View Full Version : Why do I need a Tele?
I played the same guitar (Guild S300AD) for almost 30 years. In the past year I've bought five. I never wanted a Strat - until I played a nice one that sang to me.
I never wanted a Tele either. I have to say that I tend to associate them with country music of the type that typically doesn't appeal to me. I will say though, that after watching the Bruce Springsteen in Barcelona concert on BRD, I suddenly feel the need. :)
Anyway there's one for a good price local to me and I'm feeling like getting it. Of course I'll probably gut it and put in nicer pickups etc., but who knows.
Why do I need a Tele? What will it give me that I can't get from my Strat? This is your chance to be the great enablers that you are. :)
GAD
theflyingturtle
12-20-2008, 11:39 PM
They're really, really cool! What more do you need?
cottoneyedjoe
12-20-2008, 11:42 PM
You can chicken pick on it. You can do this on a Strat too, but it isn't as fun. Well, at least not to me anyways....
soma89
12-20-2008, 11:51 PM
Tele's just have great, unique tone that adapts to the player. The pickups are always very sensitive to touch which makes a whole bunch of tones possible through it. I would also say that tele's are just cool. There's something about them that makes me associate them with "the working class" musicians....That may sound weird but what i mean is that they just look like their packed with soul.
mxandmyax
12-20-2008, 11:57 PM
I love mine and dont do country at all "unless they pay me to lol" It is incredibly reactive. I use the tone controls and volume more than on any other guitar I own and I gota say it is quickly taking the lead spot in my arsenal for delay and effect drivin pop playing. I don't know how I ever did these styles wo one! Or I could just say buy it and see for yourself.... Worst case senario u don't like it, post it here and maybe I get a tele at a good deal!
I shouldn't cruse classifieds when I'm tired.
Sent him an offer. We'll see what happens.
GAD
Steve Gambrell
12-21-2008, 12:21 AM
I use the tone controls and volume more than on any other guitar I own and I gota say it is quickly taking the lead spot in my arsenal for delay and effect drivin pop playing.
Exactly! Ya gotta OPERATE a Tele. The guys that leave the tone and volume controls at "10" all the time, don't know the fun they're missing.
Exactly! Ya gotta OPERATE a Tele. The guys that leave the tone and volume controls at "10" all the time, don't know the fun they're missing.
Interesting. Next to the esquire, they're like the simplest guitars ever!
What makes them so special? The simplicity? The giant hunk of wood? No trem? All of the above?
GAD
9-Pin
12-21-2008, 12:34 AM
They are very sensitive to your attack and dynamics. More so, than most other guitars....Even if you play with everything on 10.
Boris Bubbanov
12-21-2008, 01:07 AM
I love to play country music on all mine. And I can't even stand country music!
*****
Just kidding folks. Kidding. Yes.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/26DEC042008002.jpg
fierce_carrot
12-21-2008, 03:48 AM
Tele's are most definately NOT for the mass majority of guitar players.
That's why they call us "tele" players...
marsos52
12-21-2008, 05:17 AM
i been playing for almost 50 years... i mainly play jazz, but blues and rock and fusion too. most of the time i used 335's. about 10 years ago i fell in love with single coils.
i like the feel and tones of a strat but i dont get the projection i need with them.
i tried a tele 2 yrs ago. wow its a tone machine. set up right with the right pickups
they can do anything, the tone and volume controls bring a wide choice of tone to the table. there are comfortable sitting or standing. very modable too. its a everything guitar. even you can dial in, in between (2 or 4) strat tones
the bridge pickup can even be mellowed for a great jazz sound i could go on and on
but the bottom line is a tele can and does cover ever thing. after 2 years of using them i havent found all the possiblies
marc
rob2001
12-21-2008, 05:36 AM
I used to think Tele's were even more thin and whimpy sounding than a strat. I finally got one a year ago and i'd actually put it between a strat and a Les Paul tone wise. I must agree, gotta work the knobs to find that versitility.
Cornbread
12-21-2008, 06:01 AM
One of my favorite Tele stories is when Al Kooper first saw Mike Bloomfield who came into the studio to do a session with Bob Dylan. It was snowing out and Bloomfield's tele was not in a case. Bloomfield simply banged the Tele against the wall to knock the snow off and then got down to business.
Tele's are no frills simple, the bridge plate and saddles are a different design but there is something about it that has drawn players like: Merle Haggard, Bruce Springsteen, Andy Summers, Prince, and Steve Cropper to it.
