I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Check out www.telemodders.com
I'm modded out for now, so I'm heading towards a nice bone stock Tele...after my LP Jr...hehe
My Tele-Gib still rocks!
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

There are tones that only Teles can get.
I was never much of a believer in Strat signature tone or almost any other guitar... but Tele can do it's own things that almost no guitar can... like that bite from the neck pickup that is the southern rock tone to my ears.
It's also very responsive...
And besides, it's the ultimate working class, raw, rebel tone and looks for a guitar.. for Punk, Rock n' Roll, Reggae... Even if we're talking about a $1500 Tele... :)
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

I love the pure design of it...how something so simple can look and sound so good?!

they'll make you honest no matter what...what you put in is what's gonna come out. no more covering up sloppiness with mahogany and humbuckers!

maybe that's why i sound like such a hack! lol!!!
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Hoss said:
I love the pure design of it...how something so simple can look and sound so good?!

they'll make you honest no matter what...what you put in is what's gonna come out. no more covering up sloppiness with mahogany and humbuckers!

maybe that's why i sound like such a hack! lol!!!
Click to expand...

+1 on the description of the Tele... Honest and Pure were the words I was looking for...

We don't agree with the part about the mahagony part :laugh2:
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

You know what? Come to think of it, I've never even held a tele!:smack:

I hear that they're very unforgiving instruments, and that the nuances of your playing translate very well on a Tele. The thing that gets me though, is I don't play country, and play a little blues here and there, but not enough to warrant having a "blues" guitar, per say. How does the Tele fair in comparison to the Strat, when it comes to classic rock(Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.), and hard rock(GnR, Van Halen, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)?
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

ElUnoAstuto said:
You know what? Come to think of it, I've never even held a tele!:smack:

I hear that they're very unforgiving instruments, and that the nuances of your playing translate very well on a Tele. The thing that gets me though, is I don't play country, and play a little blues here and there, but not enough to warrant having a "blues" guitar, per say. How does the Tele fair in comparison to the Strat, when it comes to classic rock(Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.), and hard rock(GnR, Van Halen, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)?
Click to expand...

A Tele is not only for country or blues (although it is great for blues!!!!)
Page used a Strat on one or two songs and he used a Tele on dozens.
A Tele was also used on a few Pink Floyd tracks and one of Roger Waters's guitarists uses a Tele on the live concerts to play Pink Floyd.
Statuse Quo, Keith Richards, The Police... all famous Tele users.

Richie Kotzen is a hard rocker who uses a Tele, with Dimarzio railled pickups... not the greatest tone... but he rocks hard... :headbang:
Tom Morelo from Audioslave/Rage Against the Machine is a Tele user...
I wouldn't put Smashing Pumpkins in the Hard Rock style, but Tele was used many times for Alternative, Grunge, etc... (Pixies!!!)

It is also used by a Jazz, Funk and R&B players...

And besides, if no one has used a Tele or any other guitar for a specific musical style... it could be an interesting experience...
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

jazzerlbn said:
+1 on the description of the Tele... Honest and Pure were the words I was looking for...

We don't agree with the part about the mahagony part :laugh2:
Click to expand...

My sentiments as well.

A tele is a tele, just like a LP is a LP and a strat is a strat. No other guitar does what it can do. I like them because they've got a tone all their own and ergonomically the feel great in my hands. My 50s RI tele keeps me honest more than any other in my collection.

Ultimately it's up to you to try to understand the tele yourself. We can't explain the telecaster in a way that will make you understand what it's all about any better than you could figure out on your own by picking one up and giving it a whirl.
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

I never understood either until I actually played one. A number of bands I listen to use them and they play punk rock. I personally like the '72 Thinline Tele's. :) :banana:
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

ElUnoAstuto said:
You know what? Come to think of it, I've never even held a tele!:smack:

I hear that they're very unforgiving instruments, and that the nuances of your playing translate very well on a Tele. The thing that gets me though, is I don't play country, and play a little blues here and there, but not enough to warrant having a "blues" guitar, per say. How does the Tele fair in comparison to the Strat, when it comes to classic rock(Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.), and hard rock(GnR, Van Halen, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)?
Click to expand...

i know absolutely ZERO country picking techniques...so i don't play country on mine either.

+1 on the description of the Tele... Honest and Pure were the words I was looking for...

