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Post by theprofessor on Dec 7, 2020 9:05:53 GMT -5
Likely unpopular opinion: I love the individual cast saddles of the 2000-2007 American series (and used on some custom shop offerings after they went to the bent steel ones).
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Post by Leftee on Dec 7, 2020 9:23:30 GMT -5
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Dec 7, 2020 10:04:14 GMT -5
Likely unpopular opinion: I love the individual cast saddles of the 2000-2007 American series (and used on some custom shop offerings after they went to the bent steel ones). Not my favorite, but not bad. It was a good choice if you want a Tele but don't want to sound like you're playing country leads all the time. I'd take those before the six barrel ones - those always end up kinda wonky. I had a late '90s Tele that had those, and it was a killer blues/rock machine.
The Gotoh compensated ones are the best I've used... though, I haven't used everything out there, so maybe something else will come along.
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MoJoe
Wholenote
Posts: 855
Formerly Known As: quiksilver
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Post by MoJoe on Dec 7, 2020 10:28:06 GMT -5
Standard narrow steel saddles are working fine with mine. Just sayin..
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Post by jefe46 on Dec 7, 2020 11:35:42 GMT -5
I bought a new 2003 Highway One tri-burst maple. I sold it in a fit of poverty.
Later, when flush, I bought the identical guitar in an American Standard.
We did not bond and I gifted it to my grandson.
4 years later I ran into the buyer of my Hiway 1. I asked if he would sell it back.
He said he never played it and stuffed it in a closet. I bought it back for the same price.
I have never felt the need for another electric guitar.
Strung with 11s the Tele gets all the tone and play-ability I want/need.
Modded as follows:
Bone nut.
Upgraded jack cup.
Vintage tuners and round string tree.
Bill Lawrence "Keystone" pickups made by Bill himself.
All Phillips head screws replaced with slotted stainless screws.
Gotoh six saddle bridge for accurate intonation and wider spacing for fingerpicking.
Some day I'll fit mine with a 1 3/4 nut width, ebony fingerboard neck.
With minimal expense you can make a Tele the way you want it.
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Post by Seldom Seen on Dec 7, 2020 13:20:40 GMT -5
I really love their simplicity in body design and controls. I gravitated to Teles from Strats. I have a 60th Anniversary ash thin skin that gets played almost every day. I fitted it with a brass six-saddle bridge, locking tuners, and JBE (Barden) PUPs, which are my favorite for Teles. They are rock solid, stay in tune workhorses, suitable for about any music style.
I own a ‘65 Strat but there is nothing better to me than playing my ‘57 Tele through my ‘57 5F4 or ‘60 5E3. I’ve owned several of them through the years, most of which have been given to friends and family just to spread the joy.
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Post by Seldom Seen on Dec 7, 2020 13:21:20 GMT -5
Deleted double post, doh!
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Post by budg on Dec 7, 2020 14:07:26 GMT -5
So I went to GC and played a few. First thing is all them are strung with 9s, so Im not going to get only a general idea on playability. The performer has compensated saddles already and I liked that one . Still not sure of the neck width, but I could live with it. They had a couple of Vinteras and they were nice as well. I like the pickups in the performer a smidgen better I think, especially the neck. They had a couple of player series and they were pretty good as well. The only beef with the Player(and was the same as my Player strat) , they didnt finish the fret ends , so they feel sharp on all Players . Its not a huge problem and I can solve it easily by finishing the fret ends , leveling and polishing them. My only problem was they didnt have butterscotch , which is a deal breaker for me . I see GC has a MIM Deluxe tele in butterscotch with an ash body online that I might consider , so my journey continues. I overall like the tone of all 3 positions and I do like its simplicity .
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Post by Leftee on Dec 7, 2020 14:13:38 GMT -5
You’re on your way!
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hilltop87
Wholenote
My Strat is my friend
Posts: 885
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Post by hilltop87 on Dec 7, 2020 18:19:53 GMT -5
I have never tried playing a Tele either. And I am not sure why to be honest. I always loved the tone Andy Summers got with his on those early Police albums.
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Post by LesTele on Dec 7, 2020 19:44:35 GMT -5
I have never tried playing a Tele either. And I am not sure why to be honest. I always loved the tone Andy Summers got with his on those early Police albums. I’m not sure how much of the ‘tone’ was due to the Telecaster per se. Chorus, delay etc. and the retro fitted humbucker. At some point, when the Custom Shop replica was released, I read all about the history of the guitar. Continuing the ‘get a tele, budg’ vibe I would draw your attention to Joe Strummer and his ouvre. Final point. They are much cooler with 5 screws on the pick guard and 3 saddles on the bridge. 30 years of creating your own relic helps too. |
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Post by Seldom Seen on Dec 7, 2020 22:54:54 GMT -5
Let’s not forget that you can change pick guards by removing a few screws. Voila, you’re ready for Set 2 with a new look. Try doing that with a Stratocaster.
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Post by Stratluvr on Dec 10, 2020 19:38:49 GMT -5
Led Zeppelin 1.
