Do you need a real tele to join?

[aging_rocker]

Photos, or it didn’t happen!

I don't think I even owned a camera back then!

 

[Gardo]

I’ve been aware of this forum for the better part of 20 years (which sounds crazy to say out loud) as i’d been a regular on Fender Talk and there were a few guys there who would reference this place regularly. I never signed up - just because juggling multiple message groups seemed like a lot.. and I was pretty Stratocaster oriented at the time.

Fast forward to 2022 and i was googling trying to find a Blackface Bassman eyelet board template and came across a 5 year old post from Phrygian77 saying he had the presence of mind to scan the boards from his Mojotone build (wish i’d thought to do that with my Princeton Reverb build!) and here I am.

Not sure if owning a Tele is a requisite for membership.. I *do* have a Tele inspired home built geetar.. I think the only Fender parts on it are the locking tuners that came off a Jeff Beck Strat (and I think those are just rebranded Schallers)

Anywhoo.. i’m a 48 year old guy who likes dinkin’ around with guitars and amps and pickin’ and grinnin’. I’m not very good at any of it, but I’m havin’ fun.

Welcome,it sounds like you’re gonna fit right in

 

[Chester P Squier]

Was this site your inspiration. ?

Actually, in December 2020 I saw and heard someone with a G & L ASAT while livestreaming a church service. It was what I really wanted for a long time. No one carries G & L, and I was not going to order anything. I have to play it first.

I veered toward an HH Player Strat. I love it and have no buyer's remorse.

I joined here at a time when I was looking for the ASAT.

Yeah, this site may have given me a little nudge.

 

[Fenderdad1950]

Tele or T-Type is a shape, a canvas for your musical preferences of sonic equipment

 

[Pcs264]

Welcome! And heck, we regularly have friendly (and unresolved) arguments about what a "real tele" actually is...

 

[scelestus]

This is TDPRI, and everyone knows the reissues aren't real Teles anyway.

 

[Toast]

I’ve been aware of this forum for the better part of 20 years (which sounds crazy to say out loud) as i’d been a regular on Fender Talk and there were a few guys there who would reference this place regularly. I never signed up - just because juggling multiple message groups seemed like a lot.. and I was pretty Stratocaster oriented at the time.

Fast forward to 2022 and i was googling trying to find a Blackface Bassman eyelet board template and came across a 5 year old post from Phrygian77 saying he had the presence of mind to scan the boards from his Mojotone build (wish i’d thought to do that with my Princeton Reverb build!) and here I am.

Not sure if owning a Tele is a requisite for membership.. I *do* have a Tele inspired home built geetar.. I think the only Fender parts on it are the locking tuners that came off a Jeff Beck Strat (and I think those are just rebranded Schallers)

Anywhoo.. i’m a 48 year old guy who likes dinkin’ around with guitars and amps and pickin’ and grinnin’. I’m not very good at any of it, but I’m havin’ fun.

You can join, but I'm afraid you will need to fill out three TPS reports and give them to one of the site administrators. They may let you stay. Welcome.

TPS report - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[naneek]

I only have "not real" teles. I have a homemade pine tele and a japanese lawsuit 72 deluxe tele.

I have a squier tele with so many hidden factory defects I call it the "practical joke tele" because the joke is on me for buying it haha.

 

[KeithDavies 100]

Wow. You owned Teles back in the 80 ‘s ? The oldest Fender I own is a 1989 Deluxe Tele with 2 humbuckers.

My first solid body. One of the all-rosewood George Harrison re-issue ones, bought new around '87/'88. I had an insurance payout from a bike accident. It had a little bit of shop damage, and was therefore just within reach.

I fell in love with it in the shop and bought it, but after a few months I had to acknowledge to myself that I never played it much. I'd had a Hofner Senator hollow body jazz guitar for about 5 years, and I would play the Tele for ten minutes and then go back to the Hofner. I therefore thought about trading in the Tele, and tried in one shop, but I couldn't get anything like what I'd paid for it.

Then I read an article in Guitarist magazine. At the time, Charvels were just everywhere in the used market, almost brand new. Seemed like people were buying them and offloading them really quickly. The article suggested that this was because, to keep the costs down on the retail market, shops weren't putting in the time to set them up properly before sale. All that was needed, the article said, was to take one of these cheap used Charvels to a decent tech for a set-up and you'd have a killer guitar for no money. I wasn't interested in Charvels, but I wondered it, because of the shop damage on my Tele, maybe the same thing had happened. I took it to a place in London, and sure enough it came back absolutely transformed, and has been my main guitar ever since. (The Hofner is still with me too, but she feeds back too much at volume, so she's my intimate acoustic at home.

