Telecasters

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GORDON
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Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:36 pm

I have always loved the sound and Feel of Telecaster style guitars,and would welcome you all to share in your thoughts about this great instrument in all its styles and makes,not just Fender.

So many companies do their version of the Tele,from Tokai through to Levinson and beyond.

I have a fantastic Fret King JD model and a bitsa Telecaster featured in these pages from a few months ago.

I just love em.

Tell us about yours!

Be Well.

G.

kevin
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Re: Telecasters

Postby kevin » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:30 am

Gordon..
This interesting
I am not an electric man but recently heard an album by Jeff Buckley called Live at sin-e.
On this he plays a Telecaster(there are pictures on the sleeve) and I love its rawness.
So anyway Argos have a Squier which is the same colour as Buckleys for. £140
Bearing in mind what you have said I thought I might get it to mess about on. What do you reckon good idea or not would value your opinion if you wouldnt mind.
Thanks you did start this so I feel justified in asking
Best wishes
Kevin

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:11 am

Hi Kev.

I would personally look for something secondhand for a tad more. The Vintage brand do some amazing instruments based on the famous T caster but they may be a tad more expensive. Have a look at the John Hornby Skewes website to get an idea of what is on offer then take it from there!

JHS as you know offer outstanding value for money products at a fraction of the price one would pay for more branded names.

E-Bay is always fun looking at and comparing prices.

Enjoy your search my friend.

Be Well.

G.

kevin
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Re: Telecasters

Postby kevin » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:38 pm

Hi Gordon
Thanks for the advice.
I feel you are probably right and of course I am not Jeff Buckley
Little talent and a reluctance to fork out too much money often sends me down guitar blind alleys
All the best
Kevin

Back to your original idea for the thread sorry if I slightly took it off topic

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TimH
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Re: Telecasters

Postby TimH » Thu Apr 04, 2013 1:19 pm

Hi Gordon,
I have always fancied trying a Tele but, whilst I have seen them put to good use by a small number of big stars for rock and blues, they seem to be the go-to choice for American Country & Western music. I was wondering what it was about this particular type of guitar that attracts players from that genre particularly. It seems that you don't have to play C&W if you have a Tele but if you are a C&W player then you pretty much need to play a Tele! I'm over-generalising quite a lot here of course but I am interested in people's opinions of what draws them to a Tele versus, say a Strat (for a non-humbucker fitted Tele) or a Les Paul style guitar (for a humbucking-fitted Tele). Oops...I've mentioned pick-up options now - that'll open up a whole new area of debate!

Fire away!
Tim :D

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:26 pm

Hi Tim.

Good to hear from you buddy.For me the T caster has a very acoustic feel to it and I think the body shape helps.For me it is a very no nonsense guitar with just a few options in its basic format. It is essentially a very clean sounding guitar and is for me a blank canvas on which to paint your own audio colours.....sounds poetic doesn't it but I think you get my drift.I used a borrowed Tele on Visionary for those clean lead lines on Revelation and the like,and possibly on Deserter but don't quote me on that.Of course a certain J Page swears by them as did Mr Beck in those early days.The guvnor of course being my old friend Albert Lee.

Please keep your thoughts coming on this thread because I for one find it fascinating.

Be well pickers.

G.

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:28 pm

I'm looking forward to my friend Russ posting something because he probably has the ultimate T casters in his home!

Come on a russ let's hear about them buddy!

G.

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Russ Gannicott
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Re: Telecasters

Postby Russ Gannicott » Sun Apr 07, 2013 2:25 am

Ha ha!! Well there is nothing quite like being put on the spot like that!! I think there is a common thread that runs through all Teles, be they hundred quid nameless Chinese ones or thousands of pounds worth of custom shop models, and that is geometry. All these guitars regardless of value or make still sound to a greater or lesser degree like a 'real' Telecaster and that can only come down to some pretty specific design at the end of the day. The fact that a Tele has two very different pickups mounted in two very different manners contributes hugely to it's signature sound is very significant. I think the term 'blank canvas' has never been better applied to a guitar than in this instance as well.

Yes, I have some really special ones at home, including of course a rather nice solid mahogany bodied one with a coil tapped humbucker and surface mounted Kahler trem - it probably sounds less like a Tele than any of the others, but it was owned at one time by a certain Mr Giltrap!!

