The great thing about these guitars is that you can get very good examples at affordable prices. So for $1000 you can have a pair of quality Mexican strat and teles. Both easy to setup, upgrade and enjoy.
I'm a lead guitarist in a classic rock/country band. I always have a strat and a tele on hand. Usually I just play whichever one I'm in the mood for that night and the other is a backup.
The start of the video was classic Jack! 😆Like most, I have both. But my workhorses are my Tele and Esquire. I like what my guitar hero Jeff Beck said comparing the Tele to the Strat, "Yes, it's not for kids (the tele ) . No whammy bar or anything like that on it. It's a real workhorse guitar, you know? It reveals all your failings and all your plus points. It's a great thing to keep you on your toes, for sure." 2005 interview for the book (Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster). I love the simplicity of the Tele/Esquire and without a doubt, to the the Tele headstock is still the best looking headstock ever made! By far, my pick of the two, if I could only keep one, would be the telecaster! Thanks for the GREAT video Jack!
They're both great guitars, but I bought a used American Standard Strat in the three color sunburst finish this past Saturday. It's a honey of a guitar.😻 I've enjoyed playing it on a bunch of different amp settings. I like the versatility of the guitar with its three single coil pick-ups. In pick-up positions 2 and 4 you get some pretty nice "quack". This guitar belonged to a close friend who's now almost 80 years old. We worked together and have been friends for decades. He wanted to me to have it because of our shared love of music. When I think of the Strat, I think of Hendrix and Stevie Ray. When I think of a Tele, I think of Albert Collins, Sue Foley, Chrissie Hynde, and a number of country artists like Merle Haggard. The Tele that really gets me going is the Thinline semi-hollow body one played by people like Carolyn Wonderland and Tab Benoit. 😻
Sue Foley is the bomb! Found her here on UA-cam a few months ago, love her pink paisley Telecaster. Great blues player, she also does flamenco stuff on a Spanish guitar too! Nice taste there!!!
@@michelleneeds4165 You got it. Sue has been around since the '90's. Her Tele style blues reminds me of Albert Collins. I didn't know how good the blues could sound until I heard her play it on her Spanish guitar. She's a guitar honey for sure. 👍👍👍 If you like swamp blues and don't know Tab Benoit, I highly recommend checking him out. He's great! 🎸🎸🎸
I feel they can both do a lot of the same things. However, in my opinion, the tele will always have a more country sound to it. It may be so very tiny you hardly notice it, but I still hear it. So to me, if you play country, southern rock, or rockabilly the tele would be best choice. For everything else, I would go strat.
Tell that to Ed King and Gary Rossington of Lynard Skynard who both used Strats from time to time. Or maybe where it’s used by the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker or a ton of others.
I’m partial to the Strat mainly because I inherited my late brother’s first guitar which was a 83’ Strat. It sounds so clean & just reminds me of him whenever I play it. But you gotta love that grungy Twang of the Tele! Both are great guitars. 👍🏼 🎸
I am a dedicated Strat player. I have two of them. But... I do have one Telecaster. It's a Michael Kelly Tele. With a belly and arm cut... nice and comfy . But the tone on the Strat running out of my Fender Amp is unbeatable.
If you listen to the Yardbirds when Jeff Beck was playing a Fender Broadcaster you will hear the best tonal variations ever to come from a single pickup electric guitar or any electric guitar.
As a Les Paul guy for decades then became a Strat guy a few years ago and now I am a Tele guy as I have to say the Telecaster to me is the perfect blend of the best aspects of the Les Paul and Strat guitars as I think the Tele is the best of the 3 and on your fact that Fender and Gibson has done very little changes to their original design is a concept I wish American car manufactuers would've adopted from early on as I wish we always could buy a brand new 57 Chevy, 65 Mustang or 68 Roadrunner body that never changed but all the technology within the timeless bodies updated while still looking just as they did from the outside, if they had done this I cannot ever see Americans ditching their American cars for imports as alot did because American styling began to look like the imports and now you can barely tell cars apart but back when American Cars were Classics no import to me can match the styling of a 57 Chevy or other American Classic Cars and they never should had changed them in my opinion but I am glad Fender and Gibson realized this lesson early on and stayed true to their timeless designs
After owning both, for something like 60 years now, I definitely gravitate much more to a tele. I prefer the tele bridge PU, but the strat for neck PU. I prefer the tele neck contour, but the strat cutaway. But there is something about the way a tele sits in your lap that you just get used to. And that is NOT the same with a strat, LP, or SG. A tele is the best balanced and most comfortable guitar...ever.
Both. I also add a mini toggle to my Strat so I can get a neck/bridge combo, which sounds like a Tele. On a Strat i like a floating bridge and make ample use of the tremolo, and I opt for the Tele if using compound faux steel guitar bends with the fixe bridge. The guitars do different things, and they are all cool.
I much prefer a strat. More comfortable, more tonal options, prefer the looks etc. A lot of people complain about the bridge pickup but I feel like it offers more flexibility than the Tele. Since it’s more “scooped” sounding you can try pairing it with different overdrives to fill out the midrange in different ways. There’s something about a Strat that has a more touch-sensitive tactile feel to me as well. Strats for life.
@@edema.3418 Ive heard that argument a lot but I always counter it with: how many of us own just 1 guitar? Why do you need 1 guitar to do everything? And even if you did, I reckon a Strat can do anything a Tele can.
