-
Hey guys!
I'm looking for a tele that gives me some jazz warm tones.
But it seems like there is a million different guitars available, and I have no idea what to get.
I've read tons of posts, watched videos, but I can't seem to understand what I need.
So. I have a Fender strat, that i like a lot, but i don't want that crisp and twangy sound. I have an archtop but I need something a little more versatile.
So, if you guys could help me with these matters:
1) Does it have to have an F hole? - Apparently not...but in any case.
2) Rosewood or maple fretboard?
3) Pickups...I know there is a lot of threads on this...
If you could indicate specific models you think would be good for jazz...Fender website has like 50 different new teles. I'm lost.
Thanks guys, for your time and attention!
-
01-12-2022 02:56 PM
-
Any tele can get you a good jazz tone. The important thing is finding one with a neck you like.
-
Hi - teles are great fun!
First for "gear" requests: budget?? If you've done some homework, you know teles are from $700 - 7000, so where are you sitting before we send you looking at different models?
To your specific questions:
1. No f-hole needed;
2. The debaters say, "fretboard wood matters less than other factors;" and
3. Lots of (recent) posts on tele pickups, so check them out (and what's your pickup budget?)!
Enjoy!
Marc
-
Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
This.
It may take more than one try to find the right neck. My recommendation, start
with a used Squier Classic Vibe which has everything a Tele must have, and
most of what it *should* have... meaning a relatively low price.
-
There are SO many variations on the Tele theme, that its best for you to go to a music store and try out a few.
As stated by others, jazz tones are already accessible via Telecasters.
My personal favorite for Tele-jazz is G&L since I'm a fan of their proprietary Magnetic Field Design (MFD) pickups.
-
Originally Posted by mcrombaldi
-
My CV Tele is a gem. $400 new and has everything you need to get the Tele bug deep in your DNA. Originally Posted by Michael Neverisky
-
And that isn't too heavy. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
-
I have a few thoughts to toss in…
1. I agree with the feel and comfort of the neck in any guitar should be a priority. The best neck I have played (for me) is a Danocaster with 0.86 full C profile. Feels like a well played neck with none of the new thick coating. A more affordable similarly comfortable neck to look into is on the Fender Road Worm series telecasters. That stayed, you may prefer a thinner more modern neck. Best to play as many tele models as possible.
2. While a tele can have jazzy tones, to my ears they still sound like a solid body. If the hope is to get the same full smoky-vintage thunk, (add your favorite adjective here) tone, I think you may be disappointed. I pretty much only play my tele as it’s very comfortable, but it is it’s own sonic critter.
3. The G&L Asat Classics are rather P-90 ish sounding to my ears. Sounds great though the neck is more 0.83 on mine and these days I prefer the fuller neck. This brings me back to my 1st point….
Great playing tele scan be had in all price ranges. Keep playing them until you find one that grabs you.Last edited by Steve Z; 01-15-2022 at 02:11 PM.
-
If I was going to blindly buy a Fender Tele I would probably go for a Vintera or Jason Isbell model. They are the probably the most original Fender-like without spending a lot of dough. 7.25” radius fret board, 21frets, vintage style tuners. Those are the kinds of things that make a Fender a Fender IMHO. Somehow those types of specs make them more playable to me than flatter fretboards, heavier tuners, etc. And playability has nothing to do with playing jazz except that playability is the most important thing that a guitar needs to be.
-
There are a lot of different Telecaster models. I would suggest going with a "standard" Telecaster, whether American made, Mexican made or Asian made. I have had a Fender Squier Affinity Telecaster for more than 10 years now and it has been a great guitar upon which to play jazz. Over the years I have replaced the neck with one that is wider (the Affinity necks of that vintage were under 1 5/8" at the nut) and ended up replacing the pickups with noise canceling ones. But even fresh out of the box, it was really easy to get a nice jazz sound on it. And that was $180 new, no case. Volume at about 7, tone at about 5, turn the amp up to the appropriate volume, pick a little lightly. Boom.
-
If I was in your position having a Strat and an archtop already I'd rather look at a semi-hollow. Nothing wrong with a Tele, just a bit close to the Strat sonically if you want to cover most ground with least guitars.
-
There's an American Performer model now with a neck humbucker. I'd go with that one.
Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum - 3-Color Sunburst with Maple Fingerboard | Sweetwater
-
(sorry to jump on the OP thread here)
I want a cheap but decent tele
for jazz and soul/funk etc
I think the current Squire Affinity has
most of what I want or need
satin finish Indian Laurel neck
9.5” radius
medium jumbo frets
42mm nut
belly contour
strings through body
and a Lake placid blue paint job
tick ....
I might swap out the neck PU
(it’s ceramic)
might just change the magnets....
£220 in the UK
any thoughts on that plan ?
