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The balance issue is just a dealbreaker. I recently bought a Larrivee bakersfield Malibu tele. It was an amazing sounding guitar. EXACTLY what I was looking for tonally. It weighed 7.2lbs so I was very hopeful it would not be neck heavy. Unfortunately, it was extremely uncomfortable for me to play. I'm now wondering if the way I hold the guitar neck at a 45 degree angle makes me more susceptible to these kinds of issues than others because obviously others are able to play teles while standing without issues. If I used a suede strap the guitar was serviceable but the entire time I owned the guitar, I always felt like I was battling it. So, I unloaded it. In the future, I guess I will look into a hard-tail strat instead since they balance much better.
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09-30-2015 11:31 AM
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You might want to try a Buzz Feiten Classic Pro. They are tele styled but perfectly weighted and routed to be very comfortable. And for me...the necks are great. Needless to say the intonation is excellent. Since they just announced direct to consumer pricing, dealer inventory is being closed out.
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It took me a while to figure I can only play archtops, preferably big ones (17). Had to sell all the rest!
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My sense is that you comment on neck-heaviness more than others do (I find it an annoyance in moments when my hand isn't on the neck, but not a dealbreaker otherwise, fwiw), so it might well be more you than the guitars. I find strats to be the closest thing to an ergonomically perfect guitar. But hardtails are just wrong. Be a man: whammy up.
Originally Posted by jzucker
John
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Originally Posted by jzucker
I have always found the crudely cut slab of wood used as a tele body is just uncomfortable.
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Jack,
I have had the opposite epiphany in recent years. I figured that by my mid 50's, I was pretty set in my ways guitar wise. I have always been a big fan of Les Pauls and Strats as far as solid body guitars go. I love the sound of a Les Paul for jazz (and like the 24.75 scale as well) and while serviceable for jazz,for me Strats have been more for other genres.
I tried a Tele for the first time at 55 years of age and loved it! I soon traded that stock Tele (52 Reissue) for a 52 Hot Rod Tele with a neck humbucker and a flatter radius neck (I am essentially a Gibson guy at heart). I still love the Les Paul, but they are getting a bit heavy for me as I approach my 58th birthday. I still love Strats, but at this point, my favorite solid body is the Tele.
If someone would have predicted this a few years ago, I would have suggested that they check their medication. It never is too late too teach an old dog a new trick!
Good luck in your search for the perfect Strat!
Cheers,
Marc
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i have a great MJT strat that nails Jimi and SRV tones. Not so much the jazz tones though. It's light and perfectly balanced.
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Funnily enough one of the best strats I've ever played was a Greco GO II 750. Ugly looking but sounded more strat than all the strats in one of the biggest strat dealers in the UK. Originally Posted by jzucker
Whatever those pickups are, they are very special. I've always found Sen ash to be super to any other wood too but thats because its cosmetically the best imo and I've never heard a bad one, although I haven't tested a big enough sample.
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Well I have the opposite experience. I just recently started playing a Tele and I just love it.
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don't you play sitting though? Originally Posted by AlainJazz
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No. I play both standing and sitting. My Tele seems to be very well balanced. I don't know. Maybe I'm lucky.
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I understand the balance issue. I was put off of Teles for quite a while because of the way they hang when standing. I found -- for myself -- that after concentrating on gypsy guitar for a few years with its wide body and square edges, that a Tele is no different than a skinny flattop and suddenly the ergonomic issues I used to have disappeared.
I do love a good Strat though (I own 2.)
Caveat: I play with the neck parallel to the ground, or even pointing down slightly. I trained in classical so I know the reasons for neck up playing, but I simply haven't found it necessary for anything other than some of my more difficult classical pieces. YMMV.
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I do think there's teles out there you could probably get to balance, but who has the time to keep tracking down guitars and testing them really. I've definitely never had a problem, but I'm kind of a big broad shouldered dude with a beer gut...for whatever reason I can get anything to balance on my frame.
I'm very glad a tele feels perfectly comfortable to me, because the thought of playing a strat...shudder...;0
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Jack, try a Telemaster. Originally Posted by jzucker
I got myself a J Mascis Jazzmaster (P90 type p/u) a while back and I was amazed at how well the body shape balances on a strap.
After all, and as ATH enjoys pointing out, it's a slab of wood; this one is just balanced better.
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One of these years, I will give a Strat another go. I tried decades ago. I didn't hate it, but there just something not right for me. I would be very willing to chalk it up to me being 15 and it didn't make my metal-guitarist friends drool like a more pointy guitar. haha.
At some point, I hope to have a tele (and maybe a strat) with quick connects at the jack and have a few different pre-loaded pickguards so I can just change them out when my tastes change.
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Except for the overall weight--Les Paul territory--the early '90s '52 Reissue Telecasters would balance well for you, Jack. I have one. I play at the angle you use--too many years of classical lessons, I guess. The early '90s '52 hangs at angle because of the heavier body. Those guitars sound outstanding, too, relative to the later ones.
They sure are heavy, though. If, however, you have lots of miles behind the wheel on 70s Les Pauls...no big deal.
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I've had 3 or 4 Tele's and I loved them...sitting down. Even if they're not noticeably neck-heavy, they just do not hang on a strap in a way that's comfortable for me. Then I put on a Les Paul or a 335 and it's: "Ahhhhh!"
Maybe it's how you're built, I'm pretty skinny. Thousands of Tele players seem to have no problem. I wish I didn't, because Tele's sound great....very different than a Strat to my ears.
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Being in possession of a similar frame, I can tell you that is not a beer gut. It is a front-mounted low-density instrument-balance enhancement device. It is also a front-mounted low-density aerodynamic enhancement device when bicycling. Strats have cut-outs/contours specifically engineered to couple synergistically with said device. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
John
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Could this be more about Jack's (and each individual's) particular right arm technique? I tend to naturally use my picking arm weight to keep the neck perfectly positioned for me. Perhaps Jack "floats" his arm, which would naturally make him more prone to feeling neck dive. JZ's technique is obviously not flawed, it may just not fit a tele. Take a driver who wins races in a Corvette, put him in a Porsche and watch him wash out on every corner on the track.
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The only guitar I ever had difficulty adjusting to was the ES-335. It's neck stuck out too far--I always intuitively grabbed it two frets too high, before I made the connection with the guitar. The neck/body relationship is way different than on the ES-330 or on archtops...even than on solid body guitars. Only on the SG are things similar. I had a short break in period on the SG Custom I briefly owned.
Now, of course, the 335 is very comfortable, to me.
Telecasters and Stratocasters have always been no problem--standing or seated.
I haven't owned a Flying V--and wouldn't. I have played them. How the heck do you warm up to them sitting down? Is that little bit of rubber skid mat supposed to do the trick?
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you're correct that with my technique, i'm not resting significant weight or pressure from my arm on the top of the guitar. This is one reason, I've never cared for or needed the tummy cut or arm bevel that some folks like on a strat or tele. But on a neck heavy guitar like the prs hollowbody, eastman el rey, tele, etc., I have to consciously lean my arm downward on the guitar to keep it in place which is very uncomfortable and negatively affects my picking. Originally Posted by whiskey02
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the fairly new model American Delux tele ..to me is a very different animal..in many ways..anyone with tele problems should give it a try..its on my NEXT list..
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On a solid body guitar such as a Tele the strap button on the lower bouts can be moved and reduce or eliminate the neck heaviness. It doesn't have to be at the centerline.
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i'm also curious to see the effects of an offset on jack. always kind of wanted to make a telemaster myself, as i've never found a tele to work for me.
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An offset could work, they tend to be heavier than teles anyway--bigger body.
They're really comfortable seated, i think that's their main charm. I really dig my jazzmaster.
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