should i buy a telecaster?

Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Cool to hear all the positive stuff about Mexican Telecasters - never knew mim Tele's were worth a damn
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Cool to hear all the positive stuff about Mexican Telecasters - never knew mim Tele's were worth a damn

I thought the same thing actually, after coming back to this thread after I first posted. Hopefully I can find a good MIM that will leave me with enough money to Duncanize my Strat afterwards.
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

As a rule. You should ALWAYS have at least 1 tele in your collection at all times. I love them. People on ultimate guitar (the other guitar forum I go to) seem to hate them though..
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Cool to hear all the positive stuff about Mexican Telecasters - never knew mim Tele's were worth a damn

My 1999 MIM Standard Tele is a dream!!!! Something special in that one.. But i have tried others that felt awful and didn't sustain very well.. but in general they are great for the bucks! Mine i got lucky with it being such a great responding guitar, and the search is on to find another one as good as the one i have! Hope i can find another!
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

My spiel on teles...

Cool tone. Is very versatile, as that twangy tone distorts deliciously.

Awful looks.

Not enough switches :laugh2: Well... an esquire has plenty of switch for how many pickups it has.

In the end it has a tone like a pedal steel that I'll always associate with country... I'm not sure if I could deal with that.

The Tele really is the pickup truck of the guitar world. But I hate trucks, I like classic sports cars. Which is why I play uhh... a Jaguar and Mustang :)

You can always find MIMs that rock. It's laughable that people say you can't...

Slade
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

My spiel on teles...

Cool tone. Is very versatile, as that twangy tone distorts deliciously.

Awful looks.

Not enough switches :laugh2: Well... an esquire has plenty of switch for how many pickups it has.

In the end it has a tone like a pedal steel that I'll always associate with country... I'm not sure if I could deal with that.

The Tele really is the pickup truck of the guitar world. But I hate trucks, I like classic sports cars. Which is why I play uhh... a Jaguar and Mustang :)

You can always find MIMs that rock. It's laughable that people say you can't...

Slade


it may be a pickup truck, but it is like a 1945 model. old, busted, ugly, with its lack of sustain quite bumpy. not to mention it squeals like a loose fan belt and hums like a deisel without a tailpipe.

and jags and mustangs are awesome in the car world, but.....

what is the car equivelant of a johnson del mar? it looks like a strat but it sounds good and is built to withstand bombs. (9lbs i think) effing heavy for an alder strat with tummy cuts and elbow cuts. likea dodge magnum or something.
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

busted ugly etc.
Is that a compliment to the tele :laugh2: I really do have mixed emotions on the tele myself.

Anyways, my opinion is that if more people learned to 1.)set up Mustangs/Jags correctly 2.)learned to use the switches properly 3.)were able to get rid of preconcieved notions and all the garbage people say about them, there would be a lot of happy players getting good tone from them.

...After all, I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the tone on a Jaguar, but they complain about everything else about it :) (And a Jag shouldn't be sustainless, unless it's set up improperly).

Slade
 
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Re: should i buy a telecaster?

I didn't mean teles had no sustain... I meant many people think Jags have no sustain :)

They have slightly less sustain than say, a strat. But it's really never had an impact on how I play.

I agree though. if your TELE has no sustain, you suck :laugh2:

but they're ugly :D And so am I :sob:

Slade
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Yes. My Tele is really fantastic. Such a nice sound!

Lot's of hum though.
*hum*:rocket:



You might have something wired wrong.

Mine doesn't hum much worse than a humbucker.

Of course Rio Grande pickups are pretty quite pickups.
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Is that a compliment to the tele :laugh2: I really do have mixed emotions on the tele myself.

Anyways, my opinion is that if more people learned to 1.)set up Mustangs/Jags correctly 2.)learned to use the switches properly 3.)were able to get rid of preconcieved notions and all the garbage people say about them, there would be a lot of happy players getting good tone from them.

...After all, I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about the tone on a Jaguar, but they complain about everything else about it :) (And a Jag shouldn't be sustainless, unless it's set up improperly).

