I prefer an "inferior" Telecaster

[Flaneur]

When you own more than one Tele, it's a luxury, which allows you to assign specialist roles, to different guitars. The 'best' Tele for recording, might not be the ideal one, for rough bar gigs, or four hour, outdoor shows. If you play a lot of high volume rock, or prefer a different setup, for slide, your '52 reissue may not work as well, as an alternative, with different pickups, or a lower action.d
In the OPs situation, he has developed a strong preference for- a bond with- one guitar. This is never a bad thing. The more we play and tinker, the more we realise, that finding the ultimate, personal instrument is not a function of it's label, or origin- nor related to it's retail value. It's a huge stroke of luck. A gift, from the musical gods.

 

[BassmanM]

It's a huge stroke of luck. A gift, from the musical gods.

Amen! You just made my day with this comment.

 

[archetype]

I've had/have two of them I've modified to the hilt but even stock they were great guitars. I just preferred different necks and pickups is all.

Those original MIC CVC models and the CV Basses are among the best imports Fender has ever produced. I sold the sunburst model awhile ago but I'd love to pick up another of those early CVC and upgrade it again.
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Oooh... That first one is one of those EU/UK Bronze doohickeys.

 

[Ron R]

You do you - it ain't a one size fits all thing to choose a guitar.
True story: when I went Telecaster shopping, I was like 99% sure I'd be buying a G&L.
When I went to the music stores to play and compare, the only G&Ls were Tributes. Fine guitars for the money, but not quite for me. Same with the Squiers I played. I played and really liked the MIM FSR with the reversed control plate. Played numerous MIA Fenders, and while I know many prefer the Alnico pickups, I actually preferred the warmer ceramics in the MIM. So that's what came home with me.
Caveat - the original pickups have since been replaced with Fralin split rails, but not because I didn't like the sound of the originals. I just didn't care for the 60 cycle hum. So I suspect that swap would have been made on just about any Tele I bought.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

My favorite guitar to play has next to zero monetary value. But, it is my baby. Other more expensive guitars occupy space in the rack. Curiously, my playing also has next to zero monetary value…

 

[hawk620]

Oooh... That first one is one of those EU/UK Bronze doohickeys.

Yup, came via a buddy who got it from Long and McQuade outta Canada. It originally had a neck humbucker and he didn't like it much so I bought it from him and spent the next 3-4 years modifying it.

The neck is from a 2006 Fender Deluxe Series Nashville the previous owner had installed Grover Tuners on. The bridge is a Babicz FCH Telecaster Bridge. I went through multiple pickup swaps before settling on a set of Alnico Micro-Coils designed by Bill Lawrence and sold by Wilde Pickups the company his widow Becky and daughter Shannon still operate. It's now even more of a one of a kind Tele and my personal favorite to pick up and play.

 

[srblue5]

If you play with your hands and listen with your ears (not your eyes), it doesn't matter whether you have what is considered a superior or inferior guitar. A good instrument is a good instrument (and vice versa).

I bought the Squier Offset Tele in my avatar used for just over $350 CDN earlier this year. It was kind of an impulse purchase and I honestly thought that it was going to be my beater guitar for gigs in seedier venues or a backup gigging guitar. Something where I wouldn't care as much if it got trashed or beat up or stolen. Instead, I like it so much feel-wise and sound-wise that I baby it. That avatar pic was from my last gig with my former band -- I used the Squier for the entire night, the Les Paul Jr next to it didn't get used at all.
Right now, I'm on vacation but frequently daydreaming of playing one of my guitars when I get back and after having seen Bill Frisell in concert last night, guess which of my Teles I'm wanting to play the most?

Three of the worst guitars I've ever played were the ones I paid the most for -- one Fender Custom Shop, one Gibson Custom Shop, and one boutique acoustic. I'm not saying they were bad because I paid so much for them and it's maybe just my bad luck with them (and, by contrast, my good luck with Squiers/Epiphones) but I definitely didn't get what I paid for in those cases.

 

[srblue5]

This guy does pretty good with what some might consider an “inferior” instrument.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I have owned—and still own—a couple of high-pedigree US-made production line guitars. Sound great, look great, feel/play great…

And if the house is on fire and I only have time to grab one guitar, it’s my “lesser” pinstriped MIM Telecaster that I named “Big Tex”.

