We Lefties are so deprived ...

[strat.tenor]

On a whim went to a 2nd guitar store yesterday and there on the wall was ... wow ... a Lefty Telecaster!.  I pulled it down and played it.  First Telie ever!  It was nice.  Solid maple neck.  I always thought Telies were kinda ugly, but now warming to them.  What is the main difference - from a players perspective - that draws someone to a Telecaster over a Strat?

Also, I went looking on the net and Fender makes this one ...

... which is just beautiful.  Are Telies hollow bodies or solid?  Can you sand/contour the upper left side of the body (as you wear it) for your strumming arm?

I'm thinking of making one of these.

They have a real "old school" vibe to them.
Really do wanna know the Strat vs. Telie selection criteria.

Thanks.

 

[Mor Paul]

Strats have always sounded thin to me. I like the non-contours of a tele. It makes it feel more substantial to me.
Teles just seem so dependable and sturdy, and you don't mind them getting beaten up a bit.

 

[erogenousjones17]

Max is right; there's just something reassuring and solid about a slab-bodied guitar like a Tele. Strats are quite possibly the most comfortable guitars to play, but somehow a Tele (or other slab-bodied axe, like my beloved W LPS) digging into your ribs a little is a good feeling. A Tele is just a good all-around workhorse guitar. Plus there's that whole "Tele twang," which I don't think you can get anywhere else...

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

To the OP, Warmoth does all that stuff to Teles.  Forearm contours, solid, hollow, chambered, even carved tops, and all available as left-handed.  It's on their website.

 

[Mor Paul]

Plus there's that whole "Tele twang," which I don't think you can get anywhere else...

The great thing about teles is they can do pretty much every type of music. Country, blues, rock (listen to Led Zep 1), etc...

 

[Dan025]

can you tone it down on the color and size it seems like you are starving for attention, we can read smaller text i assure you



having said that teles are in there own category, they have a sound that can only come from a telecaster. they also have a certain character and each is different from the next one i hope you build one and post it here but please keep it to one or two threads

 

[Assumer]

Love teles. Being a lefty also, I have not found many in stock.  Did find a used american once and later sold it like an idiot.

 

[whyachi]

My early experiences jamming in a friend's living room involved an odd Tele, and I loved it. Seafoam green with a maple neck is classy anyway, and his was beat up which made it better.

It had a Tele bridge pup and two Strat pups in the middle and neck, and it seemed he could do anything with it. I never thought he needed anything but the Tele pup, though.

 

[strat.tenor]

can you tone it down on the color and size it seems like you are starving for attention, we can read smaller text i assure you ...

"... starving for attention ... eh?  Hilarious assumption, lots of other things which will go unstated.  I up the font because - even though I do not wear glasses and have therefore good eyesight - I simply find the larger font easier to read and pass on the consideration to others.  Considering others ... it's a fun thing to try every now and then.

 

[jimbo]

As far as the thread's title goes. I'll definitely agree, lefties are deprived/forgotten a lot.  BUT Warmoth is awesome for lefties, almost everything they make is available in a southpaw version. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other companies that do that.
As for teles I jammed on one once, they're hard to put down.  I've currently got a strat underway, but looking at all the cool teles on here has definitely reminded me that I need one.
Aesthetically I'm not a huge fan of the headstock, but... with Warmoth you've got your choice on that anyhow.
tele's kind of look like.... if a strat and les paul had a kid... and they were cousins.... the tele would be the kid.

 

[OzziePete]

can you tone it down on the color and size it seems like you are starving for attention, we can read smaller text i assure you ...

"... starving for attention ... eh?  Hilarious assumption, lots of other things which will go unstated.  I up the font because - even though I do not wear glasses and have therefore good eyesight - I simply find the larger font easier to read and pass on the consideration to others.  Considering others ... it's a fun thing to try every now and then.

I can appreciate your consideration of others using the larger font and using bolder colour, but it does chew up data. Normal print is fine with most of us here, I think. While a good number of manufacturers charge extra for lefty guitars or simply don't make as many models - or option restrictions, at least at Warmoth you have a greater chnace of getting the guitar you really want.

As for Tele vs. Strat. Just some random thoughts below.