 

[jimmywrangles]

My first solid body. One of the all-rosewood George Harrison re-issue ones, bought new around '87/'88. I had an insurance payout from a bike accident. It had a little bit of shop damage, and was therefore just within reach.

I fell in love with it in the shop and bought it, but after a few months I had to acknowledge to myself that I never played it much. I'd had a Hofner Senator hollow body jazz guitar for about 5 years, and I would play the Tele for ten minutes and then go back to the Hofner. I therefore thought about trading in the Tele, and tried in one shop, but I couldn't get anything like what I'd paid for it.

Then I read an article in Guitarist magazine. At the time, Charvels were just everywhere in the used market, almost brand new. Seemed like people were buying them and offloading them really quickly. The article suggested that this was because, to keep the costs down on the retail market, shops weren't putting in the time to set them up properly before sale. All that was needed, the article said, was to take one of these cheap used Charvels to a decent tech for a set-up and you'd have a killer guitar for no money. I wasn't interested in Charvels, but I wondered it, because of the shop damage on my Tele, maybe the same thing had happened. I took it to a place in London, and sure enough it came back absolutely transformed, and has been my main guitar ever since. (The Hofner is still with me too, but she feeds back too much at volume, so she's my intimate acoustic at home.

I always wanted a Rosewood guitar, couldn't afford one so I built one with a little help from this very forum, it's a short scale and one of my best guitars.

 

[Festofish]

You don't even have to own a Tele to join!
Welcome from Michigan.

 

[KeithDavies 100]

I always wanted a Rosewood guitar, couldn't afford one so I built one with a little help from this very forum, it's a short scale and one of my best guitars.

Well done, my friend! I live in awe of the skills demonstrated on here by people building things. I'm going to give it a try when we get our next house.

 

[Stratocast]

Yep, acquired a pretty battered white(ish) Tele in 1981, for not a lot of money. It was a late 60s model, I think a 68. We didn't really consider these things too much back then.

It was nothing special at the time, just a fairly 'tired' and therefore affordable 'used' instrument. Remember, at that time the only guitars considered to be in any way 'vintage' were from the 50s, and anything 'CBS-era' (i.e. made after 1965) was generally considered inferior to pre-CBS.

If only I'd just put it in the case and left it under the bed...same applies to my '63 SG and several Marshall Plexi's that I had around that time. I miss all of that gear...

yeah.... me too... there are 3 guitars from the 70's I wish I still had... a 68 SG.I bought used for 200.00 .... a 72.. Les Paul.. and a 78 Les Paul Custom Artisan... with a beautful 2 tone mohagany finish... I got 200.00 for the SG as a trade in for the Les Paul.. and 400.00 for the Les Paul as a trade in for the Artisan.. and I sold the Artisan to a friend of mine in '94 for 400.00 hoping to make some quick bucks...at the time.. in '94.. I owned a 79 Peavey T 160.. and 2 strats... one was a 78 Japanese one.. in Paisley pink.. and the other was an American made '91.. that looked like Clapton's blackie... I purchased both strats the same day back in '91.. the '78 strat cost 399.00 plus tax.. and the '91.. cost 599.00 plus tax.... still have the Peavey and the 2 strats..

 

[Stratocast]

Yep, acquired a pretty battered white(ish) Tele in 1981, for not a lot of money. It was a late 60s model, I think a 68. We didn't really consider these things too much back then.

It was nothing special at the time, just a fairly 'tired' and therefore affordable 'used' instrument. Remember, at that time the only guitars considered to be in any way 'vintage' were from the 50s, and anything 'CBS-era' (i.e. made after 1965) was generally considered inferior to pre-CBS.

If only I'd just put it in the case and left it under the bed...same applies to my '63 SG and several Marshall Plexi's that I had around that time. I miss all of that gear...

I forgot that '78... I hardly ever play it... it has the bullet.. type..neck truss rod

 

[jimmywrangles]

Well done, my friend! I live in awe of the skills demonstrated on here by people building things. I'm going to give it a try when we get our next house.

If you have the tools and a little skill it's easier than you might think, I am not a woodworker, I have a diploma in system admin ,computers are my thing and I've made a few guitars now ,excellent instruments one and all, Once I got over the fear of my Makita router it wasn't too hard.
I even started a small business where my cousin and I build guitars, haven't sold one, maybe never will but i'm living my dream.