It blows my mind that there are loads of guitar players who think the neck pickup on a tele is its big weakness. If I had to name the sweetest sounding basic guitar tone I've ever heard it would probably be the neck pickup on a tele.
The telecaster is so simple yet elegant. You can really get a nice variety of tones for it and use it for way more than a twangy Nashville sound. That being said, I sure do love that bridge pickup lol. I use the neck for blues mostly though and it does more than get the job done for that.
Two essential ingredients to a killer Tele country tone: 1) Roll the tone knob back half way or so… (bridge pickup only). 2) Add a compressor/sustainer pedal. Of course you’ll need a taste of reverb. I add a third ingredient…a little bit of delay. It’ll wake up your soul. Merry Christmas to you all!
…and to add, you really need a decent amp to be able to move some air. I p look at thru an ME80 and use studio headphones. In my mind, I sound as good as Marty Stuart. (Lol)
@@matiasishere1487 Yep I do molten lava metal on my Teles. One has dual rails and whammy the other TV Jones Filtertrons. Unfortunately I have not played in 2 years.
There is nothing like a tele. After many years of being primarily a les paul player I decided to try one out thinking it was too country....how wrong I was. So versatile and simple. This was a great video. The mid position is really underrated!
I love the Les Paul sound, but usually over-driven. I mean, I adore Led Zep, but there's something about the Les Paul quiet tone (and I have one) that seems inferior to a mellow, low gain Fender tone (or, obviously, clones.)
The slightly "dirty" bridge pickup sound you have, along with what you played is a very good representation of how 80s and 90s country meshed with blues. That was a great time in country music. There were still bands with distinctive styles. There were a lot of great Tele trend setters at the time.
Thanks for this handy reference for authentic Fender Tele tones. It would be interesting to have a sequel that explores some tone variations you can get by adjusting the knobs on the telecaster.
@FalconerPhoto yeah get that guy the f out. Should just be a blank screen! This is all about this hippy's sweet telecaster tone and here people are thinking the camera should be slightly zoomed out to see BOTH hands, wtf! Well said FalconerPhoto. Glad you were hear to sort this piece of shit out 👍
I love the way you play!! I don't have the chops to play a tele like you do, so I just prefer my strat. A tele with ME playing it IS just to tangy for me. Great job, and a great video!! Thanks!! 😁
For one more stretch (?) of this guitar, see Ed Bickert with Paul Desmond. Checkout an album called "Pure Desmond". Ed is on a Tele amidst a tradition of big jazz boxes. It was a real eye-opener for me about the flexibility of our axes. Any of them, really. Listen to his nuance on "Just Squeeze Me". Game-changing data for 2021 players, for sure. My friend who works on my guitars and was Norman Brown's guitar technician plays only a Tele at almost every gig imaginable. He told me to narrow-down my collection and refine technique versus collect axes, and the weight he had behind that was his trusty Tele being used on EVERYTHING.
Thanks! Good overview. I think the Tele is a great, versatile guitar. I thought I wanted a strat, but people like Bruce Springsteen made me realise I'm a Tele man. Couldn't afford a Fender, so got a good copy - Vintage brand. Not bad. Love that smooth neck pick-up. Who needs a Strat?
@@robertlennox3607 of course, Strats are popular and versatile. But obviously I knew what strats sounded like before I made my choice. I chose the Tele.
@@steveo44 I researched a lot to get a quality Tele copy. In Australia, a Fender Tele (which was an ultra-cheap electric guitar in the early days) is at least $2000. I settled on the Vintage. The sound is mostly good but I'm a bit disappointed with the workmanship. I expected better from a $750 AUS guitar. The paint job is literally half-done, and the nut is not cut right. The top E string is too low on the fretboard to play around with , and get's snagged on a 3rd fret which is obviously unsealed. The pickups are good, the machine heads are good. The fretboard and nut were a disappointment at that price. I'm gonna have to spend more money to get this Tele up to 5 Star Quality. 👎
@@blueshorecreative3146 sorry to hear that. Ive played a couple of vintage vt52s and have to say was blown away in every respect. Neck especially was awesome. Would probably swap the neck pickup but other than that all good. Just shows there may be a few quality control issues I guess. I have a fender Baja 52 that I got for a steal second hand on reverb. It's my keeper. I'd highly recommend one if you can get a good deal there.
Thanks for the video Cooper. It was a nice description of the tones, but next time treat us to the quick fingers. That is what us tele players love. You will get more likes and subs.
Good lord son i was not expecting that. When he got to that bridge pickup demo it was game on like someone flipped a switched. I enjoyed watching your right hand technique very nice
The title of this video should be "Listen to Classic Fender Telecaster Tone." There's really no "how-to" do anything in this video, except one quick reference to the amp EQ settings.
