Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[Gitfiddler]

Here's the perfect Tele for noodling unplugged on the sofa...
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[Paulie2]

Thought my fellow tele lovers might enjoy this clip on my semi hollow tele

[Cunamara]

Was wondering about strings for a Tele.

I have been really liking SIT strings for the past year; I use the 11-50 set currently on all my guitars, archtop and solidbody alike. They are dirt cheap, warm rather than particularly bright, last a long time.

[unfunfionn]

Here are my two. After playing mostly a Strat and a Les Paul for 20+ years, I finally bought my first Tele (the blue one) in mid-2019. I regretted not doing it sooner. It's so natural to play that I honestly could have just skipped the Strat and Les Paul altogether. The blue one is a limited American Pro Tele with a Shawbucker in the neck. It's warmer and fuller than a single coil but sounds nowhere near as big as a regular humbucker.

I got the Broadcaster last week. I wanted a butterscotch Tele, and the option of a neck pickup with more bite, and figured the Broadcaster reissue was special enough for the money. I'm still adapting to it. The neck finish is slower than my nearly unfinished Tele neck. It's also a chunkier neck in general and my hands aren't the biggest. But the sound is really special and it's a beautiful guitar.

I think a Tele is the perfect Jazz guitar, especially if you want to embrace your non-Jazz influences as we all should.

[Michael Neverisky]

I think a Tele is the perfect Jazz guitar, especially if you want to embrace your non-Jazz influences as we all should.

With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is, actually, Telecaster.

[citizenk74]

Here are my two. After playing mostly a Strat and a Les Paul for 20+ years, I finally bought my first Tele (the blue one) in mid-2019. I regretted not doing it sooner. It's so natural to play that I honestly could have just skipped the Strat and Les Paul altogether. The blue one is a limited American Pro Tele with a Shawbucker in the neck. It's warmer and fuller than a single coil but sounds nowhere near as big as a regular humbucker.

I got the Broadcaster last week. I wanted a butterscotch Tele, and the option of a neck pickup with more bite, and figured the Broadcaster reissue was special enough for the money. I'm still adapting to it. The neck finish is slower than my nearly unfinished Tele neck. It's also a chunkier neck in general and my hands aren't the biggest. But the sound is really special and it's a beautiful guitar.

I think a Tele is the perfect Jazz guitar, especially if you want to embrace your non-Jazz influences as we all should.

[croth]

These are mine. I devolved from the wonderful standard Fender Tele, of which I had an original '65, to these boutique takes on them. Don't misunderstand my remark. I really like these.



For anyone who might be interested, the Sadowsky on the top is up for sale, only because I'm downsizing a rather huge guitar and banjo collection due to our downsizing moving plans and I generally follow a first in - first out rule for myself. They're both extraordinary guitars and I love 'em both. The one on the bottom is a Victor Baker VBT.

[marcwhy]

Beautiful guitars, Carl!

[I know what those cost, so ... can I have a job?!]

[croth]

Beautiful guitars, Carl!

[I know what those cost, so ... can I have a job?!]

That's pretty cute Marc! Thanks for the compliment though. I do think they are special.

Though I'm not in the business, I do sell by lay-away if it helps you, or anyone for that matter and have done so successfully a few times. I am selling that guitar for less than 60% of the price of a new one. And it is in like-new condition. But yes, it is expensive. My full ad is in the Forum.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone.

[colorblindbass]

Hi everyone!
First post here - long time bass player (Fender Precision, Jazz + Classical upright ) who used quarantine to get deep into jazz guitar via this telecaster!
I bought this new Squier classic vibe 50's strat a few months ago, swapped the original black pickguard for 1 ply white, swapped the bridge for a custom shop tele bridge (the brass, file-your-own slots one), brass nut, and bridge cover!

I put standard D'addario Chrome 12's on it at first, then 13s, and then I ordered a slew of custom gauge plain strings to experiment with e & b sizes currently playing e 15 b 17 G 26w D 35 A 45 E 56. Combined with one of those silly Fender Mustang GT40 amps (which is such fun) running neck pickup only with the tone ALL the way off - I'm able to get an impeccable late 1950's early 60's Jim Hall tone thanks to these 15's.

