Usually we see it coming, like a train in a tunnel. We develop a interest in a particular guitar that turns into a 'want' and finally a 'need.' Food and drink, mere mortal diversions. We're talking about a guitar!!!
I NEED THIS!
At Woodstock I developed my need for a Stratocaster. I wanted to be Jimi. In 2009 I bought another and tried to recapture my youthful obsession. It was not meant to be.
I saw both Carlos Santana and Jerry Garcia playing Gibson SGs...had to have one - it took 28 years to fulfill that need, but I did. The Gretsch was a hollowbody - I had owned an ES 345TD and knew all about hollowbodies and why I needed one. The Jaguar was the recognition of what scale (the length of the guitar) and radius (curvature of the fretboard) are and how they are intimately intertwined. I realized I could own a Fender that didn't have a curved fretboard. A small thing that kept me away from Fenders for 25 years.
Never had owned a Telecaster until a bass playing friend made one a gift a few months ago. It was a Squier, which is the low end Fender brand. And this particular one was the Affinity line - which is Squiers low end models. This guitar retails for $180 or so. It further cemented the idea that Teles are nasty paddles from ancient canoes.
Then I "found" Colin James. The Church of James and I bonded. When I discover something I tend to get very passionate. To the point where most mortals think obsession.I have literally worn grooves into records listening to a particular song or passage...over & over.
"Wavelength" is my current victim - I must have listened to it a thousand times in the past week. I find new things, I enjoy a riff or a lyric. It's the marriage of pop with blues that I think was made for me. He's masterful in his playing but he doesn't appeal to most (except other guitarists) because of his virtuosity. His meter...his rhythm...his words - they make you sing and dance without your consent.
Prominently displayed on the inside cover of the CD is a Tele. The music fairly reeks of a very distinctive Fender twang.
Wednesday came and I wanted a Telecaster. GAS from nowhere.
My '09 Strat and I had not really bonded, I kept it to remember my first. I had tried selling it...obviously asking too much. Fine...how much will Lou give me toward a new Tele?
He offered a bit over half of what I would have liked. I thought for a moment and decided a used bird is better than one left in it's case to rot. I am not a collector - as the kids say, I'm a playah.
I started to notice things such as I was using both pickups for two polar opposite sounds. Other guitars harbor simialr sounds in both the bridge or neck pickup - the bridge being more treble biased.
But on the Tele the neck is a bell and the bridge is a triangle - related but not the same thing by a long shot.
I am having too much fun. The downsides? The body is a plank of wood - there is no sense of fine craftsmanship, no touches that make it special. It was Leo Fenders first mass produced and successful electric guitar. A Model T. But it sure gets the job done.
All modern Fenders seem to share a 9.25 radius - so the controlling factor becomes the scale. Medium & short scale feels flatter than a Strat. So the neck feels longer than my Jag but almost as flat. And that it has a Maple neck is a huge plus. The Strat I traded as well as my Jag are rosewood fingerboards and I've always felt Fenders scream Maple. Why? I couldn't tell you. It just 'feels' right.
The paint is plain vanilla. Over time it may yellow a bit. Those are referred to as 'Butterscotch.' Part of the 1950s vibe they seek to evoke are things like: they used the original switch selector as opposed to the 'Top Hat.' They allow the grain of the pine body to be visible through the paint - as though it were already older than a newly painted model. Doesn't impress me. It is not a pretty guitar with the exception of the neck which has a nice ripple in the grain.
It's a workhorse.
And I'mma cowboy... yeehaw!
