Tele body wood

[MarkyMarkRox]

I recently got a mexican standard telecaster (2000's era) as a gift and I was just wondering what type of wood the body is. Musiciansfriend.com says it is poplar but Fender's site says the new ones in 2006 are alder so I'm not sure which one it is. Help plz?

 

[sunnysideup]

Re: Tele body wood

since you bought it already, does it matter? if it sound nice, keep it, if not trash it

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Tele body wood

I'd go with what Fender says long before I'd listen to anything from Musician's Fiend. I thought pretty much all the teles Fender was making were either alder or ash, but I might be wrong about that.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tele body wood

It depends on specifically which year. They used to be poplar, then alder, then poplar, then alder. It would bounce back and forth. They've been alder for the last few years though.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Tele body wood

I don't think anyone could be sure what is under the paint on cheaper Fenders... I have a 1999 MIM Standard Tele and Strat and both sound great..... The strat is light as air and the tele weighs in a hell of a lot more... I know the Strat has more routing and tummy and arm cuts but there is a bigger dense issue as well... My American Standard strat weighs about the same as my MIM Tele... I like the heavier weight these guitars have.... But in 1999 Fender was said to of been using Poplar.... then 2-3 years ago you saw stickers on new MIM Standards that said Alder bodies...

I don't like the sunburst models on the MIM Standards as i know they have veneer tops and backs..... that extra bit of glue on the top and back and thin paper like wood just bugs me... Thick solid paint i can't see that so it's a mind thing i guess....

I'm just glad that the MIM have solid wood instead of PLY Wood like cheaper guitars used to be!

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Tele body wood

If you disassemble the guitar you may be able to tell from the neck pocket and under the bridge plate what you have.

I quized a Fender rep on this about a month ago, and he said: " it just depends. " It seems that you can still get either, but alder is more common now. Alder and poplar sound close to the same anyway.

 

[Kelsey]

Re: Tele body wood

Poplar is a good tone wood, it's just not a very pretty wood. That means it's a great choice for a solid color finish, whereas alder can go either way with pleasing results.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Tele body wood

Poplar is a good tone wood, it's just not a very pretty wood. That means it's a great choice for a solid color finish, whereas alder can go either way with pleasing results.

i could be dreaming but i have 3 guitars that are said to be Poplar and the heavier the guitar the more i like the sound...