Strat vs Tele style guitars and their uses?

[fronobulax]

Gotcha. The dangers of watching an experienced player coax tones out of a guitar are real. One of my favorite quotes on the subject:

"I remember the first time I played Eddie [Van Halen]'s guitar, it was just
like someone had built it in his backyard, and he was the only guy who could
make it sing. Since then, I've played through his entire rig, and it just
sounded like me playing through someone else's rig. I didn't sound anything
like Eddie. It's not the gear, its the cat. It's the soul. It's the energy."

~ George Lynch - Guitar Edge Magazine

Dan Schwartz reports that he once had the chance to play using Jack Casady's setup. (Non bassists can Google). He still sounded like Dan not Jack. Similarly, Jack bought an Epiphone EB-0 to travel with because he did not want to worry about graveling with a bass. As expected, he sounded like Jack regardless of the bass.

 

[Default]

How many T250s do you have?

2

 

[JohnW63]

Walter,

I do have a humbucker equipped Guild in my toolbox and a couple P-90 hollow body Newark St. Guilds as well. It's really the G&L choice I was questioning my use of. The friend I mentioned above liked the G&L best out of all my current guitars when I did a guitar show and record over e-mail a few weeks back. But, he calls anything that is not a single coil pickup a tone sucker.

If I were to psychoanalyze my self, I might be trying to fend of a touch of G.A.S.

 

[krysh]

...

If I were to psychoanalyze my self, I might be trying to fend of a touch of G.A.S.

I won't help you with this.

 

[Coop47]

It's really the G&L choice I was questioning my use of. The friend I mentioned above liked the G&L best out of all my current guitars when I did a guitar show and record over e-mail a few weeks back. But, he calls anything that is not a single coil pickup a tone sucker.

Let's cut to the chase.

List of JohnW63's needs:
1. Telecaster
2. New friend

 

[Guildedagain]

Regardless of what you're trying to play on this guitar, I think GGJaguar nailed it, those cheap ceramic magnet pickups are not your friends when it comes to pleasing tone. Swap all the electronics for some decent USA made parts and the guitar will have the tones you're looking for. Me, I'd just sell the whole guitar and buy an older USA made G&L.

 

[Brad Little]

Define "blues" or "jazz". Both genres have an almost endless array of very different guitar tones. If by Jazz and blues you mean fat/smoky/darker/thicker tones, I'd try out some Les Pauls or similar. It'll be easier than getting those darker fatter tones out of typical Fenders

Agreed. To my ears, one of the nicer jazz tones I've gotten out of a guitar was from a tele with a humbucker at the neck played through a friend's bass amp (possibly an Ampeg).

 

[Bill G]

I can't say enough about my run of the mill, American Standard Tele. It had Seymour Duncan pickups installed when I found it in a thrift store, and the neck pickup sounds great. I wish I could tell you exactly what they are, they all look the same on the SD site.

 

[bluesypicky]

WARNING!!!: The use of a Stratocaster for the production of any jazz tone, including but not limited to, bee bop, free jazz, contemporary & big band is strictly prohibited by the law of March 27, 1969.
The law also includes a provision with respect to the Telecaster: The use of the "lipstick" pick up IS legal for the production of jazz tone (all jazz genres) however, the bridge pick up is STRICTLY reserved for rock and some blues based musical tones, including rockabilly.
(Be very careful with the toggle switch, as law enforcement officers will not hesitate to arrest you, should you switch from the legal pickup to the illegal one while producing jazz tones, even if done accidentally.)

Just trying to keep everyone out of trouble here. My contribution.

 

[Default]

Too much, bluesy! I can barely remember which end of the guitar I blow into!

 

[JohnW63]

"Me, I'd just sell the whole guitar and buy an older USA made G&L. "

I've thought about it, but the USA ones are over $1000 pretty easy.

My Pickups do day G&L on the cover, and some web sites say they Tribute guitars often came with the USA built parts and were just assembled in Malaysia. I sent G&L a question about it, with the S/N and they asked for a picture to see what Legacy I had. That has me scratching my head.

 

[fronobulax]

That has me scratching my head.

Why? We know Guild's records are not what we would like them to be when asking questions about older instruments. Maybe G&L just follows that tradition? ;-)

 

[JohnW63]

Well, I could give them some leeway, but it's not that old. Less than 10 years easy. Maybe less than 6.

They did confirm that the pickups are from G&L here in Fullerton. I had to re-ask if they had another pickups that would drop in to experiment with.

 

[JohnW63]

Here are the two pickups they said would drop in.

Pickup - S-500 MFD Single-Coil

Genuine G&L Magnetic Field Design single-coil as used on S-500, ASAT III and ASAT Classic 'S' model. Choose black or white color.NOTE: All orders placed after 4 PM PST on Thursdays, regardless of the shipping option that you choose, will not be shipped until the following Monday.

g-l-online-store.myshopify.com

Pickup - Dual Blade & Power Blade Humbucker

Genuine G&L Dual Blade and Power Blade humbucking pickups as used on Legacy Special and Invader models. Choose from Dual Blade (Neck/Middle position) or Power Blade (Bridge position). Fits most Fender® USA and similar vintage spec Stratocaster® models. Fender and Stratocaster are registered...

g-l-online-store.myshopify.com

If I really want to try a different sound, maybe the dual blade humbucker.

 

[Guildedagain]

Only time I've switched an original pickup in 40 years of electric guitar playing was the P90 in my '66 SG Jr. for a Duncan Distortion, this is in about 1980. Wasn't quite getting the AC/DC tone from the P90, but I did it all fully reversible which came in handy 20 years later when I sold it.

I screwed the pickup to the wood - Tele neck pickup style - no routing needed, then got a brand new P90 cover from the Gibson dealer, dremeled the whole center out to fit around the Duncan like a beauty ring to make it look clean and passably original.

It was virtually impossible to get into any kind of a band without a whammy bar, but I resisted the temptation of routing it for a Kahler, often seen on many a priceless Les Paul Jr. or Special in those days, which I found shocking, even back then.

 

[Arthur S]

P90s in a tele are nice, but I'd buy a Baja Telecaster (not sure if they still call it that) and a multi-effects pedal. The guitar is the ultimate blank canvas, ergonomically perfect (IMO), and a nice effects unit will add all the colours and tones you can imagine. Plus, the combination will give you a huge amount of pleasure as you experiment and search for that sound in your head (to borrow a phrase).