Belly Cuts on a Tele, what say you?

The Kotzen telecaster has it.



A little arm contour too, I think.

 

The only Tele I ever owned is my Elite series which has the cut. I really like it.

 

Belly cut is a real misnomer. The whole purpose of the rear contour was so the guitar would not dig into your ribcage while playing seated. Seated.

Standing, it has no real purpose, unless you wear your guitar hanging on your crotch, and have an enormous beer belly.

Therefor, it really should be called a rib cut.

BTW, I play seated most of the time, and I have no problem with my Teles, or other guitars, that have no rib cut. I guess it's just not really a concern for me.

 

I have one Tele with the "belly"cut and arm contour, and its fine. My other three don't have it and I don't miss it at all. I think I like the slab body Teles better.

 

Nope, it becomes a different guitar.

I've owned many Teles and have never had an issue wit the body against my ribs

Just say'n


Gary

 

In a word, NO.

 

I have Teles with belly cuts and Teles without belly cuts. Never minded either way.

 

Check out the ultra series tele’s they a cut.

 

Not for me, I say. Keep stratty things on stratty guitars, please!

 

I find that the "rib" cut and forearm cut let you cinch the strap shorter, pulling the guitar in closer to your body, while playing standing. Which means more acute angles to the elbows, and can change, possibly favorably, the way you play.

Respectfully I don't see how it has anything to do with the crotch. The guitar nestles closer to the body, or at least can, and this posture is more familiar to Strat players.

I don't need rib relief, when playing seated. I'd have to be crouched over the guitar like a monkey, for that to be of any assistance. But that's me. YMMV.

 

It has nothing to do with the crotch. Or the belly. That was my point: unless you are wearing your guitar ridiculously low (like down around your crotch), your belly will never be in contact with the relief cut on the back of a guitar.

 

Recently, my belly has shrunk by 27 lbs. - YAY!!! Having said that, my Modern Player Tele and J Mascis Jazzmzster both have belly cuts. They make for a more comfortable and contoured fit. I'm all for them!

 

The cuts on this custom Warmoth Tele body are more of an experiment in comfort for me. I am finding that my arthritis and bouts of frozen shoulder are making playing more difficult and I am trying several things from comfort cuts to different neck profiles to lighter strings to try to keep playing enjoyable rather than painful. Time will tell if I find it more comfortable as all of my Teles thus far have had slab bodies with no cuts and I have never found it to be an issue. I do tend to agree that a good strap goes a long way towards comfort with any guitar.

 

Hi.

Yeah, I think straps are really important, but also tend to get overlooked a bit in guitar discussions. Other topics are probably more interesting to many.

I don’t own that many straps, but I do own more straps than guitars. Five, I think. I looked long and hard in many music shops to find something that worked for me both physically and aesthetically. Settled on a Levy’s strap. It might be hemp? Can’t quite remember now.

Don’t have a decent photo of it.



Straps probably deserve their own thread. Oh...

Pax/
Dean

 

I am short, Angus Young short, The belly cut on 2 of my parts-casters gives me more playable positions than my regular teles (5 so far) The tele in my profile pic doesn't have it and I use for just a few songs- no cut and it weighs like a Paul. At this stage of my non-career I need comfort and lightness. On my hollow body ( Gretsch Broadcaster) I don't mind not having the cut, the curve of the top feels good and I can play it all night.

 

I have a favorite strap that is soft leather, and over 3" wide. It is very comfortable. I have had it for over 30 years. Guitars have come and gone, but that strap lives on forever.

 

I have played acoustics for decades. I never suffered from the square edges on those, and have zero problem with the square contours of the telecaster. I think contoured bodies is a lot of hoo haw. It is the neck action and sound that counts first, with the cool quotient of the telecaster's looks counting second. The body contour comes in about #17 on my list of concerns (and the list stops at #6).

 

These.

 

'impact the sound out of the amplifier'................mm, so, belly fat gives a different tone to wood? Brings a whole new meaning to 'fat Telecaster'. Never mind humbuckers, replace some wood with body fat!

 

I absolutely like belly cuts. Otherwise it's a square box cutting into my stomach.