This Strat vs Tele thing…

[J Patrick]

Originally Posted by Rolph

The Tele has always been popular. Someone you quoted, (J. Page) played one in the Yardbirds and in Led Zeppelin. He played on on many popular British hits that rocked the '60's. And that doesn't include the hundreds of great Country players all over the world. For me, the Tele is the foundational sound of Rock and Roll. And you do need both.

….as I remember as a kid….we didn’t see a lot of these guys playing teles….come to find they were using them in the studio a lot and that’s what we were actually listening to compared to a good many of the guitars they were seen playing live with…..so….popular with top players but with the millions of guitar buying baby boomers not so much….I played in a lot of bands starting at the age of 14 and at the age of 27 when I got one I was the first player I ever even knew that played a tele….and we didn’t play through Princeton’s either….a Deluxe was marginally acceptable….

[rockabilly69]

Some more Tele Love...



I love the E-bow on The Tele for Heroes!

[Ian111]

Originally Posted by Rolph

The Tele has always been popular. Someone you quoted, (J. Page) played one in the Yardbirds and in Led Zeppelin. He played on on many popular British hits that rocked the '60's. And that doesn't include the hundreds of great Country players all over the world. For me, the Tele is the foundational sound of Rock and Roll. And you do need both.

Page also played a Strat on my favorite Zeppelin song, Ten Years Gone and songs like In the Evening. There’s also the 12 string Fender (forgot the name) he played in recording Stairway and not the Gibson EDS-1275 he famously played in the movie The Song Remains the Same. He also often recorded with a Harmony acoustic and not a Martin (which he often played live). And lets not forget the humble Danelectro he melted faces off in the the live version of In My Time of Dying. My point is if Page didn’t use a cheap Danelectro and played some snobby Custom Shop whatever or a Tele/Strat/LP a lot of people would have missed out on a great instrument.

[talister106]

Having a Strat for thirty years I finally decided to get a Tele three years ago. Wish I did it thirty years ago.

[AfterViewer]

I keep a tele for recording (sophisticated stuff) and a ratty/bratty Ibanez 'strat' for Fender bending.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by talister106

Having a Strat for thirty years I finally decided to get a Tele three years ago. Wish I did it thirty years ago.

Pretty much my story, although the Tele acquisition was many years ago. I always thought the Strat was just a bit unwieldy and the sound was a bit too "in your face". I purchased my first Tele and immediately felt there was an intimacy in playing it that I never felt with my Strat. It just immediately felt like putting on my favorite jeans.

[rmp]

my first "Real" guitar (not one bought at sears roebucks) was a blonde Telecaster

Maybe 1970? 71?

[ghostnote]

Both for me, thank you. For a long time my main band guitar was a Lone Star Strat - killer pickups, SSH configuration is so versatile. I love that thing. But I started taking a newer Am Std Tele to rehearsals about 3 months ago, and I can’t stop! Once again, great pickups that have some real beef to them. And, with the right amp and pedals the Tele does the ‘60s chime and jangle almost like a Rickenbacker. (Which I also have).
It’s nice to have both, and when I inevitably sell off my many electrics, the last two I’ll own will be a Tele and a Strat.

[dnf777]

Originally Posted by TiffanyGuitar

and I I think one of the light weight roasted pine professional IIs might do it. My strat is one of the roasted pine ones.

I sure thought so. I think the AmPro II in pine is the nicest tele fender has offered in many years. Only complaint is the poly finish. Nitro would have been preferred.

[TiffanyGuitar]

Originally Posted by dnf777

I sure thought so. I think the AmPro II in pine is the nicest tele fender has offered in many years. Only complaint is the poly finish. Nitro would have been preferred.

I tend to agree with the nitro versus poly. I personally don't think there is a discernable tone difference, as the pine body is very resonant even with the poly coating, but there is definitely a feel and aging difference.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Ian111

But why not during the golden years of guitar based popular music from the 50’s all the way up to the 90’s? It was pretty much Strats and Les Pauls all day. With Tele’s, SG’s 335’s and Gretsch a distant 2nd.

Well "pretty much" is kinda vague and subjective The Strat no doubt became a staple of Rock Music . But Tele's stayed popular in country all along , And I wound not dismiss the hollow bodies either . Personally I think the entire (vs) thing is a bit silly

Here is an article about the Strat during the 60's From fender

https://www.fender.com/articles/gear...ster-the-1960s


So IMO none of that matters because I am now convinced I "need" both

[Russ C]

My only electrics that I still play are my Strat, Tele and 330.
While the Gibson and Fenders compete for my affection, the Strat and Tele do not - they complement each other .. similar enough to provide a bit of fresh air but without pointing out any deficiencies. I can enjoy both.

[Steve DeRosa]

At one time I owned both - one of the first late-CBS '52 Tele reissues (which I modded with a 5-way switch) and an '86 Fender/Squier Strat (the ones that kept the company alive after CBS bailed out)...

I played them side-by-side on many occasions, over a 15-year period...

Don't play it as often as I used to, but I still own the Strat - adjusted the bridge PU to give me more punch (and with the flatwound 12's I use I don't get the dreaded Strat "warble"), added the two missing trem springs and decked the bridge (as Ray did) to add warmth/sustain/tuning stability, and having owned a MIJ Yamaha SSC-500 for a few years before I purchased the Strat I realized I really like three-pickup guitars; in a nutshell, I simply didn't need the Tele for what I do - tripled my initial investment when I sold it BTW - and the only version I might consider is one of the (to me) cool-looking early-70's ash hollowbodies with the Wide-Range humbuckers (but that's a different animal entirely)...

Of course, I've also found I can credibly cover the main virtues of both instruments with my 3-PU Gretsch E-Matic 5622: neck-pickup sweetness and clarity, the "in-between" #2 and #4 tones, jazzy smoothness, bridge-pickup drive, Nashville twang, bluesy edge and crunch, as well as some tones I can't get from any other guitar - all the reasons I bought it in the first place, but that's a whole 'nuther story...

[rwmct]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Some more Tele Love...



I love the E-bow on The Tele for Heroes!

When I saw Ronson solo in a club, he was playing a Tele.

IIRC when I saw him playing with Ian Hunter he was usually playing a Les Paul, though not the one he used with Bowie, which I thought was iconic, though not quite "Greenie" status.

[gretsch4me]

Nuthin' like the fat sound of a big, honkin' Gretsch 6120 with Dynasonics going thru a Deluxe Reverb! Been there, loved 'em, had 'em. But...my Eric Johnson Strat absolutely rules. Tele me why?