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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 11, 2020 18:28:14 GMT -5
I did not know that about Alex. He has an old RI Tele (I forget when it was built) that he seems to love quite a bit. I think he used it onstage at least in 2004. He also had a Tele in 2002 that had 3 single coils in it (which could be a new topic within this discussion). Based on his career, I wonder if he prefers Teles to Strats. He has not used a Strat since 1986 (if I am not mistaken). without distractions like a vibrato bridge So, er, no Bigsby on it then, eh? I’m not sure how much of the ‘tone’ was due to the Telecaster per se. Chorus, delay etc. and the retro fitted humbucker. At some point, when the Custom Shop replica was released, I read all about the history of the guitar. Given a pic available from an October 1979 concert, I suspect that he liked the particular pickup configuration in his Telecaster. |
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Ayns
Wholenote
Posts: 767
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Post by Ayns on Dec 11, 2020 18:50:40 GMT -5
I was quite a late convert to the Telecaster, mainly due to most of guitar heroes when I was a kid playing Les Pauls and Stratocasters. I was going to say I currently have 2, an AVRI 52, and a B Bender AmSe, then I remembered I've also got a Squier Custom Vibe 62RI, which I was actually gigging with quite a bit, pre Lockdown. I also had a '72 Deluxe a few years ago, but I traded it in on a Martin 12 String for some reason that escapes me now. It was later on that I found out about Jimmy Page playing a Tele, and Jeff Beck Yardbirds era, and there's a video of Alex Lifeson playing Closer to the Heart on a Tele. Updated to say, I've currently got my 52RI tuned to Open G, a la Keef, and I don't think I've gigged the B Bender for about 10 years, and I probably haven't had it out of its case for a couple of years. But.... This thread has got me looking at Classic Vibe Deluxes. The metallic purple limited edition is very tempting  |
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pnutz
Halfnote
Posts: 83
Formerly Known As: "Most folks just call me Jimm."
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Post by pnutz on Dec 11, 2020 23:10:57 GMT -5
So, you gotcher slip-joints and yer channel locks, do you really need a needlenose ... ?
Yeah, you do ...
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Post by Seldom Seen on Dec 12, 2020 12:04:43 GMT -5
Likely unpopular opinion: I love the individual cast saddles of the 2000-2007 American series (and used on some custom shop offerings after they went to the bent steel ones). I never had a problem with them either prof. In fact, I added similar saddles in brass to my 60th Anniversary Tele in place of the stock bent steel saddles. |
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Dec 12, 2020 18:17:39 GMT -5
Nothing wrong with teles, but I've only owned one, a 50's Classic from early 2000's. I swapped pickups for nocasters, changed the pick guard to black, and added brass saddles. But I was never crazy about the small neck radius, and I sold it mainly because it rarely got played. I've got other guitars I liked a lot more, and didn't feel like I needed to keep it just to say I owned a tele. I've always felt like they're made for country, even though I know that's not the case.
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Post by blowtorch on Dec 17, 2020 8:58:15 GMT -5
telecaster is the most versatile guitar of all time, only exception being maybe one of those variax things
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Post by mikeyd on Dec 17, 2020 14:56:30 GMT -5
Go see the NGD - Broadcaster thread to see what you're missin' |
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j0nasty🎸
Quarternote
Checkmate!
Posts: 35
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Post by j0nasty🎸 on Dec 28, 2020 0:22:04 GMT -5
Danny Gatton, Scoty Anderson and Brent Mason... enuff said! [;.)
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Dec 28, 2020 16:03:09 GMT -5
The Tele is my favorite solidbody guitar. My first Fender guitar was a heavily used mid '60s Tele which I flipped for more musical equipment. Dumb move. Over the subsequent years I owned an Aria Tele copy and more recently a Telecoustic. It took me a few years to find the one I have now a Standard with a ne c k that feels a little beefier than other Standards. I should have bought that shopworn Baja Tele the LMS was clearing out. but a solidbody guitat was not what I needed at the time.
I really love having a 4 way switch on mine and the bridge pickup can only be challenged but never beaten by a P-90. I did have a Nashville Tele for a while but the sound was (no surprise) much like a Strat without the ergonomics.
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Post by HenryJ on Dec 31, 2020 10:31:47 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. Since posting the above I did not get a Telecaster for Christmas or any other occasion. I have been window-shopping online at Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, and Guitar Center, and other places. I stumbled across the G&L ASAT. I also researched G & L, particularly the ASAT. One site stated that Leo Fender, after selling Fender Guitars to CBS, then forming and selling Music Man, formed G & L with his friend George Fullerton. By that time Leo had become interested in the way Gibson guitars sound. I also came across Darrell Braun's Youtubes comparing the ASAT to the Telecaster. The ASATs have magnetic field design pickups that take some of the edge off the tone. I then googled "fbc covington la december 5 6 pm" and found the presentation I had referred to in my above-quoted post of December 6. At about 30 minutes in, I paused the screen at the right time to examine the headstock on the guitar that was playing such beautiful riffs. It was not a Telecaster, and the pickups were indeed MFDs. Ugly headstock, but I happen to like the sound of that guitar. |
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