Actually, this is why I have not yet gotten a Strat: The relative lack of midrange unless you add overdrive. Paraphrasing something David Gilmour once said about the Les Paul (which, ironically enough, he did one of his greatest solos on), I love Strats and what people do with them, but I am more comfortable on Teles and Les Pauls; both of which have more midrange and are better for how I play than Strats.
@@rudolphpyatt4833 Ive never got on with Teles tbh. They’re too thin-sounding for rhythm imho (would much rather play and SG or Les Paul), and for leads they don’t have that like barky, percussiveness a Strat does (at least to my ears). If I could only play one guitar for the rest of my life it would unquestionably be the SG. It’s the best design in terms of comfort and practicality and sounds even better than a LP (again, to my ears).
I love both. The reason that I play a strat is because of comfort. It feels better in my hands and against my body. The double cut makes playing higher notes feel better. That’s literally it. I still think Teles are awesome and one day I’d like to own one.
I appreciate the point of view that you have. I'm more of a tele guy but do believe the strat is more versatile, which is why my favorite tele has a middle pick up in it. You can't beat the 2 and 4 on a strat.
I have an 🇺🇸 strat and just got a 2018 butterscotch Fender player telecaster and it's awesome guitar ❗ The tele is the guitar ❗ The great tele players: Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters, Brad Paisley, Prince, Vince Gill Stratocaster: Jeff Beck ,Robin Trower SVR, Randy Bachman, Buddy Holly, Bruce Kulick
Thanks Jack for a great show! As always! I couldn’t live without both the Strat and the Tele. My era is late 1960s/early 1970s Blues Rock. Both guitars lend well to that genre. However, I love Country Music and for me only the Tele gives me the authentic Country rhythm guitar. That would kinda play out when you consider Nashville cats such as Brent Mason. Favourite Strat player is Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson for both Strat and Tele.
Love em both, I too have been bitten by the Telecaster bug lately - (may be from Jon is just too loud, playing an Anti- Satellite) great tones. There is something in the air with the wonderful Telecaster bug going on here too! Loved this post, thanks! 👍
Excellent video, Jack! It was not until recently that I found my "deserted island" guitar when I recently received a Fender American Ultra Telecaster in Texas Tea with a Rosewood Fretboard as a gift. I am amazed by the versatility of the guitar. Its sonic presence gives me tones that all of my other go-to guitars produce. To me, it is very comfortable to play with a lighter weight, 22 frets, and compound radius fretboard, and both the belly carve and the scooped neck carve, along with reduced weight of 7-1/2 lbs just makes it the perfect go to with single coil (ok, stacked single coil) pick-ups all the way up to the hot humbucker S-1 pickup sound. It is for these reasons that it is my deserted island guitar.
They are both legendary guitars whose unique differences were essential in their contribution to so many masterpiece albums. I love them equally, they are just different tools.
I’m jonesing for a Telecaster. I have 6 Stratocasters and 3 JEMs. Over the past 30 years I go through phases on which guitar type I prefer. The past 7 years have been Stratocaster. Plan to get a Telecaster on Black Friday. Guessing I’ll be a Telecaster phase for the next 5 or so years
Excellent comparison. Reminds me of the endless Martin v Taylor debates. Similarly, to me it’s one of a smooth blended voice (Strat, Martin) or a crisp articulated one (Tele, Taylor). I find it a great pleasure to try to adapt to the infinite possibilities by trying to get the best out of the instrument in my lap. You do that so well, that here I like both styles. And I don’t have to choose.
The strat has a more comfortable body for sure and it has the awesome in between 2/4 pickup positions. I still like Teles more. I think a Nashville tele with body contours, a 5 way switch, and a switch to turn the neck and bridge on together is nearly perfect for me.
I agree. I wired in a Freeway 6 way switch and love the full “edge of breakup” from just switching to both pickups full-on in series (both on st the same time). It’s instantly full and compressed a slightly overdriven amp without losing clarity like one does with a humbucker. I also have the Freeway 10-way switch on my Strat and all pickups on together in series delivers the compressed and slightly overdriven sound without a pedal or cranking the amp.
Tele vs strat just comes down to: - Tele bridge wins - Strat neck wins - Strat position 4 is beautiful - Tele mid position is beautiful But that's all a bunch of bs in the end. Write a good song and it'll be great anyway. Your audience won't care what position you use. (For the record, I can't write songs for s$&#. But I do know we get waayy to hooked up on trivial differences between certain guitars and amps and I know the audience doesn't care)
I’ve been a Gibson guy forever and never looked back… until I picked up a Squier Affinity Strat to have something tonallly opposite, and fell in love with the longer scale length and the brightness I could get from the single coils. Still, it was no substitute on the bridge pickup for humbucker tones, so it got used for my more clean material. Then I borrowed a buddy's American Pro 2 tele for two weeks and bought me one of the Player 2 telecasters that next week. For me, the Telecaster is my most versatile guitar. I play lots of classic rock and blues and found that the Tele really can get close to the humbucker tones by playing with the tone knob, and near identical to Stratocaster neck and bridge tones. It adds some twang to humbucker riffs that make some sound better and some definitely worse. But to me, and for what I play, the Tele is a guitar that can sound like all 3. A Gibson, a Strat, and most importantly.. a Tele!
I have flirted with the Tele on & off for years. I do like the Tele bridge pickup more than the Strat bridge pickup. I’ve had a few Tele’s but I’m deep buried in the Strat Camp. Definitely you can make each sound similar to the other. I think it’s down to personal choice. For me I like the look, feel, versatility & tones of the Strat better. I’ve never bonded with any Tele. That said I like the simplicity of the Tele, & admire the good Tele players out there that amaze me with what they can get out of the instrument.
