I know there are hundreds of threads around new guitar purchases so I’d thought, I’ll join the club
I’m in market to purchase a Telecaster to compliment my collection:
I have some basic questions…
I mainly play Blues…
Is it better to purchase a Telecaster with both single coils or to vary it a little, get one with a Humbucker in the neck position?
I’ve watched countless videos on ones with Humbuckers and one’s without, so, I thought I’ll open it up to the community.
I’m going to Thomann in two weeks…actually looking forward to seen the new guitar building etc.
These are some of the Telecasters I have in mind… (I have a budget but I might stretch it , nothing over 900€)
Some of the ones I’m looking into:
Jet Jt300 or JT350 (I know 350 have Humbuckers) - I know the quality of the Jet as I have a Jet Strat which I love.
HB TE-52
Squire Custom Vibe 60’s (Yes Fender)
Sire Larry Carlton T7 New Gen
Yamaha Pacifica SC Std (at a stretch of budget)
G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy (before Fender completely ruin the QC - Yes, they are now owned by Fender)
I might look a a Fender Player II (just slightly against Fender at the moment, for all the trouble they are causing at present with lawsuits etc and their QC is sh$&t anyway)
Just a small correction. G&L are no longer making instruments, so if you get a G&L it will be old stock. I think Fender only acquired the use of the Leo Fender name.
So what else is in your collection currently, and why do you want a Tele?
If you want a Tele to sound like a Tele then I’d look to get two single coils, but you should play some and see what you like.
Disclaimer - I’ve got 3 Teles and one on the way (all single coils!)
You’ll find they have a new website https://www.glguitars.com/ (Fender style website) and I think they will be making new guitars in the future…but to be seen. I know Fender acquired the name of Leo, but looks like they acquired also the brand, its machinery, and inventory were also acquired by the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation (FMIC)
There are loads of great tele’s around. So much choice - at least while Fender isn’t suing t-type manufacturers.
Don’t discount some of the really cheap ones, that can have good necks. My Squier Affinity tele is great and very nice to play. There’s a new Affinity I’ve been looking at (Squier Affinity FMT) in Mocha with a humbucker in the neck. Those are cheap ceramic pickups and it’s not much work to swap them for something really good. It also seems like the cavity under the pickguard is routed to accept many different pickup sizes. It could even be possible to put a P90 in there, which would be cool.
Check them out they look great.
I also bought a very old Squier affinity tele (40 bucks) that was filthy and rusty and completely restored it with high output single coils from Iron Gear (not expensive and sound great). Again the neck is great.
Lots of people praise the Jet teles too. I remember someone on this forum has one. The 350 with humbuckers looks nice in black with a cream binding.
Out of the ones you list there, I think the Yamaha will likely be completely different to the others. Those Rupert Neve designed pickups just make a completely different sound (very clear and glassy - even the humbucker). I know, I have the HSS Strat version. Yamaha makes something different with those guitars - just in the shape of a tele or a Strat. The necks appear identical on the t and s type Yamaha. My S type neck is very sensitive to humidity changes and requires regular truss rod adjustments. I would never have believed this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. So if you don’t like having to adjust the truss rod now and then, perhaps it wouldn’t be a sensible option.
Let us know what you choose and then post a picture for us.
I have the following:
Epiphone Les Paul SG 61 reissue
Jet JS-300 BK
Gherson 1971 Les Paul (in process of selling, it’s to heavy)
Fender Acoustic (now actually given to my niece, as she’s learning guitar, as she’s studying to be a Kindergarden teacher (nursey school teacher, sorry used to the german word and I’m so used to it )
Squire Starcaster
Two reasons…
One, I’ll have the set: Strat, Tele, 335 style and SG
Mainly, I’m trying to consolidate and I know the Telecaster is the most versatile guitar out there in whatever genre of music you play. Also I did have a Custom Vibe but in my early playing career (3 years ago) and didn’t fully appreciate the guitar as I was new to the scene.
I’m looking for an all round workhorse and looking to mainly capture the Blues sound. Sounds like the single coil is the way to go, from your collection…
I have a previous generation Sire T7 and it’s a fantastic guitar. The neck is the best feeling one I’ve ever held. When I bought mine, I compared it to many other T-style guitars at around the same price point and even some that were a bit higher and nothing felt as good in my hands. I believe that the new generation offers a few other upgrades over the past one, too. I think you’d be very happy with that. The only knock I hear about them consistently is that some people don’t like the shape of the headstock.
With that said, G&L made some really great guitars as well. I wonder if they have gone up in price a bit because they’re no longer being made. I was recently trying a used strat-style G&L and I happened to find a listing for the same guitar from about a year ago, and the price had jumped up by about 33%! They’re still great guitars, though.
