Tele vs Strat, the poll

Manfred-Klose · 2011-05-30T18:38:40+00:00

Regardless of mods and stuff, if you had to choose, which one would it be. (old forum) Poll Results: Which one do you prefer ? Tele: 25 Strat: 30

dee

O, and btw:

This will be by next guitar, minus the metal bridge. might do a string through body TOM instead.

Jack-Flash-Jr

dee wrote O, and btw:

This will be by next guitar, minus the metal bridge. might do a string through body TOM instead.

Pretty as hell.

Keira-WitherKay

need i say i voted for the tele, i own a '83 usa strat with birdseye maple neck and only bought it cos it sounds more like a tele tone i like with certain settings ? and at the time i could not find a 2nd hand usa tele ...and i looked for months....... and yes i would trade my strat anyday for a usa tele, and prob will sell the strat once i find a tele available 2nd hand .....

and as for looks... i hate the way a strat looks..... yuk and just as i say that i hate a strats look i also don't like the modified tele's that are too "pretty" (said tongue in cheek) i love the traditional tele slab body and simple pup and maple neck look and that headstock is the perfect design ...practical as every string pulls straight in line ( and yes so does a strat ) and minimalist ..... for me "less if more"

below is an original top loader 59 tele( made for only 1 year) and original princeton...... this setup may not be ideal for everyone but for me this is perfect for all my needs.....

and below is a video to what this combination can sound like ..........

anyone wanna trade a tele???

AlanRatcliffe

Keira - I know someone selling a Baja here in CT. He didn't mention a price, but they are not overly expensive to begin with, so...

I've just told him to post it in the classifieds here...

Keira-WitherKay

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Keira - I know someone selling a Baja here in CT. He didn't mention a price, but they are not overly expensive to begin with, so...

I've just told him to post it in the classifieds here...

thanks alan

but if i recall the baja is a MIM and has a V neck ......

i want a USA tele and a U shaped neck......

unless it's dirt cheap (as you know i buy a lot if it's a killer deal ? but not interested in MIM for market related prices.)

anyway at the moment i do have a beat up tele partcaster(a cheapie but playable enough to gig with) that carries my tele needs till the "one" comes along so i am waiting for a "keeper" definitly USA made and preferably an older one and even in a beat up condition .... in fact if i had the choice of a usa tele one new /mint and the other seriously beat up(we talking cosmetically NOT structurally) at the same price i would buy the beat up one ...... i love beat up tele's .oh and just a plain tele not a custom or anything with mods or sculpted body contours ect i want closest to an original tele (a slab body and maple neck .... )

but thanks for the heads up alan,

AlanRatcliffe

Don't pass up the Baja just because it's Mexi. It's designed by one of the Custom shop luthiers and probably the best production Tele model Fender has aside from the Nocaster. When I was looking for a Tele I tried absolutely everything available and ended up with a Baja... Chose it over all the US models.

The V is very soft, if you like big comfortable u-shaped necks you will more than likely get on with the Baja's neck. I modelled my favourite Strat's neck after the Baja.

Dingwall

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Don't pass up the Baja just because it's Mexi. It's designed by one of the Custom shop luthiers and probably the best production Tele model Fender has aside from the Nocaster. When I was looking for a Tele I tried absolutely everything available and ended up with a Baja... Chose it over all the US models.

The V is very soft, if you like big comfortable u-shaped necks you will more than likely get on with the Baja's neck. I modelled my favourite Strat's neck after the Baja.

Agree with Alan. The Baja is a well spec'd guitar with custom shop pickups including the 'twisted' tele neck pickup which by all accounts is meant to sound like a really good neck pickup in a strat. I have read of people buying the Baja just for the pickups which they don't sell seperately. I have also read that you get really good Baja's and 'average' ones. I played one once and it was 'ok'. Didn't make me write off the Baja just that I need to try a couple more out. But I do still look for bargains on ebay etc.

Keira-WitherKay

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Don't pass up the Baja just because it's Mexi. It's designed by one of the Custom shop luthiers and probably the best production Tele model Fender has aside from the Nocaster. When I was looking for a Tele I tried absolutely everything available and ended up with a Baja... Chose it over all the US models.

The V is very soft, if you like big comfortable u-shaped necks you will more than likely get on with the Baja's neck. I modelled my favourite Strat's neck after the Baja.

noted alan........and i do respect your input and opinion when it comes to fender tones....... .......

but there is a 'however' ?

i guess it must be my old age making me more sentimental over certain guitars....... and the reason for me buying a tele is not to just have a playable guitar but yes even me , who loves my pawn shop specials....... ala jack white...... has become a little name conscious on certain items....one being Fenders........ as i said sentimental BS for sure but if i'm spending a fair chunk of change on a tele , i want one i can play at gigs, and of course then i want a keeper, and not a cheaper version ....or another brand...... i'll want to replace in a few months ...

so to me ( and this is my opinion only) i will only feel i have bought into the Fender legacy of owning a tele if it's made in USA , also thats why i prefer older ones..... and interesting enough the USA strats and tele's are floating around 2nd hand for about the 7-8K range......... i know of a few USA strats (and i even bought one) but no USA tele's are in jhb at moment i been watching closely for months

, and yes i was tempted with a made in japan tele custom in mint condition from 80's but passed cos i know i will not see it as what i want..and just buy a USA tele later .......... and anyway i don't particularly like the custom and tonally i was not blown away but it was mint and well made..... but NOT a USA tele ........

i know i need therapy for this ......

and yes like i mentioned earlier it's all market related too.......as i said i can buy 2nd hand USA fenders for 7-8K at moment in Jhb but i see people selling MIM's for 6K -7K which i find ridiculous..... even at 5K they too close in price to a USA fender to warrant me even looking ....... BUT if i saw a MIM for 3 K (like mike M sold.recently which i was beaten to the sale.......damn i snoozed on that one) i'd bite or be interested..... but then still want a USA tele ? as well.....

