# How heavy can a telecaster get?



## Kavnar (Mar 5, 2011)

I understand that telecasters aren't made for heavy music, nor are they what I'll be using it for, but I'm just wondering how versatile they are? I know that early black sabbath was an SG with P90's which are single coils. Would the telecaster be able to enter that territory? 

Also, as far as I know, this was recorded with a tele:


----------



## Rook (Mar 5, 2011)

A tele is as powerful as the pickups in it, the strings on it and the player playing it and the amp they're playing through.

I know it's become a bit of a cliche, but any guitar can do anything to a degree. I've gotten better 'metal' sounds through my old 5150 with a tele than with a mate's EMG laden Epiphone. The tele was much clearer, and that was with Tele pickups.

Without sounding like a dick, a telecaster with Humbuckers isn't a telecaster, it's just tele shaped lol.


----------



## -42- (Mar 5, 2011)

How heavy can a telecaster get?

As heavy as your amp will let it.


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 5, 2011)

I see what you guys mean.
But I suppose the real question i was aiming for was will a telecaster with a single coil in the bridge be able to achieve heavier tones?


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Mar 5, 2011)

I use my tele for metal all the time, though I only keep it in E standard. It's great for thrashy stuff and black metal stuff, but I don't really use it for any death or doom stuff since I don't tune it down. That's what the DR7's for.


----------



## Selkies (Mar 5, 2011)

The right speaker of Emmures new album is a tele, not a huge fan but the tone is pretty crushing


----------



## TemjinStrife (Mar 5, 2011)

Yes it will. The tele bridge pickup is extremely punchy and clear.


----------



## 13point9 (Mar 5, 2011)

My band's guitarist uses a MIM tele in drop C#, its ideal for our stuf as it comes out clear when hes playing extended chords and it can still riff well. I think if he got a humbucker equipped guitar it wouldn't sparkle properly and it would get muddy without changing all the amp settings...


----------



## Despised_0515 (Mar 5, 2011)

In case you missed it,
Liars (Demo) by sol niger 333 on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
and it was recorded with:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/lu...tomizations/147669-ngd-fender-rapecaster.html

and while this isn't a "true" tele being a baritone and having a BKP aftermath in it, I'm sure that with the right string gauge and BKP Piledriver tele pups that you can get pretty brutal tones.

Click "Sound Clips" and then "Modern Metal" to hear 'em.
Bare Knuckle Pickups, UK - Hand Wound Guitar and Bass Pickups

I've been GASing for a tele for a while now so if I don't pick up a G&L within the next 2 years, I'll probably build my own Warmoth.


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 5, 2011)

I play metal on my G&L ASAT special all the time. Yes it has soapbar pickups, but they are not really like your typically P90, the are ridiculously clear and quite bright/hi-fi. I only do stuff in standard, but I can get Thrash, heavy metal (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden) and good prog metal tones (due to the clarity) out of the thing. 

Thing is the guitar is still a tele, not just a single cut with buckers, I can whip it out and go to town on country or jazz, even blues. Using a Mark V doesn't hurt I suppose.


----------



## technomancer (Mar 5, 2011)




----------



## gunshow86de (Mar 5, 2011)

Let's ask Jari;

"Yeah, it's pretty heavy."
























You sure?????


















"IST FVCKING KREIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"




















Would Kavnar be able to use one?



"Here, you try it!"


----------



## kamello (Mar 5, 2011)

i Think that Joe Duplantier from Gojira plays with a tele a few times, but im not sure if he recorded something with it

edit: and Jim Root from slipknot, but definitely, he's using Humbuckers


----------



## iff (Mar 5, 2011)

kamello said:


> i Think that Joe Duplantier from Gojira plays with a tele a few times, but im not sure if he recorded something with it
> 
> edit: and Jim Root from slipknot, but definitely, he's using Humbuckers


----------



## kamello (Mar 5, 2011)

^
that was the vid i was looking for


----------



## Demiurge (Mar 5, 2011)

I have one tele tuned to GGCFAD and another tuned to drop A. With the right set-up and the right playing style, a tele can sound super-heavy. That tele "twang," when you tune it down, the "twang" becomes a sick "boooong" with a punch that humbuckers don't have.


----------



## cardinal (Mar 5, 2011)

Soundgarden's Mailman and Limo Wreck were done with a down-tuned Telecaster and a Dual Rectifier; sounds pretty heavy to me.


----------



## GRUNTKOR (Mar 5, 2011)

Pretty sure Korn used one on their first album


----------



## 2440080345 (Mar 5, 2011)

Well, there are alot of people who play heavy metal with telecasters. If you are going for all heavy, look for signature models like John 5 or Jim Root. A normal tele would also work but you might have to change the pickups and/or make some modifications


----------



## signalgrey (Mar 5, 2011)

Teles are metal as shit.

I miss the hell out of mine.


----------



## ZXIIIT (Mar 6, 2011)




----------



## diatron5 (Mar 6, 2011)

I have a tele with two humbuckers. It's actually really great for metal. As far as playability and tone.


----------



## MatthewK (Mar 6, 2011)

I have a stock Fender MIM Classic '50s Esquire and it's awesome. It has a fat neck and the tiniest frets I've ever used, but it plays/sounds killer and stays in tune amazingly well. I don't really play "modern" metal, but I do turn up the gain now and then and it sounds great. I really don't go for that bullshit of taking a classic axe and throwing active humbuckers in it.


----------



## yingmin (Mar 6, 2011)

At work today, I plugged one of those terrible Danelectro reissues with lipstick singlecoils into a 6505+ and played some metal through it. You'd be surprised how heavy you can get with something like that.




diatron5 said:


> I have a tele with two humbuckers. It's actually really great for metal. As far as playability and tone.


As has been mentioned once or twice in this thread already, when people say "Telecaster", they typically mean specifically the standard, two single coil model. A guitar with two humbuckers that's shaped like a Tele is still a guitar with two humbuckers, really no different from a hardtail RG or Dinky, or what have you. There's nothing inherently un-heavy about the Tele body shape; it's the pickups they're worried about.


----------



## Rojne (Mar 6, 2011)

I've got a Fender Baja Tele with a SD Hotrail in it, sounds beef as hell.. used it in my band for a while tuned in Drop-B through my 6505+ and it did the job pretty good, djenty as hell and really clear and full sounding!

The Boy Will Drown is the main reason I got a Tele at that time, but now I use mine in E standard for everything else than metal!
The guitarist wasn't endorsed by Fender by the time they recorded the album, I think he used some kind of Jackson.. maybe a COW sig or something, but his live sound is just as good with his Tele's!


----------



## littlephil (Mar 6, 2011)

We ran a Tele with the 4 way switch mod through a JCA20 at the store I tech in, it could get some pretty damn heavy tones. Both pickups in series sounds great, you could get some nice br00tz from it


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 6, 2011)

Thanks for all the information dudes!
I've got a MIM tele on the way but it will be used predominantly for Jazz, blues and country. So I don't want to change the pickups out or anything. I also play in like a drone/doom band and I'm thinking now, after hearing about what these things are capable of, that it might be able to hold its own in the doom territory. Anyone had any experience? My only thought would be that the bridge would be too twangy to achieve those warm full sounds that doom is famous for.


----------



## Rook (Mar 6, 2011)

"better" telecaster sounds tend to come from more powerful pickups anyway.

You could very easily change the pickups and end up with a better tele 'twang' on cleans, and more force through the amp when you're metalling up.

Another example is Al Di Meola's Les Paul. It had a super distortion in the bridge, and sounds great for jazz because it's quite sharp and quick to respond, but when you open it up it sounds insane.


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 6, 2011)

Fun111 said:


> "better" telecaster sounds tend to come from more powerful pickups anyway.
> 
> You could very easily change the pickups and end up with a better tele 'twang' on cleans, and more force through the amp when you're metalling up.
> 
> Another example is Al Di Meola's Les Paul. It had a super distortion in the bridge, and sounds great for jazz because it's quite sharp and quick to respond, but when you open it up it sounds insane.



Yeah that's sort of what I meant. I don't want to change the guitar into a metal guitar. But if I could change the pickups and still have the beautiful twang that tele's are great for but still be able to get powerful metal tones from it, that would be ideal.


----------



## Rook (Mar 6, 2011)

It's that twang that makes it good for metal 

Look into the Area Hot T by DiMarzio.


----------



## deathscar (Mar 6, 2011)

Fender Jim Adkins JA-90 Telecaster Thinline (Crimson Transparent) | Sweetwater.com
This is in my local store.
Best pinches I've ever heard, kickass when I played some old school death metal on it.


----------



## CryptopsyAndWhatnot (Mar 6, 2011)

I used a strat with singles in it for 2 years for metal. Distortion pedal and a noise gate make it work pretty well. Plus with those the 2nd and 4th pickup positions are noise canceling anyway


----------



## Demiurge (Mar 6, 2011)

Kavnar said:


> I also play in like a drone/doom band and I'm thinking now, after hearing about what these things are capable of, that it might be able to hold its own in the doom territory. Anyone had any experience?



I play in a similar style, and my stock teles are fine for it.


----------



## DSilence (Mar 6, 2011)

Iam just having my SX telecaster modded with a SD hotrail & new bridge with 6 saddles. I plan on using it for heavier stuff. It sounds pretty defined through the 5150 but looking forward to the new setup.


----------



## btsdaniel (Mar 6, 2011)

Aaron Turner from Isis used a Tele for a lot of Isis albums and that stuff is huge sounding


----------



## -42- (Mar 6, 2011)

On another note, telecasters are just plain heavy guitars.


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 8, 2011)

Wow you guys weren't lying! Just got this thing today and wow! Heavy as fuck!
I'll post a new guitar day as soon as I can have five minutes away from it!


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 8, 2011)

I think the general issue is the assumption that guitars = metal. 

Guitars are not metal. No guitar magically produces metal. 

What makes metal is the attitude, the attack, and the player. You can play metal on a acoustic (see grandpa's guitar), you can play metal cleanly. The tone is not what makes metal, the feeling and presentation is. If you are picking the living snot of out something and really emphasizing it crushingly, it is hard for it to not be metal. 

TLDR
Attitude, phrasing, playing style = metal
guitar itself = not metal in the slightest


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 8, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I think the general issue is the assumption that guitars = metal.
> 
> Guitars are not metal. No guitar magically produces metal.
> 
> ...



100% agree with this.


----------



## great_kthulu (Mar 8, 2011)

my bands old guitarist (now our bassist) used to play grindcore through a squire tele. His tone was pretty close to this


----------



## great_kthulu (Mar 8, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I think the general issue is the assumption that guitars = metal.
> 
> Guitars are not metal. No guitar magically produces metal.
> 
> ...


so true! you should always go for a tone you like, which a guitar is a big part of, but it is not what makes it "metal"


----------



## Loomer (Mar 15, 2011)

I like this thread, since I have a Tele under way myself


----------



## Konfyouzd (Mar 15, 2011)

It was my understanding that an instrument is as versatile as the person holding it.


----------



## Loomer (Mar 15, 2011)

And another thing: 

I'm really glad this forum doesn't fall victim to ignorant and stereotypical views regarding guitars. Most other forums would probably be all "HURR DURR U NEED EMG 81S IN DAT SHIT BRAH" and not give the road less travelled the time of day.


----------



## darren (Mar 15, 2011)

Heavy isn't a sound. It's an attitude.





A lot of people associate Jimmy Page with the Les Paul, but a lot of early Zeppelin stuff was recorded with a Telecaster, including some of the heaviest riffs like "Whole Lotta Love". And "Kashmir" was recorded with a Danelectro. 

Anything can be heavy if you play it with conviction.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Mar 15, 2011)

Loomer said:


> And another thing:
> 
> I'm really glad this forum doesn't fall victim to ignorant and stereotypical views regarding guitars. Most other forums would probably be all "HURR DURR U NEED EMG 81S IN DAT SHIT BRAH" and not give the road less travelled the time of day.


 
The heaviest guitars are made from lead...


----------



## loktide (Mar 15, 2011)

Loomer said:


> And another thing:
> 
> I'm really glad this forum doesn't fall victim to ignorant and stereotypical views regarding guitars. Most other forums would probably be all "HURR DURR U NEED EMG 81S IN DAT SHIT BRAH" and not give the road less travelled the time of day.



you're right.

ss.org is mostly about people recommending BKPs, agiles and blackmachines without having ever tried one of these.