I call it the "Cool Jazz Tele", because it spends most of its time accompanying Bill Evans Trio recordings :haha:
I really love everything about this guitar, and I'm blown away daily by the sheer amount of tone it has to give you.

[citizenk74]

Hi everyone!
First post here - long time bass player (Fender Precision, Jazz + Classical upright ) who used quarantine to get deep into jazz guitar via this telecaster!
I bought this new Squier classic vibe 50's strat a few months ago, swapped the original black pickguard for 1 ply white, swapped the bridge for a custom shop tele bridge (the brass, file-your-own slots one), brass nut, and bridge cover!

I put standard D'addario Chrome 12's on it at first, then 13s, and then I ordered a slew of custom gauge plain strings to experiment with e & b sizes currently playing e 15 b 17 G 26w D 35 A 45 E 56. Combined with one of those silly Fender Mustang GT40 amps (which is such fun) running neck pickup only with the tone ALL the way off - I'm able to get an impeccable late 1950's early 60's Jim Hall tone thanks to these 15's.

I call it the "Cool Jazz Tele", because it spends most of its time accompanying Bill Evans Trio recordings :haha:
I really love everything about this guitar, and I'm blown away daily by the sheer amount of tone it has to give you.

[neatomic]

welcome aboard colorblindb

using those heavy pat martino gauge strings...can tell you were a bass player!! haha

nice lookin tele..enjoy

cheers

ps- see you are using old school 5 screw pickguard style!

[Bach5G]

I got out a bunch of my guitars this weekend. My Gibson 339 and 175, and my Kirn Tele.

I found my favourite was an inexpensive FSR MIM Tele that I paid $750 for a couple of years ago. It does the J thing admirably.

[pingu]

never had a tele
what do you proper tele guys
think of these ?

https://m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_te_90qm_hh_trans_blue.htm?o=38&searc h=1606794684

£200
too good to be true ?

[Little Jay]

Never played it, but I am on this Dutch guitar forum and they are very positive about it there.

[Jonah]

never had a tele
what do you proper tele guys
think of these ?

https://m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_te_90qm_hh_trans_blue.htm?o=38&searc h=1606794684

£200
too good to be true ?

I am right now in the process of hunting for a Tele... (you can check nearby thread I opened).

I tried one HB... it was ok... but I like Affinity better - if I had to choose between the two.

I planned for a cheaper end Teles first - like Squires and HB or Vintage (brand) -- but after trying a few (though they were very well-made and nice guitars) I decided that I won't go even for Classic Vibe...

When I plugged in MIM Standard I finally heard the idea of tone that I was after really coming out there

That tone lived in my mind since I heard some years ago whne I played old American Tele in the shop... it was so sweet.

When I bought Martin 00016-gt I could also get 00018,00028... but it was that particular guitar that I liked, there was other 00016 which I did not like that much.. I just got it right in my hands.

Now after trying a few Teles - I think with Teles it should be the same thing.. I just have to try regardless of brands and prices (as much as possible of course) and when I get The One in my hands - just find the way to keep it.

[339 in june]

never had a tele
what do you proper tele guys
think of these ?

https://m.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_te_90qm_hh_trans_blue.htm?o=38&searc h=1606794684

£200
too good to be true ?

NTD : New Tele Day

Sometimes it is true.

[Average Joe]

Are those of you who gig stock teles ever bothered by the single coil noise? The few times I've brought my single coil strat to an otherwise acoustic jazz band, I've felt that the noise stnd out more than it does in an electric band

[Jonah]

Are those of you who gig stock teles ever bothered by the single coil noise? The few times I've brought my single coil strat to an otherwise acoustic jazz band, I've felt that the noise stnd out more than it does in an electric band

Actually I found P90s (common for jazz) much more noisy than modern singles

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Are those of you who gig stock teles ever bothered by the single coil noise? The few times I've brought my single coil strat to an otherwise acoustic jazz band, I've felt that the noise stnd out more than it does in an electric band

Some fixes:

1. Shielding tape in the guitar's cavities.
2. Noise gate pedal.
3. More cymbal from the drummer

[balthazar]

Hi,

Here is my Squier Standard Telecaster (1996 - Midnight Wine)



A bit neglected at the moment, I'm in a classical guitar period.

