The acoustic voice is surprisingly full – certainly loud enough for solo practice and sofa noodling
the back and neck – with simple outline and soundhole striping (which we presume is a paint effect as used on the original models). The lightly finished body feels almost unfinished; that top is slightly smoother to the touch than the back and sides, and makes for a woody contrast with the darker ebony fingerboard, bridge and knobs.
While the acoustic strings give this Tele a tougher feel than most of our solidbodies, the neck really is very electric in feel, not least the medium jumbo frets. The slightly rounded heel makes upper positions a little more comfortable, too.
By design, the acoustic voice is surprisingly full – certainly loud enough for solo practice and sofa noodling. And although the sound engine is the same as the standard spruce-topped version, the acoustic sounds take on a slightly pushier voice, seemingly slightly compressed (in a good way) and more rootsy with it.
Aside from offering some pretty accurate electro-acoustic voices, unlike a standard electro, you have different flavours to instantly choose from. The body sensor can be dialled into the Sitka spruce/Brazilian rosewood dreadnought of Sound 3 to add further realism, plus allow percussive taps of the top to be amplified. On Sound 2 you can mix that Noiseless bridge magnetic pickup with a Sitka spruce/mahogany dreadnought (one of our favourite sounds), while Sound 1 is just the bridge pickup, but you can add in some light crunch.
Verdict
While it all sounds rather good through an acoustic amp or PA, plugging into your electric rig and pedalboard really expands the possibilities for the more creative players out there, and that Sound 2 acoustic/electric mix really blurs the lines. Huge innovation but so simple to use. Have you tried one yet?