Making Telecaster loudetlr

Clouds · #1 01-07-2021, 04:07 PM

I own a Fender Telecaster and I'm wondering if there's a way of playing louder. The other guitarist in the band brought his own amp and plugged his acoustic into it and wow it was pretty loud. Can't really hear my electric at all and I'm plugged into the PA.

alnico5 · #2 01-07-2021, 04:33 PM

I have used a Carvin guitar with humbuckers since 1986. When I got a Telecaster the big deal was the incredibly weak single coil pickups.

I bought a Saturnworks Peppermint Clean Boost to up the Telecaster's volume. Any boost pedal will work.
https://saturnworkspedals.com/product/clean-boost/

I have no connection with Saturnworks other than as a satisfied user.

I am at heart a humbucker guy.

Clouds · #3 01-07-2021, 04:45 PM

I own the Fender Custom Tele FMT HH. I would've thought this guitar would have a decent pickup..

alnico5 · #4 01-07-2021, 04:53 PM

Clouds, if you are playing through the PA do you have a monitor for your guitar? Are you hearing the other guitar player's amp? Do you need your own amp behind you?

I'd guess you need an amp!! If you need a monitor, just buy an amp!!

Clouds · #5 01-07-2021, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnico5

Clouds, if you are playing through the PA do you have a monitor for your guitar? Are you hearing the other guitar player's amp? Do you need your own amp behind you?

I'd guess you need an amp!! If you need a monitor, just buy an amp!!

We all have a monitor to hear our instruments. The guy on the guitar (who normally goes through the PA) was on a big amp today. Listened to the recording and you can barely hear me.

alnico5 · #6 01-07-2021, 05:17 PM

[QUOTE=Clouds;6598315]The guy on the guitar (who normally goes through the PA) was on a big amp today.QUOTE]

Here is the reason for your problem. Let the battle of the big amps begin!

sam.spoons · #7 01-07-2021, 05:42 PM

Are you and/or your bandmates fairly new to playing in a band?

Speaking with my sound engineers hat on

this is the eternal problem and can only be solved by discipline (no I don't mean taking the other guitarist 'outside'). Depending on the line up (mostly drummer/no drummer) you need to try to play as if you didn't have a PA until you all learn to balance yourselves to the others, if it's somebody else lead break/vocal lay back a bit and step up when it's your turn. Watching old school Bluegrass bands do the microphone dance is instructional but its more than that, it's really about learning to listen.

But I suspect your problem is more that he has an amp on stage and you don't have a sound guy (forgive me if I'm wrong here) so you set the monitor level for your guitar and then he plays louder (I used to gig fairly regularly with another guitarist who did just that).

With my guitarist's hat on, you need an amp

. Tele (and Strat) pickups are relatively low output but any half decent electric guitar amp will have enough gain to make up for that, if you have humbuckers turn it up to 5, if single coils (like my '61 Strat) turn it up to 8, it's only a problem if you need to swap guitars mid set.

FrankHudson · #8 01-07-2021, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds

I own a Fender Telecaster and I'm wondering if there's a way of playing louder. The other guitarist in the band brought his own amp and plugged his acoustic into it and wow it was pretty loud. Can't really hear my electric at all and I'm plugged into the PA.

There is no inherent problem with the Telecaster being loud enough. Far from it. Indeed some elements of the classic Telecaster recipe that often allow a higher treble content that "cuts through" in a band mix more than most guitars, all other things amplifier-wise being equal. Best as I can tell from the little info we have here is that your band has a problem balancing their various volume levels and figuring out how to monitor themselves on stage. This is common for less experienced bands. Others upthread have already started to guide you that way.

alnico5 · #9 01-07-2021, 06:04 PM

[QUOTE=FrankHudson;6598366]There is no inherent problem with the Telecaster being loud enough. /QUOTE]

I think a lot has to do with what you are used to. I come from decades of humbucker use, and my Telecaster's pickups are to me, incredibly weak. Turning up my DRRI's volume did not do the job. It took a volume boost.

The OP stated he has humbuckers in his Telecaster. I think his problem is, the other guitar player has a big amp on stage, but he is running through the PA.

Captain Jim · #10 01-07-2021, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clouds

We all have a monitor to hear our instruments. The guy on the guitar (who normally goes through the PA) was on a big amp today. Listened to the recording and you can barely hear me.

Yep. Generally, the electric guitar player will be running through an amp and the acoustic player going straight to the PA. Yes, that is an over-simplification. You need an amp. You can mic the amp or run a direct line out to the PA, but you will have greater control over your sound/tone with a dedicated amp.

Most people buy an acoustic guitar because they like the tone, and then try to figure out how to amplify it to keep the same sound. With an electric guitar (and your Tele is fine), that is only half the sound - the right amp for the sound you are looking for is the other part of the equation.

There are SO many amp options - another "rabbit hole" that will make the guitar shopping you did for the Tele look simple.

Take your guitar to a music shop and try a bunch of different amps, preferably at the volume you'd be using on stage.

As others have said, without cooperation from the rest of the band, it can become a "volume war"... if you have someone running your sound, they can help, but if it is "every man for himself" with the sound/volume, you are going to have to learn to work together. If you couldn't hear yourself and the recording plays that out, you need some way to balance the sound.

Good luck with the process.

egordon99 · #11 01-07-2021, 06:52 PM

You're supposed to plug an electric guitar into an electric guitar amp and not the PA system.

The amp is a crucial part of your sound when you play electric.

egordon99 · #12 01-07-2021, 06:53 PM

Similar thread here: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=603087

jazzereh · #13 01-07-2021, 07:20 PM

Get a BIG amp, crank it to 12...

Clouds · #14 01-07-2021, 07:47 PM

There's no room for an amp. Normally I'm a decent level through the PA and it could be due to the acoustic guitarist being a bit loud, but it could also be due to we're both playing same positions (capo) so the sound a tone would be exactly the same.

I'm going to get a volume booster pedal and play in a different position on the neck.

FrankHudson · #15 01-07-2021, 11:02 PM

[QUOTE=alnico5;6598375]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

There is no inherent problem with the Telecaster being loud enough. /QUOTE]

I think a lot has to do with what you are used to. I come from decades of humbucker use, and my Telecaster's pickups are to me, incredibly weak. Turning up my DRRI's volume did not do the job. It took a volume boost.

The OP stated he has humbuckers in his Telecaster. I think his problem is, the other guitar player has a big amp on stage, but he is running through the PA.

I think you may have caught a crucial point that I missed. I read it to quickly I thought his guitar amp was mic'ed or other wise going into the band's PA. Direct into a PA could be a miss-match and may not produce anything like a desired timbre.