[Eck]

Is it perhaps the 25.5” scale that creates this Tele-love? Or the under wound neck pickup? Or string-through-body?


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[Jonah]

Is it perhaps the 25.5” scale that creates this Tele-love? Or the under wound neck pickup? Or string-through-body?


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I never noticed scale difference between guitars... I guess for some players it is important, for some not...

[Michael Neverisky]

Is it perhaps the 25.5” scale that creates this Tele-love? Or the under wound neck pickup? Or string-through-body?

Not sure I can put my finger on a one thing that draws me to the telecaster. So maybe it's the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

The telecaster is a brilliant piece of engineering and for making music, a remarkably versatile tool. It's fun to play, it sounds good and it's user serviceable.

[Little Jay]

Is it perhaps the 25.5” scale that creates this Tele-love? Or the under wound neck pickup? Or string-through-body?


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Non of that on my Tele....

[Eck]

Non of that on my Tele....

Amazing. And it’s one of the very first if not the first solid body guitar design.


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[Tal_175]

Non of that on my Tele....

Did you relocate the bridge to accommodate the short scale neck or was the guitar short-scale design originally?

[Jonah]

Not sure I can put my finger on a one thing that draws me to the telecaster. So maybe it's the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

The telecaster is a brilliant piece of engineering and for making music, a remarkably versatile tool. It's fun to play, it sounds good and it's user serviceable.

I think today there is a lot of cultural historic refernce already both in jazz and rock music...

I mean.. I am more after the tone and playability and I would not buy guitar as 'a fetish'... but I would like to get a good Gibson or Martin from 30s or 40s... as well as a good old vintage Tele... of course ig they play and sound good...
But still there is a huge part of reference...

Jazz and partly rock already became sort of 'early music'... and it would be like getting a real 18th century harpsichord for a musician whose passion is baroque music.

Tele is very symbolic instrument...

And by the way I think the way Julian Lage chooses the instruments for the project is pretty much connected with their cultural identity.. .Julian is young and for him it is already having some historic perspective.

[Michael Neverisky]

... but I would like to get a good Gibson or Martin from 30s or 40s...

On that point, as someone who has owned a few 30s Gibsons and pre-war (meaning WW II) Martin guitars I feel confident is saying that some of the early Bozeman instruments from Gibson and many of the guitars from the tenure of CFM IV (Marquis, Golden Era, etc lines) are superior to the vintage guitars. Playability is better without a doubt and you're likely never going to hear the difference in performance or recording without a serious investment in sound reproduction.
MHO, YMMV.

[Vladan]

What identifies guitar as telecaster, IMO, is idiomatic image.
Specifically shaped solid body and headstock, two single coil pick ups, angled bridge PU with 6 metal rods, neck PU with metal cover, "Telecaster" written on the headstock.

Variations are acceptable if guitar is Fender, "by Fender", or eventually by some other company established, or approved by Leo Fender.

Everything else are guitars more - less resembling Telecaster.

[Little Jay]

Did you relocate the bridge to accommodate the short scale neck or was the guitar short-scale design originally?

It must be somewhere in this thread already, but I made the neck sink slightly deeper into the body by taking off a little wood of the neck base and by reshaping the rounded off corners of the neck pocket into square corners.

*edit: found the picture:

[Tal_175]

It must be somewhere in this thread already, but I made the neck sink slightly deeper into the body by taking off a little wood of the neck base and by reshaping the rounded off corners of the neck pocket into square corners.

Sorry I must have missed it, this is a huge thread
So I'm guessing you measured the distance between saddles and the nut in a 24.75 scale guitar and made sure the distance is the same by cutting into the body so the intonation is correct. Am I right?

