Should everyone own a telecaster?

UnderTheFlame83

UnderTheFlame83

New member
Been thinking of adding a tele to my arsenal. I have never owned a tele before and only played one once around 25 years ago. I remember liking it then, but I was younger, and the thought of having a tele seemed not cool. I've always been into strats, or super strats mostly. Sure, I have a Les Paul and an SG, but the strat shape is the most comfortable to me and the one I am most used to.

The telecaster I got my eye on is a Squier Affinity in Butterscotch Blonde, cause I don't want to spend much. Reviews look good. I can always upgrade it later if do end up liking the guitar. If not, it can easily be returned. What worries me the most, though, is not having the contour for your arm to rest on. That is one of the reasons I don't own many arch top guitars.
 
I would try to find an older used Squier Standard or Vintage Modified model instead of buying an Affinity. You could even get one that was pretty battle-scarred already and file/sand yourself an arm rest into it. To me, Affinitys seem like a conglomeration of too many sub-standard parts to be very useable, and I've seen too many of them with warped necks and broken parts after just a couple of years to trust them.
 
Tele pickups are a truly iconic and great sound. Being a bolt on neck with hard tail bridge, they're dirt simple and rock solid tuning wise. However the body and upper fret access are both awful, failed 9th grade wood shop style mistakes, and of no value. They are uncomfortable to play . . . and I exclusively played a 335 for 10 years. There is no benefit to the discomfort, just a stupid dogmatic adherence to tradition. See if you can find a Squier jazzcaster instead.
 
There is also the Classic Vibe models that look interesting. Not sure about humbuckers in a tele. I want that classic look and twang if I get one. Be alot different that any guitars I have for sure.
 
Does the Schecter PT tele count? I might play one of those. Otherwise I'll stick with some sort of strat.

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I'm not certain, but I think it may be available with a set neck and body contour.

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I grew up on Super Strats...migrated to Strats and then finally opened up to a Tele. Now I mainly play Teles. They are truly great guitars...probably not for EVERYONE but definitely worth giving a try.
 
Ya know, of all the guitar models out there, Teles best mix versatility with simple usability. No matter who you are or what your goals are, you will always be able to find a Tele configuration that's right for you.

I say go for it. Don't buy one thinking that you have to mod it, but also don't be afraid to make your Tele work for you.
 
Nah, I am not sure everyone should own one. I've never had any desire to own one, especially a traditional one. But I give anyone permission to buy what they want, providing it doesn't cause a hardship.
 
generally I think it's good practice to own guitars responsible for iconic songs in genres you like

so if you're into country, blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, classic rock, modern rock, soul, r&b, funk, midwest emo, indie rock, or whatever tf marylin manson is... prob a good idea to have a tele

Also I'd generally try to avoid buying guitars online. The only guitars I've ever come across that sounded consistently great were acoustics made by old dudes at their house who'd made more than 1,000 guitars prior to that and can literally tap on a piece of spruce and tell you exactly what the finished guitar will be like... and those usually cost at least $5,000

What's more, I've often gone out and played every "x" type guitar in town in any price range and it's not uncommon to not find one I gel with at that time... guitars are made of wood, wood is inconsistent, the only thing reviews and price tags really reflect are quality of workmanship and components... you will 100% find completely uninspiring custom shop guitars.

Play everything, buy local, and you'll end up with guitars you want to keep
 
treyhaislip said:
I grew up on Super Strats...migrated to Strats and then finally opened up to a Tele. Now I mainly play Teles. They are truly great guitars...probably not for EVERYONE but definitely worth giving a try.
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This reminds me of my uncle. He has always played a strat. Had many in his collection at one point, until he bought his first tele. He sold all his Fender strats and has nothing but telecasters now. Massive collection of nothing but them. He is left handed and I am right handed, so I can't play any of them. Even if I wanted, no one touches his guitars but him.

My favorites of his is a custom Waylon Jennings tele that looks just like Waylon's guitar. I asked one day how much he payed for it, but he wouldn't tell me. He has owned that one a good 30 years and I am pretty sure that's his #1. My second favorite of his is a Merle Haggard tele. He also has a John 5 signature Fender.
 
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I've managed to get by with a Vintage Stack Tele neck pickup in my test bed Bullet S-3 and a '72 Tele Deluxe neck on my mutt Lead II. Who knows what the future holds, but for now I'm good with no Telecaster.
 
drew_half_empty said:
Play everything, buy local, and you'll end up with guitars you want to keep
Click to expand...

It is increasingly more difficult to find well-stocked guitar shops around. If you do, many times they don't have more esoteric models. Certainly you can find a Tele, but even then, you are limited to a few higher end ones, as they don't tend to sell quickly.
 
While I don't an actual Telecaster, I do have two guitars inspired by them. It took me awhile to actually give them a go, but I am happy I did.

Cole
 
I've developed a taste for a tele, don't own one right now though. I'd probably try to find an old ESP Vintage Plus one, thinner "D" neck and jumbo frets, the stuff that feels good to me.

I did have one of the older MIK PT Schecters and it was a nice guitar, not sure about the new MII ones (not trying to start a where made debate, just haven't tried one).
 
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