-
It should be decent indeed, especially if you spend a bit more to have a good setup. But I would suggest to try it in person - satin finish may not be your thing, neck may be a bit too narrow and make sure you are getting strings through body (mine affinity had top-loader and saddles were slightly rattling).
-
...another thought. An inexpensive guitar and a good amp will
enable better tone than a cheap amp an expensive guitar.
-
Thank you all guys for taking your time to respond.
I'll probably run down to a few stores and try some different teles, because as you said, there it all depends on what I think its the sound I'm looking for.
I'll have to try humbuckers and singles and see what I prefer.
In any case, thank you all!
Yes, I have thought about that. Maybe getting a 335 style. Any suggestions? What about the new Chinese Epis? Or even an Ibanez? Originally Posted by burchyk
Thanks!
-
I have a Dot Studio which I got for just 250. Changed the pickups. I like it. Dig the clean marker-less fretboard. I do late night practice often and find the semi is a decent compromise - has "air" that I can definitely feel yet nowhere as loud like a full archtop strung with 014 TI played by a heavy handed monkey like myself.
Another Epi I was very impressed by was a Casino - although it's more like a 330.
In a similar vein are Guild T50 Slim which is a single P90 hollow thinline; I have one and it is a surprisingly resonant and responsive instrument.
-
I have a CV squire and I put Gen4 Fender noiseless pickups and new electronics in it. That pickup change cost about as much as the guitar did. Doing it again I'd just start with a tele with noiseless pickups like the Fender Nashville deluxe.
-
Just to throw in another two cents, generally speaking, all Fender Teles of Mexican production feature a 42 mm neck width at the nut, whereas all major models of American production feature a 43 mm width.
The latter (MIA) applies to American Performer (formerly American Special), American Professional (formerly American Standard), and American Ultra (formerly American Elite). It does not apply to American Original (formerly American Vintage), which feature a 42 mm width.
The former (MIM) applies to all models except for the recently introduced Player Plus series.
So this has been a pretty hard-and-fast rule, at least until recently, even though possibly there may have been occasional exceptions (FSRs and suchlike).
I know sort of know this for a fact because I've all along found this to be an odd criterion of distinction. On the other hand, perhaps I'm being overly categorical (you never know), and the aforementioned out-of-produciton model designations are off the top of my head, so please correct me where I'm wrong.
-
on squier affinity and generally on the need to try before buying.
I find string spacing to be an important factor of playing comfortability, apparently not only the raw width of the neck matters, but also how slots in the nut are actually cut.
My neck certainly felt cramped, although measured width difference didn't seem to be big compared to les paul type I've been used to.
I've ended ordering warmoth gibson scale conversion neck and it was a total success - i find playability now to be perfect, hands refuse to put the guitar down.
But all the upgrades I did - ordering the neck, pickups, swapping saddles and jackplate, paying for the neck installation and setup, shielding cavities and drilling to make it string through - mean that it is now a completely different guitar I started with. Total cost is likely of 800-900usd (i did get the guitar itself as birthday present).
I doubt i would find a perfectly suiting me stock tele at this price range because of my scale length preference, but 900 certainly would greatly have expanded options. Hence it is better to put hand on as much candidate s as possible
-
I started my tele quest with a lightly used Squire CV Classic thin line. Bought an unfinished rosewood Warmoth boat neck and finished it with Tru-oil (way easy wipe on). Then replaced pickups with Wylde Keystones and decent pots. Whole thing came in around $600 US and I suppose I could recoup some of that by selling the original neck and electronics. Like Mr. B said, getting the neck to your liking is the most important thing.
I followed this up with a K-line Truxton with a Lollar HB in neck. Awesome guitar, but I still play the Squire regularly too. Don’t be afraid to do things like neck and PU replacements yourself - these are not complicated and plenty of guidance on YouTube, etc.
-
I usually prefer Squier Classic Vibe and Fender Road Worn (Mex) and MIJ to entry level US Fenders.
The nicest tele I've played was a Custom Shop thinline with a solid rosewood neck mmmm...
What I noticed with teles is that the neck profiles on different models can be night and day. Best to try in person.
Also removing paint from Squiers seems to improve the resonance.
-
My best friend recently got a Kotzen T and loves it.
-
This brings up a great point. When trying out electrics definitely play them unplugged in a quiet area if the store has one. Guitar Centers often have an acoustic room which would work. The best solid bodies sound great unplugged. Originally Posted by burchyk
I first came to my Danocaster Tele because of his reputation for building light resonant guitars. I play unplugged around the house and my Dano sounds great. So does a $100 Squier Affinity Strat I have.
11’s seem to the trick too. Most of the TEles in stores will be strung with 10’s at best.
Reply With Quote
Video: The Harmonic Minor Scale in Jazz
Today, 10:47 AM in Improvisation