[Little Jay]

Sorry I must have missed it, this is a huge thread
So I'm guessing you measured the distance between saddles and the nut in a 24.75 scale guitar and made sure the distance is the same by cutting into the body so the intonation is correct. Am I right?

Only 1682 posts!

What I did was putting the neck in the pocket, put the bridge in place and measured the distance form top nut to bridge saddle indeed. That was a little more than the 24.75" of course, so I removed the surplus (should be .75") from the neck, so the distance between top nut and bridge became 24.75". I set the bridge saddles somewhere halfway for the measurement.

I remeber measuring a lot of times and also making sure the the distance from top nut to fret XII was the same as from fret XII to bridge.

I figured I had a little room to wiggle, because the Tele-bridge construction has long intonation screws, so I took as little as possible off the neck because I didn't know how far the trussrod would extend into the heel. It worked out fine but it was close and it's good I didn't take more off the heel, because I could just see the start of the trussrod cavity!

[citizenk74]

Is it perhaps the 25.5” scale that creates this Tele-love? Or the under wound neck pickup? Or string-through-body?


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To my mind, all of these work together (in conjunction with relatively light strings) to produce the Telecaster's distinctive "twang" as heard on so many recorded songs. The instrument has a distinct visual look, it balances well on strap or knee, it sounds great live and records beautifully, It is relatively inexpensive and easy to work on and physically nearly indestructible. It has found wide adoption in a number of genres. What's not to love?

Aside: Mrs k hated my Strats, which to her sensitive ears were "Too twangy." She loves my '66 Custom Telecaster and my nameless T-Type.

Maybe I just got better? Yeah, that's the ticket.

[citizenk74]

What identifies guitar as telecaster, IMO, is idiomatic image.
Specifically shaped solid body and headstock, two single coil pick ups, angled bridge PU with 6 metal rods, neck PU with metal cover, "Telecaster" written on the headstock.

Variations are acceptable if guitar is Fender, "by Fender", or eventually by some other company established, or approved by Leo Fender.

Everything else are guitars more - less resembling Telecaster.

I refer to them as "Tele-Types," or T-Types for short.

[Little Jay]

And the Tele is an ideal travel-guitar: nearly indestructible and super thin/flat in a gigbag, so it mostly fits on top of the cases and bags already in the plane’s overhead bin.

I took my American Player Thinline P90 to Lithuania to play at the Siauliai International Big Band Festival (where we played a soul show, hence the shirt )

[citizenk74]

And the Tele is an ideal travel-guitar: nearly indestructible and super thin/flat in a gigbag, so it mostly fits on top of the cases and bags already in the plane’s overhead bin.

I took my American Player Thinline P90 to Lithuania to play at the Siauliai International Big Band Festival (where we played a soul show, hence the shirt )

Frilly shirts were part of the dress code in my first "Have Guitar, Will Travel" band. We had friends who owned a bridal shop, so I had a closet full of them (and tuxes, and tails). That's Show Biz, and that's just good biz.

[Jonah]

Non of that on my Tele....

It is interesting how much cultural references affect the perception... If i did not know anything about Fenders or Gibsons I woudl have thought: lovely guitar!

But since I know it looks like a weird hybrid)) .. not bad! and not ugly ... but definitely and noticeably - strange)))

[Little Jay]

It is interesting how much cultural references affect the perception... If i did not know anything about Fenders or Gibsons I woudl have thought: lovely guitar!

But since I know it looks like a weird hybrid)) .. not bad! and not ugly ... but definitely and noticeably - strange)))

But yet you can’t help but to somehow feel attracted to this strange and at the same time uncomfortably familiar looks.... you know you want one, don’t try to resist.... you want a taste of this exotic forbidden fruit... come over to the dark side!! Give in to the sweet taste of seduction.....!

[Jonah]

I was going to find a traditional tele and still planning to get one but occasionally came across this Squire and couldn't not resist.

Sorry for poor noodling... I really do not get along with the cam

[Tal_175]

What's your favorite neck pickup for Teles?