I hope you get the one you are after.
jzgtrguy
12-21-2008, 06:04 AM
i been playing for almost 50 years... i mainly play jazz, but blues and rock and fusion too. most of the time i used 335's. about 10 years ago i fell in love with single coils.
i like the feel and tones of a strat but i dont get the projection i need with them.
i tried a tele 2 yrs ago. wow its a tone machine. set up right with the right pickups
they can do anything, the tone and volume controls bring a wide choice of tone to the table. there are comfortable sitting or standing. very modable too. its a everything guitar. even you can dial in, in between (2 or 4) strat tones
the bridge pickup can even be mellowed for a great jazz sound i could go on and on
but the bottom line is a tele can and does cover ever thing. after 2 years of using them i havent found all the possiblies
marc
What you said, probably the most versatile guitar ever made. Keith Richards to Ed Bickert you can do anything on a Tele and do it well. Hey, why don't I own one?:D
scott757
12-21-2008, 06:31 AM
Here is my Tele love story...
After borrowing my friends MIJ Strat for a few months, I thought that I wanted a strat. Well, when I went to Guitar Center I ended getting a Jazzmaster that went back two days later because it wasn't speaking to me at all. When I took it back I spent three hours playing guitars. Nothing was really doing it for me. Well about 10 minutes before the store closed I plugged a High Way 1 Tele in and it was the exact tone that I was hearing in my head. The P/U's were hot and it played really well. Now that I've had it for a few months, I must say that I've not gotten a bad tone out of it. It's only been for the last two weeks that I've even gotten my SG out of its case. I love my tele. It draws music from me. It's a combination of the sound and the way it plays. Also, I love the hotter p/u's in it. The only thing I'm going to replace are the saddles for brass ones. That's really only because I think the brass one's look hot.
...and D. Boone from the Minutemen played one.
http://www.crailtap.com/c3/sanger/minutemen1984_street_scene.jpg
edwarddavis
12-21-2008, 06:32 AM
Just buy one ,
I never wanted one but now I do. Bought a cheapo copy which is actually pretty nice .
I cant explain why every one should own one but they should .
In short , i think tele make you play guitar which is to say it sounds as good as what you put into it .
take that for what its worth
surfshack
12-21-2008, 06:59 AM
because there's no other guitar that can squeeze out tone like the tele.
yes, it's associated with country......but i can play zz top licks all day with mine:AOK
besides they look KILLER!
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u281/surfshack_2007/430792466_Z435b-X3.jpg
Lewkk
12-21-2008, 07:05 AM
Because your other guitars are too expensive and pretty to risk gigging.
bluesjuke
12-21-2008, 07:11 AM
Because every time you pull it out it's just so right.
I liked that one since I first saw it surfshack.
Gas-man
12-21-2008, 07:13 AM
Why do you need a Tele?
Because yer a man, aint ya?
coldfingaz
12-21-2008, 08:08 AM
If one of those 5 guitars you recently bought isn't a Les Paul Jr., consider going with an Esquire. It's amazing what you can do with a 1 pick up guitar... plus the feel, tone & playability of a Tele/Esquire is unmatched in my experience.
gkoelling
12-21-2008, 08:24 AM
Albert Collins
Roy Buchanan
Kenny Neal
Tab Benoit
Jimmy Page
Danny Gatton
Muddy Waters
Keef
Will Ray
Jerry Donahue
John Jorgensen
and on and on....
Don't ask why, just do it.
there is a certain clank to the sound that makes it feel almost like an acoustic guitar that really only happens on a tele. the open full frequency thang can take some getting used to but after you get it look out.
rivaeast
12-21-2008, 12:10 PM
You don't NEED a Tele.... you WANT a tele...... all kidding aside, you can do wonders with one
Gasp100
12-21-2008, 12:22 PM
I went on an LP/SG/humbucker/P90 spree that left me deep in debt and I don't regret it for one moment. BUT, part of that meant selling my custom Pine Esquire w/ Don Mare pup -- I lasted one week without a T style guitar and HAD to pick up another one... it was painful without one in the house. I do think I only need one though, they are not like LP's where you need at least two or three ;)
You don't NEED a Tele.... you WANT a tele...... all kidding aside, you can do wonders with one
:agree
Jazzydave
12-21-2008, 12:41 PM
There are so many reasons to get a particular guitar...and some to not get one! I love Teles for their warm sound...quite opposite of what they're known for but I can dial in a great fat sound out of most of them - especially with a rosewood board.
Its no wonder that many jazz players love them. Like any guitar though, its just all about how they feel and sound to you though!