Depends entirely on my mood...the weather...and the length of my fingernails. Sometimes, the answer is Les Paul, SG, Custom 24, Tennessee Rose, or flamenco...or mandolin...or nachos...
I have a great 335 style guitar that gets me more than enough twang when I want so for me I went with the strat strictly for positions 4 and 5. I have, however, thought nuuumerous times about getting a tele and putting in a lollar royal T in the neck for strat type tones.
I own both but if I could only keep one, I’d keep the Tele. I prefer the Stratocaster for smoother, prettier sounds, however I much prefer the Tele for jangly rhythm and heavier playing. The bridge pickup is leaps and bounds better on the Tele, whereas I prefer the neck pickup of the Strat.
I love the tougher sound of the Tele, but the springs holding the trem bridge on the Strat sure make bending easier (not using the trem arm, though - just fingers). If it were choir, the Strat design/pickups are like an alto voice where a Tele is a tenor voice, IMHO. I have both and choose one or the other for the day depending upon the “voice” I want to hear for the song/gig. There is a quality to a lower voice singing high notes - that’s really cool on the Tele. The Strat feels “looser” which can be great or frustrating depending upon what I’m playing.
70's Stratocaster for me. Because I love the body shape along with the big headstock and it's bold writing. Then I love it SOUND...I also own a 70's Telecaster and love that one for the same reasons. Play on...
I prefer Strats because good things (sometimes) come out of my fiddling with them. For some reason, I could never get a Telecaster to work for me. I’ve tried some of the more expensive Teles out there and I just can’t bond with them. In one case, I borrowed a friend’s Telecaster for 4 months. Throughout the time I had it, I had not written a single song, hook or riff. Trust me when I say I was trying very hard. I ended up reverting back to my Strats and Gibson.
Me too... unless you want the 2 and 4 strat sound. Modern Tele's middle sound is more like a Les Paul and doesn't quite do it. A tele has more balls overall. I feel as if I can play anything on a tele, but a strat is for a certain thing or 2, and that's it... and being stuck on a strat for the wrong thing is a disaster. lol.
I'm a Tele and Gibson guy. Had several Strats over the years, always wound up selling them. I've just never warmed up to them. 2 Teles and several Gibsons currently in the lineup. Not a Strat to be seen 😁
I love them both, but Teles are just too uncomfortable. A nice compromise is to add a Duncan Twang Banger to the bridge of a Strat. And wire the Strat with a toggle or push/pull so you can add the neck pickup into the 1&2 positions. Can make a Strat more Tele sounding while keeping the other Strat qualities intact.
Fender has also been attempting to get the middle Tele pickup tone on a Stratocaster on some of the newer models by adding a switch that combines the neck pickup to anything, so when you switch to the bridge, it’s supposed to be similar. It gets close - not 100% but still pretty cool
Cool video. I owned a Tele first then bought Strats. Lately I’ve been back in a Tele kick. Interesting points you made on their similarities as I bought a 70s Vintera Custom Tele but then realized it was very similar to my 70s Vintera Strat Hardtail. I ended up returning the Tele. Great guitar just too much overlap w the Strat.
been playing Humbuckers for decades...then gave Teles another look a couple years ago as my musical interests changed...now own 8-9 Teles and plan to sell off some other makes that I"ll rarely play. Even bought a boutique Strat thinking it could also scratch a tonal itch....didn't. Tele is special...even a budget Tele with Lollars can best the best Strat....
@@lazvt8469 The "Hated Teles now I love them" arc is such a common tale. It's my story too. For me there's an aspect of history that comes with it too that connects me with the earlier "pre-pop" pioneers of the 50's. I don't get that vibe from the Strat.
I have an interesting conundrum in that regard - I share the same opinion, nearly all of my favorite players are Stratocaster players. However, nearly all of my favorite recorded tones ever were players on Telecasters. Guess I need both 🤷♂️
I like my Tele just based on it's looks- both are great- they are like modeling clay, you can make them be whatever you want them to be as far as sound-IMO...
I just bought a new Fender Telecaster Performer series with a HB in the neck and a coil split (pull-push tone knob). I love the tones I get out of that pickup. I always felt that the stock Tele neck pickup was too dark, even when run in series.
Depends on the specific guitar. Since I got my Nash S63 (my #1), I sold my Tele. All the Strat tones I need, and the hot bridge pickup does great crunch. I want another Tele anyways, because they’re just plain fun. So maybe get both… 😂
I definitely like Telecasters better. Before I had enough money to buy a Gibson I went with a Telecaster and the thing that immediately sold me on getting a Telecaster during the brief period where I was interested in playing guitar but hadn't done much to start learning was I read an interview where Joe Walsh said he got his tone on Funk #49 by plugging his Telecaster directly into a blackface Champ. I think Funk #49 is the kind of song where conventional wisdom would say a Stratocaster is the obvious choice but Walsh used a Telecaster to do the Stratocaster thing and as far as I'm concerned the Tele beat the Strat at its own game. I didn't know Jimmy Page got his sound on the first Led Zeppelin album by using a Telecaster through a Supro until I had already gotten my Telecaster but if I had known that it would have made the decision even easier because that album has my favorite tone for any Fender guitar ever. I really like the clean tone on a Telecaster and if you crank it up it can kind of do the Gibson thing (which is what I really wanted from the start) whereas with a Stratocaster no matter what you do with the tone I think it always sounds a bit too thin to be as harsh as it is. It's hard to describe sound and if anyone's going to figure out how to do it well it definitely won't be me but I think that's the best way I can put it. I still like Stratocasters and guys like Buddy Holly and Rory Gallagher definitely got very good sounds out of them but I don't think I've ever heard a Stratocaster and thought a Telecaster couldn't have done the job at least as well (usually better) and I almost always think a Gibson could've done the job better than any Fender guitar.
