Electric confusion

[airborne1]

I’ll be 70 years of age in less than two weeks and have been playing acoustic guitar on my own for about a year and a half. I recently found a teacher in my area (35 miles one way) and I feel I’m making slow but sure progress. I like classic rock, bluesy rock, and blues. Looking at guitars I am drawn to the Fenders, both Strat and Tele. I have yet to start a physical search but my research online is confusing at best. I read that the Strat is hard to keep tuned because of the tremelo bar. The Tele supposedly has issues with the cord receptacle and is considered a “country” guitar. Pickup choices have my head spinning, nut width, fret sizes, maple or other type neck. I guess I should have started years ago. Can’t even begin to discuss amps!!! I know there are other choices such as Squire, G&L, etc., including fenders made in Asia, Mexico and the USA. I will say I am not interested in purchasing something that must be “upgraded” in any way. Called me confused!

[MikeBmusic]

Get thee to a guitar store and try out the Strat and Teles there, see which 'feels' better to you first.
The tremolo-tuning issue with a Strat is only an issue if you do a lot of deep bends with it. Teles are completely capable of a good rock or blues sound - with the right pickups and amp, of course. Play the stock pickups through a clean amp setting, and you will hear the country twang, of course.

[Jaden]

I’ve been very impressed with the Fender Telecaster and the Fender Bassbreaker 007 amplifier combination. The amp has bass and gain which thickens up the single coil signal and puts you squarely into rock territory and away from country twang.

[raysachs]

Strats and teles feel pretty similar (to me - some disagree) in that their necks really share a lot of the same DNA. But they SOUND considerably different. I have one of each, am glad to have one of each, but if I had to choose, I'm a strat guy all day long. Neither of the problems you mention is a reason not to get the guitar. The strat tremolo can be "decked" or "blocked" so it basically doesn't come into play at all if you don't use it. If you want to use it and you leave it floating, changing strings and getting them in tune is a little bit more of an adventure and the guitar CAN come out of tune if you do a lot of heavy tremolo bar use. But it's only as much of a problem as you want it to be. The Tele socket issues can be forever solved with a $10 replacement part and if you leave it plugged in, it may never even be a problem you need to solve.

But the strat has sounds you'll never find on another guitar. It's neck pickup is awesome by itself and either of the in between positions (neck/middle, middle/bridge) produce a "strat quack" type of sound that's unique and wonderful except that some people hate them. I love them. An awful lot of great Knopfler, Clapton, Hendrix, and Cray sounds come from those "in-between" positions. The middle and bridge pickups are OK on their own, but are generally not considered the strengths of a strat. The tele is a much simpler guitar - two pickups, three switch positions, one volume knob one one tone knob. The tele has a much beefier bridge pickup, so it screams a little more intently and it twangs more. It's a great sounding guitar but arguably less versatile than the strat, but when I say arguably, MANY would argue the point! The tele has a reputation as more of a country guitar and the strat as a rock guitar, but really you can play classic rock and blues quite well on either of them.

I'd go play a couple of each in whatever your price range is (through the same amp) and you'll start to get an idea of the differences and you MIGHT even notice a clear preference. But you might not, at which point flip a coin!

[pf400]

What guitar do you have right now? For those types of music you mentioned, you will do very well with either a strat or a tele. I have both and if I had to chose I'd keep the strat. Goes slightly out of tune with tremelo use but just keep an electronic tuner handy for the minor adjustments you will need. You can get amps for low prices used and there are tons of good amps out there. Lots of classic rock calls for overdrive, or distortion. A Boss Blues Driver will get you there and they are not expensive used. Also, there are good, free, resources on line. Justinguitar for one, is highly recommended. Have fun

[roylor4]

Lots of Blues players use/have used Teles and Strats both.

The amp you pair with the guitar has a LOT of influence on sound too. Some are "British voiced" (usually guitars that use el84 or el34 tubes) and "American voiced" (Typically uses 6v6 or 6L6 tubes). Some analog SS amps sound pretty good too - I like the Orange Crush series. If you are playing at home a 5 watt tube amp will give you plenty of volume.

It would be hard to go wrong with a mad in Mexico Strat or Tele. I have a G&L Bluesboy and really like it. I would buy a G&L Tribute before I would a Squier Classic Vibe (made in China) - but that's me - I think the hardware is superior on the G&L's (& yeah, I own a Squier too).

A MIM Fender or G&L Tribute will not need to be modified for good tone.

I highly recommend getting a Strat or Tele with both single coil and humbuckers pickups. This will give you a LOT of tonal versatility and the ability to go from very clean to adding some dirt just by changing the pickup used.

You will also want an Overdrive pedal if you are going to play Blues (IMO). The Electro Harmonix Soul Food is a good one. I also love the EH Hot Wax pedal - gives you 3 different OD tones in one pedal. If you get a single channel amp, an OD pedal is a must.

