Masters of the Telecaster article (long)

[GuitarJonz]

this is 6 years old, but I came across it and found it interesting:

Guitar Player, May, 1998

Titans of the Tele: 22 mythic masters; noted guitarists who played Fender
Telecasters; includes related articles; Cover Story

By Adam Levy

BODY:
Players often assert that guitars don't make music, people do. True enough,
but some guitars have such bold personalities that players often must meet
them on their terms. Take, for example, Fender's strong-willed solidbody,
the Telecaster.

Many guitarists have built their styles around the Tele's
idiosyncrasies--its indomitable twang and jangle, the rough-and-tumble honk
of its low strings, and the ease with which its sleek neck allows smooth,
pedal steel-like bending. And it's certainly impossible to imagine certain
players--such as session kingpin James Burton--without a Telecaster. For
that matter, it's hard to imagine modern music at all without Teles.

"If there were no Telecasters, there would be no James Brown, no Zeppelin I,
II, and III, no Elvis, no country, and no Prince," stated singer/songwriter
Jeff Buckley in an April '95 GP interview. And while you're at it, you can
also 86 the Stones, the Byrds, and a whole decade of Memphis soul music.

Thankfully, there were--and are--plenty of Telecasters out there, and plenty
of players for whom the Tele is not merely an appliance, but an inestimable
accomplice. Let's check in with some celebrated guitarists whose artistry is
irrevocably linked to the sound, the feel, and the look of the Telecaster.

ED BICKERT

Bickert is Canada's premier jazz guitarist His sophisticated harmonic
sleight-of-hand and pianistic pick-and-fingers technique led saxophonist
Paul Desmond to comment: "When I work with Ed, I find myself turning around
several times a night to count the strings on his guitar."

Bickert played archtops earlier in his career, but took up the Telecaster in
the mid-Us while he was busy as a studio guitarist Although the focus of his
career has shifted from sessions back to jazz gigs over the past two
decades, his Tele has remained his main ax, if only for pragmatic reasons.
"The Telecaster is quite practical," says Bickert. "Number one, you don't
have the feedback problems you get with archtops. Also, you don't have to
worry about it getting wrecked, because it's so sturdy."

Many jazz-minded Tele-wielders--Bickert included--use a humbucking pickup in
place of the Tele's stock single-coil neck pickup, finding that they can get
closer to a more traditional Gibson-tinged jazz sound while still enjoying
the ring and sustain native to the Telecaster.

Hot Backs. "When Sunny Gets Blue," Ed Bickert [P.M., 20 Martha St.,
Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07675]. With Paul Desmond: "Squeeze Me," Pure Desmond
[Columbia].

JIMMY BRYANT

Bryant, perhaps more than any other guitarist, established the electric
guitar's role as the primary instrument of modem country music. Bryant's
genius was that he realized the potential of the solidbody from the very
beginning, at a time when his Western swing contemporaries were still
playing archtops.

One night in 1950, while Bryant was performing at a club in Los Angeles, Leo
Fender came in with a prototype of his new solidbody, the Broadcaster.
Bryant took to its sleek neck and beaming tone immediately. Shortly
thereafter, Bryant became a Fender endorser.

From 1950 to '56, Bryant recorded extensively with country singing star
"Tennessee" Ernie Ford, but his most thrilling work can be heard on the
instrumental white-knucklers he recorded with steel guitar ace Speedy West.
Echoes of Bryant's fiery style--cascading runs and bop-influenced lines
executed with immaculate technique--can be heard in the playing of Danny
Gatton and Albert Lee.

Hot Tracks. "Old Joe Clark," "Arkansas Traveler," "Comin' On," Stratosphere
Boogie: The Flaming Guitars of Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant [Razor & Tie, Box
585, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276].

ROY BUCHANAN

A Tele in Buchanan's hands seemed to be speaking in tongues. Although he
didn't use effects pedals, Buchanan was able to coax more sounds out of his
Telecaster than most guitarists could muster with a rack full of gear. In
fact, many of the trick-bag Telecaster moves associated with Danny
Gatton--behind-the-nut bends, tone-knob wah effects, pinched harmonics--were
actually pioneered by Buchanan.

Buchanan was a fan of the Tele's simple elegance. "I've been playing a '53
Telecaster now for about eight years," he told GP in '76. "I like the old
Teles because of the wood, the way the pickups are wound, the
capacitors--the whole works. At home, I also have a '54 and a '55. They're
antiques, really, and putting a humbucker on them would be like putting a
mustache on the Mona Lisa."

Buchanan went on to describe his tone recipe in greater detail: "I use a
Fender Vibrolux amp. The reverb is on 2, which gives it a little more ring
and sustain. The volume and tone controls are full out, but the volume is
not always wide open on the guitar. It's just there in case I need it.
That's why I can't play a Les Paul, because you've got to have it full out
to get a good sound, whereas you can keep a Telecaster down and still get
that ringing sound."

Hot Tracks. "Pete's Blue," "The Messiah will Come Again," "Down by the
River," Sweet Dreams: The Anthology [Polydor].