Yamaha also has a strong reputation for quality.
In terms of the single coils versus a humbucker, it depends. Teles have a distinctive twang and if you’re looking for that you may want to go traditional. The humbucker might give you a bit of versatility but I don’t think it’s essential for the blues versus more high gain stuff. But it’s up to you—whatever sounds like what you like!
I thought the Yamaha might be extreme. I am looking at the Jet guitars a day or two before my visit to Thomann so I can get a feel for them as well.
I do like the Jet as I play my Jet Strat a lot.
I have looked at some single coil upgrades if needed and liked the sound of the Tonerider Alnico 2 Blues but I’ll see after my purchase.
I’ll have a look at all the Squire range and as @djdrysdale (David) mentioned, the Sire as well.
But looks like it seems to be going down the single coil route…
@djdrysdale (David) - I can get a G&L ASAT Bluesboy for about 670€ new (still seem to be sold in some places in EU)
Sounds like you have the humbuckers thing covered. I bought an HSS Strat thinking I’d like the versatility, I ended up replacing the pickups as I didn’t get the strat sounds I was really looking for.
All that said, you got to play them - if you end up loving an HS Tele, then that’s the guitar for you
I have 3 Squier tele’s (2 affinity, 1 classic vibe; don’t ask why!), and in one I have the Tonerider Alnico 2 blues. It’s the guitar I play the most. Those pickups have great tonal range and sound lovely but they are very clean. I use them because they are very pleasant sounding and I like to practice everything without distortion so I easily hear all my mistakes.
The pickups were a massive improvement over the stock pickups.
If you want to get that edge of breakup sound, you will probably need to use a pedal with them - they are very low output and will not push the amp much (note that while they are called Alnico blues, Tonerider says they are good for jazz). So in your blues playing, if you want some overdrive, that’s a point to consider. I haven’t tried any of the other Tonerider Tele pickups, but I think a lot of people, choose the Hot Classics.
Tonerider pickups won’t break the bank (£50-60 a pair of tele pickups) & seem to be very well made. Great thing about tele’s is there are so easy to modify.
If you’re looking at G&L ASAT - for me, in my oh so humble and biased opinion, the top of your list should be the ASAT Special.
Those pickups aree not humbuckers, not single coils, they’re something else, something amazing.
That bridge is a piece of design magnificence.
If you try out and/or buy the Larry Carlton tele, I’d be really interested in hearing your impressions. I’ve been very intrigued by that guitar for a while now, but don’t think I can justify another purchase.
Well it seems like everything is covered, but I will add anyway.
Firstly, very excited for you, have fun.
Secondly, it seems like you have quite a wide variety of sound from single coil and humbucker. Unless you went with something along the lines of what @Richard_close2u said with that jumbo single, or something like a p90 or filtertron. Unless you want more diverse pickup options than your existing collection, I think you are probably best with the one that looks, feels and sounds most like a traditional tele. You have single coil covered and you have humbuckers covered, you don’t “need” to add those to your arsenal, but you don’t have a tele, so get the MOST tele thing you can get.
That said, I do like HSS combination personally, I don’t have a tele, but I have Pacifica HSS. To me it just feels like the work horse, can do whatever tool. There is always next time too
So my advice, would be play all the stuff that you listed and anything else that peaks your interest when you go, and get the one that feels like “this feels like the tele”.
Some t-style guitars have a belly cut. One reason I prefer one of my affinity tele’s over the classic vibe and the older Affinity is that it has a belly cut. It’s much more comfortable than without (at least for me). It’s just a lot more pleasant to play if it’s comfortable and it’s a bit lighter.
But if you are going to Thomman, you will be able to see which one is most comfortable to play. I’m sure several of the guitars you mentioned will have a belly cut.
I would tend to agree with this. You’ve got a lot of variety in your guitar choices. So you might as well get something that’s substantially different from what you’ve already got.
for my own tastes, I lean towards the fatter, more buttery sounds of humbuckers for blues. some pretty big names in blues and blues-adjacent stuff use various guitars with humbuckers.
But sometimes you’ve gotta round out your options, eh?
fwiw, in the USA we use the German “kindergarden” pretty extensively. I highly doubt there will be much misunderstanding if you feel more comfortable using that. I don’t know much about the specific German usage, but in the US, we use it to refer specifically to the very first level of elementary school.
Hi @markr31 (Mark)
You are right…I also made the mistake used ‘kindergarden’ instead of kindergarten’. That’s the problem with living in Austria, speaking and reading in both English and German with friends etc. before you know it, you end up mixing English and German words together
, nothing over 900€)
)
