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Ahhhh, robinrivers, my favorite question!
I've got several of both: The Strat is more versatile in the tone-department  and usually a little lighter in weight. You can get a wide range of tones out of it with the right amp. And the Strat shape just fits better to a human body. The Tele player needs to become one with the instrument over a longer time. It sounds more mellow, but at the same time can also deliver quite a sting with the bridge pickup. Its neck pickup is just ideal for the Blues, but overall the Tele is always a little mellow, whereas the Strat "chimes" almost bell-like and can deliver real "hard-rock" punches. Since you have 5 pickup combinations on the regular Strat, vs. 3 settings on the Tele, I call the Strat "more versatile", it just lends itself to a wider range of music.

My new Tele was hanging on the wall for a couple of years, because I didn't have the right amp for it to shine. Now I've got a Fender 59 Bassman LTD Reissue amp, and this amp just brings out all the power that was hiding in the Tele. With just two pickups and three switch settings, I can still dial in a whole scope of tones. I believe I also had to warm up to the guitar and grow up to play it more expressively. It seems very responsive now, but maybe that's due to the amp.

You might find that the Strat seems more "refined" in its design and overall sound, but the Tele sounds more "honest" -that's why I use it almost exclusively for the Blues. Have fun, and thank you for your post!

Barre Chords: I love them, because they are so "logical" musically. I remember how much my playing improved when I finally mastered them (40 years ago...).
The one thing I see beginners do wrong all the time when trying to play these chords: You need to move your arm forwards a bit more (say 3-4 inches) then you suddenly get your hand in a position so that it's no longer a pain in the rear to clamp down with your index finger. And of course, you might also try changing strings to LIGHT gauge for starters: a lot less pressure is required by the index finger (barring all strings).

Don't give up just yet. You can do anything, if you want it hard enough. Play on!

You did good! Taking the wife to the store and having her listen to the difference did the trick. Women really aren't stupid (not all are anyway) when it comes to hearing music. They know what sounds good.

I need to share my "wife story" as well: A brandnew GC store opened up on my commuting route, and I bought an American Strat for exactly $429 (opening-day deal only) + a small Crate amp.

When I brought it home, all hell broke loose, since I had just become the proud owner of a GC credit card...

Then I plugged that beautiful guitar in, and just strummed it for about a minute. My wife asks to try the guitar as well, because it sound so nice. As she is playing a few chords, I can tell she likes it. Her comments: "Easy to play, sounds like heaven". After about 10 minutes hearing her play, I ask for the Strat back. She just turns slightly in my direction and says: "Buy yourself one, this is mine."

This is where it gets obscene: I actually jumped in the car, bought an American Telecaster for the same special price and headed back home: Wife is still playing, but as she sees the Tele, she breaks out in laughter and tells me that she was just kidding.  End of story: It's been 14 years ago. I still have that Strat, I still have that Telecaster, and yes I still have that wife. Only the strat shows signs of heavy play...

Right you are, r77727. No one gives a hoot who's name you choose when getting married in the US.
Since our government only is concerned about your social security number to collect taxes, it doesn't matter what you call yourself. My wife decided to keep her "maiden" name, because she was a known as an artist under that name. Years later, she changed it on a tax return to have a double name, now after 25 years, she's only using my last name. I was born with a German first name, changed it to an English first name, to the effect that my tax return and driver's license still have my German name, but some of my official ID cards (at work) have my English first name. There's nothing exotic about changing your name, keeping in mind that in the US we "harbor" people and identities from many cultures, including myself. I have a friend whose grandfather arrived in the US in 1939 at Ellis Island. When he was asked by the immigration officer what his name was, he thought that they asked about his origin. Ever since then, the family name is "Palermo". No one ever questioned it, until they did a little research in 1980. There you go.

Becoming a luthier is a noble goal in my opinion. I'm sure you've read some books on building guitars, but the best way to start out is to just do it!  You don't need a bunch of tools to start modifying, or doing small repairs on your own, or on friend's guitars. After a while, you'll know if you want to pursue this further. I'm a part-time guitar tinkerer and since I'm already over 50 years old, I'm slowly building my shop and skills by studying everything I can get on the net, or from books to eventually start a small business.