PAUL BURLISON

Burlison left his indelible mark on the pages of rock history in 1956 when
he recorded with Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'N Roll Trio, fusing country,
blues, and R&B into a then-new hybrid: rockabilly. The Trio got their start
on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, a popular New York-based talent show. After
winning three times in a row, the group won a contract with Coral Records,
and soon recorded a string of singles, including the rockabilly rave, "Train
Kept A-Rollin'."

Burlison's devotion to Fender solidbodies began in 1953, when he traded in
his '52 goldtop Les Paid for an Esquire. "I was in a music store in Memphis
and they had this white Esquire with a white pickguard," he remembers. "It
felt great, and it had a biting treble sound that I just loved. That was the
guitar I used with the Rock 'N Roll Trio." That "bite" is essential to his
sound. "For the type of music we play," he says, "I just don't think you can
beat the sound of a Telecaster or an Esquire."

In December of '56, Burlison accidentally ran over his beloved Esquire. "I
had it repaired, but it never was the same after that. The following January
I bought a white-on-white Telecaster, and I've been playing Fenders ever
since. I wouldn't do without 'em." Burlison says he currently owns eight
Esquires and Teles, including a '52 Esquire that Stevie Ray Vaughan borrowed
from him to record "The House Is Rockin'" [In Step, Epic].

Hot Tracks. With the Johnny Burnette Trio: "Honey Hush," "Train Kept
A-Rollin'," Rockabilly Boogie [Bear Family, Box 1154, 27727 Hambergen,
Germany].

JAMES BURTON

If there were a Telecaster "family tree," Burton would surely be near the
very top. Nearly every post-Burton Tele player points to him as a major
influence. His style has become so much a part of the guitar's vernacular
that it's accepted by many as the way to play the Telecaster.

Burton was one of the first guitarists to incorporate pedal steel-like
string bending. In the mid '50s--a time when most electric guitarists were
using medium-gauge strings (with wound Gs)--Burton pushed the limits of the
electric guitar's string-bending potential by replacing the first four
strings on his Telecaster with banjo strings and swapping his low-E and A
strings for A and D strings. Check out Ricky Nelson's "Believe What You Say"
for a dose of classic Burton bends.

In 1957, Burton began performing regularly with Nelson on the popular weekly
television program The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Although he used a
variety of guitars on the show, he later recalled, "I switched off a lot
with other guitars, but it was just for fun and looks. My main guitar was
always the '53 Tele, and I used it on all the records." In 1969, Fender gave
Burton the pink paisley Tele that he used on Elvis Presley's '69 Las Vegas
"comeback" television special. It remained Burton's signature guitar until
1989 when Fender issued the James Burton Telecaster.

Hot Tracks. With Emmylou Harris: "Too Far Gone," Pieces of the Sky [Warner
Bros.]. With Ricky Nelson: "Believe What You Say," "Hello Mary Lou,"
"Travelin' Man," Greatest Hits [Rhino]. With Elvis Presley: "Mystery Train,"
Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada [RCA]. With
Ralph Mooney: "Sneaky Strings," "Corn Pickin'," James Burton and Ralph
Mooney. Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin' [Capitol].

ALBERT COLLINS

Albert Collins created an electric Texas-swing blues style that was quite
unlike the blues of his Chicago counterparts. As you can hear in his unique
lead phrasing and chord comping, Collins was heavily influenced by jazz
organists (particularly Jimmy McGriff, whom Collins idolized as a teen).

Clarence Gatemouth Brown--a mentor to Collins--turned the younger guitarist
on to Fenders in 1952. "I was playing an Epiphone hollowbox," Collins
recalled, "and then I seen Gatemouth with that Esquire, and he said, 'Here,
see if you like this.' I liked the neck on that guitar so much, I went right
down and put a down payment on one. When I first started, I couldn't afford
a Telecaster, so I bought an Esquire and put a Telecaster neck on it."
Collins used that guitar on his early recordings and continued to use it
until 1965, when he got his first genuine Telecaster, a '59.

Collins said he preferred Telecasters over Strats because "a Tele is a
softer sound. A Strat is mostly, like, for rock and roll. Another reason why
I never play a Strat is 'cause I rest my hand on the bridge when I play
[unlike most Tele players, Collins left the bridge coverplate on his
guitar]. And Teles are tough. I've dropped mine a lot of times, man, and it
ain't hurt nothin'." Collins' main ax was a 1966 Telecaster Custom with a
Gibson-style humbucking pickup in the neck position. He tuned his guitar to
an open Fm chord (low to high: F, C, F, A[flat], C, F), relying on a capo to
play in different keys. Essential to his powerful sound, Collins asserted,
was his 1972 Fender Quad Reverb.

