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  #31  
Old 12-05-2019, 09:27 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Originally Posted by stevecuss View Post
The problem is, when I own a Strat, I yearn for a Tele and vice versa.
THIS! I have a 2000 American Strat and picked it over the Telecaster at the time because of its (perceived) somewhat broader range of tone. Anyway I've always wanted a Tele too and will likely give in and snag at least a new MIM Player Series sometime soon. No logic to it, I admit!
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  #32  
Old 12-05-2019, 09:31 AM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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How about a hardtail Strat.?? Makes me wonder if it would respond more like a Tele for the more experienced....


...I have a hardtail strat and a tele that have identical necks..(Allparts Lindy Fralin)....and pickups both made by my favorite winder..(Budz pickups)....both are super lightweight....the strat is all strat sounding and the tele is all tele sounding with really no crossover....
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  #33  
Old 12-05-2019, 10:36 AM
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THIS! I have a 2000 American Strat and picked it over the Telecaster at the time because of its (perceived) somewhat broader range of tone. Anyway I've always wanted a Tele too and will likely give in and snag at least a new MIM Player Series sometime soon. No logic to it, I admit!
PLENTY of logic to it! They're two guitars that can play very similarly - almost identically if you block the trem on the strat - but have sort of similar and yet their own individual tone palettes. So if you like the feel of them it's not a reach to want the sounds that each have to offer. Which, as I think this thread has clearly demonstrated, has only one real solution. One of each!

-Ray
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  #34  
Old 12-05-2019, 10:38 AM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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I could (and I have already...) go on about the subtle differences. No one has even mentioned yet that the classic Strat bridge PU has no tone control, and the Tele's tone control is a useful tool. See, that's what guitar forums do. These differences real to a degree. The difference in a floating trem vs. a hardtail is fairly significant.

I've owned and played a whole lot of Tele and Tele style guitars, and a fair number of Strats too. Here's a secret that guitar forums won't tell you:

Even an informed listener can confuse the two listening blind, particularly when you start adding things like band context, mix, gain structure and EQ of the amp and chain. And then go on to adding lots of pedals and effects and all bets are off.

And that's true with their classic pickups and configurations, which of course are subject to change or numerous special models which can confuse things more.

I have a bunch of electric guitars and I record electric guitar a lot. Not at a high, professional level I think, but with electric guitar it's usually in a band context (drums, bass, keys, often another guitar). I like different sounds, different styles. Because I'm engineer, musician, producer, and gofer in my workflow, I don't have the time or focus to take good notes. I have to work fast too.

When it comes time to mix sessions later, it's far from assured that I can zero in and say what guitar I was playing, even when I listen to solo'ed tracks. Use of a trem bar I can most often tell. Often single coil vs humbucker is apparent, but Strat or Tele or Jaguar? What if it's a P90 or DeArmond/Dynasonic or even a split humbucker?

One should always remind themselves of those back in the day who wanted a Les Paul because they loved the first Led Zeppelin LP or the solo on Stairway and then were shocked to learn it was a Telecaster!

Pick one (or if you're lucky, pick two) after playing some examples, or take a shot in the dark if you must. Either are good.

As another thread has recently reminded me, let Yogi Berry be your guide: when you come to a fork in the road, take it.
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  #35  
Old 12-05-2019, 10:44 AM
M Sarad M Sarad is offline
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I prefer the feel of a Strat and the sound of a Tele.

I guess that’s why I have both. Depends on the song. For mid 60s blues ala Mike Bloomfield, Buck and Merle, I use the Tele. For Grateful Dead from the early 70s, I use the Strat.
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  #36  
Old 12-05-2019, 11:36 AM
3notes 3notes is offline
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[QUOTE=dave42;6229959]Nashville Deluxe. 12" radius fretboard and tone. I wanted the neck/bridge option. So I swapped the bridge and middle pickup leads on the switch to end up with this...
1: Middle alone. Strat tone.
2: Standard Quack (bridge/middle) Strat tone.
3: Bridge
4: Bridge/neck
5: Neck

I don't miss middle/neck position at all. All the Strat and Tele tones anyone would want.

For me, I don't care for the volume control so close to the bridge on the Strat.

This true.!!!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I had a late 90's Strat and I was constantly in contact with the volume knob. Hated that. Sold that guitar 10 years ago.

