Fender Telecaster: Question for those who have had them.

brianlux

Several years ago I walked into a music store in Petaluma, CA and fell in love. No, not that way- I already had a girl friend- no, I sat day and played a white Fender Telecaster and it was love a first strum of the 6 strings. It was one of those weird times where you bond almost instantly with a guitar. Problem was, even though I'm pretty sure it was an affordable Mexican made model, I was fairly young and broke and no way could afford that guitar.

So now, jump ahead several decades and I had this dream about a white Tele a couple of nights ago. Then today, forgetting I'd had the dream, I wore this white Telecaster pin I've had for years... and now I'm thinking, OK, it's time to find that long desired Tele. High time!

The problem is, there are so darned many of them these days. I really want something fairly classic. But even there, the choices are tough. The American Professional Tele looks great but at over $1500 I'm just not sure my chops are good enough to sink that much money into yet another guitar (I already have 6- 3 acoustic, 3 electric- and I mostly play one or two of them). The lower end Player Telecaster at $675 is much more reasonable for my budget these days but I wonder if I'd be cutting myself short.

So I just thought I'd throw this out and see what kind of feedback some of you players might have that way- what you like, what you don't like, that sort of thing. Thanks a bunch in advance!

brianlux

No Tele players here, eh?

dudeman

If I were in the market for a Tele, I would try to find a good deal on a Fender Road Worn Telecaster.

Not really a fan of the whole "relic" thing but the ones I have played have been amazing. I would budget a pickup swap, though. That neck position single coil has got to go and a P90 would take it's place.

brianlux

dudeman said:

If I were in the market for a Tele, I would try to find a good deal on a Fender Road Worn Telecaster.

Not really a fan of the whole "relic" thing but the ones I have played have been amazing. I would budget a pickup swap, though. That neck position single coil has got to go and a P90 would take it's place.

Sounds like something worth checking out, thanks!

H.Chinaski

brianlux said:

dudeman said:

If I were in the market for a Tele, I would try to find a good deal on a Fender Road Worn Telecaster.

Not really a fan of the whole "relic" thing but the ones I have played have been amazing. I would budget a pickup swap, though. That neck position single coil has got to go and a P90 would take it's place.

Sounds like something worth checking out, thanks!

I've got one of the Roadworn Tele's and it is pretty great and got it for a good price. Still stock for me at the moment but plan to upgrade the pups and saddles and maybe a bone nut. I got it to replace a 52 RI that i traded off years ago for LP standard. 

brianlux

H.Chinaski said:

brianlux said:

dudeman said:

If I were in the market for a Tele, I would try to find a good deal on a Fender Road Worn Telecaster.

Not really a fan of the whole "relic" thing but the ones I have played have been amazing. I would budget a pickup swap, though. That neck position single coil has got to go and a P90 would take it's place.

Sounds like something worth checking out, thanks!

I've got one of the Roadworn Tele's and it is pretty great and got it for a good price. Still stock for me at the moment but plan to upgrade the pups and saddles and maybe a bone nut. I got it to replace a 52 RI that i traded off years ago for LP standard. 

Sounds good.  Thanks for input!

opsopcopolis

just go play as many as you can. I played a mexi tele for years and I still love it. Don’t judge a guitar by its price tag. There are plenty of expensive duds and really killer cheap guitars

brianlux

opsopcopolis said:

just go play as many as you can. I played a mexi tele for years and I still love it. Don’t judge a guitar by its price tag. There are plenty of expensive duds and really killer cheap guitars

Good advice, thanks!

Gern Blansten

I just got a white Strat and couldn't be happier.  It's much lighter than I expected but I'm used to holding a Les Paul.

gimmesometruth27

i don't own a tele but started looking at them in the last few months.

about a month ago i played the white mirror jimmy page tele and fell in love with it. it just sounded and felt amazing. i would have walked out of the store with it but i recently took a job in sales. i would have been pissed at myself if i financed that thing and had a couple of bad months and made less money and still had to make a payment on a guitar. i played a purple road worn that also felt awesome, but like someone above said that neck pickup on that thing sucks. I am thinking about buying the road worn tele and having a set of jimmy page pickups installed, along with new saddles and bone nut. that work being done, along with upgrading to hard case, would come in about $800 or 900 cheeper than the jimmy page tele.

hopefully you find a tele that you like.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

i don't own a tele but started looking at them in the last few months.

about a month ago i played the white mirror jimmy page tele and fell in love with it. it just sounded and felt amazing. i would have walked out of the store with it but i recently took a job in sales. i would have been pissed at myself if i financed that thing and had a couple of bad months and made less money and still had to make a payment on a guitar. i played a purple road worn that also felt awesome, but like someone above said that neck pickup on that thing sucks. I am thinking about buying the road worn tele and having a set of jimmy page pickups installed, along with new saddles and bone nut. that work being done, along with upgrading to hard case, would come in about $800 or 900 cheeper than the jimmy page tele.

hopefully you find a tele that you like.

