[BackToBlack]

Hi guys and gals,

Just wanted to hear everyone's opinions on these two guitars. I can't decide between which one I want to use exclusively. I know both can be used for classic rock, blues, etc. Which one is best for shredding and guitar soloing? Which one is easier to maintain? I want the most versatile of the two.

[fly135]

Either one is a good guitar. If you want a trem then consider a strat. If you want to emulate SRV, I understand he uses the setting that combines the bridge and middle pup a lot on the strat. The strat is probably more versatile, but the tele is a good alternative to the strat and has it's own special vibe. I put a Bigsby trem on my Std Tele.

[BackToBlack]

Thanks McFly

[Rockerbob]

I'm a strat guy, although the next favorite is probably the Tele. I have both and find myself on the strat much more often. I have to quailfy by saying I don't "shred."

[GT]

The most important thing here is wich guitar you feel more comfortable when you are playing. Normally this guitars have classic uses: Strats for clasic rock and telecasters for country kinda stuff. But the truth is, you can shred, play rock, mellow songs and whatever you want on both guitars. There are exellent examples of guitarists with both guitars: Ritchie Kotzen on Tele´s and Yngwie Malmsteen on Strats.
They sound quite diferent. The Strat pickup combinations and tremolo add an extra point for this guitar.
The Telecaster have a very "in your face" recognizable tone, maybe a little twanggy. For a newby player could be a little intimidating cause also, in my experience, you need to spend a little more time on your EQ process.

Go figure, im a Squier Strat player. But please, dont forget to play both instruments 1st before you buy something and be very honest on what you are hearing and feeling. Is not the look what it matters at the end of the road

[Stratrat]

I have both Strats and Teles. Both are versatile and can give you different sounds. The "signature" Strat sound is the out-of-phase "quack" in positions 2 and 4 on the pickup switch, while the signature Tele sound runs more toward the "twang" on the bridge pickup - although Joe Strummer of The Clash played a Tele throughout his career and was ANYTHING but twangy!

Both come in various configurations for different sounds - Teles with humbuckers or "hotter" single-coils for a fatter sound; the 3-pickup "Nashville" tele with a Strat pickup in the middle and 5-way switching for more versatility; Strats with HB's at the bridge, with or without trem, etc. Between guitar mods and effects, you can get just about any sound you want out of either of them.

Shredding/soloing.....there have been a lot of guys who make pretty passable noise with a Strat - Eddie Van Halen, SRV, etc. Give Brad Paisley a listen on the Tele - he's a country player, not a "shredder" per se, but he tears it up pretty well. Johnny Hiland can make his Tele sing too, although he's recently switched to PRS guitars. Like Rockerbob, I'll qualify my opinion by saying I don't shred - and have no interest whatsoever in doing so.

Maintenance issues - it's pretty hard to beat the absolute simplicity of a Tele.....electric guitars don't get much simpler than this. Two pickups, a volume knob, a tone knob and a 3-way switch.

It all comes down to personal preference, and the only way to tell is to go play a few of them. The Tele is my #1 about 95% of the time, but it's nice to have the Strat around when I get the urge too!

[Stratrat]

P.S. - check out this video - I'd never heard of these guys before, just found the link on another board - but Teles can definitely rock! Can't tell for sure, but it looks like he's playing through a couple of Fender Tweed amps, too.

Sumthin' for everybody there - he even does a couple o' those fancy guitar spins for Jessica! (hermanli_ibanezshredder)

[justinthyme]

Have you seen Tommy Emmanuel playing a Tele - totally brilliant!

[coldethyl]

I have a Fender Stratocaster but unfortunately don't have a Telecaster.

If I did, I really don't know if I could pick one over the other because both the Strat and Tele are amazing guitars.

For versatility, I think the Fender Strat may just have the edge over the Tele in that regard, but again it's a matter of what particular guitar does the job you're after.

[GT]

Here is Richie Kotzen with hisTelecaster:
Richie Kotzen - Funk Jam

Space Jam

Slow Jam

And Yngwie Malmsteen with a Japanese Stratocaster:

Trylogy suite

Far Beyond The Sun

Blue


2 great guitarists.

[fly135]

IMO, if you have to ask the question you want a strat.