Feel free to send me a personal message if you would like to ask more questions concerning these preferences.

I prefer Jumbo type frets for ease of play.

[perttime]

There's lots of preference at play.

Stratocaster and telecaster type guitars will work for most music styles (doesn't necessarily have to be made by Fender either) - but when you get to a shop to try some guitars, do try something totally different too. Who nows, you might enjoy a semi-hollow Ibanez even better....

Here's some of my preferences, just for things to consider. Others will totally disagree with at least some of my views, which is fine.

I seem to adapt well to different neck profiles. For fretboard radius, 9.5" radius, or more, has so far felt more natural to me, than the 7. something on some Fenders.

I find a tremolo (vibrato) mechanism a distraction, so go for "hardtail" guitars. I even got a hardtail Stratocaster

The strat shape is well balanced for me. I like to play standing, so good balance on the strap helps.

I don't really like the middle pickup and "in between" positions of a strat, so I don't really want more than 2 pickups. The sharpness of single coil pickups is nice, but sometimes the thicker voice of a humbucker fits better. I have not played with P90 pickups, yet, but the sound is appealing. Sort of throaty single coils.

The amp is half the instrument. The guitar drives the amp, much like the strings drive the top of an acoustic. My 1 Watt Marshall can get louder than I can use in the apartment - and gives me good overdrive sounds without pedals. On the other hand, some like a big and heavy Fender Twin for home use - certainly using pedals when they want overdrive. There are some good solid state amps around too: much less maintenance needed and sounds can be very good. I've been staying away from modeling amps (computers that mimic amp sounds and then make it louder). My solid state preference is analog amps from the likes of Quilter, Custom Tones, Roland, DV Mark, and Award-Session.

Oh, for me the most convenient "rig" for playing at low volumes is a preamp pedal (with speaker emulation) plugged into some computer speakers. The preamp gives the sound, powered speakers reproduce it at any volume. Many "real" amps, especially tube amps, sound muffled at low volume.

[Bob Womack]

I've written up a couple of articles about choosing your first electric guitar. You can find them HERE and HERE. Have fun trying them out!

Bob

[M Sarad]

I own, and am satisfied with, Made in Mexico Tele and Strat. I replaced the stick pickups on both.

[Big Band Guitar]

Why choose get both.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Big Band Guitar

Why choose get both.

And Les Paul, SG, Firebird, and a 339. A Precision bass wouldn't hurt either.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by perttime

And Les Paul, SG, Firebird, and a 339. A Precision bass wouldn't hurt either.

+1.

Airborne (OP), you're right in that it can be confusion given everything that is available out there (it's a blessing and a curse). What makes you think you want a Strat/Tele as opposed to a Les Paul/SG?

Don't worry about trying to keep a Strat in tune because of the tremolo. Read about Les Pauls - people say they're difficult to keep in tune because of the string angle off the nut. Yet tons of pros play both guitars.

What's your price range? That's a great starting point. As mentioned, an amp will be a significant factor in your tone; i.e. ~50% of you tone so include that in your price.

Just don't get paralysis that you don't get anything.

[Steel and wood]

You can't go wrong playing a Telecaster or a Stratocaster and a MIM guitar is close to your best option. (Find a guitar that speaks to you with a comfortable neck profile and don't worry about modifications). Having said all that, a Stratocaster I feel is more versatile given its five way switch and vibrato which you can have set up so the guitar stays in tune if you want to use or if you don't want to use it then it stops becoming a problem.

Good luck!

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Steel and wood

You can't go wrong playing a Telecaster or a Stratocaster and a MIM guitar is close to your best option. (Find a guitar that speaks to you with a comfortable neck profile and don't worry about modifications). Having said all that, a Stratocaster I feel is more versatile given its five way switch and vibrato which you can have set up so the guitar stays in tune if you want to use or if you don't want to use it then it stops becoming a problem.

Good luck!

I would echo this advice; the Strat has a nice natural reverb due to its body cavity with spring loaded tremolo bridge which you can tighten down to pickguard level (deck) and don’t have to worry about.

Considering you have been playing guitar for one year and a half it’s probably best to stick to learning on one rather than collecting all sorts of different electric guitars unless you have an interest in that.

The Strat has a natural singing voice helped by its softer feel on the strings. It’s the most popular electric guitar design in the world for that reason.

[perttime]

Originally Posted by Jaden

...

The Strat has a natural singing voice helped by its softer feel on the strings. It’s the most popular electric guitar design in the world for that reason.

That would depend on the strings you are using. Like, I have 11 to 49 gauge strings on strat size guitars, and 10 to 46 on a shorter guitar. That makes the shorter guitar softer.