Telecaster: an ultimate worship guitar?

Do you play a tele at church?
Why? How did u come around to tele? What other guitars have you tried and not worked as well?

Why not a Strat?

Wow, I'll never forget the day I tried a Tele for the first time. I had a hamer, but couldn't get the presence I wanted. So I tested a strat and a 60th Fender anniversary Tele (2006). Fell in love with the Tele from that day. I now own three, a roadworn, a 1998 American, and that 60th anniversary.

The Tele really made me grow as a lead player. I could hear my notes, and the worship team could hear the difference.

Tele is the best looking instrument. The tonal combinations, the customizing ability, the ease of repairing and switching parts, and the ability to cut through the mix with holy twang makes the Tele my choice weapon of spiritual warfare!

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WWJD, just ask yourself...

I play both a 72 Thinline RI and a Squier CVC at church. I actually traded my strat for the CVC. I prefer the simplicity of the Tele. One volume, one tone, one cutaway....I just love it. My family bought me the Thinline when I still owned my strat and I found myself wanting a more traditional tele feel and sound, so that's why I traded. I enjoy not having 5 pickup selection options and I don't miss bumping the 5 way pickup switch while strumming. I also enjoy just the overall looks of a tele....the smaller headstock, tele bridge plates and saddles and simplistic body. The Tele also seems to cut through the mix a lot better than other guitars I have played. I know I sound redundant, but I can't speak highly enough of the Tele! I got rid of a strat, les paul, and danelectro because I really like tele's!

My Squier nine has the straight elc gtr sound down pat and I'm putting a retrotron pup in the neck so it will have the jangle too. But honestly it depends on the songs, I have a lefty Strat I've modded extensively, that gets some use on the heavier rock style songs. I also play an acoustic 12 string a lot. I could do just tele's, between my Deluxe, the Custom, the Strat bridged standard and the 9 string I can cover a lot of styles. But the other guitarist and I both have too many guitars and it's fun just to see what we will be playing each week. This week... Bass players out, the other gtr plyr is covering on bass. and I'm rockin' my Deluxe and my Alvarez acoustic 12...

.... the ability to cut through the mix with holy twang makes the Tele my choice weapon of spiritual warfare!

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Amen brother :!:

Amazing what happens when you switch to that bridge pickup...

I played a Tele at church for five years. I played a Strat at church a few times. Our band was a piano-driven band, with drums and bass. I found myself using either the neck pickup or the neck/bridge combo and rolling the treble way off. I think in our application, a more mellow, Gibson style sound would have worked better.

However, the Telecaster is the ultimate guitar.

I still dig my Teles, but...

the congregation loves the sound of my LP, so it's become my #1.

I've used a tele and a strat over the years. Now I only use a tele for the same reasons already mentioned, mainly simplicity. The tele gives a more direct tone that's unique. With a hardtail the notes have stronger attack and more sustain. It's design is simple and easy to use so I can focus on the song and it's message. It does equally well at lead or rhythm.

WWJD, just ask yourself...

Are you sure you're not asking yourself What Would Leo Do? :lol:

Or rather, what would be the answers on a Gibson forum? A ES-335 with a Bigsby?

I swapped my Strat for a Thinline Tele. It was all about saving weight. Right now I'm toying with the idea of an HSS Strat with a coil-tapped 'bucker for versatility. Having said that, it does seem that Jesus likes my Tele.

I played a Tele at church for five years. I played a Strat at church a few times. Our band was a piano-driven band, with drums and bass. I found myself using either the neck pickup or the neck/bridge combo and rolling the treble way off. I think in our application, a more mellow, Gibson style sound would have worked better.

However, the Telecaster is the ultimate guitar.

I'm in the same situation as above. My 335 is becoming my #1 for worship as it fits with the rest of the band better. But the Tele still gets plenty of love at church.

Wow, I'll never forget the day I tried a Tele for the first time. I had a hamer, but couldn't get the presence I wanted. So I tested a strat and a 60th Fender anniversary Tele (2006). Fell in love with the Tele from that day. I now own three, a roadworn, a 1998 American, and that 60th anniversary.

The Tele really made me grow as a lead player. I could hear my notes, and the worship team could hear the difference.

Tele is the best looking instrument. The tonal combinations, the customizing ability, the ease of repairing and switching parts, and the ability to cut through the mix with holy twang makes the Tele my choice weapon of spiritual warfare!

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You're preaching to the choir brother!

It fits better for me. I play an Epiphone Casino a lot too but find I tweak less with the Tele. It's more versatile. The other guitarist plays a Jagmaster and prefers it when I have my Tele. We get a better match. Speaking of a good match, I play it through a Vox AC15. Beautiful.

I used to play my tele for worship. I play lead. And yes, it did work pretty well. Then again, the tele was my main axe.

But then I got a Jazzmaster. And I just cant put that thing down. Its more mellow, and in retrospect, the Tele would probably be better for leads. Nevertheless, I prefer the Jazzy. Sorry.

I'm lucky to have accumulated the 12+ bunch of guitars I have. I play them all at one time or another. Our other guitarist has a few different ones too, so it's fun to see what we're playing any given Sunday... Some of my tele's are mutts, on the Alvarez tele I've cut the bridge in half to keep the pickup ring and I put a strat tremolo on it... the Electra custom has a Dimarzio Super II humbucker in the neck... I play my 74 Deluxe a lot but it is the heaviest guitar I've ever held! Washburn 12 string, the lefty Strat...Hmm, the 9 string tele I modded, probably shows up the most, soon to have a retrotron in the neck...
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z384/CarlGuitarl/gtrz006.jpg

Too my ears, it just seemed like the Tele would be the perfect fit.

