ISO: Advice on Strat/Tele

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

That being said, if someone absolutely *had* to have a Fender (MIM, MIJ, MII, MIK, MIA, it really doesn't matter), I would advise them to play every one the store had and be willing to go home empty-handed if they don't find one that's just right for them. Or, I would advise them to look at buying used from a store or player who really put the effort into making the guitar "just right."

Sorry, you're way off. I've mentioned before but I can again Meyer, Hendrix, Gilmore, Harrison, Vaughn, Vaughn, Calhoun, Samborra,... They don't play Fender because of the headstock but because they're the best. If they can play ANYTHING they want and yet they stick with Fender. I don't play Strats for the headstock (but it's way cool). They all play them because nothing sounds like a Strat and everything else is a copy. There's nothing wrong with that and the dozen or so other top electric guitar companies make a great product. Just not a Strat. Me thinks your sour grapes make a bitter whine.

But knocking Fender like that is not factual. You're right though I did have to do some custom work to my '99 Deluxe.... I put on a different pickguard. And now it's perfect.

[DenverSteve]

sorry duplicate.

[sterling]

Well I have a 1988 Fender Tele made in the USA. It's Great guitar. I did some things to it after a few years though. Added a humucker in the neck and a push pull pot to split that pick up. I also added some abalone innlaid knobs. Stock it was great though. I recently played beautiful players classic. That was awesome.

I think the G&L Tribute series are an excellent value too. I have been playing the s-500 for a year and it continues to impress me.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

Sorry, but I know enough full-time guitar techs, and I've played long enough to stand by my statements. See for yourself. Take off the headstock blinders and do a real side-by-side comparison the next time you're at GC. Compare any Fender to Schecters, Deans, and so forth in the same price range.

That being said, if someone absolutely *had* to have a Fender (MIM, MIJ, MII, MIK, MIA, it really doesn't matter), I would advise them to play every one the store had and be willing to go home empty-handed if they don't find one that's just right for them. Or, I would advise them to look at buying used from a store or player who really put the effort into making the guitar "just right."

Mine (Highway One Tele) didn't come from Guitar Center and say that it plays and sounds superb. It's not pretty and polished like my PRS, but it's a good instrument and if you want Telecaster tone the sum-total of what it is can't get much more Telecaster. It needed same micro adjustments as did my PRS but I'll concede that the Tele bridge took longer for me to work with than my Strat or PRS. In all fairness there were Fenders I didn't like as much and other brands I liked too.

[HereIGoAgain]

Originally Posted by PastorSteve

Sorry, you're way off. I've mentioned before but I can again Meyer, Hendrix, Gilmore, Harrison, Vaughn, Vaughn, Calhoun, Samborra,... They don't play Fender because of the headstock but because they're the best. If they can play ANYTHING they want and yet they stick with Fender. I don't play Strats for the headstock (but it's way cool). They all play them because nothing sounds like a Strat and everything else is a copy. There's nothing wrong with that and the dozen or so other top electric guitar companies make a great product. Just not a Strat. Me thinks your sour grapes make a bitter whine.

But knocking Fender like that is not factual. You're right though I did have to do some custom work to my '99 Deluxe.... I put on a different pickguard. And now it's perfect.

You're defending Fender with almost a religious zeal. I could cite statements from pro guitar techs, the Dan Erlewine book (which, by the way, details 10 things that need to be done to a Strat before it should even be put on a sales rack), statements from store owners who refuse to handle Fender because of these issues, and so forth, including articles that say Rene Martinez set up SRV's guitars before *every* show, but I think I've reached the end of logical debate here. Your mind is made up, and mine is not jaded by legend or myth. There's not much point in continuing.

Yes, there are some good Fenders out there..... Once you comb through the "ifs," "buts," and upgrades. However, the original poster did specify he did not want a Fender. I, and many others here, pointed him in a few directions. I don't know about the other guys here, but I do stand by my recommendations to the original poster.

[zombywoof]

Cannot really speak to Strats but I have played Teles for some 40 years. My string through body '58 remains my #1.

Hands down the best Tele style guitar I have run across in years is a Linhof Special. Built and finished by J. Black with custom wound pickups by Lindy Fralin (it has a reverse slant bridge pickup and split single coil neck pup). Incredible playability and tone but they are pretty pricey.

In my opinion, the best Fender Tele out there is the Nocaster (my preference is for the '95 to '99 models).
Second choice would be the 52RI. A good basic Tele at a pretty good price.

You might take a look at guys like Rice Custom Guitars and Kirn Signature Guitars. Alot of guitar for not alot of bucks. These will run you far less that a Fender CS model. These guys hand select the wood and do a finish job that puts most Fenders to shame. You also get the advantage of getting any neck profile, board radius and pickups you want.

GOOD LUCK

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

You're defending Fender with almost a religious zeal.

