First electric advice

[adaw2821]

I've also been thinking if I went the tele direction, looking at a American special, or getting a cheaper mim or squier and putting the Texas special pickups that the American special tele comes with. They're supposed to be a little warmer than a standard tele. How does a coil split humbucker at the neck compare to the single coil of a strat or tele?

[maxtheaxe]

Originally Posted by adaw2821

I've also been thinking if I went the tele direction, looking at a American special, or getting a cheaper mim or squier and putting the Texas special pickups that the American special tele comes with. They're supposed to be a little warmer than a standard tele. How does a coil split humbucker at the neck compare to the single coil of a strat or tele?

There really isn't any comparison between a coil-tapped humbucker and a Fender single-coil...they just have their own unmistakable mojo, and tapped humbuckers almost always lose a little level or punch. There are exceptions, but as usual they're expensive exceptions (the bridge humbucker on my PRS does a righteous Tele impression when tapped, for example).

I love the Texas Specials...have them on one of my Strats, and they do have a bit more punch and grit to them. I also have the very similar 'Tex-Mex' Tele pups on my humble little MIM Nashville Telecaster and they really sing! Best guitar for the least amount of money of all my axes! The TexMex do skew a bit more to a Rock tone than classic Tele Twang to my ears...they're just a tad warmer. The newer Nashvilles have Vintage Noiseless pups, which I've never tried but have heard good things about.

An earlier Nashville with the TexMex pups might be down your alley...I see them pop up in the used market frequently. One tip about those...the "honey-blond" color Nashvilles have an Ash body, all the rest are Alder.

For example (no relation to seller):

https://reverb.com/item/4403632-2015...-hard-tsa-case

[Fairlight]

For the styles you mention, a Strat is the obvious choice. Mayer's tone, church stuff, etc. You find this guitar prominently in every genre. I agree that a LP is less versatile and a bit heavy in feel and tone. Intonation can also be an issue if you're not used to playing one.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by maxtheaxe

There really isn't any comparison between a coil-tapped humbucker and a Fender single-coil...they just have their own unmistakable mojo, and tapped humbuckers almost always lose a little level or punch. There are exceptions, but as usual they're expensive exceptions (the bridge humbucker on my PRS does a righteous Tele impression when tapped, for example).

I agree with this. ^^^^^