Model Popularity

[Tarl]

The popularity of certain Guitar models was brought up on another forum and to me it's a very interesting subject, especially when so many new players are asking about which guitar to buy. This is not about which model or company is better than another. Even though I have just recently got my first 2 Gibsons I have always been a Les Paul person. I have owned or played just about every LP copy known to man and love the look and sound of this guitar. Les Pauls have certainly gone up and down in popularity over the years.....at one time in the early 60s being discontinued. Strats also have been up and down but remain a mainstay of electric models. SGs, Dots and Country Gentlemen type models have also had high and low points as well as Ibanez and some of the pointier guitars of the 80s and 90s. Today it seems that Teles are the most sought after model. Folks are trading or selling LPs and Strats to get hold of them. Back in the day (in my circle) Teles were only thoguht of as being good for old time twangy country music. I know that popular music styles and artist's guitar choices greatly affect a models appeal but I feel that technology has had a part in this. With modern amps and effects you can get any sound you want out of practically any guitar. LPs were known to be very heavy (part of the reason they are now chambering them) so alot of folks discovered that a Tele was more comfortable to them and they could get the sounds they needed from it. Who knows what model will be the most popular one next year? I know as a long time player it is just nice to see the vast choice of quality guitars and equipment we now have out there.

[NB-SK]

Very interesting. Are you in marketing?

There may be a few more factors in the renewed popularity of Telecasters (and P-90 pickups). For one, a lot of people who started playing electric guitar in the 50's and 60's just don't want to play such a heavy guitar as the LP anymore. I think their interest in lighter-bodied guitars has rubbed off on some of the younger players. I think we could attribute this to the internet. The anonymity/democratic nature of the internet allows people to judge the argument, not the person. Besides, if a kid visits an online community such as this one and sees a 25 page-long thread filled with pictures of telecasters, each one different from the other, what guitar do you think he/she will be looking to buy? Probably not a Les Paul.

[Tarl]

Very interesting. Are you in marketing?

There may be a few more factors in the renewed popularity of Telecasters (and P-90 pickups). For one, a lot of people who started playing electric guitar in the 50's and 60's just don't want to play such a heavy guitar as the LP anymore. I think their interest in lighter-bodied guitars has rubbed off on some of the younger players. I think we could attribute this to the internet. The anonymity/democratic nature of the internet allows people to judge the argument, not the person. Besides, if a kid visits an online community such as this one and sees a 25 page-long thread filled with pictures of telecasters, each one different from the other, what guitar do you think he/she will be looking to buy? Probably not a Les Paul.

LOL....no I am not in marketing........
Some good (and probibly correct) points but as far as seeing Tele pics all over the net, I am sure you can find LP, Strat , Ibanez......etc pics and threads all over too. The lighter body I understand and so it seems does Gibson. Teles are great guitars but it is an interesting turn of events to see them become the "cool" guitars when they used to be thought of by many as about as uncool of a guitar as you could get.

[Vincent]

I think teles may be more popular due to some great guitar players playing them as well...even though Im not to crazy about Brad Paisley's music in general the guy is an amazing country guitar player and one of the best ive seen so perhaps things like this cant hurt the popularity of the tele seeing as every time I see him play hes playing a tele...Just a thought.

[Lester B. Flat]

It would be a mistake to judge popularity based on sales alone since I believe all electric guitars are selling at unprecidented levels. You might think, for example, that strats are waning in popularity, which they may be, but still find sales at an all time high.

I do agree that teles have seen an upsurge in recent years. I think this is in some part due to the fact that you can build your own without laying out tons of cash.

There seems to be some role reversal going on with Teles becoming rock guitars and LP's becoming country guitars.

[RIFF WRATH]

You may have hit the nail on the head Lester.
Personally, my collection requires a strat, an lp, and a tele. In my opinion the various genres of music that basic collection is somewhat required. However a tele style guitar is in my opinion the easiest for the do it your self (er) to build. currently any musicians that visit are either wanting to play my tele's first, and the lp style second, while the strat collects dust. I just assembled a tele kit (with some help) and now am anxious to build a tele bass. there is something about the cosmetic style/look that is also appealing. and as mentioned, with the variety of amps out there, especially the modellers, one can tweak the sound from the traditional sound.
I'm interested in what others think.
cheers
Gerry

[dwagar]

I guess I'm on the outside of this discussion. I've never cared for a Tele. I did own a nice '56 (I think it was) back in the old days, but I was never able to bond with it.

