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Post by budg on Dec 4, 2020 17:17:20 GMT -5
So I’m pondering about why I never owned one . None of my guitar heroes played one . Keef is the only one close enough that I can think of. My main guitars are my strats , my 335 an SG and to a lesser extent, my LP. Yet here I am with the ability to buy one and wondering why I never owned one. So educate me. What is it about this tele that makes it a game changer ?
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matryx81
Wholenote
I think I know the reason but I can't spell it.
Posts: 771
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Post by matryx81 on Dec 4, 2020 17:27:44 GMT -5
I think they are cool looking, but I am a bassist.
I think you can get them with strat pickup configurations too, but someone here that is far more knowledgeable than me will come along to clarify or correct me on this.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 4, 2020 18:11:01 GMT -5
They are the bridge between a Strat and a LP.
Sure, they twang. Twang is fun. Get your twang on.
But crank the green channel on your Marshall and smash out your favorite rawk chords using the Tele bridge pickup. You’ll find blissfully wicked tone.
Then play some jazz with you amp set warm yet clean and your Tele’s switch in the middle position.
Leo got it right - right out of the gate.
I was a latecomer too. Now I have more Teles than Strats.
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Post by Mikeyguitar on Dec 4, 2020 18:29:35 GMT -5
I sort of want to be a Tele guy...but alas, I just never warmed up to them. I enjoy the sound when I hear somebody else playing one. And I like the way some of them look.
I have one - "crafted in China". It's heavy and has a strat pickup in the middle position. I consider it my "beater guitar". It does have a nice figured maple neck, though. I tried to upgrade the tuners to the USA version...only to find out that they were slightly different in size. Ugh.
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Post by Highstrung56 on Dec 4, 2020 18:43:06 GMT -5
I don't really know about game changer but they are very versatile. I own a 1977 "72 Custom and can play many styles effectively on mine. See examples of other players below.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Dec 4, 2020 19:02:45 GMT -5
Love watching Greg Koch torture a Tele.
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Post by LesTele on Dec 4, 2020 19:09:40 GMT -5
I don’t know if you can really call one of the first electric guitars a “game changer” in 2020.
I love mine and the fact that the instrument is still being produced must count for something.
I started on Les Pauls as a teen and as I expanded my musical horizons in my twenties, the Telecaster became my go to guitar along with the LP. It still is as I get close to being 60.
I use other guitars as part of my palette, but I’m LesTele, a singlecut sort of guy.
Try one. You’ll like it😀
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Post by larryguitar54 on Dec 4, 2020 20:04:57 GMT -5
Here is another Tele monster.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 4, 2020 20:41:40 GMT -5
And if you get one with a Floyd, you might as well go ahead and buy 6.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 5, 2020 0:13:52 GMT -5
I think a Tele is a game changer for players that have never played one. It forces the player to focus on playing the guitar, without distractions like a vibrato bridge, lots of controls, bling, etc.
When it comes to the fundamentals of playing guitar, I always say "the Telecaster has everything you need and nothing you don't."
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MoJoe
Wholenote
Posts: 855
Formerly Known As: quiksilver
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Post by MoJoe on Dec 5, 2020 6:26:01 GMT -5
With a good one you'll get a beefy-jazzy neck pickup with more clarity than a LP and roaring front pu, louder and fatter than a strat and more steel than a hb. It should be lighter than your Les Paul, more comfy than the 335 and although known as ˋthe plank' not as planky as a SG. Imho. With all due respect. 😁
A CS Nocaster can do that off the shelf. From other options go aftermarket with the pickups if too weak, thin, twangy for your taste. I can recommend: CS OV 52 neck and Nocaster* or SD Broadcaster bridge in one of mine and my current fave w/Vintage Noiseless neck (fat!) and hot-T Dimarzio bridge both do the trick.
*Courtesy of a vintage FDPer from around 2002/3. Good advice, thanks again, - passing the torch.. 🙂
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Post by budg on Dec 5, 2020 9:19:41 GMT -5
All good advice. I’m going to listen to a bunch of YouTube videos and then play a bunch. It’ll be new territory for me , so I’m going to spend more time playing them before I decide whether to buy or not.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Dec 5, 2020 9:30:13 GMT -5
All kinds of analogies and anecdotes can be applied, but it either works for you or it doesn't. One thing is for certain, they're no one trick pony with the right pickups.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Dec 5, 2020 10:07:21 GMT -5
I agree with Peegoo, often the appeal is in the simplicity.
Or, the appeal is for people who have struggled with Strats and have trouble getting them to sound thick enough on clean settings. Teles have just enough chunk and slice to cut through better than a Strat without having to drop in mini humbuckers or leave a fuzz pedal turned on most of the time. (Of course, this isn't universally true for Strats, but this ain't a Strat thread.)
