I own three Telecasters and love them. I tried recording some Surf leads on my Thinline and found that the sound is very bright and clean, but has a different nature than, for instance, a Jaguar. It’s not darker, but perhaps heavier would be the best way to describe it.

To the best of my knowledge, Surf/Instrumental-Rock tracks that Tommy Tedesco played were probably played on a standard Tele. The Marketts recordings, and Hawaii 5-O come to mind, as examples.

To invert the question, I find that a Jaguar makes for a dandy Tele substitute for Country music.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Last edited: Aug 30, 2023 19:30:53

-

Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 16:40:43

Samurai wrote:

Twang is an attribute of country, not surf. I have used telecaster for surf in my early years, but mostly because I had no other guitars) I still love this telecaster (heavily upgrade MIM with Bigsby) for some heavier stuff like surf rock or surf punk, but generally not fond of it for “surfy” sound.

That meshes, to some degree, with my observation that a Tele is a heavier, though not darker sound than I would expect, for Surf.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

synchro wrote:

Samurai wrote:

Twang is an attribute of country, not surf. I have used telecaster for surf in my early years, but mostly because I had no other guitars) I still love this telecaster (heavily upgrade MIM with Bigsby) for some heavier stuff like surf rock or surf punk, but generally not fond of it for “surfy” sound.

That meshes, to some degree, with my observation that a Tele is a heavier, though not darker sound than I would expect, for Surf.

Yep, exactly. He has some twang and brightness but lacks some clarity and tone I want for surf sound.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

chiba wrote:

I've never been a huge fan of any single-cutaway guitar for long, and that includes the Telecaster. I have one, simply because nothing sounds like a Tele and when you need one, you NEED one. I have found it to be a useful tool in recording surf music, especially when a part doesn't need any whang bar action, so it has found a place, but it's not the first guitar I pick up ...for anything, really.

That’s a good way of looking at it. IMHO, the string-through feature which bends 90 degrees at the bridge is a major part of a Tele’s character, and it is irreplaceable, when you want that specific character. Teles are versatile, and make for good Jazz, Blues, Country and Rock sounds. I could see them as a great rhythm guitar for Surf, but for leads, it’s not my first pick.

If I want a sizzling Surf lead, I can do it, very easily, with a Jaguar. With a Tele, I feel that some of the edginess is lost. The drip seems different. A Jaguar, and I would imagine, a Jazzmaster, seem to want to be Surf guitars. It’s like playing Surf is their moment of glory, and they give it all they have.

What I find interesting, and a bit odd, is that Jaguars love to get mellow, too. My Jaguar is the Strat I always dreamed of, but at the flick of a switch, it becomes a Surf monster. The bridge pickup alone, without the tone cut, gets you close to a Telecaster Country sound, and I actually prefer this over a Tele, for playing Country.

Where I love a Tele, is for getting a Fusion sound. I have a Tele Thinline with Fender Noiselss pickups and light gauge Thomastik flatwounds that I use if I want sort of a Jazz/Rock/Fusion/Blues sound. It has the perfect sustain characteristics for this, and is fun to play.

I wouldn’t completely rule out a Tele for Surf. I think that it would be a good second lead guitar in a Surf band, to serve as a counterpoint to the sound of an Offset, or even a Strat.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

synchro wrote:

If I want a sizzling Surf lead, I can do it, very easily, with a Jaguar. With a Tele, I feel that some of the edginess is lost.
What I find interesting, and a bit odd, is that Jaguars love to get mellow, too. My Jaguar is the Strat I always dreamed of, but at the flick of a switch, it becomes a Surf monster. The bridge pickup alone, without the tone cut, gets you close to a Telecaster Country sound, and I actually prefer this over a Tele, for playing Country.

I do love the sounds of my Jaguar!

I wouldn’t completely rule out a Tele for Surf. I think that it would be a good second lead guitar in a Surf band, to serve as a counterpoint to the sound of an Offset, or even a Strat.

But ok, again - Jag and JM. And for that matter, Bass VI. I think this is one of those moments where we see a potential value of those most hated of features, the rhythm and strangle switches. Because the whole point of them is to allow these guitars to notch a niche in a band, right? So yeah, a Telecaster might fit alongside a Jaguar - but would it fit as well as say Jazzmaster (rhythm switch) + Jaguar? Or VI (strangled to avoid clashing with the bass) + Jaguar (strangled)?

I'm actually curious what the answer is, because I'm not a sound engineer and barely a musician, and while I am slightly a physicist, I don't really have a good understanding of the harmonic content of guitar and bass tones, nor how that depends on the octave being played - and I don't have the sound engineer's experience of these things in practice. Last multi-guitar band I played in was a hot-rodded Jagmaster into a Vaporizer's bright channel, vs a Les Paul into a Marshall MG100. This was not a question that arose.

