Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

[Gamera]

Telecasters don't look cool. And they sound like dirty, nasaly, old men in flannel shirts who smell like smoke and whine about why Thelma left them. Their dog, Biscuit, has the runs and their reliable ol' pickup blew a rod and ain't so reliable anymore.

Right? You guys with me so far?

So then why am I suddenly drawn unexplainably to the unmistakable Tele sound in Gov't Mule's Brighter Days from their new High & Mighty album?

iTunes link to Gov't Mule's Brighter Days

If you're just hearing the 30-second snippet you're missing out on the heavy, fuzzy, pissed-off Tele sound heard a little later in the song. I can do without some of the typical Tele-slide stuff in the intro but there's somenthing in that sound that's drawing me towards it. Is this just a phase? Or is this how Tele GAS starts?

Someone either talk me down or suggest some other cool Tele stuff and I'll try and make up my own mind. Thanks.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

You got it backwards, man. The Tele is IT. It's all the other guitars you don't need.

 

[big_black]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Right? You guys with me so far?

Nope, and nope.

 

[Carl762]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Man, another Govt Mule album. Yea!!! I really like Warren Haynes.

c

 

[jeremy]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

who says you have to have a plain jane tele? maple and binding work on a tele too ya know

 

[Gamera]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

So far you guys aren't convincing me and making me think this might just be a phase. Rich & big_black, I'm familiar with the works of both The Banana Splits and Devo. Good bands but I don't hear any Telecasters. Anyone have any listening recommendations for Tele sounds that are cool but not "typical."

 

[butnut]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Pages Stairway to Heaven solo...Jeff Becks Tele-Gib on Cause we ended as lovers...thought that was his Les Paul for years. The bits I heard on John5s Tele were real kool too.
<Yup, ditto on that Jeremy!

 

[mrfjones]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

check out the black keys. he uses a tele for a lot of the work on three of their albums and it is all fuzzed out and mean. Oh yeah and it is a MIM tele with a bigsby

 

[Gamera]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

check out the black keys.

Oooo...now we're talkin'. The samples from their "Magic Potion" album are kinda tasty. Sorta reminiscent of Gov't Mule actually. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Greg Koch plays a lot of Tele. Zoiks is a great tune, played on a Tele with a B-bender no less. Not exactly your typical "country-on-a-Tele".

Hey! Where are your Monster Island pictures? They've disappeared from the old "show us your rehearsal room" thread. I want to show them to the kids, and then let them talk Mom into redecorating the family room while I stand back, looking innocent.

 

[Pastor of Muppets]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Anyone have any listening recommendations for Tele sounds that are cool but not "typical."

Jeff Buckley.

I too have suddenly been hit by Tele GAS this week for the first time in 20 years of playing...must be something in the air.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Anyone have any listening recommendations for Tele sounds that are cool but not "typical."

Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave ... 90% of Tom Morello's playing is on a Tele.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Hey! Where are your Monster Island pictures? They've disappeared from the old "show us your rehearsal room" thread. I want to show them to the kids, and then let them talk Mom into redecorating the family room while I stand back, looking innocent.

I took them down since the tiki lounge has grown a bit since then and I've been meaning to take new pics and post them. Your request might just be the motivation I need to get off my butt and take some pics this weekend.

And thanks for the suggestions, some good stuff there.

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Telecasters don't look cool. And they sound like dirty, nasaly, old men in flannel shirts who smell like smoke and whine about why Thelma left them. Their dog, Biscuit, has the runs and their reliable ol' pickup blew a rod and ain't so reliable anymore.

Right? You guys with me so far?

So then why am I suddenly drawn unexplainably to the unmistakable Tele sound in Gov't Mule's Brighter Days from their new High & Mighty album?

iTunes link to Gov't Mule's Brighter Days

If you're just hearing the 30-second snippet you're missing out on the heavy, fuzzy, pissed-off Tele sound heard a little later in the song. I can do without some of the typical Tele-slide stuff in the intro but there's somenthing in that sound that's drawing me towards it. Is this just a phase? Or is this how Tele GAS starts?

Someone either talk me down or suggest some other cool Tele stuff and I'll try and make up my own mind. Thanks.

I dont like Tele's either......but I found my "Tele"....it's got "spank" and can get Dirty...look into one of these if you're drawn to tele's but don't like the asthetics..... It sure got rid of my "Tele GAS"..haha

~Mitch~

 

[Low_fidelity2100]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Joe Strummer Almost always played a tele with the clash, Frank black plays a tele on alot of Pixies stuff, Mick Ronson Used alot of tele On The Bowie albums he was on (and also the stuff he played on Lou Reed's Transformer album), Andy summers Of the police used a tele alot, Johnny Greenwood Of radio head uses a telecaster a whole bunch, and most importantly of all PRINCE uses a tele most of the time. None of them have the "typical" tele sound.

 

[H8Red442]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

You definitely don't need a Tele. No one does.

 

[Pastor of Muppets]

Re: Aw crap...don't tell me I need a Tele now

Joe Strummer Almost always played a tele with the clash, Frank black plays a tele on alot of Pixies stuff, Mick Ronson Used alot of tele On The Bowie albums he was on (and also the stuff he played on Lou Reed's Transformer album), Andy summers Of the police used a tele alot, Johnny Greenwood Of radio head uses a telecaster a whole bunch, and most importantly of all PRINCE uses a tele most of the time. None of them have the "typical" tele sound.

I was lucky enough to see Greenwood play with Thom Yorke at a tiny gig last year - it was mostly acoustic but when Greenwood got his Tele out he absolutely destroyed with it, totally incredible sound, and watching him from 20 feet away my jaw hit the floor.

Maybe that was when my Tele GAS really started...