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Same experience here years ago. Removed the chromes in a hurry from my tele an never looked back
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07-04-2015 08:06 AM
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+1. I'm just starting to use my new partscaster tele for jazz practice. Spanish cedar body, two P-90s, maple neck with rosewood board. Quite versatile. The roundwound .11s feel and sound just right. For a darker sound, I just roll off some tone. Not an archtop by any means, but it's a great sound for a solidbody.
Originally Posted by FrankLearns
MD
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I have tried a lot of different strings on me Teles, but have settled on Chrome 10's on one used for Rockabilly/twangier sounds, and DR Pure Blues pure nickel 11's on my Jazz Tele.
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TI Swing 12's on my Hot Rod American 52 Tele
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Ditto. I put them on my maple chambered-body Tele. It did more to give me a jazz sound than any other things I tried. (But, as several others have said, it is not a full-hollow body sound. Hard to explain, but when I got the .14s on I knew I had a sound that was way closer to jazz than the typical Tele sound.) Originally Posted by drbhrb
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I like my Tele but this is not a jazz guitar in fact.
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I agree that the law of diminishing returns kicks in beyond 11's on a Tele. I do think that a big part of getting a great "jazz sound" from a Tele also comes from playing with a light touch so you don't get that Tele splat sound. It's awesome for country but not what most people think of for jazz. I think you can avoid that a few ways. My touch isn't very light after a few drinks on the gig so I take preventative measures and use thicker strings with a slightly higher action and a thinner pick than I would on an archtop. Tele's can be amazing for jazz but it is a different game.
Last edited by petermelton; 07-06-2015 at 01:32 AM. Reason: Bad at typing
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Hi folks. I am going to buy some new strings for my tele this weekend and would like some opinions.
I would like to use my tele strictly for jazz guitar and have been debating whether to use flats wounds, half round or round wound strings and moving up a gauge or two. Currently it's strung with .09-.042 Ernie Ball Super Slinkys which are fine for blues/rock but I am interested in playing more chord melody with a little single string improv. Seeing as there isn't a lot of string bending in jazz guitar I suppose a wound G string is also preferable? I am leaning towards flat wounds since I do like the tone and feel but I am curious to hear an alternative opinion.
I was going to try to make a poll but I think that the responses will be so varied that it would be too complicated. So, what do you folks put on your teles. Has anyone here used the "half round" strings? Who likes heavier strings and why? Who uses flat wounds or round wounds and why? What are some of your favorite string gauges and brands for your telecaster?
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D'Addario Pure Nickel 12's. Roundwound and wound G. Play them in daily and they lose their zing quickly. You get some snap and warmth. You'll be amazed!
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I've got flatwounds on my T-style --Thomastik-Infeld George Benson 14s. (Yes, 14s.) Flats do make a Tele sound jazzier.
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I'm running D'Addario EHR370 Half-Rounds Medium 0.11-0.49 on one of my Teles, and S.I.T. (Stay In Tune) ) 0.11-0.49 on the other. Both sets have a plain G. The D'As have a smoother feel and are mellow-ish but well defined. The S.I.T.s start out bright but settle in to a nice round tone, and really do stay in tune, and last a very long time. I like both sets. I was running D'A Chromes on my '66 Telecaster Custom, but needed to do some bending for a project and switched to the S.I.T.s, which have stayed on ever since. I have also used GHS Brite Flats in various gauges, and like them a lot. I play fingerstyle flesh-only and vary the tonality with hand placement, so strings can last a long time.
Good luck with your string choice.
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flats are great on tele..perfect for jazz, but also jump blues, western swing & rockabilly...coming from 9 roundwounds, i wouldn't go that heavy initially...10-44 thomastiks or some 11's is a good start...gives you the flatwound feel and bit of thunk, yet remain twangy and bendable...
i think what puts players off flats is they go too heavy..so you have to adjust not only to feel and sound, but also increased tension...
moderation! hah
cheers
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On a Telecaster, I think flatwound 12s are a sweet spot. I prefer a wound third, the plain is only there if you're going to be bending it.
Last edited by BigDaddyLoveHandles; 02-24-2017 at 06:55 PM.
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Originally Posted by neatomic
Yes since I am currently going to be getting rid of the .09's I was also considering trying a set of D'Addario XL Chromes flat wound .010-.048. with a wound 3rd string. They are also pretty easy to find here. I am still open to different brands and gauges though.
Some helpful responses so far! Keep them coming! Thanks!
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The D'Addarios are a relatively cheap experiment compared to TIs, Pyramids, etc. I'd start there. I have flats (TI 13s) on my semi-hollow Tele currently; they are OK but my next set will be round wounds (TI BB113s or maybe BB112s, that guitar feels kind of stiff and heavy with the 13s). My solid Tele is wearing D'Addario pure nickel 12s roundwound and I am not thrilled but they aren't bad.
Ed Bickert used light strings (10s) with a plain 3rd and he got a great jazz tone. Jim Hall sometimes used a plain third and usually used light strings (10s or 11s) and his tone was legendary. Big fat strings, which I tend to prefer the feel of, are not necessary. I prefer a wound 3rd, I have found.
With light strings, a light touch with both hands is needed.
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+1 for the D'Addario Pure Nickel strings. I don't own a Tele, but I have those strings on everything I do own except for some acoustics. I prefer the .012 set for most guitars, but they might be a bigger jump than you can stand, coming from .009s. For the price, ~$6 and change, they're worth a try, IMO.
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Yeah, forgot to mention that D'Addario flats suit my Tele more than the Thomastic set I tried.
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I personally have used GHS Burnished Nickel Rockers (10-46) for years. Not as slick as flats and not as rough as rounds. Hard to find in local shops - usually have to order them.They work very well for me on both my Teles.....YMMV
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I put TI bebop 12s on my Jazz Tele and love the sound I get. Full and warm and yet comfortable to play.
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Here's a question. I just got a gorgeous MIM tele and I put compensated brass saddles on it. But I also put on a set of 12's with a wound G. I figure the jazz forum is the place to ask: does the wound G cause intonation issues with compensated saddles?
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I took Tim Lerch's advice for my telecaster and it worked out well.
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It depends. For a wound G @ 12 gauge the original saddles are manageable. Changing to the right type of harmonic saddle will help. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Let me explain with pictures....
Wilkinson harmonic saddles only provide saddles for a plain G intonation. I had to buy two sets to be able to have a wound G. There was a strange overtone after the change I could not find.
Being on a budget and passing up on Callaham mega coin mix and match saddles I found these.
Kluson Harmonic Telecaster saddles. The beauty of this design is that you can flip the D & G saddle for either plain or wound G.
And they were cheaper than the Wilkinson set.
Everyone's a winner!Last edited by jazzbow; 02-25-2017 at 04:48 AM.
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Just a related question,
would it be correct that the original Telecasters (in the 50's) were factory strung with flatwounds ?
does the usual wound 3rd in a flatwound set intone better with a 50's style, 3 saddle Tele bridge than an unwound 3rd ?
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Yep. I've seen bent intonation screws that shifts the middle saddle to allow better tuning of plain G strings Originally Posted by pubylakeg
Heavy gague strings need less offset for wound G so the original saddles work well.
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Originally Posted by Cunamara
This is good info! Thanks!
Yes, I am aware that Ed used pretty light strings like .010's or .011's round wounds with a plain G string. I love Ed's tone but I am still leaning towards flats (w/ wound 3rd) simply as an experiment. I may buy 2-3 different sets of different gauges to try out over time.
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