I wholeheartedly agree with your reasoning.

A note on the Bigsby: I know some players love the 'vintage' look of them yet the fact remains that they are quite limited and inefficient in comparison to a properly set Strat tremolo's capabilities.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

i intend on fitting a bigsby to my JA90, but as you mentioned, im well aware that for me its 90% for the look, they look stunning and its going to suit the JA90 well. it probably wont get used much, but at least it will look beast.

in reality, a guitar that doesnt get played, however nice it is, is just the same as having a pile of wood and wire stacked in the corner of the room. chop it in for something you get more use from.

i remember growing up thinking "i need 1 strat, 1 tele, 1 les paul, 1 acoustic, and ill be sorted". i've got 1 strat, 3 teles, a 6 string and 12 string acoustic, and i tried a les paul but hated it. no point keeping it for the sake of it.

This is all absolutely true. Though of course for some of us that's much of the point of a Tele: it's for when your mood is more Springsteen than Lofgren (specially if you happen to have a natural finish blackguard Tele...). Sometimes a fella just feels like a chunky fat handful of baseball bat maple in his left fist.

BTW:

Seems like heresy to say it, but I totally agree. Bigsbys look so cool - and I've never met one in real life that functioned better than a truck on ice with bald tires. I have such respect for Brian Setzer: I simply have no idea how he does what he does with his Gretsches and stays even approximately in tune. Amazing.

For us mortals, if you want a vibrato; well that's why Leo gave us the Stratocaster.

Cheers - C

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I traded my American Tele a few years ago and it was a mistake! I had a Strat at the time and I thought I would not need the Tele.Besides my bandmates at that time liked the Tele on less than a third of our set list. I made two mistakes 1)Selling the Tele.2)Listing to bandmates.Ha ha!!!
Have a AM Strat Deluxe,ES335,58 Les Paul RI ,the Tele would be a nice addition. As some tunes just need that Tele spank.

Tele is great addition no matter how much you play it.The American Standards are a real bargin for tone and overall quality not to mention the most rugged guitar on the face of the earth.I hate to travel with my Gibsons but had no fears travelling with my Tele.

I think I just convinced myself to start the budgeting process to buy another one!!

Good luck on your decison! You will have to Tele us all about your decison!!!

I know it's a bit of a cliche, but I wouldn't mind having a Telecaster around to keep in open G...perhaps take off the low E string...

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1967 Epiphone Madrid EC-30
1975 Fender Stratocaster
1981 Rickenbacker 360
2002 BC Rich Bich
2007 Fender Standard Stratocaster
2012 Taylor GA3-12
2012 Squier Telecaster
2017 Les Paul Kit


"Make every song you sing your favorite tune."

Don't get rid of your tele!!!!!!!!!! get rid of some of your strats if you feel the need to unburden yourself.

For me the tele is a better instrument than the strat. I think it's just a better feel. The only things the strat has over the tele is an extra pickup that you don't need anyway and the tremolo bar and the contoured body.

Tele is king always.

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

I have a Strat, a Tele, and a home-brew Esquire. I love and play them all. Each one sounds totally different from the other.

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Bill

Ouch! This really cuts me deeply.





Now I am wondering why I even have any of these worthless guitars... maybe my wife was right... I should just sell them all...



... but then I'd just have these (and about 45 other guitars) and then where would I be?

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

in a girly world of curvaceous strats, with no manly testosterone leaking teles to hand !!!!!

if you don't play the Tele then give it to someone who will give it the proper affection.

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2010 Gibson Les Paul Studio (Silverburst)
2007 Fender CD-60 (Sunburst)
G.A.S-ing for a Fender Stratocaster HSS with floyd rose

Thank you, moochy, for helping me find my way. It takes a real man to play a guitar all night that keeps digging into his ribs - thanks for reminding me! Of course, I have this one to take away some of the pain... yes, Strat contour on the back and a sculpted top.





And this one to remind me of the old days... plain old '94 American Standard... feel the pain!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

The Tele definitely has its place and it is far more that just two thirds of a Strat. It is a different animal. The Tele has a unique sound and it is more touch sensitive than a Strat. That sensitivity means it's easier to sound bad on a Tele if you don't have good hands. If you do know how to touch the Tele it will reward you with beautiful gorgeous tone by the bucketful. The Strat is a more forgiving and more versatile instrument and therefore better suited to the masses. The Tele is an aquired taste and usually if you fall in love with it you are in love for life.

I can't imagine NOT having a Tele in the arsenal. I've culled Gibsons and PRSs from the herd and kept a Tele. To the OP, I would definitely lose a Strat or two before losing the Tele.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Right now my budget allows me to have 2 electrics (both Strats) and 1 acoustic-electric. If I could afford multiple electric guitars, I'd have a Tele in there somewhere. I had a '76 Tele Custom as my first actual Fender, and years later had a MIM tele for a while. IMO a hard tail Fender is great to have around, especially if you are trying to lay down some oblique bends on a track or two. What better hard tail Fender than a Tele? I've always loved Thinlines any time I've picked one up, and their are some cool sig models out now as well.

Well, funny you suggest losing a Strat first. Now I don't know which way to go --

a) Sell the Am Deluxe, keep the Tele at least 'til I give it another chance
b) Sell the Tele, keep the Am Deluxe but put together and install a loaded pickguard with p/u's more to my liking.
c) Sell 'em both and go shopping...

Either way, at least one's gotta go to pay off the balance on the DRRI...

I agree 100%

I own 5 strats and 2 teles. They are completely different beasts, and to pick which one I like more would be a real Sophie's choice. The tele is rawer and less refined, both physically and tonally. Teles have more highs and lows in my experience - a brasher tone. A strat has more mid range generally and also seems more forgiving and smoother. I think people are discounting the tonal versatility of a tele. The tone and volume knobs goes quite a long way on the 3 positions. For blues, ska, punk/hardcore, alt and reggae, both guitars perform incredibly.

I will say that ergonomically, a strat is the perfect guitar. In my mind, there is no way to improve on the comfort of Leo's design

Some random thoughts tangentially related to the thread as an aside (hijack, sorry mate),

The tele comes out of a more frugal post war mentality in america. When Leo designed it people (including him I imagine) were more used to austerity and rationing. The strat came at the beginning of the space age when anything was possible in America, and affluence was on the rise. I think these facts reflect in the utilitarian, spartan nature of the tele, and the curvaceous, eternally modern nature of the strat.

I will say Im confused that leo design the strat with only 3 way switching. He already made a guitar with 3 way switching that utilizing dual pickups. You'd think they'ed use the same switching on a strat to make 5 way switching from the get to.

Sorry for that, back to your thread,

It's your call. They're your guitars you bought with your own money. If it were me, I couldnt imagine being without a tele in my arsenal. Considering that your playing style relies on a trem however, I can understand your hesitance to keep the tele.