So I have tried a Strat, a Tele and an LP?

lovestrat74

For me it is all about feel, so you need to try all the guitars you mentioned above to see what one feels right to you.  An AM Tele will feel a lot different to a Baja for example.  Ask yourself what frets you like (jumbo, med, vintage..), neck profile (fat, thin, C, V.. ), radius etc and then go try a few that fit your requirements.

If you don't "feel" the guitar, it might look good, but you won't pick it up 

slacker

In your position I would put the money from the LP and Strat away and keep the Squier Telecaster. Try loads of guitars and see what you like. 

In my experience keeper is 10 years. So maybe buy a used Fender MIA so when you sell it in 10 years youll get your money back or a little more. 

ICBM

carlos said:

 
Single guitar idea is valid only if you always play roughly the same genre of music. If you hop around a lot between genres then I don't think there's a one size fits all instrument.

You can play absolutely anything on a Strat with one or two humbuckers... the only thing that matters is the choice of pickups.

Wazmeister

Just go and play lots mate... tele would be my choice 

tralfamadan

I like the idea of a Strat with humbuckers as ICBM suggests. Plenty versatile and comfortable to play. The pickup options give you a lot of breadth for finding space in a jam with lots of other Guitarists. 

NelsonP

robgilmo said:

not sure what I want to play but seem to sway towards clean sounds, finger picking , country type riffs, that sort of thing.

This has tele written all over it...

axisus

Actually my main guitar is one that I could be perfectly happy with if I could only have one guitar. Tele shape with HB in the bridge, P90 at the neck and SC in the middle plus a Bigsby. 

darthed1981

To be scientific, I think most of us follow the formula that the ideal number of guitars is: -

n + 1

Where n is the number you currently own.

Freebird

thegummy said:

Re: the "bedroom" comments; I find playing at home I can hear and enjoy all the subtleties in tone where as at gigs it's all very noisy and the subtleties are lost so I'd say subtle differences are more suitable for the bedroom player, at gigs it's just a rough direction of tone.

If bedroom is being compared to professional recording then, of course, that's a different story.

With a Kemper in the bedroom you are almost there! 

John_A

lonestar said:

Or you could spec an MJT “style” build within the UK

I say have as many guitars as you want. Nothing wrong with options. I’ve done the whole “sell everything and concentrate on playing” thing before. It didn’t work.. well, for me anyway.

Absolutely - works out cheaper too

Me neither!

However - I would say that putting a guitar together from quality bits+a nice paint job can work out expensive, and isn't as easy as it sounds, also  if you don't like the end result you have something that won't sell as easily as a 'name' guitar.  You can get a USA Strat for not much more than £400 used, or as @ Dan say's a baja tele or classic series strat will be a great guitar and easy to re-sell if you have a change of mind

lovestrat74

Bucket said:

robgilmo said:

I loved the feel of the LP, I just wasn't getting the tone I wanted from it, I probably could have with a bit of persistence but it just wasn't for me.
Whats an MJT?

MJT are a company based in the US who do Fender-style kits using good quality components, using nitro finishes etc. You can spec up a custom USA-made Strat or Tele for around £1k rather than the £4k it'd cost from the Fender Custom Shop, and it's all done to order... my Strat is fantastic, so good that I've decided I'll also build a Tele with them in due course.

All in, this cost me about £850-900 a few years ago:

It has the kind of neck profile you can't get on a Fender without spending twice as much, and in a finish not normally available outside the Custom Shop, plus some stonking Oil City pickups and big frets. I wouldn't be without it.

And what profile would that be then?

robgilmo

Thanks for the input everyone. That Nashville looks promising, the large radius board sounds good, how much like a Strat can that actually sound? I take it the middle is out of phase like on a Strat?

Veganic

I am late to the party but I would say one is not enough.  For me there is something about sound and feel that is comparative. A telecaster sounds and feels wonderful after playing on a big flat necked humbucker guitar.  And weirdly, for me it works the other way too. If I play one for too long I get bored.

I wouldn't want less than two.

ICBM

robgilmo said:

That Nashville looks promising, the large radius board sounds good, how much like a Strat can that actually sound? I take it the middle is out of phase like on a Strat?

No, the middle is in phase like on a Strat.

Veganic

ICBM said:

robgilmo said:

That Nashville looks promising, the large radius board sounds good, how much like a Strat can that actually sound? I take it the middle is out of phase like on a Strat?

No, the middle is in phase like on a Strat.

He means does it "quack" as you well know

thegummy

John_A said:

lonestar said:

Or you could spec an MJT “style” build within the UK

I say have as many guitars as you want. Nothing wrong with options. I’ve done the whole “sell everything and concentrate on playing” thing before. It didn’t work.. well, for me anyway.

Absolutely - works out cheaper too

Me neither!

However - I would say that putting a guitar together from quality bits+a nice paint job can work out expensive, and isn't as easy as it sounds, also  if you don't like the end result you have something that won't sell as easily as a 'name' guitar.  You can get a USA Strat for not much more than £400 used, or as @ Dan say's a baja tele or classic series strat will be a great guitar and easy to re-sell if you have a change of mind

Can you really get American Strats for that price?

ICBM

Veganic said:

He means does it "quack" as you well know

 

No, not as much. It’s in the same ballpark, but the true ‘quack’ depends on the pickups being very closely matched, so neither position on a Nashville Tele is quite like a Strat - but I’m not a fan of the ‘quack’ anyway, so it doesn’t bother me. The odd thing is that the middle pickup alone doesn’t sound as good as it does on a Strat (where it’s normally my favourite sound) though... not sure why.

p90fool

Just bung some good Broadcaster style pickups in your Tele, sell the other two and watch some Jim Campilongo videos. 

It's all you need, too many guitars dilute what you really need to think about. 

rossi

I am mainly using a Squier Joe Trohman again,now I have got another one  and my Keiper  109 jazzer all through a DV Mark Little Jazz and ajoyo American sound .Covers the lot and the Trohman does clean jazz ,hard rock ,smooth blues very well plus a  strat ish  quack .Not sure I need any other guitars now .I do play live for my sins .

robgilmo

Little update, I am now a one guitar owner, sold my Tele last week, nearly shed a tear.
So my one guitar is another Tele, a ten year old Baja. Really missing my other guitars but also loving the fact that I only have one to concentrate on and I am finding it much easier to focus on playing now.
When I pick it up I am no longer thinking ''does this sound like a ….'' and instead I am concentrating on practising and learning.
So , all in all a pretty good result and a happy bunny.