Hot Tracks. In a '93 GP interview, Collins selected his choicest cuts:
"Iceman," "Put the Shoe on the Other Foot," Iceman [Alligator], "Honey
Hush," Ice Pickin' [Alligator], "If You Love Me Like You Say" Frostbite
[Alligator], "Frosty," Frozen Alive! [Alligator], "Don't Lose Your Cool,"
Don't Lose Your Cool [Alligator], "Too Many Dirty Dishes," Cold Snap
[Alligator], "The Things I Used to Do," The Complete Imperial Recordings
[EMI].

STEVE CROPPER

Winner of GP's 1996 Editors Award for Lifetime Achievement, Cropper has
contributed more to the sound of American soul music than any other living
guitarist. He was the house guitarist for Stax/Volt, the Memphis-based R&B
label that launched the careers of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T. &
The MGs, and Sam & Dave. Cropper was also responsible for writing or
cowriting many of Stax/Volt's biggest singles. His catalog includes "In the
Midnight Hour," "Soul Man," "The Dock of the Bay," and countless other
jukebox perennials.

Cropper embraced the Telecaster as the ideal rhythm instrument because "it
enables you to combine fills and rhythm without having to drastically change
your sound or go through a bunch of pedals." He added, "You get a lot of
distinction with a Tele. When you play a chord, you don't hear one sound;
you hear individual strings as you hit them. I don't hit all six
strings--most of mine are half-muted. I'm usually only playing on four
strings, but I hear the tones."

Cropper used a '56 Esquire on some of the early Stax recordings, but later
used a variety of rosewood-fingerboard Telecasters. Nowadays he plays a
Tele-style Peavey Cropper Classic guitar. "The old Teles and the '50s
Esquires are great for chunkin' backbeats with a lot of air, but I can solo
more easily on the Peavey because it's not as stiff as the old Fenders. But
as far as the weight, the body style, and all that, it's still a
Telecaster."

Hot Tracks. With Otis Redding: "Dock of the Bay," The Very Best of Otis
Redding [Rhino]. With Sam & Dave: "Soul Man," The Very Best of Sam & Dave
[Rhino]. With Wilson Pickett: "In the Midnight Hour," The Very Best of
Wilson Pickett [Rhino]. With Eddie Floyd: "Knock on Wood," Knock on Wood
[Rhino]. With Booker T. & The MGs: "Green Onions," "Hip Hug-Her," The Best
of Booker T & The MGs [Rhino].

CORNELL DUPREE

Barring perhaps Steve Cropper, Dupree is the Telecaster's most distinguished
R&B patron. During the '60s, '70s, and '80s, Dupree was a busy session
guitarist, appearing on more than 2,000 albums, including major records by
Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Ray Charles, and Joe Cocker. Dupree's
instantly recognizable Tele style features sliding double-stops, tight
chanks, volume-knob swells, and unbelievably groovy strumming.

On more recent records, Dupree has been using a Telestyle Yamaha, but from
the '60s through the '80s he relied on two main Telecasters for most of his
live and studio work. Both were modified to broaden the Tele's tonal
palette. One sported a Gibson humbucker in the neck position, and the other
had a DeArmond humbucker in addition to the Tele's two original pickups.

Hot Tracks. With Aretha Franklin: "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Love the
One You're With," Aretha Franklin Live at Fillmore West [Rhino]. With King
Curtis: "Memphis Soul Stew," Ultimate '60s Soul Smashes [Rhino].

RAY FLACKE

Flacke's forte is a hot, Burton-influenced pick-and-fingers style. "For me,
the flatpick wasn't enough," said Flacke. "I figured you got three extra
fingers. Why not use every available appendage?" A classic example of his
fervent pick-and-fingers technique can be heard on Ricky Skaggs' "One Way
Rider" from Highways & Heartaches.

Flacke's main Telecaster is a '68 with a rosewood fretboard. "Rosewoods are
rougher and harder to play than smooth, lacquered maple necks, but I like
them that way because I strongly attack the strings with my chording hand.
You have to work a little harder with rosewood, but that suits my style of
playing." Like many country pickers, Flacke uses light-top/heavy-bottom
strings (his gauges are .010, .011, .015, .032, .042, .052) to get the most
bend out of the top strings and a rock-solid whomp on the bass notes.

Hot Tracks. With Ricky Skaggs: "Don't Get Above Your Raising," Waitin' for
the Sun to Shine [Epic], "Highway 40 Blues," "Heartbroke," Highways &
Heartaches [Epic].

DANNY GATTON

Gatton's remarkable style was an amalgam of jazz, blues, country, and
rockabilly. (For a more comprehensive Gatton tribute, see "The Humbler" on
p. 52.) Add authentic pedal steel and banjo licks, then speed everything up,
and you have some idea of Gatton's mojo. Like Buchanan, he was able to make
his Telecaster do things that no other guitarist could imagine, much less
execute.

Gatton got his first Tele in 1971. "Bob Berman, a friend of Roy [Buchanan],
hired me to do a session," he explained. "I was about to record a solo when
Bob said, 'Play something that'll knock my socks off, and my '53 Tele is
yours.' So I pulled out all the stops, and he gave me my first Telecaster."
Prior to that time, Gatton had been playing Les Pauls, but immediately took
to his new ax. "I liked the look and feel of a maple neck," he said. "And
most of all, the Tele gives me that dirty blues sound that I can't get from
my Les Pauls."

