Telecaster weight

terada

Hi everyone,

Looking to get a tele, I've only had thinlines before. Probably something US made with nitro, so an AVRI or equivalent (broadcaster/nocaster/tele all good). 

Anyway having had a look around I can see that they appear to weigh as little as 6lbs-ish to in some cases 9lbs or greater.

Having more experience with Les pauls where this is more of a hot topic, I was wondering whether there was any consensus on what is most desirable for a tele (don't want to be stuck with something the market hates if I need to sell).

If you could let me know your preference that'd be great.

Cheers

crunchman

I think you need to try the individual guitar.  Generally, lighter is probably better within reason, but it's not a hard and fast rule.

I bought a Japanese made bound body 62 reissue in Chandlers (probably the best part of 15 years ago now) and they had a few of them in that I tried.  The one that I bought wasn't the lightest, but I thought it sounded a bit better.

On the other hand, I've played a few of the Mexican made Baja Teles, and they have varied quite a lot.  The heavy ones seemed to be very dead sounding.

I think it's probably like a Les Paul in that there is a weight that you don't want to go above.  That's somewhere in the region of 9lbs (give or take) for a Les Paul.  Above that, that they just aren't as responsive.  Below that weight, it just depends on the indivdual guitar.  I'm not sure what that weight is for a Tele though.  Probably somewhere in the region of 7.5 to 8 lbs.

rze99

They vary. All of them except CS. 

SidNewton

I recently bought one of the limited run Cabronitas from Peach which weighs 7lb 4oz. I saw the same guitar on ebay from an American dealer which was 8lb 10oz, so quite a variation.
My other Tele (the one in my avatar) is spot on 7lb. It's resonant and packs some serious bottom end. The best sound I've ever had was this guitar into a Marshall JCM 800 2204. 
Both guitars are ash bodies by the way.

stratman3142

My Tele Professional 2017 model is 6.8 lb, which is my lightest guitar. It's also a fantastic guitar. Compared to my other guitars it's got a very slight tendency to neck dive.  It's not a problem though and nothing that a typical rough guitar strap can't cope with. I expect neck dive might be something to check if a guitar gets very light.

As a reference for how weight feels to me, below are examples of my other guitars and how they feel:

My second lightest guitar is my PRS S2 which comes in at 8lb and I find that comfortable. Unfortunately my favourite guitar for gigging is my HSS Strat which weighs 9lb (a bit heavier than my Les Paul). That's a bit on the heavy side for me and I'll probably have to find a lighter HSS Strat as I get older and want to continue gigging.

For and old fart like me I'd be looking for something up to 8lb for gigging where it's necessary to stand up for extended periods. Obviously weight isn't a real issue for home use.

Funkfingers

CS Relic Nocaster weighs next to nothing. Ditto the Brown's Canyon / Old Growth Redwood Tele-bration models. The AVRI '52 Telecaster is marginally heavier. American Standard, Professional, Deluxe and Elite models are all heavier still - not unpleasantly so but enough to be noticeable.

Whitecat

Under 7 to under 8 is fine, balance is important between neck and body density. Probably 7 and a teeny bit would be my ideal but wouldn’t kick a slightly heavier or lighter one out if it played and sounded amazing. 

Over 8 for me is too heavy - had a Baja at 8 3/4 lbs once and it just wasn’t fun to play despite all the positives about it. 

hyperben

Alder body ones tend to be much more consistent in weight. Usually between 7.2-7.8lbs. Ash varies considerably in weight and can be as light as 6lbs and as heavy as 9lbs. My experience is that the weight has little relationship with the tone, though the lighter ash ones do seem more mid scooped to me. Anything over 7.7/7.8lbs would be more difficult to sell on I think, though it seems to be the cork sniffing crowd (like me) that care the most about this 

terada

Thanks for all the input so far guys. General consensus so far appears to be: under 8lbs is acceptable, 7 or 7.5 maybe more desirable. Under 7 can be excellent but watch out for neck dive!

My R9, 72 reissue tele and 62 reissue strat are all around the 8lb mark. Weirdly my R9 is the lightest of the bunch. So I know I'm comfortable gigging for a couple of hours at that sort of weight level.