You make some good points. If I was going to fabricate a dream team Surf band, the lead guitar would be a Jaguar. That is not intended to denigrate anyone else’s choice, but my tastes favor a Jaguar for Surf leads. I love the sound of a Jazzmaster, as well, and think that it makes a nice counterpoint to the Jaguar’s sound. Once again, this is not intended to denigrate anyone else’s choice in such matters, but is merely a matter of personal taste.

The the Dream Band, I would want to have a degree of variety, and perhaps a degree of trade off between guitarists. I’m a Lead player, if I’m anything, but I love playing rhythm, and for that matter, bass. (If I get my drumming together, I could be a one man Ventures.) I would love to have a band where there is some variety in instruments, such as a Bass VI, or even an acoustic guitar playing rhythm. There would definitely be room for a Tele, in this situation, not necessarily for every song, but in certain situations. Where that is concerned, an electric 12 string would be welcome, as a way to add variety.

I’ve done some home recording, and there is a challenge when it comes to keeping the various parts from melting into one another. My most recent recording had a Mustang bass, a Bass VI and a Jaguar. They were not all that hard to keep separated in the mix, but there was still some effort involved to make it sound right.

It was important that the parts stayed within their respective ranges. For example, in the Surf song I recently recorded, the bass stayed in the lowest register of the instrument, and I played a baritone part on the Bass VI which was a simple harmony for the lead line above the bass’s part. I did this on the first 32 bars and the fourth 32 bars. If I played an octave below the lead, the Bass VI and the Jaguar parts would smear into one another. On the second 32 bars, the Bass VI took the lead and I played a rhythm part in the upper register of the Jaguar, which helped to keep the parts separate.

On third 32 bars, the Lead guitar took a solo and the Bass VI reverted to its sparse harmony part, which served to support the improvised solo. Once again, the instruments stayed out of one another’s pitch range, which made a big difference. The fourth 32 bars were a carbon copy of the first 32.

Had I allowed myself to get into the upper range of the bass, I would have come into conflict with the Bass VI. When two instruments strike the same pitch, simultaneously, there can be a degree of cancellation between the two instruments and actually a perceived drop in volume.

Before the days of amplification, string quartets functioned because the four instruments were skillfully arranged to maximize the power of each instrument’s voice. In principle, a guitar based band can do something similar. In the case of a string quartet, all four instruments are od similar construction, but cover different ranges. Electric guitars have a bit more variety, because two guitars with identical body/neck combinations could sound quite different from one another if they were equipped with different types of pickups. For example, a single coil Jaguar sounds a lot different from a Jaguar with two hot humbuckers.

I’m quite in favor of both the strangle switch and rhythm switch on both my Jaguars and my Bass VI. The neck pickup, alone, with the strangle switch engaged gives a nice, mellow sound, without any tendency to sound boomy. Both Jaguar pickups with the strangle switch is a great default Surf sound, and the bridge pickup with the strangle switch will melt Inconel at 50 feet. Likewise, the rhythm switch has its place, although it’s probably more useful for imitating an archtop, than for Surf.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Absolutely! Telecasters are pretty versatile guitars and can be used for anything.

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
Skippy and the Skipjacks: 2018-2020
Skippyandtheskipjacks.net
https://www.facebook.com/skippyandtheskipjacks
Otto and the Ottomans: 2014-2015
The Coconauts surf band: 2009-2014
www.theamazingcoconauts.com
Group Captain and the Mandrakes 2013
http://www.gcmband.com/
The Surfside IV: 2002-2005, 2008-2009
the Del-Vamps: 1992-1999, 2006-2007
http://www.dblcrown.com/delvamps.html

Telecasters for surf? Hell, yes. A Tele can be used for anything. The lack of vibrato is not a major issue. I bend whole chords a bit by pulling or pushing on the neck.

I don't think a typical old-school Tele needs a strangle switch. A proper Telecaster has enough clank to cut through just about anything if set up properly. In the 60s, Fender started putting a 1000 pF capacitor across the volume pot to cut treble loss when turning down the volume. But in fact, that generally causes the sound to get even brighter when the volume pot is turned down. In fact, it can get so bright that a lot of people add a 150K resistor in parallel to balance it out a bit. I use that trick for chicken pickin' and also that off-beat skank that you hear on a lot of old-school soul, R&B, and Countrypolitan music, as well as the James Bond Theme type of sound. If that volume pot capacitor is missing, I will generally add it, sometimes with the 150K resistor, depending on how bright it is with just the cap.

We opened up for Link Wray about 25 years ago. We were providing the back line, he wanted a Marshall, so I used my 50-Watt JCM 800 with my '68 Esquire. He used the Esquire for Run, Chicken, Run. Wanna talk about bright? LOL.

The Delverados - surf, punk, trash, twang - Facebook
Chicken Tractor Deluxe - hardcore Americana - Facebook and Website
The Telegrassers - semi-electric bluegrass/Americana - Facebook

These were my telecaster times) I generally like this sound even now, although I had no reverb then used the shitty one from an amp.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin