Signature Guitars - Yes? No?

Gear & Tools Talk šŸŽø Guitars, Instruments & Maintenance
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Iā€™ve seen a number of threads about this particular signature guitar, or that one, and have never really felt that interested in any of them. Then my husband, this evening, after spending all afternoon and evening setting up my new speakers and stereo system to listen to music, casually mentioned that Fender was issuing a Susan Tedeschi signature tele basted on her 1993 guitar that she plays most of the time.

Susan Tedeschi TelecasterĀ® | Electric Guitars

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I was not planning on a new guitar till I actually finished Grade 2, after all, Iā€™d only bought my PRS SE Soapbar 2 fourteen months ago. (And I do love it!)

Plus, I could finance it over 3 years interest free, and as we are about to leave Michigan on a road trip to Massachusetts in 4 days, Sweetwater, is sort of, kind of on the wayā€¦

I love Susan Tedeschi, and Iā€™ve thought on and off about getting a tele. I love the way my Fender Bullet Squier feels in my hands though I dislike its soundā€¦

Talk me off the ledge? or tell me to JUMP?

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On here? Theyā€™re NEVER going to tell you to not buy a guitar.

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Looks like a nice tele. Personally Iā€™m not moved by it being signature vs. non-signature, but I like the specs. (Nevertheless, if it being a signature guitar of an artist you admire makes it that much cooler to you then I think thatā€™s perfectly valid. Sometimes things like signature status or brand name make a guitar cooler for totally personal and subjective reasons. Thereā€™s nothing wrong with that.)

Features I like in this guitar:

  • Thin C neck profile: I like thinner necks ā€“ I find thicker ones harder to play.
  • Rosewood fingerboard ā€“ I prefer rosewood or ebony over maple or rosewood alternatives.
  • Medium jumbo frets ā€“ Iā€™ve found that jumbo frets make it too easy for me to go sharp when fretting (especially live where thereā€™s energy and adrenaline), and prefer something on the medium end.
  • TBX Tone circuit ā€“ nice to have the option to increase treble, although usually a Tele is already pretty bright.

The custom pickups may also be a good thing, but Iā€™d want to play them and hear them before assuming that.

My advice is to find one you can play and try it out. If you like it, go for it.

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Get your jumping shoes on!

ok look - theres a few positives and a few negatives with sig guitars.

First they are a reproduction/spec for that player, of a guitar that existed already, potentially with modifications and wear but its not like a telecaster wasnt around beforehand.

So perhaps the colour, or pickps or something are unique or its a combo you cant easily buy or the OG ones are too expensive etc.

The artist you like has obviously put their name on it, but they play in a particular style, and have specific physical characteristics which mean it may not work as well for you as it does for them.

They also typically get a chunk of money/licence fee for each sale, sometimes this fee goes to charity, sometimes not. So youā€™re usually paying a premium over another similar guitar.

That one is $1900USD, but with a fair amount of specific custom stuff, so its up there but not the most spendy tele you can get by far either.

If your keen I would say give it a try out

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If itā€™s an artist you like and the guitar speaks to you then why not I say. If it will inspire you to play then great.

I think people get annoyed by signature models when theyā€™re nothing special. You have artists like Slash who seems to have a different signature model every week. Next week it will be for one that he played for 30 seconds in 1994. You should be able to look at the guitar and identify the artist (if you know the artist reasonably well) in my opinion

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As always, you should try it before buying. But you never can have too many guitars :crazy_face:

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If the guitar you want to buy if something custom made for the artist you like then I can understand the need of a signature guitar
I ve bought a Brian May guitar because the red special has a very unique sound
but to have that sound I also need the amp

what make the sound of an artist are the style they play , the amp they use , the pedals etc etc
You wont get the sound of your favourite artist just by buying the guitar with their name on it

I agree with robDickinson on that one
try it if you can before buying
A cheaper tele with gear might be cool too

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Signature or not - it has to feel & play right.

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Rebecca Rebecca Rebecca :roll_eyes:

If I had a cookie for every time I hear that wellā€¦ I could start a cookie shop

Happy almost NGD :partying_face:

Greetings

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I own a Squier Tele, and I love it nice plain nothing fancy and itā€™s always hanging about beside me ready to play if I think about something or just feel like playing she is there for me, nice and easy no fuss just plays

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1st, if that guitar trips your trigger, imho, do it!
Whatever it takes to inspire us is all good I think.

That said.
Whatā€™s your goal?
My goal is to play better. Will a new guitar for me get me to playing better. Probably not. It might make me play more often because I like my new guitar, but it will take time for me to get better Iā€™d think. I can do that with the guitars that I have.

While I love the Beatles, and there are Beatles guitars available, like the rosewood tele that George played. Will it make me play or sound like George. I really doubt it would. + there is likely a price increase on any signature guitar.

So, in the end for me. Any signature guitar wonā€™t make me play like my favorite artist. It wonā€™t make me sound like my favorite artist. It will cost more than a non sig. guitar.

Iā€™m also not a fan of how they are marketing this. The no interest time to pay off is a great incentive for sure. And this can work for you for sure. But it will still be more expensive than if you didnā€™t buy the guitar in the 1st place.

