I've got four Strats, each with its own character, and one Tele. The Tele is a nice one -- Am Std, Natural Finish Ash body, rosewood fretboard. I've had it a little over a year and it hasn't gotten much playing time. I guess I'm a Strat guy at heart. With that said, I've really gotten into the surf instrumentals and, of course, the whammy bar is essential. So, maybe that's why the Tele sits pretty much unplayed.

So, I'm wondering if I really need the Tele. Its nice to have variety but, other than that, I'm not sure there's much rationale behind keeping a guitar that doesn't get played much.. Strictly from a tone perspective, I haven't found a tone on the Tele that I can't get pretty close to with the Strat... could be that my hearing at 61 can't tell the difference, though...

Any opinions on whether to keep or sell the Tele?... I know there's no right or wrong answer.. I know what they'll say if I ask this in the Tele forum so I wanted to get some thoughts from Strat guys..

I've tried the Telecaster twice in my 45 years of playing and no matter what, I've never really been able to bond with the instrument. Aside from its body not fitting my body (LOL) there just wasn't enough sonic appeal to suit me (and no, I'm not bad-mouthing the instrument or those who play it). Thus, my Fender guitar ownership experience will likely forever be limited to the Strat.

JMO, HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I have one telecaster and its been in the case for 2 years now, like retro said it just doesn't fit me.

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Well if you are willing to count an Esquire, then yeah you need one! I love my Strats, but every now and then, I crank that Esquire through a Fender amp (be sure to turn down the treble) and wail away...it takes me into different playing territory. I gigged pretty steady with it for about four years and it never let me down...was there times, when I wish I had a bit more sonic choices? Sure, but that might have been limits to MY playing, not the axe.

IMHO.

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I just find tele's sonic's thin and glassy....... But hey i ain't Keith Urban....He makes them sound like gold... god that man can boogy .... But even he picks up a strat for fuller tone every other track....

I'd sell it and buy a Les Paul or 33something..........JMHO....

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So - this is maybe the Stratocaster forum ?
Ok- it is of course up to you , guys-whether you do like teles or not- or if you should keep it ,oldguy!
I've got 2 Fender teles, and 2 fender strats(+a dozen other brands....) - and I love them all! For different tonal abilities -and playability/playing style. I can't even sell out one of my teles ,despite they both are '69 thinline RI. One got a C-shape neck , the other U-shape. One with DiMarzio-one with Fender Vintage-style pups. One in mahogany , one in ash. They can sound pretty similar- but if I tweak - I can get a huge difference in sound! Same goes for my Strats - SD's on one, Fenders the other. I feel they all fill up my tonal palette. But then again- I play a lot of different styles. If you don't - perhaps you should sell! I would have kept it
For the record: I have played strat all this night
(Edit: Some connection trouble here , so T2 ,you posted before me,and you are obviously a bit more of my opinion , but I post anyway)

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A-man

I have a tele, so perhaps I'm a bit biased, but on the Fender Lounge Forum, Babalooga made a very good point about having a tele.
He said "For me it would have to be a tele. You can use them to defend yourself in a bar room brawl and never even put a dent in it."
Wise words and you won't find that info on the tele portion of the Fender website
cheers,
Alex

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......it's a topsy-turvy world when noses run and feet smell...

Why even bother with two thirds of a non-contoured, non-tremolo Strat? (Loosely speaking, of course.)

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

Good one...pithily put

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......it's a topsy-turvy world when noses run and feet smell...

I've been asking myself the same question over the past 28 years.

It was my love for Status Quo which made me start playing the guitar in 1981.
I couldn't afford a Tele those days, so I started with a cheap El Maya EM 1000:



6 years later I happened to get the first Strat type guitar in my hands and that was the moment I fell in love with strats. It was a cheap Marina Strat copy which I completely modified to my needs those days:



Since then I ALWAYS ended up with a Stratocaster.
I played Gibson, Washburn, Ibanez Tele copy and others ..... I always came back to Strats.