Slade

I agree 100% on the "learn to set them up and use the switches right" Thing. But, Honestly, People don't dislike jags, Jazzmasters, and Mustangs, Cause of how they sound, or play. Its cause of how they look. And while I love the look of a Jag/jazz (not so much mustangs), I can understand how some wouldn't. They're alot more asymetrical than a Strat/tele/lp/etc.. I think the offset waist makes alotta people see them as the "circus freak" guitar. And I also think the reason they're not more popular is cause No really famous "guitar gods" have used them. I mean if hendrix played a jag, then they would deffinately be more popular, but he didn't. Instead we have jag/jazz players like Elvis costello, Kurt cobain, John (whatever his lastname is) from RHCP's, And Thurston. None of which are considered "great" guitarists (in the classic sense at least). And as much as people say to judge with they're ears not they're eyes, They don't. Or if they do, They're judgeing based on The idea of "my favorite guitarist sounds like this, so thats how I wanna sound" (and then they buy an lp/strat/tele/etc.).
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

I have an MIA Delux Tele and I like its action and sound. However, I do not use it for most of the blues tones. I find the Strat is more suitable for it, or even a semi hollow body. This is my personal taste. I actually think the Strat is more versatile. The Tele has a unique twangy sound that I consider no other guitar is able to reproduce, and country music has adopted it so well that most people will tie them together as soon as you mention the Tele sound. If you play country, country blues and classic Rock "n" Roll, the Tele is the guitar to keep handy.
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

I agree 100% on the "learn to set them up and use the switches right" Thing. But, Honestly, People don't dislike jags, Jazzmasters, and Mustangs, Cause of how they sound, or play. Its cause of how they look. And while I love the look of a Jag/jazz (not so much mustangs), I can understand how some wouldn't. They're alot more asymetrical than a Strat/tele/lp/etc.. I think the offset waist makes alotta people see them as the "circus freak" guitar. And I also think the reason they're not more popular is cause No really famous "guitar gods" have used them. I mean if hendrix played a jag, then they would deffinately be more popular, but he didn't. Instead we have jag/jazz players like Elvis costello, Kurt cobain, John (whatever his lastname is) from RHCP's, And Thurston. None of which are considered "great" guitarists (in the classic sense at least). And as much as people say to judge with they're ears not they're eyes, They don't. Or if they do, They're judgeing based on The idea of "my favorite guitarist sounds like this, so thats how I wanna sound" (and then they buy an lp/strat/tele/etc.).

I can agree with you mostly there, but Jaguars, Mustangs, Jag-Stangs, Tornados and Jazzmasters are just not as widely available as Strats and Teles. For a start, the two popular ones are called <insert>-casters. Which sets them apart, not because they have 'cooler' names, but perhaps Fender wanted to set them apart in some way.

If I had had the opportunity to play a Jaguar or something, I may have bought one buy now, who knows?
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

I'll have to give another big +1 on the MIM Telecaster. Mine is an '02/'03 and i find myself more and more pleased with its feel and sound all the time. I could never plug in another guitar to play "Folsom Prison Blues" or some other awesome 50s Cash lick. It has the perfect boom-chicka-boom sound that Cash is famous for. Even though I almost always think of getting a "better" tele, all i have to do is plug this one in again and i start to think "theres not a damn thing wrong with this one" :) I would definately recommend the MIM Telecaster. Haven't tried the new upgraded models yet but i'm sure they're really cool too!!

P.S. My tele sustains like hell and its really alot more than either one of my strats!!




FenderBender
 
Re: should i buy a telecaster?

Honestly, I think that lookswise the Jag/Jazz (and the Mustang too) are great looking:D

The first time I saw one in the big book o' pictures of guitars or whatever (or maybe it was that RHCP video?) I was like... that's the coolest ****ing thing in the world :smokin: The sound sealed the deal... even though as it turns out he only used the jag in the video, in the song he plays a strat ;)

But it was the cool, surfy tone that made me want to buy one. Not Kurt, or Thurston, or John (even though I do have an affinity for the latter two...) I was equally enamored with the Explorer as being another guitar whose design really stood out to me, but in the end I liked the Jag ;)

The Tele on the other hand... no offence, but I can see where people would be put off by the looks of those :laugh2:

I like the tone of the tele in some circumstances. I might buy a tele someday.

But I'll never look in the mirror with one strapped on :laugh2: at least it would distract from the rest of me :smack:

slade
 
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