Fender John 5 Phantom Telecaster Electric Guitar, Indian Laurel Fingerboard, Black

The Fender John 5 Phantom Telecaster is the black one — the Artist Signature Tele with a Floyd Rose bolted to it. Gloss black body, white binding, brushed black pickguard, black hardware from the locking nut to the strap buttons, and a silver Fender script on a matching black headcap. Under the paint it is the same stripped-back idea as its white twin: two DiMarzio D'Activator humbuckers, one volume knob and a killswitch. The difference is the whammy bar, and it changes what this guitar is for.

Floyd Rose FRTS2000, locked at both ends

The Phantom carries a Floyd Rose FRTS2000 Special Series double-locking tremolo with a locking nut clamped across the top of the neck. Lock the nut, set the fine tuners at the bridge, and the guitar holds pitch through dive bombs, flutters and squealed harmonics that would put a vintage trem on the floor. Everything is black, including the arm, so the hardware disappears into the body until you reach for it. Fine tuners at the bridge mean small corrections happen without unclamping anything.

DiMarzio D'Activator humbuckers

A D'Activator humbucker sits at the neck and another at the bridge, both passive, so there is no battery involved. The bridge pickup keeps fast, low-tuned riffing tight and articulate instead of letting it smear, which matters more on a Floyd-equipped guitar where the strings are already doing plenty of moving; the neck pickup is thick and vocal for lead work without losing definition. Both are black-on-black, mounted into a brushed black pickguard that hides everything except the pole pieces.

Volume, killswitch, and not much else

Fender describes the layout as a single volume knob and a killswitch: a black knob with white numerals and a push button, together on their own strip on the lower bout, with a small black toggle up on the upper bout. Hit the button on the beat for chopped, stuttered rhythm parts — no lever to knock into the wrong position — and note there is no tone control anywhere on the guitar. It is a deliberately short list, and less to catch your hand on when you are moving between the bar and the bridge.

Indian Laurel board, 12-inch radius

The bolt-on neck is maple with a modern “C” profile and a dark Indian Laurel fingerboard. The 12-inch radius is the flatter of the two John 5 signature Teles and the one to pick for lead playing: strings can sit lower before they choke on a bend, and fast runs across the board feel less like climbing over a curve. Twenty-two frets, white dot markers, and the back of the neck finished gloss black to match the body.

Black on black, with a white line

Almost everything here is black — body, headcap, pickguard, pickups, tuners, bridge, knob, neck plate — which makes the single white binding line around the body edge do all the work. The pickguard is brushed rather than glossy, so it catches light differently from the body next to it. Six-in-line Fender sealed tuners, a John 5 signature neck plate, and a rear cover over the tremolo springs finish it. Set up in-store by Guitar World Australia's techs before it ships to you, so it plays perfectly the moment it arrives.