yet another "teles are harder to play" tele player

[Angry Tele]

you guys always wonder where the myth of teles being harder to play comes from, its from tele players. Jimmy Page says it ("you have to fight a tele-but there are rewards"), Elliot Easton says it ("a tele tells no lies"), now Steve Cropper:

 

 

"[The Peavey Steve Cropper signature guitar] allows me to get the sounds I like with ease, and my fingers and wrist don't hurt when I get through playing it. Some guitars are like handling barbed wire. Even if they're vintage guitars you have to work more, and I'm not as young as I used to be, so I tend to lean towards the custom stuff for ease of playing. It's kinda like Ferrari versus a Chevrolet. Some of these kids say 'How come you don't play a Fender?' I say, it's very simple - your pa gives you two sets of keys for your birthday and out on the driveway there's a Ferrari and a Chevrolet; which one are you going to drive off with? That's the one I'm playing!"

[rock-lobster]

I don't find them harder to play in particular. If a guitar is hard to play it's because it's set up badly, or because the neck and fretboard aren't to your taste but that depends on you.

[GAS Man]

Well, it could partly be be due to some of the following:

 

A) Smaller/more vintage fretboard radius requires the action to be a hair higher to avoid fret outs on bends

B) Longer Scale; 25.5 versus, 25" PRS, or 24.75" Gibson adds more tension

C) Frets are usually vintage to medium jumbo so your fretting needs to be a bit more precise

D) In general they tend to sound better with at least 10-46 gauge on them versus lighter strings so that adds a bit more tension

[blind radish]

This!!

 

 

I don't find them harder to play in particular. If a guitar is hard to play it's because it's set up badly, or because the neck and fretboard aren't to your taste but that depends on you.

 

[schoolie1]

Maybe so many people play teles because....they are very easy to play? That's been my experience.

[Angry Tele]

yeah its exactly this. But people refuse to believe bending is harder on a 7.25" with vintage frets than a 12" with medium or jumbo. Its like reverse machismo.

 

the point is its not internet players that say this , its professional musicians, not only but legends, and guitar heros.

 

 

 

Well, it could partly be be due to some of the following: A) Smaller/more vintage fretboard radius requires the action to be a hair higher to avoid fret outs on bends B) Longer Scale; 25.5 versus, 25" PRS, or 24.75" Gibson adds more tension C) Frets are usually vintage to medium jumbo so your fretting needs to be a bit more precise D) In general they tend to sound better with at least 10-46 gauge on them versus lighter strings so that adds a bit more tension

 

[DaleH]

Do some chicken pick'en on a strat. It's no easier.

[soundcreation]

Just goes to show that famous guitarists say stupid {censored} too.

 

what a shock....

[Burgess]

It's not that Teles are any harder to play but that their sound is so out front. To be frank if you're a good player it really makes your task easier. If you have issues though the Tele will leave you no place to hide.

[*BLEEP*]

Bet you most of you knew that a Telecaster can double as a polygraph machine, but simply are afraid to admit it. :poke:

[billybilly]

Tele's are only hard to play because they are uncomfortable. Having an edge where your forearm and stomach are is just dumb in the modern age.

 

I hear all these people say it doesn't matter and they are fine with the edges, they are dumb.

[adlo76]

 

Tele's are only hard to play because they are uncomfortable. Having an edge where your forearm and stomach are is just dumb in the modern age. I hear all these people say it doesn't matter and they are fine with the edges, their dumb.

 

 

aren't they?

[Ancient Mariner]

It sounds to me, from the OP, that the Tele was the easiest guitar to play.

 

Just IMO but I think the Les Paul played clean is the most difficult to make sound good - far easier to sound bad or control tone and sustain than a tele or other single coil guitar. You can't just strum or pick it like an acoustic or a tele.

[billybilly]

 

aren't they?

 

 

Nice one.

 

If something is obviously better and easy to improve upon, I do. Like my grammar for instance. I'm not stubborn enough to avoid change if it improves something. Unlike tele players.

[billybilly]

 

aren't they?

 

 

Nice one.

 

If something is obviously better and easy to improve upon, I do. Like my grammar for instance. I'm not stubborn enough to avoid change if it improves something. Unlike tele players.

