Can a Telecaster be used for metal?

  • Thread starter Thread starter nightlight
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Interestingly, Fender also makes Teles with a single coil and humbucker. Found that very interesting.

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Specifically to standard configuration Teles, it depends on what you have and the era of pickups they're aiming at. Mine are aimed at the 50s style and they're pretty hot, so with a decent gate you can easily get some pretty brutal tones. Some of the later 60s/CBS types can be a bit lower output and hard to get much push, as well as having a lot more treble response. Noiseless and other variations are different again; the American Deluxe I had with the original noiseless could do high gain pretty well with a solid boost, I just never really gelled with the guitar and I don't like the 6-saddle bridges on Teles.
 
scottosan said:
Too soon!!!
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It's never too soon to become a skinhead.

I used to have a healthy head of hair. Too many beatings.

Once with bottles and concrete pavement blocks that hadn't been laid yet in Mumbai while being mugged. Once after my car was run off the road and completely trashed, just before I was pushed and fell into a 30-foot storm drain, and some guy climbed in with a knife and started poking at my head. That was a bad one. Once when some lieutenant-general's son hit my face with a palm full of something, I think it was ricin. That also caused my face to scar very badly.

And once when I was piss drunk and slipped in the bathroom and hit my head haha

So yeah, I'm well on my way to being a skinhead. Skin tone is off for your garden variety skinhead, but I figure I'll just have to beat up on people of a different colour haha
 
nightlight said:
It's never too soon to become a skinhead.

I used to have a healthy head of hair. Too many beatings.

Once with bottles and concrete pavement blocks that hadn't been laid yet in Mumbai while being mugged. Once after my car was run off the road and completely trashed, just before I was pushed and fell into a 30-foot storm drain, and some guy climbed in with a knife and started poking at my head. That was a bad one. Once when some lieutenant-general's son hit my face with a palm full of something, I think it was ricin. That also caused my face to scar very badly.

And once when I was piss drunk and slipped in the bathroom and hit my head haha

So yeah, I'm well on my way to being a skinhead. Skin tone is off for your garden variety skinhead, but I figure I'll just have to beat up on people of a different colour haha
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Look at the bright side, the more hair you lose, the more head you’ll get.
 
Used a Fender Road Worn 50’s Tele with a hot rail for many tours. I miss having one.
 
I live in Texas and actually played in Classic country bands and in Country/Rock variety bands.

When I played in the Classic country bands, I bought a Tele for the look and sound, and hated the Classic Tele configuration.

When I joined my 1st Country/Rock Variety band, I said f#ck the country tones and got a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top Classic.

Since I started out playing late 70’s and early 80’s Metal, my heart belonged to Rock tones 1st.

I’d already retired from gigging, when I scored the beauty for peanuts at pawnshop a few years ago,

This is the type of Tele I’d use to get metal
tones I’d be happy with.

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Beyond Black said:
Look at the bright side, the more hair you lose, the more head you’ll get.
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I have a conical shaped head. It looks very odd when I’m bald. I’m not one of those good looking bald people. I tried it out too, some time ago. You can see the grooves where the pavement blocks were rammed into my head, the stitches from when the knife was jabbed into my scalp as I lay unconscious at the bottom of a storm drain.

Not a pretty picture.

Anyway, it’s a small thing and I’m not suffering. Too many people suffering in this world. Food prices are going through the roof.

Think of the saddest thought you can, really concentrate and have a listen to my tribute to Trevor Strnad. I did it when he passed on.

 
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I use a telecaster american professional (I'm terrible with names) for metal and clean. It's a hair noisier when not playing. Easily fixed with a noise gate. And the double tap pickups aren't overly hot but. Overall no issues on high gain amps. It's certainly not as bright as a paf but it does what I want it too. And a nice change of pace for my sounds.
 
ners said:
Teles with humbuckers are not teles!
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I dunno... "Telecaster" decals don't automatically erase off the headstock once you install humbuckers in them. :p

Fender did label those stock humbucker Teles as "Teles" too.
 
I personally don't like the the squelchy/scratchy attack of a traditional single coil for metal. It's a bit much for me. I did have a Squier Esquire which was pretty good for the money, and I had a bunch of different pickups in it to get it to sound how I wanted for t3h chuggz.

I had a DiMarzio Super Distortion T which sounded alright, but it was microphonic, so I returned it. I had a Duncan Hot Rails which sounded super dark, and I hated it. I ended up with a Duncan Quarter Pound which sounded KILLER for the stuff that I wanted to play. Kinda like a JB meets a P90 with a hint of stock Fender Tele sound.

Here it is in B being played sloppily, LOL. I do love that it still had some twang, but it wasn't all scratch scratch squelch squelch in the attack.

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Wait til yall see what I’m doing with this guy…
 

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I recently got a Tele with P90s. Love it. P90s are the perfect compromise of single coil clarity and hb heat, with their own thing going on. Clean to metal and everything in between, fantastic.

My buddy has a John 5 Tele that does metal no prob. I used to play hard rock, Ozzy, AIC, Tool with a Nash Tele. It was better at country n blues, but it still rocks hard.
 
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