Telecasters?

[Old Gold]

I'm really interested in getting a telecaster...

However, I've already got a Mex Fender Strat, so I'd be content with a budget knock off to update as the money comes along (pickups, better bridge etc). Also, I don't suppose there's such a thing as a thinline telecaster copy on the market? That would be spiffing, what.

Any recommendations?

[Guest DustyDeviada]

I had a telecaster, but I sold it after I got my strat. No doubt others will disagree, but I found that the neck and bridge sounds were pretty similar on both guitars, but the tele of course couldn't do the strat's "in between" tones. The only tone I couldn't get on the strat was the middle position on the tele, which I never used anyway.

So I sold it, but no doubt I will buy another at some point, either a 52 reissue or one of the ones with bigsby trems, very cool.

As for your needs, how about these, both here:

http://www.petercooks.co.uk/clearance.php

Squier, £195

Fender £383

[Guest DustyDeviada]

Or how about this, £179:

http://www.coda-music.com/squier.html

[Old Gold]

Really? I tried out a standard tele in R n B a month or two back, and found the sound I got out of it was noticeabley more twangy than the smoother strat sounds. I'd also like a back up guitar to my strat now that it looks like I'll be gigging quite frequently.

Those suggestions look pretty cool, except I would prefer the single coil/ash tray bridge set up of the standard. Whats the deal with squiers? Decent?

Edit: might be worth pointing out that my humbucker sounds are covered by a LP Standard, so I'm happy in that department.

[Guest DustyDeviada]

Really? I tried out a standard tele in R n B a month or two back' date=' and found the sound I got out of it was noticeabley more twangy than the smoother strat sounds. I'd also like a back up guitar to my strat now that it looks like I'll be gigging quite frequently.

Those suggestions look pretty cool, except I would prefer the single coil/ash tray bridge set up of the standard. Whats the deal with squiers? Decent?[/quote']

My strat has texas special pickups and a light swamp ash body, so it's pretty twangy by strat standards.

I think Squiers are as good a "copy" as you can get for the price, though if you can afford a wee bit more then might be worth getting a mexican so you've got "the real thing". Peter Cooks are doing Mexicans for 279 which is a great price for a genuine Fender Telecaster IMO.

[Guest DustyDeviada]

Oh and it was the mention of the Thinline that made me think you wanted humbuckers.

[Old Gold]

Hah, yeah... sorry about that. I should have been more specific. Finding a knockoff of the 69 style thinline may be slighty impossible.

But thanks for the advice Dusty. You are a bit of a guru.

Looks like I'm gonna be selling the ol' aria pro II...

[Guest lime ruined my life]

I had a fender telecaster squire and the only thing that resembled a genuine telecaster was the shape. The parts and craftmanship were well below par. It's good for some things, but not if you want it to sound like a tele, even upgrading the pickups did little to revive the squires sound.

I'd really reccomend avoiding anything with the squire logo on, unless you intend on abusing it physically and tonally, in which case they are perfect.

i've been looking at the made in korea fender lite ash teles recently, they look like good value for money. Look out for semi-hollow g&l ASAT classics on ebay, the tribute models are supposed to be good, you can get them new for around 400 if you're lucky.

[Old Gold]

Yeaah, I played a japanese telecaster in January and was mightily impressed by it. Not sure how to go about finding one though... mexicans seem far more readily available.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/G-L-Tribute-ASAT-Classic-by-Leo-Fender-Tele-Telecaster_W0QQitemZ200004802761QQihZ010QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

not semi-hollow, but still a good price.

i beleive one of the guitarists from death cab for cutie uses the usa version, although his has the pickups replaced.

[Old Gold]

Wow, that is a pretty wee thing.

Shame I can't actually buy it right now. Payday and the sale of my current backup should put an end to that though.

Thanks for the advice... I didn't even think about G&L.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Yeaah' date=' I played a japanese telecaster in January and was mightily impressed by it. Not sure how to go about finding one though... mexicans seem far more readily available.[/quote']

i think quite a few of the reissues are MIJ, not that un-common.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Telecaster-Fender-Japan-MIJ-guitar_W0QQitemZ220005317406QQihZ012QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

edit: sorry, i had my search for ended listings

[Old Gold]

Yeaah, another beauty... but at that price, I could pretty much get a brand new mex one.

Are japanese at all superior to mex?

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Wow' date=' that is a pretty wee thing.

Shame I can't actually buy it right now. Payday and the sale of my current backup should put an end to that though.

Thanks for the advice... I didn't even think about G&L.[/quote']

G&L are one of the companies i like to keep a secret, they are a mile ahead of fender as far as bang for buck is concerned, you can basically get a thousand pound guitar for less than 500 if you do it right. The tribute model is made in korea, but are supposed to be every bit as good as a USA model. I played a tribute in soundcontrol in edinburgh, and it compared quite favourably to a USA model a friend of mine has.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Yeaah' date=' another beauty... but at that price, I could pretty much get a brand new mex one.

Are japanese at all superior to mex?[/quote']

really? i thought new mexican teles were going for around £400-500, and mexican thinlines were more like 500-600?

i dont really know how the mij and mim relate. I think they are pretty similar. I think basically the cheaper models used to be made in japan, but more recently production has shifted towards mexico. i could be wrong though.

[Old Gold]

G&L are one of the companies i like to keep a secret' date=' they are a mile ahead of fender as far as bang for buck is concerned, you can basically get a thousand pound guitar for less than 500 if you do it right. The tribute model is made in korea, but are supposed to be every bit as good as a USA model. I played a tribute in soundcontrol in edinburgh, and it compared quite favourably to a USA model a friend of mine has.[/quote']

Yeaah, that website that Dusty posted above has some really cheap ones.

