How to tame tele sound

[ksong04]

I purchased an American tele deluxe that has Olympic white color body with alder wood, Nd maple neck. I wasn't aware of how trebly and high tele was until I brought I home.

It's been about 4 months I played this guitar and i can't tame the sound.. I bought an equalizer pedal from boss to adjust the sound but I still can't fully control it. Any suggestions or tips?

[1955]

It's all right and left hand technique, IMO.

[garyk]

The short answer is sell the Tele.

Generically the bridge on the Tele gives it that twang.

You could try a duller pickup in the bridge ...

Personally, I don't use the bridge pickup a lot, but you can certainly tame it somewhat .. of course there's the knob under the volume knob that helps with this.

You could try different tone cap values to further the tonal scope.

[RussBert]

Turn the volume and tone knob down, turn the amp up

[yellowbeard]

Why tame a tele?

[twiggymac]

dont play with volume and tone on 10, turn the treble down on the amp, pick lighter, sell the guitar.

in that order, honestly tele bridge pickups are 90% of the reason to own a tele =)

[waparker4]

Originally Posted by RussBert

Turn the volume and tone knob down, turn the amp up

+1, adjust the pickup height, making the treble side lower than the bass

[Nick Fanis]

The short answer is sell the Tele.

+100

The tele is not the guitar for you.

Especially since the DELUXE tele is already a TAME tele (it has hum canceling pups that are WAY "bassier" than vintage tele pickups)

[Donelson]

Maybe the tele sound isn't there in "your ear", yet. A quality tele lead PU sound should be full, not some thin piercing "twang". It should call to mind a steel guitar, as that's how it was designed to sound.

Sorry to say, it may take you a long time to "get it". Years, not weeks or months.

Spend many hours listening to & studying the great tele artists. That will help you a lot.

I guess the easiest first step would be to rethink your amp settings overall. Or worst case, get a better amp.

I've seen similar posts on forums re: archtops. Players want to join a "club" by buying some instrument & sound like the masters right away.

Music is fun, but not easy. Far from it.

[musicalmartin]

Buy a strat ..seriously .not a smart arse remark

[H. Mac]

Hmm. No info about your amp, your playing technique, your settings, strings, your set up, etc., so here’s my guess:

Assuming there’s a problem (and I doubt that there is), it has nothing to do with your guitar.

Sure, Teles can generate sounds that might be characterized as “trebly and high.” But they are equally capable of generating warm tones, even the famed “woman tone.” A lot of people even use them for jazz.

Your amp and its settings, and the tone knob on your guitar, your strings, and your technique have a far greater role in generating the “trebly and high” sound than your guitar alone.

Your strings are important. Stainless steel wrapped strings are the brightest, steel/nickel alloys are in the middle and the pure nickels are the warmest strings.

It’s not that you “can’t” tame your Tele, it’s just that you haven’t figured it out. Dump your equalizer, change your strings, use a decent amp and focus on your playing technique.

[papoon]

i agree with most everything said so far, also i find it's best with a good tube amp you need to play around with it until you can find that sweet spot but it will always sound like a telecaster so just play around with it and see if it's for you

[Rob DiStefano]

if the tele bridge pup tone is shrill and trebly (vol and tone pots wide open) when played direct into a clean amp, the pup is probably underwound and that's the culprit. turning the tone pot will kill some of that treble ear bleeding, but that will also change the inherent tone of the pickup. if you like the guitar, but don't like the pickup tone, change the pickup(s). a fatter bridge pickup with a much higher coil wire turn count can make for a Huge difference in tone and make for a totally different guitar that will turn yer frown into a smile.

i'll offer to send you a cavalier lion tele bridge pup to try in your tele. if it doesn't make you happy, just return it. if you like it, it will cost you $60. try before you buy. such a concept and deal, eh?

[WaylonFan76]

Maybe your amp is set for a different guitar ( humbuckers. P90s, etc. ) and you just need to set it to sound best with your Tele. JM $.02

[Telesavalis]

Put a Seymour Duncan "Five-Two" pickup at the bridge. Twang without the pain.

[WaylonFan76]

What amp are you using ?

[drvoodoo]

Some days I dislike the bridge PU in my MIJ Tele, but when using it for a gig I fall in love all over. My point is that alone it can sound harsh but in the mix on stage just perfect. YMMV

[kmac]

Originally Posted by yellowbeard

Why tame a tele?

Yellowbeard!!! Awesome movie! Isn't there a kid in that movie trying to sell handful's of poop or something?

Any way, I don't really like "traditional" twangy bridge pups. I would look into other options. I was looking for a pup more suited to rock and blues. Some a little more aggressive, darker with some balls and growl. I ended up with a voodoo te50. Its amazing, but a little pricey for a single pup (totally worth it though!!!).

There are lots of options though, people love the SD broadcaster pup. I've used and liked the fender Texas special an avri 52. The main point is that tele's, while tough to tame, are very easy to work on and mod. You can mold it into whatever you want. I did!

[fezz parka]

It's all about the knobs and screws. Use 'em.

[elmicko]

I've had some difficulties trying to "tame" the bridge pickup on my tele's. I play a lot of songs that work best for the rhythm to be just strummed on open chords using the bridge pickup. I was able to still keep the cool personality of the tele twang and still make it more usable for me by lowering the pickup. Lower it all the way down even with the bridge plate and then start raising it up until you like it.

If that doesn't work, then start looking for new pickups or even a new guitar. But dang, I just wouldn't want to plug up if there wasn't a tele by my side.