Tele or not Tele

LuttiS

Anderson's blindfold video on Tele's.



The comments he made about the squier classic vibe telecaster reflected much of what's been said on here before.

"Sounds and feels like a high end Tele"

Got one of the highest scores, better than the MiM Tele, came 3rd in a bunch of expensive guitars. 

Just thought quite an interesting video

Funkfingers

Ooh. Another blindfold shoot-out.

Playability at all price points is way better than it was thirty years ago. Some of the fine detail stuff depends upon what you think a T style guitar ought to sound and feel like. Plenty of fun to be had for not much money.

humbucko

As enjoyable as these videos are... I've noticed a few suspicious patterns in them

1. The cheap Squiers are often scored higher than the Mexican range
2. The Chapmans are always scored high, but not the highest
3. The ESP/Ibanez/etc. are often scored lower than the Chapmans

robgilmo

A shop that sells guitars, a video , a mug. classic.

skunkwerx

humbucko said:

As enjoyable as these videos are... I've noticed a few suspicious patterns in them

1. The cheap Squiers are often scored higher than the Mexican range
2. The Chapmans are always scored high, but not the highest
3. The ESP/Ibanez/etc. are often scored lower than the Chapmans

The cynic in me: 

They want to shift what they can sell easily. Squires are affordable but decent and theres a huge market for them. 

Any business owner, creator, investor, manager would plug their own brand. They have to if they want to stay in business. 
Investors, lendors, employees are all watching and they count on it. 


Esp, Ibby, Schecter are direct competitors in the low to midrange field, and compared to fenders and gibsons, arent en masse in stores these days. Maybe they figure people who would buy those guitars will more than likely do so online to get the model they want. 
Makes sense to err people over to chapman, who can be bought online too. 

Gibson n fender, strat n les paul, they are big players and they know they can’t compete with those guys, and to try turning Gibson n Fenders loyal buyers over to Chapman would be folly. 

I read in Forbes that Rob would be paid by Lee/andertons to do Andertons videos. A grand a go or something. 
So Lee being a businessman would need to ensure he gets something for his money, which is Rob plugging what Lee needs to sell. 



That could be just my cynicism looking at it from a cold business perspective!
Even in that Tele video they make a joke about rating their own product highly and being flamed for it, and also about the videos being scripted or something similar.

Who knows, maybe none of thats true and they are just a couple dudes giving honest opinions, which I think they do do, I doubt they will say something shite is good and vice versa. 

+ they always do make a point to say its just their opinion, for example the fret size or something isnt to their own taste and it doesnt mean to say its a bad product. Maybe they just arent Esp/Ibanez guys. 

Though Rob used to play Esps back in the day.. 

Thats just a little devils advocate. 
Tbh I try not to give a shit anymore. 

Ignorance is bliss, if you dont look, you wont find, take it at face value n all that jazz. 

I just watch the vids for entertainment. 
Like its top gear. 
If I’m looking at buying a guitar they’ve show, I’ll look around for other peoples reviews too before committing. 

thegummy

skunkwerx said:

humbucko said:

As enjoyable as these videos are... I've noticed a few suspicious patterns in them

1. The cheap Squiers are often scored higher than the Mexican range
2. The Chapmans are always scored high, but not the highest
3. The ESP/Ibanez/etc. are often scored lower than the Chapmans

The cynic in me: 

They want to shift what they can sell easily. Squires are affordable but decent and theres a huge market for them. 

Any business owner, creator, investor, manager would plug their own brand. They have to if they want to stay in business. 
Investors, lendors, employees are all watching and they count on it. 


Esp, Ibby, Schecter are direct competitors in the low to midrange field, and compared to fenders and gibsons, arent en masse in stores these days. Maybe they figure people who would buy those guitars will more than likely do so online to get the model they want. 
Makes sense to err people over to chapman, who can be bought online too. 

Gibson n fender, strat n les paul, they are big players and they know they can’t compete with those guys, and to try turning Gibson n Fenders loyal buyers over to Chapman would be folly. 