I read about G&L a while ago when I was looking for a strat, but went mexican when the old man had a business trip to Houston, where they 200 quid a pop brand new thanks to the exchange rates.

[Guest lime ruined my life]

Yeaah' date=' that website that Dusty posted above has some really cheap ones.

I read about G&L a while ago when I was looking for a strat, but went mexican when the old man had a business trip to Houston, where they 200 quid a pop brand new thanks to the exchange rates.[/quote']

awesome!

as far as the mij and mim thing is concenred, it looks like the japanese ones just arn't exported as much anymore, all those japs buy them up!

"The older and American-built Strats are by far the most favoured, but pre-1988 Japanese Fenders are now highly regarded as well. Fenders built in Ensenada, Mexico took over for the early Japanese guitars as the less expensive counterparts to the American models, while more recent Japanese Fenders are now mainly for the Japanese market, as counterparts to the American-made Fenders, and with only a small number marked for export."

[Old Gold]

Yeaaah, that makes sense... the guy who owned the japanese tele I tried got his in Hong Kong.

I'll get this other axe sold, then start scouring the market methinks.

[Jeid]

I'm gonna tip the scales here.

I actually think some Squiers ARE worth the money.

The new Squier Standard Telecasters(not the cheap affinity ones) have a string through poplar body(i'm sure it's poplar), which has similar tonal attributes to Alder(as used in Std Mex bodies). They also have very similar bridges to the Mex made models.

The electrics are probably guff though, but if you were to upgrade the pickups, then upgrading all of that shit would be wise. No harm in it anyway.

One of my friends has a Squier Tele and it's not a bad guitar for what it is.

Also, if you really want, you could pick up and old Japanese or Korean Squier Tele. They are held in high esteem by a lot of players.

[Old Gold]

If those squiers are as good as you say they are, that'd be a perfect choice. I'm pretty sure I could afford the fender, but to tell the truth... I don't especially need one if I'm just going to haul the electronics out in a bid to make it sound a good bit jaggier than my strat.

I'll make a point of trying one out. Thanks a lot

[britheguy]

I had a fender telecaster squire and the only thing that resembled a genuine telecaster was the shape. The parts and craftmanship were well below par. It's good for some things' date=' but not if you want it to sound like a tele, even upgrading the pickups did little to revive the squires sound.

I'd really reccomend avoiding anything with the squire logo on, unless you intend on abusing it physically and tonally, in which case they are perfect.[/quote']

What a strange thing to say. I have a MIJ strat. The one with a large Fender logo and the small Squire logo. It sounds good, plays as good as any of the two us strats I've owned, although the MIJ pups sounded a little weaker than the US pups which of course could just be my ears telling me something my heart wanted to hear. Or should that be the other way round!!!?

I also have a MIJ bound body tele. This is better in ever way than the 70's US tele I owned. I'm sure there will be a few sharp intakes of breath about that last comment, but hey, the MIJ was better than the 70's tele...IMO. I also had a 52 RI. This was a different beast altogether. I would recommomend anyone to save the extra money to get a RI over the standard nowadays....the whole feel of them are better.

cheers min!

[Guest DustyDeviada]

Yeaah' date=' that website that Dusty posted above has some really cheap ones.

I read about G&L a while ago when I was looking for a strat, but went mexican when the old man had a business trip to Houston, where they 200 quid a pop brand new thanks to the exchange rates.[/quote']

Got my Gretsch for silly money in Houston, although technically it's smuggling if you don't declare them and pay taxes at customs.

as far as the mij and mim thing is concenred' date=' it looks like the japanese ones just arn't exported as much anymore, all those japs buy them up!

[/quote']

I really, really, really don't want to come over as Mr Politically Correct, but I understand that the Japanese don't like being called "japs" anymore.

I believe however that it is still acceptable to use the term "jap's eye" when referring to your knob.

[Guest DustyDeviada]

I also have a MIJ bound body tele. This is better in ever way than the 70's US tele I owned. I'm sure there will be a few sharp intakes of breath about that last comment' date=' but hey, the MIJ was better than the 70's tele...IMO. I also had a 52 RI. This was a different beast altogether. I would recommomend anyone to save the extra money to get a RI over the standard nowadays....the whole feel of them are better.

[/quote']

Wouldn't surprise me, the general consensus on 70s Fenders is that they are not much cop... except, somewhat inevitably from people who own 70s Fenders. And yes, if I was buying another tele I would buy a 52 re-issue, for the nitro finish if nothing else. My tele was an 88 US Standard, a great guitar. I sold it to Callum out of The Void/Jinx on the provisio that if he ever sold it, he would give me first shout on it.

[Jeid]

Oh, I should've also said, I own a Mex Tele(I've totally renovated my one though) and in comparison to the Std Squier Tele's, they feel very alike

[Jeid]

Wouldn't surprise me' date=' the general consensus on 70s Fenders is that they are not much cop... except, somewhat inevitably from people who own 70s Fenders. And yes, if I was buying another tele I would buy a 52 re-issue, for the nitro finish if nothing else. My tele was an 88 US Standard, a great guitar. I sold it to Callum out of The Void/Jinx on the provisio that if he ever sold it, he would give me first shout on it.[/quote']

Nitro finish!

I'm planning on building another guitar. A 52 Tele Replica. It's gonna happen... sometime....