Fender Telecaster vs Gibson ES-335

[Little Jay]

I have both and love both (the tele is a modern Player Thinline with P90s but with a Squier neck with rosewood fingerboard). I sometimes have a hard time deciding what to take to the gig. In general, the 335 (mine's actually a 333 with 57s) sees a little more action as it has a fatter tone. My Tele is great for more poppy and funky stuff and for gigs where I play a lot of chord work and don't do too much clean single note soloing (although it can sound very jazzy at that too...).

They both have flatwounds, .012 on the Gibson and .013 on the Fender

Come to think of it, it is actually madness to own both :-) , I could live with either of them. A plus for the Tele is it's light weight and bang-it-around quality, plus it's cheap, so it's the better travel guitar.

Final word: the Gibson has a little je-ne-sais-quoi that the Tele misses, but perhaps a more expensive Tele would have that too?

[kenbennett]

.012 on the Gibson and .013 on the Fender

Little Jay, I always did it other way around with the heavier gauge strings one shorter scale Gibson.

By they way, what's the tally? Who's winning?

[Little Jay]

Little Jay, I always did it other way around with the heavier gauge strings one shorter scale Gibson.

By they way, what's the tally? Who's winning?

Oops, I confused it, me too: 0.013 on the Gibson, 0.012 on the Fender ;-)

For me the Gibson is winning, somehow that always sounds good, while the Tele can sound a tiny bit thin on some amps. But it could be in my head, since the Gibson cost me around 3 times as much, so my brain tells me it must sound better......

[Greentone]

Some Telecasters can sound tinny. Here's the trick: switch to the bridge pickup. Plug into an amp with no pedals. Play. If it sounds tinny, the guitar is probably one made from about 1975 until the purchase of the company in the 80s. At that point, Fender started paying attention to pickups again.

IMO, Telecasters from the 50s _don't_ sound tinny, at all. 60s Telecasters are definitely brighter (on the bridge pickup, that is) than the 50s examples. 70s examples can actually sound tinny (again, on the bridge pickup). By the mid-80s and onward, the '52RI guitars anyway seem to recapture the girth of the original bridge pickups.

FWIW, a rosewood board Telecaster on the neck pickup, from almost any vintage, sounds pretty full. Try it.

[John A.]

Statutorily required interruption: "growing up in a musical house" and "played a banjo" is a contradiction in terms [ducks].

Had to comment on this...I liked the comment.

In fact, growing up in a musical household probably arrests development--in a sense, you probably don't grow up, but remain a kid at heart, with all that music going on. Especially in my case. My parents made a deal: for each song of "theirs" I learned, they would learn one of "mine." So, my parents knew Stones, Animals, Beatles, Ry Cooder, etc. Meanwhile, I knew how to play 20s, 30s, and 40s standards. Came in handy, later on.

Playing a banjo. Hmm? Tenor and Plectrum banjo are _great_ instruments in their own rights. There was always Eddie Peabody or Harry Reser playing on the "hi-fi" at home. Banjo always constituted part of the rhythm section in New Orleans bands (I am from Louisiana). Only when the archtop guitar came out did banjo players in jazz bands switch to the guitar--e.g., the Van Eps brothers (Fred and George), Tiny Grimes, and others.

Ask Howard Alden or Rob McKillop if the four-string banjo is not a valid jazz instrument?

Yes, but in rock, all the jokes are about drummers (and bassists), in jazz they're about about guitarists (and bassists), in classical they're about violists, and in country they're about banjo players (everybody tells jokes about singers). I'm just fulfilling the requirement that one tell jokes about banjo players. It's the law. I had to do it.

John

[Al_F]

Have both.

Good Tele's can be found for so little money, sound so good , that it is hard to argue against not having both.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Have both.

Good Tele's can be found for so little money, sound so good , that it is hard to argue against not having both.

That seems to be an argument just for the Tele:

Kia or Mercedes? Kias are so cheap you should have both!

[D.G.]

Tele.

I can't bond with humbuckers, and I don't like the "feel" of 335 type guitars. I owned a very nice LP Studio for a while, and it was a great guitar, but I always felt like I was playing a piece of fine furniture, whereas a Fender is like gripping a live thing that at any moment might turn around and bite you

As for Tele's being "thin" it really depends of the pickup and the amp. Of course, it'll never have the same decay envelope as an archtop, but then again, they're different beasts.

I've lately found my Tele into a modded Pro Junior to be a really good jazz rig, and I always get complements on my tone. The Tele is a Baja FSR Swamp Ash, reversed control plate, which I loaded with a Lollar Special T in the neck and a Lollar J Street in the bridge. The Pro Junior is a 90's USA Tweed loaded with a Jensen c10r, nos 12AY7 in v1 and nos 12AU7 in v2.

[rsclosson]

I can get a great sound out of either. For me, the 335 just feels right. Mine is an Epiphone but it sounds great and works for me. Different strokes...

[ah.clem]

I'd like to offer a compromise; if you like the 335, sell or trade the Tele for the 335 then pick up a used Squire Classic Vibe Tele and set it up as you wish. I got my Classic Vibe for $200 and, once I set it up with TI Jazz Flat 12s, it sounds and plays great. Worst case, at some point in the future you can swap out the neck pickup if you feel the need to. Just thinking out loud here, but that Classic Vibe series Tele is a nice player, IMO.