Any others want to chime in?

terada

hyperben said:

Alder body ones tend to be much more consistent in weight. Usually between 7.2-7.8lbs. Ash varies considerably in weight and can be as light as 6lbs and as heavy as 9lbs. My experience is that the weight has little relationship with the tone, though the lighter ash ones do seem more mid scooped to me. Anything over 7.7/7.8lbs would be more difficult to sell on I think, though it seems to be the cork sniffing crowd (like me) that care the most about this 

Cheers, future difficulty to sell is my main driver here, I'm pretty sure the whole tone/weight thing is a bit of a red herring.

Jimbro66

I've owned a lot of Teles over the years but the one that has remained with me since 1982 when I bought it from Chandlers is my Schecter Tele. It has been the stand-out one of them all -  brilliant sounding and great to play. It has a swamp ash body and rock maple neck. I'd never weighed it but this thread prompted me to - 6lb 12oz. It has Sperzel locking machines but is not at all prone to neck dive. My other current Tele style guitar has a chambered mahogany body with maple cap and mahogany neck with ebony board. I can't weigh it at present but I'd guess it is around a pound heavier than the Schecter. That extra weight really notices over the length of a gig.

chris78

I wouldn’t have a tele that weighed more than 7 1/2 lbs. Lighter the better. The only neck dive I’ve experienced was on a cs thinline that weighed 5lbs 10oz.

Anyway, where’s @fretfinder ;

GuyR

I have an older tele which weighs around 7 and a quarter. For me, anything under 8lb is ok.

Iamnobody

I don’t think that (generally) Tele players are as anal as Les Paul players.

I’ve had at least 4 telecasters and couldn’t tell you the weight of them. In fact I don’t know the weight of any of my guitars past or present.

My current Tele is a thinline - I do know if I swapped that for a full fat Tele I’d like a light weight one so it felt comparable.

I don’t think anyone weighed guitars pre-internet did they? 

I wouldn’t let weight rule the future resale value too much  - best off just getting a popular model that’s in demand. 

GoldenEraGuitars

terada said:

If you could let me know your preference that'd be great.

Cheers

Personally, I’m more into the sound of the guitar and the feel of the neck. Weight has never bothered me.  

Every guitar is different. Every piece of wood (whether it is ash or alder) is different. Every player is different. Every opinion is different.

Get out there (once this pandemic is gone) and play some. 

After handling hundreds of unloaded guitar bodies in the last 4 years I can tell you, from my experience, that alder is no more consistent or inconsistent in weight than ash. I always cringe when I read “advice” telling people that one wood is lighter or heavier than another. 

Iamnobody said:

I don’t think that (generally) Tele players are as anal as Les Paul players.

Oh yes they are!

hyperben

I always cringe when I read “advice” telling people that one wood is lighter or heavier than another. 

In the Fender CS range you'll struggle to find an Alder Strat or Tele that is less than 7lbs or more than 8lbs. Perhaps it's because they select their wood more carefully...? Probably... This is a fact though - not advice or opinion. Plenty of data out there from many guitar shops who publish the weights. Ash on the other hand, plenty of Fender CS models in the 6lb range.

GoldenEraGuitars

hyperben said:

I always cringe when I read “advice” telling people that one wood is lighter or heavier than another. 

In the Fender CS range you'll struggle to find an Alder Strat or Tele that is less than 7lbs or more than 8lbs. Perhaps it's because they select their wood more carefully...? Probably... This is a fact though - not advice or opinion. Plenty of data out there from many guitar shops who publish the weights. Ash on the other hand, plenty of Fender CS models in the 6lb range.

Another cringe.

hyperben

GoldenEraGuitars said:

hyperben said:

I always cringe when I read “advice” telling people that one wood is lighter or heavier than another. 

In the Fender CS range you'll struggle to find an Alder Strat or Tele that is less than 7lbs or more than 8lbs. Perhaps it's because they select their wood more carefully...? Probably... This is a fact though - not advice or opinion. Plenty of data out there from many guitar shops who publish the weights. Ash on the other hand, plenty of Fender CS models in the 6lb range.

Another cringe.

Can’t argue with a fact dude

https://wildwoodguitars.com/product-category/electrics/fender-custom-shop/custom-shop-telecaster/