I just checked it our on Fender's web sight and that's a bit more than I wanted to spend, haha!  The other Jimmy PAge model looks cool- still a bit steep for me but a nice looking guitar!

gimmesometruth27

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

i don't own a tele but started looking at them in the last few months.

about a month ago i played the white mirror jimmy page tele and fell in love with it. it just sounded and felt amazing. i would have walked out of the store with it but i recently took a job in sales. i would have been pissed at myself if i financed that thing and had a couple of bad months and made less money and still had to make a payment on a guitar. i played a purple road worn that also felt awesome, but like someone above said that neck pickup on that thing sucks. I am thinking about buying the road worn tele and having a set of jimmy page pickups installed, along with new saddles and bone nut. that work being done, along with upgrading to hard case, would come in about $800 or 900 cheeper than the jimmy page tele.

hopefully you find a tele that you like.

I just checked it our on Fender's web sight and that's a bit more than I wanted to spend, haha!  The other Jimmy PAge model looks cool- still a bit steep for me but a nice looking guitar!

this is the dragon version. i was referring to the white one with the translucent finish that comes with mirrors that you can put on if you want to. the dragon one plays and sounds nice but the finish isn't my thing. i like white guitars so i would go with the mirrored one if i got any of them.

gimmesometruth27

here is the purple roadworn i am digging. i went and played it again yesterday. i would need to change out that neck pickup for sure though.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

here is the purple roadworn i am digging. i went and played it again yesterday. i would need to change out that neck pickup for sure though.

Nice!

What I would love to run across some day is one like the model I played in a shop in Petaluma, CA back around 1980.  I should have begged borrowed or stolen (well, not really, haha) for that guitar because it felt and sound so damn good!  There must be another like it out there.  Hopefully some day!

gimmesometruth27

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

here is the purple roadworn i am digging. i went and played it again yesterday. i would need to change out that neck pickup for sure though.

Nice!

What I would love to run across some day is one like the model I played in a shop in Petaluma, CA back around 1980.  I should have begged borrowed or stolen (well, not really, haha) for that guitar because it felt and sound so damn good!  There must be another like it out there.  Hopefully some day!

go on reverb.com and look for teles from about that time. i am sure there are a bunch available. and look for listings. i am sure there is something similar on there. and if it was a mexican made it won't cost as much as an american made from the same timeframe.

brianlux

gimmesometruth27 said:

brianlux said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

here is the purple roadworn i am digging. i went and played it again yesterday. i would need to change out that neck pickup for sure though.

Nice!

What I would love to run across some day is one like the model I played in a shop in Petaluma, CA back around 1980.  I should have begged borrowed or stolen (well, not really, haha) for that guitar because it felt and sound so damn good!  There must be another like it out there.  Hopefully some day!

go on reverb.com and look for teles from about that time. i am sure there are a bunch available. and look for listings. i am sure there is something similar on there. and if it was a mexican made it won't cost as much as an american made from the same timeframe.

Thanks for the tip!  It was very affordable so I'm guessing it was made in Mexico.  I'll check our reverb.com!

dankind

I had an awesome Tele -- well, it was sort of a Franken-Tele -- but it's long gone now.

It was customized by Phil Petillo for Bruce Springsteen, who played it for a while before giving it back to Phil, who then sold it to my father, who then gave it to me as a gift. I got to play it for a few years before moving to a tiny apartment. I gave it back to my dad to hold for me until I got into a place that could take it's full power again.

When he died, my stepmother called to ask me if she could sell it to help make ends meet. I was living in an even tinier apartment at that point and the situation being what it was with her, I said sure.

I've actually thought about trying to find it out in the wild. I know the town where she sold it; I think there are two or three music shops there, but I don't know how long they keep records of the instruments they've bought and sold. I'd love to have that thing back someday, though, now that I've got a bigger place. The hunt for it could make a fun documentary for an audience of about 10.

brianlux

dankind said:

I had an awesome Tele -- well, it was sort of a Franken-Tele -- but it's long gone now.

It was customized by Phil Petillo for Bruce Springsteen, who played it for a while before giving it back to Phil, who then sold it to my father, who then gave it to me as a gift. I got to play it for a few years before moving to a tiny apartment. I gave it back to my dad to hold for me until I got into a place that could take it's full power again.

When he died, my stepmother called to ask me if she could sell it to help make ends meet. I was living in an even tinier apartment at that point and the situation being what it was with her, I said sure.

I've actually thought about trying to find it out in the wild. I know the town where she sold it; I think there are two or three music shops there, but I don't know how long they keep records of the instruments they've bought and sold. I'd love to have that thing back someday, though, now that I've got a bigger place. The hunt for it could make a fun documentary for an audience of about 10.