I’m not sure what the year was when they abandoned the dark neck position tone, but you’re correct - early teles would have been dark neck tone - neck - bridge. Although like an early 3 position Stratocaster, you could wedge the switch between positions and get the middle sound.
Fender has made a number of small changes to both the Strat and Tele. Among them are having a tone pot wired to the bridge pickup (and in the case of the Strat, they introduced the Delta Tone system (hotter bridge with two large bolts attached to the bottom and a no-load tone control). I never really felt that they were sonically that different from each other.....kind of like the whole Jazz Bass front pickup vs. P-Bass split coils. Not exactly the same, but close enough where either one will work.
Love both but for me Teles, hands down. Find the Strat a bit too sophisticated; also find the Strat bridge contributes to this, unless you block the trem (vibrato), which defeats the purpose of the design...unison bends are not possible unless you deck the trem...a compromise solution...then there's alternate tunings...Tele beats Strat for me
Why do people want to have versatile guitars with lots of different sounds if they still have more guitars than they would ever actually need? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have different guitars for different genres and sounds than have many guitars that can all do pretty much the same? I personally don’t value versatility at all and with somewhat specialized guitars I get an excuse to buy more of them.
"Why do people want to have versatile guitars with lots of different sounds if they still have more guitars than they would ever actually need?" Beginners. That's why. There's just a lot of people with enough money that start out on guitars setting their minds to this one guitar that can do it all. If they actually hang in there and learn how to play, they'll gradually realise the exact point you're making is true: there is no "one guitar" (well, there actually is, but they don't know that, and that particular one probably doesn't look sexy enough for them) So they sell their American Ultra or whatever on to the next schmuck and buy a bunch of other ones. It's a perfect business model for guitar manufacturers actually.
I’m a tele guy, but I’ll admit it, I’m not good enough to own a Strat. Say want you want, but those are the most versatile guitars ever. But the beauty of those guitars is it’s like an Excalibur thing.And this is coming from a Gibson les Paul fanboy.
Most mods to Telecasters are to make them more like Stratocasters, so clearly the one is objectively better than the other overall. At some point, they should just buy the Strat instead of constantly rearranging their Tele, right? Um, that doesn't mean Strat PLAYERS are automatically better, of course, except for that Jimi Hendrix guy and some others???
I think beginners should probably be given the simpler guitar so they can focus on learning to play rather than fiddling with knobs and tones a bunch, but Fender was already pushing out the Strat Starter Packs over 30 yrs ago and nobody I knew had a Tele.
omitting other anecdotes for now I guess, like parents who think guitar will be cheaper than drums as instrument because they can start at $200 but don't realize what a GOOD guitar would really cost and how much the AMPLIFIERS were going to be to play WITH DRUMS, etc.
That opening was the BOMB!!!
Really showed the different sounds.
Not "vs" but "and".both are huge , historical and great.regards from Poland
Exactly! Regards from Georgia, USA!
The great thing about these guitars is that you can get very good examples at affordable prices. So for $1000 you can have a pair of quality Mexican strat and teles. Both easy to setup, upgrade and enjoy.
I'm a lead guitarist in a classic rock/country band. I always have a strat and a tele on hand. Usually I just play whichever one I'm in the mood for that night and the other is a backup.
telecaster and stratocaster are two different guitars you should have both
The correct answer is both. Two perfect guitars.
👆
You're on absolute comedic fire with this one. Job well done! 🫡
We aim to please here at Jack Fossett & Associates.
For me it was Buddy Guy with his polka dot strat that made me fall in love with guitar
I have learned that my option paralysis forecloses me loving a strat. The tele is like the acoustic of the electric world.
I think you need both, but if I must pick I go Tele
💯 the same sentiment
I've always had a Tele of some sort in the stable, ever since I was a kid.
I have both, with a fender 212 they sound great,keeping them both.
Oh man, I love guitars!
Yes! Both!
Great editing!
The start of the video was classic Jack! 😆Like most, I have both. But my workhorses are my Tele and Esquire. I like what my guitar hero Jeff Beck said comparing the Tele to the Strat, "Yes, it's not for kids (the tele ) . No whammy bar or anything like that on it. It's a real workhorse guitar, you know? It reveals all your failings and all your plus points. It's a great thing to keep you on your toes, for sure." 2005 interview for the book (Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster). I love the simplicity of the Tele/Esquire and without a doubt, to the the Tele headstock is still the best looking headstock ever made! By far, my pick of the two, if I could only keep one, would be the telecaster! Thanks for the GREAT video Jack!
They're both great guitars, but I bought a used American Standard Strat in the three color sunburst finish this past Saturday. It's a honey of a guitar.😻 I've enjoyed playing it on a bunch of different amp settings. I like the versatility of the guitar with its three single coil pick-ups. In pick-up positions 2 and 4 you get some pretty nice "quack". This guitar belonged to a close friend who's now almost 80 years old. We worked together and have been friends for decades. He wanted to me to have it because of our shared love of music. When I think of the Strat, I think of Hendrix and Stevie Ray. When I think of a Tele, I think of Albert Collins, Sue Foley, Chrissie Hynde, and a number of country artists like Merle Haggard. The Tele that really gets me going is the Thinline semi-hollow body one played by people like Carolyn Wonderland and Tab Benoit. 😻
Sue Foley is the bomb! Found her here on UA-cam a few months ago, love her pink paisley Telecaster. Great blues player, she also does flamenco stuff on a Spanish guitar too! Nice taste there!!!
