Telecasters for Metal

Re: Telecasters for Metal

So this thread was cross-posted on a forum I usually post at and I decided to register here to add my 2 cents to this discussion. Strat, Tele, LP are not names of single instruments. They are names of instrument LINES. That didn't happen last year either, it happened 40+ years ago.

Fender has a Tele line, a Strat line with about 40+ instruments in each line. They range from traditional to modern designs, entry level to custom shop. Gibson does the same thing with their Les Paul line and they did that from day one.

Guys like Leo Fender were not purists AT ALL. They created instrument lines to keep up with the music of their time and it's only natural that these lines will evolve as music changes. The Tele may look like a classic design now, but back when it was created, it was the musical equivalent of a spaceship. This whole vintage **** has nothing to do with Leo or Les Paul's original vision.

So the Fender Telecaster line is huge today. If you want a classic Tele they have that. If you want a Tele with modern features, they have that too.
Having more options is not a bad thing.

I agree, which is why I want a Jim Root tele. lol
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Keith Richards has thousands of guitars. I am sure he plays some of each type/configuration, and he also plays in several different tunings (including E standard), not just a single HB-modded Tele with five strings tuned open.

But Formula73 is not talking about whether or not Keith Richards plays a true Tele, so criticizing him on that point makes no sense in regards to the debate; it does nothing to prove or disprove his point. He is talking about whether or not a lot of the Teles used for metal fit the classic layout of a Tele.

Examples of metal being played with modified Teles don't really provide any insight into the spirit of the original inquiry in the thread IMO.

This is true. However, you also need to realize that even the most iconic metal guitars (Explorers and Vs) are also 1958 designs and in it's original configuration, wouldn't work well for modern metal standards either. Sure, they had humbuckers, but they were very low output/unpotted humbuckers that would need at the very least a boost and a noise gate be useful in a modern metal setting (and a classic Tele with a boost with a gate would do just fine too ;) ).


All these companies were pioneers and created instrument lines that were state-of-art for the music of their time.

As the music changed, these companies expanded their lines and created strats, teles, explorers, les paul etc to satisfy musicians who wanted the original AND musicians who wanted an instrument to fit their modern needs. They are still strats, teles and les pauls at the end of the day and they're still in tune with the original vision of creating a modern instrument for modern music.

If you think people are offended today when they see a Jim Root Tele, imagine how people used to play the guitars of the 40's felt like when they first saw a tele or strat. Leo was told many many times he was crazy and the idea would never pan out, but he wasn't concerned with tradition one single bit. Leo never wanted to create a vintage classic, he wanted to create a revolution. And he did. :) So it's only natural that his creations will continue to evolve with the music.

It's the art that dictates the tools, guys. Not the other way around.
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

In a certin FEW instances Teles can both DO Metal and LOOK Metal.Think John 5.

Otherwise guys..Teles ..even Charvels, aren't metal machines..please give it a rest..your over your head. Teles Aint Metal.
Trust me..you may get your Tele to play and sound like a Metal machine, but it still wont have the stage presence of a true Metal Axe.
 
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Re: Telecasters for Metal

Varg, I get your opinion. It is just that I don't get the way you are stating it. Saying something "isn't metal" because you don't think it fits a more modern definition of the term is extremely exclusive, and ignores the genre's history. I think a better way to say it might be "that ain't hardcore metal." Yeah, then you're right. It isn't, by today's standards. But it's still metal when judged by the commonly-accepted criteria used to define the genre as a whole.

Stuff that used to be considered heavy metal is much different than what is considered metal today. I didn't say Quo was a metal band through and through either. I just said they dabbled in the medium, because they were so derivative. The "Big Fat Mama" live video that I posted is easily heavy metal when judged by commonly-accepted musical criteria for defining the genre.
 
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Re: Telecasters for Metal

Funny thing?

I'm not a Tele purist. I play sloppy classic rock and metal. As a matter of fact, I plan on putting together a somewhat-faithful copy of Mick Mars' Girls Girls Girls Kramer Tele...


...but I still stand by my statement. It's NOT a Tele. It's a Tele shape with 1 slanted hum and a Floyd. I just think Teles are comfortable. Effectively, it's no different than a Baretta or any number of 1 hum, OFR'd geets with 25.5 scale bolt necks, Fender or not.
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

IMG_8425.jpg

Always loved that one.
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Funny thing?

