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Post subject: Tele Gear Snobs
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:54 am
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Hi:

I saw a post for this but couldn't find it so I'm posting something that happened to me last month.

Our band was hosting an open mic for one of our weekend gigs. It's in a town an hour south of wher I live, Really didn't know most of the musicians that showed up.

We had an entire band show up (which was good) The guys were older than me. I'm 41 this band had members from late 50's to late 60's in it.

We were getting them set up and plugged in and one of the guitar players had a brand new American Deluxe Tele. He looked over at my Tele (A red 1994 MIM Std.) This guy started going off about my "Cheap Tele" he told me it wasn't a "Real Fender"
I was kinda shocked and said "Sorry...but back in 94 when I bought it...it was all I could afford"
I have 4 Teles......A 1989 Fender/Squier, 1994 MIM Std (Texas Special and a MOTS pickguard) 2004 Hwy 1, and a 2007 Baja Tele.

These guys started off playing...The were pretty good for what they did.

After they finished their set the guy kept going off about my guitar. I got up to play, and I played everything I could think of that had lots of weird chord progressions and tons of hot riffs. This guy just stared at me and my Tele. Then he comes up and said..."That guitar don't sound half bad boy"

I was irritated, but when he called me Boy..it made my blood boil.
I didn't yell, but firmly told the guy, It was none of his business what model Tele I played. I also told him I had a USA Tele at home and a couple others, The people dancing do not care where my guitar was made, as long as the music was good. I also told him his musicianship was far less than his arrogance and he was the weakest link in his band.

I never put other musicians down, this is a subjective business and everybody has their own right to play, but this guy was a real jerk and not that great a player. I haven't dealt with people like that in quite a while.

Our band is going to be playing this club fairly often, I just hope that I don't have to deal with him on the next one.

I did tell him, that the next Tele I bring will be even cheaper than the one I was playing that night. I'll bring my 89 Squire that's been slightly modded (52 reissue pickups, Music Man Tuners Speical Nut made of medrone wood and USA pots and switch) This is my FAV Tele of all 4 that I own.

Guys like this really tick me off.

Fender makes a great guitar and they make great stuff in every price range. I've been Really happy I have stuff from Squier to USA and all have served me well on Gigs and wouldn't sell any of them :D


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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:55 am
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Don't let people like that get to you. They are obviously trying to compensate for something else by being a guitar snob. I have owned everything from Squier to American Fender guitars and they all have been very good. Each time I upgraded to something more expensive I could tell a difference in some way, whether it was better feel, or slightly better sound, but I'm not sure the average listener could tell that much diiference.
Strange thing is that although I am fortunate enough to own an American Tele now and I like it very much, I still miss something about my first Butterscotch Affinity Tele. I might just buy another one of these days.


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Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:11 pm
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Most gear snobs out there are gear snobs because they can't play, so they can't criticize your playing, so they just go after your gear. Don't worry about them, most people would rather see someone playing the hell out of a $10 guitar than someone twith $10,000 worth of gear who can't play a thing.

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Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:17 pm
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Don't let the ignorant people in the world get you down man. If the guitar you choose to play sounds good and feels good THAT is the measure of the instrument. I own American Fenders, but I've played the MIM's and they are very good guitars.

If it looks like a Tele
If it plays like a Tele
If it sounds like a Tele

It's a Tele!

If you end up gigging with him again, offer to have a head cutting contest. See if he "man's up".

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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:08 am
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Its the same story worldwide mate. Gear snobs do need to find solice in the fact that their gear is impressive, because usualy their playing isnt. Im a self confessed cheapie lover, i refuse to take my expensive or old stuff out of the house. Next time he says anything derrogatory to you just tell him 'my gears for me, not you or anyone else'. Although I do think you may find a change in his attitude next time. All i ever say to these people is 'play it and then fault it', when i hear remarks about my squire series strat. Havent found anyone yet who can.

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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:48 am
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Of course there are gear snobs. There are also people who say they prefer cheapie guitars. They both can be a pain when they open their mouths. The gear snobs try to make others feel inferior by pointing out the obvious fact that their gear has a higher price. And of course higher price will not make you a better guitar player.

But on the other hand, the vocal cheapie fans seem to suggest that in paying more you are not getting any more quality or value in your high priced gear. In reality they are usually buying cheap because they can't afford anything else. There is nothing wrong with not having the money. But it is wrong to try to make your choice seem the correct choice by suggesting that higher price doesn't get you a better quality guitar. It does.

When I started to get a little disposable income I decided, "No more bad guitars." And I bought better stuff, gradually. You will too.

Generally, you do get higher quality gear when you pay more money. The hardware is better. The necks are better. The wiring, including shielding, is better. I'd be willing to bet that if you conduct blindfold tests of similar Fenders made at different price points, most people will recognize the higher quality guitars. :)


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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:16 am
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soggycrow wrote:
Generally, you do get higher quality gear when you pay more money. The hardware is better. The necks are better. The wiring, including shielding, is better. I'd be willing to bet that if you conduct blindfold tests of similar Fenders made at different price points, most people will recognize the higher quality guitars. :)


I don't believe anyone is saying that the MIM's and Squiers are of the same quality as the American made guitars. That would be silly.