I've started building solid-bodies first, but now I'm also building an acoustic guitar. My first project took six weeks -and the results were not great. I've made many mistakes. The second guitar took almost six months..., because I've gotten a lot more careful with planning and more patient with woodworking, electronics and finishing. Currently I have no less than four guitars in the works that I'm building from scratch (I buy the pickups and some hardware, but everything else is handmade.)  Whenever I can afford it, I also get more tools. Making small repairs for friends builds my reputation, my skills, and I get a little cash for parts.

Grow into it, don't just load yourself up with debt and find yourself later under pressure to perform. It's a craft, almost an art, but it's also very rewarding to know that you've changed your life to do exactly what you wanted to do. Check out your local woodworking store, or besides browsing the links from this forum, check out www.grizzly.com (they are located in the US). Last word: Just do it! Remember how you learned to walk? One step at a time.

Hi folks, I can't help but chime in here. I always get excited about a good looking, good sounding guitar, but none can do it all. Single-coils and humbuckers, hollow, semi-hollow and solid body...My taste in playing has changed so many times that I ended up with about 15 different ones -and they all sound a little different. WARNING: guitars are addictive. I'm waiting for the day when my health-insurance covers this syndrome, called GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). Play on.

Take him up on the Bassman offer!

The Bassman was one of the first Fender amp designs and has gone through many transformations. I guess your boss is talking about the Bassman 4x10 combo? Well, I have a 2007 Fender 59 Bassman LTD Reissue amp. It's got tubes throughout and four 10" speakers. It's my absolute dream amp, but then I play mostly Blues/Classic Rock. The amp is simple but absolute tops in the tone department. Since there are no effects whatsoever, I use a Fulltone Anniversary Overdrive pedal and a Holy Grail reverb in front of the amp. It loves pedals: no hum, nothing but gorgeous tone. Take a look at the amp that your boss offered, and then research the web for description, prices, etc. My 2007 amp cost $1200 new. Go get one!!

Great guitar for someone starting out: Taylor Big Baby. I bought one for my daughter this Christmas and I do pick it up to play when she's not home... This relatively small guitar has a crystal clear sound + enough low-end for a well-rounded tone. Playability is super easy. Taylors are usually expensive, but this one retails here for $400 (bag included).

Steel strings on a concert guitar will eventually ruin the neck, because these guitars don't have a metal truss-rod in the neck. The tension of the steel strings is just too much for a Spanish/Concert guitar.

The OLP MM-1 has a very standard Strat-type tremolo bridge (bridge costs less than $20). I've played the guitar and find it "serviceable" -meaning that it is simple and has potential if you learn how to keep it in good shape.

First thing: buy a set of new strings and throw the factory ones away. Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys strings would be a good start.

Second: If you find that the bare wood neck gets dirty easily, mask everything besides the back of the neck and spray the neck lightly with clear lacquer (or put some Tung oil on it).

Third: Use a hex-key to adjust the neck angle (truss rod). The distance between the strings and the fretboard needs to be to your taste and no string should buzz.

Fourth: Go online and learn how to intonate your guitar, meaning that new strings and new guitars always are a little odd sounding if the individual bridge pieces haven't been adjusted correctly. Search for INTONATION and it's not hard to learn how to do this.

Fifth: you can later exchange the bridge for something better. In the beginning, I would even "block" the tremolo: put a small block of wood in the tremolo cavity, so as to disable the tremolo, because it will be the major reason why this guitar goes out of tune quickly.

If you buy this instrument in a store, you might be able to have a service person do all these easy, essential setups for you at no charge. And if you ever have more to spend, you'll have the OLP as a backup. Don't worry abot the "missing" tone control -your amp has plenty of adjustments. Have fun!

I have owned a Sigma D-41 for the past three years. It was $400 with a killer TKM case. The sound was decent, but not spectacular. That's why I replaced the nut with a home-made bone nut (worked like a charm), put Elixir strings on it, and replaced the bridge pins with brass ones: Voila! The guitar sounds awesome, although it can't touch a Martin or even a Taylor. Now I know that I should have saved my money up for a Larrivee, Seagull or Taylor. The Sigma is a nice guitar for the money, but it is amost "overdone" with inlays, etc. Today, I would prefer a simpler but better-sounding acoustic. Yes, I bought my daughter a Taylor Big Baby for about the same price and that little beast sounds more precious than the huge Sigma.