I read in Forbes that Rob would be paid by Lee/andertons to do Andertons videos. A grand a go or something. 
So Lee being a businessman would need to ensure he gets something for his money, which is Rob plugging what Lee needs to sell. 



That could be just my cynicism looking at it from a cold business perspective!
Even in that Tele video they make a joke about rating their own product highly and being flamed for it, and also about the videos being scripted or something similar.

Who knows, maybe none of thats true and they are just a couple dudes giving honest opinions, which I think they do do, I doubt they will say something shite is good and vice versa. 

+ they always do make a point to say its just their opinion, for example the fret size or something isnt to their own taste and it doesnt mean to say its a bad product. Maybe they just arent Esp/Ibanez guys. 

Though Rob used to play Esps back in the day.. 

Thats just a little devils advocate. 
Tbh I try not to give a shit anymore. 

Ignorance is bliss, if you dont look, you wont find, take it at face value n all that jazz. 

I just watch the vids for entertainment. 
Like its top gear. 
If I’m looking at buying a guitar they’ve show, I’ll look around for other peoples reviews too before committing. 

I think you're right to be cynical.

These kind of videos can be a bit of fun if the viewer knows to only take it as such.

But I think at least part of the reason they put them out is that they know some people will see it as some kind of objective pseudo-scientific test and let it influence their purchasing.

It's an effective technique to make people buy something if you convince them they're somehow cheating the system and getting a great bargain; e.g. going for a Squier over a low end Fender and getting "a better guitar" for less money.

One could get even more cynical and see their openness about it and their reassurance that it's just personal opinions etc. as another ploy to win peoples' trust since these days a lot of marketing is done by trying to make it look like it's your peers recommending something rather than a company claiming it's good.

jonnyburgo

To be fair though, the captain has played some things in videos and more or less called them a load of shit, Danelectro's iirc.

Snags

I've always thought they were pretty straight up in the videos. Partly because I don't believe either of them are good enough actors, but mostly because it doesn't really matter. The videos promote the 'community' idea that will have people go to Andertons instead of GAK, PMT, Dawson's etc. - I doubt they directly sell many guitars (maybe pedals, though).

The gags about scripting and getting hate for rating the Chapman are because of the cynical stuff they get in the comments; they're just pre-empting and playing with it.

 As for the ranking order in this one, to me it felt like it followed the impression I get from threads on here - Classic Vibes and MIM are great value etc. Obviously you discount the Chapman score because he's going to know that one and rank it high regardless, either because he believes in his own product, or because you don't say your own thing is crap.

If these videos do anything then for me it's no more than encourage me to actually try cheaper stuff just in case, rather then assuming I need to spend more than I can justify to get something worth while.

skunkwerx

Aye I agree with everything. Think its all pretty much honest stuff. 

To add, I recently bought a Squier affinity tele.. £169.. its my first tele, and my first Squier, so I can’t conpare it to what a ‘tele’ should feel or sound like. 

But what I can say is that its bloody good for a budget guitar. 
Its interesting what Rob said about the cheapest tele in that line up, that it ‘feels affordable and he can feel the frets’. 

I would agree that the affinity does feel cheaper than my other guitars just over twice its value, but not in huge ways. 
I guess its more the neck feel/carve. 
But again I’ve never played a decent tele so maybe all tele’s are a little unrefined? 

The frets deffo didnt have any sharp ends on mine, which really impressed me considering a lot of other guitars in the price range did. But they can be felt slightly. More like they could just use some more filing/profiling/shaping to make them flusher to the neck. 

I’d be really interested to play a classic vibe version now. But of all those in the video line up, that Ron Wood Esp would be my bag! 

mr-mac

I loves the sound of the G&L tribute classic asat.  Defo my fave sound of the bunch

Phil_aka_Pip

There's only one answer to the question of this Tele or that Tele ...

SG!.

darthed1981

I think the CV Tele outscoring a Mexi is totally legitimate, if for no other reason than I auditioned both when I purchased my CV Tele and found it superior.

My opinion was the bridge pickup on the Mexi was a bit nicer on the Orange CR amp I was using (which was also great) but the CV looked better, had a nicer neck, a better neck pickup and just felt nicer to me.

