deepeddy
Joined: May 19, 2009
Posts: 1263
Austin, Tejas
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 12:30 PM
The only Fender guitar I've ever owned or played has been a Telecaster. Started playing surf on my Thinline in 1993. I still use it, though over the last five years, it has taken second fiddle to my PRS. When I record, I use a combination of the PRS, the Tele, and an Ibanez hollowbody.
I've never liked the feel of Jaguars or Strats, though Jazzmasters are ok.
I say, play the guitar that suits you best, regardless of what others are doing or have done.
— Ted James
Deep Eddy Records http://www.deepeddy.net
The Nematoads http://www.nematoads.com
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bigtikidude
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 25541
Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 12:43 PM
ColtsSurf
It appears that one of the ways that Elliot Easton cuts through the mix is with an altered Tele:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaster-discussion-forum/105569-heres-another-one-my-collection.html
Hey ColtsSurf.
I saw Elliot do 2 sets of surf/instro tunes in Hollywood little over a year ago.
Can you please ask him if hes gonna do any more shows like that?
and if so either him, or you post them here on sg101.
thanks
Jeff(btd)
— Jeff(bigtikidude)
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 12:45 PM
Teles are workhorse instruments that do whatever the player tells them to do. There are sooooooooooo many phenomenal guitar players that use teles and have no issues "cutting through" the mix. The bridge pickup on a tele will cut people's heads off.
Whether they "work" for surf is pretty subjective. A great tele player generally finds a way to make things "work" for any situation. My biggest complaint against my Jazzmaster is that it doesn't "cut through" enough, so what do I know...
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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CaptainSpringfield
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 4387
Under the Sun
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 01:40 PM
IvanP
All true - but find me ONE surf guitarist that aspires to sound like the Marketts? The fact is that the studio guys' guitar tones were pale copies of what the real surf musicians were doing.
Nooooooooooooo kidding. Teles might - might - have been used on some of the biggest hits ... but they sure as hell weren't used on the most influential stuff in the genre.
— That was excessively violent and completely unnecessary. I loved it.
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crumble
Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 02:36 PM
Telecasters make a good rhythm guitar but my understanding is they were designed for lead/finger picking. Stratocasters for rhythm..
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elreydlp
Joined: Sep 04, 2009
Posts: 1800
Temecula, CA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 02:57 PM
crumble
Telecasters make a good rhythm guitar but my understanding is they were designed for lead/finger picking. Stratocasters for rhythm..
Not quite Crumble. BOTH guitars were designed to excel on both rhythm & lead. Leo saw the Strat as a natural evolution of the Telecaster. Marketing whiz Don Randall was the person who recommended differentiating the Tele from the Strat.
Hank Marvin was a big fan of James Burton's sound. He ordered a Strat since it was top of the line, and he assumed a player of Burton's caliber would only play the best. Though he couln't emulate Burton's sound on the Strat, I think most will agree he developed a pretty good lead sound of his own.
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Stormtiger
Joined: Dec 12, 2006
Posts: 2682
Ventura, CA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 02:58 PM
crumble
Telecasters make a good rhythm guitar but my understanding is they were designed for lead/finger picking. Stratocasters for rhythm..
That must be why Jimmy Page sounds so wimpy on the first Zep album, not to mention Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan 
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ColtsSurf
Joined: Apr 03, 2008
Posts: 477
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 03:38 PM
bigtikidude
Hey ColtsSurf.
I saw Elliot do 2 sets of surf/instro tunes in Hollywood little over a year ago.
Can you please ask him if hes gonna do any more shows like that?
and if so either him, or you post them here on sg101.
thanks
Jeff(btd)
Hey Jeff,
I'm not a member over on TDPRI. There are some members from here over there as well, so maybe they could ask him. He seems like a really nice guy and very supportive of surf.
— Paul
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Ruhar
Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 03:49 PM
crumble
Telecasters make a good rhythm guitar for players that can't play lead on them.
Fixed 
— Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19266
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 04:25 PM
bmsurfcaster
I think part of the reason I like the Tele is that it is not a mainstream popular guitar.
 Isn't it #2 right after the strat (at least for Fenders alone)?
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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elreydlp
Joined: Sep 04, 2009
Posts: 1800
Temecula, CA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 04:33 PM
These guys would like to weigh in on the subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6BJ2E8eKww
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Jetpack
Joined: May 28, 2008
Posts: 333
Los Angeles
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 05:27 PM
It's like they were eavesdropping at my door while I was practicing and ripped off all my good licks!
