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  #31  
Old 12-07-2022, 02:14 PM
GCWaters GCWaters is offline
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Too many people think of the tele as a country instrument. I think it's a tremendous platform for pretty much any style you want to play, much more versatile than a Strat. And much more comfortable to hold, at least for me.
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  #32  
Old 12-07-2022, 02:59 PM
jay42 jay42 is offline
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I have a crass response in mind...perhaps not today.
Telecasters are available with tummy and (less often) forearm cuts. That makes them far more friendly. hth
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  #33  
Old 12-07-2022, 06:37 PM
Joe Beamish Joe Beamish is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GCWaters View Post
Too many people think of the tele as a country instrument. I think it's a tremendous platform for pretty much any style you want to play, much more versatile than a Strat. And much more comfortable to hold, at least for me.

Why is a Tele more versatile than a Strat?

(I don’t mean for this question to be a challenge; I am not very knowledgeable about electric guitars.)
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  #34  
Old 12-07-2022, 07:49 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Tele for me, wait, I'll take it one step futher, Esquire with only one pickup. The Les Paul Junior of Fenders! Simplicity at it's best.

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  #35  
Old 12-07-2022, 08:34 PM
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I was waiting for the store staff to find the case for my dream guitar, I was buying, a Gibson 335. As I waited I pulled a MIM Butterscotch Tele off the wall and played it. I loved it but left with the 335. I was in that store 2 more times over the next year and played that Tele each time. I went back the third time and bought that Tele. It was my first Tele.

That Gibson is long gone, that Tele will never leave me. I have changed so much of it that only the body is original, even that I painted Nitro Surf Green.

I owned a number of Strats, MIM, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Pro II’s and even a Jimmy Vaughan. All are gone, the Tele is still with me.

I even turned it into an Esquire for a short time, but I missed the scrumptious Charlie Christian neck pickup I had put in it.

Last edited by Rad; 03-27-2023 at 11:45 AM.
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  #36  
Old 12-07-2022, 09:39 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Beamish View Post
Why is a Tele more versatile than a Strat?

(I don’t mean for this question to be a challenge; I am not very knowledgeable about electric guitars.)
I'm already chimed in upthread about liking 3 pickup Teles, but let's assume we're talking about the "classic" designs. Even within the classic designs there are so many variables, that this will have to be a generalized response. Every one of the following statements is debatable and subject to "well, whatabout..." As I read your question you're not looking for a endless debate but more "what do those folks think?"

The case for the more/most versatile Tele than Strat:

The Tele bridge PU tone is hard to duplicate. It has a certain cutting power that you can approach with other guitars, but Tele fanciers often find is hard to get with the bridge pickup of its cousin the Strat. In some cases (not all, or to all tastes, or with all rigs) it can be "too bright" with the tone control all the way up, but the tone knob is there to be used.

Similarly, the neck pickup in the classic design is somewhat unique. Unlike the bridge PU, it can be a little darker than the Strat's neck PU, and with some Teles it takes on a nice kind of resonance in tone and envelope that sounds like a hollow-body archtop when plugged into a clean darker amp. Even without departing from the classic pickups, that means the Tele (more than the classic Strat) had not just two positions, but two differently voiced pickups, while the classic Strat (and most other classic guitar designs) instead just duplicates the pickups in all positions. A Tele is preferred for some who want a guitar can that get very bright without sounding brittle or thin and quite dark and mellow without sounding like mush. That's the core of the versatile Tele belief I think.

The neck + bridge sound of a Tele is not available on the classic Strat, just as the classic Strat quack isn't available on the Tele. If quack rules your world, the Strat's your choice between the two classic models, but if it doesn't you or others might miss that N+B switch position. Besides being a hum reducing position without the marked sonic quack, the Tele N+B is often my choice for acoustic style playing on an electric guitar. Picks up a nice range of string vibration and those two differing pickups adds something to the clean sound.

You can block or deck a Strat's floating bridge, but if you don't a Tele is easier to deal with it you change tunings. I find it easier to reach the Tele tone knob while playing with my RH little finger for faux wah-wah. Some folks find the Strat middle PU get in the way of their picking.

OK, now remember all of that is generalized, and an attempt at an honest summary of what some people think objectively about the choice of a Tele. Feel free to think completely differently, or to engage in one of those "whatabout" mods or custom configurations.
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Last edited by FrankHudson; 12-08-2022 at 09:02 AM.
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  #37  
Old 12-07-2022, 10:13 PM
Joe Beamish Joe Beamish is offline
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^ Wow, quality response. Thank you. I will refer to this in my electric quest during the coming year.
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  #38  
Old 12-08-2022, 08:15 AM
Gitfiddlemann Gitfiddlemann is offline
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I like both, and had both at one time, but I sold the Tele and kept the Strat.
Mostly because I messed up on custom ordering a Masterbuilt Tele from the Fender Custom Shop, specifically the neck. So important to get that right. Learned a valuable lesson.
My Strat is also from the CS, a '60 NOS I bought used. That guitar is very nice, and is so versatile. Maybe one day I'll get another Tele, but I'll make sure to play it before I buy.
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  #39  
Old 12-08-2022, 12:14 PM
RPadTV RPadTV is offline
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i have and enjoy both styles. for me, the Tele works better. i don't need a tremolo 95% of the time and the Tele bridge pickup is so distinct. it's difficult to replicate what the large metal baseplate of a Tele pickup does in other designs. i don't know that it can be done physically, but i can see a modeling pickup (think Fishman Fluence) being able to produce all kinds of tones in the near future.

of course there are times when i want to play Hendrix or RHCP when an S-style is the better choice.
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  #40  
Old 12-08-2022, 12:29 PM
GCWaters GCWaters is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankHudson View Post
I'm already chimed in upthread about liking 3 pickup Teles, but let's assume we're talking about the "classic" designs. Even within the classic designs there are so many variables, that this will have to be a generalized response. Every one of the following statements is debatable and subject to "well, whatabout..." As I read your question you're not looking for a endless debate but more "what do those folks think?"

