My Son Wants A Tele for Jazz Band

[El Fundo]

Wait! I was wrong. It was another seller that’s accepting offers.

[consumerduck]

Can’t go wrong with a fender that he likes and plays well. Go to guitar stores and let him play everything that catches his eye. Doesn’t one of the Iron Maiden dudes play a Strat? The other half of the electric guitar equation is an amp. That’s a whole other thread with everyone having their own opinion. Lots of options- - you are only limited by his tastes and your wallet. Used- you could score a decent amp that would do jazz and rock (with a pedal) and a guitar for less than 1,000. American stuff is nice, but don’t discount the Asian and Mexican fenders.

[Gitfiddler]

And speaking of Teles...

Telecaster love thread, no Archtops allowed

[rabbit]

Teenagers & Telecasters!! Oh my!

I wish you & your son all the best with this.

In this link the 'touched buy the hand of God' Mr. Jack Pearson explains his predilection for "Squire" guitars,
particularly the Indonesian variety.

I would suggest that you & your son familiarize yourselves with Mr. Pearson's performances & interviews (Youtube)
if you have not already; very worthwhile.

My point is you can get a very good guitar for performance that isn't too precious while saving money for
a more informed-by-experience choice a little later. Also, there is dough left over for a first rate setup.

I'm no Pearson but I sold my lovely "Hot Rod Red' American Standard Strat to a pal and kept my
my five pound (!) Indonesian Strat so you might say I practice what I preach.

[Woody Sound]

I don’t know if things have changed, but when I was in High School jazz band, the majority of the music was rock oriented. And that was the early 70s. I had an early 60s Goldtop Les Paul with soap-bar pickups! All I was expected to do was rock out on solos. No Freddie Green-style comping. I bet it’s still like that. So I think a Tele would be just fine.

Hmm. In my HS jazz band we covered the range of Jones/Lewis, Basie, Foster, Nestico, etc. No fluff. In fact, after my first rehearsal, the director and the drummer told me to go get a Basie record with Freddie Greene so I'd know what to do.

[Razorbackjazz]

Hmm. In my HS jazz band we covered the range of Jones/Lewis, Basie, Foster, Nestico, etc. No fluff. In fact, after my first rehearsal, the director and the drummer told me to go get a Basie record with Freddie Greene so I'd know what to do.

You make a great point. I’ve been to a couple HS Jazz competitions. From what I can tell it all depends on the director. The school just purchased and Eastman this year. Not knowing much about jazz and the tradition I was a little skeptical about using a Telecaster. Now after researching it seems very mainstream.


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[Lobomov]

Used market is where you get most for your buck ... else an am special

[Woody Sound]

You make a great point. I’ve been to a couple HS Jazz competitions. From what I can tell it all depends on the director. The school just purchased and Eastman this year. Not knowing much about jazz and the tradition I was a little skeptical about using a Telecaster. Now after researching it seems very mainstream.

Having an Eastman AND a Tele would be a great setup.

[Doctor Jeff]

Love it! This would be great advice for any kid starting out and interested in many different styles.

Of course, the best guitar is the one he will play...

My Tele is a bit of a mongrel--started out with a MIM body and Warmouth neck--but I will second the idea that even the Squiers offer a lot of bang for the buck. A good friend of mine just got a 2-HB Suhr thinline which is beautiful and sounds great, but maybe a bit expensive for your needs.

One thought if you find a comfortable guitar but want something mellower in the neck position is to change out the pickup to a SD Alnico 2. Perfect for jazz.

[Razorbackjazz]

Love it! This would be great advice for any kid starting out and interested in many different styles.

Of course, the best guitar is the one he will play...

My Tele is a bit of a mongrel--started out with a MIM body and Warmouth neck--but I will second the idea that even the Squiers offer a lot of bang for the buck. A good friend of mine just got a 2-HB Suhr thinline which is beautiful and sounds great, but maybe a bit expensive for your needs.

One thought if you find a comfortable guitar but want something mellower in the neck position is to change out the pickup to a SD Alnico 2. Perfect for jazz.

I’ve read a lot about the SD lil 59 as a great option to replace a single coil. The more I think about it the more I am inclined to dig a little deeper $$wise. The kid has an instrument of some kind in his hands about 4 hours a day. I’ve always told him that it’s his job to become a great musician and I will pay him with gear. Oh, how I have paid. But I’ve enjoyed the experience. Maybe some might consider my strategy a little warped but it has worked great so far.


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[citizenk74]

I’ve read a lot about the SD lil 59 as a great option to replace a single coil. The more I think about it the more I am inclined to dig a little deeper $$wise. The kid has an instrument of some kind in his hands about 4 hours a day. I’ve always told him that it’s his job to become a great musician and I will pay him with gear. Oh, how I have paid. But I’ve enjoyed the experience. Maybe some might consider my strategy a little warped but it has worked great so far.


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The Li'l '59 is a great option in a single-coil-sized humbucker. Powerful and quiet, I believe it was voiced to match the PAFs in Billy Gibbons '59 Les Paul, "Pearly Gates." It's a drop-in for the bridge pup in a Tele; I ran one for awhile in my '66 Telecaster Custom, and a friend of mine used that guitar for a year-long rock tour to great effect. A little woodwork to put one in the neck position would be well worth the effort, IMO. Best of luck!

[El Fundo]

Or you could get something like this (although I’m not sure if the pickups are the same size as standard humbuckers in case you decide to swap neck pup out for a Duncan):

Fender American Pro Telecaster(R) Deluxe ShawBucker™, Rosewood Fingerboard, Candy Apple Red

I bet those Shawbuckers are awesome though. Tim Shaw redesigned all of Fender’s pickups. I know I love the ones in my Strat.