So speaking of modifications, the Tele I'm playing in my profile pic has a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails at the bridge (single coil size but humbucking) To maintain that Tele twang, it's wired to a 3 position mini toggle that gives you: 1 - single coil mode, 2 - humbucker mode, the 3 - humbucker out of phase mode. Love it so much I did the same to my Strat.
Like being at a concert close to the stage with a stellar guitarist playing but some big, wide and tall dude is blocking most of the teachable view. Oh well,… excellent playing my man!
I have a Mexican Telecaster going through Fender Frontman, and I still have troubles finding that warm tone without so many high frequencies cutting through the mix. Any ideas of eq or anything that can help me get a more mellow, R&B tone?
I have a Squier Tele. I'm not getting much Telecaster tone. I'm not a beginner either, I've been playing for decades. All my other guitars have humbuckers. I am getting a single-coil tone from my Tele, but no twang. I bought it as a project guitar to add mods to it. This video was just a dude playing a MIJ Telecaster.
Could you do the same demo for the Epiphone WIldKat. There is a lot of buzz because it is said that there is miles and miles of wire inside the guitar that makes it muddy. Could ya'?
over beer/wine at the end of a long day at their easels monet, van gogh and gaugain talked about who made the best brushes and oils etc. . next it will be picks
¿PRS, GIBSON, IBANEZ? For me, TE-LE-CAS-TER is the most versatil, percusive, varied and controlled sound to suppot any tuned vocalist in the best way. They say it is a not a very estetic device. I think it is so sexy.
I think it is pretty much just about comfort for the picking hand. I have a six-saddle tele too, but I've played a T-saddle before and I can't hear the difference in intonation. I like the bridge without the so called ash tray though. That piece of metal was always pretty uncomfortable for my right hand.
It blows my mind that there are loads of guitar players who think the neck pickup on a tele is its big weakness. If I had to name the sweetest sounding basic guitar tone I've ever heard it would probably be the neck pickup on a tele.
no just no
The telecaster is so simple yet elegant. You can really get a nice variety of tones for it and use it for way more than a twangy Nashville sound. That being said, I sure do love that bridge pickup lol. I use the neck for blues mostly though and it does more than get the job done for that.
@@RUARI-mi1yt you noob
100% agree. I remember the first time I played the neck pickup on a tele--I thought to myself "oh my god, that's the sound I've been looking for!"
It’s a great jazz tone, and the middle position really fits me Strat vibes, each position on it is unique.
Two essential ingredients to a killer Tele country tone: 1) Roll the tone knob back half way or so… (bridge pickup only). 2) Add a compressor/sustainer pedal. Of course you’ll need a taste of reverb. I add a third ingredient…a little bit of delay. It’ll wake up your soul. Merry Christmas to you all!
…and to add, you really need a decent amp to be able to move some air. I p look at thru an ME80 and use studio headphones. In my mind, I sound as good as Marty Stuart. (Lol)
Once upon a time I thought Tele's were a little too dorky looking and twanging sounding now it's my favorite guitar.
Same here. Now I realize it’s prob the most versatile electric. Light or heavy. All kinds of potential
@@matiasishere1487 I wish I played mine more, and got to know it, so I could be really confident live. 😎
@@matiasishere1487 Yep I do molten lava metal on my Teles. One has dual rails and whammy the other TV Jones Filtertrons. Unfortunately I have not played in 2 years.
Yep I have to agree. Was a strat boy for years then played my first Tele and ran with it.
Damn watch his pick when he starts to finger pick. Crazy talented.
@Myra Joyce ... You should see Chris Buck play on his channel. He holds his pick the same way. Crazy talented, both of them !
There is nothing like a tele. After many years of being primarily a les paul player I decided to try one out thinking it was too country....how wrong I was. So versatile and simple. This was a great video. The mid position is really underrated!
I love the Les Paul sound, but usually over-driven. I mean, I adore Led Zep, but there's something about the Les Paul quiet tone (and I have one) that seems inferior to a mellow, low gain Fender tone (or, obviously, clones.)
They stay nicely in tune and you can get nice tones and i love how solid they feel.
@@blueshorecreative3146all the best Led Zep songs were recorded on a Tele!
That twang makes for the best punk riffs aswell. Barre chords sound razer sharp
The slightly "dirty" bridge pickup sound you have, along with what you played is a very good representation of how 80s and 90s country meshed with blues. That was a great time in country music. There were still bands with distinctive styles. There were a lot of great Tele trend setters at the time.
i could listen to this guy play all day
He has some skill.
True
I love how you shuffle and handle your pick. I’ve finally got what I wanted after all these years. A 70’s series tele. Thx for the video! 😎👍
I got a 50s Tele and they're trying to say I'm a communist!
Thanks for this handy reference for authentic Fender Tele tones. It would be interesting to have a sequel that explores some tone variations you can get by adjusting the knobs on the telecaster.