@ Alan so if this dude is selling his baja MIM tele at around 3 K get him to contact me immeadiately after reading this......

yes i know it sounds crazy for me to be so "make " conscious for Fenders ........ but that how i think at the moment.........

Svengali

Tele. I have a 60th anniversary. Now I'm with Keira - contrary to general opinion, I like the tele headstock, mine, however has got this rediculously corny fake diamond inlay which I detest. Ah well...

arjunmenon

Svengali wrote Tele. I have a 60th anniversary. Now I'm with Keira - contrary to general opinion, I like the tele headstock, mine, however has got this rediculously corny fake diamond inlay which I detest. Ah well...

Would that be the Blackguard Blondie?
I read a Guitarist review about it last night which says that they really aren't all that different from a standard.
I'd like your take on it.

Svengali

Nope. Mine's sunburst with white pickguard and rosewood fretboard. As far as I was aware there was only one limited edition anniversary tele model brought out in 2006. Comparable to the American series, spec-wise.

Strat and Precision bass were also brought out in an aniversary model version of their standard series (in metalic silver) that same year.

According to reviews that came out however, these instruments compared favourably to the deluxe models in terms of set-up, finish, etc. at a time when Fender took some flack for letting their quality slide a bit.

I haven't had too much experience with different inst. (not being skillful enough to want to go and play around in music shops, but when I bought this I had to make a choice between the 60th tele and a 50th anniversary strat and the tele won me over. I'm smitten as a kitten ?

Pricewise it falls in the R17K category, I think?

I vaguely remember someone saying something to the effect that there's a 60th anniversary strat availeable around now (one have to differentiate between celebrating the company vs. celebrating specific guitar models.) IMO it's all a bit much...

Dingwall

Keira - I know where you are coming from and I am a bit like that too. However there are lots on non-US tele's that were made as good if not better and which you can still pickup as a bargain. The Squier JVs spring to mind, not sure how available these are in SA but I have a JV strat that I picked up for £300 in UK and this guitar is very good and I would compare it with US Fenders. At college a guy had a JV tele and it had a truly incredible tone. And these guitars are becoming vintage in their own right at being nearly 30 years old!

I do agree though that the inclusion of a proper 'Fender' logo and the words 'Made in USA' do give a Tele a particular authenticity!!

---mario---

I remember a while ago someone said the difference between MIM and MIUSA is which side of the border a Mexican built it...

aubs1

...mario... wrote I remember a while ago someone said the difference between MIM and MIUSA is which side of the border a Mexican built it...

Yeah, yeah, yeah ....... :? ?

Keira-WitherKay

Dingwall wrote Keira - I know where you are coming from and I am a bit like that too. However there are lots on non-US tele's that were made as good if not better and which you can still pickup as a bargain. The Squier JVs spring to mind, not sure how available these are in SA but I have a JV strat that I picked up for £300 in UK and this guitar is very good and I would compare it with US Fenders. At college a guy had a JV tele and it had a truly incredible tone. And these guitars are becoming vintage in their own right at being nearly 30 years old!

I do agree though that the inclusion of a proper 'Fender' logo and the words 'Made in USA' do give a Tele a particular authenticity!!

oh i absolutely agree......... that many even mid priced instruments can be better made or outshine some so called top end ones.......

but for me i want a tele not only for the sound but for the legacy thats attatched to the label ........ and yes as i mentioned above this way of thinking is very much "not me" but like you said

I do agree though that the inclusion of a proper 'Fender' logo and the words 'Made in USA' do give a Tele a particular authenticity!!

and thats what i want...... ........

cos surely if the MIM's were so mind blowing we just wouldn't bother getting the MIA's

but i also say that you can't find me any owners of MIA fenders who will trade them for MIM fenders , so that says something too

Renesongs

When I pick up a Tele I feel like I should play rockabilly with a a Strat it's blues and hard rock. At the risk of causing an uproar I have to confess I really don't like CBS Strats. If all Strats were a CBS I would sooner go for a Gibson SG , ES, or LP

aubs1

Keira WitherKay wrote cos surely if the MIM's were so mind blowing we just wouldn't bother getting the MIA's
but i also say that you can't find me any owners of MIA fenders who will trade them for MIM fenders , so that says something too

+1 Keira ......... :applause:

AlanRatcliffe

Renesongs wrote At the risk of causing an uproar I have to confess I really don't like CBS Strats.

I've always called them "three-bolt dogs". I don't like the look of the headstock or the build quality or specs. To be fair, I have played a few nice ones, but they are the exception rather than the norm.

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