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The Age-Old Question: Strats vs Teles


ArpeggiateTHIS

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Elaborate.

 

 

Well the twang of a tele largely comes from the interaction of the bridge pickup with the metal plate IMHO. Fixed bridges with three saddles have a certain unmistakable quality to them for me.

 

The strat has a tremolo which really impacts the sorts of things you can do with it. It is a more complex system and therefore a bit more of a PITA but it also allows for some extraordinary types of expression that a tele cannot do unless you put a tone sucking bigsby on it.

Having said that, if rock solid tuning stability and simplicity of maintenance is your thing, the tele wins hands down.

 

Most strat neck PUP positions sound rounder, fuller and richer to my ears than tele neck PUPs but most strat bridge positions sound harsher and not as pleasing to me as most tele bridge positions.

 

In my opinion, it is easier to make a strat sound somewhat like a tele than it is to make a tele sound somewhat like a strat if that helps anything. Overall, they are still apples and oranges tonally. You really do need both.

 

The ideal marriage or midpoint of the two if you asked me to have only one guitar is the jazzmaster design but the long scale and certain other idiosyncrasies like body size and bridge issues don't do it for some people.

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Just looking for some quick insight, what do you find the major differences are between the two?


Cheers

 

The differences don't matter. Just go try a few of each and see which you like better.

 

We'll post HNGD boobs for you no matter what you end up buying.

:thu:

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I love the tele sound, although I really dig a nice strat tone. I can't stand where strats have the volume knob, as I always hit it and steadily turn down the volume... That is easily changed... Another thing I don't like is the middle pickup sometimes gets in my way, but that's not a big deal... Also, I have a tough time keeping a strat in tune with the vintage tremolo...

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I've tried them both and in my opinion teles make for much easier playing, but then i prefer the sound of a strat.


Where does that leave me?

 

 

Means you like strats. There is no law that says you have to like teles. I've always considered the tele to just be a flat, ugly Les Paul with no balls.

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Well the twang of a tele largely comes from the interaction of the bridge pickup with the metal plate IMHO. Fixed bridges with three saddles have a certain unmistakable quality to them for me.


The strat has a tremolo which really impacts the sorts of things you can do with it. It is a more complex system and therefore a bit more of a PITA but it also allows for some extraordinary types of expression that a tele cannot do unless you put a tone sucking bigsby on it.

Having said that, if rock solid tuning stability and simplicity of maintenance is your thing, the tele wins hands down.


Most strat neck PUP positions sound rounder, fuller and richer to my ears than tele neck PUPs but most strat bridge positions sound harsher and not as pleasing to me as most tele bridge positions.


In my opinion, it is easier to make a strat sound somewhat like a tele than it is to make a tele sound somewhat like a strat if that helps anything. Overall, they are still apples and oranges tonally. You really do need both.


The ideal marriage or midpoint of the two if you asked me to have only one guitar is the jazzmaster design but the long scale and certain other idiosyncrasies like body size and bridge issues don't do it for some people.

 

 

Thanks, that actually proved quite helpful! The clincher is that, as it is aspirational to own only one (at least in the near future), a strat would be more versatile. Having said that, it's obvious that i'll test both guitars out and prefer the tele.

 

HNGD boobs either way? I hope that's a promise.

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Thanks, that actually proved quite helpful! The clincher is that, as it is aspirational to own only one (at least in the near future), a strat would be more versatile. Having said that, it's obvious that i'll test both guitars out and prefer the tele.


HNGD boobs either way? I hope that's a promise.

 

Of course!

:thu:

Here's a preview just to get you into that shopping spirit.

boobs.jpg

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Strat: more comfortable to play due to contours and weight. Complex, springy sound.

 

Tele: lots of sharp edges, uglier headstock, heavier, balsier sound out of the box due to the thicker body of the wood,.

 

Both: great designs. No need to hate either.

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Another difference is that on a Strat (without modification) you cannot play with the neck and bridge pickups together. And, obviously, on the Tele you don't have the middle pickup to give depth to either of the other two. Just tone.

 

I have a Strat and love it, but the more I listen to Brad Paisley......I hafta get a Tele now.

 

(and I'm not even a big country fan, but that man can play a Tele like I've never heard!)

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Thanks, that actually proved quite helpful! The clincher is that, as it is aspirational to own only one (at least in the near future), a strat would be more versatile. Having said that, it's obvious that i'll test both guitars out and prefer the tele.


HNGD boobs either way? I hope that's a promise.

 

 

Don't forget to give the old jazzmaster a twirl too, Not a classic player, a real Jazzmaster. Who knows, you may love it.

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If it has to be only one, I'd get a Nashville tele, and replace the Tele neck pickup with a Strat pickup. Best of both worlds.

 

Anyway, the tonal differences. Apples and oranges. There is no 'best' choice. They both have their own thing played quietly and sweetly or loud, distorted, and nasty - whatever. Strat players can be as quiet and understated as Knopfler or as loud as Mount St. Helens, like Jimi. Same with a tele, take Danny Gatton et al. or Tom Morello. It's just a matter of which suits you better.

 

But, I really do reccomend getting one of each. :thu: Sometimes there's just no substitute for a Strat neck pickup or a Tele bridge. Nothing else quite does it.

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The strat is pointier and the tele has a nicer curve to it.:poke::)'

 

Plus, didn't you hear that strat owners would not be allowed into the new HC 2.0? It's supposed to be a secret, but that's the real reason behind the change. They are trying to get rid of those riff raffs that own strats.

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The strat is pointier and the tele has a nicer curve to it.:poke::)'


Plus, didn't you hear that strat owners would not be allowed into the new HC 2.0? It's supposed to be a secret, but that's the real reason behind the change. They are trying to get rid of those riff raffs that own strats.

 

:eek:

 

I thought it was just OJ and AMPS that wouldn't continue to 2.0!

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