I played my LP in church too, but it just didnt cover as much territory as my Tele does.

I've been playing the same strat for 20 years. I swtiched up and played my worship pastor's tele for the first time in service last week. It was a breath of fresh air. I understand the love for them now. What a great tone!

I've been playing the same strat for 20 years. I swtiched up and played my worship pastor's tele for the first time in service last week. It was a breath of fresh air. I understand the love for them now. What a great tone!

So are you switching?:smile:

Switch? Shoot no! Why choose when you can have both! :wink:

Switch? Shoot no! Why choose when you can have both! :wink:

Haha agreed!

I played my Telecaster this morning in church for the first time. The worship leader came over and laughed during rehersal. He said that all worship guitarists end up with a tele. It's been almost 3 years I've been playing there. I tend to buy/sell guitars on Craigslist so I can try for a while and not lose too much money. I've probably played a dozen different guitars for services. I choose what I need. Unless the songs are all very similar in tone, I usually use something that's HSS or HH with coil split....or P90's. I don't own a strat. If I need "real" single coils and sounds like a strat, I'll use my Albert Lee.

Nobody at my church plays a Tele....

I discovered that with a piano driven Praise and Worship service the neck pick up works best for me. No piano, BRIDGE CITY!

Jesus would have played a Tele: simple, straightforward working man's guitar.

No flames. I am just thinking out loud, not stating theology!

Still assembling my frankentele, but my Gretsch 5120 gets alot of love.

I worship my tele. :grin:

a buddy told me once, if the us army were to issue guitars, a tele it would be, that's why I like them, so understated, also the first good guitar I owned back in ( 68" blonde) HS.

I only own tele's so yes, I play mine at church. Right now it's my blacktop, but I did play my Nashville alot. Don't see the need for anything else. A tele will do it all.

a buddy told me once, if the us army were to issue guitars, a tele it would be, that's why I like them, so understated, also the first good guitar I owned back in ( 68" blonde) HS.

US Army? I always thought if the Tele was a gun, it would be a Kalashnikov. :wink:

I lead worship from an electric and acoustic guitar, I need a simple guitar for when I am leading and the tele fits the bill. I like being on the bridge PU and rolling the Vol & Tone as required. I play a 52 RI through a pedal board into a Dr.Z Carmen Ghia. Works great.

Jesus would have played a Tele: simple, straightforward working man's guitar.

No flames. I am just thinking out loud, not stating theology!

Sounds reasonable.

Our band has been inactive for about four months, but back then I played a borrowed Squire Affinity Tele a couple of times before our hiatus. It wouldn't stay in tune and didn't sound too great either. Before that I only played acoustic. The times I did use it a couple of our band members were absent so I haven't tried it with the full band yet (keyboards, drums, acoustic guitar, and a lead guitarist who switches from acoustic to electric based on the song).

This summer I got my own Tele (MIM) and have been expanding my chops (limited as they are) to help spice up our sound. It stays in tune and plays great. Tommorow is our first run through in our new spot (upstairs in the choir loft) and our first service will be Sunday.

I'll still play acoustic on some songs (blugrass tunes) but I hope to use the Tele to add some twang, sparkle, and jangle on the othe tunes. I'm not much of a lead player, so I plan on doing arpeggios and strumming (REM/Tom Petty style) to add color to some of the songs.

(I've got a VOX VT30 modelling amp so I can use effects and add the "U2 sound" to many of the old standards).:mrgreen:

Jesus would have played a Tele: simple, straightforward working man's guitar.


Interesting concept. Then...

Pharisees -- PRS!

A few years ago, in a forum far far away, we started messing with photoshop and somehow this shot came out... The ultimate worship Tele...

Mods - if you think this is offensive, please delete! :wink:

http://home.comcast.net/~nicholas.caruso/images/Mayhem/telepope.gif

I reckon it is. It works for me anyway. My Tele blends so well with the other guitarist in the band who plays a Jaguar. We just get a good sound and interaction, better than when I play my Casino.
I just built a Tele 12 string and will be playing it for the first time tomorrow. I'm hoping that will find a unique place in the mix. It should sound awesome on several songs we do.

you'd hate to be refused entry through the "pearly gates" by playing the wrong guitar in the church band,eh?....

damn shame that'd be.... but but but... I thought you didn't have favourites up here...

I played in a P&W band during the 80's and 90's. I used a Strat until I got an 86 Schecter PT Tele. The PT Tele covered it all. My amp was a Lab L7. Had a Boss BCB6 pedal board with power pedal, Tuner, CS-2, chorus, delay, & OD. My acoustic was a 1980 Taylor 810. All that gear has since been retired but it was a good rig for then.

Right now, I don't like the sound of my playing....but I fault my amp, not my '51.

A Tele is definitely the ultimate worship guitar. Hands down. I just got back from a three-week trip to Thailand where we put on camps for high school and junior high missionary kids, took just a Tele and even though we played two sets a day, TONS of different songs, the Tele was all I needed. It's a freaking swiss army knife. You can get SO many tones from the thing!

As to the reasons why, it's just the simplicity. I still use my Les Paul every once in a while and I've used Strats before, but nothing does it like a Tele.

A friend told me once that it ain't the arrow, it's the Indian...

but i love my Tele too.

:wink: