Telecaster Contours

[Seamas]

I am considering a Telecaster for my next build.
Once upon a time I regarded the Telecaster with little regard at all.
I thought they were ugly.
Now I see their homeliness (classic standard tele) as charming, and aesthetically, I think the slab, un-contoured look more fitting to its workhorse plain-jane vibe.
But at the same time, contours do make for a more comfortable guitar to play.

Your thoughts?

 

[rgand]

Get the contours. At least the forearm one. It makes a big difference. Mine doesn't have them and it sits in the case.

 

[spe111]

If you want it to look vintage then go with no contours. If you don't care about that 100% go with contours.

That being said, I've been playing a Fender '52 Reissue Telecaster for the past 16 years and I don't really feel like I miss the contours.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I didn't used to like 'em. Now I'm building one.  Funny, for years I always regarded it as a Country guitar...completely oblivious to the fact that Jimmy Page used one on the first Led Zepplin album. It's also used in Blues, Soul, R&B, and modern Rock. So NOT just a "Country guitar". Mine will be upgraded with pickups that don't hum, contoured heel, SS frets, compensated saddles, and custom wiring scheme.
As for the contours, I don't feel the need for a belly cut or forearm bevel.

 

[stratamania]

Mac vs PC and to Hackintosh or not to Hackintosh that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous Tele fortune
or to take sandpaper against strange contours
and in a workshop smooth them?

ay there's the rub.

 

[swarfrat]

I'm not opposed to contours. I didn't get them this time around. Maybe next time.

And of course Tele's aren't just country:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNO5J7HzOJg[/youtube]

This one shows that a Tele is so easy that it plays itself:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQzB1fJjX1Y[/youtube]

 

[mayfly]

The Telecaster is an amazing instrument.  It is the most expressive guitar I've ever played.  It might be the most expressive instrument of any kind that I've ever played.

The slab-like feel is part of the charm and play-ability IMHO.  But if it gets you to own a tele, then by all means contour it up!

 

[Rick]

None of my teles have a forearm contour, though two have the belly contour.  I love each one of them, and not having the forearm contour is a non-issue.

If having a forearm contour will get you into the tele appreciation camp, then go for it!  To my eyes, stylistically it's the root electric guitar, everything else is a variation, and therein lies it's charm.

 

[swarfrat]

It took my nephew getting a tele to win me over. That's when I discovered that a hard tail strat (which I'd been rocking 20 years) is really just a Tele with complicated and weak sounding pickups.

 

[Cagey]

I went my whole life feeling sorry for the poor buggers who had to play a Tele. Now I have 5 of them.

 

[Kostas]

The ideal telecaster body has a heel contour only, IMO.

 

[BigSteve22]

Let me join the contour cheering section: Contours! Contours! Rah, rah, rah!!!

My contoured Tele is the most comfortable guitar I own. Try one, you won't be sorry!  :icon_thumright:

(Or don't, and be terribly disappointed for the rest of your life. But hey, it's your life...  :evil4

 

[swarfrat]

I said I didn't have a monkey, but that's not true. I need to get my monkey finished, but I'm definitely not opposed to contours.

 

[mayfly]

ok, which cuss word translates to 'monkey'?

 

[swarfrat]

Hahaha - not autoreplaced, I was referring to "Not my circus, not my monkeys.  2 (10%)"

 

[AirCap]

I like both slab and contoured. Back in the late 70's I had a real '52 Tele with a small rib carve on the back, which I understood to be stock. Fender didn't do it for long.

 

[musicispeace]

Strat guy here but I have one tele with the traditional body and like playing it as such, its like a piece of American history. But a second tele is upcoming that happens to have the rear contour. I was not really interested in the contour on a tele until the body arrived. To me, even more than the comfort aspect, it creates the illusion of making the body seem a lot thinner. (and maybe I am way to open to the power of suggestion) The contour plus the comparatively light weight of a roasted alder body (with swamp ash lam top) has me grooving on it already, and I am still window shopping for a neck. I can't say I am officially pro-contour on teles but I think I am going to be quite happy with one of each.

 

[Ace Flibble]

I won't touch a standard Tele body now. Mine all either have been made with or modified to have both a front contour and a rounder 1/4" or 1/2" edge radius. Tried it once and I'm never going back. Those nasty square edges of regular Teles can go jump in the sea; I'm tired of bruising up my arm just 'cause Leo Fender was too cheap to put some work in seventy years ago.

 

[ragamuffin]

Gotta have that forearm contour! And I like the others as well. I don't like to have a 90 degree angle pressing into my arm. It doesn't have to be as extreme as the standard strat style forearm contour though, just a little helps out a lot.

 

[swarfrat]

Okay - I know we got a peek at the super secret tummy contour sanding jig a while back, but my OSS won't go that high.

What's the best way to cut the forearm and tummy contours on a body after the fact? I have a (mumble mumble not Warmoth) solid northern ash Tele body.  My first thought was stick a flap wheel on the angle grinder. But that's about 2.7 hecks of a lot of sanding dust to turn a couple cubic inches of ash into dust.

The jig might still be handy - even if my OSS won't reach that high I might could still use a T-square with it for marking. What about the bulk material removal? Rasp? Spoke shave? Angle grinder? I'm ready to get this thing rolling again.