How much it becomes a super twang machine depends on design choices. Three brass barrel saddles and classic style pickups, and you're in twang country. Other designs make them a bit more middle of the road. They appear on stages for the one or two tricks they're famous for, but they're fantastic for a variety of things if you take them around the block. Think G.E. Smith. Or Steve Cropper. Or Danny Gatton, who certainly got very twangy, but often times was something else entirely. They're far more versatile than most people think.
I'm definitely not a fan of the "boutique Tele" trend. I'll see a lot of small time builders make teles with ridiculously trendy hardware, elaborate electronics, exotic woods, and so on. They usually end up rather stale and anemic. They're best when they're kept simple, the semi-hollow Thinline models are that most variation that works, I think. They're basically lap steels with frets, after all. No need to get too nutty with bells & whistles.
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Post by ninworks on Dec 5, 2020 10:30:17 GMT -5
I have never owned a Tele either. I never really liked the look of them but that's no excuse. They do sound great. I have a Johnson Tele copy but it doesn't impress me. Could be the pickups. The stock ones were awful so I put a Seymour Duncan Humbucker at the bridge and an old stock PU out of my 72 Stat in the neck position. Better sounding but still not really Tele-ish. I wouldn't want to spend a lot on a Tele but I think it would be relevant to have a good one in the arsenal.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Dec 5, 2020 10:54:53 GMT -5
"I'm definitely not a fan of the "boutique Tele" trend. I'll see a lot of small time builders make teles with ridiculously trendy hardware, elaborate electronics, exotic woods, and so on. They usually end up rather stale and anemic. They're best when they're kept simple, the semi-hollow Thinline models are that most variation that works..." Hey now ibb.co/nk7CWNF
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Post by Leftee on Dec 5, 2020 11:10:09 GMT -5
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Post by Mikeyguitar on Dec 5, 2020 17:13:40 GMT -5
And if you get one with a Floyd, you might as well go ahead and buy 6.
I don't think I've EVER seen a Tele with a Floyd Rose. Hmmm....
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Post by Pinetree on Dec 6, 2020 1:29:45 GMT -5
A Tele is like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
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MoJoe
Wholenote
Posts: 855
Formerly Known As: quiksilver
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Post by MoJoe on Dec 6, 2020 2:42:31 GMT -5
😁👍
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Post by HenryJ on Dec 6, 2020 8:25:43 GMT -5
Ok, I'll admit it--I've never been too interested in owning or playing a Telecaster. Until last night. I saw and heard a guy playing a Telecaster last night, and he was playing it very well and getting beautiful tones out of it. Now I want Santa Claus to bring me a Fender Telecaster for Christmas.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 6, 2020 9:33:50 GMT -5
Ok, I'll admit it--I've never been too interested in owning or playing a Telecaster. Until last night. I saw and heard a guy playing a Telecaster last night, and he was playing it very well and getting beautiful tones out of it. Now I want Santa Claus to bring me a Fender Telecaster for Christmas. That’s how I was pulled over. I saw a video of a guy playing The Streetbeater on a Tele.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Dec 6, 2020 9:35:00 GMT -5
"I'm definitely not a fan of the "boutique Tele" trend. I'll see a lot of small time builders make teles with ridiculously trendy hardware, elaborate electronics, exotic woods, and so on. They usually end up rather stale and anemic. They're best when they're kept simple, the semi-hollow Thinline models are that most variation that works..." Hey now ibb.co/nk7CWNFThat's pretty cool, actually.
The ones I'm imagining usually have spalted or flame maple tops, ebony fingerboards, or some other appointments that just aren't good complements to the Tele design.
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Post by Leftee on Dec 6, 2020 9:41:49 GMT -5
Guilty as charged.
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Post by budg on Dec 6, 2020 13:19:19 GMT -5
So I’m going to be trying a few at GC this week. They have a Player Series and a few MIA ones. I’m not a big fan of the wider necks on the MIA guitars though. I’d like to check out a few American Originals. The 52 reissue is enticing at wildwood but know nothing about the U neck profile.
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Post by theprofessor on Dec 6, 2020 17:44:17 GMT -5
Three things got Teles on my radar in the late 90s:
1) James McMurtry roots rock 2) Roy Buchanan 3) Learning Alex Lifeson used them extensively on Rush records
Bonus: Jimmy Page.
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Post by Vibroluxer on Dec 6, 2020 17:56:22 GMT -5
I did not know that about Alex.
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Post by budg on Dec 6, 2020 18:05:46 GMT -5
I didn’t know about Alex either. I was shocked when I learned about Jimmy using it on Stairway . I know Muddy Waters and Albert Collins used one.
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Post by budg on Dec 7, 2020 7:35:54 GMT -5
In looking at teles, how does one successfully intonate the saddles on a guitar with 3 saddles , 6 strings and 3 screws no less?
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Post by Rick Knight on Dec 7, 2020 8:08:55 GMT -5
In looking at teles, how does one successfully intonate the saddles on a guitar with 3 saddles , 6 strings and 3 screws no less? There are compensated saddles for 3 saddle bridges.
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