville deluxe tele is a screaming deal as well....
I got one a t a pawn shop for $250. I guess that thought it was just a beat up guitar.
In the studio he used multiple guitars. And you can tell by the tones on the album he used the Tele quite often. Live he favored Gibson LP and double neck SG. But live (to me) never sounded the same or as good as the studio. This was because of Jimmy’s sound engineering magic. He did things in the studio that would be pretty much impossible to play live, unless you use feeds like some newer groups do. Anyway I grew up in through the late 60’s and early 70’s (my high school years) and Jimmy was the biggest influence on my guitar playing.
The dragon caster appears on LZ 1 and the Untitled 4th album, StH solo
Merry Christmas Austin!
Jimmy Page had one of the greatest Telecaster tones in rock! "Led Zeppelin 1" is all Telecaster, and it's fantastic. In fact, that is Page's strength as a player imo.....his ability to coax amazing tones from his guitars. "Physical Graffiti" for instance, is a master class in stunning guitar tones.
That's an interesting comment. Ive never thought it out but I guess you're right.
There's just so many different sounds he has. I think it's more varied than anyone. I think some of it is in the recording process. But what's a Jimmy Page rhythm sound? Which one there's too many.
My favorite Page sound is after the breakdown on Heartbreaker
@@bobbiemiles-foremaniii8747 Yeah, “Heartbreaker” has a few cracking tones on there! The intro to “Ten Years Gone” is the best clean humbucker tone I’ve ever heard. And “The Rover” is like “Heartbreaker”, with the number of amazing guitar tones in one song!
Merry Christmas to all troglys
Merry Christmas all! 😃Cheers from Newfoundland
Merry Christmas!
How ya gettin' on? Merry Christmas
I'm using high quality headphones and during the blind test, I thought the mirror tele sounded significantly better. It had a more open, fuller sound, like night and day.
Me too.
I've got the Mirror Tele and it's seriously awesome. I've played the Dragon one as well and it felt like total trash to me. Beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder though.
your so right Larry, during the blind test I thought to myself whatever the blue Trogly is, is the winner lol. I'll get the Mirror one for sure its $1100 more for a lot of reasons. If you want the Dragon kool look I can understand the people that do. Id rather spend the money for what I really want. I gotta get one lol.
Thank you for finally taking a look at these great guitars. I love my Dragon Tele, very versatile instrument
That white see through model. is basically a squier classic vibe with full size pots and nitro finish.just saved you $2k,your welcome
@@joebryant8500 i put full size 250k cts pots,fender 3 way switch and switchcraft jack in mine and its fabulous.
My neck was a great example.almost rolled fret edges its so smooth.pickups are alnico and a very similar reading to trogly's white one.both mine and it, have steel saddles,vintage tuners and a vintage gloss neck.the $2500 guitar just has nitro finish.difference is the squier has narrow tall frets and a 9.5 radius.which are much more preferred with players vs a 7.5 radius.body on the squier is pine vs ash.the pine has more resonance.so while not a $2500 guitar.more around the $600-$650 range with the upgrades.
I doubt if you played mine and that white one side by side.that you could justify to yourself the price increase.unless your just a total brand snob.
Why is there no magnets on the bottom of the dragon tele bridge pickup..?
www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/fenders-new-page-tele-whats-under-the-bridge-pickup-in-this-pic.2037088/
Austin, you have to turn the commercial setting down or something, it's hard to watch with the constant commercial breaks.
Merry Christmas and great video as always!
The mirror one will be in my house in a couple days!! Cant wait. Great video between the two thank you!
Not gonna lie there's no way I'd drop $1400 on a made in Mexico with a not-entirely-satin neck when 1-200 more gets me an American Professional II with that new "supernatural" satin neck finish (which puts even EBMM to shame). Any chance there's one of those coming up, perhaps on the first Fender Friday of 2021?
I searched all over the interwebs for the actual neck dimensions of these models and then I remembered that you always take measurements so I tuned into this video. i got the info that I was looking for and a whole lot more. I love your videos. I ended up picking up a used USA mirror version. Thanks for the work you put into your content!
isnt the reason that the dragon tele got destroyed was because jimmy page’s housekeeper decided to give him a suprise one time and refinished it?
Yep, the bridge pickup got completely destroyed by the paint, the solo in stairway is the neck pickup of the reassembled tele, as he took the neck off and put it on a B-bender tele.
After stairway was recorded he put the neck back on the B-bender and left the body alone until fender spec’d it out
@@Sunburn77 pretty sure it got destroyed while he was on tour in 75 which would be after stairway.
@@IJIIKY9192 well I could definitely be wrong but that’s what I was once told
Merry Christmas could you do a musicman stingray guitar
That dragon Telecaster pioneered zeps sound. Whole first album with a supro amp was recorded with this.
I hand built a replica of this guitar and it turned out awesome. Page used 8-38s for crazy bending on this guitar
And a borrowed Flying-V on You Shock Me.
Eights were pretty common back than as well, nines were heavy than, 10,11,etc are really only late eighties
@@mcamp9445 One common gauge back in the late 60's (Ernie Ball Rock and Rolls) was 10 on top and 38 on the low E, kinda like what Hendrix used.