Since my early Status Quo fan days (I discovered their music in 1977) I ALWAYS wanted a white Tele with RW fingerboard and black pickguard.
What can I say .... I still don't have one!
I was thinking about buying one last month ...... but I didn't.

I simply realized that I'm a Strat man. Period.
Strats have the sexiest body contours of all guitars I know. Teles - no matter how much I like their sound - are just an uncomfortable block of wood and I really HATE the switch knob (well, THAT can be changed).

I admit, I dare to own 2 other electric guitars which I like to play, an Ibanez RG and an Ibanez JEM but that's for Floyd Rose reasons only and I want those 24 frets on the fingerboard.

I intended to sell them and get myself a Fender Floyd Rose equipped Strat but I just couldn't part from my Ibanez beauties and Fender doesn't offer 24 frets.
I got 2 vintage Ibanez as well but that's more for collectable reasons, I hardly play them.

So, to finally answer your question: you don't NEED a tele! What you need is a guitar you feel most comfortable with. If it's a Stratocaster, then it's a Stratocaster. Period.

It's a matter of personal preferences, sound and playing feel.

The companies with all their advertising make you think that for this music you need this guitar and for that music you need that particular guitar.

Fact is (at least IMHO): there's no more versatile and simultaneously comfortable electric guitar than a Strat type guitar, whether it's Fender or any other brand's copy.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

I have 30+ guitars and basses (not married, no-one to tell me NO!), of which 14 are Strats. Love them all, enjoy playing every one of them.

I bought a Tele on the spur of the moment 18 months ago, an '89 American Standard in Teal Blue Metallic with maple board, and really like it. When my lady friend died last August and I had to play something at a large funeral, the Tele is what I used to play a solo piece and then accompany her 8-year-old daughter who wanted to sing at the service. The Tele was the right instrument for the large building, and now it has HUGE sentimental value. I will never give up my love for Strats, but there are probably more Teles out there waiting to join my collection.

teles are more manly.

Hey, cool LANEY AOR you got there - the better Marshall, I loved my Laney back in those days, killer tone.

More on topic - I had a Telecaster Custom (72 if I remember right) back in those days and I hated it, it was a dog. I know it´s worth a few bucks these days but I was happy I sold it to get a Flying V.
When I bought my Antigua Stratocaster FSR I really liked the Telecaster as well and seriously thought about buying both. I bought the Strat only (and I was lucky I got one) but I still like that Tele a lot. Time will tell..

Cheers,
Robin

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http://www.youtube.com/robinstrower
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I have a 1978 strat and a 2002 hot-rodded AM tele (5-way switching, humbucker neck pup). Love them both; use them both. Also use a Gibson Les Paul. the guitar I use depends on the song and the guitar used by the other guitarist.

Martian, that puts it in perspective pretty well. To me, the Tele is pretty basic -- nice but basic. The Strat just has that look and feel... As someone suggested, I could put a Bigsby on the Tele but, if I wanted to go that direction, I'd be lookin' at a Gretsch with a factory-installed Bigsby.

So, I look at my small collection of guitars and I realize that I don't need a bunch of different types of guitars, at least for my present situation. (Guitar, for me, is a hobby). My areas of interest are surf instrumentals, classic rock, and blues and Strats do fine with those... If my musical interests change, well then I can reexamine my needs..

So, it looks like the Tele is headed for the auction block.. I might even consider doing the same with the Am Deluxe HSS Strat to free up some funds for the next Strat on my wish list... been wanting a CAR Strat for awhile now... I don't use the S1 switching very much and I just haven't bonded with the H in the HSS... Yeah, I could swap in a new loaded pickguard but, hey, I can sell the the Am Deluxe for at least what I paid for it.. Just feelin' like its time for a change.. Worst case, I can use the $ to pay off the balance on the DRRI I just bought and still have enough left over for another Strat... GAS has no limits...