@@michelleneeds4165 You got it. Sue has been around since the '90's. Her Tele style blues reminds me of Albert Collins. I didn't know how good the blues could sound until I heard her play it on her Spanish guitar. She's a guitar honey for sure. 👍👍👍 If you like swamp blues and don't know Tab Benoit, I highly recommend checking him out. He's great! 🎸🎸🎸
I feel they can both do a lot of the same things. However, in my opinion, the tele will always have a more country sound to it. It may be so very tiny you hardly notice it, but I still hear it. So to me, if you play country, southern rock, or rockabilly the tele would be best choice. For everything else, I would go strat.
Tell that to Ed King and Gary Rossington of Lynard Skynard who both used Strats from time to time.
Or maybe where it’s used by the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker or a ton of others.
A Strat is THE desert island guitar; it covers all musical bases and everything in between. Thanks for uploading - liked it and subscribed.
Dude you make both sound great.
Both plus a good Les Paul, a Jazzmaster, and a Gretsch hollow body.
I like the way you think!
I’m partial to the Strat mainly because I inherited my late brother’s first guitar which was a 83’ Strat. It sounds so clean & just reminds me of him whenever I play it. But you gotta love that grungy Twang of the Tele! Both are great guitars. 👍🏼 🎸
I am a dedicated Strat player. I have two of them. But... I do have one Telecaster. It's a Michael Kelly Tele. With a belly and arm cut... nice and comfy . But the tone on the Strat running out of my Fender Amp is unbeatable.
If you listen to the Yardbirds when Jeff Beck was playing a Fender Broadcaster you will hear the best tonal variations ever to come from a single pickup electric guitar or any electric guitar.
Was a ‘54 Esquire.
As a Les Paul guy for decades then became a Strat guy a few years ago and now I am a Tele guy as I have to say the Telecaster to me is the perfect blend of the best aspects of the Les Paul and Strat guitars as I think the Tele is the best of the 3 and on your fact that Fender and Gibson has done very little changes to their original design is a concept I wish American car manufactuers would've adopted from early on as I wish we always could buy a brand new 57 Chevy, 65 Mustang or 68 Roadrunner body that never changed but all the technology within the timeless bodies updated while still looking just as they did from the outside, if they had done this I cannot ever see Americans ditching their American cars for imports as alot did because American styling began to look like the imports and now you can barely tell cars apart but back when American Cars were Classics no import to me can match the styling of a 57 Chevy or other American Classic Cars and they never should had changed them in my opinion but I am glad Fender and Gibson realized this lesson early on and stayed true to their timeless designs
Agreed
After owning both, for something like 60 years now, I definitely gravitate much more to a tele. I prefer the tele bridge PU, but the strat for neck PU. I prefer the tele neck contour, but the strat cutaway. But there is something about the way a tele sits in your lap that you just get used to. And that is NOT the same with a strat, LP, or SG. A tele is the best balanced and most comfortable guitar...ever.
Yep true. A strat tends to slip down your leg unless you have your leg slightly raised.
Team both.
Both. I also add a mini toggle to my Strat so I can get a neck/bridge combo, which sounds like a Tele.
On a Strat i like a floating bridge and make ample use of the tremolo, and I opt for the Tele if using compound faux steel guitar bends with the fixe bridge.
The guitars do different things, and they are all cool.
I much prefer a strat. More comfortable, more tonal options, prefer the looks etc.
A lot of people complain about the bridge pickup but I feel like it offers more flexibility than the Tele. Since it’s more “scooped” sounding you can try pairing it with different overdrives to fill out the midrange in different ways.
There’s something about a Strat that has a more touch-sensitive tactile feel to me as well. Strats for life.
Tele is more versatile. There are comfortable teles out there. I have a tele and a strat, but the tele edges out the strat.
@@edema.3418 Ive heard that argument a lot but I always counter it with: how many of us own just 1 guitar? Why do you need 1 guitar to do everything? And even if you did, I reckon a Strat can do anything a Tele can.
I prefer strat myself as well. Comfort is a big thing for me and with an hss setup your tones are limitless.
Actually, this is why I have not yet gotten a Strat: The relative lack of midrange unless you add overdrive. Paraphrasing something David Gilmour once said about the Les Paul (which, ironically enough, he did one of his greatest solos on), I love Strats and what people do with them, but I am more comfortable on Teles and Les Pauls; both of which have more midrange and are better for how I play than Strats.
@@rudolphpyatt4833 Ive never got on with Teles tbh. They’re too thin-sounding for rhythm imho (would much rather play and SG or Les Paul), and for leads they don’t have that like barky, percussiveness a Strat does (at least to my ears).
If I could only play one guitar for the rest of my life it would unquestionably be the SG. It’s the best design in terms of comfort and practicality and sounds even better than a LP (again, to my ears).
Got one of each!!! Perfect!!!
I love both. The reason that I play a strat is because of comfort. It feels better in my hands and against my body. The double cut makes playing higher notes feel better. That’s literally it. I still think Teles are awesome and one day I’d like to own one.
I appreciate the point of view that you have. I'm more of a tele guy but do believe the strat is more versatile, which is why my favorite tele has a middle pick up in it. You can't beat the 2 and 4 on a strat.
