Merle Haggard Fender Telecaster

So this morning, I have been practicing some Merle Haggard songs on my acoustic guitar. BTW the major scales in the key of the song are still working wonderfully for finding the notes to improvise the lead/solo part.

Then I did some Googling and found out he played a Fender Telecaster. Nice looking and great sounding guitar in his hands. Further Googling revealed that Fender even made/makes(?) a Merle Haggard edition Telecaster. Woo hoo! Maybe this will be my first electric guitar???

Until even more Googling revealed that they are going for about $7,500 used.
GULP.

Does anyone make a nice knock off???

Will any Fender Telecaster sound (potentially sound) like "The Hagg's?"

PS - I do have good taste in guitars.

[Chickee]

https://www.dhgate.com/product/custo...546651823.html

Here’s a link to a MH knockoff around $300

Never heard of these guitars before, but they sure have slick photo stock pictures.

fd

Oh, and as far as good taste in guitars, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ll keep the strats and jazzmasters, you can have the T-types for yourself. Bahahaha

fd

[jseth]

Telecasters have been around for a LONG time... started out as a Broadcaster back in the early 50's, but CBS sued about the name so Leo changed it...

I would venture to opine that NONE of the "signature" model guitars, of any ilk, are worth the money... remember, Merle didn't play a signature model, he just played whatever Tele he had at hand! All that "signature" stuff is about making more money for someone that is not YOU!

You could find a perfectly wonderful Telecaster for less than $400... and they all play pretty much the same. Classic platform: one pickup for the neck area, one for the bridge area; one volume knob and one tone knob, one 3 way slider pickup selector...

It's quite common for players to swap out the pickups, bridges, tone and volume pots, pickup selector... even the necks! (They just bolt on, after all...).

But, there is a REALLY GOOD REASON why the Telecaster has been around and popular for 70+ years!!! Just look around and you'll find a LOT of Teles from which to choose, should you decide to go that route...

[davidd]

Originally Posted by jseth

Telecasters have been around for a LONG time... started out as a Broadcaster back in the early 50's, but CBS sued about the name so Leo changed it...

I would venture to opine that NONE of the "signature" model guitars, of any ilk, are worth the money... remember, Merle didn't play a signature model, he just played whatever Tele he had at hand! All that "signature" stuff is about making more money for someone that is not YOU!

You could find a perfectly wonderful Telecaster for less than $400... and they all play pretty much the same. Classic platform: one pickup for the neck area, one for the bridge area; one volume knob and one tone knob, one 3 way slider pickup selector...

It's quite common for players to swap out the pickups, bridges, tone and volume pots, pickup selector... even the necks! (They just bolt on, after all...).

But, there is a REALLY GOOD REASON why the Telecaster has been around and popular for 70+ years!!! Just look around and you'll find a LOT of Teles from which to choose, should you decide to go that route...

Merle actually played one of the "Tough Dog" Telecasters. They are a set thru neck design. Totally different than a regular Telecaster.

Originally Posted by jseth

You could find a perfectly wonderful Telecaster for less than $400... and they all play pretty much the same. Classic platform: one pickup for the neck area, one for the bridge area; one volume knob and one tone knob, one 3 way slider pickup selector...

I like that price; I like that kind of simplicity in the design, especially as a beginner. I don't want to get distracted with too many knobs, dials and gizmos that I'm unlikely to use. Since so much of the sound depends on the amp, according to what I'm being told here, I want to make sure I have enough budget for a good one. I think I will likely grow out of the first electric guitar, but I'd like to find an amp that can grow along with me. It's a very different proposition than buying an acoustic. With an acoustic, I think it's better to get a guitar you can grow into. The budget/cost proposition of electric guitars for a hobby player is totally different. I think there's a certain expectation that you will upgrade, change out, try out different combinations and it's more affordable to do that than with an acoustic. IMHO.

Oooooh, can't to try one. I'm am already feeling those bendy thin strings under my burning fingertips!

Originally Posted by davidd

Merle actually played one of the "Tough Dog" Telecasters. They are a set thru neck design. Totally different than a regular Telecaster.

