Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed

[BFrench]

I almost got a Standard that was Sunburst but couldn't get together with seller and then this Performer for almost the same price popped up and I had been smitten with the Honey Burst since I first saw it

[marksmith]

I think F-hole is a science of mystery. the sustain and volume always touchy. when tele blends with the hole, you just need to feel every chords

[Stefan Eff]

I think F-hole is a science of mystery. the sustain and volume always touchy. when tele blends with the hole, you just need to feel every chords

You‘re talking about Thinlines? They‘re fantastic, the only Telecaster competitor (except the Esquire of course!)...

[mr. beaumont]

Recently put round wounds back on my tele...first time I've had a plain G in like 15 years...I kinda dig it.

I've decided I'm getting one of those paranormal jazzmaster shaped teles...I have a thin line tele neck that will be a nice upgrade over the slimmer Squier neck...should be a pretty nasty lil fella.

Anyway, keeping the tele love going, here's my ol Tele...bought new in 1997...

[croth]

I think F-hole is a science of mystery. the sustain and volume always touchy. when tele blends with the hole, you just need to feel every chords

I may be wrong but I think you might be confusing hole-shape with bracing technique and top design, which I think are far more the defining factors of sustain and volume of a guitar than hole-shape.

[jim232777]

Recently put round wounds back on my tele...first time I've had a plain G in like 15 years...I kinda dig it.

Yeah, I wanted maximum flexibility in what I can play and the sounds I can get, so wanted a plain G. On mine right now I have 11’s from D’Addario’s round wound “Pure Nickel” line, which they categorize as a vitage, warm sound and next to the “Chromes” flatwounds on the warm/bright scale. I really like that it’s warm on the neck pickup, yet still twangy on the bridge pickup. It’s a great middle ground for tone. Was going to get Chromes, but they didn’t have a set with the plain G.

[croth]

Yeah, I wanted maximum flexibility in what I can play and the sounds I can get, so wanted a plain G. On mine right now I have 11’s from D’Addario’s round wound “Pure Nickel” line, which they categorize as a vitage, warm sound and next to the “Chromes” flatwounds on the warm/bright scale. I really like that it’s warm on the neck pickup, yet still twangy on the bridge pickup. It’s a great middle ground for tone. Was going to get Chromes, but they didn’t have a set with the plain G.

i have a chambered jazz guitar that I really like but I thought that the highs were a little too “trebly” for my taste so I put the D’A Pure Nickels on and that mellowed out the tone just right. However, I prefer a wound G, so with a little searching around, I discovered that Thomastik-Infield makes a set of .11’s with a wound G, and they sell the strings individually so I was able to buy a couple of their G strings to go with the sets of D’A’s that I have. They were surprisingly inexpensive too.

So now I’m set with that situation for awhile, but, for me, when I’ve run through the two sets I have, I’ll probably be buying the TI’s for that guitar in the future.

[Cunamara]

I have been enjoying the SIT PW1150 set which comes with both a wound and plain G. The strings are not particularly bright and are dirt cheap. They do also seem to settle into tuning very quickly compared to other strings I have used, perhaps living up to their name. I have these on both solid body and my 17 inch arch top, liking them a lot. On solid bodies I have also been liking the DR Pure Blues 11-50 set.

[citizenk74]

I have been enjoying the SIT PW1150 set which comes with both a wound and plain G. The strings are not particularly bright and are dirt cheap. They do also seem to settle into tuning very quickly compared to other strings I have used, perhaps living up to their name. I have these on both solid body and my 17 inch arch top, liking them a lot. On solid bodies I have also been liking the DR Pure Blues 11-50 set.

Plus one for SITs. Not overly bright, stay in tune forever, and last and last and last. Best-kept open secret in the string department!

[Jforman273]

These are some. sweet teles!

