Here's what I've learned the past year about Telecasters/Guitars :)

[Telecaster88]

Regarding math (without having to use a calculator ), have you ever searched Telecasters on Reverb/eBay (I know you have, but that's not where I'm going with the question )?


There are over 5,000 choices on eBay, and over 10,000 on Reverb.


That's a LOT of choices ain't it Telecaster88?

Yeah, I'm aware that because of the internet we're in a golden age of guitar knowledge and options! It sometimes freaks me out when I count my pedals (and I know that a lot of folks here have way more than me!) but I also understand I'm learning so much about guitars and music with the internet's help that that kid (me) who taught himself to play with a Mel Bay book in the early eighties would have his mind blown!

I guess the lesson is you just gotta use the gear and not let it use you!

 

[dazzaman]

I find I play differently (as in different go-to licks, chord shapes etc) with different types of guitars. I have four teles (well three teles and an esquire, to be precise) and I generally play much the same stuff on all of them, but that is quite different to when I play my Rickenbacker or archtop, for example. But I am fairly sure soundwise I still sound like me on everything.
I keep living in hope that I will be able to transfer what I play on one type of guitar to another, which I would consider to make it all worth it, but I am not sure that is really the case, at least for me.

 

[Sax-son]

I have built a lot of Teles over the last 15 years or so, but I just built a toploader that may be "the one". It's doing everything right.

 

[slowcarfast]

for a little over a year...

I've owned Road Worn 50's, Deluxe Nashville's, American Professional's, AVRI's, Vintera's, American Standards, Baja's, B-Benders, etc.

Lawd, I would definitely not retain my wife in such a situation. God bless you sir!

 

[Digiplay]

Lawd, I would definitely not retain my wife in such a situation. God bless you sir!

Hi slowcarfast!

For some reason my wife believes I have a talent for songwriting, for the way I play the bass guitar, the drums, the keyboards, the arranging, the mixing, etc. on all my originals (if the truth be told, she, as well as my beloved older brother, have FAR more faith in me than I have in myself), and she says if that what it takes to fulfill my dreams, then buy what I need to get the job done.

I hate to admit it, but part of me wishes I had never decided to learn to play the guitar so I could play the parts I hear in my head


But as Boris told me:

"Tinkering with guitars, trying different guitars is what we do when we're too knocked out to record or practice - or practice some more"



And.........................................................................................................he's RIGHT!


Jerry

 

[DougM]

We spend far too much time worrying about sound and chasing tone, instead of worrying about making good music. How many horn, woodwind, or string players have a giant collection? I would guess none. They probably have their main instrument, and maybe a backup. If I don't write down which guitar, amp, and pedals I used when making a recording, I can't ever tell which were used on which recording, 'cause after I dial in my preferred sound, they all sound too similar to tell apart.

 

[Walden]

Great thread! The kind of thread I need to read every three or four days, after I went down the rabbit hole of "I need another -better- Tele than the one I'm playing right now...

I had a great practice session the other day: 1,5 hours of pure bliss while practicing ( I think they call this "the flow") and afterwards I looked at my Baja and thought:"Why did you ever think, you needed a better guitar. This one is perfect for you!"

Then of course, there are days when you don't pay attention and wonder how you're ever gonna scrape together the money for that Nachocaster...
Keith Williams of Five Watt World has a couple of insightful videos on this topic on youtube.

Well, back to practice now...

 

[BFcaster]

Practice? Practice what? I'm too busy contemplating THE best boutique vintage-spec Broad- and No-caster pickups to replace my perfectly fine 1996 52RI stock ones. I have no time to dilly-dally on practice! Besides, my amp is too loud!

 

[brogh]

WHAT?!?!?! You mean I have to get rid of my collection and concentrate more on playing????? Nope, nope, nope, ain't gonna happen......

YES ! you have my address right ?

As how much fascinating it is to talk and discuss about the sound of the philips VS slotted screws I must Agree with the OP

 

[RadioFM74]

DISCLAIMER:

The views and opinions expressed in this Thread are exclusively those of mine, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other Forum Members or Staff of TDPRI.




Hi guys!


As I admit that I have only played (I don't know if you'd call it "playing" ) for a little over a year, that fact hasn't stopped me from buying/selling all kinds of Telecasters/guitars.


Telecaster-wise, I've owned Road Worn 50's, Deluxe Nashville's, American Professional's, AVRI's, Vintera's, American Standards, Baja's, B-Benders, etc.


Whereas I'm not blaming this website any more than an alcoholic can blame anything on Vodka, I admit I was willing seduced by all the various topics/agreements/fights over pickups, type wood, nitro vs poly, one bridge/saddle over another, strings, weight, necks, action, relic vs non-relic, well you get my point


So here I am today still looking to buy another "THE Telecaster", but as I'm listening back to all the recorded tracks I always made of each Tele to determine how they sounded in a mix, I can now admit that EVERY ONE of them sounded just a hair different, but at the end of the day, they all ended up sounding close to the same.



So here's what I have learned



Had I never purchased another Tele since my first RW 50's that I bought when I started to play the guitar, had I not kept looking/buying a sh**-load of different Tele's, had I worked on simply LEARNING how to become a better guitar player by getting as much as I could out of the RW, something tells me that what makes ANY guitar sound better/different is the.............................................................................


Player!



What do YOU say guys?


Thanks,
Jerry

I say you’re right. A tele is a tele is a tele. You just have to find a good one that’s right for you. OH NO WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!!!

 

[Randypttt]

I have to say that I'm glad this site, or something like it in 1964, wasn't around cos I would've spent way too much time tinkering and buying and demoing then learning.