Gatton made clear his devotion to the Tele in a July '93 GP interview. "I
was working on a record for Chris Isaak [San Francisco Days, Reprise/ Warner
Bros.], and I borrowed a Strat for the project. I liked it so much that I
bought it But, I tell you, if I break a string on the Tele and put on the
Strat, there's such a world of difference in the sound, even though my Strat
has Barden pickups and it's been hot-rodded. There's no way the Strat has
the punch that the Teles got" Although Fender issued a Danny Gatton
Signature model in '93, Gatton's workhorse guitar was a '53 Tele.

Hot Tracks. "Sky King," "Sleepwalk," Unfinished Business [NRG, Box 100,
Alpharetta, GA 30239], "Rock Candy," Redneck Jazz [NRG], "Harlem Nocturne,"
Cruisin' Deuces [Elektra].

THE HELLECASTERS

Hellecasters Jerry Donahue, John Jorgenson, and Will Ray take the electric
guitar to acrobatic extremes. "Our motto," says Jorgenson, "is anything
goes."

Each member of the Hellecasters has a distinct approach. Jorgenson manages
to channel Jeff Beck's fluid rock chops and Django Reinhardt's Gypsy swing
into one hair-raising style. Ray is the prankster, using unorthodox
tricks--such as right-hand slide--to create a style that approaches
virtuosic anarchy. Donahue is best known for his incredible double- and
triple-stop bends, extra-wide behind-the-nut bends and mercurial
bluegrass-steeped runs, all of which, while extreme, represent the clearest
connection to the Teles James Burton/Albert Lee lineage.

Donahue's preference for Teles goes beyond the guitar's tone and playability
factors. One of the Tele's unique cosmetic features is the scooped "tray" in
the headstock behind the nut. Without this, Donahue's behind-the-nut bends
would be limited to a few half-steps, rather than the major thirds and
perfect fourths he routinely wrangles.

Donahue's string gauges are worthy of special note. Whereas many
country-influenced Tele players use a hybrid light-top/ heavy-bottom set,
Donahue goes in the opposite direction. He uses treble string gauges .010,
.012, and .017, and bass string gauges .024, .032, and .042. The .010s, he
says, give him plenty of warm tone on the top strings, and the lighter-gauge
wound strings allow ample slack for his infamous behind-the-nut low-string
bends.

Donahue feels the Teles simple two-piece construction comes in handy when
traveling. "I fly overseas quite often," he says, "and getting through
customs with an instrument usually means spending way too much time in the
airport. So I just take the neck off, and sandwich the neck and body between
layers of clothes in my suitcase. That way, when I get off the plane, I'm
ready to go."

Hot Tracks. "Highlander Boogie," "Orange Blossom Special," "King Arthur's
Dream," Return of the Hellecasters [Pacific Arts], "Inspector Gadget Hanging
at Tom & Rita's," "Axe to Grind," Escape from Hollywood [Rio, 11858 La
France Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025].

BILL KIRCHEN

As the guitarist for Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen, Bill Kirchen
brought a revved-up truckstop boogie sound to Cody hits such as "Hot Rod
Lincoln" and "Mama Hated Diesels." Combining rockabilly with Western swing
and blues, Kirchen's no-nonsense low-string licks offered, a high-test
version of Don Rich's work with Buck Owens. He considers himself the musical
heir of Roy Nichols, James Burton, and Scotty Moore.

Kirchen bought his road-worn Telecaster in '69. The guitar's vintage is
somewhat of a mystery. The serial number seems to indicate a '50s birthing,
but the finish is definitely a '60s-style sunburst. The guitar is outfitted
with Barden pickups. "My original bridge pickup died in its sleep one day,"
lamented Kirchen. "I put my Tele away after a gig, pulled it out a couple of
days later and the pickup had gone to Fender heaven. With Tele pickups you
either have fat or twang. [Pickup manufacturer] Joe Barden has done a very
good job of retaining some Fender twang integrity while fattening up the
sound of the Tele so it doesn't sound like a banjo on the high notes."

Hot Tracks. "Hot Rod Lincoln," Hot Rod Lincoln Live! [Hightone], "Tombstone
Every Mile," "Lovin' Cajun Style," Tombstone Every Mile [Black Top]. With
Commander Cody. "Hot Rod Lincoln," "20 Flight Rock," "Home in My Hand," Lost
in the Ozone [MCA], "Let's Rock," Let's Rock! [Blind Pig].

ALBERT LEE

Lee's daredevil style is rooted in the early rockabilly lead work of Buddy
Holly and Gene Vincent sideman Cliff Gallup. But Lee has surpassed the
rustic simplicity of his forefathers and created a whole new style, which he
describes as "in a James Burton vein with some jazz thrown in." Rife with
clean-toned, faster-than-a-speeding-bullet runs and steely double- and
triple-stop bends, Lee's solos are heart-stoppers.

