The first Telecaster was created in 1948 by Leo Fender, and it was one of the first mass-produced electric guitars. The clean tones of this Tele are suitable for tight funk guitar playing or Nashville-style country guitar. Telecaster The neck profile is designed for the modern players as opposed to the old vintage style neck, and the neck profile is a Player Series-derived Modern C shaped maple neck and 9.5-inch-radius fingerboard with 22 medium-jumbo frets. Fender Stratocaster Vs Telecaster: Which Of These Timeless But the interesting feature is the String-through body design, where all the strings are anchored through the guitars body, rather than being connected to the bridge. Electronics: The new feature that really put the Fender Professional Series and Performer Series on the map was their all-new V-Mod pickup system designed by legendary pickup designer Tim Shaw. 3. The bridge pickup is a Pearly Gates-style pickup, and it delivers a tight and rude bridge pickup tone, and it delivers massive tones with tons of harmonics and sustain. Through this article, I will try to explain every feature that makes a Telecaster the best option for starters, continue reading till the end and you will learn everything regarding this issue. Both the Stratocaster and Telecaster have 22-fret bolt-on necks, meaning the neck is attached to the body with screws as opposed to being set-in and glued. From hardcore rock and metal to jazz ballads, this guitar can work for most styles of music. For people looking for mid-priced telecasters, the Fender Player Telecaster is definitely the best bang for your buck, and it has everything you want in a Telecaster. They were designed to Jimmys exact specifications on his original Tele, and it will have all the Tele bite and satisfying crunch that weve all heard on early Zeppelin records. Telecaster is great, it sounds like you want a really versatile guitar, and personally I'd recommend a Stratocaster with a humbucker, it'd be advertised as an HSS Strat. Since you're going for a clone it's really up to you. And topped with the Nocaster Blonde finish, the 70th Anniversary Broadcaster remains a timeless masterpiece, and no longer a mythical creature in hiding. For the most part, Telecasters are generally thought of when thinking of country guitar. This body shape imparts air and acoustic harmonics, while the block helps deal with the feedback and ensures each note is heard loud and clear. The bridge is composed of a 3x brass saddle string-through-body bridge for a very solid base. Best for Rock Ibanez Nita Strauss JIVA10 Signature. On the other hand, a lot of features related to playability and playing feel, are modernistic. Although this is very different from the standard Telecaster bridge, the String-through body offers way more sustain due to the fact the design allows for fewer points of contact for the string energy to be transmitted. You might expect the 75th Anniversary Teles to have completely vintage specs to celebrate the original Telecasters, but Fender has decided to celebrate their 75th by producing a modern and evolved version of the Telecaster with the unique Diamond metallic finish with matching headstock. The combination of a 2-piece ash body with a Nitro finish looks beautiful visually, but these specs improve the tone of the guitar as well. The body has a milk off-white semi-translucent finish combined with a grain of the ash and offset seam of the two pieces on the bass side of the body. Telecaster Luckily, Fender released the Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH for the modern rock stars. Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single coils also have an S-1 switch placed in the volume knob, and when activated you can experience humbucker tones from a single coil pickup. 1 Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster Check Price 2 Fender Player Telecaster Check Price 3 Fender American Professional II Telecaster Check Price 4 Has a stunning, classic rock guitar look. For $800, a player can have a Mexican classic series telecaster. You get two pickups, one volume and one tone, a 3-way switch, and that's the extent of the electronics. There are just certain guitars where the checklist is full. Telecasters are the worlds first commercially successful electric guitars, and the very first Telecasters (known as Broadcasters at the time) were introduced to the world in 1950. They are used in genres ranging from country to metal, so no matter what genre you want to learn, it should be able to work. Also, the Nitrocellulose Lacquer finish with relicd body remains as a very thin finish on the body, and it doesnt interfere with the resonance of the Telecaster. Electronics: Deluxe Telecaster Thinline has Fender Vintage Noiseless Single coil pickups, and you can think of these puppies as modern versions of classic Telecaster single coils, with less hum. Overall, the Deluxe Nashville Tele has the perfect balance of classic Telecaster body with innovative upgrades. The Fender Telecaster. Features like the S-1 switch, Ultra Noiseless Vintage single coil pickups, and Augmented D neck profile make this Telecaster a series contender for modern guitar players. Overall, its a do-it-all, modern Telecaster designed to be great in many different styles of music. Telecaster Guitars How To Choose The Best Telecaster - The Hub - Musician's Friend Fenders first guitar (and the first successful solid body electric guitar in history) was the Telecaster. Its highlights include a comfortable C-shape, slim neck profile, with simple playing fingerboard. Maple fretboard hardly makes a difference in tone. Normal Telecaster with 2 single-coil is a great rock guitar, but it can handle everything Bottom Line: The Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster is a pine-wood body Telecaster that has a great combination of both vintage and modern features. Telecaster The main difference between an original tele and a Thinline, construction-wise is the chambered body, the center block, and the glued top. Its a good at everything guitar. Can Alternative Tunings Damage Your Guitar? Bottom Line:Fender American Professional II Telecaster is the 2020 upgrade of the popular Fender American Telecaster, and it has minor upgrades like contoured neck heel, updated V-Mod II pickups, and the new Deep C neck profile. Bottom Line:Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH is a powerful Telecaster with amazing rock tones, offered at a very affordable price. Its definitely more suitable for expressive blues playing but still has hints of that classic Tele sparkle. Neck also has a super-slick Ultra Satin finish for effortless movement up and down the neck, and the compound radius with stainless steel medium-jumbo frets makes the playing experience even better. You can thicken it up for more of a jazz tone. Undoubtedly, this is a fantastic instrument to start with. 2023s most jaw-dropping metal solo? Gina Gleason proves This Tele-inspired guitar blends the tones of a Telecaster, Les Paul, and Stratocaster into one elegant package. The Nitro finish is a lot thinner than todays common polyurethane finishes, and what this does is the thin Nitro finish lets the guitar breathe, and as time passes, it will age a lot nicer. Doesnt the Special Edition Custom FMT HH have a set neck?Swen. Fender Player Plus Nashville Telecaster. 2. The Mirror Telecaster is mostly associated with the final years of Jimmy Page with the Yardbirds, and the Dragon Telecaster marks the beginning of Jimmy Pages career with the legendary Led Zeppelin. Here Are the Best Humbucker Pickups (All Styles) 1. It's either too bright, or gets too muffled. On top of that, the 75th Anniversary Tele has enclosed Schaller tuners, hex-key-adjustable truss rod socket, and visible neck pickup adjustment screws for easy adjustments on the pickup height. Thinline Telecaster vs Solid Body [Differences & our picks Its a lightweight, versatile, and modern version of the classic Telecaster Thinline. Guitar Lobby is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate Program. That is because of the strong twangy, poping tone of the instrument plus its lovely brightness in the thinner strings. Player Telecaster has the classic barrel switch for three positions bridge, bridge and neck, and the neck pickup. Yamaha guitars have a good reputation over the years. Guitar: Is a Telecaster Good for a Beginner? - GearAficionado Telecasters actually do sound good at high gain imo because due to the natural brightness of the guitar you can have lots or distortion without losing clarity. Many of the features in this guitar are pretty classic but has hints of modern Telecaster features like the Vintage Noiseless single coil pickups. Regarding the feel, the neck is thin which provides pleasant playability plus you will feel alright playing it in a stand-up or sit-down position. Fender American Performer Telecaster is a modern, and complete Telecaster designed for modern guitarists. One of the reasons that Telecasters shaped the country music genre is the twangy tones you can get with their infamous bridge pickup. He's also a highly regarded guitar builder. My Review: If youre looking for the ultimate cheap Telecaster, nothing will beat the quality and the price of this monstrous Squier Telecaster! The knobs are pretty classic with a master volume knob(with S-1 switch), a master tone knob, and a 3-way blade pickup switch to go from neck neck and bridge bridge positions. Consequently, the market offered a wide variety of different kinds of Teles, which was really good for first learners because more price options were available. It's used for a wide range of styles and job descriptions, able to handle both rhythm and lead technical duties. This amazing technology works extremely well with any kind of amplifier you use whether they are the old-school tube amps, digital modeling software, or even high-gain stacks. Jazz tone is pretty mellow, and at least to me, it's really hard to get that on the strat. Grabbing the neck and cranking on the maple neck feels amazing, and Fender really focused on helping the guitar player and not getting in the way of the playing. Really the best electric guitars for intermediate players. The Fender Performer series are sold at a slightly cheaper price point than the Professional series, and the Fender Performer series have been getting a great review and praise from the public and the media since their release. The first one that well be discussing here is the Burstbucker Type 2. The pickups are relatively hot and combined with the pine body, a guitar is a versatile machine that can cover anything from jazz, blues, country, pop to classic rock. The Yosemite Single Coils has a middle pickup with reverse-wound and reverse polarity, while a push/pull tone pot adds the neck pickup in parallel. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to This guitar has a warm, mellow tone that is perfect for slow, soulful blues. I see no reason the Player Telecaster would be of lower quality. Pickups have a simple three-way wiring, and the pickups also come with a Fender Greasebucket tone circuit, which is a system that gives way to more clear high-end. The tone from the neck position has a Strat-like character with a brighter rhythm tone and has a gorgeous, smooth attack. The bridge part is also quite unique, and its a 3-Saddle Custom Cut-off Vintage-style Tele bridge with Brass Saddles that are completely unique to this guitar. To anyone looking to get into playing the guitar with a Telecaster, the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster might be a great place to start your guitar journey. Hardware is also just as it was with Jimmys original Telecaster, and the bridge is a 3-saddle Vintage-style String-through bridge. It might not sound as much, but believe me, its a lot. From guitars, pedals, amps, and synths to studio gear and production tips, I hope you find what I post here useful, and Ill try my best to keep it entertaining also. The new V-Mod II pickups really help bring out the unique twang and clarity of a Telecaster, and they are perfect for so many different styles of music. Fender American Professional II Telecaster (Best Value), 2. Its certainly a very comfortable neck to play on, and the modern C-shape neck profile seems to be the standard for young guitar players today, as opposed to the vintage V-shape neck profile. Their weight, body shape, and thin neck plus their tonal options make Telecasters one of the best options for beginners. This design was an evolution of Fenders lap-steel guitars. Bottom Line: Fenders 75th Anniversary Telecaster seems to be a massive success, and Fender has again pulled off an amazing feat of producing an affordable priced Telecaster that has features and sounds of vintage Telecaster(with modernized specs). Jimmy Page played the Telecaster during the earlier part of the career, and Jimmy Page got his first Telecaster during his time with the Yardbirds, a Telecaster that originally belonged to Jeff Beck. In 2017, Fender released their American Professional Series that featured their all-new modern, revised versions of their classics like Stratocasters and Telecasters. You can even get the Butterscotch Blonde finish, which was the original 1950s Telecaster finish color. WebOne of the most versatile guitars ever created, the Telecaster is easily at home in any genre, thanks to its flexible sound, alluring style and smooth playing feel. Fender Performer Telecaster has the classic Alder body with a bolt-on maple neck with a 9.5 radius maple fingerboard, and there are a total of 22 jumbo-sized frets, finished with a synthetic bone nut. The Epiphone Les Paul Standard is one of the most popular and well-liked budget electric guitars available. New posts Search forums. The finish options are simple but elegant, and dont let its humble looks and price fool you into thinking that the Player Telecaster is a beginner guitar. Best Electric Guitars for Beginners in Basically, if you click on a product link on this site and buy that product we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. But with modern rock and metal, you probably wont find the traditional Telecasters as much. Moreover, there are also upgraded locking tuning machines and increased break angle at the nut, which also factors into increased tuning stability. The set of old-school bent-steel saddles and the new fretboard radius provide a long-sustaining tone and helps with accurate intonation. One tough chicken. Is It Worth Upgrading Guitar Electronics? Is a Fender Telecaster a good guitar to learn on?, Intermediate player. We highly recommend the American Professional II Telecaster to young guitarists and working musicians. Electronics: The Fender American Ultra Telecaster features the Fender Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single coil pickups. What Makes the Tele So Great - Sweetwater I was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania. The Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele single coil pickups are vintage-inspired, but it has state-of-the-art modern specs that make this a next-level pickup for modern guitarists. The Squier Classic Vibe Tele has a pine body while the Squier Affinity Series Tele has an alder body. Just by carefully using the tone and volume knobs, you can get a whole variety of tones with different levels of gain. The Professional Series was the first V-Mod pickup system released by Fender in 2017, and the American Series was followed by their uniquely designed pickup systems. Player Telecaster has many of the classic looks, feel, and sound of the vintage Telecaster, while also having modern, attractive attributes as well. My background is in Electrical Engineering, earning a Bachelors degree from Youngstown State University. All of these components make a fabulous vintage pickup that does a great job of delivering that snarling tone of the original Telecasters. 21 Best Humbucker Pickups in There are certain genres that each guitar is known for, so this can be a good starting point. Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Review: Should The legendary Jimmy Page was involved in all the steps of creating this perfect recreation of the legendary Telecaster, and Mr. Thread starter Wooly Fox; Start date Mar 31, 2023; Mar 31, 2023 #1 Wooly Fox Tele-Holic. The augmented D profile is designed to give you ample space to wrap your hands around the neck, and this neck is just an extremely comfortable neck to play any style of music on. You might think of guitars like Stratocaster or a Les Paul, but the oldest and the original, iconic American solid-body guitar is the Telecaster. Neck Material: Maple. I started this website with some of my friends who are musicians, music teachers, gear heads, and music enthusiasts so we could provide high-quality guitar and music-related content. (Image credit: Future) Theres a myriad of sub-genres when it comes to metal but theyve all got one thing in common - awesome guitars. My name is Chris and Ive had a passion for music and guitars for as long as I can remember. The perfect mix of the old and the new features make this guitar a strong candidate for the best cheap Telecaster. Its got more surface area, so it can receive additional windings of the wire. Gibson ES-335 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar. This Tele-inspired guitar blends the tones of a Telecaster, Les Paul, and Stratocaster into one elegant package. But if you also want the modern versatile tone, there is also a Fat 50s control assembly included in the Telecaster. The P90 qualities of this pickup really bring out the mids and wailing highs, and its the perfect sound for a hardcore rhythm guitar playing or a ripping rock solo. Whats more, is that there is an S-1 switch on the volume knob, and when activated, you can get a humbucker sound from single coils. A mexican standard telecaster retails at around $500. With one added pickup position, there are more tone options to play around with. Key Specs and Features: Fender Player Telecaster has many authentic qualities that are inspired by the vintage Fender Telecasters. Telecasters Active pickups - which are smoother and sound good with high levels of distortion - are also used to get a thicker, saturated metal tone. Because Stratotele didnt sound as Does a Strat case fit a Tele? Godin Radium. Telecaster Guitars Classic Thin D was a standard neck profile back in the late 1950s, and the neck is thin with a little more meat to them. The general tone palette of the guitar is on the brighter side, and its voiced clear and has enough power at the bridge position for some hard rock-n-roll. Having said that, Id like to mention that it doesnt really matter what company made your guitar, there are brands that construct instruments as faithfully as Fenders and although they might vary from company to company, in the end, they will have more similarities than differences. This is because Squier Classic Vibe 50s was designed to mimic the earliest Telecasters made in the 1950s, which had pinewood for their bodies. Fender Vintera '70s Telecaster Deluxe is $620 cheaper. Vox AC15 The runner up because the tone is incredible when plugged into a Telecaster! Is Fender Telecaster a good guitar? Guitar Reviewed Fender Special Edition Custom Telecaster FMT HH is just an overall amazing instrument offered at a very affordable price. guitars Amps, pedals, guitars, bass, drums, microphones, studio, and recording gear, I love it all. Key Specs and Features: Fender Ultra Telecaster features its unique bound alder body that showcases a balanced blend of lows, mids, and highs. WebLike the three-pickup Stratocaster which followed it in 1954, the Telecaster is a versatile guitar and has been used in many genres, including country, reggae, rock, pop, folk, These features combined with a bone nut, 21 medium-vintage frets, and a tinted flash-coat lacquer finish, playing on this Nocaster neck is effortless and will be a pleasurable experience for all vintage lovers. And tuners are Vintage single line Fender Deluxe tuners. Yes. The only drawback that this model presents is the back part of the body, which is flat. Learning a new skill always takes time, to incorporate an ability you have to put in the hours and do your best, therefore, when choosing a guitar as a beginner you should focus on certain aspects that will help the learning process. Telecaster Pickups. The tone of Vintera 50s Telecaster pickups can be described as warm and twangy and the Mexican Telecaster is on the brighter side in terms of tone, which is exactly what most people look for in a Telecaster anyway. Fender Noventa Telecaster has a striking design and comes with just three finishes Vintage Blonde, 2-color Sunburst, and Fiesta Red. Best for the Money Ibanez RG450DX. -. For guitar players that are interested in both Telecasters and modern rock, this is a great guitar for you. The Fender American Professional II Telecaster Deluxe is based on the original dual Telecaster, the one and only for all genres. And although the pricing is quite high for a Fender guitar, compared to a Gibson with similar specs, the pricing is worth the quality of this particular Broadcaster. The 10 Best Ibanez Guitars. Electronics: The most unusual thing about the Noventa Telecaster is probably the pickup theres only