what ...EXACTLY...is the vintage tele sound

firefrets · June 19th, 2006, 05:29 PM

I've seen every tele maker and pickup manufacturer under the sun write about it.I've heard every twanger talk about it.I've even spent week's trying to decide which pickup's to choose for my first tele and never once stopped and asked myself the question...what..EXACTLY..is the vintage tele soundthat thousands of player's crave for?....You see..i'm a strat/gibson player,who's never took much notice of the telecaster,and it's history,untill i heard a few great twanger's and thought..."yeah"..i'm gonna build a tele and give it a whirl.I never gave the vintage thing a second thought.I've heard great modern players since,and they all sound different(as expected),and i've listened to some old stuff,and in my opinion...they too,sound different.So i'm trying to get my head around what people CLASS as the VINTAGE tele sound.Surely they didn't share the same amp,so there must be specifics regarding the guitar which give that particular vibe.would someone like to give me an example of maybe a recording,or ?
Sure...i've got my own ideas about it,but it would be interesting to hear what you guys & girls think. :D

Mark Davis · June 19th, 2006, 05:46 PM

http://www.marcondo.com/marcondo/guitar/RB.MP3

This is the vintage Tele sound to me. Its a 53 Tele thru a vibrolux.

Ed Bickert · June 19th, 2006, 06:03 PM

Kind of like asking what the color purple looks like isn't it? I think it's extremely relative. But you could safely say that the vintage sound of a tele is, well, get a vintage tele and plug it in? That's about is good an answer as you can get. Someone can say, "bell-like tone", or "lots of mid and a single-coil bite" but the question then becomes, "what does that sound like?"

So Mr. Davis, you just answered that question perfectly in my opinion. And who the hell is that? I LOVE it.

I admit I'm not a fan of just blues for the sake of blues. I watched some Blue Divas thing yesterday and saw some woman just cutting it up an a Line 6 and I thought it was plain garbage. I've heard better in bars. Yet the audience was eating it up. Crap I say!

I like it when it's done to a point that gives me goose bumps. Many "tele greats" just never did it from me. I won't name names because i don't want to be shot.

But whoever that is, that's goose-bump country for me. I don't care if it's joe schmoe from idaho, or SRV himself, that stuff is great. Tasty indeed.

Best blues players around? For my money? SRV, Albert King, Eric Clapton, and Grant Green. Oh and John Tesh too...just wanted to see if anyone was still reading this far into the post. lol!

B.B. King has an amazing sound too, but I don't find him nearly as emotional as the 4 above. Go figure. John Lee Hooker was a mean player too. Simple, but man he put his life into each note. How does this pertain to the vintage tele tone? I guess it doesn't. I was on a tangent. Lol!

chickenpicker · June 19th, 2006, 06:08 PM

The vintage tele sound is an opportunity for people to be parted from their money.

There's a story about something similar, involving an emperor and some tailors...

Mark Davis · June 19th, 2006, 06:21 PM

Ed that was Roy Buchanan live the song is called Roys Bluze. Play it at a high vol its goosebump city.

Telemarkman · June 19th, 2006, 06:29 PM

Mark Davis wrote :

Quote:

This is the vintage Tele sound to me. Its a 53 Tele thru a vibrolux.

Totally vintage Telecaster heaven !!! An all time high !!!

A 52RI can do a great imitation of Roy's 53 Tele, though.

A pity there's no one around that can play it like Roy.....

0le FUZZY · June 19th, 2006, 06:47 PM

Sorry my fren Mark Davis, I totally disk-a-gree.

This iss my idea and watt I wanna hear from a vintage TELECASTER specially the lass part onna low strings-----

Watt I wanna hear erry time I run a TELECASTER threw my 70s Twins

Udder wise these tew songs kinna come close -----

MY KIND OF MUSIC !(click)

SMORE !!(click)

Please visit my page

jjh37854 · June 19th, 2006, 06:50 PM

Man thanks for that Mark, man I enjoyed listening to that. To me thats an extension of the vintage tele tone. For me it would be closer to the instrument's creation, where the sound was cleaner, Don Rich/Buck tone, or Burton on the Haggard recordings.

I never realized how much RB's singing reminds me of Clarence White.

just my 2 cents
ymmv

jesse

Pete Galati · June 19th, 2006, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenpicker

The vintage tele sound is an opportunity for people to be parted from their money.