[honeyiscool]

I find it easier to bend with a vintage radius and vintage frets. It's because I learned on those things. My natural bending motion relies on fretboard curvature by now. There's nothing machismo about it. I just think thin 60s necks are the best and most comfortable necks. Maybe Gibson necks are better for pure speed but they don't enhance my bending at all

 

And why would a Tele be harder to play than a Strat when you can find Tele necks of all shapes and sizes and they can even take Strat necks? If your Tele is hard to play it is because you have a bad one. All the three or so Teles I had we're comfy. Even the Squiers.

[straycat113]

First off watch Steve Cropper playing some all star show and I guarantee he will have a Tele in his hands. Did anyone ever think that this quaote was an old one from when Peavey built him a sig guitar? The same with Albert Lee who has a great playing EBMM sig guitar that plays smooth as silk but every time I see him guest at some huge show (a few months ago he was playing with James Burton for an all star tribute which I caught on PBS for a Buddy Holly) and he played his Tele all night not his sig. The bottom line is that due to a smaller radius on most models and the bigger scale lentgh Fenders are basically a little tougher and less forgiving to play but it is nothing drastic. I started on a Tele and played one for 15 years straight and I always liked that you had to fight a Fender a bit. But that is only in the realm of comparing them to smaller scale length instruments with a wider radius and the bottom line is it is so minute and if you can play it should not even cross your mind.

[csm]

Well ...

 

Compared to a Strat (particularly one with an unblocked trem), a Tele will (a) offer more resistance to bends because the bridge won't move, (b) feel a little less comfy because of the non-contoured, squared-off body and © provide less tonal flexibility because it has fewer PUs and controls. However, there are rewards: simplicity of operation and THAT bridge PU tone ...

 

Compared to a Les Paul (or any other 'Gibson-scale' guitar), it'll also be tougher to bend strings (string gauges being equal) because of that longer scale length. Some players also find that crisp, cutting high-end response intimidating. However, there are rewards ... (see above).

 

My own take: if I'm asked to do a session where I'm playing strictly rhythm, or straightforward riffs which don't require wigglestick stuff, I'll generally bring my Tele. For live gigs, or jobs where I don't know what they might need or I might have to solo ... it's a Strat.

 

Horses, as they say, for courses. I know people (particularly players whose home turf is acoustic) who find Strats confusing: when they move to electric, their techniques transfer better to Teles. OTOH, those who learned on LPs or similar, and like low action and easy-bendy strings, find a Tele to be (literally) too much of a handful.

[Angry Tele]

that steve cropper quote is from 2012 guitar world

 

now people are saying les pauls are harder to bend on because of the neck angle. 9s on a les paul feel like 10s on a tele.

 

I wish we could measure the force needed to bend a string. I know it would be more on a longer scale smaller frets rounder neck than anything else.

[bluesnapper]

Steve Cropper almost definitely gets paid a ton of money to say that the 'Peavey Steve Cropper Signature' guitars are better.

[PhxdB]

 

It's not that Teles are any harder to play but that their sound is so out front. To be frank if you're a good player it really makes your task easier. If you have issues though the Tele will leave you no place to hide.

This is exactly it right there. It's just the sound. Same thing with strats.

 

Are they really that much harder to play? No. A bad player will sound bad on any guitar.

[Tone Deaf]

I think a lot of this "polygraph" bull{censored} comes from the fact that Teles are often used in musical contexts that require/utilize a relatively clean guitar tone, with a minimum of distortion (ex. country, blues, etc).

 

Playing any guitar sans dirt/distortion/overdrive is going to be a little more unforgiving, with mistakes coming through as a bit more obvious. Conversely, any guitar played through high levels of gain is going to "hide" mistakes a bit more and allow for a little more slop in your playing, including Teles.

 

I think the high proliferation of Teles used in a clean context has helped foster the misconception that they're "harder to play" or their mis-categorization as "polygraph machines."

[Dr_Kuh]

I don't think that Tele's are harder to play. And I sure as hell would take the Ferrari and not the Chevrolet.

[honeyiscool]

Corvette is enough car for anyone.

[wagdog]

Nothing tells the truth like a tele.