Telecaster Recommendations?

kswilson89

I'm looking to purchase a quality telecaster in around the £2000 mark, £3000 max. I've seen many brands online but never had the chance to play any of them... the likes of Fender CS LSL, Hahn, Xotic, Suhr... Please share your experience with any of these brands or other brands which I may not have come across. I'm not interested in building my own or buying used. Also, I'm limited in terms of transport so it would be difficult for me to try all of these brands. Anyway, any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Tenebrous

Is there absolutely no way for you to go to a local retailer & try some things out? I know you said you're limited when it comes to traveling (I'm the same), but £3k is a hell of a lot of money to spend blind.

mgaw

buy this  fantastic Telecaster

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/151809/for-sale-hahn-228-telecaster-1875del-ppg#latest

HandwrittenHero

Honestly, go try some. Even on limited travel - order and use returns. You'll take a bit of a bath on cost of shipping for the convenience. Or spend some time trying used that you can sell on for your money back.

Being brutally honest on Teles...they're a couple of planks of wood and bare basic electronics. Stuff like the neck feel, pickups etc is going to just be that much more of a part of the whole thing. That's just going to be subjective and not something we can give a right/wrong on.

You don't have to try all the brands...people get into some kind of FOMO mindset where they're constantly convinced another model might just be that little bit nicer etc. Just find one you enjoy for whatever reason, stop looking and keep playing.

Zoolooter

It’s such a tricky business if you can’t try many. I recently had an email back from Don Mare the pickup builder, in his words “for every six that’s built, one is a good’n”

So, if you drop 2.5k on a Fender custom shop, danocaster, whitfill or similar, it may not sound any better than an good Mex or well put together partscaster. 

Funkfingers

HandwrittenHero said:

Stuff like the neck feel, pickups etc is ... subjective and not something we can give a right/wrong on.

True but the information could be used to rule some options out.

A customer seeking a shallow neck, with a flattish fingerboard radius and tall frets, built for speed, is probably not going to enjoy a Custom Shop Relic '51 NoCaster. 

Conversely, a Blackguard fiend such as I would balk at the modern feature set. I want a telegraph pole for a neck, tiny fret wire and pickups that sound like Roy Buchanan. 

kswilson89 said:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps, you can help the forum community to help you by providing a few clues about what you expect from a T style guitar. 

Winny_Pooh

I'd try the hahn first

GoldenEraGuitars

Careful about bolt ons. The 1mm gap down the side of the neck joint can really annoy some people  

kswilson89

lonestar said:

Careful about bolt ons. The 1mm gap down the side of the neck joint can really annoy some people  

Ha! You got that right.

Funkfingers said:

kswilson89 said:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps, you can help the forum community to help you by providing a few clues about what you expect from a T style guitar. 

I'm not overly picky but I do like a fat neck and light weight, low output twangy pickups. 7.25" radius with smaller frets is my preference but not essential.

mgaw

kswilson89 said:

lonestar said:

Careful about bolt ons. The 1mm gap down the side of the neck joint can really annoy some people  

Ha! You got that right.

Funkfingers said:

kswilson89 said:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps, you can help the forum community to help you by providing a few clues about what you expect from a T style guitar. 

I'm not overly picky but I do like a fat neck and light weight, low output twangy pickups. 7.25" radius with smaller frets is my preference but not essential.

@kswilson89 you have just described my Hahn

chris78

The only people who make Telecasters are Fender. Sorry to be pedantic!

Seriously, I’ve tried and owned the other brands and they’re great guitars often, but I don’t honestly believe anyone does anything that fender cant do.

If you want a slightly more modern feeling, the postmodern tele does it brilliantly and guitarguitar have one at £2,300 new.

If you’re looking at a classic sounding model though and you don’t want a reliced guitar, get yourself an American Vintage model before they changed to American professional. The 64 was superb. Low output pickups, 7.25 radius, vintage frets. It’s not a fat neck, but it’s beautifully tapered and it’s not thin. The 58 would also be close and has a slightly chunkier neck. I’d be looking at either and if you get lucky, you’ll pay around £1,000. Even as a custom shop junkie, I don’t believe you’ll get a better guitar for the money, unless you want relicing

theflyisback

I’m not being helpful but I’ve played and owned about 50 teles from the cheapest copies to squires to Mexicans to US’s and custom shop ones and I don’t think I’ve ever played a bad one, honestly.

Best one I’ve ever played btw is a MIJ double bound one. Sadly not mine. 


theres something, I think, about them that makes them special and it’s their utility-ness meaning they are straight up no frills solid guitar that can handle a good thrashing and always stay in tune with essentially the bare bones of a simple classic guitar shape, look and style that hasn’t really been bettered for purpose. So on that score I don’t think I’d ever pay more than a grand for one as I feel I’d be missing the point. 