So for ā€˜meā€™. Iā€™m not gonna do a sig. guitar. Itā€™s almost a turn off for me do to what it seems to me is a marketing ploy to get me to buy whatever just because of how I like songs by some player. Iā€™m not gonna be George Harrison. I can be inspired by him, love his music. But playing his guitar, my guess is that I will still sound like me. And fwiw, I do have a Casino, ya know, like George, John, Paul all played. I got it because I like the tone of that kind of guitar, not because thatā€™s what the Beatles used. It may get close to the tones of them, but it wonā€™t make me play like them. They make a John Lennon Casino too, made in USA to. Itā€™s got the price reflecting all that too. My Casino is China made. Itā€™s good enough for me and how I play. It has the tones Iā€™m used to. When I got it, I was in search of a guitar w/p90 puā€™s. The Casino met my criteria.

Anyways, itā€™s always nice to get a new guitar. And for sure, get it if you have the funds and dig the artist.
But imho, donā€™t let that fact that this guitar is what my favorite artist played sway you.
imho, artist guitars are a ploy. If ya really like it, do it, but donā€™t let the marketing of it sway your decision.

That is a cool looking tele btwā€¦ :wink: love that green!

Hope I wasnā€™t a debbie downer for you Rebecca.
You make your own choice as to what having Susanā€™s guitar will do for your playing.

Iā€™ve come to the conclusion, I will always sound like me no matter how hard I try to be just like someone else, I will always be me. I try to embrace that as we are all different and like different things.

Almost more important is.
Howā€™d the new stereo turn out?
I love a great sounding HiFi stereo. :slight_smile:

Good luck in your decision on the guitar.
Since your going right by the store, it wonā€™t hurt to stop by and look. Just keep in mind, ya donā€™t have to buy itā€¦

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If you want a Telecaster, try and buy a telecaster from among the dozens of different models and specs.

If you want one of these telecasters because they meet your exact requirements then be prepared to (over) pay the price.

Signature models carry a bump in price tag because they are signature models, not because they are intrinsically more valuable.

It may be that a signature model offers a combination of spec that is not available in an-off-the-shelf version of a particular guitar.
That may be a good reason to go for it - bypassing the fact that it is a signature.

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I donā€™t think a signature guitar needs to make you sound like whoever it is, after all the guitar is only one part of the equation that will likely involve an amp and pedals too. If youā€™ve been inspired by that artist and like the guitar anyway then why not? Not every decision in life should be dictated by a spreadsheet.

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I own a signature model and this is true of mine. I respect the person whoā€™s model it is but I didnā€™t buy it because it was their signature model, I bought it because itā€™s a lovely guitar in a spec and colour that wasnā€™t otherwise available. When you consider it came with a proper hard case it was also good value in a market that otherwise seems to be going a bit bonkers

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Iā€™ll echo many of the other comments on here - after trying dozens of guitars, and buying (and selling) more than 10 of those in the past; just because a guitar works for one of your heroes (for me, Slash, Gary Moore and the Les Paul) doesnā€™t mean it will work for you (they donā€™t).

Make sure the neck feels good, make sure the weight is comfortable around your neck, and make sure you smile every time you pick it up.

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Hi Rebecca,

I have the same message as others here - The signature model will likely have a couple features that are more attractive than the general model, but that is not often significant enough to make up for the price increase.

In my case, I bought a Mark Tremonti branded PRS. It was my first guitar, so I had very little knowledge about what a signature model was. Frankly, I also needed to look up who Mark Tremonti was - turned out I had 5 albums in my collection that he was on! It was also the one that my wife pointed to before we were even 30 feet from the store wall saying ā€œthat oneā€. When I looked up the differences in the signature model versus the basic model, the only thing I couldnā€™t really get changed was the set of pickups that were specific to that model. I added the PRS locking tuners myself a year later making my SE much closer to the non-SE for only $100 - this was the only thing that I thought would improve my enjoyment of the guitar and cost me far less than getting the non-SE model.

If it gives you some excitement to know it is a signature model, then I cannot weigh in on that. Iā€™ve never been one to desire to show a product logo or target a particular signature product for any reason other than it hit all my feature goals. I usually buy for best cost-to-functionality and longevity and have rarely been disappointed in my purchases done like that.

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Signature guitars donā€™t float my boat - but this is your boat, so your choice.

On the other point - there is no such thing as free finance!!

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Never met anyone who regretted spending (even shed-load of) money on something they enjoyed :smiley:
If you like it, want it, and can afford it, absolutely go for it.
Would you be able to find something you prefer the sound, look and feel of for that price if you shop around, esp. including the second hand market?
Absolutely.
But then again, it would not be a Susan Tedeschi :wink:

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The youtuber Marty Schwartz has a signature guitar made by Epiphone ES-335. The red one that he has in all his videos.

I donā€™t watch enough of his videos to buy it. But if it was a Justin one based on the flame ES-335 that he uses in most of his blues videoā€¦ I might be tempted haha. What about you ?

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:wave: joehoe :wave:

:upside_down_face:

Ps:
you are right about the rest and 1 fool confirms the rule :blush: