What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Butch Snyder

Butch Snyder

ObsoleteChickenPickingologist
As I sit here and look at my 60th Anniversary American Standard Telecaster, which I have customized to have a Lil 59 in the bridge, an APS-1 in the middle, and a Tex-Mex Strat pickup in the neck (heck of a sentence fragment huh?), I wonder if it has lost its true "Teleness"....

What does it mean to be a Telecaster? That's the question. Sure, the body style and neck of my "Tele" is still a Tele; but the guts, they have changed sooooo much. You might as well say I have an HSS guitar with a Tele body and neck.

I have decided (on another guitar) to go almost as vintage and classic as I can with a Telecaster design. Stevo gave me an ash Tele body and neck come time ago. It has been sitting on a stand for well over a year. I just really haven't known what I wanted to do with it. I have poured through various SDUGF members' Tele designs trying to get some ideas. I love looking through everyone's Tele builds and purchases; even BBent's new "Jazzmaster - Tele - thing".:scratchch It's not really for me; but I truly respect and admire his creativity. That's what makes the world of music go 'round.

That said, one word just keeps on coming back to me - Nocaster... Just a simple classic that is so powerful and honest. A few of our own forum members here have done Nocasters before with awesome results. My Tele's body has kind of a whitewashed finish that looks very worn. It's not really butterscotch, white blonde, or honey blonde; the stock Fender colors. It's been "Kryloned" with an almond finish that looks pretty cool. It also has this kind of road-worn vibe to it. I have a whole slew of pickguards with different pickup configs cut.

As I was in my basement with the body/neck sitting on the floor, I looked at it as a black canvas. I put different combinations with it. White pearl Nashville guard w/mini-humbucker in the neck, B/W/B guard with Tele neck pickup only (that was the original idea until I started looking at all the other pickguards I have). Then I grabbed a couple of humbuckers; double black Air Zone/Air Norton combo. I took a B/W/B guard and a couple of cream mounting rings and a Strat bridge that I have taken the string block off, and I had a Tele-Gib! Hmmmm.....

What to do, what to do...... I'm actually torn between the Tele-Gib and the vintage Tele config. I also have a 5-way switch that I want to use. I'll figure all that out later though. Give me some thoughts here guys. I'm not looking for a Michael Angelo (the painter/sculptor). I just want something a bit unique to my other two guitars...
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Okay, let's talk about wiring for a minute. I have a set of Tele Tex-Mex pickups that I like. If I went with a classic 2-pickup deal, and I used a standard 5-way blade switch, are there any cool options I could employ?
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Not sure what can be done with 2 stock Tele pickups and a 5 way...you could do the classic 4 way or get a tapped pickup and do the Jeff Beck style Tele with a 5 way...

On to the first post...to me a Tele is an ash/alder body with a maple neck (and a maple fingerboard helps!) it has a box bridge with 3 saddles and a single coil pickup with a baseplate...once you start changing that you really start getting away from the Tele tone...

Some changes have less efect on the tone that others...a Tele with an ash body, box bridge & tele pickups still sounds like a Tele if it has a rosewood fingerboard however a tele with a 3 saddle box bridge, ash body, maple neck and a bridge buckers really starts moving away from Tele tone...
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Quite simple I think. Telecaster is a guitar made by Fender (or under Fender control), with a distinguishable body shape. It might be a variation of course. And it might be modified by customers but it's still a Tele. There's something you can call a typical Tele tone but that doesn't mean every Telecaster must sound this way. Some will say it's not a real Telecaster anymore. So if Fender produces Telecasters with humbuckers they're not Telecasters?
In my opinion guitars patterned on Fender Telecaster are not Telecasters. They are imitations and we call them Telecasters just not to complicate things.
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

have fun - sounds like you can go in a lot of cool directions

to me, a tele is all about the single cut, bolt neck, with 6 on a side tuners ... i am ok to call it a tele irrespective of just about any pickup config ... to me, gotta be a hard tail or bigsby to stay a tele ... but i also tend to think that 'tele-ness' exists along a continuum ... the closer you get to a '52, the more 'tele' it is ...

t4d
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

let me just say this...two humbuckers in a "Tele" style guitar is an AWESOME THING!!!
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

tone4days said:
i also tend to think that 'tele-ness' exists along a continuum ... the closer you get to a '52, the more 'tele' it is ...

t4d
Click to expand...

I like that thought....


Hoss said:
let me just say this...two humbuckers in a "Tele" style guitar is an AWESOME THING!!!
Click to expand...

Hoss, you said the magic word - "Tele-style".... That's basically what I see a lot of players doing; myself included. Look at my avatar.
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Butch Snyder said:
What does it mean to be a Telecaster? That's the question. Sure, the body style and neck of my "Tele" is still a Tele; but the guts, they have changed sooooo much. You might as well say I have an HSS guitar with a Tele body and neck.

It's not really butterscotch, white blonde, or honey blonde; the stock Fender colors. It's been "Kryloned" with an almond finish that looks pretty cool. It also has this kind of road-worn vibe to it. I have a whole slew of pickguards with different pickup configs cut.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you've seen mine. It's got the Krylon almond colored finish. Yes, it is the almond colored Krylon brand rattle can.

I've always hated the blade switch so I replaced that with an up/down toggle.

There've been people that say my guitar isn't a Tele, but it's a Tele to me. And that's all that matters.
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

have you ever thought of getting something like the callaham am st bridge? I don't know if it would cover it up but it might be worth a shot?
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Tele or no tele, It will still rock. Besides, what would you consider a custom or a deluxe?
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Mcearlock said:
Tele or no tele, It will still rock. Besides, what would you consider a custom or a deluxe?
Click to expand...


The original Custom and Deluxe used the Fender wide-range humbucker, which still maintained the classic Fender tone somehow. The pickups used in re-issues *look* the same but are not, and do not have that sound of the originals. The original Customs and Deluxes still sound like Tele's, not like a Tele-shaped guitar with a humbucker. (I own a '74 Tele Custom, so I do know about this).
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

imho, a tele is still a tele as long as it's got a tele bridge lead pickup, around 6-8k, with master volume and tone controls. anything else can be different(neck 'bucker and/or mid single, wh'ever) as long as it's got that tele bridge, it's got that signature twang:)
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

Butch Snyder said:
Okay, let's talk about wiring for a minute. I have a set of Tele Tex-Mex pickups that I like. If I went with a classic 2-pickup deal, and I used a standard 5-way blade switch, are there any cool options I could employ?
Click to expand...

1. neck normal
2. neck and bridge parallel
3. bridge normal
4. neck and bridge in series
5. neck pickup with ___ cap (cap wired to specific spot on switch)
 
Re: What does it mean to be a "Tele"?

To me, a tele is a slab bodied single cut with a bolt on maple neck, a bridge in which the bridge pickup ( has to be a big ol' single coil) mounts to, and 25.5" scale length. Everything else is negotiable.
 
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