How about it.

People are now calling guitars from the late '60s and the '70s, vintage guitars. And you pretty much know that they're nothing like the guitars from the '50s.

Fine by me but it kind of dilutes the meaning of "vintage".

What is the vintage Tele sound? Because if it's the sound of an early '70s Tele, then it's not the sound of an early '50s Tele. Is either one better than the other?

It must depend on who you're asking I guess.

Pete

firefrets · June 19th, 2006, 07:04 PM

:Dmr davis wrote

Quote:

This is the vintage Tele sound to me. Its a 53 Tele thru a vibrolux.

That's a lovely example of a song everyone can be inspired to accompany.Simple,and uncomplicated.butin the nicest possible way,my ears interpret that as a strat sound....that sound strange?

mr bickett wrote

Quote:

Kind of like asking what the color purple looks like isn't it? I think it's extremely relative.

:D So do you have an opinion about purple,lol?For some different faces in the blues,look out for buddy whittington,sonny landreth,robben ford,joe bonamossa,and pat watt(uk pub scene north west).

firefrets · June 19th, 2006, 07:12 PM

[/b]HEY FUZZY
Do you like what buddy w' is doing with john mayall?
That guys a sweet player :D

Telemarkman · June 19th, 2006, 07:16 PM

Ole FUZZY wrote :

Quote:

Sorry my fren Mark Davis, I totally disk-a-gree.

This iss my idea and watt I wanna hear from a vintage TELECASTER specially the lass part onna low strings-----

I love Fuzzy's examples also, but why must one exclude the other ? :?

Both are great examples of vintage Tele sound, and you can add Jimmy Bryant and Roy Nichols too.

Telemarkman · June 19th, 2006, 07:23 PM

firefrets wrote :

Quote:

hat's a lovely example of a song everyone can be inspired to accompany.Simple,and uncomplicated.butin the nicest possible way,my ears interpret that as a strat sound....that sound strange?

Sure does !

And foregive me for not mentioning the great James Burton.

0le FUZZY · June 19th, 2006, 07:24 PM

Firefrets !

Sorry but noe comment cause of watt my mamma said.

MY KIND OF MUSIC !(click)

SMORE !!(click)

Please visit my page

odiemann · June 19th, 2006, 07:25 PM

Great analogy.

Purple is not a "real" color in the spectrum or in primary colors. It is always a combination of violet and indigo in the spectrum or red and blue in primary colors.

Therefore some may hear the classic tone closer to indigo (50's tone) or closer to violet (60-70's tone). The one thing you know is that it ain't red or yellow. It seems also to depend on what music you first associated with the venerable tele. :D

Smile, cause it only hurts to cry

firefrets · June 19th, 2006, 07:31 PM

telemarksman

Quote:

Both are great examples of vintage Tele sound

Do ya know if the instrument used on the jonny & santosversion of sleepwalkwas a tele?That's the sound i think of when i think of the fifties.I think that hit me in the same week Danny gattons studio version of harlem nocturne did.Man....what a week that was,lol.

Telemarkman · June 19th, 2006, 07:37 PM

firefrets wrote :

Quote:

Do ya know if the instrument used on the jonny & santosversion of sleepwalkwas a tele?

No, but I know those two examples I mentioned were Teles.

Heather Anne Peel · June 19th, 2006, 08:09 PM

on what "vintage" one is talking about. For me, the "vintage" Tele sound is the sound Keith Richards has gotten consistently throughout the Stones since he switched to Teles in 1971 during the recording of "Exile On Main Street". And most, or a lot of that, was on a 1973 Tele Custom, which he used from 1975-1988 or so. That's my idea of "vintage". For someone else, it might be James Burton's fab Tele tone (and James played a CBS Pink Paisley Tele on many of his classic recordings). Or maybe it's Luther Perkins on his Esquire. There are clearly different "vintage" Tele eras. My 2004 Tele Standard gets "vintage" Tele tones, and it's from 2004. I don't think "vintage" is the same for everyone.
8) Heather

firefrets · June 19th, 2006, 08:29 PM

I guess one of the reasons i started this post was to figure out what the pickup manufacturers wanted us to believe was a vintage pickup sound. :D

Heather Anne Peel · June 19th, 2006, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firefrets

I guess one of the reasons i started this post was to figure out what the pickup manufacturers wanted us to believe was a vintage pickup sound. :D

...and the answer is, of course, it's "their sound"!

