A tele has a wider range of tones available than a strat period.
I didnt really want to get all technical but essentially it boils down to the pickups. The wire and magnets used on a stock tele pickup give it a far more unique range of tones than a strat no matter how many of the same pickups you put in it.. A twin pup guitar with one wound 42awg and one wound 44awg, each with a different bobbin shape and height and magnet and poles, is going to cover more ground than three pups all wound the same.
Incidentally there are individually about the same number of parts on both a strat and a tele so..... that argument doesnt pass peer review either. I'll stick.
Oh and finally if Boob takes up the bagpipes were all doomed.
Here's the two in my stable I use mostly for testing pup winds these days. I do gig the tele quite a bit. I've taken the strat along to a few but it rarely gets much air time. Partly cos despite it having a wider than normal neck and is a dream to play with a 14" radius rosewood f/b and mahogany neck, it just well... sounds like a strat with a mahogany neck.... Having said that strat players love it and I've sold a few based on the spec.. Shit picture sorry about that. I'm on a cheap chinese mobile until I can crust up for a better one..
stratatele.jpg
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The fascinating thing i like about this debate is that Greg is very much 100% right that by definition and design the Strat does in fact meet all criteria to win the "versatile" award in a very literal, physical sense on the exterior. It is anything but a matter of perspective or opinion. it is concrete.
That's all I'm saying. It's not even debatable. The Strat is naturally equipped to be more versatile than a Tele. It just is. Now how someone uses or fails to use that versatility is on them.
So then it's just about the extra, middle pickup...?
I guess if that's something one needs/uses...then yeah, it adds to your versatility...and obviously, it's one more pickup than the Tele has.
No disputing that.
My point was that versatility would only come into play, and be obvious, when it's actually used....which is why I said it can be a personal thing.
Last edited by miroslav on Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
miroslav wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:01 pm
So then it's just about the extra, middle pickup...?
I guess if that's something one needs/uses...then yeah, it adds to your versatility...and obviously, it's one more pick-up than the Tele.
Not only that...more blends of pickups, an extra tone control, vibrato. Maybe none of that is important to some players, maybe it is, but it's there on a Strat and that is more versatility. Too bad none of it sounds good.
lol.. A strat has three of the same. A tele has two very different. Simple.
Question Is a petrol V8 better than a jet engine because it has more cylinders?
Also an Alfa Romeo 4C is gonna piss all over my Vtec even though I have more cylinders in mine? Or am I wrong?
On another note. I'm chatting with WJ right now about that Jnr build I promised. I'm going to include you as a design consultant. Hang in there for a PM once we've thrashed out the detail. It would be cool to make it a group colab with you making the final calls on spec as you're the Jnr guy....
miroslav wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:01 pm
So then it's just about the extra, middle pickup...?
I guess if that's something one needs/uses...then yeah, it adds to your versatility...and obviously, it's one more pick-up than the Tele.
If I understand correctly, it's not just the middle pick-up. The 5 position switch makes into a (sort of) 5 pick-up guitar...or at least, 5 options.
Yeah...though I think that extra positions are kinda what you get because of the extra pickup...not sure the 5-position thing could work without it.
There's no way to dispute that...the extra pickup & switch positions are more than what you get with the Tele.
I just think it only means something if you actually need/use it AFA how versatile it is to you....I mean, that's how I look at it.
Greg_L wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:06 pm
Too bad none of it sounds good.
And that's what I mean...if you don't need/use it, it's not all that great having it.
muttley wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:10 pm
I got a five way on my tele.... Many now come with four way as standard with vintage wiring. A five way on a strat is 4 too many...
Ah, well you learn something new every day. I thought that was just a Strat thing. How does a 5 way switch work on 2 pick-ups? Or do you have 3 pick-ups on your Tele?
Ah, well you learn something new every day. I thought that was just a Strat thing. How does a 5 way switch work on 2 pick-ups? Or do you have 3 pick-ups on your Tele?
Some Teles had a "dark circuit" or something like that. I think it was like a 4th position on the switch. It had a cap that low passed everything.
If I understand correctly, it's not just the middle pick-up. The 5 position switch makes into a (sort of) 5 pick-up guitar...or at least, 5 options.
Yeah...though I think that extra positions are kinda what you get because of the extra pickup...not sure the 5-position thing could work without it.
There's no way to dispute that...the extra pickup & switch positions are more than what you get with the Tele.
I just think it only means something if you actually need/use it AFA how versatile it is to you....I mean, that's how I look at it.
Greg_L wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:06 pm
Too bad none of it sounds good.
And that's what I mean...if you don't need/use it, it's not all that great having it.
All true. But liking it or wanting to use it doesn't take away from a Strat's actual inherent versatility. That's all up to the user. It's there, you don't have to want it or use it.
muttley wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:10 pm
I got a five way on my tele.... Many now come with four way as standard with vintage wiring. A five way on a strat is 4 too many...
Ah, well you learn something new every day. I thought that was just a Strat thing. How does a 5 way switch work on 2 pick-ups? Or do you have 3 pick-ups on your Tele?
I have two pups. You can use the standard series mod to add the fourth position and I have a coil split on the neck pup (not standard). The strat uses the same trick just that the type of pups they have makes for a pretty useless addition.
Ah, well you learn something new every day. I thought that was just a Strat thing. How does a 5 way switch work on 2 pick-ups? Or do you have 3 pick-ups on your Tele?
Some Teles had a "dark circuit" or something like that. I think it was like a 4th position on the switch. It had a cap that low passed everything.
Different mod but there are a ton of easy tele mods out there. I personally dont like mods that take too much away from the signal. As mentioned Like you I prefer plug and play stuff..
And for what it's worth, if anyone cares, I'm not trying to insult my Telecaster friends in here. I don't care who plays or prefers what. I like lots of music done with Telecasters. I just don't like them for myself. And if Strats and Teles were the only two guitars that existed, I'd take the Tele every time.
Greg_L wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:28 pm
And for what it's worth, if anyone cares, I'm not trying to insult my Telecaster friends in here. I don't care who plays or prefers what. I like lots of music done with Telecasters. I just don't like them for myself. And if Strats and Teles were the only two guitars that existed, I'd take the Tele every time.