That said, the Mexi was lovely, and I likely would have been very happy with it.  I might still buy one, I do love a Tele, but my CV does do everything I want a tele to do.

LuttiS

Obviously they have an agenda with the videos, but i tend to think that they are pretty honest. Think i read somewhere that RC would only review stuff that he likes, so that would be why no bad reviews.. Or something along those lines. 

As for rating Chapmans highly.. they are made to his spec 'for him' so to him they are always going to be good.

Fretwired

skunkwerx said:

I read in Forbes that Rob would be paid by Lee/andertons to do Andertons videos. A grand a go or something. 
So Lee being a businessman would need to ensure he gets something for his money, which is Rob plugging what Lee needs to sell. 

Shock, horror .. guitar shop only shows guitars they have in stock ready to sell.

I think the videos are fairly straight. The Squire Classic Vibe range are very good guitars .. just watch some of the 'sound like' vids where Rabea uses them and read other independent reviews in mags like Guitarist. What it shows is you can get a decent Tele for not a lot of money be it a Squire an MIM Fender or the G&L.

midlifecrisis

i think their videos are quite honest simply because they dont really care which one you buy. each customer has their own view, expectations and budget and generally wont buy a high end fender if they are looking at affinity squiers and vice versa,. I think the videos as well as being a bit of fun by two guys who genuinely love their work, are more aimed at brand loyalty towards andertons, ie doesnt matter what you buy but buy it from us. Good luck to them, i think they do a great job.

Funkfingers

jonnyburgo said:

Captain has played some things in videos and more or less called them a load of shit

Objection, m'lud.

I put it to the jury that some of this forum's favourite guitars and basses ARE a load of shit. This does not prevent them from being useful in some musical contexts. Occasionally, they just make for interesting photographs in HarrySeven NGD threads.

In my opinion, many of the Anderton's videos are aimed at potential buyers who cannot quite decide how to splurge their money. These customers have one shot at the purchase. They want to get it right. They seek a better instrument than their current one. They also wish that their friends will consider the new one to be cool. (Ah, the follies of youth.)

Today's YouTube-tutored generation wants to emulate what their favourite on-line tutor(s) can play. If the on-line tutor recommends Brand X, many of the followers will dutifully buy Brand X. Woe betide them if the on-line tutor should switch brand endorsement allegiances.

LuttiS said:

As for rating Chapmans highly.. they are made to his spec 'for him' so to him they are always going to be good.

Yes and no.

Notice how, whilst trying the ML-3, Mr. C admits that the majority of the *own brand* that he plays at home are prototypes. Presumably, the Jaden Rose items. Bit of a quality difference there, I suspect. 

Snags said:

If these videos do anything then for me it's no more than encourage me to actually try cheaper stuff just in case, rather then assuming I need to spend more than I can justify to get something worth while.

I like your positive/constructive attitude, sir. 

Often, the difference between a budget guitar and a mid-price guitar and a fully professional guitar is the materials, some of the hardware and, most importantly, the attentions of an experienced setter-upper. Thus, it is often possible to improve a fundamentally decent cheap guitar via well-chosen upgrades and lavishing attention on the nut slots and fret ends.

In the event of being spontaneously invited to sit-in with a band, using any one of the shootout guitars, most of us could manage to bang out a short set of songs. They are all good enough.

Deciding which one(s) we would spend our own money on depends on whether we require a nice guitar that happens to resemble the Fender Telecaster or we wish to recreate the detailed sound, feel and vibe of a specific historical era. 

jonnyburgo

I agree, and have owned and loved various Dano's i was just pointing out that he can be impartial, even when its stuff he's selling.

pintspiller

On initial play, a MIM doesn't always sound/play better than a Squier

Funkfingers

The Fender MIM Standard Telecaster is trying to please as many customers as possible. Some of the distinguishing features of what I consider a "proper" Telecaster have been smoothed out to widen its appeal. As soon as the instrument feature set zooms in on trying to be 1952 or 1958 or 1965, it restricts its appeal. 

If "spanky/twang" is the defining feature, the Squier CV, Fender Am Pro and the Custom Shop are the ones to get.