The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #126

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ghostofachance
    ….There are so many things that I appreciate about tele's. I like the scale, the body size, the bolt-on neck (which I wish archtops had), and the tonal versatility….[ ]...I also don't appreciate the absence of body contour cuts (not that archtops have them, but strats do), and have always hated string trees. I would have appreciated block inlays and binding on the neck and headstocks. And did I mention that nothing is cheesier than decals on a headstock. And did I mention that Mr. Fender loved to obscure the beauty of the natural grain of wood with opaque paint and big plastic pickguards….[ ]...
    There's no shortage of teles available with:
    - 25 1/2" scale, tele body size, bolt-on neck
    - body contour cuts like a strat
    - no string trees (staggered tuner posts have now been around for years from Sperzel and Gotoh)
    - no headstock decals
    - natural or tinted wood finishes that show the beauty of the natural grain of wood
    - no pickguards

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  3. #127

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    Sweet thread... Guthrie Trapp is from my home town, and I (along with every other guitar player in town) learned so much from staring at his fingers for years... He once told me "if you can't do it on a tele, then it probably can't be done.".

    so.. needless to say, i've been a tele player since that day... here's my baby.. built her in 2008... still my main gigging guitar.


    Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed-image006-jpg

  4. #128

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ghostofachance
    But no way do I think that Leo got it 100% right. Beauty is in the mind of the beholder, and this beholder thinks that tele's are ugly. I also don't appreciate the absence of body contour cuts (not that archtops have them, but strats do), and have always hated string trees. I would have appreciated block inlays and binding on the neck and headstocks. And did I mention that nothing is cheesier than decals on a headstock.

    And did I mention that Mr. Fender loved to obscure the beauty of the natural grain of wood with opaque paint and big plastic pickguards.
    Interesting points!

    Contour cuts: not in the original, but lots of newer Tele models and T-styles from other builders have them.

    String trees: they are ugly. With staggered locking tuners you may not need them.

    Block inlay and neck binding: block inlay (not on maple boards, ugh!) wants there to be neck binding (not sure about headstock binding); neck binding wants there to be body binding, at least the top. And then you've got yourself a rather blingy Tele. My route is not to have any inlay, not even dots.

    Also, top binding is tricky with the arm contour cut.

    Wood grain: Leo also used alder, which doesn't have much of a grain. Some other cheap woods like basswood and poplar are quite ugly; some bodies have some patch work on them. Leo was smart albeit thrifty!

    pickguard: I'm a flailer! I think you need it around pickups as well, to hide the routing. Pickup rings can look funny on a Tele.
    Last edited by BigDaddyLoveHandles; 12-16-2015 at 02:28 PM.

  5. #129

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    On the other hand, think of the average level of design nouse ( old Northern English term for know-how and awareness ) going the rounds in 1954. I studied and for while taught industrial design/materials technology and Leo was surely following the 'Form follows Function' maxim. Everything you mentioned from string trees to large pickguard evolved out of a defined need and he surely took counsel with many players at the time, the more so since he could not have appreciated all those aspects as a non-player. Some fabulous variations around now but in the end it mostly comes down to the original design as basis - and it works well.

  6. #130

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    Quote Originally Posted by blackcat
    On the other hand, think of the average level of design nouse ( old Northern English term for know-how and awareness ) going the rounds in 1954. I studied and for while taught industrial design/materials technology and Leo was surely following the 'Form follows Function' maxim. Everything you mentioned from string trees to large pickguard evolved out of a defined need and he surely took counsel with many players at the time, the more so since he could not have appreciated all those aspects as a non-player. Some fabulous variations around now but in the end it mostly comes down to the original design as basis - and it works well.

    Leo was looking to create an instrument that was easy to manufacture and keep costs down to make inexpensive for the working person.

  7. #131

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    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    Leo was looking to create an instrument that was easy to manufacture and keep costs down to make inexpensive for the working person.
    And as they say on the Tele forum, "Leo got it right the first time".

  8. #132

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    And as they say on the Tele forum, "Leo got it right the first time".

    Buzz Feiten has his line of Tele style guitars now, in one of his videos he said he got a copy of the blueprint for the original tele. He was redrawing it to do his changes and discover every curve on the original Tele came straight off a drafting French Curve no changes very simple design. Simple is good.

    I recently start playing my tele more than my main archtop and once again falling in love with the Tele.

  9. #133

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    Interesting comment about Leo designing guitars for the working man...I feel like this is an assumption that a lot of people make today, but is not accurate. A while ago I looked up what Fenders went for when they were new back in the early days, and they were not cheap. They were more expensive than new Les Pauls (at least Strats were). I think I came up with a number just over $2K in today's dollars. I think working people were buying their stuff at Sears, but we romanticize the "working man" appeal of Fender guitars, especially Teles. I still love 'em though!

  10. #134

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    Quote Originally Posted by billyguitar
    Interesting comment about Leo designing guitars for the working man...I feel like this is an assumption that a lot of people make today, but is not accurate. A while ago I looked up what Fenders went for when they were new back in the early days, and they were not cheap. They were more expensive than new Les Pauls (at least Strats were). I think I came up with a number just over $2K in today's dollars. I think working people were buying their stuff at Sears, but we romanticize the "working man" appeal of Fender guitars, especially Teles. I still love 'em though!

    I've read it in articles about Leo and being I came up in the 60's and Fenders were way less expensive than Gibson's. A Telecaster when I was starting out was $219.

  11. #135

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    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    I've read it in articles about Leo and being I came up in the 60's and Fenders were way less expensive than Gibson's. A Telecaster when I was starting out was $219.
    Right, but obviously that is a vastly different amount in today's dollars. This inflation calculator puts it at $1,749.

    Calculate the value of $300 in 1960 - Inflation on 300 dollars - DollarTimes.com

    I just think that people assume they were cheaper than they actually were...of course, Leo was manufacturing with different ideas. The original idea was that when the frets wore out, you would just buy a whole new neck and bolt it on!

    Billy

  12. #136

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    Quote Originally Posted by billyguitar
    Right, but obviously that is a vastly different amount in today's dollars. This inflation calculator puts it at $1,749.

    Calculate the value of $300 in 1960 - Inflation on 300 dollars - DollarTimes.com

    I just think that people assume they were cheaper than they actually were...of course, Leo was manufacturing with different ideas. The original idea was that when the frets wore out, you would just buy a whole new neck and bolt it on!

    Billy
    It was inexpensive for the time that is the point. With inflation everything in the 60's was more expensive in general.

  13. #137

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    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    It was inexpensive for the time that is the point. With inflation everything in the 60's was more expensive in general.

    Okay I suppose that makes sense in some way...I guess I was focusing on Fender v. Gibson prices. Just a comparison:

    List price of a Tele in July 1951 = $189.50
    List price of a Les Paul Goldtop in 1952 = $209*
    (Both roughly $1800 in 2015 dollars).


    *Les Paul info is from Wikipedia, but the Tele figure is from the Duchossoir book.

    Maybe I'm so used to modern pricing that I generally think of a Les Paul costing about triple a Tele price (roughly, with American Standardish-quality for each). When you think of the materials and especially labor involved, I would think a Paul-type will always be a lot more. Perhaps Pauls were more of a working man's guitar back then also, and once all these guitars became famous, prices went up?

    Anyway, I was just considering what a "working man" could spend on a guitar, then or now.

  14. #138

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    Do the reverse math. My Squire Affinity, which was my "dipping a toe into the Tele thing" guitar, was $180 five years ago. In 1951 that would have been $21.50. Astonishing! The average weekly wage in 1960 in the US was apparently about $67.50, which means the working person was saving up for a while to buy a Tele.

    I have some receipts that I found in my parents' house for paying things off on installments after they got married- a hi-fi, dining room set, etc. Credit before the days of ubiquitous credit cards.

    BTW, that Affinity is actually quite a good guitar, although I had to look at six of 'em before I found one without significant neck problems. I put some Dimarzio Area Ts in it and it is an excellent sounding guitar and the quietest, most hum-proof guitar I own.

  15. #139

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cunamara
    Do the reverse math. My Squire Affinity, which was my "dipping a toe into the Tele thing" guitar, was $180 five years ago. In 1951 that would have been $21.50. Astonishing! The average weekly wage in 1960 in the US was apparently about $67.50, which means the working person was saving up for a while to buy a Tele.
    Yes with CNC machines and Chinese factories turning out decent cheap guitars it's a golden age. I remember what cheap guitars were like back in the day!

  16. #140

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    Top loader vs strings through body???


    i never played a tele I loved due to the string tension, always thought it was the scale length. However a strat has less tension, yet the same scale. My last ditch effect to love a tele has me thinking it must be the string break angle.


    So.....

    Anyone have experience with top loaders???

  17. #141

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    Yes with CNC machines and Chinese factories turning out decent cheap guitars it's a golden age. I remember what cheap guitars were like back in the day!
    Oh the nightmare of cheap guitars with necks like 2x4's and string a mile high, the cheap strings like the Black Diamonds that felt like running your fingers over barbed wire. But if you wanted to play guitar you didn't care it was a guitar.

  18. #142

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    Quote Originally Posted by vintagelove
    Top loader vs strings through body???


    i never played a tele I loved due to the string tension, always thought it was the scale length. However a strat has less tension, yet the same scale. My last ditch effect to love a tele has me thinking it must be the string break angle.


    So.....

    Anyone have experience with top loaders???

