Strat or Tele?

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nonovice

New member
Currently using a prs for my main axe in tracking. but wanted another flavor of guitar for some denser mixes. Anybody have a favorite? I"m tracking mostly hard rock style songs but have heard both guitars work quite well in this type of situation. I'm using a psa 1.1 or a mesa boogie 50 cal for these tracks.
 
I have a strat with a bridge humbucker that I use for hard rock and metal. Love the sound of it. Just make sure you have a humbucker at the bridge.

Not got much experience of teles but I would have thought they'd be a bit jingly jangly for hard rock...
 
There is a local band around here with 2 guitarists. They play mostly classic/hard rock kind of stuff. One guitarist plays a Les Paul into a Marshall while the other swtiches between a Strat or Tele into a Carvin Legacy. They sound freaking awesome! The tones blend very well and I haven't noticed the Tele being too twangy for the music.

I have a SSS American Strat that I use for some things. I wouldn't use it as my only "rock" guitar. But in a dense mix that already has humbucker guitar tracks... the Strat is a great choice.

I don't think you could wrong with either option. I personally have never been a fan of Teles because I think they are UGLY (of course that's stupid because all the should matter is sound/playability). They are great guitars though.
 
legionserial said:
Not got much experience of teles but I would have thought they'd be a bit jingly jangly for hard rock...
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led zeppelins first album is all tele. teles are surprisingly versatile.
 
They both sound great and both can be very usable in dense mix rock stuff, but my experience has been that overall, strats are much more flexible than teles. You can get a bit of twang out of a strat, or the ringing chimey-ness (how's that for a word), or good bluesy stuff. My first guitar was a USA strat...others have come and gone but the strat is still there.
 
Tele vs Strat is a can or worms best left unopened!

Check them both out and see which one does it for you. FWIW, I'd stay away from Fender's basic standard line (under $400).
 
YOu have a PRS and you want a FENDER WHAA!!! I would give anything except the two grand required to buy one for it...that aside.....In most cases i would take the strat because i jus love that smooth tone i can get from them. But i will also say that i would take a 72 telecaster deluxe over any strat anyday. jusy my opinions though
 
I have a Strat & a PRS...but I recently purchased a Tele (a Nashville Power Tele) with 3 pickups & 5-way strat pickup selector switch. It's way more "punchy" (i.e., it cuts thru the mix better...better sustain) than the strat without being as heavy as the PRS. Like the strat & PRS, it's very verstile. I would highly recommend checking one out.
 
nonovice said:
Going to check out that power tele. Sounds like what I'm looking for.
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Note that there's 2 similar models - the Nashville Power Tele and the Deluxe Nashville Tele. Both have 3 pickups and strat switching. The only difference, I believe, is a Fishman power bridge pickup in the Nashville Power Tele model. (Ok, so that's 4 pickups). The powerbridge pickup, by itself, sounds sort of acoustic-y...but it's real beauty is that you can blend it with the magnetic pickups to brighten the sound. It's got a separate volume. Try it out & see if it's worth the extra $100 or whatever to you.
 
legionserial said:
Not got much experience of teles but I would have thought they'd be a bit jingly jangly for hard rock...
Click to expand...

Someone already mentioned Led Zeppelin, but Rage Against The Machine isn't very jangly either. ;)

I've always wanted a Tele because of D Boon from The Minutemen. Joe Strummer from The Clash used one as well.

As far as Tele's being ugly, that's obviously a matter of personal preference. I personally think the Tele's look great.

I suppose a Strat is more versatile than a Tele in regards to pickup selection, but I've never been able to get a tone I like out of a SSS Strat. But that's just my personal take on it. There's something about that Tele bridge, too. I dig the necks on Tele's as well.

*shrug*
 
I've supplemented my Les Paul custom with a Tele built from parts- I can't remember what I have in there now, but I know they aren't straight singles. Some kind of humbucking active single if I recall :confused:

Anyway, I *love* the feel of the Tele with a 50's style neck. For some reason the Strats always felt somewhat fragile- I think its because there is such are large routing for the pickups and controls.

Anyway- I'm rambling. All just to say that from my experience a well put together Tele is every bit as versatile as a strat.

-C
 
The tele will definitely get you a fatter tone, but it will have slightly more of a 'jangle' too it- which can be good or bad depending on your preferences. I have a Walnut body Fender tele that sounds completely different than any of the alder or ash teles; much more midrangey and a very nice low end. It's probably the most Gibson-ish sounding Fender I've played. You may want to consider one of those or a rosewood body if you're looking for a more chunky sound. However, if I were forced to choose between keeping either my tele and my US Custom Shop strat, the strat would win any day.

In terms of versatility, the strat has more options, but there may be less usable ones soundwise (though a blender pot may help) when compared to the tele. The tele is a lot more versatile than it looks, it's been used by artists from Prince to Jeff Buckley to Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) to Lou Reed to Johnny Marr (The Smiths) to The Dream Syndicate...
 
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