Guitars you never thought you would love

robgilmo

Tele for me, back in the days of long hair and man perms strats were the cool guitar to have, but really it was the tele that was under the radar cool. 
I always thought gold tops were pretty naff too, but they arnt, they are uber cool.

Explorers and Firebirds, wouldnt have been seen dead playing one 30 years ago, I wonder if its an age thing?

Funkfingers

Deadman said:

I’d imagine a light one is a lovely thing.

The recovered redwood bodied models are lovely unless or until you look at 'em the wrong way. Redwood marks extremely easily. 

The two-point vibrato that Fender put on the redwood Stratocasters has a tendency for its pivot posts and threaded inserts to, first, lean towards the nut, then, eventually, tear themselves out.

gordiji

Tele. I always as a kid thought them ugly without considering their sound. Used to see status quo and think wtf with that nasty little headstock when the big 70's strat headstock was my idea of cool.

Now i associate them with their sound and don't care how ugly they are. I think what started the ball rolling was seeing live footage of Albert Collins and hearing that sound. 

ICBM

Devil#20 said:

Those of us that know, know that the Telecaster is, like the ring to rule all others, the guitar to rule all other guitars. It's basic yes, but it is the most fantastic guitar and very unforgiving no hiding place. If you can play a Tele it is a right of passage and you're time served.

Nope. The Tele is the most forgiving and easiest to play electric guitar there is. Why do you think so many indie bands use them? They stay in tune well, have a bright but complex sound which rewards simple chords, and a natural dynamic response so you can just bash out any old basic part clean or dirty, and it sounds great.

Philly_Q

gordiji said:

Tele. I always as a kid thought them ugly without considering their sound. Used to see status quo and think wtf with that nasty little headstock when the big 70's strat headstock was my idea of cool.

Now i associate them with their sound and don't care how ugly they are. I think what started the ball rolling was seeing live footage of Albert Collins and hearing that sound. 

You can always get a Telecaster Deluxe and have the Tele plus the big '70s headstock.

Actually that's a guitar I never thought I'd love... I've still never owned one, but I think those '70s Teles (and Strats) are the coolest, despite the dodgy quality during that decade.

robgilmo

ICBM said:

Devil#20 said:

Those of us that know, know that the Telecaster is, like the ring to rule all others, the guitar to rule all other guitars. It's basic yes, but it is the most fantastic guitar and very unforgiving no hiding place. If you can play a Tele it is a right of passage and you're time served.

Nope. The Tele is the most forgiving and easiest to play electric guitar there is. Why do you think so many indie bands use them? They stay in tune well, have a bright but complex sound which rewards simple chords, and a natural dynamic response so you can just bash out any old basic part clean or dirty, and it sounds great.

Ive always experienced this, Fenders have to be played, Gibsons play themselves. Ive always had to work harder with Fenders, which in some aspects I think is a better position to be in, ive found my tele to be more unforgiving than my LP. I also find it more enjoyable to play than my LP for that very reason.

Yorkie

I never thought I would like or have a PRS, but here I am with two. They play great and feel great. 

ICBM

robgilmo said:

Ive always experienced this, Fenders have to be played, Gibsons play themselves. Ive always had to work harder with Fenders, which in some aspects I think is a better position to be in, ive found my tele to be more unforgiving than my LP.

I’ve never found that, and I’ve owned several of both. For me the Tele is the easiest electric guitar to play - you don’t even have to try to make it sound good, it just does. I don’t use one any more because I prefer a trem, the switch is in the wrong place and I find the body a bit too big and lumpy, but I could pick up one and play anything I’ve ever played on it and know it would be OK. I’ve never understood this ‘unforgiving’ thing at all… they just aren’t. If you want to see what unforgiving is, try a proper jazz archtop .

robgilmo

ICBM said:

robgilmo said:

Ive always experienced this, Fenders have to be played, Gibsons play themselves. Ive always had to work harder with Fenders, which in some aspects I think is a better position to be in, ive found my tele to be more unforgiving than my LP.

I’ve never found that, and I’ve owned several of both. For me the Tele is the easiest electric guitar to play - you don’t even have to try to make it sound good, it just does. I don’t use one any more because I prefer a trem, the switch is in the wrong place and I find the body a bit too big and lumpy, but I could pick up one and play anything I’ve ever played on it and know it would be OK. I’ve never understood this ‘unforgiving’ thing at all… they just aren’t. If you want to see what unforgiving is, try a proper jazz archtop .

I was refering to playability rather than sound, teles sound great no matter what you do with them, mine is a 50's Baja so has a neck like a scaffold plank, but I love that about it, my LP is a 56 but the neck is thinner than the Tele , not by much though, its got a lower action and just feels easier to play. Of course it could be a scale thing or it could be a set up issue, it could just be that the LP is more refined and the Tele feels like it was cut from an old tree with a blunt axe and shaped with a kitchen knife.

gordiji

Philly_Q said:

You can always get a Telecaster Deluxe and have the Tele plus the big '70s headstock.

Actually that's a guitar I never thought I'd love... I've still never owned one, but I think those '70s Teles (and Strats) are the coolest, despite the dodgy quality during that decade.

I would have liked a big headstock but all other normal tele spec, oh and a tummy tuck/chamfer whatever they're called ! In fact for practical reasons i could be tempted to saw off the lower 'horn' but that would really take the biscuit for ugliness, possibly more ugly than the gretsch billy bo and i didn't think that would be possible !

Philly_Q

gordiji said:

Philly_Q said:

You can always get a Telecaster Deluxe and have the Tele plus the big '70s headstock.

Actually that's a guitar I never thought I'd love... I've still never owned one, but I think those '70s Teles (and Strats) are the coolest, despite the dodgy quality during that decade.

I would have liked a big headstock but all other normal tele spec, oh and a tummy tuck/chamfer whatever they're called ! In fact for practical reasons i could be tempted to saw off the lower 'horn' but that would really take the biscuit for ugliness, possibly more ugly than the gretsch billy bo and i didn't think that would be possible !

You're getting into John Mayall territory there.

kentuckyklira

I have begun to love 60s Höfner solid bodies. 30 years ago I would have laughed at somebody on stage with one of those.