The point is, that the MIM's and Squiers are perfectly adequate for most applications and no one should have to hear knuckleheads rag on their gear. ESPECIALLY (in my opinion) if it's happening in some little club and coming from someone who is not a pro. Feel free to remind them that if they were that darned "epic", they would be playing in arenas.

I'm friends with a number of studio players and I have yet to hear one of them deride someones choice of an MIM Fender, CIJ or CII Squier, or the various Epi's out there, as a players guitar.

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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:26 am
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mthorn00 wrote:
soggycrow wrote:
Generally, you do get higher quality gear when you pay more money. The hardware is better. The necks are better. The wiring, including shielding, is better. I'd be willing to bet that if you conduct blindfold tests of similar Fenders made at different price points, most people will recognize the higher quality guitars. :)


I don't believe anyone is saying that the MIM's and Squiers are of the same quality as the American made guitars. That would be silly.

The point is, that the MIM's and Squiers are perfectly adequate for most applications and no one should have to hear knuckleheads rag on their gear. ESPECIALLY (in my opinion) if it's happening in some little club and coming from someone who is not a pro. Feel free to remind them that if they were that darned "epic", they would be playing in arenas.

I'm friends with a number of studio players and I have yet to hear one of them deride someones choice of an MIM Fender, CIJ or CII Squier, or the various Epi's out there, as a players guitar.


Generally I just don't compare guitars with other people unless they want to talk about guitars. I always like to talk about guitars, but I'll never put down somebody's rig. And to be fair, they shouldn't put down mine.

I almost bought a Squier Affinity Telecaster. It sounded great and it was going to be a "spare guitar" used for work where a Telecaster was the right guitar. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that I wanted to play a Telecaster a lot, so I raised my sights. When the Telecaster comes in from Fender, I'm going to modify my Stratocaster. Currently it is an HSS, but I want to make it a true Stratocaster with an SSS configuration - probably with Fralin pickups.


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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:43 am
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The simple fact is, In most cases Squire, mim, mij and all the other 'cheapie' guitars are better suited for playing bars, lounges and the other dives that most of us seem to find ourselves in. Myself for live stuff i use a jcm800kk (£700) my squire series strat (£200) with a jackson js30 (£250) as a backup.
It seems a lot more sensible than taking my Vintage Hotrod (£1200) 83' jcm combo (£900 last time i saw one for sale) and baja tele (£450).
When your sharing a bill with 7 other bands and theres no dressing room or secure storage area it seems a no-brainer decision as what to take.
Ofcourse quality and tone on american made instruments is superior, but if 10% of the audience can tell the difference, your playing to a room of muso's.
The other thing regards quality and playability is that a guitar needs to be shaped to the user. There's nothing on this planet that beats my old mexican squire strat. Not because its of such amazing quality, but purely because its shaped to my hands over time as all good guitars do with their owners. How the hotrod and baja shape emselves over the next 13 years remains to be seen but i do have high hopes for both based on their playability new.

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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:45 pm
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I am quite surprised to hear that anyone would rag you aobut your rig. I have only been playing for a little over threee years and I have to say I have owned some great guitars. I always say I have more money than ability. I seem to like teles, though I do own one strat. I have a lite ash tele that is modified with SCN pups and an S-1 switch. I own 2 Squier Master series Thinline Teles, one that is modified with Dimarzio Bluesbuckers. I like the idea of having a thinline with the les paul set up, 2 tone and volume knobs. I also built a nashville tele that I put together with parts from all over the place. I have Lace's in there now, but replacing them with Lollars. My strat is a clapton strat and it is surely a great guitar. I have owned a 52 re-issue, an Esquire, partscaster with bigsby, mexican tele upgraded with a 4-way, two other strats, one an american deluxe, 7 rics, 2 gretsches, a few ibanez's an eastman archtop, on the acoustic side I have 2 martins left. As you can see, I have had very expensive and the best quality guitars, but I seem to like the stuff I have as much as anything I have owned. If I felt the other fest as good playing or sounded any better, I would have kept them. My clapton strat is a great guitar and I enjoy playing it, but when push comes to shove, I will pick up one of my teles first. I say play what you feel good playing and gives you the tone you want. Sure american teles have a little better parts, but in the end, its all about the player. I could care less what the venue, if you play a squier tele and its a stadium, I would believe it would not make a bit of difference how your sound will be. Speaking about equipment, it reminds me of a sports story. With all the hoopla about olympic Michael Phelps breaking mark spitz seven golds. Back in 72 the germans built this super engineered pool even filling it with special water. when asked what made the pool so fast. spitz said it without batting an eyeleash. Fast swimmers. Its all in your ability to play that counts. The equipment is just the conduit in which we express ourselves. You keep playing what you want to play and tell anyone who rags on your rig to piss off.


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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 6:35 pm
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nikininja wrote:
The simple fact is, In most cases Squire, mim, mij and all the other 'cheapie' guitars are better suited for playing bars, lounges and the other dives that most of us seem to find ourselves in. ....