Lee recalls his first Tele, which he purchased in 1963: "It was a '59 or
'60, and must have been one of the first with a rosewood fingerboard. The
guy at the music store said, 'Look, instant James Burton!' It seemed really
Mickey Mouse compared to my previous guitar--a Les Paul Custom--but as soon
as I played it, I thought, 'This is great.' It sounded so alive, so
electric--more so than anything I'd ever played."

Lee most often used a '53 Tele for live and studio work. On some sessions he
used a pull-string guitar. Built by L.A. luthier Dave Evans, the pull-string
was a Telecaster-style guitar with an internal system of cranks and levers
that enabled a player to execute otherwise-impossible pedal-steel-style
licks. Lee's solo on Dave Edmunds' "Sweet Little Lisa" [Repeat When
Necessary] features some of his most creative B-bender maneuvers.

Hot Tracks. "Hot Ranch Boogie," "Don't Let Go," Gagged But Not Bound [MCA],
"T-Bird to Vegas," "Salt Creek," Speechless [MCA]. With Emmylou Harris:
"Luxury Liner," Luxury Liner [Warner Bros.]. With Dave Edmunds: "Sweet
Little Lisa," Repeat When Necessary [Swan Song].

BRENT MASON

With a resume that reads like a Who's Who of modern country--Randy Travis,
Joe Diffie, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, to mention a few--Mason is one of
the hottest session guitarists in Nashville today. One thing that
distinguishes Mason from most Nashville superpickers is that, while he's
certainly capable of all the hot country guitar you'd ever want, he's also
got jazz and Western swing chops that few other players of his generation
can rival. His 1997 solo debut, Hot Wired, gives Mason a chance to flaunt
his command of some non-country styles.

Although Mason's job as a Nashville studio chameleon requires him to enlist
a small army of guitars for recording dates, he most often reaches for his ,
68 Telecaster. The Tele has been hot-rodded to include a Strat pickup in the
middle position and a mini-humbucker in the neck position. The Strat pickup
is wired with an independent volume control, giving Mason the ability to
take some the edge off his Tele by dialing in the desired amount of
middle-pickup mellowness.

Hot Tracks. "Sugarfoot Rag," "Hot Wired," Hot Wired [Mercury]. With Alan
Jackson: "Don't Rock the jukebox," Don't Rock the Jukebox [Arista], "Who's
Cheatin' Who," Everything I Love [Arista]. With Shania Twain: "Love Gets Me
Every Time," Come On Over [Mercury]. With Trace Adkins: "I Left Something
Turned On at Home," Dreamin' Out Loud [Capitol].

ROY NICHOLS

Roy Nichols was a key member of the Strangers, the Bakersfield band that
backed country legend Merle Haggard during his pre-beard years on Capitol.
Percussive chicken pickin' and cry-in-your-beer pre-bend licks are Nichols'
hallmarks. His distinctive, wailing Tele tone--as heard on the lead break to
Haggard's "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive"--was clearly an influence on Roy
Buchanan. The Strangers also recorded several instrumental albums, all of
which feature Nichols in fine form. Nichols' main Tele was a 1953. For
optimum full-contact punch, Nichols favored a JBL-loaded Fender Twin Reverb
amp.

Hot Tracks. With Merle Haggard and the Strangers: "The Bottle Let Me Down,"
"Mama Tried," "White Line Fever," Vintage Collection Series [Capitol].

LUTHER PERKINS

Perkins' chunky, insistent rhythm guitar was an essential part of Johnny
Cash's trademark boom-chicka-boom sound. Cash recalled that Perkins had lost
his Telecaster's bridge coverplate and used to rest his right hand on the
strings near the bridge, thereby muting the strings and enhancing the Tele's
intrinsically percussive attack.

As Cash's early trio--Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two--were without a
drummer, Perkins' unyielding rhythm was the horse that a whole string of
early Cash hits rode in on. "A lot of guitar players have come along who try
to sound like him," Cash recalled, "but nobody yet has ever got that
particular touch that Luther had on playing that one-string rhythm." Perkins
remained a member of Cash's band until his death in 1968.

Hot Tracks. With Johnny Cash: "I Walk the Line," "Hey Porter," "Get Rhythm,"
"Folsom Prison Blues," The Sun Years [Rhino].

DON RICH

To most folks, Buck Owens was the face of Hee Haw, telling corny jokes and
plying his "pickin'-and-grinnin'" routine on the popular weekly television
show. But Owens was the real deal, riding high in the country music saddle
throughout the '60s and early '70s. In fact, if he had a notch in his belt
for every #1 hit he penned, there wouldn't be much belt left.

Inseparable from Owens during these prime years was Don Rich, who Owens
referred to as his "right arm." Rich was 16--and primarily playing
fiddle--when he and Owens first started working together. "Next thing I
knew, he had a guitar onstage along with the fiddle," recalled Owens. "It
didn't take long before he superseded me. He took what I knew and improved
on it. Before long, he was playing all the guitar, and I was just holding
mine."