Everything you are reading here about Teles is true. A magnificent guitar. If I were only allowed one guitar it would be a Telecaster. I played my CS Fender Nocaster at a gig last night. Was getting some awesome blues sounds through a Tube Screamer and tweed Deluxe.
My main guitars over the last ten years have been a '52RI and CS Nocaster. I've got one on order with Brian Monty as well. Until 1998, I never knew I was a Tele guy. :)
scottlr
12-21-2008, 01:16 PM
Because it's a Tele.
And for me, because some of my favorite Les Paul tones weren't a Les Paul at all...
http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/Led_Zeppelin_I.jpg
Not to mention.... all of the above. I now have 3 of them. There's probably more Teles in popular music from the last 4-5 decades than you can imagine. Yes, they do the Buck Owens sound, but they also do LZ I perfectly, and everything in between, too!
gkoelling
12-21-2008, 01:20 PM
I went on an LP/SG/humbucker/P90 spree that left me deep in debt and I don't regret it for one moment. BUT, part of that meant selling my custom Pine Esquire w/ Don Mare pup -- I lasted one week without a T style guitar and HAD to pick up another one... it was painful without one in the house. I do think I only need one though, they are not like LP's where you need at least two or three ;)
Hmmmm.....I have one LP, a LP Special and three Tele's, plus I'm putting an Esquire together.
It all depends on your priorities/personal preference.
*I also think you should seek counseling for selling the Jaydawg Esquire. ;)
Jerryr
12-21-2008, 01:27 PM
I love the tele's simplicity. I like that big solid block of wood with strings that are well anchored. Ok I like Les Pauls to but find Tele's more comfortable to hold standing or sitting and goofing around. Tele's do have a wide range of tones and sound good with all sorts of amps. From warm sounding Jazz clean tone to screaming Marshall stacks. Just bring a Tele and you'll fit in the mix just fine ;)
I'm trying to play Jazz Standards now and have a couple of good archtops and a LP Custom but if I was forced to let all my guitars go but one...... I would probably keep my Hamer U.S.A. Tele...... and cry alot over the others.
Gasp100
12-21-2008, 01:34 PM
Hmmmm.....I have one LP, a LP Special and three Tele's, plus I'm putting an Esquire together.
It all depends on your priorities/personal preference.
*I also think you should seek counseling for selling the Jaydawg Esquire. ;)
:agree
....
However, the cost of the Pine T equals what I paid for TWO of my Epi Elitists so I'm okay with it. The guy I sold it to has disappeared. Maybe he doesn't dig it and he'll post it on the emporium someday so I can buy it back! :D
big mike
12-21-2008, 01:35 PM
I played the same guitar (Guild S300AD) for almost 30 years. In the past year I've bought five. I never wanted a Strat - until I played a nice one that sang to me.
I never wanted a Tele either. I have to say that I tend to associate them with country music of the type that typically doesn't appeal to me. I will say though, that after watching the Bruce Springsteen in Barcelona concert on BRD, I suddenly feel the need. :)
Anyway there's one for a good price local to me and I'm feeling like getting it. Of course I'll probably gut it and put in nicer pickups etc., but who knows.
Why do I need a Tele? What will it give me that I can't get from my Strat? This is your chance to be the great enablers that you are. :)
GAD
Until you've learned all the nuances of what makes a tele a tele, I can't explain it. It's probably the most useful guitar on the planet for all styles.
It's no frills, minimalistic tone machine. What more does one need?
scottlr
12-21-2008, 01:44 PM
Until you've learned all the nuances of what makes a tele a tele, I can't explain it. It's probably the most useful guitar on the planet for all styles.
It's no frills, minimalistic tone machine. What more does one need?
Big Mike, as I recall, there was a very similar thread when you got the bug, no? :D
big mike
12-21-2008, 01:54 PM
Not that I know of, I've been a tele junky for 10 years or more.
scottlr
12-21-2008, 02:01 PM
Not that I know of, I've been a tele junky for 10 years or more.
OH, sorry! It was Brian that did this awhile back! Duh!
DANOCASTER
12-21-2008, 02:12 PM
You DONT need a tele !!
you need three ;)
Karabal
12-21-2008, 02:34 PM
I started as a Les Paul guy and then I became a strat guy finally I realized that a tele can get that KLANNNNG like nothing else. They are edgy but versatile. So much more fun to play than a strat and Les Pauls are too damn heavy (at least mine was).
scottlr
12-21-2008, 02:35 PM
You DONT need a tele !!
you need three ;)
Oh good! But don't I need 4 or 5? Maybe 6? At least I have 3 already.
datguytim
12-21-2008, 02:50 PM
A Tele & a Les Paul = the 2 greatest electric guitar designs ever IMO.