 

[Pcs264]

Good thread start from the OP, and here's my theory as why this is so often true: We play guitars, not parts (and certainly not headstock decals!). And a complete, playable guitar meets the definition of a "system" - it only works based on how all those parts interact with each other. When we guitar forum members get worked up about "these pickups sound better because they have 42-gauge wire instead of 43-gauge", or "these military grade titanium saddles increase sustain", we're often right about those parts. But that doesn't always translate to how they do or don't work in a complete system that we call a guitar. There's some unpredictability and magic in all this, which is (to me) a good part of the fun. Just enjoy playing whatever guitar does it for you, and keep that guitar!

 

[El Chivo]

A few years ago I noodled around on a Classic Vibe at GC one day and thought it was one of the best Teles I'd ever played at that point.

 

[Midnight Wine]

No shame in any of that! In fact, I think there is no such thing as an "inferior" Tele. A guitar is what it is. I've always been a budget boy because some of the best guitars I've ever found were in the junk rack, and some of the least inspiring I've ever touched were on the top shelf.

My philosophy is that a Telecaster is a relationship between body and neck. If those two work well together, then you can swap hardware and electronics and level frets and shim to perfection. The body can be fine swamp ash or cheap basswood, but if the neck feels good and the body responds nicely to what you're doing on that neck, you have the makings of a great guitar.

Two examples: My Squier Esquire Deluxe and a recent "Debut Series" (Amazon exclusive) Tele.

This thing is just a stone cold killer. I bought it out of the warehouse from my local family-owned mini-chain, they gave it to me for $50 off because they never had to set it up. Badly mismatched grain, but the mahogany-like okoume body is very light and resonates like crazy. It's the loudest solidbody guitar I've ever heard unplugged. The fretwork puts my MIM Fenders to shame. The hardware was meh, so it was upgraded. Do I love the pickup? No. Do I like the pickup? Yes! And someday it'll get a very serious investment in a Creamery WRHB. Out of the box, this was the best new electric guitar I have ever purchased: It's now forever my #2 or #3 no matter what sits in the #1 spot. It has the odd distinction if being the only Fender-style guitar I have ever owned that has never had its neck removed. I don't want to even bother messing with the magic. It probably deserved a shim, but I filed the nut and adjusted the saddles instead. You don't mess with it when it works.

This is the cheapest available Fender-branded guitar, Amazon exclusive Debut. Matte finish, top loader, thin body. 1000% Telecaster. The neck mounting holes are drilled off-center, so you couldn't swap another into it easily. The body is made of cheap plywood-tier poplar, I believe. And yet: the way that cheap wood vibrates is distinct unto itself. It's bassy, janky, uneven, a little wobbly....it's perfect! It sounds fantastic. Fret ends are often an issue on sub-$150 guitars, yet this thing had smoother ends than a Fender neck I bought for three times its price. It got some cheap brass saddles, Gotoh tuners, and $30 GFS pickups and it now races alongside much more expensive instruments I own. I bought it strictly as a fun little project to empty out my parts box and then donate to a local music charity...that's still gonna happen at some point, but it was supposed to happen two months ago, so.

Point of all that being: They are what they're made to be, and they become a little better when you make them your own. As long as there's a good neck bolted to a lively body, there's the potential for something great.

 

[rand z]

I have an Squier Affinity from 2001.

It has that "Blackguard" appearance and vibe.

Over the years, I've gutted/modified it many times to fit 10-12 different pickups.

There's a big channel right down the middle from the neck pickup to the bridge-plate, under the pickguard, where I installed Humbuckers and single coils to copy various configurations (Nashville, etc).

I also made my first bone nut for that guitar, which is still there.

(I really learned a lot from that guitar.)

Today, I still have it and play it regularly.

The body is thin and the neck is maple with a maple cap fingerboard.

It's slightly reliced, now, but still looks great.

8 years ago I installed DiMarzio Twang King neck and bridge pickups.

They work and sound so good together in all positions... that I haven't bothered to change them.

