• Registered: 2008-03-02
  • Posts: 1

Topic: What am I looking for?

I currently have:

-1968 Martin D18 (my baby)
-Sigma rescued from a dumpster with the neck snapped off at the head
-$100 Fender acoustic model unknown
-Squire Tele
-Ibanez AF (my new baby).

Uses:
I don't gig or anything, I just play at home and with friends.

The Sigma is great when I'm in a Robert Johnson Mississippi blues kind of mood.  Its got that boxy sound that just works for it.

The cheapie Fender is perfect for my 70's folk bluegrass & light rock moods.

The Martin sings classical like a diva.

The Ibanez (say what you want about them) is an ideal blues and jazz instrument, I love it.  I use this with a Roland microcube - no power but nice range of effects.

I wanted something to cover my Hendrix, Zappa, 'gimme a fifth of Jack' moods and thought the Tele would do it but I hate it.  First, its like wearing a Volkswagen around your neck, second the action is so bad that a monkey could dance a jig under the strings at the 12th fret.  I'm playing this on a cheap little Fender practice amp that doesn't have a lot of effects other than gain.  All I can seem to get out of it is straight distortion the kind where you can't pick out the notes.

I bought the Tele for asking price without playing it and would do it again because the guy needed money for medical expenses but now find myself in the quandry.

Do I bother getting the neck straightened (I don't know how to do it myself and I already tried adjusting the action)?  Do I invest in a better amp (I don't know alot about picking them out).  Maybe my technique is just wrong and I just really don't know how to play that sound, should I just invest in lessons?

  I'm cheap but when it comes to guitars I'll pay what I gotta pay to get the sound I'm looking for.   Any thoughts?

  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: What am I looking for?

The tele should have a 'truss rod' that will bring the neck back and the action down. A good guitar shop should know where it is and have the right wrench. If the neck truly is warped then being a Fender-alike and bolt on you can replace it with something nicer, although being cheap to start with you could simply move on up to a new instrument.

There is plenty that can be played just using gain, clean country sounds and blues. Your tele should respond well to chicken picking, if the string-thru and pickups are right, which is fun.

Try to put a finger on what you don't like about the Tele, if it's a combination of looks, shape, balance and feel then look to purchase something that is more you. Try out the strat, Les Paul, and Gibson 335 shapes and see if they suit you more...

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
  • Registered: 2008-02-13
  • Posts: 4

Re: What am I looking for?

Thanks for the input, 

Chickenpicking?  I've never heard it called that if its what I think it is.

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 28

Re: What am I looking for?

mate
not that sure,
but i think that you really need
to go for quality
its expensive but if you want
a good guitar then you get what you pay for,
i think that you will be lookin at atleast 900
dollars. but if you want it a bit cheaper then you definatly
need to go for an epiphone....NEVA...NEVA...NEVA... buy a squier..
trust me i have one...
but mate maybe you should try a TELECOUSTIC or STRATACOUSTIC..
i have not played one but theyhave a good review...+ any fender acoustic that i have played
has a very nice sound plugged in and out
hoe that was helpfull

if you can learn bass in 15 minutes
then why do i play the guitar???
tongue
  • Registered: 2007-09-15
  • Posts: 17

Re: What am I looking for?

No offense intended but why would you pay anything for a guitar without first trying it out? (unless it's some kind of rare collector's item) Anyway, I'd have a professional set your tele up and spend a few bucks on a descent amp. Half the sound from electric guitars is in the amp.

[url]http://www.myspace.com/stevewaltherorchestra[/url]
  • From: Independence, Mo
  • Registered: 2007-09-23
  • Posts: 233

Re: What am I looking for?

FNCheney,

You might as well throw that Squire in the trash. My brother had one, could never keep it in tune. I have an american standard tele that I just love, and I'm a Gibson man. But Gibson is just to exspensive, so I buy what I can afford. The american standard has real american parts. Although they are assembled in mexico, their alot better made than a Squire. Squire...Biggist mistake Fender ever made. Also, incase you don't already know, Sigma is made by Martin!! Good job getting it out of the dumpster. Well worth saving. I personally think Martin makes the best sounding acoustics in the world.
I presently have in my collection:
1: Fender american standard tele
2: Epiphone straight acoustic [no electronics]
3: Ovation celebrity thin body [acoustic/electric]
4: B.C Rich warlock [electric]
5: Guild twelve string [acoustic/electric]
6: And an old Lotus Les paul copy w/screamin demarzio pickups.

A musician is someone with too much time on their hands! Thank god I'm a musician!!!

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