Telecasters

Rocker

are not so inspiring when used for practicing at home IMHO.  Controversial suggestion I accept, but that is how I find it. A Tele is brilliant in a band situation when played at volume but is tame and insipid at typical bedroom volumes.  Whereas a Strat sounds good in both situations.  And before you ask, I have two Telecasters......

Agree or disagree..

Teyeplayer

Disagree. I get bored with a strat very quickly, mainly because it lacks a certain bite when I dig in (at any volume). As a result I always return to my tele. However, I accept that teles are very easy to be tempted away from, I just find myself disappointed when the rose tinted glasses come off.

Fuengi

Hmm. I have a Fender SSS Mexi Strat and a Burns Semi Hollow Tele with coil split humbucker in the neck and single bridge. That's it. 

With these two and some pedals there is a huge range of tones I can get.

I would say I play the Tele 70/% of the time. 

Rocker

The point I am making is that, for me, the Tele only comes into its own at a certain volume. That volume is way higher than I use when playing at home. As a result I rarely get to hear either Tele at its best, whereas a Strat works at any volume level.

Strat54

Disagree. What are your Tele's? 

Fuengi

Rocker said:

The point I am making is that, for me, the Tele only comes into its own at a certain volume. That volume is way higher than I use when playing at home. As a result I rarely get to hear either Tele at its best, whereas a Strat works at any volume level.

You may be right, I've never played mine at gig volume! 

Bezzer

Rocker said:

The point I am making is that, for me, the Tele only comes into its own at a certain volume. That volume is way higher than I use when playing at home. As a result I rarely get to hear either Tele at its best, whereas a Strat works at any volume level.

Surely that means the amp you're using isn't capable of projecting the subtleties of your tele at home volumes rather than the tele doesn't work.  Unless you mean you roll the volume off on the tele but leave the amp the same wherever ... but I doubt that.

On the original point, I write a lot more on my teles than on my strats (and I have 3 of each) ... I just find them more immediate, more lively, especially when not plugged in.  Or it might be that both make me play in a different way and, at the moment at least, the way I play a tele brings more out of me.

I'm rambling non-sensically aren't I ... as you were.

guitarfishbay

Strats bodies are more comfortable to play (especially seated) and have more sounds in them.

Either can sound good though.

Gassage

I'm going through a Tele phase at the moment

Here's my sunrise of teles

Strat54

This guys Esquire sounds okay at lounge volume.....

https://youtu.be/Vv4bYfeG7xk?t=1m2s

guitarfishbay

Gassage said:

I'm going through a Tele phase at the moment

Here's my sunrise of teles

Is that a brass nut on the one on the right side @Gassage ;

Do you feel it has any impact on the sound?

guitarfishbay

Strat54 said:

This guys Esquire sounds okay at lounge volume.....

https://youtu.be/Vv4bYfeG7xk?t=1m2s

It sounds great but a lot of that is quite loud!  The only way that can be called lounge volume is on account it's the volume he's playing at in his lounge.

Neill

I agree, never really thought about it till now but when I did covers the Variax was almost always on the strat or tele setting live, but never at home. 

Like the late Rory Gallagher used to say a strat or a tele hits the back of the hall almost at any volume but those frequencies aren't as useful practicing at much lower volume.  By the same token a nice semi 335 style is fun to noodle about with at home but can be a pain cranked up.  

As I keep telling my wife this is why we have to have lots of different guitars...

  

Rocker

Strat54 said:

Disagree. What are your Tele's? 

USA Fender Telecaster

Squier Telecaster.

For home volumes, the Squier (which has a pair of Mex Tele pickups fitted) is the "better" of the two. I do enjoy playing them but my Fender CS '62 Relic Strat sounds better all round.  If it clarifies things in any way, I play (at home) at acoustic guitar volumes through a self built Dennis Cornell Stinger combo (6L6 SE combo, Jensen 10" speaker) or my little Pignose amp.

Freebird

My Kemper amp is always at gig/arena/stadium volume .. sort of   

AlexC

@Gassage That's an Andy Summers, right? How did you get hold of one of those? I'm jealous. 

Gassage

guitarfishbay said:

Gassage said:

I'm going through a Tele phase at the moment

Here's my sunrise of teles

Is that a brass nut on the one on the right side @Gassage ;

Do you feel it has any impact on the sound?

Ahhh no- it's an orig 1965 neck so the nut is a bit discoloured! That's all.

Gassage

AlexC said:

@Gassage That's an Andy Summers, right? How did you get hold of one of those? I'm jealous. 

Well, it technically was just snared by a pal of mine and I'm 'looking after it' however, he's a VERY good mate, and I can honestly say it's one of the sexiest machines I've ever played in my life so negotiations ongoing...it's steller- mahoosive old skool U shape neck and shed loads of power from the onboard preamp.

GavRichList

Actually, I kind of get OPs point. I much prefer teles to Strats, but there is something that at low vol just isn’t quite right with a tele. I think maybe it’s down to playing on the bridge more on a tele than you would anything else (well I do) - they need the push to sound great. Much prefer my jag and Jazzmaster at low level. (And high level, but for different reasons). 

punchesjudy

GavRichList said:

Actually, I kind of get OPs point. I much prefer teles to Strats, but there is something that at low vol just isn’t quite right with a tele. I think maybe it’s down to playing on the bridge more on a tele than you would anything else (well I do) - they need the push to sound great. Much prefer my jag and Jazzmaster at low level. (And high level, but for different reasons). 

I actually agree as well. And as @GavRichList knows, I'm a huge Tele fan. I find myself turning up my amp slightly more when playing my Teles at home. 
If I'm playing at night and have to be quieter (next door have a baby human thing) I tend to use my Strat or Squier Jarman. They just work better at low volumes for me personally. 

JezWynd

Sounds fine at any volume including unplugged. That said, I've played a Tele exclusively for the past few years. I don't like the shape of strats and I find 24" scale difficult. Telecasters just work.