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Sun Apr 07, 2013 3:15 pm

Russ Gannicott wrote:Ha ha!! Well there is nothing quite like being put on the spot like that!! I think there is a common thread that runs through all Teles, be they hundred quid nameless Chinese ones or thousands of pounds worth of custom shop models, and that is geometry. All these guitars regardless of value or make still sound to a greater or lesser degree like a 'real' Telecaster and that can only come down to some pretty specific design at the end of the day. The fact that a Tele has two very different pickups mounted in two very different manners contributes hugely to it's signature sound is very significant. I think the term 'blank canvas' has never been better applied to a guitar than in this instance as well.

Yes, I have some really special ones at home, including of course a rather nice solid mahogany bodied one with a coil tapped humbucker and surface mounted Kahler trem - it probably sounds less like a Tele than any of the others, but it was owned at one time by a certain Mr Giltrap!!


Thanks Russ, I knew you would come through buddy...words of wisdom my friend!

Love to the family.

G.

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Roger
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Re: Telecasters

Postby Roger » Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:32 pm

Well guys I'll bring up the rear with my £39.99 Harrier Mistral, which is a Tele copy :) Although this guitar isn't perfect by any means, what it has done has made me appreciate the Tele as a guitar - very simple design, comfortable to play and some great tones too! I have been keeping my eyes open for a better Tele copy and this will come in time (being a "leftie" tends to limit things a little). Meanwhile, even after fitting a Trev Wilkinson bridge and tuners I've come to the conclusion that the Harrier needs a new neck (you were right Russ!). I'd really appreciate any advice about this, like where to buy the new neck from,if it should be done by a luthier, what it would cost etc etc. There's money in the kitty for this project, as the guitar was £40, while the brige and tuners came to about £35.

Best to all,

Roger

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Bob Wilson
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Re: Telecasters

Postby Bob Wilson » Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:53 pm

Totally agree with Russ. I bought a Tele is the early 70s for my band as 5 songs needed the Tele sound. It was the wrong decision. Not because of the guitar but because I only needed it for a few songs. After about 8 months I sold the Tele and bought a Jedson Tele copy. I should have done this at the start. After working on the Jedsons action and changing the pickups the resulting guitar was all anyone could wish for and more. It was much much cheaper than the Fender Tele but played very much better with exactly the same sound. 'You get what you pay for' doesn’t really work on Tele’s as most that I have seen (with the exception of some nasty Encores) are very playable with very little work. Although I am more a Strat player these days I still wish I had kept the old Jedson Tele.
Lives touch and paths cross for a reason - be grateful for these meetings and grow as a person

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Mon Apr 08, 2013 8:53 pm

Got my BITSATELECASTER back from my pal Brian today.

He has fitted a push pull coil tap to the Seymour Duncan humbucker and the whole thing sounds amazing.

Who are your favourite Telecaster players and why?

Best.

G.

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Roger
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Re: Telecasters

Postby Roger » Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:37 am

Gordon,

Have to go for the late Mick Green. Whether it was his high energy playing with The Pirates, or something rather less frenetic when playing with Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry or Sir Paul to name but a few, he usually relied on his trusty Telecaster. RIP MIck.

Roger

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Re: Telecasters

Postby scottj1 » Tue Apr 09, 2013 6:43 pm

Favourite Telecaster players....?

My favourite Telecaster tone was early Robbie Robertson of The Band,I know he used a strat more later on but on early records and particularly the live album "Rock of Ages" he used a telecaster with a humbucker at the neck and got a huge sound.

I love Telecasters with humbuckers,not as they were designed originally of course but still a great sound.

The best Telecaster style guitar I ever played was a G and L.Everything about it was fabulous and maybe a touch more "exclusive" than a Fender...

Wouldn't mind one actually.... :D

Best to all

Scott

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Re: Telecasters

Postby GORDON » Fri Apr 12, 2013 9:59 pm

A list of great Telecaster players.

ANDY SUMMERS.
ROY BUCHANAN.
ALBERT LEE.
JIMI PAGE.
JEFF BECK.
VINCE GILL.
BRENT MASON.
JAMES BURTON.
JERRY DONAHUE.
JIM MULLEN.
MARK KNOPFLER.
ERIC CLAPTON.
ALBERT KING.
KEITH RICHARDS.

ETC ETC ETC,Come on guys help me out here.

Be Well.

G.


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