how do YOU use your TELE!

[benbenben]

Hey guys,
Been using my tele and my paul for a while now and together, it's a great setup for me.

Just ordered some alnico II antiquities for the tele and can't wait to install em in my MIA tele.

A lot of the players i listen to are strat players so i'm not especially familiar with my tele. I was comfortable with my strat, i knew what to use when, but i just love the looks of teles so i sold the strat for my current tele.

How do you guys use your tele?

What positions and knob settings do you use for what type of sounds?

I'm very into blues and rock and not into 'country' which a lot of 'great' tele tones are supposed to be. Roy Buchanan has good tone, but it's not what i'm looking for. I do like Robben Ford Tele tone though, very fat and sweet. I love it. Any suggestions? Planning to get a Blues Junior very soon.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I use it just like my Les Paul- then again I have pickups that sound more like P-90s than traditional Tele pickups...

It's an MIJ 60's Tele from the early 90s. I'd always wanted an Olympic White Tele, so I sanded off the finish, and did a Krylon (almond) refin- it's bad, but I've got most of the look I'm looking for. The pickups are Harmonic Design Super 90 in the bridge and I think Vintage Plus in the neck. I've always hated the slide switch on the Tele- too difficult to get your finger between the switch and volume knob for fast switching- so I put in an up/down toggle. The guitar is wired so that both pickups have their own volume control, and the neck pickup has a trebel bleed cap, so there's a tone control between the volumes. On the plate it's the switch, bridge vol, neck tone, neck vol. There's an Electrosocket jack cup and Graph Tech saddles.

It's a rock machine.

 

[Bludave]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I have 5 Teles and they are all setup quite differently.

My first Tele is a California Tele. This guitar likes higher action. It also has a set of Tex Mex pickups in it. A Strat PU in the N and a Tele in the bridge. I use this mostly for slide tuned to open "E". Its a great guitar for slide and it sounds real good, it has a lot of sustain and with a little OD it can sustain forever.

Tele #2 is a Double Fat Tele. It is a Metal flake blue and it has a set neck. Its one of the blackout series. It has a pair of Duncan HB pickups in it and it can scream, yet it can also do some really smooth rythum work espicially in the middle position.

Tele #3 is a Custom made Thinline Tele. It has a Mahogony body and a flame maple cap. It has a JazzN and 59B the tone knob is also a push/pull coil tap. I use this guitar in a variety of ways. It sounds more like a 335 than a Tele though. Great guitar made by DeMarino (no longer in business)

Tele #4 This is the Tele that I use most. Its a 52RI and has a Vintage 54 N and a Jerry Donahue B. This is the most tradtional sounding Tele I have and I use this for a lot of blues. I espicially like the combination of Pickups. In the middle Pos it sounds exactly the way you want to Tele to sound. In the Neck pos it is warm enough to do Jazz, iun the Bridge it has a great amount of Midrange (The JD is a great bridge Pickup). Smooth not harse in anyway.

Tele#5 is a Custom Tele with a Duncan Firebird mini hum in the neck and a hotrail in the bridge. This is a very versatile guitar. It can do anything a normal Tele can do, but a whole lot more. This was Xsissive's Twistedcaster. It has a maple board with Ebony flames and Malteze crosses for dot markers. Its a smokin' Tele thats for sure.

I don't really know how I wound up with 5 Teles. I consider myself more of a Strat guy (I play my Strats more than my Teles).

I like to use the Middle position for most rythum work with all my Teles. This position and using the tone control I can get a wide variety of tones out of the guitar. It also has a lot to do with what amp I am playing thru. A Tele and a Deluxe Reverb is a pretty awesome combination!

 

[benbenben]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

Maybe a Callaham or Joe Barden bridge as well?

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I have 3 Strats and a Tele. The Tele certainly has its place. Just before I bought my third Strat I was gonna buy a Jerry Donahue bridge pickup for my Tele, but I bought the Strat, and a CR/VR/CR to go with it, which is in the post. The JD pup will follow though I'm sure.

