I've really tried to like a Tele, but I can't.....

[crosse79]

Help me guys? I love the sounds I hear on records but the teles I've been trying doesn't seem to add up. They are Fenders. Can someone tell me which Tele model has "it"?

[Elias Graves]

What is "it?" There are many different variants.
You looking for old school tele tones?

I shopped around for a long time looking and finally just had one built.
(This one is actually my son's. Mine is still under construction)



Fender original vintage tele pickups. Bakersfield sound all day long.

EG

[Eskimo_Joe]

Originally Posted by crosse79

Help me guys? I love the sounds I hear on records but the teles I've been trying doesn't seem to add up. They are Fenders. Can someone tell me which Tele model has "it"?

I know what you mean. It took me a while to find one that I connected with. That said, just keeping picking them up until you find it. Personally, I don't think the Fender standard stuff is all that great. Some other builders make teles that are much better IMO. Good luck.

[tbonesullivan]

which "sound" are you looking for? how you have the volume/tone and the amp you use has a lot of effect on what kind of sound you'll get.

[Johnnytone]

What's your budget?

[dazco]

I had a maple neck thinline and a 60's style alder with rosewood neck. I could not bond either. I took the maple neck off the TL and put it on the alder body. That was the trick IMO.....a tele sorta needs a maple neck IMO to truly cop the subtle details of tele tone, and alder or ash for a body IMO. It still took me a bit to get it right as far as pickups and bridge. the bridge can make a big difference on a tele. Once i got it like i wanted it took me a bit of playing to "get it". But once i did it was all she wrote. Now i rarely touch the strat i have loved for 10 years. All I ever played was strats till now. I tried to get on with other guitars like gibsons and some others, and a few stints with teles years ago. But this recent tele experience was the one that finally had me understanding it. Also note that the dynamics and feel are a big part of it, not just the tone. Once you get it it will make you play differently a bit too, because it makes you feel phrasing a little differently, but in a good way. Thats my experience anyways.

But to really get it and bond with it you have to get the right one and mod your way if necassary....IE: pickup, bridge. That is assuming there are tonal changed you feel you need. I found that on a tele that was ultra important compared to my strats. on those i could get by stock if i had to. but with the tele i felt i really had to get it just right and went thru a couple bridges and 5 or 6 pickups.

[fisticuffs]

Buy 4 or 5 more.

[monty]

Originally Posted by Derek Q

The best advice I can give you, FWIW, is to quit "trying to like" stuff and play what you do like. Life's too short. Teles are probably not your bag and there's nothing wrong with that.

I agree, although I can be guilty of it too with LPs, but I just try them in the shop once in a while.

[Leonc]

Man, I love Teles...all kinds. I prefer maple necks but one of the best ones I ever heard had a rosewood board...go figure? But over the years, there have been plenty of guitars that I couldn't bond with either. I hear other guys play them and just love them..then I try one and it just flat doesn't work for me. It happens.

[BedroomRockStar01]

No foul in not liking them. I love the sound of SGs, but I can't stand playing one, and the same thing goes for most Gibson products. Me and Gibson just don't get along.

If you're desperate to bond with a tele, I'd look beyond Fender. You won't find much to love in their newer stuff. I've played a '53, '56, and '57 tele that I'd kill for though.

[jpervin]

I went through a bunch of production Fender Teles and at least one homebrew one before my #1, which I built outta parts. The Telecaster is a guitar that is very easy to modify, and once each part was in place that I was happy with and I'd played it for awhile, I really started to bond with this guitar. When I'm on my deathbed, it'll be the last one to leave me.

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by Derek Q

The best advice I can give you, FWIW, is to quit "trying to like" stuff and play what you do like. Life's too short. Teles are probably not your bag and there's nothing wrong with that.

I'll second that. I love teles, but there are many many ther instruments out there that wouldn't work for me. Variety is good. Play what what you like

[wilblee]

A lot of my favorite music was recorded with a Les Paul, but I have been completely unable to bond with any one of the dozens I've played, many of which were the treasured possessions of the folks that let me try them. I like Tele's fine, but prefer Strat's and like Larrivée RS-4's even better. Not to mention the PRS DGT that's currently rockin' my world. Derek Q is right. Don't try and make an icon work for you just because it's iconic. Find guitars you like and play them.

[peskypesky]

i'll never understand any guitarist who says he doesn't "get" a particular guitar, especially a well-established model like the Tele. If you don't "get the Tele", the problem is in your head and/or hands.

i play strats, teles, les pauls, semi-hollows, hollows, classicals, acoustics, 12-strings, bass and a lap steel. they all have strings. they have frets. they make sound. what's not to get?

[Dale]

What tele sounds do you like? I have a dual bucker tele clone that is very different than a traditional tele. What amps are the people you like using? Are tehy hitting them wit a pedal as well? Many like Brent Mason generally do, Brad Paisley does as well. So the pedal is important in that case as well.