the bridge pickup and no neck pickup. The standard alder body serves as the blueprint for most of the Telecasters today due to its ability to produce a balanced-sounding blend of lows, mids, and highs. A Telecaster electric guitar is a guitar that uses electricity to amplify the sound of the strings. Again, even the neck is a mix of vintage and modern, and these small details make this guitar stand out among the rest. Top 10 Best Electric Guitars of My Review: Last not least, we have a Telecaster that has a similar general shape, but is very different in terms of body composition and sound. Harley Benton TE-40 TBK Deluxe Series. The Vintage-style Tele single coil pickups deliver bold and bright tones with tons of Telecaster twang. Best Telecasters 2023 | Guitar Player | GuitarPlayer Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV a great go anywhere option that can handle many genres of music. Best Non-Fender Telecaster Guitars Key Specs and Features: Noventa Telecaster has a simple Alder Telecaster body with a maple neck providing a solid base for a great sustain and full guitar tone. By pulling back on the volume and slight tweaks on the tone knobs, you can also achieve a vintage-y Fender Tele clean tone. From the electronics and the build material, Player Telecaster has similar qualities to a high-level, authentic Fender Telecaster. For guitarists who are attracted to simplicity, the Fender Noventa Tele is the perfect fit for you. My Review: Fender Deluxe Nashville Tele is a modern Telecaster that packs a crazy amount of versatility in one guitar with three different single coil pickups in just one Telecaster. The Jim Root Telecaster uses an Active humbucker, pictured here on the left. Fender Player Jazzmaster Best for Jazz. Are Telecasters as versatile as thought? 9 Best Cheap Electric Guitars However, I must mention that as the pickups are single coils, they will be hard to deal with at the beginning due to the interference and noise they make, it will trip beginners up but you will get accustomed to it. Furthermore, a good beginner guitar should suit the players comfort, and shouldnt be hard to understand, mods such as coil-split or even phase-shift could be the beginners worst enemy. Many people might be more familiar with Fender Stratocasters than Fender Telecasters, but the two guitars are two distant cousins with different characteristics. Electronics: 7th Anniversary Tele comes with Vintera 50s single-coil Telecaster pickups, which are designed by the master pickup designer Tim Shaw. My Review: Next up, we have a Telecaster that is just completely different from the rest. Pickups: 2 x Ultra Noiseless Vintage Tele Single-coil. The tone and sound are reminiscent of the early Fender Telecaster, but the playability and the feel of the instrument are modern and very comfortable. Since then, the guitar hasnt really changed much and its pretty much the same shape and specifications as the original Telecasters, except for some details. What Styles Of Music Should Telecasters Be Used For? 10 Best Ibanez Guitars Excellent for playing rock, especially classic '70s-style rock. The Fender Stratocaster is THE pop-culture icon that people think about when they picture an electric guitar. Best Guitars for Country Music That's why I own a black/rosewood Tele with a black pickguard, sort of like the one Daniel Ash played in the 70's (but with Joe Best Guitar models for specific genres: Country Best Under $500 Ibanez Steve Vai Signature JEMJR. The V-Mod II Tele pickups have a volume mod circuit that will allow you to pull back on the gain knob while still retaining the top end, and this feature is very useful in live performing situations for so many reasons. From the newest pickups designed by Tim Shaw to the new deep neck profile and body contour, the Fender Professional II Telecaster has a lot to be excited about. Godin only uses Canadian materials and is made in Canada. Luckily, Fender decided to revive the legendary Nocasters, and the Fender Custom Shop has put in countless hours on perfecting this 70th Anniversary Nocaster. The pickups have a 51 modded Nocaster wiring, with a blender pot and the neck position has a slightly brighter tone for playing rhythm guitar. When you push the MP-90 pickup to its limit, youll get a barking, thick, and aggressive rock tone. The tone controls and volume controls are also very sensitive and work beautifully as you turn them down, the highs might go a little bit, but you dont lose any definition in the process. The pickup is a Fender MP-90 pickup, which is a type of P90 pickup. Its a beautiful, affordable, and modern Telecaster that comes with a bunch of modern features and solid humbuckers to rock out on. When you add some gain into the guitar, the Telecaster starts to get raspy but the general feedback is the Mexican version seems to be on the more polite side compared to the American-made counterpart. Electronics: Deluxe Nashville has three single coil pickups Vintage Noiseless Tele Single-coil for neck and bridge, and Vintage Noiseless Strat Single-coil for the middle position. Headrush vs Helix vs Kemper vs GT1000 vs AX8: Which is best? Fender Player Duo-Sonic Best for Small Hands. It also features a gorgeous flame maple top with stylish cream binding, and the guitar definitely looks more like a PRS or Gibson than a Fender guitar.