To accommodate the two key elements of his style--hardy low-string rhythm
parts and snappy high-string chicken-pickin' leads--Rich strung his custom
silver-flake Tele with a modified light-top/heavy-bottom set (.009, .011,
.016, .032, .042, and .052). Rich used Fender or Standel amps.

Hot Tracks. With Buck Owens: "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail," "Act
Naturally," Best of Buck Owens, Vol. 1 [Rhino], "Buckaroo," Best of Buck
Owens, Vol. 2 [Rhino], "Open Up Your Heart," "Adios, Farewell, Goodbye, Good
Luck, So Long," Buck Owens and His Buckaroos in Japan! [Sundazed, Box 85,
Coxsackie, NY 12051].

KEITH RICHARDS

Richards plays rhythm guitar in an English rock and roll band called the
Rolling Stones. You may have heard of them. Okay, seriously, Richards is the
undisputed heavyweight champ of post-Chuck Berry rhythm guitar. Venerable
Stones rockers such as "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar," and "Jumpin' Jack
Flash" would sound hopelessly feeble without Richards' churning, incendiary
guitar hooks.

Richards' setup is quite unusual. Most often he plays in an open-G tuning,
using only five strings (low to high: G, D, G, B, D). The veteran rocker
owns quite a collection of guitars, but the one that spends the least amount
of time in its case is his intrepid workhorse "Micawber," a '57 Telecaster
with a humbucker in the neck position. Richards says the Telecaster suits
his odd tuning system nicely: "If I try and use another guitar," he
explained in his December '89 GP cover story, "it might be a great-sounding
guitar, but it blooms too much, or there's too much sustain. Because of the
tuning, you get an extra ring out of the Telecaster that you wouldn't
normally get, so the tuning kind of offsets the really nice, dry bite that
the Telecaster has."

Hot Tracks. "Brown Sugar," Sticky Fingers, "Start Me Up," Tattoo You,
"Midnight Rambler," "Gimme Shelter," Let It Bleed, "Honky Tonk Women," Exile
on Main Street [all Warner Bros.].

MIKE STERN

Stern first started making waves in the mid '70s performing with Blood,
Sweat & Tears, but it was his work with Miles Davis that put Stern on the
jazz/fusion map--particularly his full-tilt Hendrix-meets-Coltrane solos on
Davis' monumental 1982 live album, We Want Miles [Columbia]. Since leaving
Davis' band in the mid '80s, Stem has released a succession of lively
electric jazz records.

Stern bought his first Tele from Danny Gatton (who had got it from Roy
Buchanan). When that historic hand-me-down was stolen from Stem, he
assembled a copy out of spare parts, including an old Fender Broadcaster
neck. The "copycaster" served as Stern's main guitar from the mid '80s until
last year, when Yamaha introduced the Mike Stern Pacifica Signature Model.

Hot Tracks. "There Is No Greater Love," "Nardis," Standards (and Other
Songs) [Atlantic], "What I Meant to Say," Is What It Is [Atlantic]. With
Miles Davis: "Jean-Pierre," "Fast Track," We Want Miles [Columbia).

MARTY STUART

Stuart holds a special place in country music: He's both a bona fide country
star and a player's player. Few, if any, of his chart-topping "new country"
contemporaries can claim the rich history that is Stuart's past. In his
teens and twenties, he apprenticed under country greats Johnny Cash, Doc
Watson, and Lester Flatt.

Stuart's style is equal parts Nashville and Bakersfield, with a liberal dose
of Mississippi blues thrown in to spice up the recipe. Influenced by
Clarence White's B bender work with the Byrds, Stuart had a Parsons/White
Stringbender installed in his Telecaster in 1977. "After I got that guitar,"
says Stuart, "I'd play along with the Byrds' records, and I'd get the licks
right, but my guitar just didn't sound the same as Clarence's no matter what
I did. Then, in 1980, 1 bought Clarence's original guitar from his widow,
and found that it had just a little bit longer pull than any other bender
I've ever tried. That little fraction of an inch seems to create an overtone
or something, and it makes all the difference in the world. Clarence used to
call this guitar Frankenstein because of the way it was put together. The
front pickup came out of a Strat, and the one in the rear is a Tele pickup
that was rewound by Red Rhodes for a fatter sound. It really was an
experimental ax."

Hot Tracks. "Hillbilly Rock," Hillbilly Rock [MCA], "Now That's Country,"
This One's Gonna Hurt You [MCA].

MUDDY WATERS

Muddy Waters (born McKinley Morganfield) brought his Son House-influenced
Mississippi Delta blues to Chicago in 1943, at the age of 28. Finding that
he could barely be heard above the din of the noisy Chicago clubs, he began
using a thumbpick to get more volume out of his acoustic. The thumbpicks
didn't quite do the trick, however, so a year later an uncle gave Waters his
first electric guitar--unaware that the gift would ultimately change the
course of music when Waters' electrified blues became the definitive South
Side sound.

