Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster Electric Guitar - Artic White

Serial Number: ISFF26003165 Weight: 7 lbs 6 oz

A Classic Telecaster, Possessed

From his early days as a sought-after session player to stage runs with David Lee Roth, Mötley Crüe, and Rob Zombie, John 5 has spent nearly three decades as one of rock's most in-demand guitarists, almost always with a Telecaster strapped on. The Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster takes that traditional electric guitar and rebuilds it around his outrageously modern approach, paring the controls down to a 3-way toggle, a single master volume, and a kill switch. A pair of high-output DiMarzio D Activator humbuckers supplies the punch, delivering tight lows, clear highs, and active-style power with no battery required. Underneath, a nyatoh body carries his custom medium C maple neck, with a 9.5-inch-radius maple fingerboard, 22 narrow tall frets, and a 25.5-inch scale that keep fast runs and hard riffing comfortable. A 6-saddle Tele bridge, with a humbucker cutout, and Fender locking tuners hold intonation precise and tuning steady. True to its name, the Ghost is stark white from body to headstock, haunted by scarlet in its binding, open-coil pickups, dot inlays, script logo, and controls, all set off by a mirror pickguard that absorbs the control plate into one seamless piece. It's a Telecaster dressed for the stages John 5 has been haunting for decades.

The showman behind the Ghost

Few rock guitarists have built a stage persona as vivid as John 5's. Years of goth-horror makeup and theatrical costumes on shock-rock and horror-metal stages made him as recognizable on sight as on record. Yet his playing has always blended country picking with metal aggression, delivered on a Telecaster, a choice as distinctive as his look. The Ghost Tele carries that contrast into every detail. Its nyatoh body wears a gloss urethane top over a satin urethane back, edged in red binding, while a 1-ply mirror pickguard folds the Telecaster's control plate into a single reflective surface. The pale headstock bears a red script logo, and red dot inlays, red Speed knobs, and red open-coil pickups carry the scarlet through the fingerboard and electronics. It looks ready to step straight into one of his shows, with the Telecaster outline underneath keeping it rooted in the guitar he has played since childhood.

Built to riff hard and cut out on cue

The Ghost's neck follows John 5's custom medium C profile, a comfortable, moderate shape measuring 0.810 inches at the first fret and 0.870 inches at the 12th fret, with a satin finish that lets your hand move freely. Its maple fingerboard pairs a 9.5-inch radius with 22 narrow tall frets, which require less pressure to fret cleanly and make bends easier, across a 25.5-inch scale. At the other end, a 6-saddle Tele bridge with a humbucker cutout sets intonation string by string, while Fender locking tuners hold pitch through heavy bending and speed up string changes. The controls stay just as direct, with a 3-way toggle and a single master volume beside a kill switch that cuts your signal the instant you press it. Guitarists love using a kill switch for rhythmic stutter effects, tapping it in time to chop a sustained high-gain chord into a pulsing pattern, one of the simplest ways to add drama to a riff without touching a pedal.

DiMarzio D Activators: big output, no battery

A pair of DiMarzio D Activator humbuckers gives this Telecaster the high-output punch John 5's music demands, and they do it passively. DiMarzio tunes each coil to bring specific fundamentals and harmonics forward, so the ceramic-magnet pickups respond immediately to everything from a feather-light touch to a hard pick attack. The result is a full, clear voice anchored by a firm, tight low end. In the neck position, the D Activator sounds broad and airy, with even balance from string to string, while the bridge model adds harmonic richness that helps leads sustain. Voiced together as a matched set, the two pickups stay level with each other, so flipping the toggle never costs you volume.

Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster Features:

• John 5's signature Telecaster, pairing a classic Fender outline with his outrageously modern control layout and stark white and scarlet styling
• Nyatoh body with a gloss urethane top, satin urethane back, and red binding
• Custom John 5 medium C maple neck with a satin finish for fast, smooth movement
• Maple fingerboard with a 9.5-in. radius, 22 narrow tall frets, and red dot inlays, along with a 25.5-in. scale length
• 2 DiMarzio D Activator humbuckers deliver high-output punch and tight lows with no battery required
• Pickups voiced as a matched set for consistent volume between positions
• Kill switch cuts your signal instantly for stutter FX and dramatic stops
• 3-way toggle and single master volume keep the controls simple and direct
• 6-saddle Tele bridge with a humbucker cutout for precise string-by-string intonation
• Fender locking tuners for fast string changes and steady tuning
• 1-ply mirror pickguard integrates the control plate into 1 seamless piece
• Pale headstock with a red script logo, plus red Speed knobs and red open-coil pickups

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