Tele:
*Swamp Ash body and maple/maple neck
*2 single coil pickups with a usually low winding
*string through body anchoring, large bridgeplate.
*more wood than plastic and just plain chunky.
*harder to break a Tele than any other guitar I reckon. Solid as... After a nuclear war there will be cockroaches.....and Teles!

Strat:
*Alder body with maple/maple OR maple/rosewood neck
*3 single coils, higher rating windings.
*hardtail version is still string through, but most Strats have the tremolo, so the sound will chnage due to the springs and trem mechansim
* Still a lot of wood, but it does have a larger area covered by the plastic pickguard and more modular in design
* still very hard to break, but Townsend and Hendrix did lay waste to them when they wanted to. Takes a lot of effort to kill one though, lol.

 

[Mor Paul]

As for Tele vs. Strat. Just some random thoughts below.

Tele:
*Swamp Ash body and maple/maple neck
*2 single coil pickups with a usually low winding
*string through body anchoring, large bridgeplate.
*more wood than plastic and just plain chunky.
*harder to break a Tele than any other guitar I reckon. Solid as... After a nuclear war there will be cockroaches.....and Teles!

Strat:
*Alder body with maple/maple OR maple/rosewood neck
*3 single coils, higher rating windings.
*hardtail version is still string through, but most Strats have the tremolo, so the sound will chnage due to the springs and trem mechansim
* Still a lot of wood, but it does have a larger area covered by the plastic pickguard and more modular in design
* still very hard to break, but Townsend and Hendrix did lay waste to them when they wanted to. Takes a lot of effort to kill one though, lol.

Mostly right, but I'm going to throw a few things out there:
Early strats were swamp ash, I believe. If you want something more similar to a 60's strat, go alder/maple-rosewood
I'm pretty sure Teles were wound more than strats. They also have a baseplate under the pickup that alters the sound. IIRC, makes it more thick.

 

[strat.tenor]

I can appreciate your consideration of others using the larger font and using bolder colour, but ...

  ... the people in charge of the larger font have been sacked ...
... and the mere peasants return to their low, merely peasantry ways ...

 

[Dan025]

maybe i was too blunt.
you seem like a nice guy and maybe that is why no one has said it yet. people get heckeled for less around here. personalizing your posts is one thing. i am ok with that. personalizing is what most of like to do and that is why we're here. i just thought you're style seems alittle loud for lack of a better term. most of us can read fine and for those who need some help they can set there own browser to display larger high contrast text.

i realize that this is a new topic altogether but you have like five threads open on just neck and fingerboard selection and feel. as far as i'm concerned those could've just been new questions and updates to the original thread.
if you have questions i'll answer to the best of my ability if you want to share something you've learned or an opinion someone may find it valuable but could you try to avoid flooding the board with multiple threads pertaining to only the future possible selection of one part for one guitar.

oh and good luck with the tele do you plan to do up a warmoth or modify a fender

 

[Dan025]

lol what is that from. is that a montey python skit or something

 

[Tempest]

HEY AT LEAST HE'S NOT TYPING IN ALL CAPS[size=30pt]

:icon_biggrin:  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Dan025]

:doh:

 

[imminentG]

Well, I'll tell you right off the bat, choosing between strat and tele can be the hardest decision for a single coil player.
Every since having teles grow on me, I've come to see the strat as much more of a blues oriented guitar sound.
I originally thought teles were good for just about nothing, but now I realize just how well they handle country.
Don't get me wrong, both instruments can do blues OR country pretty well, but I think the balance is tipped a little for both involved.
Personally, I would rather go tele, the cleanliness you can get out of it is just plain attractive. :blob7:
I am also beginning to think trebly guitars will stand out just a trife more in a band.
The hardest part about turning down strats for ME would be saying goodbye to that incredible neck pickup sound, :guitaristgif: it's so jimi-choppy-fluffy that it almost makes strats a no-brainer, both to choose and to play.

When it all comes down to it, I would think a lot of the decision-making process will be up to your style of play and the overall sound you are going for.

 

[Mor Paul]

Tele with a strat neck pup.

 

[nathan a]

Tele with a FIREBIRD neck pup!