I'd been totally up for see such a documentary, Dan.  I love that kind of story.  It's not always about the big splash stories that count.  Yours is one of those that make up the great world of rock and roll.

2-feign-reluctance

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

2-feign-reluctance

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5flpPcHQF7X3zGxbpqmsjusOnmjToGBynoykI0/?igshid=1ggzz798d8anu

brianlux

2-feign-reluctance said:

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

Wow, that's a beauty!  I was wondering about the Player Tele.  I'd noticed they are very reasonably priced.  Next time I'm down at Nickleson's in Folsom I'll see if they have any.  Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and sorry, I'm not on instagram so I couldn't view the video.  I'll see if I can get someone at work to bring it up.

2-feign-reluctance

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

Wow, that's a beauty!  I was wondering about the Player Tele.  I'd noticed they are very reasonably priced.  Next time I'm down at Nickleson's in Folsom I'll see if they have any.  Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and sorry, I'm not on instagram so I couldn't view the video.  I'll see if I can get someone at work to bring it up.

Ah, I just now remembered my account is private, so you won't be able to watch. Sorry!

brianlux

2-feign-reluctance said:

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

Wow, that's a beauty!  I was wondering about the Player Tele.  I'd noticed they are very reasonably priced.  Next time I'm down at Nickleson's in Folsom I'll see if they have any.  Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and sorry, I'm not on instagram so I couldn't view the video.  I'll see if I can get someone at work to bring it up.

Ah, I just now remembered my account is private, so you won't be able to watch. Sorry!

No worries (although if you have another way to post it I'd love to hear it).  But again, thanks for the tip.  Much appreciated!

2-feign-reluctance

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

Wow, that's a beauty!  I was wondering about the Player Tele.  I'd noticed they are very reasonably priced.  Next time I'm down at Nickleson's in Folsom I'll see if they have any.  Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and sorry, I'm not on instagram so I couldn't view the video.  I'll see if I can get someone at work to bring it up.

Ah, I just now remembered my account is private, so you won't be able to watch. Sorry!

No worries (although if you have another way to post it I'd love to hear it).  But again, thanks for the tip.  Much appreciated!

Super happy to get something up on YouTube and post it here for ya'!

brianlux

2-feign-reluctance said:

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

brianlux said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

OP, I bought one this summer, rather I traded in my Epi Riviera for this one:

https://shop.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/telecaster/player-telecaster/0145212513.html

Dude, it plays SO smooth. I've never owned a telecaster before and I had a hankering to go back to Fender. Best decision ever. I also played a Tele that was roughly double the price of the one I ended up with and I didn't hear any difference. It's light to wear, frets easily and just fucking' sings man. I'll try to post a quick video of me playing it from last month.

Wow, that's a beauty!  I was wondering about the Player Tele.  I'd noticed they are very reasonably priced.  Next time I'm down at Nickleson's in Folsom I'll see if they have any.  Thanks for the tip!

Oh, and sorry, I'm not on instagram so I couldn't view the video.  I'll see if I can get someone at work to bring it up.

Ah, I just now remembered my account is private, so you won't be able to watch. Sorry!

No worries (although if you have another way to post it I'd love to hear it).  But again, thanks for the tip.  Much appreciated!

Super happy to get something up on YouTube and post it here for ya'!

Excellent!  Will look forward to it!

WB Daze

Hey Brian. I am currently shopping for my first Tele also and found this article to be helpful;

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/thehub/how-to-choose-the-best-telecaster

brianlux

WB Daze said:

Hey Brian. I am currently shopping for my first Tele also and found this article to be helpful;

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/thehub/how-to-choose-the-best-telecaster

Hey, thanks WB.  Will check it out!

pjpjpaul

I recommend playing a few and really feeling the differences between the necks, fretboards, tuners, pickups, nut, saddles... Tele's vary a lot so you want to make sure to find one within budget that is aslo to your liking as far as playability, tone, looks...

benjs

Holy cow, how did I miss this!? I've been playing my Highway One Tele for several years now, but I think they've discontinued it. It's the classic bent metal plate style with a low-gloss sunburst slab. It was a great value prop at the time. 

As has been said, there's a lot of variance within the Tele world so definitely worth picking up and playing.

If I didn't have emotional attachment to mine (and live in Canada), I'd gladly sell you mine, as I'm on the market for a new one for myself for my 30th birthday (all I needed was a good excuse)!

JF116983

I suggest Getting an American version if you can they are smooth like butter and sound great

gimmesometruth27

i just went and played that jimmy page tele again. it is on sale for $600 off. i almost bought it. then i had a closer look. it isn't the same one I had played before. it had a crack on the pickguard near one of the screws, the headstock had some black stuff on it from the hanger that would not wipe off, and the pickup selector was missing the top hat. i played it and the frets on the 12 fret up were sharp. i was not impressed with quality control so i left it there. the roadworn was $700 less and i liked it better, just didn't like the pickups. the search continues....