Do Teles really make you play better?

[guitfiddle]

This is one of those things that you hear on tons of forums. Some folks swear by it, and others take the other view...that this idea is hogwash.

I kind of think my playing is better on a Tele, if for no other reason than because a clam sounds so bad I try harder to avoid them.


Discuss...

[j9fd3s]

i tend to think in the reverse, i'm sloppy on an LP style guitar. the difference is the scale length, so the LP's strings are a tad looser, and frets closer together vs a tele.

mike

[jmh151]

I recently got a Charvel Tele style guitar with 2 humbucker and a Floyd. The guitar has me playing more, and better, but I think that's more with the quality of the neck

[Oceano]

Tele's are naturally much brighter than other guitars. The theory comes from the idea that if you don't pick the right notes your mistakes will be heard loud and clear, but also very bright, which is painful to listen to. I don't think any one piece of gear will MAKE a person play better, but if you feel comfortable with a certain type of instrument, you're likely to play better due to comfort, feel, etc.

[Jessie Sammler]

Sounds like a load to me. I think a lot of people get their hands on a good Tele for the first time and are amazed at how simple, elegant, and brilliant the thing is, and they start to think that it's all they'll ever need. Some of them are right.

[FuseG4]

Not necessarily. Teles can be hard to control because many of them are capable of shrill and ice-picky sounds if you don't learn to use the controls and watch your fretting and your picking. If you just whale away on one and never give a crap you'll be the same player as always. But if you take the simplicity of the tele and learn to make all the sounds you need out of it, and learn to be subtle and deliberate, you can learn the whole "less is more" approach to guitar playing.

[Oceano]

Not necessarily. Teles can be hard to control because many of them are capable of shrill and ice-picky sounds if you don't learn to use the controls and watch your fretting and your picking. If you just whale away on one and never give a crap you'll be the same player as always. But if you take the simplicity of the tele and learn to make all the sounds you need out of it, and learn to be subtle and deliberate, you can learn the whole "less is more" approach to guitar playing.

This is what I was trying to say, but better!

[FuseG4]

This is what I was trying to say, but better!

yeah I was writing it and watching deadliest catch at the same time. by the time the post was written and the page reloaded 3 other guys beat me to the punch LOL

[tc]

It's the arrow, not the Indian.

I do realize some gear lends itself to showing mistakes more often...Teles, Strats, single coils in general, articulate humbuckers like the Evolution and Full Shred, etc.

I also realize that some gear lends itself to hiding mistakes. Sludgy sounding stuff like Invader pickups.

BUT I think that no matter what gear you use, if you suck, you suck. If you're good, no matter what gear you use you're good.

Like George Lynch said, "It's not the gear, it's the cat. It's the soul. It's the energy".

[Christopher Caruana]

what helped me play better, was giving my LP a crap set-up and forcing to learn how to pay it that way for months. Then finally once i could play it with a sh*t set up, I re-set it up the right way and it made a WORLD of difference playing it with a proper set up after forcing myself to learn to play on a crap set up.

[astrozombie]

andy summers would make me believe so.. i own one though so i know it isnt true.

[Christopher Caruana]

to me, a guitar is a guitar. you hand slash or EVH any guitar and they are going to be able to them all the same

[Benjy_26]

My tele makes me play in a different way, that's for sure. You have to work the guitar to get that big, juicy, sustaining vibrato that you can get in your sleep with a LP. The tele also forces you to use your hands a bit more to get tonal colors. It's almost like playing a slightly more civilized acoustic. As a matter of fact, I play way more acoustic than electric. When I pick up my tele or any of my other electrics, it's a breeze.

[guitfiddle]

My tele makes me play in a different way, that's for sure. You have to work the guitar to get that big, juicy, sustaining vibrato that you can get in your sleep with a LP. The tele also forces you to use your hands a bit more to get tonal colors. It's almost like playing a slightly more civilized acoustic. As a matter of fact, I play way more acoustic than electric. When I pick up my tele or any of my other electrics, it's a breeze.

I think that's part of the reason Leo went with the long scale length...so guys coming from a Martin D style could feel the same scale, which could make the transition easier.

[guitfiddle]

to me, a guitar is a guitar. you hand slash or EVH any guitar and they are going to be able to them all the same

I would agree with that up to the point that EVH has most always played 25.5 scale guitars, and Slash plays 24.75 guitars...they stick to what they dig and don't cross the line too often, so those guys feel like their chosen option helps them play better.

[ibanezrocks]

They do bring out your mistakes more than a Les Paul would, but there are definitely other guitars that bring out your mistakes even more. An acoustic would be one of those.

[Curly]

I like teles, sure.

However, I think the point is to find the instument which works best for you to express yourself, and thankfully, it's not the same for everyone.

[Petrovsk Mizinski]

If anything a Tele would make me play worse because I'm so used to playing 7 strings that playing 6 strings feels weird.

[DLT]

Telecaster is a great guitar to own. One must strive to own these three guitars.

1. Gibson Les Paul Standard (or Custom) with Hum'b 57 like pups.

2. Fender Stratocaster

3. Fender Telecaster

There you have it. All the tones that you will ever need.

[tc]

I would agree with that up to the point that EVH has most always played 25.5 scale guitars, and Slash plays 24.75 guitars...they stick to what they dig and don't cross the line too often, so those guys feel like their chosen option helps them play better.

Sure, but Slash tracked a song or two on the first Velvet Revolver record with a Strat and while a lot of people bag on VR, nobody denies Slash, Strat or no Strat wipes the floor with lots of people.

EVH played his Ibanez "Shark" Destroyer quite a bit, and that's a short scale I guess. Destroyer or no Destroyer...well you know what I mean.

Even if they leave their "comfort zone" they're just as good IMO. IMO being the key there.