Telecaster: getting used to bridge?

[mercifulfuzziness]

Yeah and that’s not what you want. Placing a tubescreamer for the amp and placing the knob in between mid and bridge seems to be a sound I can feel home in.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Taking my Tele to practice tonight.

Yes let’s not forget Prince.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Why fight it? Embrace the brightness \m/

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Why fight it? Embrace the brightness \m/

 

[la szum]

They called Albert Collins "The Iceman" for a reason.

 

[la szum]

Another cut your head off Tele player.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Was thinking about Prince. In his live shows you see him playing the bridge pick up. But it’s not overly twangy.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Another cut your head off Tele player.

The only episodes of this show I will watch involve Jerry Reid doing Eastbound and Down or Stevie Ray Vaughn

 

[laxu]

It depends heavily on the pickups you have. Tele pickups are all over the place, probably more so than many others. Some are bright af, or thin sounding, some are juicy and thick with still that Tele bark and bite.

Use your tone knob first and see where you get.

I use the Tele bridge pickup just like any bridge pickup, namely play most of my rhythm stuff on it. I have Cavalier pickups in mine.

 

[laxu]

Oh, and I'm one of the ones that doesn't believe a tele is an LP.

The saying is "a great Tele sounds like a LP and a great LP sounds like a Tele". I think there is some truth to that, but it does not mean they are a substitute for one another.

A great Tele will still sound like a Tele, but it will have a big, fat tone like a Les Paul while still having that Tele twang. Meanwhile a great Les Paul will have some Tele style twang and brightness to it so it's not just tubby.

I think this works out completely with my KDC "Barncaster" Tele (Cavalier "Nocaster" pickups) vs my Heatley Tradition (LP style, Wolfetone Dr. Vintage pickups). The Heatley is a bit leaner and brighter than my other LP style guitar, but I like it better that way because it means it has more clarity, yet a very balanced tone.

 

[Will Onyx]

I’m no Tele expert, but here’s a few things I learned from playing country. First is to absolutely not be afraid to turn down the tone control. I’d roll mine back about 1/3d of the way. Second is that the amp settings are really important. Might need to run the bass and mids higher while cutting back on the treble. Some amps shine better with a tele than others which is why fenders get a lot of action, but my favorite is a tele with an AC30. Third is working on your right hand dynamics. How you attack the strings with the pick is going to have a lot to do with how much bite you get. Even better, if you can learn hybrid picking, that opens up a TON of expressive possibilities.

 

[Byrdman]

I “desperately” want to be a Strat guy but I always pick up my telecaster.

The Strat I have is a player. The telecaster is American. But that can’t be it. Maybe it is. It just feels so great in the hands.

Are the PU's in that Strat stock? I had a Player Strat and the noiseless PU's neutered it so I sold it. If you are playing noiseless PU's that could be it.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

Are the PU's in that Strat stock? I had a Player Strat and the noiseless PU's neutered it so I sold it. If you are playing noiseless PU's that could be it.

Yes, stock. Alcina 5 (?.. something like that). Brought it to store today and apparently the neck pick up is a bit high so it becomes muffy. Also, the neck is very straight which also not helps with buzzing etc. so he is going to change that up a bit.

He then said, just like you, that if that is not to my taste we can look at changing the pick ups.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

I might just not have found “my” Strat yet

 

[metropolis_4]

Lately mostly Hendrix, bit of Mayer.

I have a helix. In there I often stick to a Grammatico, Vox ac15 or 30 and sometimes Fender. I prob need to try out Marshall.

I rarely use pedals. Or very few

I’d take a look at your amp settings. Spend some time getting a feel for what the Tele likes from the EQ on your amp.

A Tele bridge into a Vox is a classic sound! I’ve spent many years gigging that combo. Don’t be afraid of the Cut control.

The balance between neck and bridge pickups can be tricky on a Tele because the traditional neck pickups are so dark. If you’re dialing in your amp for the neck you might find the bridge too thin/bright.

If you hit that problem there are some neck pickups that can help, or some people change the wiring so the tone control is only on the bridge pickups and roll it off a bit to balance

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I “desperately” want to be a Strat guy but I always pick up my telecaster.

The Strat I have is a player. The telecaster is American. But that can’t be it. Maybe it is. It just feels so great in the hands.

If you've got stock pickups in that Fender American Telecaster and the neck pickup sounds good, then I don't doubt for a second that the bridge pickup is going to bite your head off if you switch straight to it from the neck without changing anything. With a "traditional" tele neck pickup here are the options, imo: (1) set the amp for a ripping bridge pickup tone; you should also be able to get a pretty solid lower-output more jangly rhythm sound by switching to the middle position. Neck pickup will probably sound horrible. Bridge pickup alone with volume knob should be able to cover 90% of playing though. Its kinda like an LP Junior, but with one other kinda jangly setting. (2) Set the amp for a great neck pickup tone. Tele neck pickup tone is different than a strat pickup and can be really great. Here, when you go back to the bridge pickup, you are going to need to dial down the tone knob a bit; possible step on a boost.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

If you've got stock pickups in that Fender American Telecaster and the neck pickup sounds good, then I don't doubt for a second that the bridge pickup is going to bite your head off if you switch straight to it from the neck without changing anything. With a "traditional" tele neck pickup here are the options, imo: (1) set the amp for a ripping bridge pickup tone; you should also be able to get a pretty solid lower-output more jangly rhythm sound by switching to the middle position. Neck pickup will probably sound horrible. Bridge pickup alone with volume knob should be able to cover 90% of playing though. Its kinda like an LP Junior, but with one other kinda jangly setting. (2) Set the amp for a great neck pickup tone. Tele neck pickup tone is different than a strat pickup and can be really great. Here, when you go back to the bridge pickup, you are going to need to dial down the tone knob a bit; possible step on a boost.

Is is an American Tele from 1996.

90% of the time would be good enough for me , will def try out to change the amp settings to liking

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Is is an American Tele from 1996.

90% of the time would be good enough for me , will def try out to change the amp settings to liking

Yeah -- standard tele neck pickups are pretty dark. Which is why you see all the Twisted Tele style replacement pickups for neck position.

 

[mercifulfuzziness]

If you've got stock pickups in that Fender American Telecaster and the neck pickup sounds good, then I don't doubt for a second that the bridge pickup is going to bite your head off if you switch straight to it from the neck without changing anything. With a "traditional" tele neck pickup here are the options, imo: (1) set the amp for a ripping bridge pickup tone; you should also be able to get a pretty solid lower-output more jangly rhythm sound by switching to the middle position. Neck pickup will probably sound horrible. Bridge pickup alone with volume knob should be able to cover 90% of playing though. Its kinda like an LP Junior, but with one other kinda jangly setting. (2) Set the amp for a great neck pickup tone. Tele neck pickup tone is different than a strat pickup and can be really great. Here, when you go back to the bridge pickup, you are going to need to dial down the tone knob a bit; possible step on a boost.

Is option 1 a matter of throwing the treble down?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Is option 1 a matter of throwing the treble down?

I dunno what sounds you are going for, but I'd say as with all things the earlier in the chain you can fix things, the better -- which here is pick an amp that's going to complement the tele the most first. And then, yeah, turning down treble a little; presence definitely coming down. Also some embracing that its going to be a brighter sound than what you may be used to. As a rule, when I pick up my tele, I turn to my tweed preset on my AxeFx where when I pick up my 335, I turn to my Blackpanel preset. In Helix, the Victory Queen or whatever its called is a KILLER amp with a tele.