Waters used traditional open tunings early on in his career, but later
reverted to standard tuning. "It's tough if you're waiting between songs to
change your tuning," he said, "and I'm too lazy to carry two or three
guitars around. I don't need to be bothered by that. I got my one old
guitar."

Waters' main squeeze was a red late-'50s Tele that he modified to
accommodate his muscular style. "I got a heavy hand," he explained, "and my
strings are heavy, like a .012 or .013 for the first one. A guy in Chicago
made me a neck , a big stout neck with the high nut to raise up the strings
for slide. I needed to strengthen it up because of the big strings, and I
think that the big neck has a lot to do with the big sound."

Hot Tracks. "Hoochie Coochie Man," "Mannish Boy," "I'm Ready," His Best,
1947 to 1955 [Chess/MCA].

CLARENCE WHITE

White began his career in the early 1960s as a member of the Los
Angeles-based acoustic bluegrass group, the Kentucky Colonels. But by'65, as
the British wave crashed over America, White was searching for a new kind of
music that melded, in his words, "folk integrity and electric rock." So
White bought a Telecaster and, under the tutelage of James Burton, soon
became a busy studio guitarist, recording with artists such as the Everly
Brothers, Randy Newman, and Joe Cocker.

White's true moment in the sun came in 1968, when he began his five-year
association with the Byrds. During this time, White made extensive use of
the Parsons/White Stringbender, a device he co-invented with Gene Parsons.

"One of Clarence's innovations was to chime the high-E or B string and bend
it up a whole-step by pulling the string down behind the nut," Parsons
recounted. "This worked fine in open position, but on one particular
recording session Clarence really needed to go up the neck to do a
particular lick. He said he wished he had a pedal steel or a third hand, so
on that track I supplied the third hand. After that day, I came up with the
idea of a string-pulling device activated by the shoulder strap."

For a glimpse at what the Stringbender was capable of in the hands of White,
check out the Byrds' "One Hundred Years from Now" [Sweetheart the Rodeo].
The Stringbender had been retrofitted into White's '54 Telecaster, and that
was the guitar he used for the duration of his tenure with the Byrds. He
favored fight strings--usually a standard .009-.042 set, but with a .012
third string in place of the .016 for extra flexibility A souped-up Fender
Dual Showman reinforced White's electric-blue country sound.

Hot Tracks. With the Byrds: "One Hundred Years from Now," Sweetheart of the
Rodeo, "Truckstop Girl," "Positively 4th Street," UntitLed, "This Wheel's on
Fire," "Old Blue," Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde [all Columbia].

RELATED ARTICLE: TELE-TINGED SONGWRITERS

CHRISSIE HYNDE

With the release of the Pretenders' first single, "Stop Your Sobbing," in
1979, Hynde established a guitar sound that would become as integral to the
Pretenders' identity as her voice. Achieved by running her Telecaster
through a chorus pedal, Hynde's Byrds-like, quasi- 12-string tone added
high-end sparkle to the mix, yet was sturdy enough to support the group's
hefty post-punk power pop. The chiming open-string hook of "Talk of the
Town" further exploited Hynde's sound. The rockabilly-inspired "Middle of
the Road" riff is rendered in dropped-D tuning, a sound which is especially
effective on a Tele, because the guitar's longer scale length (as compared
to Gibson) lets the low notes ring true. "Middle of the Road" also features
a blazing Albert Lee-inspired solo by Pretenders guitarist Robbie McIntosh.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Springsteen's parables about contemporary dilemmas of everyday American
life, such as "Thunder Road," "The Promised Land," and "No Surrender,"
earned him a reputation as the post-Dylan American folk/rock songwriter. But
unlike Dylan, who is more of a poet than a player, Springsteen is a skillful
guitarist, using his ax--an early Esquire with an added Tele neck pickup--to
infuse his music with the punch that is the Telecaster's stock-in-trade.

Darkness on the Edge of Town has some great guitar moments, particularly on
"Adam Raised a Cain," which demonstrates the Tele's ability to go from
church bells to wrecking ball. The bridge rides on Springsteen's ringing,
open-position arpeggios, and the hard-hitting open-Em chorus riff would make
Angus Young proud. And anyone who thinks of Springsteen as merely a strummer
hasn't listened to The Wild, the Innocent & The E Street Shuffle lately. His
bluesy intro on "Kitty's Back" is biting and soulful, and even includes a
couple of Roy Buchanan-inspired harmonic howls.

JEFF BUCKLEY

"One guitar player has an orchestra in his hands," Buckley told GP in April
'95. If you need proof, check out Buckley's fingerpicked cover of Leonard
Cohen's "Hallelujah" on Grace. A solo guitar-and-voice performance, the song
features one of the most lushly "orchestral" guitar performances in rock.

Buckley, 29, died last year in a swimming accident, leaving only two
recordings, Grace and the four-song EP Live at Sine. Both records show off
Buckley's angelic voice and gorgeous Telecentric jangle-and-drone fretwork.
Most of Grace was recorded with Buckley's dynamic trio, but Live is strictly
solo, and gives Buckley's winning Tele-plus-Twin tone full sway.