Even though I'm a Les Paul kinda guy, or at least Gibson, I still think the most common guitar is the Strat - or at least Strat style. It's the guitar I most recommend to beginners, IMO it's probably still the most versatile guitar out there. Everyone should have at least one good Strat.

Personally, I haven't heard of anyone selling their LP to buy a Tele, although I'm sure it happens. Especially with newer players that are trying to find 'their' guitar, they'll be selling and buying until they find their comfort zone.

I agree with Lester, guys like Keith Urban are making the LP very popular in country.

But the Tele has a big history in rock, you just have to listen to Led Zep 1.

[Tarl]

Personally, I haven't heard of anyone selling their LP to buy a Tele, although I'm sure it happens. Especially with newer players that are trying to find 'their' guitar, they'll be selling and buying until they find their comfort zone.

.

Someone on this board was selling a GoldTop LP and willing to trade for vintage Fenders.......here is another add from our Buy and Sell.....
"1984 Les Paul for Sale or Trade for Tele's, amps etc."

Not arguing with you , just illustrating my point. Again this is not about which model is better, I love Led Zep I.....but never owned a Tele myself, it's about why certain models are popular at given times.

[thechamp96@hotmail.c]

In my opinion, it is amazing that Fender and Gibson, the two companies that have defined much of popular music over the past 60 years, are still two of the biggest, most successful, and innovative companies in the guitar world, despite the fact that there has been hundreds (thousands?) of competitiors over the years.

Wow, that was a run-on sentence but hopefully you get my point.

[suttree]

i'd say that in large part the resurgence of the telecaster is due to it's simplicity, which puts the guitar square in the hands of many of the world's top players. you just see them over and over, because frankly, simplicity is pretty hard to beat. if your tele breaks, you pretty much know what happened, and can fix it quickly. also, johnny greenwood (radiohead) and jeff buckley play telecasters, and they are both massively influential on the alt. rock scene, which has helped bust the "country only" image the telecaster had for years.

[zontar]

I didn't need this thread to know that there a re a lot of Tele lovers on this forum. And to some degree I get it. I can't deny the sounds you can get from them, and there's a long list of talented guitarists who have used them on countless songs that are loved by millions.

I'm not one of them, but neither am I a Tele hater. I could recommend one to somebody if that 's what seemed to suit them.

But besides sound the other important factor in what guitars I like is something that doesn't really affect the sound--and that's the feel--I don't mean the set up/action etc. I mean the way the guitar feels when you hold it. I find Teles uncomfortable. I find Les Pauls comfortable. I love the feel of a Les Paul I love the big chunky Gibson necks. I find other guitars comfortable as well. I just can't get into the feel of a Tele--so no matter how great it sounds I doubt I'd ever buy one. If I was given one I'd give it a chance. If I was somewhere to jam and someone wanted me to try a Tele--I'd go for it. But they're not really me.

Fortunately we can like and play different guitars--and the world of music is a better place for it--that we have Teles & that we have other guitars.

[Budda]

In my opinion, it is amazing that Fender and Gibson, the two companies that have defined much of popular music over the past 60 years, are still two of the biggest, most successful, and innovative companies in the guitar world, despite the fact that there has been hundreds (thousands?) of competitiors over the years.

Wow, that was a run-on sentence but hopefully you get my point.

Gibson and fender Were innovative, when they were the main 2 companies. now they sit on their laurels and sell because they still make good instruments - but they havent been making innovations on their designs.

ibanez came out with the ZR trem. Schecter uses a 26.5 scale neck on their 7strings. Agile combines decent cost with great guitar. kevan came up with the tremel-no.

I own a gibson. I'll own another gibson. I'd like a nice tele and an SG, i already have a strat and an LP. but i wont be buying what's cool at the time, i'll be buying what i like.

[al3d]

Budda, the worst thing Gibson and Fender marketing wise would be to mess with their design, as they say in our buisness, if it ain't broken, why fix it?, ALL copies you see are based on the LP or the Strat, so they must be making something right..hehe.

I think they are letting the weirder stuff like 7 strings, floyd style trems and other development to other companies.

[enforcer505]

well i'm going to defend gibson by saying they have made some upgrades pickup wise over the years (dipping in wax etc etc). them doing the robot i think changed the way ppl think about guitars. but there steep prices and horrid quality control could cause them to sweat.

i find the small companies spend more time on them and make some great guitars (agile, dillion etc etc) and great for the money. tokaii think makes a better copy of a gibson sg then gibson themselve.

i personally love the gibson sg. i would buy a used one not a new one. but different strokes for different folks....

[µ¿ z3®ø™]

some interesting thoughts on the current popularity of the tele here.

i have a mildly interesting theory...
in the early/mid part of the '90s the lowly tele was ignored by much of the mainstream and as a consequence post CBS teles were pretty much a bargain on the 'used' market, at least compared to similar vintage strats, lesters, ricky, etc..

guys like johnny greenwood, mike mcready, the guitar player in coldplay and others then started to show up playing various CBS era teles and, low and behold, U have an entire generation of young guitar players that see the tele thinline, tele deluxe and other 'planks' as being 'the' guitar.

then there's old guys, like me, that have never fallen away from the tele (or strat or lester) and see it as another colour on the palette.

[zontar]

For all the Tele lovers here, in case you've never seen it--
the Broadcaster prototype-see where it all started:
Broadcaster protoype (http://www.mlode.com/~813/1948-49_fender.html)

I like guitar history.

[Edutainment]

Thanks for sharing that zontar. That's pretty cool looking. It looks sort of improvized lol

[Maxer]

Great point. Buckley, better known for his passionate singing and songwriting, was a pretty deft guitar player.... very melodic and distinct in his phrasing. Yeah, people like him helped illustrate, in his own quiet way, that the Tele is not just some hayseed twang machine... which is yet more proof that it's not the make of guitar, it's the character of the player.

[Diablo]

Gibson and fender Were innovative, when they were the main 2 companies. now they sit on their laurels and sell because they still make good instruments - but they havent been making innovations on their designs.

ibanez came out with the ZR trem. Schecter uses a 26.5 scale neck on their 7strings. Agile combines decent cost with great guitar. kevan came up with the tremel-no.

I own a gibson. I'll own another gibson. I'd like a nice tele and an SG, i already have a strat and an LP. but i wont be buying what's cool at the time, i'll be buying what i like.

I dont know if I'd call Gibson "innovative", but they sure are a marketing powerhouse, and could be seen as innovative in that way. I cant turn on a tv and not see Gibson somehow, either giving tours of their factory on the Discovery channel, or product positioning in various reality tv shows like "Gone Country", signature models, and releasing hundreds of special edition guitars for basically any event, or cultural icon. In the end, of course its still a LP, no matter what finishes they have (or lack in some cases).

I've never owned a tele, but something always struck me as cool and sexy about them, even though I grew up in the SuperStrat generation...I'd pick one up if I came across a good deal. IMO a guitar collection should have representatives from all types/styles...My brother in law has about 5 guitars, every one of them an Ibanez RG variant...I just dont get it.:zzz:

[elindso]

I've had Tele since 77, the same one.

They are great if you like them.

With a little work anything can sound like anything else electrically.

My Tele is a great guitar (for me) nobody else has to like it though.:smile:

My Les Paul is pretty nice also.

[Red Foreman]

I've wanted a tele since I saw Gilmour playing Run Like Hell on one.The thing is I've tried a few and the necks just don't feel right to me.I'll stick with my LP and my Strat.I like the looks of the tele's as well.My uncle was a big Tele lover and he could make them talk ...me not so much lol.

[µ¿ z3®ø™]

My uncle was a big Tele lover and he could make them talk ...me not so much lol.

the crux of the tele experience.
not the easiest guitars to come to terms w/. they expose every flaw in ones technique. conversely, w/ a confident touch and decent technique, they can be enormously expressive guitars.

my first good guitar was a tele. i really wanted a lester or a strat, but used ones were much more $$$ than the tele. i got the tele and hated it and hated it until i loved it.