Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

Lee Bob

Lee Bob

New member
Hey guys,

I've always loved the look and sound of teles. I currently play in a rock/hard rock band. Les Pauls are my guit of choice at the moment. In the very limited experience I have with single coil guitars (I owned a USA Strat for several months last summer) I found them to be too thin for my needs and thus my question. Is it possible to turn a tele into a really good hard rock guitar? I would like to mix the spank of a tele with the thickness of a humbucker guitar such as a LP (without putting a HB in a tele, I really don't like those cosmetics). Do the hotrails, '59 jr, JB jr etc really reproduce the tones of a humbucker well?

Tell me which tele you would buy ($400-600) and what pickups you would put in it to make it that perfect ROCK TELE.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

Stick with singles.

I use my tele for rock all the time, works fine. You'll have alot of agression and high end though.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

If I see Metal and Hardcore bands using Telecasters, I'm sure they can be used for Hard Rock. Albeit all these bands I've seen have had two guitarists, so if you're the only guitarist you might want something that can fill the sound very well.

Also the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster would be a sweet help in fattening up the telecaster. I also hear its a sweet boost by itself anyway.

The problem with saying things like ($400-600) on these forums is that someone will always go to maximum and usually a little over it. At that price range you could get a MIM tele (400) and have it setup, and replace the electronics and pickups. If you're lucky you can get a used MIA.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

Have you considered single coil sized humbuckers? When you say "a humbucker in a tele", you mean the "normal" ones right?
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

i love teles both ways... i really love my stock 99 MIM Standard.... but i also have a love for Teles with full sized humbuckers in them... I'm picky about the bridge humbucker placement on my axes... The Gotoh modern tele bridge with a humbucker slot has the pickup located closer to the saddles and it gives off a brighter tone there then my strats that i rout the humbucker slightly farther away... But i still love it, the Gotoh bridge is a good one.. I loved Pete Townshends custom teles in the early 80's and i plan on makeing a Warmoth copy of those...

But what surprised me about my 99 MIM is the low end the tele has is great for hard rock.. Even with singlecoils
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

Jimmy Page used a Tele for alot of Zepplin stuff...so "YES"!

For more modern hard rock styles (Van Halen, etc.) humbuckers are the norm though.

Still, my Teles can rock with a very convincing overdriven tone...especially when run through my MIJ Boss DS-1 or something like the Duncan Pickup Booster and plugged into one of my modded Fenders with Celestions.

Lew
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

A tele with a Quarter Pounder bridge is almost made for AC/DC.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

page, john 5, izzy from gnr, they all use/have used tele's. so ya, teles can be pretty versatile.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

I've seen alot of bands from hard rock, punk, and hardcore bands using tele's. If single coils aren't your thing look into one of these

475229.jpg
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

This is my early 90s MIJ Tele.

normal_tele.jpg




For pickups, it's got Harmonic Design pickups- a Super 90 in the bridge and I believe a Vintage Plus in the neck. The bridge pickup is a great cross between a P-90 and a Tele- with the Tele bridge- it's got that spank and it's got P-90 snarl.

It's a rock machine.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

don't understand why people think you can't rock with SCs. just turn up the gain, dammit :D
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

I've got a 11k SC bridge and thats what it does best.
 
Last edited:
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

i use my mim tele to play everything from blues to metal. the tapped tele hot bridge and p-90 neck are wokring out great for me.
 
Re: Can a Tele be used for Hard Rock?

Jake E. Lee.....

Badlands.....

Streets Cry Freedom....

nuff said...


And of course the aforemtioned Led Zep 1


I'd take a stock Tele for heavy/hard rock ANY day of the week over a stock S-S-S Strat

My old Charvy M7 was a killer "metal" guitar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top