I find this interesting..... This past week I bought a Yamaha Pacifica solid body electric, Strat style. Plays great. There's an excellent review on YouTube in which the guy says.... "The body of the Pacifica is an inch or 2 shorter than a Fender Strat. Why is that a good thing.?? He says its all about where your hand is positioned over the strings. On the Yamaha the shorter body puts your pick hand over the neck pickup or between the neck pickup and the middle pickup. Perfect. On a Fender the longer length of the body puts your hand close to the bridge where one can 'bump' into the volume knob." It just adds quality to the Yamaha guitar.
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  #37  
Old 12-05-2019, 12:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankHudson View Post
I could (and I have already...) go on about the subtle differences. No one has even mentioned yet that the classic Strat bridge PU has no tone control, and the Tele's tone control is a useful tool. See, that's what guitar forums do. These differences real to a degree. The difference in a floating trem vs. a hardtail is fairly significant.
Very true, but a lot of folks who have been playing strats for a while rewire theirs to meet their own needs. I haven't had a strat withOUT the bridge pickup wired to a tone control in a very long time. My current strat has two no-load tone pots - the first is wired to both the neck and bridge pickups, the second to the middle pickup. Since the neck and bridge are never in use at the same time, this allows me to control the tone independently on any pickup in any switch position on the five way switch. For maximum quack in the 2 and 4 positions, I generally leave the middle pickup wide open so there's essentially no tone control on it. The exception is the rare situation where I'm playing the middle pickup by itself. I usually roll off the bridge quite a bit in the 1 position and sometimes in the 2. I usually roll it off less, but still some for the neck pickup in the 4 or 5 positions. So I work the first tone control quite a bit as I move between either of the positions using the bridge pickup and those using the neck pickup. And I very rarely touch the second tone control, leaving the middle position wide open similar to the Jimmie Vaughan strat wiring.

As for the floating bridge vs hardtail, that's definitely a big difference if you use your tremolo bar. But I don't detect much if any difference between a hardtail strat (which I own) and a blocked or decked trem (which I've done to a number of strats in the past). So, if you immobilize your trem block, the differences between strat and tele are pretty much down to the sound of the pickups and the various pickup positions. I find with a tone control wired in, I can get a reasonable facsimile of a tele bridge pickup sound from a strat bridge pickup - not the same but often close enough. But there's no workaround to get a tele to sound like the strat quack positions...

-Ray
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  #38  
Old 12-06-2019, 09:51 AM
J Patrick J Patrick is offline
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Originally Posted by raysachs View Post
As for the floating bridge vs hardtail, that's definitely a big difference if you use your tremolo bar. But I don't detect much if any difference between a hardtail strat (which I own) and a blocked or decked trem (which I've done to a number of strats in the past). So, if you immobilize your trem block, the differences between strat and tele are pretty much down to the sound of the pickups and the various pickup positions. I find with a tone control wired in, I can get a reasonable facsimile of a tele bridge pickup sound from a strat bridge pickup - not the same but often close enough. But there's no workaround to get a tele to sound like the strat quack positions...

-Ray
...I would only add that the standard/classic bridge and saddle configurations are also part of the tonal difference between strats and teles...not as big as pickup differences...but definitely part of the equation....
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  #39  
Old 12-06-2019, 10:29 AM
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To me, this is the reason why I have one of each.


https://youtu.be/6iTHrQv0pJo
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  #40  
Old 12-06-2019, 11:14 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Choosing a Strat vs. a Tele is like choosing shoes to run a marathon in. You better go try 'em on.

I am a Telecaster guy, through and through.

But also...Jazzmasters...yum.
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  #41  
Old 12-06-2019, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
Choosing a Strat vs. a Tele is like choosing shoes to run a marathon in. You better go try 'em on.

I am a Telecaster guy, through and through.

But also...Jazzmasters...yum.
The odds are you're not gonna have different shoes for different parts of the marathon. But you very well may have both a strat and a tele for different parts of a set or for different songs on an album or for different parts on a recording of a single tune.

I fully agree it's a good idea to spend some time with one before you buy it to see if you like it, but I think the analogy breaks down with any sort of exclusivity clause... I'm a strat guy through, through, and through. And I'm a tele guy through and through... Too.

-Ray
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  #42  
Old 12-06-2019, 11:43 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Originally Posted by raysachs View Post
The odds are you're not gonna have different shoes for different parts of the marathon. But you very well may have both a strat and a tele for different parts of a set or for different songs on an album or for different parts on a recording of a single tune.

I fully agree it's a good idea to spend some time with one before you buy it to see if you like it, but I think the analogy breaks down with any sort of exclusivity clause... I'm a strat guy through, through, and through. And I'm a tele guy through and through... Too.

-Ray
Very true, my metaphor was only to suggest you gotta play 'em to know if you're a tele guy, strat guy, or somewhere on the tele/strat spectrum...
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  #43  
Old 12-06-2019, 01:06 PM
guitararmy guitararmy is offline
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Originally Posted by rrgguitarman View Post
To me, this is the reason why I have one of each.


https://youtu.be/6iTHrQv0pJo
I like the way you think. I was going to suggest the same thing.
A pair of classic vibe Squier ones would do the trick...
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  #44  
Old 12-06-2019, 06:59 PM
MrDB MrDB is offline
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The MIM Player Strats and Teles are very good. One of each could be bought for the cost of one Am Std. I know the OP wants an American made guitar but I had to throw out a plug for the Player series.
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  #45  
Old 12-06-2019, 08:57 PM
chippygreen chippygreen is offline
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Originally Posted by rrgguitarman View Post
To me, this is the reason why I have one of each.


https://youtu.be/6iTHrQv0pJo
Yup. And my MIJ and MIM serve me just fine, once professionally set up.
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