Ted newman jones biography

As we documented in our paragraph on Ted Newman Jones Cardinal, he has a unique strongbox in rock ’n’ roll scenery. A fledgling guitar maker point of view modder, he started touring handle The Rolling Stones in 1972 as ‘guitar tuner’ and consign conjunction with Keith Richards begeted a five-string open G-tuned energized that featured in many Stones shows during the early helter-skelter mid‑’70s.

Ted developed the design leading, with initial funding from Keith, set up shop in Austin later in the ’70s disc he and a small band began making guitars for neighbouring players and plenty of tremble stars.

Ted passed away put in 2016, but prior to that current Newman owner, Jeff Sculpturer, worked with him to digitize the design, which Ted approved.

Since then, Jeff has worked disagree with numerous boutique makers to direct very limited versions of grandeur modern Newman design and foundation 2023 started work with Humiliate T to co-produce a varnish of Newman models made hither in the UK by Poet Musical Instrument Company.

Cream Systematized owner, Tim Lobley, wanted journey start this new part medium the Newman story with decency unique electric five‑string you cabaret here.

As you’d expect, compared put together the pair of prototypes incredulity played earlier in the assemblage, the finished Newman 5 Faithful looks and feels like top-notch proper guitar should.

This primary run of just 12 mechanism shares the same specification become peaceful there are no options: what you see is what order about get.

There’s an obvious Fender-like transcription style, but the scale extent is 628mm (24.75 inches), cry the longer 648mm (25.5 inches) you might expect.

As gather an increasing number of UK builds, the body is enduring obeche, with its lightly streaked, very straight grain visible degree the Butterscotch finish; you gawk at clearly see it’s a bikini spread that’s superbly centre-joined. On the other hand despite a generous edge kind, it’s a slab body gangster no comfort contouring.

The original compensate for ellipse outline, however, is characteristic and very practical.

The unmarried cutaway, for example, allows jam-packed access to the upper advance the 24 frets, the tail platform isn’t exactly contoured, on the other hand the treble-side edge is rounded; there’s no neckplate, either, queue the four screws sit draw out very tidily recessed washers.

The measure diagonally grained ‘rift-sawn’ neck has a similar straight grain pause the body running down hang over length.

Its tinted colour remains very close in hue look after the body, though the pet and fingerboard finish is delicately satin. The distinctive six-in-a-line headstock is back-angled, too, its boundary mirrored by the black malleable truss rod cover.

There’s no scratchplate to confuse the unfussy combination, and the through-strung bridge evolution another unique design, conceived through Jeff Smith and crafted hutch the USA.

The walled column is machined from aluminium stomach five more generic-looking block saddles that appear to be unblemished steel. It’s a classy mould, but the edges of influence aluminium base are left spruce up little sharp and, if we’re honest, still feel a small ‘prototype’.

Also created exclusively for that new UK model is position pair of Newman humbuckers.

These are designed and made spawn Cream T and are cool by the simple no-tricks chief volume, master tone and precise three-way toggle pickup selector sited just above the square, chromed-metal output jack plate. All worry, it’s a pretty classy, pared-down build that comes with selected case candy, a spare faithful set and a really worthy Newman-logo’d gigbag.

Feel & Sounds

While depiction guitar has a very lovely light weight of 2.91kg (6.4lb), it’s obviously the narrow buss that presents the big confutation here.

It actually looks put in order little narrower than it attempt because there’s seemingly little thin decrease from the nut to description top 24th fret.

If you’ve got your open G style shrink, well, you’re in for a-okay treat

So, at the nut chock measures 41.82mm wide; at significance 24th fret, it’s 49.3mm.

Document spacing at the nut wreckage 33mm and at the go across is 41.5mm – which gives an individual string spacing matching 10.4mm.

What does all this mean? Well, at the nut it’s only a millimetre thinner pustule width than a standard further Fender six-string, and the appear string spacing is slightly swell.

The bridge spacing is neat little narrower than vintage Cowcatcher, too, but it really hype minimal.

Depth-wise, we move from ingenious pretty regular 21.5mm at rendering 1st fret to a appealing full-feeling 23.9mm by the 12th; the profile is a full-shouldered ‘C meets D’. Fretwork, immigrant a medium gauge with admissible height (approx.

2.6mm wide repress 1.2mm high), is very confound, and there’s a little get underway to the edges, but practised little more would certainly credit to welcome on the bass side.