Mmmm, knobs
The man expresses the characteristics of the tele very well !
Thanks Cooper, I've gained a new appreciation for the Tele.
nice playing but it would have made sense to show his fretting hand when playing
@FalconerPhoto yeah get that guy the f out. Should just be a blank screen! This is all about this hippy's sweet telecaster tone and here people are thinking the camera should be slightly zoomed out to see BOTH hands, wtf! Well said FalconerPhoto. Glad you were hear to sort this piece of shit out 👍
@@cminty6805 ha ha ha
Hey Cooper, I always enjoy your stellar playing!
I love the way you play!!
I don't have the chops to play a tele like you do, so I just prefer my strat. A tele with ME playing it IS just to tangy for me.
Great job, and a great video!! Thanks!! 😁
That MiJ Telecaster is HOT...STUFF. Congratulations on such a great guitar and such great talent, young man!
Am I the only one who's appreciating the right hand close up?
For one more stretch (?) of this guitar, see Ed Bickert with Paul Desmond. Checkout an album called "Pure Desmond". Ed is on a Tele amidst a tradition of big jazz boxes. It was a real eye-opener for me about the flexibility of our axes. Any of them, really. Listen to his nuance on "Just Squeeze Me". Game-changing data for 2021 players, for sure. My friend who works on my guitars and was Norman Brown's guitar technician plays only a Tele at almost every gig imaginable. He told me to narrow-down my collection and refine technique versus collect axes, and the weight he had behind that was his trusty Tele being used on EVERYTHING.
I'll go ahead and say it. This dude can frikkin JAM.
Finishing my tele build today. Normally play death/black metal so finding the amp
Sound is the most difficult part.
Thanks! Good overview. I think the Tele is a great, versatile guitar. I thought I wanted a strat, but people like Bruce Springsteen made me realise I'm a Tele man. Couldn't afford a Fender, so got a good copy - Vintage brand. Not bad. Love that smooth neck pick-up. Who needs a Strat?
Don’t knock it if you have never tried it! Strats are great too, I play both.
Vintage are great guitars. I've played some Mexican fenders that couldn't touch a vintage. Main thing is that it gets played lots!
@@robertlennox3607 of course, Strats are popular and versatile. But obviously I knew what strats sounded like before I made my choice. I chose the Tele.
@@steveo44 I researched a lot to get a quality Tele copy. In Australia, a Fender Tele (which was an ultra-cheap electric guitar in the early days) is at least $2000. I settled on the Vintage. The sound is mostly good but I'm a bit disappointed with the workmanship. I expected better from a $750 AUS guitar. The paint job is literally half-done, and the nut is not cut right. The top E string is too low on the fretboard to play around with , and get's snagged on a 3rd fret which is obviously unsealed. The pickups are good, the machine heads are good. The fretboard and nut were a disappointment at that price. I'm gonna have to spend more money to get this Tele up to 5 Star Quality. 👎
@@blueshorecreative3146 sorry to hear that. Ive played a couple of vintage vt52s and have to say was blown away in every respect. Neck especially was awesome. Would probably swap the neck pickup but other than that all good. Just shows there may be a few quality control issues I guess. I have a fender Baja 52 that I got for a steal second hand on reverb. It's my keeper. I'd highly recommend one if you can get a good deal there.
Thanks for the video Cooper. It was a nice description of the tones, but next time treat us to the quick fingers. That is what us tele players love. You will get more likes and subs.
don't speak for me! (lol)
Good lord son i was not expecting that. When he got to that bridge pickup demo it was game on like someone flipped a switched. I enjoyed watching your right hand technique very nice
The title of this video should be "Listen to Classic Fender Telecaster Tone." There's really no "how-to" do anything in this video, except one quick reference to the amp EQ settings.
Telecasters are the goat
Great picken.
Great presentation bro. Love the playing.
This guy got crazy skills
Good work, Cooper. This video will be very useful for many people.
Im a strat guy for years until i saw this video...damn..must get 1 tele...
Everyone should own a tele imo 😀
@@tommartin7728 I agree
Tele's separate the men from the boys! Again, it's the skill level of the player that brings out the beauty of the guitar...
So speaking of modifications, the Tele I'm playing in my profile pic has a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails at the bridge (single coil size but humbucking) To maintain that Tele twang, it's wired to a 3 position mini toggle that gives you: 1 - single coil mode, 2 - humbucker mode, the 3 - humbucker out of phase mode. Love it so much I did the same to my Strat.
Enjoyed the playing and fantastic tone
Put a twisted Tele in the neck and the neck becomes more strat-like. I have the Baja Tele and love the neck pickup on this
love the perloid design of your control plate ;p
WOW that beautiful guitar
Great job.
