What Should a Tele Weigh?

[holndav]

Finally got around to properly weighing this one and then weighed some others hanging around the house.

Partcaster Esquire homebrew with Swamp Ash body came in at 6 lbs. 10 oz.

Assuming it balances properly when you play it...How heavy is too heavy? How light is too light?

For reference (I do have pics of these but didn't add to this post):
- Fender White Blonde MIM 50s Esquire: 6 lbs. 13 oz.
- Fender MIJ CAR Esquire 60s: 7 lbs. 3 oz.
- Reverend Club King 2-90: 7 lbs. 13 oz. (doesn't feel heavy when I play it)
- Cypress Guitars Tele clone: 8 lbs. 4 oz.
- Squier VM PJ Bass: 7 lbs. 4 oz. (seems like most of this is neck weight)
and just for fun...acoustic!
- Martin D-28: 4 lbs. 11 oz.

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What do you all think?

Somewhere around 7-7 1/2 lbs. seems like the right weight?

Does anybody have a Tele under 6 lbs? Under 5 lbs?

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Oh, and Jerry's Tiger guitar was 13 lbs. 8 oz. right? Ouch!

 

[OttoCorrect]

Never actually weighed it but I’m sure my classic vibes tele is around ten pounds. It’s heavy but a good kind of heavy.

 

[heltershelton]

i have 2
one weighs 7.4 lbs and the other weighs 7.1 lb.

 

[highgreenchilly]

My 52 AVRI is 8.2 lbs. Id shoot for 7.5 if I bought a new Tele. I think 7-8 lbs ideal. Jerry had some heavy guitars! I’ve seen some very heavy guitars from the 70s - too heavy for me to consider.

 

[LGOberean]

How heavy is too heavy? How light is too light?

I suspect that as with many things Tele that we discuss, the right answer will vary according to the individual. This is subjective in nature.

And for that matter, even our own preferences change over time. My first tele was my Logan Custom mahogany solid body. It weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. Eleven years ago, that was fine. It is a resonant guitar, warm and just beautiful. I'd think nothing of playing a whole set with it slung over my shoulder. But now I am eleven years older, and I've had issues with back trouble, shoulder injuries, and even a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery.

And as the years have progressed, I have acquired a thinline, a chambered, a lightweight swamp ash solid body and a non-tele of solid alder. Here are their respective weights:

Mahogany solid body: 9 lbs. 2 oz.
"Logo" thinline: 6 lbs. 12 oz.
BSB swamp ash: 6 lbs. 14.7 oz.
Firecaster (chambered): 6 lbs. 3.6 oz.
Challenger (solid alder): 7 lbs. 15.2 oz.

I don't gig standing up anymore, but I gravitate towards the swamp ash and thinline/chambered models I have now. So around 7 lbs., give or take, is what I prefer. Oh, and here are the electrics mentioned above, mixed in with the acoustics.

 

[Otis Fine]

The lightest guitars I’ve ever owned were a G&L ASAT Deluxe and 2 Squier Classic Vibe Strats. I don’t know what they weighed, but I’d guess they were under 7 pounds.

The heaviest guitars I’ve owned were an Agile AL3100 and a Peavey T-40 Bass. Didn’t weigh them either, but I’d guess the Agile was 10+ and the Peavey was about 85 pounds.
I prefer my guitars to weigh between 7 and 9 pounds.

 

[Macrogats]

I suspect that as with many things Tele that we discuss, the right answer will vary according to the individual. This is subjective in nature.

And for that matter, even our own preferences change over time. My first tele was my Logan Custom mahogany solid body. It weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. Eleven years ago, that was fine. It is a resonant guitar, warm and just beautiful. I'd think nothing of playing a whole set with it slung over my shoulder. But now I am eleven years older, and I've had issues with back trouble, shoulder injuries, and even a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery.

And as the years have progressed, I have acquired a thinline, a chambered, a lightweight swamp ash solid body and a non-tele of solid alder. Here are their respective weights:

Mahogany solid body: 9 lbs. 2 oz.
"Logo" thinline: 6 lbs. 12 oz.
BSB swamp ash: 6 lbs. 14.7 oz.
Firecaster (chambered): 6 lbs. 3.6 oz.
Challenger (solid alder): 7 lbs. 15.2 oz.

I don't gig standing up anymore, but I gravitate towards the swamp ash and thinline/chambered models I have now. So around 7 lbs., give or take, is what I prefer. Oh, and here are the electrics mentioned above, mixed in with the acoustics.
View attachment 586679

Dude, I’m loving that Telecoustic you’ve got there! Which model is that?