Since I found this site in 2007, I have since become a bit of a tinkerer. But in retrospect, as I've just turned 69, I'm not a serious player...exactly. I do a lot in my basement studio but I have the chops I wanted from all the practice and gigging so I enjoy the pleasure of my own playing.

More ways to skin a cat these days. Multi-tasking is a thing now so...enjoy your tinkering and learning.

 

[53Strat]

I've owned Road Worn 50's, Deluxe Nashville's, American Professional's, AVRI's, Vintera's, American Standards, Baja's, B-Benders, etc.

You've been playing for just a little over a year and managed to "own " all these different Telecaster guitars - all in plural?

I guess with that little experience there would be good reason not to hear much difference.

Many of these guitars have very different neck profiles, bridge types and technical features.

With a bit more experience I'm sure you will discover something about one or two, apart from
beginners tone, which will appeal to you. Keep playing and hold on to them all 'cause you still have heaps to learn about the Telecaster.

 

[Digiplay]

I've thought about it EVEN more guys!!


Have you ever been looking for something in a room, and you couldn't see it, even though it was right in front of you?


I've noted that the response I see a lot of on this Forum is about if a guitar doesn't look good, regardless of how it sounds, they won't want to play it because they can't be inspired by something that doesn't look good to them.


I know a lot of Professional Musicians/Mechanics/Carpenters, ones who make their sole living by being Professionals, and I'll use three of them as examples of where I'm going


One is a Sax Player, and he has the most ugly, beat up sax I, as even he will admit, have EVER Seen.

One is a Porsche Master Mechanic, and many of his tools are battle scared and ugly.

One is a Master Carpenter, and many of his tools are old, chipped, and beat up as well.


So I asked every one of them why their tools of the trade don't look new and pretty, and EVERY ONE of them said who cares what their instrument/tools look like, they like them because they do their job of doing what they're supposed to do, and as long as they do that, they'll keep on using them.


Their responses triggered something in my limited brain, and when I looked at one of my guitars that had been relic'd a little further than I should have had done by a professional, when I looked at it from the perspective that it sounded much better than all my other much prettier guitars, that "ugly" guitars looks isn't what I saw anymore, even though that aspect of reality was right in front of me, but I now saw/looked at it differently.


Does that make sense to any of you?



So I'm thinking is this "gotta' look good to me first" attitude one that only guitar players have, or is it more of a personality trait?



What do you say to my above rambling?

 

[Digiplay]

You've been playing for just a little over a year and managed to "own " all these different Telecaster guitars - all in plural?

I guess with that little experience there would be good reason not to hear much difference.

Many of these guitars have very different neck profiles, bridge types and technical features.

With a bit more experience I'm sure you will discover something about one or two, apart from
beginners tone, which will appeal to you. Keep playing and hold on to them all 'cause you still have heaps to learn about the Telecaster.

I don't agree with you 53Strat when you say I haven't played long enough to hear much difference


Not bragging, but I have had many Pro's tell me I have a superb ear (as noted, I have played the bass guitar/drums/keyboards since I was 12, which a LONG time ago. btw ), but how can I prove that to you or anyone else unless you know me



But who cares about my ear 53Strat, so please note that I originally said:

"So here I am today still looking to buy another "THE Telecaster", but as I'm listening back to all the recorded tracks I always made of each Tele to determine how they sounded in a mix, I can now admit that EVERY ONE of them sounded just a hair different, but at the end of the day, they all ended up sounding close to the same".


So my point is that by the time a guitar goes though pedals, fx/compressors, an amp, etc., I believe that it's the player who ultimately will determine how ANY guitar sounds, and I admitted I need to learn how to play better first, and it's not that a Baja sounds much different than an American Professional Tele, it's that I truly believe it's all in the proper technique one uses in making any guitar talk.



As a side note, I've heard MANY guitarists not using a Telecaster on a hit, but it sure sounded like they were using one



This is just my opinion 53Strat, and what the hell do I know, but as I tell those close to me, I'm using the guitar as a tool for my original songs, and if I ever get lucky, I have NO problem with a real guitar player playing the guitar tracks instead of me, much less if they play a MIM Tele or a $15K Custom Shop Tele


Thanks!
Jerry

 

[Steerforth]

I’ve been playing for over 50 years. I’m as good as I’m ever going to get. As for owning too many guitars...

Bless us and splash us! We wants them. We needs them! Must have the preciouses.

 

[Seattlesurfer]

I posted this to a different thread last week. I made a similar post a few weeks before that. If you're interested, it's not about the gear.
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/beginner-with-7-guitars.1041938/page-2#post-10030981

That was me and I’ve hire a teacher for a weekly online lesson and heading north! Time to be a player (and collector). I’ll post an update at the end of the year.

 

[Clickfiend]

I’ve thought a lot about this in the few years I’ve been learning to play and collecting gear. I’m pretty clear that if I only had the first guitar, and the first amp I got (they were good enough) and had spent all of my guitar time practicing/playing, I would be a way better player. What i’ve discovered though is that I really like tinkering, adjusting, modding, and trying new stuff; not quite as much, but pretty close to as much as I like playing. Since I got comfortable with that, I’ve been practicing more, and the collecting has slowed a bit. I always have some kind of project going (getting ready to do my first kit build), and I switch up what i’m playing (within my collection)pretty regularly, but i’m pretty comfortable with the pace of things. I’m not rabidly gassing, and I’m not beating myself up over the fact that I don’t play like Hendrix yet.