I don’t find much use for a Tele neck pickup, but middle position is a keeper and you can’t beat the bridge with a driven Vox. Magic.
that tele😍
Can the Fender wide range pickups get these classic Tele tones?
Why wouldn't you show the whole guitar when playing? C'mon.
Fine playing
You sure know how to squeeze every ounce of mojo out of that thing.
Dayum, that guy's good. Nice picking dude.
Nice video. Thank you. Loved the right hand pick roll. Excellente
The bridge pick up rules Nashville, it's a special sound, harsh but pretty.
Awesome playing!
Really great playing!
He looks like shaggy from Scooby Doo
Yes a great guitarist 👍👍
great playing.
Coop really is amazing!
That tele looks and sounds very good!
Like being at a concert close to the stage with a stellar guitarist playing but some big, wide and tall dude is blocking most of the teachable view. Oh well,… excellent playing my man!
I have a Mexican Telecaster going through Fender Frontman, and I still have troubles finding that warm tone without so many high frequencies cutting through the mix. Any ideas of eq or anything that can help me get a more mellow, R&B tone?
Try the noble od1 mini. I just got one and it stops the shrill tops (using it as a boost) also best is pedal for teles as it can fatten the sound
play lower notes
Vol 8-9 tone 5
you don't have the warmest amp there,.....buy a cheap tube amp ( fender blues junior, peavey classic,.....)
I have a Squier Tele. I'm not getting much Telecaster tone. I'm not a beginner either, I've been playing for decades. All my other guitars have humbuckers. I am getting a single-coil tone from my Tele, but no twang. I bought it as a project guitar to add mods to it. This video was just a dude playing a MIJ Telecaster.
Amazing playing!
The licks at 4:30…..come on man. Wild.
Just got Nashville deluxe telle. Thanks for tips. I'm loving it. Think it had 10 gauge strings. Thinking about nines.
Thanks you
Nice work out !
Could you do the same demo for the Epiphone WIldKat. There is a lot of buzz because it is said that there is miles and miles of wire inside the guitar that makes it muddy. Could ya'?
Nice
Love my tele
What is your feeling on the rosewood neck vs the plan maple neck on the telecaster I’m looking for a warmer sound than what the maple neck has
Lots of talent. And a compressor?
over beer/wine at the end of a long day at their easels monet, van gogh and gaugain talked about who made the best brushes and oils etc. . next it will be picks
Great pickin', but absolutely zero info on how to get the tones. Knob settings?
sir what kinds of magnet on your bridge pickup alnico 2 or 3?
This gentleman has such a deep voice. the guitar however...
NIce! Wish you played middle & neck with OD...
Do you have the tone knob all the way up?
¿PRS, GIBSON, IBANEZ? For me, TE-LE-CAS-TER is the most versatil, percusive, varied and controlled sound to suppot any tuned vocalist in the best way. They say it is a not a very estetic device. I think it is so sexy.
What's the advantage of a three-saddle bridge? My Ultra Tele has the six-saddle, curious to know the reasoning for preference one way over another.
I think it is pretty much just about comfort for the picking hand. I have a six-saddle tele too, but I've played a T-saddle before and I can't hear the difference in intonation. I like the bridge without the so called ash tray though. That piece of metal was always pretty uncomfortable for my right hand.
Plug it in, don't set the amp too crazy and play some country or rockabilly kind of stuff. Classic, thanks.
USA standard always I upgrading New neck and add good hot pickups and to single coil in the middle
If you listen to country you hear Merle Haggard with the tele.
Thought this was gonna tell you how to make HB or Strat sound like Tele
that was a pretty dumb thought
God DAMN I want that guitar.
It's the player, not the guitar...
Is it true that volume and tone is best switched to 100 %?
where are the knobs set
I would be helpful to show where you are fretting
I am literally sitting in front of my computer shouting at my monitor: "SHOW HIS FU#+*NG LEFT HAND YOU DOUCHE!!!!"
3:40 what is he playing ??????
is it tuned properly? feels like one or two string are slightly off
Yes, they are for sure!
It’s amazing that the bridge pickups on all Tele’s only play country music, I find that fascinating!!! 🙄
Kippa greeenbick ????!!!!!
Telecaster is not to good at rock style musc , I believe its because I of those weeks single coils
You put overdrive on it to show how it can rock and be not just a country guitar…then you play all that nasty country sounding crap!
Whoever EQ’d tour voice did terrible. Waaayy too much low end
right? it got me bothered too smh
Rubbish. That is not a true Fender Tele sound. That is a 10 dollar sound.😢
Wtf? Only camera is on the right hand? Oh I get it you want everyone to see the amp so they will buy one.
Good player but I want to hear some rock n roll chords not this quick picking.
Who the hell makes a guitar demo and points the cam on the player's right hand only? LOL f'n fail man.
Great tone but he can play really well , most of that tone is from his hands and pick , takes practice 👍😆