 

[nojazzhere]

My #1, 1993 Telecaster body w/ Warmoth mahogany, fatback conversion neck weighs 8 lbs. 0 oz. I wish it was a pound or so lighter.

 

[telemon1]

I find somewhere between 7 and 8 pounds to be ideal. Any lighter, it just dont feel like a plank! Any heavier tends to be approaching boat anchor status.

 

[JDB2]

My ash-bodied G&L ASAT classic from 1992 weighs about 8 lbs 9 oz. Not light, but the weight gives me no trouble and I love the tone.

 

[3-Chord-Genius]

What I've noticed is that I rarely pick up a guitar and think, "that's heavy". What normally happens is that I start feeling the weight, presenting itself as PAIN, about an hour or so after standing up playing it. The weight of the guitar is inversely proportional to the amount of time before I start feeling it.

 

[Tonetele]

It seems the average would be what in Imperial measurement would be 7+ pounds.
I know that Paulownia wood bodies are extremely light, they are GF bodies and the choice of Brad Paisley's fender model.
I have an Alder body Tele and it's hefty but okay. I prefer Ash for sound ( lighter too).
Either way it doesn't bother me even if I play one all night, getting the job done right is what's most important.
I built a " Blackie" that's balanced really well ( fluke on my part. I also built a boat trailer that was balanced so delicately you could raise it, boat and trailer, with one hand and no effort.
Perhaps the answer lies in Archimede's laws of levers and balance. Never been an issue, weight of guitar, IMHO

 

[Chunkocaster]

The 2 tele's of mine I have weighed both came in at just over 6 pounds each. One being a pine body classic vibe and the other a double bound alder body custom tele with allparts 22 fret neck. The bound tele might even go at or under 6 pounds if I changed the heavy brass knobs out for something lighter.

These weren't planned to be light it just worked out that way which is great because I prefer lighter guitars.

 

[LGOberean]

Dude, I’m loving that Telecoustic you’ve got there! Which model is that?

Look closely at the headstock; that's not an FMIC product; it's a Logan Custom. I call her "Aggie." The top is solid ash and the back is mahogany, so, Ash + Mahogany = A&M = "Aggie."

Obviously a T-style body (1-3/4" thickness, fits a standard tele case), top binding (cream), center back strip. Medium C neck, 9.5" radius, rosewood fretboard, Kluson split shaft tuners, Volume, Tone, Fishman pre-amp with under-saddle piezo, battery compartment accessible in the back. Weighs under 5 lbs. Unplugged, its thin hollow body sounds kind of like a parlor. But the Fishman electronics on this guitar, plugged into my Fishman Loudbox Mini, is a winning combination. And it plays like a tele, even with 11 gauge phosphor bronze strings.

I've had Aggie since January of last year, and she has become my go-to gigging acoustic/electric. The pic in my previous post shows two Breedloves a/e guitars hanging up on the wall. They were the a/e guitars I would gig with, but since I got Aggie, the Breedloves haven't left the house.

 

[suave eddie]

My ash-bodied G&L ASAT classic from 1992 weighs about 8 lbs 9 oz. Not light, but the weight gives me no trouble and I love the tone. View attachment 586681

My ash-bodied ASAT Classic from 2011 is pretty close at 8 lbs 4 oz.

 

[Bergy]

My main Tele is 9 lbs and that is too heavy for a longish gig, for me. Got an Ernie Ball that is about 7.5 and that feels much better. Surprised to find out my tuner and leather strap add almost 1.5 lbs too.

 

[Ydwen Jones]

My Performer Series Tele weighs about 7 lbs 15 oz. Which is o.k.. But I wouldn't mind a lighter guitar.

 

[Sparky2]

My rule of thumb for guitar weight goes like this.

Too light: When you strap the guitar on, it neck-dives because the tuning pegs are heavier than the input jack.

Too heavy: You never take the guitar to gigs because it hurts your back to play it for an entire set.

Okay, I'm gonna shut up now.

 

[skippolony]

I built a tele with a Paulownia wood body and it weighs just over 5lb and no neck dive.
It is the one in my avatar.

 

[ndcaster]

two that are up and running are 7.5 and 7.6 lbs (pine, alder, maple); one in the works is looking like 6.8 (pine, maple)

I had one that was 9+ (ash, maple) and only found it too heavy once I started playing the 7s

maple weight seems to vary a lot