Anyway, I use the bridge position for light/medium distortion, think of fat rhythm tones. Imagine Rick Parfitt (the Quo were my inspiration to get a Tele). I get a lot of my classic rock tones with my Tele, like Deep Purple and Led Zeppellin. I'd take the volume down to about 8 to take the edge off it. I never use the bridge for cleans, but I bet I will when I get a JD pup. It sounds a little too ice picky as it is now, and rolling off the tone knob just doesn't have the effect I want it to. It just makes it kinda mushy and unclear

The middle position I use for clean rhythm and lead parts. Rhythm parts are nice with a tone at about 9, which takes that coubtry tawngy touch off. I really like the twang, but if you take the tone back in more of a neutral direction, but keep a fair bit of twang, you get a really good all-purpose clean tone. When I use it for leads, I keep the tone at 10, and pick right near the bridge. I call it my 'weird tone'. I used it for a really odd-sounding piece I did for this pantomime. It was kinda egyptian sounding. It's just a nice kinda odd tone I like.

The neck pup is the most reliable. I can get a nice lead tone pretty easy with light distortion. Clean rhythms always sound nice. I prefer Strat neck pickups though for cleans. I like the tone knob right where it is on the neck pup, but I take the volume down for light disortion. It smooths it all out.

If I was told I'd be going on stage in 10 minutes, I'd wanna take my Tele with me. Despite my Stratty obsession, the Tele's are that much more dependable.

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I tend to like my Solos warm, and am not the greatest tone control user, so I play a lot on the neck pickups on all my guitars. On the Tele's though I usually mix Brg and neck for rhythm.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I use the bridge pickup almost exclusively on both my tele's with everything wide open. I roll back the tone a bit or change my attack to vary the tones. My next tele will definately be an Esquire of some sort.

 

[mrfjones]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

i use my tele for almost everything. it is just a great rock guitar. I can make it twnag but it just seems to sit the best in a nice overdriven state. I actually just play with the knobs until I get the sound I am after that day. (it has a lot to do with the amp I am playing through) I throw a boost pedal in front of the amp and thats all I use.

 

[Mike M.]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I've recentley "re-discovered" my Tele after having it for a few years. Really wasn't getting much use up until about 3 weeks ago when I changed the pickups. Now it sounds the way I've always wanted it to and I can't stop playing it. Play it thru my Fender DRRI. A digital delay and a compressor are used also, but sparingly.

I use it strickly for clean tones. Got DiMarzio's Tone Zone T in the bridge and a Virtual Vintage Strat neck model in the neck. Got the Tone Zone T wired up to a push/pull pot which when pulled out lowers the pickups output to about 3/4 of the full output. It really sounds good like that by itself and in combination with the neck pickup for rhythm tones. Push in the pot to get full strength from the bridge pickup (while still in combination with the neck pickup) and it gives it that extra kick for leads. Can't say enough good things about both of these pickups. Still sounds like a Tele but with a bit more muscle and not so much high end sizzle on the ears. I love it!

 

[benbenben]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

Thanks guys, keep em coming?

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I have Sunny, my Mexican Fender Tele in 3-colour Sunburst. I replaced the original tone pot with a TBX, because ever since I put one in my Squier Strat I've decided every guitar I own will have a TBX. It really bring out the highs or adds some nice warth and bassiness (well, warm and mello on bridge, bassiness on neck, mix in middle). I use it a lot for my own songs and for NOFX (cause hefe plays a Tele) and it a beatiful guitar. I have no regrets about buying it. I'm thinking about putting in a push/pull volume pot that will change the middle position wiring from parallel to series when using the push/pull.

 

[Smilemon]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I have my Fender 60th Anniversary tele and I love it to death. I worked hard for it, and I like people to know that, because I have a lot of nice stuff and people generally thing I'm spoiled.

I use my Tele for everything under the sun, except country, cant stand country. I play through a Fender Pro Junior, it sounds really good on the middle switch, the vintage 52 pickups have a lot of sparkle when they are together. The bridge is clear and screams on lead tones, it fattens up nicely when I use the tone knob though, the neck is great for clean solos and rhythms but I find that with a little distortion it makes for a great Carlos Santana tone. When I drive my fuzzulator with the knobs at 7 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 10 o'clock, and use my middle position I get a really good fuzzy Allman Brothers tone.