I have an 🇺🇸 strat and just got a 2018 butterscotch Fender player telecaster and it's awesome guitar ❗ The tele is the guitar ❗
The great tele players: Roy Buchanan, Rory Gallagher, Jeff Beck,
Muddy Waters, Brad Paisley, Prince, Vince Gill
Stratocaster: Jeff Beck ,Robin Trower SVR, Randy Bachman, Buddy Holly, Bruce Kulick
Rory was a strat man, but he did use a tele for slide.
I’m thankful to have both, and a nice Vox AC-15 amp to play them thru.
Telecaster for me. Love the Vox AC15!
Thanks Jack for a great show! As always! I couldn’t live without both the Strat and the Tele. My era is late 1960s/early 1970s Blues Rock. Both guitars lend well to that genre. However, I love Country Music and for me only the Tele gives me the authentic Country rhythm guitar. That would kinda play out when you consider Nashville cats such as Brent Mason. Favourite Strat player is Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson for both Strat and Tele.
Love em both, I too have been bitten by the Telecaster bug lately - (may be from Jon is just too loud, playing an Anti- Satellite) great tones. There is something in the air with the wonderful Telecaster bug going on here too! Loved this post, thanks! 👍
Excellent video, Jack! It was not until recently that I found my "deserted island" guitar when I recently received a Fender American Ultra Telecaster in Texas Tea with a Rosewood Fretboard as a gift. I am amazed by the versatility of the guitar. Its sonic presence gives me tones that all of my other go-to guitars produce. To me, it is very comfortable to play with a lighter weight, 22 frets, and compound radius fretboard, and both the belly carve and the scooped neck carve, along with reduced weight of 7-1/2 lbs just makes it the perfect go to with single coil (ok, stacked single coil) pick-ups all the way up to the hot humbucker S-1 pickup sound. It is for these reasons that it is my deserted island guitar.
They are both legendary guitars whose unique differences were essential in their contribution to so many masterpiece albums. I love them equally, they are just different tools.
I have & love both! You can do anything with those two guitars.
What a great video have a wonderful day Jack also happy first day of fall ❤😊
Thanks! You too!
I’m jonesing for a Telecaster. I have 6 Stratocasters and 3 JEMs. Over the past 30 years I go through phases on which guitar type I prefer. The past 7 years have been Stratocaster. Plan to get a Telecaster on Black Friday. Guessing I’ll be a Telecaster phase for the next 5 or so years
Excellent comparison. Reminds me of the endless Martin v Taylor debates. Similarly, to me it’s one of a smooth blended voice (Strat, Martin) or a crisp articulated one (Tele, Taylor). I find it a great pleasure to try to adapt to the infinite possibilities by trying to get the best out of the instrument in my lap. You do that so well, that here I like both styles. And I don’t have to choose.
First guitar I played was a Tele. I've got three Strats now 🤠🎼🎵🎶
The strat has a more comfortable body for sure and it has the awesome in between 2/4 pickup positions. I still like Teles more. I think a Nashville tele with body contours, a 5 way switch, and a switch to turn the neck and bridge on together is nearly perfect for me.
I agree. I wired in a Freeway 6 way switch and love the full “edge of breakup” from just switching to both pickups full-on in series (both on st the same time). It’s instantly full and compressed a slightly overdriven amp without losing clarity like one does with a humbucker. I also have the Freeway 10-way switch on my Strat and all pickups on together in series delivers the compressed and slightly overdriven sound without a pedal or cranking the amp.
Telecaster. No further questions.
That last jam was tasty Jack, a bit reminiscent of Lynnrd Skynnrd, needle and the spoon. Awesome!
Tele vs strat just comes down to:
- Tele bridge wins
- Strat neck wins
- Strat position 4 is beautiful
- Tele mid position is beautiful
But that's all a bunch of bs in the end. Write a good song and it'll be great anyway. Your audience won't care what position you use.
(For the record, I can't write songs for s$&#. But I do know we get waayy to hooked up on trivial differences between certain guitars and amps and I know the audience doesn't care)
That intro… that was good. Made me crack up.
I’ve been a Gibson guy forever and never looked back… until I picked up a Squier Affinity Strat to have something tonallly opposite, and fell in love with the longer scale length and the brightness I could get from the single coils. Still, it was no substitute on the bridge pickup for humbucker tones, so it got used for my more clean material. Then I borrowed a buddy's American Pro 2 tele for two weeks and bought me one of the Player 2 telecasters that next week. For me, the Telecaster is my most versatile guitar. I play lots of classic rock and blues and found that the Tele really can get close to the humbucker tones by playing with the tone knob, and near identical to Stratocaster neck and bridge tones. It adds some twang to humbucker riffs that make some sound better and some definitely worse. But to me, and for what I play, the Tele is a guitar that can sound like all 3. A Gibson, a Strat, and most importantly.. a Tele!
I have flirted with the Tele on & off for years. I do like the Tele bridge pickup more than the Strat bridge pickup. I’ve had a few Tele’s but I’m deep buried in the Strat Camp. Definitely you can make each sound similar to the other. I think it’s down to personal choice. For me I like the look, feel, versatility & tones of the Strat better. I’ve never bonded with any Tele. That said I like the simplicity of the Tele, & admire the good Tele players out there that amaze me with what they can get out of the instrument.
Basically it comes down to visually which one do you like. The strat has the contoured body. Big plus. And the whammy bar. And Jimi liked it.
Depends entirely on my mood...the weather...and the length of my fingernails. Sometimes, the answer is Les Paul, SG, Custom 24, Tennessee Rose, or flamenco...or mandolin...or nachos...
