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What are the best playing Telecaster guitar era ?


NeverTheMachine

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What is the best telecaster of all time ... year? model?

This new look forum sucks. I can't imagine anyone would even see this post, but I want to get a new/used telecaster so I'm starting the conversation for myself.

I need a workhorse tele. Would prefer the standard s/s pickups configuration but I'm open to humbuckers. I need a tele with a great playing neck, stays in tune all the time, takes abuse.

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G&L ASAT is a working man's solution, versatile well built and personally I like the ones with the boat neck a Vee shape to them early to mid 80's Japanese teles are a good deal but you will want to replace the electronics in them ,, a simple process

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My second favorite neck of all time came from a 1999 Squier Tele.  It's more playable than a lot of higher priced and vintage tele's that I've played.  As far as Tele's go, more expensive doesn't equal more playable.  Tone on the other hand is pretty subjective.  I put Texas Specials in the Squier and it sounded great.  Like a Tele in every respect, and it was a top loader. 

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The best playing tele is the one which fits best in YOUR hands, not someone elses.  I know I could build a partstelecaster better than an MIA or deluxe MIA.  As a matter of fact I've done it.  It's such a personal thing, there are many goood guitars to choose from too.

 

If I had to go stock standard with bang for buck in mind, it's the previously mentioned Baja.

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"It's such a personal thing, there are many goood guitars to choose from too."

+1.

YMMV, but my reality is that each and every guitar is - like snowflakes and people ... awwww - unique, and I try to assess them on their own terms.

Here is what is NOT unique about different Tele models:

- overall quality of component parts *

- configuration (e.g., Thinlines will have f-holes, etc.)

- shape

- general trend to cleaner, more trebly sounds

* - and even that can vary ... see below

 

Here's what varies with each and every Tele:

- QC.  Sorry, Fender - sometimes people have bad days at work, or even hours ... I've seen American Deluxes with paint drips, and Indonesian Squiers that looked sharp

- the miracles of chemistry / DNA.  This is the way I try to explain that there are so many variables in a guitar, that you just can't control for all of them in a way that will dictate player experience.  A US Deluxe Strat could use a body that was graded at a certain level, and maybe there's a hidden flaw in it.  Or perhaps a 'cruddy' 5-piece basswood body, through some combination of good glue reaction and lucky pairing of pieces, turns out great.  Or perhaps you're a shredder and not a country picker - in which case the Merle Haggard $8k model wouldn't suit you as well as an $800 Aerodyne from Korea, though it would hold it's value well and certainly is a "better" instrument from a non-contextual POV.  The only way to know is to hold each one in your hands, and play it through an amplifier that is as close to your preferred set-up as possible.

 

You might ask, well, how do I do that, because it leaves a hell of a lot of Teles out there to hold and play?

 

This way: figure out what you think you MUST have (humbucker in the bridge? maple fretboard?) and go to the nearest big-box guitar shop and try ONE of each of the models that fits that bill.  You will be amazed at how quickly you'll start narrowing your tastes.  Then, take your time.  Go to many places, check CL, etc., so that you can seek out as many of the chosen series/configurations you want.

 

I have 5-6 Teles, and each is like a child of mine (sweet, yeah, sorry bad pun) so I love them all for their own specialness, but I'm **bleep** glad my first was a used MIM standard.  I overpaid for it at the time (didn't know better), but it's a gorgeous 1994 with a hell of a neck and has seen the wars and is still a go to guitar in a collection that is expanding as fast as my waistline and in similarly embarassing fashion.

Good luck!

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