Excellent point, especially back in my playing days when smoking was allowed and the air was often a blue haze. Good way to ruin a very delicate guitar. Then too, there's always the drunk that knocks it over, loses lunch all over it, etc.

Then too, I still remember in horror one night when my band was playing at a bar. We were on break and the owner had us at a table off in a corner where we really couldn't see the stage. All of a sudden, we saw someone running toward the front door and a flash of gold. We all knew instantly: he'd grabbed the rhythm player's gold top LP. Long story short, he had too much of a head start and we never caught him or the plates on the car he quite evidently had waiting.

Had they grabbed mine, on the other hand, I'd have been out the $159 for my cheapo LP clone. After that night, we never brought anything very valuable to a gig unless we knew the venue and knew we could protect it.


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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 7:57 am
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I own a 62ReIssue Stratocaster (US Made) and a 1980 G&L F100 (US Made) as well as a 1990s MIM Telecaster...the Telecaster sees as much or more stage time as the other two (I use various tunings--Open G, Open D, standard, some open minors on occasion--so I have to have more than one guitar). They're all used in the studio equally as well.

The drummer/producer of my band (the Screamin' Armadillos) dabbles in guitar, and he has a made in Asia (Korea? I'm not sure) Epiphone Jr. (single bridge P90, similar to a Les Paul Junior of the 50s) that has been used by each of us (me, the other guitarist and the drummer himself) to record many different guitar tracks on our recordings and it sounds great...the only thing that has been upgraded is the tuning machines.

Due to the neck profile, fretboard materials, and weight differences of the guitars, each of them play differently, not better or worse or anything, just different. The two USA made axes don't play any more expensively. :P

The tones are obviously different--the mahogany-bodied guitar with humbuckers and a rosewood fretboard (G&L F100) is going to sound different from the ash-bodied guitar with a P90 in the neck and a classic Tele pickup in the bridge and a maple fretboard (Telecaster) which is going to sound different from the alder-bodied axe with Pete Biltoft Vintage Vibe SP90 pickups and rosewood fretboard (Stratocaster)...but they're all good.

I have modded the Strat and the Tele, but both times it was not due to poor workmanship or a flaw in design, rather it was my own penchant for tweaking electronics and the desire for a slightly different tone that made me do it.

Jackasses that insult your rig are obviously trying to compensate for something, either low self-esteem, poor musicianship or just a general lack of personality.

One final note...I once saw Bugs Henderson play at J&J's Blues Bar in Fort Worth, Texas. Between the third and fourth sets, his son brought him an ugly little cheap pointy-headed heavy metal shred-machine guitar that was made in Indonesia. It had been abused greatly--paint was bad, etc. Bugs picked it up, grinned and said, "That's perfect!" During the last song, he brought out that guitar; it actually sounded good! Halfway through the song, he pulled out a giant Rambo knife and started stabbing the guitar, attacking it like Jack the Ripper. By the end of the song, he had thrown the guitar down on the stage and stuck the knife into the center of its body, leaving it laying there like a murder victim, with feedback screaming like a banshee.
During the encore, he picked up that same guitar, pulled out the knife, tuned it a bit and played one more song--and the guitar sounded good.

If a piece of crap ugly axe that most of wouldn't even look at twice sounds that good, maybe it's not where the guitar was made or how much it costs; rather, maybe it's the player.

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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:47 pm
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I don't think I would've been nice to that guy for as long as you lasted. You're a much more patient person than I am. After about a minute or two.....the conversation would've abruptly ended, with me saying exactly how I felt, holding back no punches.

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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:01 am
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The world abounds with idiots. Case in point:

Yesterday I've got my Highway 1 in at the local shop for it's regular check up.
The guitar tech checks everything, tells me it's still dialed in great, no tweakage necessary.
He then says "This is a real sweet guitar"
I grins and sez "Thanks man, I like it alot"

<I know, you're asking "where's the idiot?">

Now the idiot chimes in from over my left shoulder.
"It's alright I guess, but it ain't no American Standard"
(note: the Highway 1's are US made guitars)

The Tech (being an employee and all) looked surprised and a bit uncomfortable.
I turned to face the idiot (I'm 6'1" and 210 lbs) smiled my most friendly smile, looked him straigh in the eye, and said "Don't be a F_ _ king idiot".

I then turned back to the Tech, thanked him, cased up my Tele and left.

Gotta tell y'all it was satisfying.

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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:36 pm
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Hi:

I politely told him I didn't appreciate his attitude, and his playing ability didn't warrant buying a $1200.00 Fender USA Tele.

This was on open mic or jam session. I told the management he was not welcome on our stage the next time, I also told the band he was with, If they come in next month, they were all welcome EXCEPT him, and he wouldn't be playing on our stage


Syeklops wrote:
I don't think I would've been nice to that guy for as long as you lasted. You're a much more patient person than I am. After about a minute or two.....the conversation would've abruptly ended, with me saying exactly how I felt, holding back no punches.


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