----------



## UnderTheSign (Mar 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> I think the general issue is the assumption that guitars = metal.
> 
> Guitars are not metal. No guitar magically produces metal.
> 
> ...


I find it funny how the shape of the guitar would in any way be related to the way you can make it sound 



loktide said:


> you're right.
> 
> ss.org is mostly about people recommending BKPs, agiles and blackmachines without having ever tried one of these.


Quoted for truth!


----------



## yingmin (Mar 15, 2011)

loktide said:


> you're right.
> 
> ss.org is mostly about people recommending BKPs, agiles and blackmachines without having ever tried one of these.



And what the fuck are you doing with your life if you don't have an AxeFX?


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 15, 2011)

yingmin said:


> And what the fuck are you doing with your life if you don't have an AxeFX?




Playing guitar instead of surfing menus endlessly for that tone? 


In all seriousness BKPs are what it sounds like when your guitar has sex with your amp.


----------



## loktide (Mar 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> In all seriousness BKPs are what it sounds like when your guitar has sex with your amp.


----------



## Razzy (Mar 15, 2011)

I'd say it depends on the choice of wood, but if you were to build with a heavy piece of walnut or mahogany, it could probably get up to about 12 pounds.


----------



## Ghost40 (Mar 15, 2011)

I use a tele, Fender MiM, EMG 81/85, dropped to B

*M U S I C 

*The site hasnt been updated in a while, but all three were recorded with the tele


----------



## SirMyghin (Mar 15, 2011)

^
I somehow thing dropping buckers in it defeats the purpose of this question.


----------



## yingmin (Mar 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> ^
> I somehow thing dropping buckers in it defeats the purpose of this question.



Exactly. Like I said, a Tele or Tele-shaped guitar with humbuckers (EMGs, no less) is pretty much equivalent to any other comparably-specced guitar with humbuckers. The question is how heavy a tone you can achieve using the stock Tele pickups.


----------



## shono (Mar 15, 2011)




----------



## AcousticMinja (Mar 15, 2011)

So, if I were to snag myself an SX tele or Douglas tele, pickup wise (since I hear hotter is better) but still retaining single coilness, what should I grab? I've owned one of the SX ones and the stock pickups are SO lame.
I sadly have an unhealthy obsession with telecasters. Partly because the first guitar I've ever played was one.


----------



## DSilence (Mar 15, 2011)

AcousticMinja said:


> So, if I were to snag myself an SX tele or Douglas tele, pickup wise (since I hear hotter is better) but still retaining single coilness, what should I grab? I've owned one of the SX ones and the stock pickups are SO lame.
> I sadly have an unhealthy obsession with telecasters. Partly because the first guitar I've ever played was one.


 
I have one of the older SX teles and recently had a bunch of work done to it to make it more suited to what i play, e.g. 6 saddle bridge, string through, & Seymour Duncan Hotrail, I havent got it back yet but looking forward to how it will play sound. The neck was shimmed as well, apparently the neck pocket was bit of a mess lol


----------



## Ghost40 (Mar 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> ^
> I somehow thing dropping buckers in it defeats the purpose of this question.



Yeah, went back and read the thread... That said, my previous band, the other guitarist swore by Fender teles, Pretty sure he had EMG RT set in it. Any way, he ran through a Marshall JCM, sounded awesome.


----------



## Kavnar (Mar 16, 2011)

Yeah my MIM tele came a while back now. Had a good week or so of playing it. I agree with what some of your guys were saying about the guitar only being as heavy as the player can make it. The single coils were a completely different sound to what I was used to, but that is sort of what I was hoping for. You can get really cutting tones from the bridge pickup if you EQ it properly but I've been really favouring the neck pickup. I play a lot of Electric Wizard type stuff and the neck pickup with the tone rolled off sounds great for it. It definitely doesn't sound like a les paul but it also doesn't sound les heavy than one.


----------



## UnderTheSign (Mar 16, 2011)

Razzy said:


> I'd say it depends on the choice of wood, but if you were to build with a heavy piece of walnut or mahogany, it could probably get up to about 12 pounds.