Seriously- thanks for bringing that to our attention.
— www.jetpackband.com
https://www.facebook.com/JetpackTheBand
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 06:32 PM
elreydlp
These guys would like to weigh in on the subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6BJ2E8eKww
I can't play lead anywhere near that, but that backing track disgusted me.
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IvanP
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 10331
southern Michigan
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:00 PM
I don't think anybody's denying that Teles are amazing guitars and have been used with astonishing results in many other genres. It's just that we can't really point to many (any?) examples of defining Tele tones within surf music, vintage or modern. Why? I don't know. You guys can keep debating that....
The following is 
Speaking of the Shadows, I really wanted to post this here. Back in '73, the Shadows reformed after a five-year break during which Hank and Bruce tried to become a full-fledged vocal act. In that time they added Aussie John Farrar on another vocal and guitar and also as songwriter. When they decided to again record an instrumental album under the name the Shadows, John stuck around to play the second lead guitar, and he played Teles exclusively (often with a B-bender). The album they recorded, "Rockin' With Curly Leads," is a real favorite of mine and many other Shadows fans, though at the time nobody could care less about it. But it was chock-full of guitars, and Hank was playing with a much gutsier tone than ever before. What was interesting is that several tracks featured trading off of solos between Hank on a Strat and John on a Tele, and it was very country (and James Burton!) influenced in places. Of course, it's nowhere near as hot as the Brad Paisley track above, but it was 37 years ago, and the state-of-the-art country-Tele was not what it is today. But still, I like it. You can hear a whole track with some of this trading-off here for free: http://mp3lemon.org/song/386544/Shadows_-03-_Humbucker
(You can see a photo of the Shadows from that era with Farrar on a thinline B-Bender Tele here)
Hope you like it! Sorry for the OT....
— Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube
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DeadRanchHands
Joined: Apr 15, 2008
Posts: 1281
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:12 PM
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JakeDobner
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:34 PM
UmaFloresta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgLfJ2Kh4Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj6S-5XgMt8
Excellent Tele surf tones
But with acoustic guitar. There is no doubt you can get great tone from a tele. It just sits weird in a five and some cases four-piece surf band unless you are given it some oomph somewhere else. I think the tele is the best guitar Fender ever made. My ES-355 is my favorite guitar hands down, but that doesn't mean it is a good surf guitar. Although it is probably better live in the aforementioned surf arrangement than a tele from where the harmonic frequency places it.
What I'd love, and I think would really be great for surf. Is a tele that is a mix between a Telecaster Custom II, Tele, and Esquire. Pickups selector up top like the Custom II, two pickups like the Tele, but the tone switching like an Esquire. Has anybody here really experienced some of the awesome timbres you can get out of an Esquire? Eric, out guitarist, got one to sound like a the low notes on a piano. Very cool.
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19266
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:40 PM
UmaFloresta
Three heavily reverberated guitars = sonic mess, anyway.
Yeah the Astronauts had a real messy sound. 
I'm not sure if Robert was reverb'ed, but Satan's Pilgrims sounded pretty huge to me with 3 guitars.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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Brian
Joined: Feb 25, 2006
Posts: 19266
Des Moines, Iowa, USA
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:42 PM
UmaFloresta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgLfJ2Kh4Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj6S-5XgMt8
Excellent Tele surf tones
Great videos. Mr. Barfield is one of those players that would produce fantastic tone with any guitar in his hands.
— Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me
"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea
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DeadRanchHands
Joined: Apr 15, 2008
Posts: 1281
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:44 PM
Brian
UmaFloresta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edgLfJ2Kh4Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj6S-5XgMt8
Excellent Tele surf tones
Great videos. Mr. Barfield is one of those players that would produce fantastic tone with any guitar in his hands.
Great guitar + great player = great sound.
— http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk
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DeadRanchHands
Joined: Apr 15, 2008
Posts: 1281
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Posted on Jun 23 2010 07:44 PM
Brian
UmaFloresta
Three heavily reverberated guitars = sonic mess, anyway.
Yeah the Astronauts had a real messy sound.
I'm not sure if Robert was reverb'ed, but Satan's Pilgrims sounded pretty huge to me with 3 guitars.
Do you have a specific tune in mind?
— http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk
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