We don't agree with the part about the mahagony part
Click to expand...

you gotta admit that mahogany and humbuckers are more forgiving than ash and single coils...?
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Teles are great! They are very soulful. Just listen to any Sam and Dave or pick up some Booker T. All that hot, soulful guitar sound is pure tele. Plus, teles are so unassuming compared to other austentacious guitars out there. You can show up to a gig and rock a tele whether you're a shredder or not.
Try it-you'll like it!
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

I've really been wanting to try a Tele out lately, the last time I saw Darkest Hour live, Mike Schliebaum was using a Tele through his 5150, and it sounded awesome! :D That, and I'm really trying to get back to simpler things lately.
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Hoss said:
you gotta admit that mahogany and humbuckers are more forgiving than ash and single coils...?
Click to expand...

Maybe we talk about different things... and I would be happy if you explained your point... :reporter:

I agree that the attack ash has makes it a type of wood not all players can handle... and in that sense mahagony (and alder) are "easier" for some players.
Humbuckers can be really touch sensitive (I don't think that this is what you had in mind) but they are less dynamic then single coils IMO... that makes them different... I don't know if they are more or less forgiving because of that... they are just not the same...
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

I think what makes a tele less forgiving is the design rather than the materials. I have two teles - one of vintage construction (7.25" radius, 3 barrel brass saddles, true single coils, "ping" tuners) and one with more modern appointments (12" radius, 6 saddle bridge, locking tuners, humbuckers). I have to put more into playing the RI, but I can get a lot more out of it.
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

Curly said:
part of the appeal is the simplicity, part is the tone.
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AMEN !!!

It is a simple beast, tamed by few. :bigok:

ElUnoAstuto said:
You know what? Come to think of it, I've never even held a tele!:smack:

I hear that they're very unforgiving instruments, and that the nuances of your playing translate very well on a Tele. The thing that gets me though, is I don't play country, and play a little blues here and there, but not enough to warrant having a "blues" guitar, per say. How does the Tele fair in comparison to the Strat, when it comes to classic rock(Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.), and hard rock(GnR, Van Halen, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)?
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the entire Led Zep I album was all Tele.

Joe Perry(Aerosmith) & Pete Townshend(The Who) are better known as LP players, but they played a lot of Tele on those albums too.

That's one of the appeals to the Tele for me too....they thrive in rock, country, JAZZ....they basically give what they get. :D
 
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Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

ElUnoAstuto said:
You know what? Come to think of it, I've never even held a tele!:smack:

I hear that they're very unforgiving instruments, and that the nuances of your playing translate very well on a Tele. The thing that gets me though, is I don't play country, and play a little blues here and there, but not enough to warrant having a "blues" guitar, per say. How does the Tele fair in comparison to the Strat, when it comes to classic rock(Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd, etc.), and hard rock(GnR, Van Halen, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.)?
Click to expand...

Unforgiving? Eh, perhaps. For me it's a workhorse instrument; it requires alot more work than say my Strats or Les Pauls. But for that work I'm rewarded with an amazing sound, and a sound that you wouldn't always assocaite with a Tele.

Last audition I had I walked in with my Tele and played a bunch of modern rock sort of stuff as well as some classic rock. I just mopped the floor with the other guitar player tonally. I was using a PodXT with a Crate PowerBlock to cop a goosed-up Plexi amp with the Tele and it just killed. It was a second audition previously I'd walked in with a Les Paul and a Blues Junior and it just didn't get the job done.

For heavier stuff I really like the way a Tele with an ash body can cut through. It may require something like a Little 59' in the bridge to push it, but tonally Ash is one of those woods that confounds me why more high-gain players don't consider it, especially when there's so much talk about amps sounding too dark. A good Tele with a nice Swamp Ash body will cut through a dark amp like a knife through butter.

My only complaint is that I never find the neck pickup powerful enough. I'm not prone to routing and with the Classic Stack I have in there now it's the weakest link in the chain. I'm looking to replace it with a GFS humbucker that's notably higher in output so I'll see how that goes.

My first real guitar was a Tele. All through high school bemoaned the thing while my friends had Les Pauls and Strats and other pointy axes. The funny thing is that playing the Tele for so long I think really helped when I started buying other instruments. It's unforgiving, sure, but it made me a better player and that translated over.

Currently I own three Les Pauls and three Strats. I quibble often over whether I really need that many. But rarely do I think I need more than one Tele...I know what that tone is and I know when to go with it and I never have any doubt that if I only could pick one guitar for a three-set night it would be the Tele.
 
Re: I don't understand Tele's, Tele men, enlighten me!

i don't own a tele but could see me getting one in the future. i'd think part of the reason for the sound is what i consider a very unique design for the bridge pickup. i mean, the pickup is mounted on the metal that is then attached to the bridge itself. very cool! is there another guitar that has this same type setup?
 
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