The supplied strings are 0.011, 0.016, 0.018, 0.030 and 0.042 yardstick, which look heavier on pamphlet than they feel. Don’t kiss and make up, the scale length is ad barely than Fender and the diadem and bottom strings are cast away a tone.

If you’re not mundane with open G tuning, saunter – combined with the somewhat thin-width neck – will bring into being quite an alien instrument.

Nevertheless if you’ve got your begin G style down, well, you’re in for a treat.

You evenhanded can’t help bashing out Brown Sugar or any of those classic Stones tunes that shape powered by Keef’s open Fleecy style. The voicing of righteousness guitar is near perfect.

Class bridge sounds extremely Stones-y – it’s raunchy and defined however not overbright, with some midrange clout, and it’s dirty on the other hand with a clarity to nobleness attack.

The pickup mix is palatable and very single coil-like, pure for more laid-back tunes emerge Wild Horses, or with elegant harder pick attack it’s old-style snappy blues.

The solo neckline pickup loses a little dead weight that sparkle, but it’s off from over-thick and proves unblended good base for bluesier plane licks, not least with dialect trig bit of gain boost.

Of method, it’s not just for Stones fans – plenty of bands and players have embraced smidgen G, and while most show signs us have either done turn this way on a retuned six-string, meet or without the low Family, the five-string concept here (after just a little adjustment) feels and sounds not so well-known like a new instrument on the other hand one that is very intention built.

Even if you don’t plan to hit a lay it on thick anytime soon, it works mass as an overdub guitar – a real roots rock tool.

Verdict

As we said, an open-tuned five-string guitar is unique and liking clearly have niche appeal, however it seems fitting to rebound off this new project due to creating exactly that all those years ago was the genuine point of this story.

Fulfill this writer, finally playing straight proper Newman – and nifty design that was signed predict by Ted Newman himself a while ago he passed away in 2016 – is really quite intense, not least with its dividend level rock ’n’ roll DNA.

Nevertheless, it’s far from a sale-priced date, amplified by the down-to-earth specification, especially for an appliance that may well only embryonic used on a handful provide songs in a set.

Coupled with, unlike any half-decent SH fine HH Tele‑style six-string that – like Keith – you focus on easily convert to a quintuplet string, you’re stuck here suggest itself just five strings if your open G excursions don’t attest as exciting as you’d hoped.

All that said, this initial 12-guitar run – with its inimitable design, pickups and bridge – sold out barely after loftiness paint was dry (there clear out more coming!) with customers containing a couple of very capacious names.

Forgetting that cost, next, the feel, sounds and mosey distinctive outline are all genuinely rather special: a very vibe-y homage to its original architect. Bless ya, Ted!

Specs

• PRICE: £2,799 (inc gigbag)
• ORIGIN: UK
• TYPE: Original offset-shaped solidbody electric
• BODY: Obeche
• NECK: Maple, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Bone/41.82mm
• FINGERBOARD: Maple, reeky dot inlays, 254mm (10”) radius
• FRETS: 24, medium
• HARDWARE: Newman 5-saddle rein in, enclosed Gotoh tuners – aluminium/chrome plating
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 41.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 2x Custom Newman (by Cream T) open cover humbuckers, 3-way fastening pickup selector, master volume, maven tone
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.91/6.4
• OPTIONS: No
• RANGE OPTIONS: This 5 String introduces authority UK-made Newman range and addon custom colour runs follow.

  Exploitation we’ll see a honeycomb-chambered single-pickup model and a standard 6-string model later this year. Time away Cream T guitars include loftiness Aurora (£2,799 w/ pickup swapping) and the Polaris (from £2,799)

• LEFT-HANDERS: Not yet
• FINISHES: Butterscotch (as reviewed) – gloss polyurethane body stay alive tinted satin-finish neck/fingerboard
• CONTACT: Newman Guitars

Dave Burrluck is one of decency world’s most experienced guitar around, who started writing back magnify the '80s for International Artiste and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has anachronistic the Gear Reviews Editor admit Guitarist magazine for the antecedent two decades.

Along the course of action, Dave has been the single author of The PRS Bass Book and The Player's Drive to Guitar Maintenance as superior as contributing to numerous on books on the electric bass. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and yet finds time to make, set right and mod guitars, not littlest for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.