What’s a guitar that doesn’t belong to you? The Fender NACHOCASTER!
😃😃😭😃😃
Lately, the answer has been nachos, more often than not…
@@JackFossett The problem would be: I'd want to HAVE my guitar and EAT it, too...
I have a great 335 style guitar that gets me more than enough twang when I want so for me I went with the strat strictly for positions 4 and 5. I have, however, thought nuuumerous times about getting a tele and putting in a lollar royal T in the neck for strat type tones.
I own both but if I could only keep one, I’d keep the Tele. I prefer the Stratocaster for smoother, prettier sounds, however I much prefer the Tele for jangly rhythm and heavier playing. The bridge pickup is leaps and bounds better on the Tele, whereas I prefer the neck pickup of the Strat.
Both. Love mine. Fenders and G&L’s
You ripped that song. Great work. And after Les Paul, Tele
I love the tougher sound of the Tele, but the springs holding the trem bridge on the Strat sure make bending easier (not using the trem arm, though - just fingers). If it were choir, the Strat design/pickups are like an alto voice where a Tele is a tenor voice, IMHO. I have both and choose one or the other for the day depending upon the “voice” I want to hear for the song/gig. There is a quality to a lower voice singing high notes - that’s really cool on the Tele. The Strat feels “looser” which can be great or frustrating depending upon what I’m playing.
70's Stratocaster for me. Because I love the body shape along with the big headstock and it's bold writing. Then I love it SOUND...I also own a 70's Telecaster and love that one for the same reasons. Play on...
I prefer Strats because good things (sometimes) come out of my fiddling with them. For some reason, I could never get a Telecaster to work for me. I’ve tried some of the more expensive Teles out there and I just can’t bond with them. In one case, I borrowed a friend’s Telecaster for 4 months. Throughout the time I had it, I had not written a single song, hook or riff. Trust me when I say I was trying very hard. I ended up reverting back to my Strats and Gibson.
Strat only for the neck pickup
I prefer Teles infinitely more
Me too... unless you want the 2 and 4 strat sound. Modern Tele's middle sound is more like a Les Paul and doesn't quite do it. A tele has more balls overall. I feel as if I can play anything on a tele, but a strat is for a certain thing or 2, and that's it... and being stuck on a strat for the wrong thing is a disaster. lol.
That's why they have HSS so you can have a nice bridge humbucker in your strat.
I'm a Tele and Gibson guy. Had several Strats over the years, always wound up selling them. I've just never warmed up to them. 2 Teles and several Gibsons currently in the lineup. Not a Strat to be seen 😁
I have both.
I love them both, but Teles are just too uncomfortable. A nice compromise is to add a Duncan Twang Banger to the bridge of a Strat. And wire the Strat with a toggle or push/pull so you can add the neck pickup into the 1&2 positions. Can make a Strat more Tele sounding while keeping the other Strat qualities intact.
You need both, simple as that! 😎
Nashville telecaster is the best of both worlds in my opinion.
Fender has also been attempting to get the middle Tele pickup tone on a Stratocaster on some of the newer models by adding a switch that combines the neck pickup to anything, so when you switch to the bridge, it’s supposed to be similar. It gets close - not 100% but still pretty cool
Cool video. I owned a Tele first then bought Strats. Lately I’ve been back in a Tele kick. Interesting points you made on their similarities as I bought a 70s Vintera Custom Tele but then realized it was very similar to my 70s Vintera Strat Hardtail. I ended up returning the Tele. Great guitar just too much overlap w the Strat.
I never played a Tele in my life until this year, I’m afraid to play it too much because I might sell all the other guitars.
been playing Humbuckers for decades...then gave Teles another look a couple years ago as my musical interests changed...now own 8-9 Teles and plan to sell off some other makes that I"ll rarely play. Even bought a boutique Strat thinking it could also scratch a tonal itch....didn't. Tele is special...even a budget Tele with Lollars can best the best Strat....
@@lazvt8469 The "Hated Teles now I love them" arc is such a common tale. It's my story too.
For me there's an aspect of history that comes with it too that connects me with the earlier "pre-pop" pioneers of the 50's. I don't get that vibe from the Strat.
Overall I like the strat better; I do prefer the tele bridge pickup however.
I had to ask myself “what guitars do my favorite players use?” and it was always the Strat.
I have an interesting conundrum in that regard - I share the same opinion, nearly all of my favorite players are Stratocaster players. However, nearly all of my favorite recorded tones ever were players on Telecasters. Guess I need both 🤷♂️
I like my Tele just based on it's looks- both are great- they are like modeling clay, you can make them be whatever you want them to be as far as sound-IMO...
I just bought a new Fender Telecaster Performer series with a HB in the neck and a coil split (pull-push tone knob). I love the tones I get out of that pickup. I always felt that the stock Tele neck pickup was too dark, even when run in series.
Depends on the specific guitar. Since I got my Nash S63 (my #1), I sold my Tele. All the Strat tones I need, and the hot bridge pickup does great crunch. I want another Tele anyways, because they’re just plain fun. So maybe get both… 😂
Strat for me, cos Jimi.
Strat has the Comfort Curves BABY!!!
Hardtail Strat for the WIN
Great video! Would love it if you could compare the Player Plus Nashville Tele to the Player Plus Strat and the Player Plus HSS Strat.
My tele with a Mini-Humbucker
Mine too. Hot Rod Tele for the win!
