Every live show I have seen... every telecaster I have heard someone play... even my own band mate... has made me run for the hills whenever I see a telecaster. Its too twangy. It has too much bite. They sound brittle...
But for some reason yesterday I picked on up and gave it a go. Oh my. What a beautiful guitar! The neck was lovely. The tone was pleasant... no twang. Not brittle.
My only conclusion is... its not the guitar. Its the telecaster players. Why has such a lovely guitar been pigeon-holed into such a nothing guitar tone by players? That over the top reverb, fuzzy, preamp distorted tone that is the guitar equivalent of background noise.
It is deeply saddening. At least the telecaster has redeemed itself in my eyes... its telecaster players that I now hold a grudge against.
*Please read this thread as a comment made in jest... as tone is a very personal thing.
Every live show I have seen... every telecaster I have heard someone play... even my own band mate... has made me run for the hills whenever I see a telecaster. Its too twangy. It has too much bite. They sound brittle...
But for some reason yesterday I picked on up and gave it a go. Oh my. What a beautiful guitar! The neck was lovely. The tone was pleasant... no twang. Not brittle.
My only conclusion is... its not the guitar. Its the telecaster players. Why has such a lovely guitar been pigeon-holed into such a nothing guitar tone by players? That over the top reverb, fuzzy, preamp distorted tone that is the guitar equivalent of background noise.
It is deeply saddening. At least the telecaster has redeemed itself in my eyes... its telecaster players that I now hold a grudge against.
*Please read this thread as a comment made in jest... as tone is a very personal thing.
Never was a fan of Tele's but I do like those that play them- Bonnie Rait, Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead), Bruce Springsteen to mention a few.
Who knows, maybe you just craved something new and hit it off.
For me it would be like hitting off with a girl that's not really your type.
You're right, although most telecasters are twangy and clear, the player makes a big difference. I've grown to love them after buying one which had a killer neck I just loved, but earlier I couldn't stand the shape. They were plain and uninteresting to me, until I played one and started to enjoy it.
It's a tool, just like the other models, to be used when the situation is right...I guess...
You are so right. It's really nothing to do with the guitar. It's the cliche manner in which it is used, mostly by the country crowd. Check out where that pup select switch is when your ears hurt, and I'll guarantee that it's usually jammed in the bridge position. The G&L ASAT (Another Silly Ass Telecaster) is even worse; an icepick straight to the eardrum.
I've played a Tele pretty much exclusive since the mid 90's, and I almost never use the bridge pup. Neck or combo only. I use it for jazz, blues, rock, everything. The neck pup with the tone rolled back generates a wonderful dark jazz noise.
It's all in the hands. I sound like myself no matter what guitar I play.
__________________ - It looks just like a Telefunken U47 - with leather. You'll love it ... - Jazz is not dead - it just smells funny.
- It doesn't make much difference how the paint is put on as long as something has been said. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement.
It's all in the hands. I sound like myself no matter what guitar I play.
True. So do I. However I sound slightly different from axe to axe. I tend to adapt to the sound and purpose of the instrument. I always keep a part of my own playing but I always consider getting the best out of the guitar..
I did a small show just a few weeks ago, and the whole time I was on the neck pickup. Tone might of been back a bit too, or the presence was down on the amp, I cant remember, but I loved it. Great sound, and I guess it surprised a few of the older guys there. "Hes getting that tone from the neck pickup?" Hehe
Bridge pick up is probably my least favorite for a handful of applications, but it is too bad really. Teles actually sound fantastic for heavy metal stuff.
But man, sloppy finger picking on the bridge pickup, that can do some damage.
The Esquire/Broadcaster/Telecaster family of guitars is second to none.
You can get virtually any sound out of one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE twangy tele's and that country sound and play a fair bit of that stuff. I also love the rough and tumble sound of Zeppelin and can certainly get that out of my '66 Esquire.
Teles are versatile and offer a great clear tone. Not just for rock'n'roll like Springsteen or Keef, either. Run like hell by Pink Floyd, Gilmour used a telecaster. Used in Jazz, blues, ska, punk etc.
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Free the electrons! Use tubes/valves when possible.
That's one of the beauties of the Telecaster. It's completely versatile. It'll do just what you tell it to, and can go a bit further in any direction than most other guitars.
While I don't think Teles are the best looking guitars, they can sound pretty rawk, like even one of the blokes in Slipknot plays one (or has played one). They're not really suited to hardcore indie up-around-the-armpits strumming though, I'm not sure how that combination/look ever became cool!
I like Teles. Bridge pickup too. I think if you've heard some harsh players it'd be worthwhile to see what amp their using and how it's dialed in. Most guitarists don't know crap about getting a good sound.
Here's my modded Tele:
long time strat player here, who recently bought a squier tele for open G and stones tunes and slide. Its sooo nice I don't have to tune my guitar anymore, and I can just pick up my tele plug it in, and hit the first notes to Start me Up and smile. Love me some new tele
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G&L ASAT Deluxe.
