Strat Vs. Tele

Quencho092

Quencho092

New member
I own a strat but not a tele, i want to know what im missing out on tone wise. I know teles are alot heavier than strats, and they cover more extreme ends of the tone spectrum ie. super smooth to super twangy. What do you guys prefer.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

They aren't alot heavier than Strats. My Teles are lighter than my Strats. Teles sustain better. You also get the neck and bridge pickup combined which is a beautiful tone for rythym that you can't get on a Strat. With a Tele, you can bend one note up while holding a second note (like a pedal steel) and the second note won't drop in pitchand go out of tune like it will with a Strat with a vibrato. Also two pickups have less magnetic pull than three and that affects the overall tone and intonation. I LOVE TELES! Very pure...
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

well i got the bridge down, its anchored with 5 springs on my strat, and how can you work the switcher so its 1-neck 2-neck middle 3-middle bridge 4-bridge neck 5 bridge
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

I like teles a lot, but I played a strat for a long time and I really missed that big fat neck pickup sound at first. I put a strat pickup in the neck position of my main tele and that helped quite a bit.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

Lew, how different do you think they would be if you put tele pups into a strat with a non-tremelo bridge? (I like your comments on Clapton's transformation after Cream on the pup forum.)
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

sanrafael said:
Lew, how different do you think they would be if you put tele pups into a strat with a non-tremelo bridge? (I like your comments on Clapton's transformation after Cream on the pup forum.)
Click to expand...

Thanks! I think the Tele would probably still be a little differant sounding because in a Tele the bridge pickup is actually attached to the metal bassplate of the bridge itself. In a Strat the pickup is attached to the plastic pickguard. Dr. Barlo, who often posts here, has a Strat with a Tele bridge pickup...maybe he'll make a contribution to this thread. I'm making one, and have all the parts and special pickguard with a Tele bridge pickup rout but haven't put it together yet. Lew
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

I just got my first Tele-ish guitar, and to me, one of its strong points is the separate control plate. You can play around with different pot/cap/control combinations without having to take the whole guitar apart. ;)
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

Quencho092 said:
how does being attached to the metal bassplate affect the tone?
Click to expand...
That plate contributes heavily to the tele's snappy tone. That's why the TwangBanger has it. The TB makes a strat bridge sound a lot like a tele bridge.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

A Tele to me sounds like a Strat on steroids. My Strats sound whispery compared to my Teles. That's not to say that I don't like the sound of a Strat. It's just that, for instance, the Bastardcaster (rebuilt Tele) sounds full bodied and fat compared to my main Strat (which has also been rebuilt). I haven't noticed any real differences in weight between the two, although, unless you're talking about a hardtail Strat, there's a lot more wood on a Tele.
 
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Re: Strat Vs. Tele

In terms of tone what way can you describe the differences between teles and strats? Like (i.e strats have a more nasally sort of a sound in the bridge and the neck is more quacky and full but not as smooth? and teles have both a smooth neck and biting bridge? This is based on just what i assume since ive never owned one but would like to oneday)

I like bands such as the Red hot chillis and Coldplay. Coldplay for their unique tele sounding leads and fat neck solos. And The Chillis for their sort of funky quacky sound.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

I love strats, and happen to think they're about the most versatile electric guitar.

Teles are great, too, and part of the appeal of a tele is its simplicity - I think a lot of tele players are actually better players, or at least purists, who enjoy squeezing every last drop of tone out of a simple guitar.

really, they're two different instuments - like Stevo said, the neck pickup tone on a strat is often a great, fat, bluesy tone; teles on the other hand, do have more sustain and tuning stability due to the bridge design - and they have that *TWANG* !! Of course, you can't do those cool surf chords with a tele, or the other trem effects.

you just have to play a few and see if you like 'em
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

Aside from the pickup issue, another thing that gives teles their dryer, more present sound is the significantly smaller body cavity routing. A strat sounds airier because the trem cavity and pickguard rout serve as acoustic chambers.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

i think the biggest difference is just how the pickups set. Think about resonation in wood/metal, and then resonation in a big plastic guard with a giant hole under it

my next guitar will be: MIM tele, carbon nut/saddles, hotrail bridge, 59 neck, and misfits strings. No that didn't have a point, but i thought i'd share. Teles just sound more solid, they go DUNNNN rather than DAAAAA
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

yea but well routed strats dont have that giant hole, just SSS pickup routing and a standard size control cavity.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

Yes, various routing sizes apply when talking about strats, from 'swimming pool' to the tighter vintage rout. But even taking a vintage rout as an example, there is still much more wood routed in that area than a tele. Add a trem rout and you've opened up a significant amount of area in the middle of the guitar. Most teles are much more minimally routed.
 
Re: Strat Vs. Tele

well i own two strats and soon to be three teles. I like the tele more, because of the simplicity of the guitar. My strats and i don't always get along an i have spent hundreds of dollars to make my strat usable to me. I still don't use it anywhere near as much as i should.

I like the two pickup setup that a tele has because it has a great rythym tone in the middle position and great solo tones on the bridge or neck. my teles get a heavier sound than my strats, with some more bottom end to round out the tone. I guess i just love the sounds i can get out of there as apposed to the sounds from my strats. I feel i have to fight my strats to get a good tone to come from them.
 
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