Budget Tele Questions

[gergbee]

Hi all,

 

Honest, I searched.. "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms."

 

I know some of you are tired of these kinds of threads but bear with me.

 

I am thinking of getting a cheap Tele style guitar as a present to myself but there are so many choices out there that it's tough to know what's the best bang for my buck. They are all around the same price but I was wondering if one or the other was better in terms of pickups or whatever.

 

I've never had a Tele so do the following matter that much?

 

 

Top loader vs. string through?

 

Alnico pickups vs ??

 

3 piece vintage bridge vs. 6?

 

21 frets vs 22?

 

 

Here's what I am considering and since I am in Canada I am a little leery of shipping costs in case of a lemon BUT if the choices are better than locally available ones it might be worth it.

 

Choice One:

Squier http://www.axemusic.com/product.asp?P_ID=4174&strShowBackLink=n (Canadian dollars- I could pick up locally)

 

Choice Two:

J & D http://www.fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=412&category_id=50 (Canadian dollars + shipping)

 

Choice Three:

Douglas http://www.rondomusic.com/product2643.html (US dollars + shipping)

 

Choice Four:

SX http://www.rondomusic.com/stl50.html I couldn't find a natural finish (US dollars + shipping)

 

Choice Five:

Xaviere http://store.guitarfetish.com/xvsoashbuman.html (US dollars + shipping)

 

Choices One and Two would probably end up cheaper for me but are they just as good? Any other suggestions are welcome too.

 

Just wondering what other people think.

 

Thanks,

 

Greg

[ncsu08ms3]

I've got a Squire Affinity Tele. Love how it sounds and plays, neck feels great. Only thing I don't like is that it's a Top loader instead of a string-thru like my Highway 1 strat, making string changes a PITA!!! Changing the bridge may help this though, not a top priority right now though.

 

Phillip

[Vintage55]

Heres another choice for ya...

 

 

$149.00, with free shipping, I think

 

 

 

http://miamivintageguitars.net/shop/article_16/MVG-Sofia-11.html?shop_param=cid%3D1%26aid%3D16%26

[Slave2TheAudio]

I would say squire or xaviere would be good on ya.

[Angry Tele]

Hi all,

 

Honest, I searched.. "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms."

 

I know some of you are tired of these kinds of threads but bear with me.

 

I am thinking of getting a cheap Tele style guitar as a present to myself but there are so many choices out there that it's tough to know what's the best bang for my buck. They are all around the same price but I was wondering if one or the other was better in terms of pickups or whatever.

 

I've never had a Tele so do the following matter that much?

 

I always think its a good idea to start with a vintage spec Tele first. You may never want to go from there (there's no better Tele than the vintage spec ones IMO), or you may want to try more modern specs later...Especially on the cheap the vintage spec ones have less moving parts and are so simple its hard to make a crappy one. Compared to humbucking teles with wammy bars, extra frets and gibson bridges and switches etc;

[twofoolsaminute]

Not that there's really anything wrong with the Squier Affinity, but it's pretty stripped down. I don't think it it worth the price. You can get a string-thru body with a vintage bridge and good tonewood so cheaply these days it seems a waste. If I were recommending from your list, I'd say the Xaviere in Alder or Ash. Outside of that the smart money seems to be on the Squier Vintage Vibe Telecaster according to common wisdom. Personally, I fell in love with a Jay Turser, but the alder base model Turser is not very easy to find. Only the more expensive models with more appointments but inferior woods seem to be available usually. As was said before a basic Tele style guitar with the vintage setup is pretty hard to screw up. So, I'd say get the one that speaks to you. Beyond that, anything I could tell you would just be my personal preferences (i.e. three-saddle ashtray bridge).

[gergbee]

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate all the replies.

 

twofoolsaminute, I asked my local shop about Jay Turser since he deals with them, he looked it up and found that they don't sell the Jay Turser Tele models in Canada. He could have been lying but I don't see why.

[twofoolsaminute]

Actually, I take all that back. That J&D looks fabulous. I think I'd go with that over the Xaviere. Beautiful finish, natural satin maple neck, three-saddle bridge, alnico pickups. I even like the headstock better. I might get one myself.

[EDS]

I've owned these teles (in order from most to least expensive)

 

- '52 reissue (USA), USA Standard, HW1 Texas Tele (USA), '50s Classic (Mexico), ESP tele copy (Japan), Squier Classic Vibe (China) , Squier Butterscotch Affinity (China).

 

All of these guitars were good-to-great in their own way, but the Classic Vibe is the only one I own now and I have no regrets. I'm not saying its better than a '52 reish, but I guess the price vs. quality ratio of the CV was best for me. However, I would say its a big step-up from the Affinity series. Its worth checking out.