The case for the more/most versatile Tele than Strat:

The Tele bridge PU tone is hard to duplicate. It has a certain cutting power that you can approach with other guitars, but Tele fanciers often find is hard to get with the bridge pickup of its cousin the Strat. In some cases (not all, or to all tastes, or with all rigs) it can be "too bright" with the tone control all the way up, but the tone knob is there to be used.

Similarly, the neck pickup in the classic design is somewhat unique. Unlike the bridge PU, it can be a little darker than the Strat's neck PU, and with some Teles it takes on a nice kind of resonance in tone and envelope that sounds like a hollow-body archtop when plugged into a clean darker amp. Even without departing from the classic pickups, that means the Tele (more than the classic Strat) had not just two positions, but two differently voiced pickups, while the classic Strat (and most other classic guitar designs) instead just duplicates the pickups in all positions. A Tele is preferred for some who want a guitar can that get very bright without sounding brittle or thin and quite dark and mellow without sounding like mush. That's the core of the versatile Tele belief I think.

The neck + bridge sound of a Tele is not available on the classic Strat, just as the classic Strat quack isn't available on the Tele. If quack rules your world, the Strat's your choice between the two classic models, but if it doesn't you or others might miss that N+B switch position. Besides being a hum reducing position without the marked sonic quack, the Tele N+B is often my choice for acoustic style playing on an electric guitar. Picks up a nice range of string vibration and those two differing pickups adds something to the clean sound.

You can block or deck a Strat's floating bridge, but if you don't a Tele is easier to deal with it you change tunings. I find it easier to reach the Tele tone knob while playing with my RH little finger for faux wah-wah. Some folks find the Strat middle PU get in the way of their picking.

OK, now remember all of that is generalized, and an attempt at an honest summary of what some people think objectively about the choice of a Tele. Feel free to think completely differently, or to engage in one of those "whatabout" mods or custom configurations.

That's a much better explanation than I could give!

For me, it's probably subjective. With an electric guitar, you really enter an endless search for the tones that you hear in your head--even moreso than with an acoustic, at least for me.

A tele, for me, gets me closer to those tones than a Strat does. Yes, there are Strat tones that I love that a tele can't get, but overall, a tele punches more buttons for me than a Strat does and gives me a wider tonal palette that matches the one I hear in my head.

And that last part is critical--what's in your head may differ and the Strat (or Les Paul or ES....) may match much better.

We are fortunate to live in a time that has such a variety of guitars, pickups, and amps...or maybe not, given the money that we often pour into them!!
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  #41  
Old 12-08-2022, 03:14 PM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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To me a great electric guitar reacts like a good acoustic guitar. As long as I get one pickup to do what I want to do, to me it's like playing an acoustic, something I can strum with and something I can pick with. And this especially the case if I'm plugged into a good reactive amplifier. My favorite with the Esquire is a Mesa Fillmore 50 on it's medium gain setting which emulates a good old fashion Fender Tweed amp. It's such a wonderful give and take experience.

An acoustic is as versatile as the player, so is an electric, as long as you're starting with a great basic tone. In my Esquire I've got that tone, and as a bonus, I've got a cocked wah position that has a very vocal like tone for singing leads.

I've got standard Telecasters too, but most of the time when I grab for a Tele the Esquire is the first choice. That's why it's my first choice over a Strat, it's just so d**n simple.

That said, when I want the Strat sound, I like Strats too!

It's amazing how Leo Fender came up with these guitars that are still loved so many years after he designed them.

Any body interested in the history of Fender guitars (and Gibson too) from the start should read this book....

https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Loud-Fe.../dp/1501141651

Last edited by rockabilly69; 12-09-2022 at 01:15 AM.
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  #42  
Old 12-08-2022, 04:36 PM
RPadTV RPadTV is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
It's amazing how Leo Fender came up with these guitars that are still loved so many years after he designed them.
his creations are truly extraordinary. a friend and i were talking about this last month in terms of design. what other American creations from the 50s are still as universally loved and used today. you could argue that classic cars still have a place today, but that's a niche market. Strats and Teles today have some improved mechanical parts and electronics, but the designs are largely the same or very similar to what was released more than 70 years ago.
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  #43  
Old 12-08-2022, 06:51 PM
Pine Cone Pine Cone is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69 View Post
It's amazing how Leo Fender came up with these guitars that are still loved so many years after he designed them.

Any body interested in the history of Fender guitars (and Gibson too) from the start should read this book....

https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Loud-Fe.../dp/1501141651
I bought the book you suggested. What a great story! Fun reading, and lots interesting stories about the southern California music scene in the 1940s and 50s.

Thanks!

As for the Tele vs Strat, I play the tele more..
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  #44  
Old 12-08-2022, 10:59 PM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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Can’t beat the strat. 3 pickups, 5-way switch, easier high fret access, more comfortable to play, (forearm contour, belly contour). But it’ll never sound like a tele. Just like how a tele will never sound like a strat.

Always follow the N+1 formula. [emoji23]
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  #45  
Old 12-09-2022, 01:13 AM
rockabilly69 rockabilly69 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pine Cone View Post
I bought the book you suggested. What a great story! Fun reading, and lots interesting stories about the southern California music scene in the 1940s and 50s.

Thanks!

As for the Tele vs Strat, I play the tele more..
So glad to hear you got the book, I laughed out loud many times from some of those stories. I especially like the termite story I read A LOT of rock and roll books and it was my favorite of the last few years!
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