Heather

benbo · June 19th, 2006, 08:40 PM

Well i'm a pickup winder and I have no idea how to explain it. Actually the ultimate tele tone eludes me. I have been winding a month solid trying to find the ultimate and have not yet. I'll either get it or give up. I know whats in my head but cant quite get it out through my fingers :? :?

:x

brittwin · June 19th, 2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Davis

http://www.marcondo.com/marcondo/guitar/RB.MP3

This is the vintage Tele sound to me. Its a 53 Tele thru a vibrolux.

That is one hell of a piece of music...... I sat there and listened...smiling from ear to ear, just listening to him rip that guitar up. DAMN!

Mark Davis · June 19th, 2006, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firefrets

telemarksman

Quote:

Both are great examples of vintage Tele sound

Do ya know if the instrument used on the jonny & santosversion of sleepwalkwas a tele?That's the sound i think of when i think of the fifties.I think that hit me in the same week Danny gattons studio version of harlem nocturne did.Man....what a week that was,lol.

Sleepwalk is a Strat and a Fender Stringmaster steel guitar.

Mark Davis · June 19th, 2006, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbo

Well i'm a pickup winder and I have no idea how to explain it. Actually the ultimate tele tone eludes me. I have been winding a month solid trying to find the ultimate and have not yet. I'll either get it or give up. I know whats in my head but cant quite get it out through my fingers :? :?

:x

Wind one up at around 5.8-5.9k thats the spec for Jeff Becks Esq. A3 mags flatpole. Dont pot it or at least dont pot the baseplate. Use springs to mount it. It needs to be slightly microphonic to have that sound .

June 19th, 2006, 05:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
firefrets Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2006 Location: N.I Posts: 476 10 Photos	what ...EXACTLY...is the vintage tele sound I've seen every tele maker and pickup manufacturer under the sun write about it.I've heard every twanger talk about it.I've even spent week's trying to decide which pickup's to choose for my first tele and never once stopped and asked myself the question...what..EXACTLY..is the vintage tele soundthat thousands of player's crave for?....You see..i'm a strat/gibson player,who's never took much notice of the telecaster,and it's history,untill i heard a few great twanger's and thought..."yeah"..i'm gonna build a tele and give it a whirl.I never gave the vintage thing a second thought.I've heard great modern players since,and they all sound different(as expected),and i've listened to some old stuff,and in my opinion...they too,sound different.So i'm trying to get my head around what people CLASS as the VINTAGE tele sound.Surely they didn't share the same amp,so there must be specifics regarding the guitar which give that particular vibe.would someone like to give me an example of maybe a recording,or ? Sure...i've got my own ideas about it,but it would be interesting to hear what you guys & girls think. :D

June 19th, 2006, 05:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 58 Posts: 12,745	http://www.marcondo.com/marcondo/guitar/RB.MP3 This is the vintage Tele sound to me. Its a 53 Tele thru a vibrolux. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

June 19th, 2006, 06:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
Ed Bickert Tele-Holic Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cape Cod, MA Age: 40 Posts: 946	Kind of like asking what the color purple looks like isn't it? I think it's extremely relative. But you could safely say that the vintage sound of a tele is, well, get a vintage tele and plug it in? That's about is good an answer as you can get. Someone can say, "bell-like tone", or "lots of mid and a single-coil bite" but the question then becomes, "what does that sound like?" So Mr. Davis, you just answered that question perfectly in my opinion. And who the hell is that? I LOVE it. I admit I'm not a fan of just blues for the sake of blues. I watched some Blue Divas thing yesterday and saw some woman just cutting it up an a Line 6 and I thought it was plain garbage. I've heard better in bars. Yet the audience was eating it up. Crap I say! I like it when it's done to a point that gives me goose bumps. Many "tele greats" just never did it from me. I won't name names because i don't want to be shot. But whoever that is, that's goose-bump country for me. I don't care if it's joe schmoe from idaho, or SRV himself, that stuff is great. Tasty indeed. Best blues players around? For my money? SRV, Albert King, Eric Clapton, and Grant Green. Oh and John Tesh too...just wanted to see if anyone was still reading this far into the post. lol! B.B. King has an amazing sound too, but I don't find him nearly as emotional as the 4 above. Go figure. John Lee Hooker was a mean player too. Simple, but man he put his life into each note. How does this pertain to the vintage tele tone? I guess it doesn't. I was on a tangent. Lol! __________________ Sorry, not the real Ed Bickert. Just a fan.