I’d spend that money on a decent Gibson semi though as I think their charm lies in their craftsmanship. 

menamestom

I have liked all the CS tele's I've played, they are all of a standard and if you do ever sell you will probably lose less than some of the other brands.  I've played a few suhr's and they were very nice, a bit slicker feeling than your average vintage type tele, but I do prefer the classic ingredients of the Fender's.

I've never gone down the CS route myself because a decent partscaster with a good setup and nice parts always felt as good with the added bonus if you gig a fair amount it's less to worry about.

HandwrittenHero

Funkfingers said:

HandwrittenHero said:

Stuff like the neck feel, pickups etc is ... subjective and not something we can give a right/wrong on.

True but the information could be used to rule some options out.

I agree, but the information we had was Telecaster. So I kinda knew not to suggest a Strat or a Les Paul. The rest was up for grabs and pretty broad as a category!

kswilson89 said:

lonestar said:

Careful about bolt ons. The 1mm gap down the side of the neck joint can really annoy some people  

Ha! You got that right.

Funkfingers said:

kswilson89 said:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps, you can help the forum community to help you by providing a few clues about what you expect from a T style guitar. 

I'm not overly picky but I do like a fat neck and light weight, low output twangy pickups. 7.25" radius with smaller frets is my preference but not essential.

Now this is getting us somewhere. So fat neck is going to push you more towards the 50s era stuff. I've got a 2012 onwards American Vintage Tele that hits most of those marks, although I'd not call the pure vintage 52 pickups twangy (and that's something I'm considering a change on)...so if you got chance to try one of those it would confirm a lot around feel. I'd say trying out a Baja tele would let you know how you feel about the Broadcaster pickup in the bridge. And the twisted tele in the neck for that matter, you do see that combo on CS stuff from time to time. Either of those are fine for setting down a marker,  could even be a winner but with some compromises.

HandwrittenHero

Funkfingers said:

HandwrittenHero said:

Stuff like the neck feel, pickups etc is ... subjective and not something we can give a right/wrong on.

True but the information could be used to rule some options out.

I agree, but the information we had was Telecaster. So I kinda knew not to suggest a Strat or a Les Paul. The rest was up for grabs and pretty broad as a category!

kswilson89 said:

lonestar said:

Careful about bolt ons. The 1mm gap down the side of the neck joint can really annoy some people  

Ha! You got that right.

Funkfingers said:

kswilson89 said:

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps, you can help the forum community to help you by providing a few clues about what you expect from a T style guitar. 

I'm not overly picky but I do like a fat neck and light weight, low output twangy pickups. 7.25" radius with smaller frets is my preference but not essential.

Now this is getting us somewhere. So fat neck is going to push you more towards the 50s era stuff. I've got a 2012 onwards American Vintage Tele that hits most of those marks, although I'd not call the pure vintage 52 pickups twangy (and that's something I'm considering a change on)...so if you got chance to try one of those it would confirm a lot around feel. I'd say trying out a Baja tele would let you know how you feel about the Broadcaster pickup in the bridge. And the twisted tele in the neck for that matter, you do see that combo on CS stuff from time to time. Either of those are fine for setting down a marker,  could even be a winner but with some compromises.

bermudianbrit

something a bit left field...Ruokangas Mojo Classic. I have one, and its awesome.

steer

Location: Liverpool

Plenty of good music shops on your doorstep.

crunchman

chris78 said:

The only people who make Telecasters are Fender. Sorry to be pedantic!

Seriously, I’ve tried and owned the other brands and they’re great guitars often, but I don’t honestly believe anyone does anything that fender cant do.

If you want a slightly more modern feeling, the postmodern tele does it brilliantly and guitarguitar have one at £2,300 new.

If you’re looking at a classic sounding model though and you don’t want a reliced guitar, get yourself an American Vintage model before they changed to American professional. The 64 was superb. Low output pickups, 7.25 radius, vintage frets. It’s not a fat neck, but it’s beautifully tapered and it’s not thin. The 58 would also be close and has a slightly chunkier neck. I’d be looking at either and if you get lucky, you’ll pay around £1,000. Even as a custom shop junkie, I don’t believe you’ll get a better guitar for the money, unless you want relicing

The American Vintage was replaced by the American Original.

The American Professional is a more "modern" spec.  It may have replaced the American Standard, although I haven't quite got my head around all of Fender's renamed ranges yet.

theflyisback

steer said:

Location: Liverpool

Plenty of good music shops on your doorstep.

Sound affects premier in Ormskirk is superb. Got some great high end teles there. Staff are exceptionally helpful too and know their stuff. 

BeardyAndy

I'd be inclined to re think your not wanting second hand option, you can get a custom shop pre owned for that money or a nice vintage that'll appreciate in value.

Zoolooter

Your welcome to try my two partscaster teles. Both light weight, Musikraft chuncky 9.5 soft V necks. One is a blackguard, the other more 60’s inspired with rosewood fretboard. They probably cost about £800 each that’s with them being put together by KGB in Liverpool. PM me if interested