    I've never been that fond of top loader tele's, but there are people that swear by them. Buzz Feiten's new line of guitars that are tele-like have top-loader bridges. I felt they lowered the string tension too much and having the string come through the body and bend against the bridge plate it made more contact with the wood string vibration transfer.

  19. #143

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    I remember Black Diamonds! Man, I hated those strings!

  20. #144

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    Quote Originally Posted by vintagelove
    Top loader vs strings through body???


    i never played a tele I loved due to the string tension, always thought it was the scale length. However a strat has less tension, yet the same scale. My last ditch effect to love a tele has me thinking it must be the string break angle.


    So.....

    Anyone have experience with top loaders???


    For about 6 years, I was fortunate enough to be the caretaker of an 83' Tele Elite. It was a top loader with cool active mini hum buckers... another lesson learned from Guthrie, always play with big strings.. I've ALWAYS strung (from day one) all of my tele's with 12, 16, 24w, 32, 42, 52... the bigger strings sound/feel/respond much bigger and fuller... well... I seem to remember the Tele Elite having a very slinky feel to it. I also remember the tele elite being less "acoustic" sounding... it reminded me of playing a les paul, and that probably has to do with the lack of string tension since the strings were not pulling through the body... The scale length was 25.5, as has always been the case with my teles...

    The top loading tele elite just seemed to play easier... I'm not sure though without having it now to compare...

    This may not help, but I got caught up in the whole string break angle-modern saddles vs. vintage barrel debate, and built two tele's to compare... one with barrel saddles vs. one with modern saddles... There wasn't too big of a string tension "feel" difference... but... I kept the tele with modern saddles... I happen to think that some modern advancements in bridge technology are awesome like accurate string spacings and adjustable heights...


    Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed-angle1-jpgTelecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed-angle2-jpg

  21. #145

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    I like a Wenge neck on a Tele:


    Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed-wenge-black-tele-jpg


    and a Bubinga neck:

    Telecaster Love Thread, No Archtops Allowed-bubinga-maple-tele-jpg

  22. #146

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    Quote Originally Posted by wierdOne
    got caught up in the whole string break angle-modern saddles vs. vintage barrel debate, and built two tele's to compare... one with barrel saddles vs. one with modern saddles... There wasn't too big of a string tension "feel" difference... but... I kept the tele with modern saddles... I happen to think that some modern advancements in bridge technology are awesome like accurate string spacings and adjustable heights...
    One of the things I like about my Tele is the 3 barrel brass bridge. The low stringsrattles a bit when punched which I find part of the Tele charm YMMV!

  23. #147

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    Listening to this inspired me to contact Chihoe hahn and ask if he could build me a guitar inspired by this. Obviously I'll never HAVE this touch, feel, time, or hair

    But he made me a lovely guitar, Robben played one of chihoe's guitars at a sound check. Guess what .... It sounded just like his own guitar, still I LOVE the tele he made its so resonant with the tightest neck pocket ever.

    Anyway check out Robben's



    Here's him playing a Hahn

    Last edited by 55bar; 12-18-2015 at 06:22 AM.

  24. #148
    I also have been very satisfied with my modern telecaster bridge. I guess that the old style "barrel bridge" is okay if you you're willing to trade marginal gains in sustain for poor intonation.

    Re-visiting the statement that "Leo got it 100% right the first time" -- correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the first tele actually a Broadcaster, with only a bridge pickup? And since the neck pickup is invaluable for playing jazz, how could the Broadcaster be "100% right" for playing jazz?

    I saw a funny ad for a used Fender Relic. The ad said that the guitar was in excellent condition, but with only a couple of scratches on the back. By this logic, it's okay if the Fender factory puts scratches on your guitar, but not if the customer does it???

    Don't get me wrong: I think the tele is a great guitar. If I thought otherwise, it wouldn't have been my main ax for so long (and still is). But that's very different from thinking that the tele is perfection. Can you wrap your head around that distinction? And while you can get various non-Fender teles or Fender Custom Shop teles that correct its various shortcomings, one thing you can't do is fix ugly.

  25. #149

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ghostofachance
    I also have been very satisfied with my modern telecaster bridge. I guess that the old style "barrel bridge" is okay if you you're willing to trade marginal gains in sustain for poor intonation.
    Actually part of the Tele's sound and the old Gibson wrap-around bridge is the round bridge. It affects the tone versus the peaked bridge pieces. Also all the steel of the Tele bridge plate and bridge pieces contribute some of the replacements use other metals and no longer that Tele sound.

  26. #150

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    Quote Originally Posted by docbop
    Actually part of the Tele's sound and the old Gibson wrap-around bridge is the round bridge. It affects the tone versus the peaked bridge pieces.
    I agree 100%.

    I went from grooved steel saddles to brass and the added bell like shimmer is beautiful.

    I did have a set of Wilkinson intonated brass saddles which imparted a weird overtone on the D string which I ditched for Kluson harmonic brass saddles.