I definitely like Telecasters better. Before I had enough money to buy a Gibson I went with a Telecaster and the thing that immediately sold me on getting a Telecaster during the brief period where I was interested in playing guitar but hadn't done much to start learning was I read an interview where Joe Walsh said he got his tone on Funk #49 by plugging his Telecaster directly into a blackface Champ. I think Funk #49 is the kind of song where conventional wisdom would say a Stratocaster is the obvious choice but Walsh used a Telecaster to do the Stratocaster thing and as far as I'm concerned the Tele beat the Strat at its own game. I didn't know Jimmy Page got his sound on the first Led Zeppelin album by using a Telecaster through a Supro until I had already gotten my Telecaster but if I had known that it would have made the decision even easier because that album has my favorite tone for any Fender guitar ever. I really like the clean tone on a Telecaster and if you crank it up it can kind of do the Gibson thing (which is what I really wanted from the start) whereas with a Stratocaster no matter what you do with the tone I think it always sounds a bit too thin to be as harsh as it is. It's hard to describe sound and if anyone's going to figure out how to do it well it definitely won't be me but I think that's the best way I can put it. I still like Stratocasters and guys like Buddy Holly and Rory Gallagher definitely got very good sounds out of them but I don't think I've ever heard a Stratocaster and thought a Telecaster couldn't have done the job at least as well (usually better) and I almost always think a Gibson could've done the job better than any Fender guitar.
First 20 seconds nailed it.
Like my Teles, but I can't fit my palm up into the cutaway. Won't fit on ES style guitars either, so mostly play Strats and Les Pauls.
I wish Fender would go to larger frets
There was no standard two pickup sound on Tele’s untill 1967 with the switch in the middle position, was there?
You had to have them rewired.
I’m not sure what the year was when they abandoned the dark neck position tone, but you’re correct - early teles would have been dark neck tone - neck - bridge. Although like an early 3 position Stratocaster, you could wedge the switch between positions and get the middle sound.
Tele player Jim Campolingo 😁
Telecaster for me
Jazzmaster ?
Tele, Leo got it right the first time. However, I prefer the Fender offsets.
I have always loved the offsets... can't lean em against a couch without them falling over... about the only drawback. Haha.
Gretsch Jet
Fender has made a number of small changes to both the Strat and Tele. Among them are having a tone pot wired to the bridge pickup (and in the case of the Strat, they introduced the Delta Tone system (hotter bridge with two large bolts attached to the bottom and a no-load tone control). I never really felt that they were sonically that different from each other.....kind of like the whole Jazz Bass front pickup vs. P-Bass split coils. Not exactly the same, but close enough where either one will work.
I have a Strat style guitar.. and have been eyeing a blue Tele.. but I also know I'm just gassing and I won't get much out of such a similar guitar..
Ha! Yes both!
I like my Strat, but I love my Tele. Don't know why but I just do
Love both but for me Teles, hands down. Find the Strat a bit too sophisticated; also find the Strat bridge contributes to this, unless you block the trem (vibrato), which defeats the purpose of the design...unison bends are not possible unless you deck the trem...a compromise solution...then there's alternate tunings...Tele beats Strat for me
Why do people want to have versatile guitars with lots of different sounds if they still have more guitars than they would ever actually need? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have different guitars for different genres and sounds than have many guitars that can all do pretty much the same? I personally don’t value versatility at all and with somewhat specialized guitars I get an excuse to buy more of them.
"Why do people want to have versatile guitars with lots of different sounds if they still have more guitars than they would ever actually need?"
Beginners. That's why. There's just a lot of people with enough money that start out on guitars setting their minds to this one guitar that can do it all.
If they actually hang in there and learn how to play, they'll gradually realise the exact point you're making is true: there is no "one guitar" (well, there actually is, but they don't know that, and that particular one probably doesn't look sexy enough for them)
So they sell their American Ultra or whatever on to the next schmuck and buy a bunch of other ones. It's a perfect business model for guitar manufacturers actually.
I'm a beginner and my ear can't tell the difference between the two guitars. Will this change the more I play?
Yes definitely
@JackFossett Thank you!
The Fender scale length means that you need to fight them a bit. I like this attribute but I cannot say one is better than the other
I’m a tele guy, but I’ll admit it, I’m not good enough to own a Strat. Say want you want, but those are the most versatile guitars ever. But the beauty of those guitars is it’s like an Excalibur thing.And this is coming from a Gibson les Paul fanboy.
You need both. But if you need to choose. Go Tele
Jack….we all KNOW the Tele is king. Leo got in right the first time!
The MIM guitars mean you don’t really have to stretch too much to have a utility Tele, Strat and JM in the collection.
Shop local, shop often. Both. What's a rainbow without all the colors?
That strat center pu tends to get in my way so I prefer Tele
Telecaster: Prince. Stratocaster: Mike McCreedy
that tele is just a bit too orange for me
I'm sick o' their stingy pickguard offerings, too.
ye forgot the esquire
Most mods to Telecasters are to make them more like Stratocasters, so clearly the one is objectively better than the other overall. At some point, they should just buy the Strat instead of constantly rearranging their Tele, right? Um, that doesn't mean Strat PLAYERS are automatically better, of course, except for that Jimi Hendrix guy and some others???
I think beginners should probably be given the simpler guitar so they can focus on learning to play rather than fiddling with knobs and tones a bunch, but Fender was already pushing out the Strat Starter Packs over 30 yrs ago and nobody I knew had a Tele.
omitting other anecdotes for now I guess, like parents who think guitar will be cheaper than drums as instrument because they can start at $200 but don't realize what a GOOD guitar would really cost and how much the AMPLIFIERS were going to be to play WITH DRUMS, etc.