Can you get a Tele to sound like a Strat?

[Uncle Daddy]

I definitely agree with this. I honestly think you have to be a more mature guitar player to coax a good sound out of a Tele.

OP - find a Squier Bullet Strat. They are ok guitars, and while they aren't the best they will get you all the stratty sounds you want and are cheap. If you decide love it, you can upgrade or buy a better guitar. If I had a Bullet I loved, I'd slap on a MIM neck and better PUs and run with it.

The latest Bullets are rubbish. Get a used Classic Vibe.

 

[Jupiter]

Definitely buy a strat before it’s TOO LATE

 

[naveed211]

You can get in the ballpark with a Nashville Tele, but inherently the Tele neck and bridge pickup just sound different, and in my estimation the Tele bridge plate seems to have an effect, too.

I’ve played SSS T-Style guitars that had a Strat trem instead of the bridge plate and had Strat style pickups. That sounded like a Strat, because it essentially was other than the body shape.

If you’re a one guitar kinda guy, modify it with a Nashville Tele pickguard and a five way and see if that satisfies you. Otherwise, yeah, just get a cheap Strat for that sound.

 

[Sparky2]

Can you get a Tele to sound like a Strat?
(a poem)

Can you get a Tele to sound like a Strat?
Can a skinny girl be fat?
How about caterpillar become a butterfly,
a Swallow-tail or Monarch, imagine that.

Will a criminal ever become a politician,
rather than the other way around?
A physician into a musician or magician,
with the powers to astound.

I guess it’s all in how you perceive
the sounds that please you most.
What do you want to achieve?
Tones that are both subtle and grandiose?

Can you get a Tele to sound like a Strat?
Some here claim it’s impossible.
So could it be a matter of technique, or rather that
pickups might have wired uncrossable?

So in the end, a Tele can never sound like a Strat
in positions two and four.
Best that, if your wallet is fat,
you go buy a Stratocaster, or one or three or more!

Thus opens the door to the quandary
of the compulsive guitar collector.
Our quest for sounds and tones knows no boundary
and some girl or guy in Corona or Ensenada is the quality inspector.

So pack and ship that Fender guitar to me,
I need new strings to pick at.
This conclusion is now plain to see
You can’t get a Tele to sound like a Strat.

fin


Okay, I'm gonna shut up now.

 

[CCK1]

It's much easier for a Stratocaster to sound similar to a Telecaster than it is for a Telecaster to sound like a Stratocaster.

 

[Tone Terrwanger]

Firstly, I must apologise to all my fellow TDPRI members for having the temerity to ask such a heinous question on this fine and upstanding forum. I'm sure it has been asked before...probably many, many times. Please go easy on me.....I'm a bloke of a certain age who doesn't know how many years he has left on this good earth. I've had a great life....done some wonderful things......married a great Yorkshire lass (albeit second time around).........but realises now that I have never played, let alone owned, a Stratocaster guitar.

Can I get my Tele to sound Stratty? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a Strat?

Thanks all.

You can make a strat sound like a tele with the 7 way mod! Put a switch in to add the bridge pickup to the neck position of a strat and boom you have the twang of a neck and bridge pickup combined, unavailable on a standard strat and emulating the middle position of a strat. A guitar tech will be able to do this for you if you're not sure how to do it.

 

[Alex_C]

Apples and oranges, both good but quite different.

 

[Leonardocoate]

Get a Strat. A Squire Classic Vibe is a good choice. There isn't much left to add to this thread. Don't forget the floating tremlo bridge and the volume and two tone knobs all make for a different playing experience. You can develop a slow attack technique with the volume knob being located right by the bridge. Strats also have different string spacing options. The one I really like is the 1-15/16 (Tele 2-7/32). They really make you play different. Have fun

 

[Gris]

The Strat will also play different (less string tension) if you set it up with a floating trem.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

Buying the Strat will dramatically reduce the amount of time you spend in the rabbit hole.

 

[johnnylaw]

Well, close enough for government work.
Strats are their own thing, and a good thing it is. Were I to have but one, the Telecaster would get the nod.

 

[StanleyAccrington]

Ayup... when you have that you can tell the wife; "Yes! I am actually going to buy another guitar!".

Ayup Skyhook. I've told my ferret that I might be getting a Strat......but not the wife.........yet!

 

[littlebadboy]

Here's another video demo of the Sim1 XT-1 guitar profiler pedal. I don't have one, but I think it's amazing!

 

[boxocrap]

Firstly, I must apologise to all my fellow TDPRI members for having the temerity to ask such a heinous question on this fine and upstanding forum. I'm sure it has been asked before...probably many, many times. Please go easy on me.....I'm a bloke of a certain age who doesn't know how many years he has left on this good earth. I've had a great life....done some wonderful things......married a great Yorkshire lass (albeit second time around).........but realises now that I have never played, let alone owned, a Stratocaster guitar.

Can I get my Tele to sound Stratty? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a Strat?

Thanks all.

get a strat

 

[Controller]

Might as well try a Strat. You might like it. I had one with an S1. Seven pickup sounds I didn't like. Slippery and uncomfortable for me to play. Not my thing but YMMV.

 

[hotraman]

I have a 1999 Fender Nashville Telecaster with a b bender. It’s pretty close, but not 100% there. It takes care of my Stratocaster itch.

 

[Happy Enchilada]

I gotta ask ... WHY THE FORK WOULD YOU *WANT* TO? I just put my Strat copy G&L up for sale because I personally prefer what I can get out of a Tele with the right cap, strings, pickup, effects, and amp. YMMV

 

[TrueBypass]

I also like my Japanese Jerry Donahue Tele, which has a strat neck pickup. I play my Nashville b-bender more though.

 

[Lockback]

I favor the Tele but I have an S-type too. The #2 and #4 positions have that delightful quacky blend.
Heck, there are a lot of great inexpensive guitars out there. Go for it!

 

[Witcher]

It’s always good to have both.