Well, they do breed 'em tough down there in Bakersfield!
That's very fitting for Merle Haggard. LOL.

So is there a modern equivalent of the "Tough Dog" Telecaster, or is that something that is so classic and so popular, they still build them that way today? Or would I be going on a wild goose chase, looking for a guitar that has the equivalent of "dagmars" like a 59 Cadillac?

Originally Posted by Chickee

https://www.dhgate.com/product/custo...546651823.html

Here’s a link to a MH knockoff around $300

Never heard of these guitars before, but they sure have slick photo stock pictures.

fd

Oh, and as far as good taste in guitars, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ll keep the strats and jazzmasters, you can have the T-types for yourself. Bahahaha

fd

It's a deal!

[davidd]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Well, they do breed 'em tough down there in Bakersfield!
That's very fitting for Merle Haggard. LOL.

So is there a modern equivalent of the "Tough Dog" Telecaster, or is that something that is so classic and so popular, they still build them that way today? Or would I be going on a wild goose chase, looking for a guitar that has the equivalent of "dagmars" like a 59 Cadillac?

Sure they make them... $7,300.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...color-sunburst

[ghostnote]

Teles are great guitars, IMO, and I’m certainly not alone in thinking that. I have three of ‘em, ranging in price from $300 to $1200 at the time I bought them,,and I like them all for various reasons. I can say with absolute certainty that you don’t need to spend $7500 to get a great-sounding Tele. Remember, Merle only used the Tuff Dog Tele later in his career - and he did love that one. But the classic Haggard songs were done for the most part on a regular blonde Tele. BTW, the Tuff Dog was actually named for Merle’s dog, Tuffy - you can see Tuffy’s picture on the headstock. The Tele is such a simple design - if you have it set up nicely and the neck is straight and frets are smooth, etc, you can make it go from sounding good to sounding great just by changing pickups. Which is something I actually never do; I like the cheap pups on the cheap Teles - it’s what gives them their charm. My cheapest Tele has pups made in God-knows-where, but they are snarly and nasty in a way that sounds like nothing else.

[davidd]

Originally Posted by ghostnote

Teles are great guitars, IMO, and I’m certainly not alone in thinking that. I have three of ‘em, ranging in price from $300 to $1200 at the time I bought them,,and I like them all for various reasons. I can say with absolute certainty that you don’t need to spend $7500 to get a great-sounding Tele. Remember, Merle only used the Tuff Dog Tele later in his career - and he did love that one. But the classic Haggard songs were done for the most part on a regular blonde Tele. BTW, the Tuff Dog was actually named for Merle’s dog, Tuffy - you can see Tuffy’s picture on the headstock. The Tele is such a simple design - if you have it set up nicely and the neck is straight and frets are smooth, etc, you can make it go from sounding good to sounding great just by changing pickups. Which is something I actually never do; I like the cheap pups on the cheap Teles - it’s what gives them their charm. My cheapest Tele has pups made in God-knows-where, but they are snarly and nasty in a way that sounds like nothing else.

Having had a ton of Tele's over the years I can give major thumbs up for the Squier CV lineup. Especially the older ones which had Tonerider pickups and still used rosewood fretboards on the CVC Tele's. They don't just get you close, they get you all the way there. Better than most MIM Tele's I've had.

[Tadpole]

I have a couple of tele's and love their simplicity. They just get out of the way and let you play. I have an inexpensive one and an American Pro II, they both sound great and are a blast to play! You don't have to pay much to get something very good.
Happy searching!

[jdinco]

I would assume Merle did some of the picking, but his son was the lead guitar player in Merle's band. He played a Tele too, so conversation is the same I guess. :-)

[leew3]

My new, and only electric is a Classic Vibe Squire Tele and I love it. I'm not much of an electric player so this is close enough for me.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...rscotch-blonde

In contrast, Merle's long time lead player Redd Volkaert plays an 1955 Tele. There's a 1953 on Reverb for only $17K so you'd better move fast

[guitararmy]

There is also the Richie Kotzen signature tele, just recently made available for purchase in the states instead of just the Japanese market…