Tele Twang?

... also called Strat 'quack' or scooped sound. OTOH 'Spanking the Plank' refers to playing a Tele -- in the guitaring world, that is. :roll: On the blues boards I hang out on, the harp blowers call us all plank spankers. I don't mind.

I like Teles. Had a dream last night about playing a new red Tele, as a matter of fact. :D

(Maybe that's an omen?)

You can really accentuate or mellow out the twang with bridge choice, pickup choice, playing position and string selection. For example, I just tried a set of Elixers for the first time, and while I'm not crazy about the sound of the unwound strings (coming from Pure Nickels, they're a little harsh and weak in the mids for blues, IMHO), the wound strings have a great rockabilly twang.

Well, yesterday, I sessioned a Squier Tele, a Mexican Tele, and an American Tele. The Squier pickups had way more bite to them, almost to the point of being harsh, but that might be the strings (?). The difference between the Mexican and the American was minimal, although the American seemed to have more range throughout.

IMHO, none of them matched the smoothness of the Tribute, although the American was a very solid, nice guitar. You can tell where the extra money goes, it seems.

Well, yesterday, I sessioned a Squier Tele, a Mexican Tele, and an American Tele. The Squier pickups had way more bite to them, almost to the point of being harsh, but that might be the strings (?). The difference between the Mexican and the American was minimal, although the American seemed to have more range throughout.

IMHO, none of them matched the smoothness of the Tribute, although the American was a very solid, nice guitar. You can tell where the extra money goes, it seems.

Which pups come on the Tribute -- MFD (G&L's special recipe pup) or more trad Tele type pups?

The pickups on the Tribute are the same as on the American G&L, from Fullerton. The are nice and bright, but don't have as much "bite". Twangy in all the right ways, and none of the bad, at least to my ears. The American Fender comes very close to that sound but lacks midrange, by comparison. The tone pots aren't as "accurate" either. There is a jump right in the middle when turning the treble up, which neither of the others had. The Mexican was a player for sure, it just lacked "oomph."

The sound of the Tribute distorted is incredible; very, very smooth, sustain for days. It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine...

And I must echo some sentiments I have read here: Of the three, I'd probably buy the Squire. It's cheaper, the difference in workmanship was negligible considering the price, and the finish was beautiful. I would just roll off a little treble at the amp and it sounds really, really nice. All for around $200 or so (cheaper online I am sure). The Fender isn't $1300 better than the Squier, no way. And the Mexican is about the same, just different colors really, so I couldn't justify the $150 or whatever over a Squier, either.

Joe Naylor, of Reverend Guitars, suggests adding a 330 pf capacitor between the positive and negative poles of the guitar output jack to tame the high end on a shrill guitar.

I stopped by Rondo Music today and checked out their Agile Tele clone.It was the cream colored one with black pickguard. I didn't think the finish was that good looking. Frankly it looks better in the photos. However. The action was pretty good and I was able to do barre chords easier than on the two guitars I have at home (seagull s6+ spruce and ibanez artcore), especially up the neck. I tested it with one the higher end fender amps and it sounded pretty good to me in all pickup configurations. I then tried it with a cheap ibanez amp and while it didn't sound as good it was still OK. Now I really want to try the squire and mexican/american models. I am not really looking to buy yet. I can't justify buying another guitar (although the ibanez is technically not mine) before I actually know how to play. However I'm pretty sure i'd like a tele in the future. It has low key but sweet looks, very simple design and seems to be the definition of work-horse (I am very utilitarian). These are all things I like.

One thing about guitars other than the Seagull is how narrow the fingerboard is lower down the neck. It's really hard for me to squeeze my fingers in there for open chords. But then again, I seem to remember somebody say you don't really play open chords or full strums for that matter with an electric, but instead mostly one or two strings etc. Should I be concerned with neck width when shopping for an electric. I saw a guy playing a fender tele at my local blues jam bar (Scotland Yard in Hoboken, NJ. Awesome.. Awesome place if you're ever in Hoboken). The neck looked a lot like my seagull. Pretty wide. I asked the guy after his set how come his tele had such a wide neck. He said he has the neck custom made for him. So other people seem to prefer a wider neck too.

Anyway. I wrote too much in a post intended to just show off for being able to drive off to Rondo Music (ride actually) :P Oh by the way. I didn't see it on their website, but they had some seagulls in the store. Especially one S series cedar top (i think a smaller parlour type body) for something like $219.. Might be a floor model. I did see a little scratch on it. Nice enough people too and they leave you alone.

Cheers.

oktay

Unless you get one custom made, you're going to have a hard time finding electric guitars with wide necks. The SEagulls have wider necks than most steel string acoustic guitars, too.

There are things that are easier to do on a wide neck, and things that are easier with a skinny neck.

As you play more, you'll find the wide neck isn't as important for things like keeping you from touching multiple strings with your fingertips. It's a common thing for new players to think they must have fingertips like sausages, and that they'll never be able to play cleanly. I know I felt that way.

I have five (soon to be six) guitars and I don't know how to play!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think that if you could only have one guitar, then a Tele would be a great choice. All of the necks on every Tele-type guitar I have played is thin and fast, and the action on all of them has been nice (nicest on the Fender and Tribute). They are good for about every type of music except for the heaviest metal, since they don't "crunch" all that well (they still do, but not like an SG or ESP). I am looking forward to someday trying a Schecter, as I have heard nothing but raves about them.

The Squier is an excellent buy, IMHO. It would serve you well for decades and I doubt you'd outgrow it as a player. You can always change the pickups later, too. The Squier is built like a tank, too.

A guitar with a S/S/H configuration is tonaly very versatile as well, like the Godin SD (I have one) or one of the Ibanez RG's. They don't have that certain something that the Tele variants have, though. Hence having more than one guitar, I guess...