Telecaster quandry

nomadh · Mon Sep 21, 2020 3:55 pm

Always been a strat fan as far as looks and style. Was my main player for 20 years but now I'm just sort of sick of them. Sort of like being a toyota minivan owner. I cant even find mine in the parking lot. Twice my wife got into a van that wasnt hers. Strats are just too damn common.

andrewsrea · Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:49 am

Mossman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:07 pm "I didn't notice at first, because I just became a Tele afficianado myself a few years ago"

^ Same here. My best friend is a Tele guy since his conversion from an 85 Les Paul Custom and a Dale Bluebond Strat, in 1993. He always had great chops, execution and a musical ear and it worked for him that the Tele put you right out there. For me for a long time, it was an unforgiving, mistake amplifying demon.

I learned how to approach the Tele and my chops are better and the light bulb went on. Oh and I use meatier pickups than the trebly variety from the 60s' and 70's. So my Tele is more approaching my Les Paul (which is wound light) in tone.

dabbler · Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:29 pm

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:49 am
Mossman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:07 pm "I didn't notice at first, because I just became a Tele afficianado myself a few years ago"
^ Same here. My best friend is a Tele guy since his conversion from an 85 Les Paul Custom and a Dale Bluebond Strat, in 1993. He always had great chops, execution and a musical ear and it worked for him that the Tele put you right out there. For me for a long time, it was an unforgiving, mistake amplifying demon.

I learned how to approach the Tele and my chops are better and the light bulb went on. Oh and I use meatier pickups than the trebly variety from the 60s' and 70's. So my Tele is more approaching my Les Paul (which is wound light) in tone.

Oh, your description of it is still accurate, but you have obviously reduced your mistakes. It IS "an unforgiving, mistake amplifying demon".

If i were a guitar teacher, I would highly recommend all of my students to start on a tele. If you can play it well on a tele, you can play it on anything!

Gear_Junky · Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:07 pm

I've been looking up Gary Moore's videos and came across an interview where he talks about guitars, and he's playing a tele, an ES-335, among other things. He also mentions that the way to pick out a [solid body] guitar is to see if it sounds good unplugged (he proceeds to strum his Les Paul without going into an amp). It needs to be resonant and sound good. It was interesting to hear this from him. I might even start a thread on that topic.

andrewsrea · Tue Sep 22, 2020 4:55 pm

Gear_Junky wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:07 pm It needs to be resonant and sound good. It was interesting to hear this from him. I might even start a thread on that topic.

^ Please do start that thread!

Gear_Junky · Tue Sep 22, 2020 5:14 pm

Well, I did, it's here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1101

nomadh · Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:24 pm

dabbler wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 12:29 pm
andrewsrea wrote: ↑Tue Sep 22, 2020 11:49 am
Mossman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:07 pm "I didn't notice at first, because I just became a Tele afficianado myself a few years ago"
^ Same here. My best friend is a Tele guy since his conversion from an 85 Les Paul Custom and a Dale Bluebond Strat, in 1993. He always had great chops, execution and a musical ear and it worked for him that the Tele put you right out there. For me for a long time, it was an unforgiving, mistake amplifying demon.

I learned how to approach the Tele and my chops are better and the light bulb went on. Oh and I use meatier pickups than the trebly variety from the 60s' and 70's. So my Tele is more approaching my Les Paul (which is wound light) in tone.
Oh, your description of it is still accurate, but you have obviously reduced your mistakes. It IS "an unforgiving, mistake amplifying demon".

If i were a guitar teacher, I would highly recommend all of my students to start on a tele. If you can play it well on a tele, you can play it on anything!

Is this why I moved from fenders to gibsons? I didnt get beter. I just hide it better

Mossman · Tue Sep 22, 2020 8:36 pm

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:11 am
Gear_Junky wrote: ↑Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:50 pm And I imagine you've seen this:
https://www.rondomusic.com/product10273.html
I had not. Out of stock, so someone must have grabbed that up!

I would have considered it, but I am OCD picky about what I like in a Tele neck. I like the 7.5" to 9.5" radius, 1-5/8" nut, rosewood fretboard and a fat, but not clubby neck depth with a 'U' or 'V' shape. Plus I have my MiM 1968 Thinline Reissue that is plenty fine. If I were to do another Tele, it would be a pine body and I'd have the neck built to my spec.

If you want pine, you should get a used Squier CV '50s Tele, and a Warmoth neck. Nothing on that guitar needs upgrading IMO, and Squier necks tend to fetch about $150 on the used market. A lot of people like that thin neck... I don't think you'd have a hard time selling it.