[crisscross]

I have a cheap Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster, that Fender doesn't seem to produce anymore. It has two P-90 pickups. When I turn down the trebles a little, it sounds real jazzy on the neck pickup. The sound of my Godin 5t Ave Kingpin is a little more luxurious I'd say, but I prefer the feeling of the Tele hanging on its strap around my shoulders.

[yebdox]

I have both, but I'm with Greentone... slight edge to the Tele for sheer versatility. Now, I need another Tele and another 335, as I've liked both of mine too much to mess with heavier gauge strings on them, although both are modded with different pickups, wiring, etc.

You just have to admire the Tele for being so good at so many things. And, you can defend yourself against a street gang with one, probably stop a bullet, as well. (not that I frequent those kinds of establishments anymore - college years bar band days the exception.)

[ES125er]

I bought a 335 (well, Heritage H535) 15 years ago and still love it.
I finally bought a tele a couple of years ago, and have not bonded with it yet. Even after two years, it still feels awkward and sounds "wrong" in my hands. I still feel like I'm experimenting with it rather than just playing it.

But it's probably just me, of course: I love hearing teles in the hands of other players, which is why I bought one in the first place!

[crisscross]

I just cannot decide

or

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

How would you mix it up?

Tele: thinline (not sure how much this matters), 24 3/4" scale, HB neck pup, rosewood fretboard, maybe mahogany neck, tune-o-matic bridge.

ES-335: 25 1/2" scale, single coils (maybe P-90 or Jazzmaster's), maple neck and fretboard, some sort of non t-o-m bridge.

I'm sure there are T-style guitars like that (or close), but I doubt if 335-style guitars like that exist.

Just musing...

[Northenlights]

As many people has already pointed out, the tele and the 335 is probably the two most versatile types of guitars there is, which makes them quite intersting to compare. To me, the choice is between complexity and simplicity in the sound. A 335 sounds, to me, very harmonically complex, with a lot of overtones. Telecasters, on the other hand, has a very basic harmonic character, probably because it is really nothing more than a plank with strings on, and the most simple type of pickup imaginable. This is not implying that teles sounds bad, quite the contrary. It is a no-nonsense type of instrument, with as little as possible getting in the way between you and your playing. Think of it as the difference between the raw but beautiful tone of a ES-125, and the elegance of a ES-175. This kinda makes a good tele the perhaps most expressive guitar there is, that can really bring out all the finest nuances of your playing. The 335 has a richer sound in itself, which will blend with your musical expression rather than just project it. So in the end, I believe it is about prefering simplicity of complexity. While I do love my semi-hollow (Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III, which is very much like a fatter 335), if I had to chose, I would pick my tele. It's a partcaster put together of some very odd pieces, probably not worth anything, but man does it sound good, especially as I got a hold of a couple of David White pickups for it.

[AlainJazz]

Tough choice. Both are great really. I had the same choice and went with a Tele. I first went that route because a Tele is cheaper, but in the end I like the Tele sounds better for jazz. Btw, those thinlines do not have what I consider a classic Tele tone, and are surprisingly less versatile than a plain plank. I've just tried about 20 Teles and thought the thinline was the toughest to get a decent jazz tone out of. I highly recommend the American special telecaster. Really nice.

[cosmic gumbo]

The 335 is a great sounding instrument, but when I head out of the living room and into the world to try and make music with and for other people, the tele is the tool that helps me get the job done with the least hassle, regardless of genre.

[Stevebol]

It's down to a strat or Casino for me. I tried a Casino the other day and it was nice. Tough choice. I have to have single coil pickups.

[Al_F]

Also 1 thing to think about if it is a either or decision, Tele bridge pickup is vicious, can't get that anywhere near that kind of bite with a 335.

[P.J.]

I can turn the tone down on my Tele and get a convincing jazz tone. (Whatever that means, exactly, I know.) Neck pickup with tone rolled almost off will do it for almost any guitar. I personally can't get on with the dimensions of a 335. (What works best for you may be completely different.)

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I can turn the tone down on my Tele and get a convincing jazz tone. (Whatever that means, exactly, I know.) Neck pickup with tone rolled almost off will do it for almost any guitar. I personally can't get on with the dimensions of a 335. (What works best for you may be completely different.)

Have you picked up and tried a ES-339 for size? I don't have one, but the body size hits a sweet spot.

[Drifter]

Definitely Tele for me. Tele or 330 would be a different story.

[Chimera1to1]

I think the 335 doesn't get enough respect for its double cut neck access to the upper frets. It's almost too good because it gets very cramped on a 24.75 scale. There's a lot of design overlap on most guitar models but I think the 335 is quite unique. Very much a Marmite guitar in terms of ergonomics.

Teles are like old BMWs with no electronic PAS, traction control or ABS. It's seat of the pants guitar. The more you play a tele the more you appreciate it. Fenders have such sonic clarity.

[entresz]

I find 335s tend to sound more like a solid body than an archtop. I would go for a Tele over a 335 for that reason. A Les Paul would be a great choice too, I have been wanting to get a P-90 Les Paul to use as a jazz instrument for some time now.