Strat Vs Tele: What's better?

[RussL30]

Interesting video.

I’ve been a Strat guy since I got my Strat 20 years ago. I acquired a player Tele back in December and am still in love with it. I pick up my Strat every now and then and when I play it, it’s just not like my Tele and I go back to the Tele. I don’t know why it took me so long to get a Tele but it’s my favorite right now.

[RP]

I'm going to vote for the Telecaster simply because Fender continues to supply the vestigial trem bar on Strats that most players don't use and refuses to produce more hardtail like the Robert Cray Strat...

[Ian111]

Originally Posted by bsman

The solo in Stairway to Heaven disagrees with that assessment...

And I’m well aware the solo in Another Brick in the Wall was played with a Gibson LP with P90’s and not his usual Strat by David Gilmour. Please read that sentence within the context of everything else I wrote. . In no way am I dismissing the significant contribution of the Tele in popular music. Sometimes we have to generalize trying to make a point.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by bsman

The solo in Stairway to Heaven disagrees with that assessment...

True, but most casual observers assume he played that on his typical Les Paul, so the tele will never get it's due on that one.

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Every solo by Mike Bloomfield and James Burton and Albert Collins and so many others disagrees with that assessment.

Yup, and I love those guys. I'd add Keith Richards (who played teles a lot, but far from exclusively) and Springsteen who plays them exclusively as bigger popular names to that list. But they don't come close to the level of public consciousness that Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, Knopfler, Gilmour have with the strat and folks like Page, Slash, Neil Young etc have with the Les Paul.

Not saying the tele isn't historically significant - it was the first mass produced and SOLD sold body electric and had a huge influence on everything that came after it. But it was the Strat and Les Paul that were front and center during the huge guitar era of the 60's and 70s. And Rickenbacker to a much smaller degree with the Beatles and Byrds prominently...

[Dru Edwards]

Oddly, I don't own a Tele. I have Les Pauls and Strats (and I love my SGs) but I never got into the Tele thing.

Agreed with other posters here, Strat and Tele are two different guitars. Depends on what you're looking for. I don't play my Strats often but when I do it's that neck pickup tone that gets me.

[Ian111]

Originally Posted by raysachs

True, but most casual observers assume he played that on his typical Les Paul, so the tele will never get it's due on that one.



..

Can’t discount the fact their tone feel phrasing and timing came from their fingers. Also not all Tele’s are created equal or the same as with any Strat or Les Paul. A lot of these musicians had the advantage of guitar techs who also helped them achieve their tone. And of course the kind of amp they used. Many of these classic rock tones came from just cranking their amp full tilt without the use of distortion or overdrive pedals. Jimmy Page also played Danelectros and Stratocasters on their later albums but there is no mistaking its Page thats playing.

With the advent of the internet the fact that Page used a Tele during that solo is becoming common knowledge for most who are into guitar.

Another thing I didnt realise is Page used a Harmony acoustic on their classic recordings and not the Martin D28 he often used onstage. I was shocked when I found out.

[Steel and wood]

Originally Posted by raysachs

Right, there is no objective "better" or "worse" - there's just what you like. It's like asking which is "better", the Beatles or the Stones - depends on whether your preferences run to pop or blues which one you like more. Me, I like strats and the Stones more than teles or the Beatles, but I also really like teles and the Beatles. I agree that they're more similar than a lot of people think, but that's partly because I never let the tremolo float - it's always either blocked or decked or a hardtail. I think a strat and tele with a similar neck play pretty much identically.

But they don't SOUND much alike to me. And based on that, I'm a strat guy. A strat is my only electric now. I've had a little of everything over the years and I always pick up a strat when there's more than that there, so I just dispensed with the decision making and I only have a strat. There's just no sound I ever need to get from an electric guitar that I can't get from a strat. I like a tele bridge pup, I like hum buckers, I LOVE P90s, but when i have 'em hanging next to a strat, I NEVER grab them after a short honeymoon period.

My player is a PRS Silver Sky, which was setup decked to John Mayer's preference, so it's effectively a hardtail - no tuning drama ever - and the whammy bar never leaves the case. The best, fullest sounding strat pickups I've ever played - there's no pickup that doesn't sound great on it's own or in combination with another - the bridge pup on the PRS made me forget about the tele I sold to get it. I used to be a typical 2, 4, 5 strat guy - now I play and 1 and 3 plenty also. My backup that lives in the closet is a Robert Cray hardtail, with the same string-through approach as a tele, but with those three awesome strat pickups. Gotta say as nice as it plays, it really sounds a bit thin and anemic compared to the Silver Sky. But it's a GREAT thin and anemic - it was the best sounding strat I ever owned until the PRS came along. Not a bad insurance policy to have in the closet.

-Ray

Love your post Ray,

I like "thin sounding" for most of my playing. (I like to be able to hear the string separation at lower volumes even when strumming and not just some wall of sound). Also, a lot of country guys prefer Telecasters but there are plenty of great country tones to be had on a Stratocaster. (Bridge pickups on both have more than enough treble going on also).

[Coop47]

Just because a Tele is the better guitar for me, doesn't mean it's a "better" guitar. That said, while I own a Strat and an LP, a Tele with a four-way switch is all I've ever needed.

[RRuskin]

The Tele is faster in the 1/4 mile. The Strat handles better in the curves.

[Steel and wood]

Telecaster is more "meat and potatoes" whilst the Stratocaster is more gourmet perhaps.

I think the thing for me owning both is that they consciously and/or subconsciously inspire me to play each a little bit differently. (Even if I don't find the guitars themselves to be significantly different).

[s2y]

Both have iconic tones. Both can be a "little" enhanced with mods. That being said, I'm short and find the original Strat body to be extremely comfortable and ergonomic. A slightly deeper cutaway and moving the volume knob are the only mods to the body that I require.

I have plans of ordering a Strat-o-Tele body hybrid at some point.

[roylor4]

I love both and have both, though my Tele is more of a TSO (Tele shaped object) since it had dual HB's. I do have a SSS Strat.

I love the way the contour of a Strat fits the body and find that, in general, they just hang better on a strap. I love the glassiness that Strat pickups are known for and although I don't use the out of phase positions (2 & 4) - in the right hands (I always think Robert Cray) they can sound phenomenal.

I really like the simplicity of the Tele. Someons said meat & taters, and I agree. I really like the warmth available at the neck pickup and when Jay plays Jazz on one, you can certainly hear and feel it. The Teles main strong point (IMO) is the muscular bite of the bridge pickup. They sound powerful and articulate both clean and overdriven - It just has a vibe that a Strat cannot produce, though it can get close.

[PAPADON]

Sorry misposted

[PAPADON]

Living proof that Strats can be made to be tolerable.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by PAPADON

Living proof that Strats can be made to be tolerable.

And here's another way,