RELATED ARTICLE: JERRY DONAHUE'S FAVE TELE SOLOS

Donahue is not only an incredible player in his own right, but also a
Telecaster folklorist with an encyclopedic knowledge. Ask Donahue anything
at all about the history of the instrument or its proponents, and you're
bound to get a definitive--and colorful--answer. We asked him to list three
of his favorite all-time Telecaster solos, ones that he felt were
inspirational examples of the Tele on its best behavior.

James Burton, "Ooh Las Vegas" by Emmylou Harris [Elite Hotel, Warner Bros.]:
"Unmistakably Telecaster and unmistakably James Burton. James plays fast and
gutsy on this one, and the solo provides one of the best illustrations of
his chicken pickin'. Also, this is a live record, which adds to the
excitement."

Ray Flacke, "Don't Get Above Your Raising" by Ricky Skaggs [Waitin' for the
Sun to Shine, Epic]: "This is an excellent example of Ray's technique of
combining open strings and fretted notes within fast, banjo-style runs.
Open-string runs are part of my style as well, and Ray's definitely been an
inspiration. Anyone unfamiliar with Ray should also check out his solos on
Skaggs' Highways & Heartaches."

Albert Lee, "Sweet Little Lisa" by Dave Edmunds [Repeat When Necessary]:
"For sheer speed and risk factor, this is one of Albert's most impressive
solos--which is saying a lot! The constant element of danger is one of the
reasons I like Albert's playing so much. It's as if his Bullet Train is
always on the brink of derailing, yet he always manages to get it back on
track. Some of the younger players who have been influenced by Albert are
missing that kind of suspense and excitement."

RELATED ARTICLE: ALBERT LEE'S ESSENTIAL LISTENING

During his formative years, Lee spent countless hours listening to country,
jazz, and rockabilly, and studying many of the electric guitar's earliest
and most influential players. In a Sept. '84 GP feature, he cited some of
the records that had made the biggest impression on him.

On James Burton: "I found the James Burton sound very appealing, but it
seemed totally alien to me, because I couldn't figure out how he was doing
it. I'd started to learn how to play like Cliff Gallup, and it was with a
wound third string. Burton was different altogether--all that string-bending
with an unwound. G. My favorite record was 'My Babe' by Ricky Nelson. There
are some pretty magical guitar sounds throughout the whole song. During the
'60s, I was playing alongside all the English guitar players, and a guy I
used to run into very often was Jimmy Page. We'd go over to his place and
just be rolling on the floor listening to that stuff. He was a big James
Burton fan. He used to carry a picture of James in his wallet."

On Paul Burlison: "Another important phase of my listening career came in
1960 or '61, when somebody laid a record by Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'N
Roll Trio on me that totally blew me away. I still put that record on and
get so enthusiastic that I play along with it. There's just so much energy
and a real rawness about the guitar. 'Honey Hush' has a great solo, as does
'Lonesome Train,' where he does pull-offs on the first and second strings.
I've got about four copies of that album--reissues from various
countries--because I'm in danger of wearing my original one out."

On Buck Owens and Don Rich: "I really got turned on by Buck Owens, because
it seemed like he was doing a new type of country music. It had that James
Burton sound with a lot of string-bending by Don Rich. His solos like on
'Act Naturally' and 'Tiger by the Tail' were simple, but they had a real
good sound. It was the overall sound of those records that appealed to me. I
even joined the Buck Owens Fan Club, and I'd get little newsletters from his
mother."



--------------------------------------------------

[mojito]

Thanks for the article, I had never seen that one before. Very informative, and I will have to keep an eye out for some of the recommendations. By chance, I was listening to Jimmy Bryant while reading it. Good stuff!!

[String Stinger]

I was visiting a friend who is a strat fan and he knows I am a tele fan, so he runs upstairs and brings down this very same issue that he borrowed from a friend. there is a very nice photo of jimmy bryant in it.
cheers
.j

[Jerry J]

eom

[Spidercaster]

Originally Posted by GuitarJonz

Gatton got his first Tele in 1971. "Bob Berman, a friend of Roy [Buchanan],
hired me to do a session," he explained. "I was about to record a solo when
Bob said, 'Play something that'll knock my socks off, and my '53 Tele is
yours.' So I pulled out all the stops, and he gave me my first Telecaster."
--------------------------------------------------

I've recently met, and become friends with Bob Berman. He told me this story, but I guess now I KNOW it's true.

Bob is a great guy and a very talented player by the way.

[maestrovert]

i've got that issue....2 of 'em actually, one to read (over & over) and one's put away....

[Tele295]

Originally Posted by Spidercaster

I've recently met, and become friends with Bob Berman. He told me this story, but I guess now I KNOW it's true.

Bob is a great guy and a very talented player by the way.

Spidercaster, I need a copy of that recording from Berman. Seriously. Hit me with a PM or something.