[Skip Ellis]

Finally got this one done - was going for a PRS look and I think I got close. First neck I've built in a while - reminded me why I don't like to build necks !! Body is hollow African mahogany with 2"x4" block under the bridge. Neck is mahogany (Tru Oil) with ebony fingerboard (1-3/4" nut)and dual action truss rod - med jumbo frets. Top is curly maple dyed super dark brown/black, then sanded back and re-dyed with darkish amber. Finish is 6 coats sprayed shellac. Pickup is DiMarzio 36th Anniversary; pots are 500K Bournes minis. Weighs right at 5-1/2 pounds. Really pleased with the tone - nice and fat with tone rolled off. I tried 12-52 strings but didn't like them at all so went back to my standby GHS Burnished Nickel Rockers 10-46 (been using them since the 70's and haven't found anything I like better). All in all a fun project and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. On to the next one...........

[citizenk74]

Finally got this one done - was going for a PRS look and I think I got close. First neck I've built in a while - reminded me why I don't like to build necks !! Body is hollow African mahogany with 2"x4" block under the bridge. Neck is mahogany (Tru Oil) with ebony fingerboard (1-3/4" nut)and dual action truss rod - med jumbo frets. Top is curly maple dyed super dark brown/black, then sanded back and re-dyed with darkish amber. Finish is 6 coats sprayed shellac. Pickup is DiMarzio 36th Anniversary; pots are 500K Bournes minis. Weighs right at 5-1/2 pounds. Really pleased with the tone - nice and fat with tone rolled off. I tried 12-52 strings but didn't like them at all so went back to my standby GHS Burnished Nickel Rockers 10-46 (been using them since the 70's and haven't found anything I like better). All in all a fun project and I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. On to the next one...........

Nice work, Skip!

[Gitfiddler]

[StefaninLA]

My main guitar is a Telecaster, Highway One "Texas" edition. Best tele I ever played.

[Stringswinger]

Robby Krieger: "I don’t see why people like Telecasters so much. To me, a Strat is a lot better and more playable than a Tele" | Guitar World

[citizenk74]

Robby Krieger: "I don’t see why people like Telecasters so much. To me, a Strat is a lot better and more playable than a Tele" | Guitar World

Opinions - everybody's got one....

[Hammertone]

May as well add this one to the pile. Nice light one-piece swamp ash body from Neiman; big ol' neck with no truss rod; F-spaced Thornbucker in the bridge; SD SH1 in the neck. And it looks like a tele!

[archtopeddy]

Robby Krieger: "I don’t see why people like Telecasters so much. To me, a Strat is a lot better and more playable than a Tele" | Guitar World

dem dar's fightin' words!

[Stefan Eff]

I don’t see any need to change anything on the Telecaster construction and design. It‘s perfect as it is. The bolt on neck for example is a major part of that famous tone. Sometimes things are already, yep, perfect.

[lammie200]

...The bolt on neck for example is a major part of that famous tone. Sometimes things are already, yep, perfect.

Threaded inserts for neck screws (or in the case of inserts, bolts) comes up a lot in the Fender-ish forums. I always tell people to be careful what they wish for when considering installing them. I tried installing them once and immediately realized that the whole feel of the guitar was off. Just didn't feel right to me and was weighted much differently.

[neatomic]

always enjoyed this keith richards clip..about how gibson and fender got it right, right from the start

truth

btw, he starts out talking about his gibson es-350..

cheers

[Stefan Eff]

Threaded inserts for neck screws (or in the case of inserts, bolts) comes up a lot in the Fender-ish forums. I always tell people to be careful what they wish for when considering installing them. I tried installing them once and immediately realized that the whole feel of the guitar was off. Just didn't feel right to me and was weighted much differently.

No need for threaded inserts if the neckholes are drilled properly, good screws of the correct size are used and screwed in correctly. Too much metal in the neck sucks tone and liveliness (same for dual action truss rods in Telecaster necks).

[neatomic]

the threaded inserts were created for travelling musicians...so that you could repeatedly remove neck from body and bring with you on the plane..it was never for sound improvement...it was for convenience & guitar safety sake!

cheers

[Stefan Eff]

the threaded inserts were created for travelling musicians...so that you could repeatedly remove neck from body and bring with you on the plane..it was never for sound improvement...it was for convenience & guitar safety sake!

cheers

True, but they‘re often used for regular guitars as an „improvement“.

[Easy2grasp]