June 19th, 2006, 06:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mark Davis Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bakersfield Ca. Age: 58 Posts: 12,745	Ed that was Roy Buchanan live the song is called Roys Bluze. Play it at a high vol its goosebump city. __________________ I'm so blind my seeing eye dog needs glasses.

June 19th, 2006, 07:25 PM	#15 (permalink)
odiemann Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Denver Age: 41 Posts: 1,406	The Color Purple Great analogy. Purple is not a "real" color in the spectrum or in primary colors. It is always a combination of violet and indigo in the spectrum or red and blue in primary colors. Therefore some may hear the classic tone closer to indigo (50's tone) or closer to violet (60-70's tone). The one thing you know is that it ain't red or yellow. It seems also to depend on what music you first associated with the venerable tele. :D Smile, cause it only hurts to cry

June 19th, 2006, 06:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
chickenpicker Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: UK Posts: 3,060 14 Photos	The vintage tele sound is an opportunity for people to be parted from their money. There's a story about something similar, involving an emperor and some tailors...

June 19th, 2006, 06:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
0le FUZZY Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kolly-forn-knee-ya Posts: 10,001 6 Photos	Sorry my fren Mark Davis, I totally disk-a-gree. This iss my idea and watt I wanna hear from a vintage TELECASTER specially the lass part onna low strings----- Watt I wanna hear erry time I run a TELECASTER threw my 70s Twins Udder wise these tew songs kinna come close ----- MY KIND OF MUSIC !(click) SMORE !!(click) Please visit my page

June 19th, 2006, 06:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
jjh37854 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Francisco Age: 35 Posts: 1,160 7 Photos	Man thanks for that Mark, man I enjoyed listening to that. To me thats an extension of the vintage tele tone. For me it would be closer to the instrument's creation, where the sound was cleaner, Don Rich/Buck tone, or Burton on the Haggard recordings. I never realized how much RB's singing reminds me of Clarence White. just my 2 cents ymmv jesse

June 19th, 2006, 07:12 PM	#11 (permalink)
firefrets Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2006 Location: N.I Posts: 476 10 Photos	[/b]HEY FUZZY Do you like what buddy w' is doing with john mayall? That guys a sweet player :D

June 19th, 2006, 07:24 PM	#14 (permalink)
0le FUZZY Doctor of Teleocity Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kolly-forn-knee-ya Posts: 10,001 6 Photos	Firefrets ! Sorry but noe comment cause of watt my mamma said. MY KIND OF MUSIC !(click) SMORE !!(click) Please visit my page

June 19th, 2006, 08:09 PM	#18 (permalink)
Heather Anne Peel Friend of Leo's Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Nowhere Age: 45 Posts: 3,000 3 Photos	I Think It Depends on what "vintage" one is talking about. For me, the "vintage" Tele sound is the sound Keith Richards has gotten consistently throughout the Stones since he switched to Teles in 1971 during the recording of "Exile On Main Street". And most, or a lot of that, was on a 1973 Tele Custom, which he used from 1975-1988 or so. That's my idea of "vintage". For someone else, it might be James Burton's fab Tele tone (and James played a CBS Pink Paisley Tele on many of his classic recordings). Or maybe it's Luther Perkins on his Esquire. There are clearly different "vintage" Tele eras. My 2004 Tele Standard gets "vintage" Tele tones, and it's from 2004. I don't think "vintage" is the same for everyone. 8) Heather

June 19th, 2006, 08:29 PM	#19 (permalink)
firefrets Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2006 Location: N.I Posts: 476 10 Photos	I guess one of the reasons i started this post was to figure out what the pickup manufacturers wanted us to believe was a vintage pickup sound. :D

June 19th, 2006, 08:40 PM	#21 (permalink)
benbo Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Hampton, Va Age: 44 Posts: 775	Well i'm a pickup winder and I have no idea how to explain it. Actually the ultimate tele tone eludes me. I have been winding a month solid trying to find the ultimate and have not yet. I'll either get it or give up. I know whats in my head but cant quite get it out through my fingers :? :? :x __________________ Benny Trevillian. 90% of it is in the hands..