Retiring to Tele?

Hi All! I've lurked here on and off and was surprised to discover I hadn't registered sooner. A while back I refinished a poorly treated (painted brown poly with a brush) '56 Stringmaster T8 (triple neck non-pedal steel). Researching original finishes somehow led me here. FWIW, the project turned out great but was about 10X the work I anticipated. :wink:

Strangely enough the project was part of my rehab from an injury that kept me from playing any instrument, or doing much else, for over two years. BTW, my guitar history is standard profile 3c--played guitar all the time growing up, but lost a lot of years doing things like working and having a family. Then one day I realized how important music was, and dived back in, which I suppose was my version of a late middle-age crisis.

Here's where things got twisted, though. I obsessed on banjo, started an acoustic band and started playing gigs. Eventually I got tired of the '74 LP and Traynor Twin taking up room in the closet and sold them. Obviously I was going to stick with acoustic, right? And the D28 was still under the bed.

Right. Banjo started to feel a little limiting, so I picked up dobro. Still finger picks, same tuning, but fewer incidents of spontaneous chicken-dancing among audiences and a wider emotional palette. Then came some physical problems, and by the time I was able to start playing again I noticed that somehow I had two amps and three lap steels, and a pedalboard. Damn, shouldn't have sold the LP, although exposure the the Stringmaster really got me to dreaming of a Tele.

TBH, after wasting so many years I don't know if it makes sense to go back to guitar. Right now I'm working hard to get non-pedal steel to the level where I can perform, and it's turned out to be a challenging instrument to play well. For now I'll continue to dream of a Tele and keep my focus where it is.

Anyway, I figure it is best to learn a bit more about them just in case a rationale for getting a Tele presents itself.

-Lynn

Are you saying you have no straight guitar now?... that ain't right.

Welcome aboard, Teles are simple but elegant! :grin:

Are you saying you have no straight guitar now?... that ain't right.
Only the D28. Which is currently on loan to my son who suddenly took an interest.

Welcome to TDPRI !!

Welcome! If you're only going to have one six string, make it a tele. Some people will think you're crazy for picking the most basic of all the big designs, but who cares. A tele focuses your playing on what counts -- hands and soul --instead of flash and features.

welcome

Rzn8tr sounds like you need a tele to me!! welcome to the forum

Welcome!

Thanks everybody! The fact is my arms will never be 100% again, and it may be that playing my D28 would be too much strain. I'm sure a well-set-up tele would play so easily that it wouldn't be a problem, right? :lol:

welcome. Your arms are serving your mind and your will. If you want it and try with patience, you may be surprised about the unexpected thing you'll be able to do with your arms.

Welcome to TDPRI.

Hello and welcome to the forum. This IMO is one of the best forums for guitar related music.

I'd say go ahead and get a Tele. It's a very inspiring guitar. The tonal possibilites are vast. It's really amazing how the old Tele design is so versatile.

I'm going to get killed here, but to me, a Tele isnt certainly out of the box, the "easiest guitar to play".

To me, thats a Gibson, but, I've always liked a little "fight" in a guitar and the Tele puts up the best. thats why I like them.

In my opinion, if you want a guitar, you should find a friend and go to a big guitar store, and start playing lots of different models. Physical limitations in mind, you might find another model may fit your body and arms more comfortably.

What's the etiquette here regarding Fender/Squier Tele's vs Tele-style guitars made by others? Tele-style guitars go under "other?"

Hi Rzn8tr,

Welcome! Sorry to hear of the obstacles that have been getting in your way.
Summer is almost here, will the warmer temperatures help at all? Hopefully.

If the weight and size of the instruments you're playing is the main issue, then a thin Tele might be just right. I'm not sure what the "record" is for "featherweight" Telecasters, but would be interested to hear about it.... There are some extremely lightweight "Pinecasters" being built, but I have no idea whether they have been warmly received by the musicians here in terms of how they sound. jb

I didn't mean to make an issue of my physical problems. Since I mostly play banjo pretty much any guitar is going to feel like a feather to me.

My thing musically is playing in groups that perform at least occasional gigs. A guitar would likely end up as something to noodle around on at home, which I'm not knocking. It would be nice to get it to the point where I could fill in on guitar a bit--if that helped me get more gigging jobs, but that may not be practical just because I have so much to learn. I'm pretty busy keeping banjo going, adding to my dobro repertoire, and getting performance-ready on steel.

All of which is to say I'm looking to pick up a Tele but I'm not in a hurry. For now I'm content to start learning more about the instrument.

Thanks for the nice welcomes, and I'll be lurking around for a while soaking up some of the past discussions.

lmo