Teles rule - such vibe, mojo, & tone (especially if it's Pine - like mine!). You can play any style on it & sound like a million bucks. USE the KNOBS or you miss out on ALOT!
scottlr
12-21-2008, 03:10 PM
A Tele & a Les Paul = the 2 greatest electric guitar designs ever IMO.
Teles rule - such vibe, mojo, & tone (especially if it's Pine - like mine!). You can play any style on it & sound like a million bucks. USE the KNOBS or you miss out on ALOT!
My biggest mistake for decades! THAT is the key to working a Tele imho!
JELLIS
12-21-2008, 03:10 PM
I've been a Tele/Esquire junkie since 1964.
Both knobs are always maxed, bridge pickup only.
Nothing sounds more like a pure electric guitar than a Tele.
If you have to ask, you don't need one.
If you have to ask, you don't need one.
That's too bad, seeing as how I just bought one. :)
Pictures coming...relax. :)
GAD
gkoelling
12-21-2008, 03:49 PM
That's too bad, seeing as how I just bought one. :)
Pictures coming...relax. :)
GAD
Congratulations! What did you get?
Sleepy
12-21-2008, 03:52 PM
you don't need a tele because you just bought one!
JELLIS
12-21-2008, 03:55 PM
That's too bad, seeing as how I just bought one. :)
Pictures coming...relax. :)
GAD
Cool, now you will discover the truth :drink
OldSchool
12-21-2008, 03:58 PM
Why do I need a Tele? What will it give me that I can't get from my Strat? This is your chance to be the great enablers that you are. :)
GAD
God created the Tele first and got it right , right out of the gate. ;)http://www.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon14.gif
you don't need a tele because you just bought one!
You win. Thread over. :)
GAD
welcometoashley
12-21-2008, 04:22 PM
teles have a nice "bite" to their tone that i love - especially the bridge pickup... working the tone and volume pots can produce an incredibly diverse palate of tones. i love 'em...
jbbusybee
12-21-2008, 04:23 PM
I got my first Tele coming. I'll let you know when I get it what I think.
heavysoul
12-21-2008, 04:28 PM
Because it's a Tele.
And for me, because some of my favorite Les Paul tones weren't a Les Paul at all...
yupper. lots of Les Pauls sold thanks to teles...
Well here it is.
The body is three-piece, which a few years ago I would have passed on, but this one plays nice, resonates nice, and unless you look for it, it's hard to notice, so I figured what the Hell. Supposedly a 2008 American Tele. It's got all the right parts so far that I could tell. For $700 it looks and feels brand new, came with the right case and all the case candy still sealed in the bags. Guy had traded an amp for it, didn't really want it and wanted cash for Christmas. I was happy to help.
http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Tele/_B0Z3923-CropAlt_800.jpg
http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Tele/_B0Z3927-CropAlt_800.jpg
http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Tele/_B0Z3924_800.jpg
http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Tele/_B0Z3928_800.jpg
I have to say, this is the only guitar I've ever owned that I think looks "too new".
GAD
gkoelling
12-21-2008, 05:11 PM
That looks great, GAD!
Yeah, it's three pieces but they did a great job putting them together. Leo shipped quite a few three piece bodies in his time and people pay a lot of cash for them today.
The number of pieces has nothing to do with tone. Liking what you hear is all that matters.
Enjoy!
scottlr
12-21-2008, 05:34 PM
GAD! That's a great looking Tele! I never mind 2-3 piece bodies if they are well matched. That one looks as good as it could possible be! Let us know what you think when you get it cranked and give it a good run. Congrats!
surfshack
12-21-2008, 06:36 PM
congrats.........now save up a couple of bucks and get a set don mare pups.....and you'll be all set!
Boris Bubbanov
12-21-2008, 06:38 PM
you don't need a tele because you just bought one!
I can't find anywhere where it says that.
You always need at least one more!
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t25/Bubbanov/27NOV072008015.jpg
I've got a 5 way switch in mine, even more fun
jjboogie
12-21-2008, 07:09 PM
You guys need to STOP talking about Tele's right now! Or else I will go out and by one myself! Especially since I currently don't own one! UGH you guys are stirring the Tele desire within me! Like some kind of tractor beam!