Religious zeal...Oh I get it..

[LPPlayer]

Actually if you "sift" through the suggestions there are a few good ones in this thread. The best one is to try a bunch of guitars and find the one that sounds and plays the best to you. Personally - I find a Tele to be a lot more fun and versatile to play than a strat - and I do have both. As a matter of fact I have had several of each. Loved my '89 Eric Clapton signature strat - by far one of the best playing guitars right out of the shipping box and my "gotta have one" James Burton black and gold paisley Tele was a joke.

As far as the major "endorsement" players only playing Fenders - don't be swayed by that opinion. There are a lot of great small builders making incredibly nice "T" and "S" guitars - De Temple makes one of the best. Grosh / Anderson / Suhr make excellent guitars (years ago Anderson won the Guitar Player Magazine Tele shootout). I recently had a chance to play a Tyler "T" style guitar that had the best neck I have ever played - it was fabulous - belonged to the guitar store owner (his own personal guitar - not for sale).

What you pay for from a small specialty builder is generally component selection, woods/electronics, and final assembly and set-up. It is not accurate to say that none of them will sound like a "real" Fender. Generally they are significantly more expensive for a reason. I was able to order my Andersons with exactly which woods, finish, color, electronics, setup and speak directly to them during the process (9 month wait) - even with my preference for "T" style (learned to play on a real 1952 tele) - my current Strat style Anderson came out unbelievably nice. I actually prefer it to its sister Tele that arrived at my house the same day.

oh yes - it does do the "Fender" thing...........

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by LPPlayer

Actually if you "sift" through the suggestions there are a few good ones in this thread. The best one is to try a bunch of guitars and find the one that sounds and plays the best to you. Personally - I find a Tele to be a lot more fun and versatile to play than a strat - and I do have both. As a matter of fact I have had several of each. Loved my '89 Eric Clapton signature strat - by far one of the best playing guitars right out of the shipping box and my "gotta have one" James Burton black and gold paisley Tele was a joke.

As far as the major "endorsement" players only playing Fenders - don't be swayed by that opinion. There are a lot of great small builders making incredibly nice "T" and "S" guitars - De Temple makes one of the best. Grosh / Anderson / Suhr make excellent guitars (years ago Anderson won the Guitar Player Magazine Tele shootout). I recently had a chance to play a Tyler "T" style guitar that had the best neck I have ever played - it was fabulous - belonged to the guitar store owner (his own personal guitar - not for sale).

What you pay for from a small specialty builder is generally component selection, woods/electronics, and final assembly and set-up. It is not accurate to say that none of them will sound like a "real" Fender. Generally they are significantly more expensive for a reason. I was able to order my Andersons with exactly which woods, finish, color, electronics, setup and speak directly to them during the process (9 month wait) - even with my preference for "T" style (learned to play on a real 1952 tele) - my current Strat style Anderson came out unbelievably nice. I actually prefer it to its sister Tele that arrived at my house the same day.

oh yes - it does do the "Fender" thing...........

I have to agree on the Tele thing. I can't explain why I'd keep my Tele over my PRS if I had to and with the longer scale it can be harder to play, but it's versatile and lovable in a way I can't explain.

I didn't get budget in the original post and I suggested the Highway One because while not fancy most I've touched whether Strat or Tele were of quality and the sort of quality that's easy to setup if (like any guitar) setup is needed.

Guitars can be very pretty things in terms of finish and attention to detail so if that's as important it seems like smaller builders can get that at a lower cost.

The OP needs to consider amp in the budget too!

[romo]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

Sorry, but I know enough full-time guitar techs, and I've played long enough to stand by my statements. See for yourself. Take off the headstock blinders and do a real side-by-side comparison the next time you're at GC. Compare any Fender to Schecters, Deans, and so forth in the same price range.

Seems like you've got the headstock blinder on my friend. I'm not saying Schecter, Dean, G&L, Suhr, etc don't make good instruments that are in some cases better than Fender but I am saying that this statement:

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

Unless you go Custom Shop, anything with Fender logo will need some serious help right out of the box.

is wrong. I could cite just as many techs, recording artists, amateurs, guitar instructors, books, dealers, etc that think Fenders are great instruments as you can that think they are junk. I haven't formed my opinions on what the headstock says, by what I have read in books, or by what other people have told me. Instead I played the guitars and decided whether I liked them or not. Now I don't know what you mean by "serious help" but I have never bought any guitar whether it was Fender, Gibson, PRS, Taylor, Epiphone, (insert random strat copy), etc that I didn't take home and tweak the setup until it was the way I wanted it. The chances that any guitar at any shop will be hanging on the wall perfectly set up for any customer who comes in are slim to none. If a guitar is not set up exactly the way you like it you can't jump to the conclusion that it is of poor build quality.