Anyone else play their Teles more than their Les Pauls?

[Peter M]

I like Teles... but never enough to use one.

 

[Deftone]

My "Tele" has a Mahogany body and a maple cap so it's more of a "TelePaul" anyway.

 

[mvk66]

The first pic is my 1967 Telecaster, factory Bigsby. All original except for the upgraded bride.. I don't play it out too much anymore because of the value, so I built a partscaster and I love it. The second pic is my partscaster, distressed body, Fender MIM Neck, and some amazingly warm Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups. It has become my main guitar if I'm standing.. much lighter than any of my Les Pauls and very versatile. Still love the Les paul sounds, but comfort is nice at my age..

 

[DBDM]

Nothing wrong with a good tele. I have one in my toolbox. Prefer my LPs most of the time. I will say it is easier to make a Tele sound like a LP (fat) than it is to make a LP sound thin like a Tele.

 

[D_Rowell]

Just asking because I actually do - have been a Tele man for ages already and thus play them much more than Lesters. You?

Probably about equal now between tele & LP. I have a G&L ASAT Classic and an Epiphone 59 Les Paul Standard. Although these are not a Fender and a Gibson, they are both fine guitars. I’ve been playing guitar for 57 years, but I didn’t own a Les Paul until a couple years ago; didn’t want to spend the money for a Gibson and am quite happy with the Epiphone. Now I mostly play jazz on hollow bodies-ES175, ES275, ES335 (semi hollow), Guild T-100. I like playing the tele or LP for outdoor gigs. I have one today and not sure which one I want to take. A good problem to have.

Just asking because I actually do - have been a Tele man for ages already and thus play them much more than Lesters. You?

 

[Spooky88]

Partscaster>AS Tele> Any LP. Sounds about right…

 

[dasherf17]

As there is a Strat forum as well for those so inclined, and yet, we do have a similar thread about Strats vs. Lesters going just now.

My Momma said...never tawk about som'n else's (fill in word) when you're in their (store, house, brand, model)...

 

[leewaun]

Just asking because I actually do - have been a Tele man for ages already and thus play them much more than Lesters. You?

I play tele always more than Les Paul.

 

[Liam]

I started out with Stratocasters in my teens, in my early 20s discovered Les Pauls, in my mid-late 20s started playing Telecasters almost exclusively, and in my late 30s reverted to Les Pauls. Now in my mid 50s it's still mainly Les Pauls, occasional Telecaster.

I'd love to own a Telecaster that holds a candle to any of my vintage LP Juniors or Special, but unfortunately it's one of those rare instances where Gibsons offer substantially more bang per buck than Fenders most of the time for me.

Presumably at some late stage in life I'll grow back into Stratocasters.

It's not like there's much to dislike about any of them, and the Telecaster and Les Paul Junior have more in common with each other than many might realise. Not exactly interchangeable, but they operate with similar unique directness and simplicity.

Liam

 

[red_house356]

I'd love to own a Telecaster that holds a candle to any of my vintage LP Juniors or Special, but unfortunately it's one of those rare instances where Gibsons offer substantially more bang per buck than Fenders most of the time for me.

I have a ‘68 maple cap telecaster that captures some of that vibe and mojo of my ‘56 Junior. Maybe because I had it setup as an Esquire (currently getting a refin). It’s definitely a tall task to accomplish and can see how the vintage Juniors outshine them in general. I’ve had 3 (‘56, ‘56, and ‘59) and all were absolute beasts. Can never go wrong with a vintage Junior.

 

[Liam]

I have a ‘68 maple cap telecaster that captures some of that vibe and mojo of my ‘56 Junior. Maybe because I had it setup as an Esquire (currently getting a refin).

A friend back in the 90's had been a fellow Les Paul enthusiast, but confusingly to me, bought a "CBS transition" ('65, could have been '66, ugly machine heads ) Telecaster when his band signed to a relatively major label in 1997. Blond with a rosewood board, my confusion evaporated as soon as I heard it. Good investment on his part, but was way out of my league at the time. Wasn't the lightest Telecaster ever, but really comfortable to play, and sounded absolutely amazing.

It was 10 years or so later that I was finally able to scratch my 50's Junior itch, still at a somewhat lower financial outlay. I have a few original Les Paul Juniors spanning '55 to '59 nowadays. Also a few Telecasters, all Japanese made, the best of which is a 1983 (or maybe '82 - haven't had the neck out for a while...) JV Squier "52". If I sold all of them, I could comfortably afford an original "black guard" Tele. Alas, I don't really want to sell any of them, so that dream will have to wait until I can afford it!

Liam

 

[Dolebludger]

Is not a Fender. . it is a Nichael Ketty with a mini hum in the neck and a full Buckner in the bridge — both with coil split..the neck is compound radius ang works well for me..With the coils split, it does a good Teli tone — though not exact.. With coils not split, it dies a decent job at LP tones. Tretty guitar with swamp ash body and striped ebony veneer body topping. Cost was $500, so no big deal RECOMMEND1

 

[mbm1972]

It's funny - I just bought my first Tele a few months ago and I haven't been able to put it down. I think it's partly due to the following ...

1. It sounds fantastic and feels great to play - it's one of the limited edition 2019 Cabronita's in lake placid blue with the TV jones filtertrons - just a phenomenal sound.
2. I hadn't really played anything but my les paul ('83 Custom) for nearly 30 years, so just the novelty of something new & different.
3. I had never noticed just how worn down the frets on my LP have become, and now every time I pick it up it's all I notice because the frets on the Cabronita are effectively new (I'm in the Portland, ME area - if anyone has any recommendations about where to get a re-fret here in Maine or nearby, please message me!!).

I wouldn't say that I like it better than my LP, it's quite different, and that was the whole point. Really, I'm loving them both pretty equally. Especially for home recording, it's so nice to be able to mix completely different sounding guitars, as I'm sure many on here already know from their own experience - I've seen some really impressive collections posted here (keep 'em coming please!).

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out once I get the LP re-fretted and they're on more even footing again. I suspect they'll have to have some sort of dual custody arrangement ;-).

The Martin, of course, is in a completely different category, and serves an altogether different purpose, so not really part of this discussion.

 

[Liam]

The Martin, of course, is in a completely different category, and serves an altogether different purpose, so not really part of this discussion.

View attachment 616236

But let's drift off topic anyway.

Earlier this year I was, for about a week, the custodian of a 1934 Martin C-3, that due to a cracked top had been converted very expertly to 000-45 specification. Oh, my life! How is it that acoustic guitars that sound and play that well were made before my father was even conceived, let alone born? I love a good acoustic guitar, but hadn't really played anything that matched my mid-70s Guild D25-M as anything I'd ever want to keep. But it does seem that old Martin acoustic guitars, rather like a good Telecaster, command absolutely ridiculous prices for good reason. What is the Martin? I'm already a little jealous!

Liam

 

[jamhandy]

I don't own a Tele, so I guess the answer is no...

 

[James R]

All my Les Pauls wish they were telecasters, they might actually do more than just sit there and look pretty if they were.
It's been that way for years already for me.
The LPs still get played, but not often and not for long before I'm reaching for a Tele.