[boatheelmusic]

Baja telecaster. Done.

[Jonathan0996]

There are a lot of teles in your price range and lower. I'd take him to Guitar Center and let him go at 'em. Let him pick the one that sings to him. That'll be the best guitar.

[Razorbackjazz]

Or you could get something like this (although I’m not sure if the pickups are the same size as standard humbuckers in case you decide to swap neck pup out for a Duncan):

Fender American Pro Telecaster(R) Deluxe ShawBucker, Rosewood Fingerboard, Candy Apple Red

I bet those Shawbuckers are awesome though. Tim Shaw redesigned all of Fender’s pickups. I know I love the ones in my Strat.

This is the exact model and color that was our pick of the day. It may change tomorrow and it is $1500... but I think it would be a good choice. We’re thinking about making the 7 hour trip to Nashville. Ought to be a few Teles there huh?


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[Sam Sherry]

Steve Cropper at left. Cab Calloway at center!

[citizenk74]

Steve Cropper at left. Cab Calloway at center!

Beside "Colonel" Cropper don't forget Matt "Guitar" Murphy wielding a fine Guild archtop and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass.

[dconeill]

For me it would be a Tele with a humbucker at the neck or a Nashville pickup arrangement.

I believe that almost all Fender Teles are already routed to accept a neck humbucker, all you'd need would be a new pickguard. But be watchful, you'll have to know what mounting-hole spacing you'll need for the particular model - the English and metric version pickguard mounting screwholes are at slightly different locations.

A very good choice IMO would be a Nashville Tele, particularly if a slightly brighter/chimier neck-plus-middle tone is useful to him. This might be a particularly good choice since it has a swimming-pool rout and so is very easy to mod. That is, if he doesn't like the three-pickup arrangement it's very easy to convert to a humbucker at the neck. Another reason the Nashville might be a good choice is that the fingerboard radius is 12", which many seem to find works well for chording.

So my choice woud be a Nashville Tele, around $800. Available with either maple or pao ferro fingerboard

[mr. beaumont]

I believe that almost all Fender Teles are already routed to accept a neck humbucker, all you'd need would be a new pickguard. But be watchful, you'll have to know what mounting-hole spacing you'll need for the particular model - the English and metric version pickguard mounting screwholes are at slightly different locations.

I stopped buying teles a few years back when I finally pieced together the "perfect" (for me) telecaster...I don't know if things have changed on more recent models, but my experience was very much the opposite when I was buying and gutting telecasters for a few years--surprisingly few were routed for neck humbuckers.

The Nashville tele, I do know, has a "swimming pool" rout...meaning the most versatile of teles can be made even moreso!

[dconeill]

... I don't know if things have changed on more recent models, but my experience was [that] ... surprisingly few were routed for neck humbuckers. ...

The Stratosphere (stratosphereparts.com/bodies) has photos of various parted-out Fender Tele bodies without pickguards that can show which Teles are already routed for neck humbuckers.

[Timslaven]

Thanks to anyone who can offer me some advice. My 15 year old son has been playing bass in both Orchestra and Jazz. He also plays bass guitar where appropriate. The current guitarist is off to college on a full music scholarship in a couple of months. My freshman son is chomping at the bit to take his place. He’ll still play some bass I’m sure but he is ready to step out front a little more. I’m looking for advice on selecting an instrument. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on this forum and have picked up some of the terminology. His school has a new Gibson style “jazz box”. Patrick wants something different. He watched a Jazz performance recently where the guitarist used a Telecaster. He would love to have an American made version but that it probably out of the budget. I’ve studied several imports such as Thinlines for around 8- $900. That’s about as high as I can go. Anyone have a recommendation?

I have a 2007 tele thinline MIM getting ready to sell. Set up for 11. Excellent clean jazz tone.


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[customxke]

I had an early 60s Goldtop Les Paul with soap-bar pickups!

No such thing.

[rlrhett]

I build guitars so maybe my perspective is skewed. But for about $1,200 you can have pretty much any feature you want custom ordered in a Warmoth parts caster build. All you would need is a screwdriver, a little time, and a pro setup when you were done. I mean ANYTHING you want. Flame maple with a purple burst, if that is your fancy. And if you are a little flexible you can probably mate an existing body and neck from their stock, add all the bits and pieces, and have at it for $700. That's a LOT less than $2,000. I wouldn't want to build an acoustic guitar without guidance, tools, etc. But a plank guitar? That's a big premium for it to say "Fender" on the headstock. A little DIY bonding (QT with your son) will give you HIS guitar that will always be the one he built with good 'ole dad. Heck, you might like the process so much you make yourself one and still be under the $2K budget!

[Razorbackjazz]

I build guitars so maybe my perspective is skewed. But for about $1,200 you can have pretty much any feature you want custom ordered in a Warmoth parts caster build. All you would need is a screwdriver, a little time, and a pro setup when you were done. I mean ANYTHING you want. Flame maple with a purple burst, if that is your fancy. And if you are a little flexible you can probably mate an existing body and neck from their stock, add all the bits and pieces, and have at it for $700. That's a LOT less than $2,000. I wouldn't want to build an acoustic guitar without guidance, tools, etc. But a plank guitar? That's a big premium for it to say "Fender" on the headstock. A little DIY bonding (QT with your son) will give you HIS guitar that will always be the one he built with good 'ole dad. Heck, you might like the process so much you make yourself one and still be under the $2K budget!

We have discussed this option. When his grandma became involved it moved towards a “here’s my CC# get him what he wants “. I’m going to get on the Warmoth site right now and actually check it out myself.


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[El Fundo]

No such thing.

Maybe I’m wrong, but everybody back then referred to them as soapbars. I think they were just white p90s.