You guys need to STOP talking about Tele's right now! Or else I will go out and by one myself! Especially since I currently don't own one! UGH you guys are stirring the Tele desire within me! Like some kind of tractor beam!
I woke up yesterday, perfectly content with my telelessness. Today I have one. Walk away man... walk away.
GAD
You guys need to STOP talking about Tele's right now! Or else I will go out and by one myself! Especially since I currently don't own one! UGH you guys are stirring the Tele desire within me! Like some kind of tractor beam!
aww, get a tele cause were watchin!
http://a501.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/91/l_eb72ab15ba3b7d6f321b12be88f4a01c.jpg
stubbyJ
12-21-2008, 08:05 PM
My 2 cents.
I just picked up my first tele tonight, as I posted this happening in a new thread earlier. I am a 50/50 strat LP guy all the way and never thought I could get along with a tele. I've always wondered how some of these guys were getting great meaty bridge tones from a single coil, for every tele I tried, was whimpy. I found this 83 Fernendes tele and it just RAWKS. The best way I can describe it is - at tad mellower than a hot soapbar, and clearer than a HB; you can her more string separation. It's not ice-picky, yet nice and clear. I like it a great deal. And oppoed to the non-usable tones stemming from a mismatched neck humbucker/guitar - the neck clean tones are to die for and the middle is great as well.
shadco
12-21-2008, 08:52 PM
Tele's rock
What's not to like?
http://www.pbase.com/shadco/image/105114187.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/shadco/image/87805423.jpg
Almost there. ;)
Tele's rock
What's not to like?
http://www.pbase.com/shadco/image/105114187.jpg
What's with the two strap buttons on the bottom?
GAD
jacobhf
12-21-2008, 10:50 PM
teles just sound great, I couldn't live without a tele!
I think I figured out why I needed one (apart from the obvious OCD issues I have...).
I'm borrowing this from the thread I started on tele bridges.
Most of my guitars are very nice. Kick ass R9, Deluxe Strat etc. I like the really nice guitars, and I generally like them well appointed. When I look at teles online, the "deluxe" teles seem wrong to me. The only tele I've ever liked is the natural ash with black guard. I prefer rosewood, but love the look of a worn maple neck on a tele.
I think that's also why I was OK with the three-piece body, where I'm normally a wood snob. A tele isn't about looks, though it looks cool, it's about being "a rock stick filled with mojo and vibe". I think the idea of the tele being "a working man's guitar" is pretty close too.
I have to say that so far I'm digging it. It's got a different vibe than my Strat which I didn't expect.
GAD
bluesjuke
12-22-2008, 12:55 AM
You've got the correct perception there GAD.
Teles have everything that matters and nothing that doesn't.
It's funny now that I used to think Teles were ugly now I just see their simplistic beauty.
shally
12-22-2008, 12:55 AM
I played the same guitar (Guild S300AD) for almost 30 years. In the past year I've bought five. I never wanted a Strat - until I played a nice one that sang to me.
I never wanted a Tele either. I have to say that I tend to associate them with country music of the type that typically doesn't appeal to me. I will say though, that after watching the Bruce Springsteen in Barcelona concert on BRD, I suddenly feel the need. :)
Anyway there's one for a good price local to me and I'm feeling like getting it. Of course I'll probably gut it and put in nicer pickups etc., but who knows.
Why do I need a Tele? What will it give me that I can't get from my Strat? This is your chance to be the great enablers that you are. :)
GAD
electric guitar at it's most basic..
you can play any style on it, including jazz.
it is fun.
it is cheap compared to most other styles
they are stable and solid and can take a lick
g e smith says you need one. need more incentive ??
trower
12-22-2008, 01:00 AM
A Tele is for those uncomfortable with a Strat but to adventurous to just play a Paul..at least for me, I'm definitely a Paul man but given a choice between a Strat or Tele?... A good tele just bites like a doberman. ...beside, Roy Buchanan is the man! ;) here's mine..
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL619/4246694/20576715/335098178.jpg
PosterBoy
12-22-2008, 06:46 AM
You don't understand what love really is until you've bonded with a Tele
Before the Tele I bought the LP and the strat. Now, after almost 2 years playing a tele, I just bought another one!!!
They can be a lot of fun!
Well I must say I'm enjoying this one. I enjoy just about any guitar, but I'm so far quite happy with my purchase.
Somehow this guitar is filling a psychological need I didn't know I had. :)
I missed having an natural ash guitar. I love the look and the feel and the sound of Ash - especially natural. This guitar has the vibe of a guitar I'd take everywhere with me.
GAD
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