I would probably kill myself if it got stolen.

 

[aleclee]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

IMO, the biggest part of playing a Tele is learning to work the volume and (especially) the tone control. I don't think it's a guitar that rewards setting and leaving things dimed. Part of the fun is managing the controls to dial in the right tone for the moment.

After that, I'd say that my secret weapon is the "both pickups in series" position you can get with a 4-way switch. Highly recommended inexpensive tweak.

The other wacky thing I do is flip the control plate around and rewire it so the volume control is closest to the bridge. That makes it easier to ride the volume control and makes it practical to do volume swells. It also puts the controls closer to the PRS layout that I've gotten used to.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

i use my tele thru a c30 amp when i'm looking for some vintage rock feel and tone..... It's just a stock 99 MIM Tele, a cord, and the amp.... It does tones like The Who, Stones, some Zeppelin and various other Classic Rock sounds..

As far as settings i am all over the place... A tele is the only axe i really use my Tone controll on.. I switch pick ups and play with the dails all the way thru every tune..

And i use my Tele pretty rough... i bash chords out of it hard sometimes... A rough tool for rough use....

 

[James Rock]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I use mine for everything i play (seeming its my only guitar) lots of clean stuff but dirty for solos and that (distortion from indyguitarist pinnacle 2) into a fender pro junior. Hard to explain the tone really I play stuff influence from many things including some new bands like bloc party but mainly older stuff. I even get some hammer on and tapping going for wahhed out solo's (more hendrix then 80's shred). Alot of arpegios and muted chords as well as some surfy tremolo picking lots of stuff really but usually with a 60's 70's vibe to it.
Its a stock 52 reissue which is surprisingly versatile (although is in most cases better clean then dirty).

 

[James Rock]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

Listen to my bands stuff on our myspace site listed below rythmn guitar on learn the rules and wonderous world are my tele as well as lead on south city. Lead on next to her is my dad's warmoth tele (with antiquity's) with a little tapping on the solo (not very good mind u).

 

[benbenben]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

So
neck is say for the cleans, chords and stuff?
mid is for some rhythms, a bit of overdrive
bridge for searing leads and stuff?
i dunno?

 

[WhoFan]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

So
neck is say for the cleans, chords and stuff?
mid is for some rhythms, a bit of overdrive
bridge for searing leads and stuff?
i dunno?

all the above and more.... I'm more of a single bridge humbucker, single volume pot, strat player.... still a hangover from my teen years as a major VH freak.. i still am a huge VH fan.... But when i have my tele in my hands i am working all the controlls on that guitar all the time.. I'll switch pickups, adjust the knobs.... whatever it takes.... I love playing the bridge PU with the Tone rolled back slightly, i find it adds a P90 kind of mid range to the axe... Then for solos turn everything back up to 10...

I even use the Tone pot on my Tele as a wah wah by rolling it back and forth fast... My LP Deluxe does that reall well too!.

I'll pretty much say the tele (and lp) i own is the only axe i have a use for the tone pots....

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

I mod my Tele too much to use for just one thing. I'll go from a vintage style setup to putting a Strat pickup in the middle position to my current setup; which is a DiMarzio Air Norton in the neck position and a Hot Rails in the bridge. Even now, I can't leave it alone. I wired the Hot Rails in parallel and it is a great pickup that way.

I plan to strip the paint and bring it to a natural finish and spray a light coat of lacquer on it. Then, I will take out the Air Norton and replace it with a Cool Rails. We'll see what happens....

 

[Amateur]

Re: how do YOU use your TELE!

The Tele is a very verstile guitar. You can use it for all kinds of music. It has a wide range of adjustment that you really have to experience it yourself. It even sounds different if you hook it up to different amps. Mine is the American Deluxe Tele with the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups and the S-1 switch. I can actually get the sound of a LP if I roll back the tone just right. I know a lot of the LP lovers will argue about this but I have a LP myself and I cannot tell the difference. The Tele rocks.