I'm not a Tele purist. I play sloppy classic rock and metal. As a matter of fact, I plan on putting together a somewhat-faithful copy of Mick Mars' Girls Girls Girls Kramer Tele...


...but I still stand by my statement. It's NOT a Tele. It's a Tele shape with 1 slanted hum and a Floyd. I just think Teles are comfortable. Effectively, it's no different than a Baretta or any number of 1 hum, OFR'd geets with 25.5 scale bolt necks, Fender or not.

It's cool, I really don't have problem with your opinion. I know some guys that are also very strict on what they consider a real Tele, strat etc... it's fine.

But the fact remains that Telecaster is the name of a series of Fender guitars, currently with 74 models on their line. Do they all sound like the original tele? Of course not, but that's exactly the point. If you feel that the Tele shape and vibe suit you best but you need a different type of tone, they have a guitar for you.

I think that's a weird discussion to have on the Seymour Duncan forum, since SD is a company that specializes in making your favorite guitar sound any way you want it to sound. Technically, if you take a stock Tele and put a Seymour Duncan pickup in it, you are already changing what the classic Tele tone is. That's not a bad thing though, and doesn't disqualify your guitar from being a Tele.

At the end of the day, we should not be so concerned about what the "Tele tone" is but how to get OUR OWN tone out of one. And if to get that we need to buy a different model Tele or customize a stock Tele to our liking, hey it's all good. The guitar is still a Tele, just set up to your needs or musical style.

I'd be upset if Fender discontinued their classic Teles and replaced them with hot-rodded models only, but they're not doing that, they're keeping the classics and ADDING other options to their line. More options is not a bad thing, specially when the original is still there. :)
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Varg, I get your opinion. It is just that I don't get the way you are stating it. Saying something "isn't metal" because you don't think it fits a more modern definition of the term is extremely exclusive, and ignores the genre's history. I think a better way to say it might be "that ain't hardcore metal." Yeah, then you're right. It isn't, by today's standards. But it's still metal when judged by the commonly-accepted criteria used to define the genre as a whole.

Stuff that used to be considered heavy metal is much different than what is considered metal today. I didn't say Quo was a metal band through and through either. I just said they dabbled in the medium, because they were so derivative. The "Big Fat Mama" live video that I posted is easily heavy metal when judged by commonly-accepted musical criteria for defining the genre.

I've said all along that I'm just stating MY own opinion - I got into metal around the late 80's, early 90's and at that time things like Maiden's "Powerslave", Metallica's "And Justice For All", Sepultura's "Arise" and Death's "Human" were my genre benchmarks, for sounds, looks, guitars, everything.
I can't help classifying music in relation to what I grew up with.
None of those bands would have been seen dead with a tele. Imagine James Hetfield, or Max Cavalera, or Adrian Smith, or Chuck Schuldiner CIRCA 1990, playing a stock tele, even one of the Jackson/Charvel types. :lol: Seriously, :lol:

I actually said I LIKE many of these bands, I even said Sosomething's tune was really cool, (that wasn't enough for him, he needs me to say he's metal, like it matters) - but to MY MIND, certain things aren't metal. I don't see why my own internal classification of what's metal bothers people so much, it's f**king pathetic. (not aiming that at you BTW)
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal


Who's that poser? Is he supposed to be related to metal in some way?





Pfft.

l.jpg


:dance:

You can see where my mental picture of "metal" differs from most of yours.
 
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Re: Telecasters for Metal

Is that the same freakin wrist-band he's wearing?!
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Who's that poser? Is he supposed to be related to metal in some way?





Pfft.

Just some old poor redneck - so poor he can only afford a trem on 1 string - and it only goes up in pitch.


Just joking - I think a stock Tele can thrash, and a B-bender is the bee's knees.
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Inkstained, you just perfectly summed up why things were better 20 odd years ago.

Explorers, MORE BEER, "Harvester of Sorrow", VERSUS Telecasters, no beer, "Lu-lu".
 
Re: Telecasters for Metal

Explorers, MORE BEER, "Harvester of Sorrow", VERSUS Telecasters, no beer, "Lu-lu".

I heard Lou Reed said something to the effect of 'Lu-lu is for the more inteligent Metallica fans'. I guess I should have rode the short bus for thinking Puppets & Justice kicked ass.
 
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