- Standard single coil with alnico 2 magnet?
- Standard single coil with alnico 5 magnet?
- Firebird pickup (or clones)? (what's in Hot Rod tele)
- P90?
- Noisless single?
- PAF?
- Mini humbucker?
- CC?
etc etc.
Maybe this should be separate poll thread.

[Lobomov]

Maybe this should be separate poll thread.

Indeed .. Tho between you and me .. Alnico3 pups are grossly underrated

[Tal_175]

Indeed .. Tho between you and me .. Alnico3 pups are grossly underrated

There also the ceramic option but I'm guessing most would prefer alnicos for jazz.

[Lobomov]

There also the ceramic option but I'm guessing most would prefer Alnicos for jazz.

I never really tried the ceramic versions, so I dunno .. I guess not.


I just had this 2011 Fender limited edition empress thinline with alnico 3 at one point. They lacked bite compared to the 2s or 5s, but lush sweet full sound .. in no way scooped.

[Jonah]

How do you string your Teles? As i wrote above I recently bought used Squier with P90 which tuned out to be a great guitar... not classic tele with singles but still has a lot of tele vibe to me.

It had 10s (I thought it was 9s first) after a day or two i change the strings to my common 12-52 (or sometimws 12-54)..
it is fine too but I found that some particular characteristcs of articulation and tone taht I liked were almost gone with these strings...
So I will play more like this but probably will get back to 10s (maybe i will switch 1st string to 11).

Out of curiousity I decided to check what other Tele jazz/fusion players use and I found that many use from 9s to 11s...


By the way..
I had once a friend's strat with extremely low action and smothest setup with 7s... it felt like you do not feel anything at all as if you just slided over the neck - I liked it actually but it was sort of very modern feeling... as if you played a synth... also dynamics and articulation almost go away too.

In general I think 10s can be a good compromise to keep the characterestic tone and still have usual touch and control.

I know some Jazz Tele players put heavy strings to get traditional jazz tone... but it is another story.

[Lobomov]

nvm

[Michael Neverisky]

How do you string your Teles?

Very timely question.

I was charmed by a particular Tele at a music shop recently when I played it through a TM Deluxe Reverb, the same amp I have at home. The guitar was fresh from the factory with Fender 10-46 roundwound strings.

I brought the guitar home for a more in depth audition and in doing so replaced the factory strings with my usual set of 11 half rounds. To my surprise, the tone did not inspire. Huh.

Ok, let's try 11 round wounds. Nope.
Huh.

Being disappointed, I decided to return the guitar to its original setup and bring it back to the shop. When I put on a fresh set of 10 gauge strings the magic of those single coils returned. Huh!

My reissue Nocaster and a Yamaha Tele-style sound fat and fine with 11s, but not this guitar.

More is not always better.

[Jonah]

Very timely question.

I was charmed by a particular Tele at a music shop recently when I played it through a TM Deluxe Reverb, the same amp I have at home. The guitar was fresh from the factory with Fender 10-46 roundwound strings.

I brought the guitar home for a more in depth audition and in doing so replaced the factory strings with my usual set of 11 half rounds. To my surprise, the tone did not inspire. Huh.

Ok, let's try 11 round wounds. Nope.
Huh.

Being disappointed, I decided to return the guitar to its original setup and bring it back to the shop. When I put on a fresh set of 10 gauge strings the magic of those single coils returned. Huh!

My reissue Nocaster and a Yamaha Tele-style sound fat and fine with 11s, but not this guitar.

More is not always better.

Do you use 10 to 46 or 10 to 48?
The first set seems to be more common... but just out of curiousity I mesearued the gauge of the 1st and 6th strings that was on my tele from previous owner and it was 0,010 and 0,048

[Michael Neverisky]

Do you use 10 to 46 or 10 to 48?
The first set seems to be more common... but just out of curiousity I mesearued the gauge of the 1st and 6th strings that was on my tele from previous owner and it was 0,010 and 0,048

Fender shipped with their own Fender 150R 10-46 strings. I think the
standard D'Adarrio light gauge sets are similar.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I usually string my Tele with T-I Swing 13s. I like the tension.