4 ms·
Telecaster
- moomin 4y agoThe Telecaster is a peculiar design from a modern perspective. The science of how to construct a solid body guitar has, of course, moved on quite a lot. But it turns out if you change e.g. the shared string tree design, it loses as essential part of its character. It has a unique and incredibly flexible sound but occupies an unassailable local maximum. You might be able to build a better guitar for certain purposes, but it’s pretty much impossible to make a better telecaster. (OK, some aftermarket pickups might be worth considering.)
- tonetheman 4y agoI recently purchased a red player plus telecaster and it is a wonderful guitar. Probably one of the better guitars I have owned.
- nicolaslem 4y agoOpening HN after using this Sunday morning to clean the fretboard and polish the frets of my butterscotch player tele. I really don't see anything I could change to improve it, it's perfect as it is.
- wintermutestwin 4y ago>Why it's so influential? Strange that the article doesn't mention the main factors that contribute to the sound and overall tonality of the Tele - the pickups (the angled bridge pickup) and bridge (the brass saddles). From a functional design perspective, the bridge is flawed from having three brass saddles which each share two strings. This design makes intonation a pain and impossible to get as close as you can with saddles for each string. From an ergonomic design perspective, the flaws are glaring: 1. the ashtray bridge with its sharp edges makes it uncomfortable to palm mute. 2. the original body design lacks any of the comfort curves (which are what makes the strat one of the most comfortable guitar bodies). The the fact that the most popular guitar-centered music was created using strats, teles, SGs and Les Pauls is the main reason that these old designs are still popular.