It's become a very COOL and wonderful/sweet little guitar; and a good friend.

Inferior?

Maybe...

But, I don't think so.


imo.

 

[Twangandy_]

Not pretending I am good enough to tell the difference between a vintage Tele and a reissue. Or a difference between a "this US re-issue" and a "that US re-issue" and a "this or that MIM issue"... not at all. Not even close. Nor do I care, honestly.


What I am talking about is this - I have Teles that, spec-wise, should kick the living daylight out of my favorite Tele, I mean... no contest. And even when I play them I realize and clearly hear things like "yep, that pickup is more clear than the other one", "wow, the neck pickup is so much more articulate", "the bridge pickup is fire, just the way I like it!", "this neck shape is killer!!!", "OMG that rosewood fretboard!!", etc... However, my favorite Tele and... ok, going out on a limb here... potentially my favorite guitar overall is a... gasp!!!... what???? A lowly Classic Vibe Squier '60s Custom Tele!!!??? Yep!!!
Something about that Tele, when I pick it up, makes me feel like it's my baby and I need to love and protect it... and yes, I have taken my meds today. Somehow its "inferiority" to my other Teles makes me care for it more... and I am not only talking about its physical presence, it's about the character, even if imperfect!!! The tone I get out of it is technically inferior to the tone I get from my other "better" Teles but, for some reason, I like the faulty, inferior tone of it more... in my mind it has more character (fight?) than the other more "perfect" Teles. Idk, honestly, I am probably going crazy like the rest of you Tele guys on here already are (way to derail your own thread, right) but... anyone can explain what the heck that is all about!!!???

So it goes
You are completely right

 

[Gladhander]

I've had/have two of them I've modified to the hilt but even stock they were great guitars. I just preferred different necks and pickups is all.

Those original MIC CVC models and the CV Basses are among the best imports Fender has ever produced. I sold the sunburst model awhile ago but I'd love to pick up another of those early CVC and upgrade it again.
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Man that first one is interesting! Oddity but cool.

 

[boris bubbanov]

If a guitar or bass has next to no trade in value, you are liberated to take more chances as you modify it. Not sure if you really know how to do a fret level, crown and polish? Try your ability out on a $ 100 guitar. Slowly but surely, lesser guitars I have have gotten some deep attention I would be afraid to bestow on a guitar I could sell for $ 3,000. This is human nature.

But more than that most humans are suckers for the underdog and when something comes from behind or overachieves, we assign not a fair amount of respect to that but sometimes a silly amount of adulation. The three legged dog wins the race - someone forgot to notice that he only ran 6 laps, not the ten that the other dogs ran. We can be so desperate to see a handicap overcome, that the race is not about an empirical result but about what made our hearts feel warm.

 

[boris bubbanov]

When you own more than one Tele, it's a luxury, which allows you to assign specialist roles, to different guitars. The 'best' Tele for recording, might not be the ideal one, for rough bar gigs, or four hour, outdoor shows. If you play a lot of high volume rock, or prefer a different setup, for slide, your '52 reissue may not work as well, as an alternative, with different pickups, or a lower action.d
In the OPs situation, he has developed a strong preference for- a bond with- one guitar. This is never a bad thing. The more we play and tinker, the more we realise, that finding the ultimate, personal instrument is not a function of it's label, or origin- nor related to it's retail value. It's a huge stroke of luck. A gift, from the musical gods.

I hear you.

"Pensacola" is one of the seven 50s Bajas I have, and it is well over 9 pounds. Poor choice for a gigging guitar unless the player is under 25 years of age, I think. I play it seated, almost entirely, and I have kept it because I think it sounds better than any of the other 6.

 

[dsutton24]

I've got a wide array of choices when it comes to guitars. My security blanket is an ancient top-loading Mexican Telecaster with Tex-Mex pickups. it sounds good, it has a great neck, and generally just does what I ask it to. I don't know what else you can ask for.

 

[bottlenecker]

It is the individual instrument that counts - not the headstock decal.

Can we make this a sticky, and just all get over it together?

 

[Boreas]

Can we make this a sticky, and just all get over it together?

"It is the individual instrument that counts - not the headstock decal."

I believe that is a quote from Confucius.