introduction to the Tele Guitar

[Elwood Telly]

I got chance to play "real deal", black pickguard 1961 Telecaster, during some "after-gig-jammin" with older guys, I think it was 1983/1984. I had loved the aesthetics of Tele for some years before that and it really was "something else". Andy Summers looked so cool playin' in The Police at that time, also Keef (of course), and Bruce S. as well. Maybe it was "The Look"-thing at first... and still is.

In 1986, I bought my first Telecaster, '62 Custom RI (MIJ) - made in 1985 I think, classic double-bound sunburst body and that very authentic vintage-look. With 1980 Music Man RD-112 (new power tubes & bias properly set), it was a killer combination for couple years. Well, it was then swapped to some Ibanez Artist having humbuckers (AR300 I recall). I got back to Tele-world by ESP Series 400 (Sea Foam Green), another great Japanese made Telly.

Years went by and in early 2000's I found Telecasters again, first by odd Korean Alvarez three-pickup-Telly with two neck pickups (not Nashville-style), contoured body etc. Starting some mods with that, it finally led to present situation where only Tellys are accepted and none of them is from factory... after various, desperate Strat-projects and all of those 335/Les Paul-styled Yamahas, Ibanez, Hagstroms, B&G Little Sister and few set-neck DIY-kit-experimentals too.

Four of them is enough (for now), all havin' some mutual and unique features at the same time. Two alder bodies, two swamp ash, two all-maple necks, two rosewood fingerboards, one havin' TV Jones T90's and Welsh Wudtone-tremolo (based on Cabronita), one Telemaster-bodied, one '70s Custom-style with neck-humbucker, one with double bound body with Lollars (Royal-T and Special-T), Telemaster with Lundgren Vertigo-pair (from Sweden), Gotoh-tuners and bridges, Joe Barden bridge etc... Money-wise it's quite cheap to swap some parts every now and then rather than whole Telecaster...

 

[AndrewG]

Wilko Johnson started me off.

 

[Matthias]

When I was a teenager I drew one for the cover of a friend’s demo tape, because they looked cool… The rest is history!

 

[Guitarman8103]

I started playing in 1998 and always thought telecasters looked old (I was pointy Jackson's at the time). Over the years I'd occasionally try a tele copy and hated the sound as they always sounded thin and "ice-picky". About 5 years ago while I suddenly decided i thought a thin line telecaster sunburst with 2 single coils and 4 way switch would somehow be cool. Got it an after 6 months sold it and bought a Nashville telecaster that sounded really good especially with the extra pickup. Still though I had the urge to sell and pick up a performer model with the bridge bucker. That sounded better to me than the rest because it was pretty powerful and almost dirty sounding buuuuuuut I still sold it and moved up to a butterscotch american pro 1. I kept that for a few months as I loved the looks and feel but sounded a bit sterile to my ears. About this time I started watching videos of the new american original 60s telecasters and loved the sound and the look of them. One night in February of 2020 after a few too many drinks I said screw it and clicked buy on a Fiesta red AO60s(got a great deal). This has been and continues to be my favorite guitar I've owned. Since then I've added a vintera road worn deluxe and an AO70s to the telecaster stable. It's a shame I missed out on teles for so long in my early playing years.

 

[old wrench]

I remember going to see Roy Buchanan play at the Akron Civic Theater back in the early 1970's

I'd been listening to Roy Buchanans stuff for a couple of years at that point, and really admired his playing

At that point in time, the Akron Civic Theater was pretty decrepit and completely run-down; a pretty scruffy joint, but they often had some really great music and admission was only a few bucks

Roy Buchanan (looking fairly scruffy himself) actually brought his own amp out on stage and set it up on a chair - sitting backwards, with the speakers facing away from the audience

I told my buddy (our bass player) "that looks like Roy Buchanan" - he said "no way, that's gotta be one of the roadies"

Well, after setting the amp up, he walked off back-stage, and then walked back out (along with the rest of the band) holding a beat-up Telecaster which he then plugged into his amp.

He then played his ass off for the next couple of hours just using that one old beat-up Tele

Roy B. had my full, undivided, and focused attention -

Roy B was playing my kind of music

Up to that point in my life I had mostly associated Telecasters with country music, but that night Roy Buchanan gave us a master class on what a Tele can really do

One great guitar player, one old Fender Tele, and one Fender amp

Times like that made me understand it didn't have to strictly be a Stratocaster or a Les Paul - hell, Muddy Waters was playing a Tele too, and BB King was playing an ES - Alvin Lee was playing an ES copy!


All these years later, and I'm fortunate enough to still be playing myself

And playing Teles, that I build from scratch with my own hands

.

 

[Captainflint1967]

My first Telecaster…..

It was the year 2000 …. I was 23, working for IBM and I’d been relocated abroad for work - in Gent Belgium - great country btw - from the UK, to look after IBM‘s firm grip on the banking sectors mainframe computers.
Anyhow…. new job, new country, foreign language, living in an apartment and with our first newborn baby. Life was stressful ! I needed an outlet, a bit of ‘me time’…. So the venture started.

I had left all my guitars and kit at home - no room in the car for all of the new baby furniture and associated baby bumf ! I was stressed (new baby, new job, new environment, no new friends - yet) and missed playing my guitars immensely !

Until this point I was an avid Stratocaster player aka - Eric Clapton David Gilmour , SRV, all the ‘Jimmies’ , you get the picture. I had a number of other guitars - Les Pauls and 335’s but the Strats were my babies. But they were all way back home in England along with my amps and pedals etc…. I was stringless ! My fingers were ’itching’…

So Christmas came along and I’d thought of buying a new Strat and an amp whilst in Belgium, as there was no chance of getting home to collect one of my others. So off I went to the only music store in Gent Belgium (fantastic medieval city) to purchase my new babies - a new guitar and amp.

I went through every single Strat guitar in the shop had, but none floated my boat and many just replicated what I already had back home… what was the point of that,.. but I NEEDED a guitar, at least for my own sanity. What to do ?

I then spotted a beautiful Fender American series Natural Ash Telecaster. Maple neck, white pick guard and a seriously beautiful natural ash body. I’d never been even remotely interested in Telecasters before - they were old man’s guitars weren’t they ? How wrong I was !

The shop owner pulled down the Tele and plugged it into a Fender Prosonic amp (a very under rated amp - a Bruce Zinky masterpiece! ) - it played and sounded beautiful ! The grain on the natural Ash body was to die for and the lovely buttery maple neck.. I played it for at least an hour going through the paces. The amp went from cutting bell like chimes to sublime high octane leads… I was sold.

That combination could do anything. The Prosonic amp was Fenders attempt at delivering the Mesa Boogie sound (designed at Fenders Custom Shop by Bruce Zinky) and it did it in spades - from Carlos Santana’s best lead tones to Claptons classic ‘woman tone’ - the sounds were all there… I was a very ‘happy camper’ - that amp could do anything and very well too ! I was just blown away at the versatility and simplicity of the Telecaster too , its sublime playability and tonal range and looked a million dollars to boot !

I was a Telecaster convert ! and have remained so ever since….

That was 23 years ago now, the kids have all grown up and I still have that wonderful Am series natural ash Telecaster, albeit well played and showing her age. But she’s now been accompanied by a few more Telecasters now (5) , all different : pickup types, different necks and bodies - all variations covered . They are absolutely my favourite guitars by a long shot, I still have my old strats and Gibsons of course, but it’s the Telecasters that come out to play… the others stay in their cases.

The Telecaster is the absolute number 1 guitar design and can ‘do’ any musical genre…. From the obvious ‘country and blues‘ licks to ‘balls to the wall’ rock anthems at Mach 10 , the ultimate guitar !

Leo got it right first time ! May she continue to reign supreme ! The first and best Fender electric guitar ever made .

 

[proxy]

I picked up a G&L ASAT a decade ago when I was getting back into guitar and always loved it, but it took the pandemic to make me realize I’m a “Tele guy”.

I now have an embarrassing collection of mostly Teles.

 

[dhodgeh]

Up until a couple or three years ago, I had been spending most of my playing time flatpicking a dreadnaught - My electrics and amps were sitting around collecting dust.

Then one day, Wifey heard this song by John Prine (who she adores), and aske me what kind of guitar was being used. I told her I think it is a Tele.

She then says "You need to get one of those and learn that song".

Within a couple of weeks we were at the Orlando Guitar Expo, and came home with a 1971 Blonde Telecaster. Though it was more money that I had planned on spending, she ponied up the extra cash I needed to buy the guitar.

I've since added a 2014 AV 52, and took possession of a Ron Kirn 'Esquire' earlier this year, so yea, I'm hooked.

And I have yet to learn that song..........

D

 

[Ebling]

Got my first Tele in 84 or 85 (black Squier with maple neck). Still have it and love it.

 

[Santiago]

My introduction to Teles was this very year. My first electric was a strat copy, and so my favourite guitar sound has always been the strat neck pickup. I like the looks of other guitars, such as Jaguars, Jazzmasters, etc better, but sound wise nothing compares to a strat. When I lived in London I bought second hand a battered 91 Strat plus with Lace Sensor Gold pickups and this has been my main guitar since then. It's reliable, plays well and, although the pickups are not the most purist version of the strat sound, they do sound great and, due to their low output, are good at coaxing light overdrive sounds from pedals or amps that more powerful pickups would overwhelm into distortion.

I had therefore never thought much about Telecasters. First, because I thought that their sound could not be that different from that of a strat, as they were also 25,5" scale bolt-on neck guitars with single coil pickups in the same neck and bridge positions. Second, I had the wrong impression that they must be trebly guitars with a biting sound and that did not sound that interesting to me.

Fast forward to Spring of 22, when I see a very cheap 2004 American Standard on a local ad. It's been through a lot (had a bigsby at some point), lots of nicks, finish cracks, a lot of fret wear, original pickups apparently replaced by Mexican Fender tele alnico pickups, etc...

I buy it all the same, and find that I love it! It plays really well despite all the issues and I string it with 10s and set it up to Fender factory specs. I find it so inspiring that I immediately write a song with this new guitar

What really blows me away are the sounds. The neck is a great variation of my beloved strat neck tone. Similar but with more mids, which gives it a more woody tone, makes it more versatile and in some cases preferable. The mid position is jangly and shimmery, much more to my liking than the strat intermediate positions. And the bridge pickup is a revelation. Unlike the very extreme Strat bridge pickup, the tele bridge pickup is much warmer and, while it can do biting sounds, it's a much more balanced sound. I can see how many players use it most of the time, which I would struggle to believe in a Strat. In fact, the three pickup positions sound good through the same amp and pedal settings. I can see how some might prefer the wide tonal range of a Strat, but Teles are very inspiring in that it is difficult to make them sound bad. If you're writing a part, changing pickup position will give you a viable alternative sound without having to fiddle with your settings.

So that's the story of how I fell in love with Teles. A month ago I found a Candy Apple 1996 USA standard in great condition that is now my favourite Tele (it has N3 pickups, which have a bad reputation but I find to be ok). I still have the 2004 Tele, though, it looks rough, but it delivers when you pick it up

 

[Elwood Telly]

Wilko Johnson started me off.

Oh yes, how I could forget Wilko! Had a chance to see him alive here (with own band), in Finland in year 2014 (maybe 2015). He visited here also after that and I think he had scheduled new gigs too, before Mr. Reaper stepped in 21 th November, 2022 - less than two months ago. Dr. Feelgood had a huge audience in Finland back in 70/80's and it's still well remembered.
R.I.P. - Wilko.

 

[AndrewG]

Oh yes, how I could forget Wilko! Had a chance to see him alive here (with own band), in Finland in year 2014 (maybe 2015). He visited here also after that and I think he had scheduled new gigs too, before Mr. Reaper stepped in 21 th November, 2022 - less than two months ago. Dr. Feelgood had a huge audience in Finland back in 70/80's and it's still well remembered.
R.I.P. - Wilko.

Oh yes, how I could forget Wilko! Had a chance to see him alive here (with own band), in Finland in year 2014 (maybe 2015). He visited here also after that and I think he had scheduled new gigs too, before Mr. Reaper stepped in 21 th November, 2022 - less than two months ago. Dr. Feelgood had a huge audience in Finland back in 70/80's and it's still well remembered.
R.I.P. - Wilko.

My old band, The Guv'nors, supported Dr.Feelgood here in Exeter back in 1989. Sadly the only original member left was Lee Brilleaux-but what a treat for me, sharing a stage with my heroes! We're mentioned in the Feelgood gig archive. I was playing a white US Standard Strat into a KMD 1x12 65W combo. Lee used a black one for the slide parts on 'Back in the Night' and we compared guitars before the show. Fond memories of those no longer with us.