@@mcamp9445 lol no
Quite a few players tuned down a half step to lower tension more than anything.
A singlecut LP Junior's factory strings were .14s, for example. Ernie Ball eventually did put out Slinkys but I doubt many outside of Nashville (which Jimmy was obsessed with) were running 8s at this time.
The trick of the day was tossing your wound G, buying a bajo string & using it as your E, moving the stock B & E to lower positions.
Still left one with bridge cables for bass strings.
I know you're a Gibson specialist, but I love when you review other makers. Always fun to hear what features/specifications appeal to you or things that surprised you.
Merry Xmas EVERYONE!! Hope it gets Better for all !!!!! God bless Us Everyone!!!!!
that little hole isnt a marking for MIM's its a place where the CNC mounts!!
>plain Jane white Tele
>$2500, $4900, TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND FUCKING DOLLARS!
"But Gibson charges too much for a logo"
Masterbuilt? How about a Reacharound?
I like the Dragon WAY better. It's been on my shopping list. Maybe it's time to start shopping for a used one.
It's a shame because both of them sound rather cheesy to me. Think il go with an Ultra telecaster. Would be cool though to have the paint job on a better quality tele and listening to the new ultras I'd much rather spring a bit more money for a very notable difference in quality. Damn shame they couldn't have done a better job of a Page replica.... maybe they thought it was a good way to get more money out of less quality....
I hate to be "that guy" but actually it was someone else that painted the guitar while Jimmy was away on tour
Thought he was doing Page a favor from what Jimmy has said in interviews.
@@Hortron69 the favour was that he was watching Page's house.
@@argo_z That's absolutely incorrect actually. Jimmy says he painted the Dragon tele completely by himself and played in on Led Zeppelin I. When he returned home from their tour, the ceramics artist that was watching his house repainted the guitar in sage green/earthy colors and Jimmy said he absolutely hated it and could never connect with the guitar Jeff Beck originally gave him again. This is when we switched to the bronze Les Paul. So yes, Jimmy did paint the guitar himself.
@@coilindonaghy8702 Jimmy Page was an artist before he was a known musician.
@@michaelheller8841 I’m aware
Interestingly, the more "hollow" and scooped sounding Dragon was a LOT more like actual Jimmy's Tele tone (without fuzz), compared to the beefier blonde! Listen: ruclips.net/video/lfLMvO3EwMA/видео.html
I swear I also thought the same the moment I heard the MIM Dragon's cleans. Jimmy's pickups didn't sound hot at all. But Trogly is mostly a LP guy, the way I see it, he's into "louder = better" type of mentality like so many other people.
@@iagobroxado It could also be the pickup height. By the way, I was looking to get that amazing clarity Page gets out of his LP's neck position, so looked carefully at some pictures. Guess what, the neck pickup is lower than the pickup ring! And yes, it works, it turns out, you can dial some of the mud out of it that way.
@@Pandamasque Also could be pickup height indeed! I wonder if Trogly was fair enough to adjust them the same. I do believe these are the very same pickup models - Ohms definitely aren't everything, but heck, both are Page models, just too close Kohm readings, cosmetically the same - makes you at least wonder. Hey man, I have been thrilled by how great Jimmy's #1 Les Paul sounds with the volume control on his neck pickup turned down - it's almost like a strat. About 20 years ago when I watched TSRTS (VHS hehe) for the first time and during the SIBLY intro he starts the "quiet part" I couldn't believe he didn't have coil taps and he was getting all that single-coily tone just by turning the volume down!
Merry Christmas Trogly, hope you and your family have a great time!
I would go with the mexican one without a doubt.
Trogly, great review; and I love your channel. Keep doing what you do.
Comment section...
Oh lawd, 50 million tele fanboys retelling what everyone who cares about Page already knows: Page played tele on Zep 1 and the "Stairway" solo. Yeah. Got it. ...Of course, it's not what he chose live, and he didn't even buy it. It was a gift. Calm your plank worship. It's just a guitar.
It was never about jimmy’s lead playing for me.. I always loved his production and orchestration. Rain Song, Ten Years Gone, In My Time of Dying, Stairway. He always had a wonderful ability to write intricate parts and pair those parts with bold and strange guitar tones. He’s not like a Slash or a Brian May where you can pin one guitar on him… he had a lot of tools in his tool box.
When doing the "blind" test, I could immediately tell that the white U.S. model had a richer, fuller sound, whereas the Dragon was not quite as full and a bit brittle sounding, IMO. The sonic quality of my hearing is a bit compromised these days, but even with that issue, it was still easy to tell the two apart on the clean setting. With the distortion, it became more difficult to tell them apart. I would definitely spend the extra $$$ for the white Tele though. Often it is the little things that, when added up, make the difference!
Well said.
It's really something to admire when a wood cutout gets different colors.
That guitar came with a really nice chord, I use a orange cable like that.
Merry Christmas troglyholics!!!!!!
Most of Jimmy Page's leads were on a Tele and most of Presence and In Through The Out Door were recorded on Strats (and his electric DADGAD stuff was on a Danelectro) :)
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