I know a guy that once built an acrylic one. Weighed 17lbs. Kills yer back I'm telling you.


----------



## Customisbetter (Mar 16, 2011)

This dude uses a Tele i believe.


----------



## zimbloth (Mar 16, 2011)

Teles sound great for heavy stuff, even with stock pickups. They have a lot of punch and growl. However in mine I installed a BKP Piledriver and that was just insane sounding. I strongly recommend anyone considering a Tele to get a semi-hollow. I get a lot of both here and the semi-hollows always sound better (IMO).


----------



## Auyard (Mar 16, 2011)

zimbloth said:


> Teles sound great for heavy stuff, even with stock pickups. They have a lot of punch and growl. However in mine I installed a BKP Piledriver and that was just insane sounding. I strongly recommend anyone considering a Tele to get a semi-hollow. I get a lot of both here and the semi-hollows always sound better (IMO).



Does the semi-hollowness still enable death metal-esque stuff? I just got a Esquire GT (blue w/white racing stripe) and it sounds pretty sick and I'm seriously looking into getting another tele.


----------



## zimbloth (Mar 16, 2011)

Auyard said:


> Does the semi-hollowness still enable death metal-esque stuff? I just got a Esquire GT (blue w/white racing stripe) and it sounds pretty sick and I'm seriously looking into getting another tele.



Oh yeah, of course dude. Being semi-hollow doesnt take away anything, it only enhances. It adds resonance, sustain, and just generally improves the tone in many tangible ways. Emil Wrestler from Daath uses a PRS Hollowbody and his tones are brutal and crushing, just as an example. 

I've yet to play a semi-hollow version of any quality guitar that didn't sound better than their solid-body counterparts. The lighter weight is a nice touch too (always a good thing for tone). It's striking with the G&L stuff I deal with. The solid body ones sound great too of course, it's just the semi-hollow ones really stand out.

Some people claim feedback is an issue with semi-hollows. I've never found that to be true, unless your facing a speaker or something, but in that case anything will feedback in high-gain situations. A decent noisegate like an ISP will do the trick just fine.


----------



## Customisbetter (Mar 16, 2011)

zimbloth said:


> Oh yeah, of course dude. Being semi-hollow doesnt take away anything, it only enhances. It adds resonance, sustain, and just generally improves the tone in many tangible ways. Emil Wrestler from Daath uses a PRS Hollowbody and his tones are brutal and crushing, just as an example.
> 
> I've yet to play a semi-hollow version of any quality guitar that didn't sound better than their solid-body counterparts. The lighter weight is a nice touch too (always a good thing for tone). It's striking with the G&L stuff I deal with. The solid body ones sound great too of course, it's just the semi-hollow ones really stand out.
> 
> Some people claim feedback is an issue with semi-hollows. I've never found that to be true, unless your facing a speaker or something, but in that case anything will feedback in high-gain situations. A decent noisegate like an ISP will do the trick just fine.



I've noticed that Hollowbodies ahve thise weird effect on the attack of a guitar.

For example my Solidbody teles sound

BOOoooooowwwww

Whereas my Thinlines sound

boooOOOOOOWWWWWWWWwwwwwwww

It acts as a sort of natural compression and can have a VERY cool effect on the sound. I however usually strike to tighy attack so Solid bodied guitars stick around more often.


----------



## Devotion (Mar 16, 2011)

I own a squier tele affinity, about the cheapest tele out there i think. It is my first electric, i've never touched another one. When i play some harder styles, it rocks, just need to stay away from the neck pup (KILLS HARMONICS!! At least with distortion up). But the bridge i just f'in love. And that for a stock guiyar that costed 120&#8364; !


----------



## anne (Mar 16, 2011)

zimbloth said:


> Teles sound great for heavy stuff, even with stock pickups. They have a lot of punch and growl. However in mine I installed a BKP Piledriver and that was just insane sounding. I strongly recommend anyone considering a Tele to get a semi-hollow. I get a lot of both here and the semi-hollows always sound better (IMO).



That's my Tele -- semi-hollow with Piledrivers. so amazing.


----------



## zimbloth (Mar 16, 2011)

anne said:


> That's my Tele -- semi-hollow with Piledrivers. so amazing.



Awesome 



Customisbetter said:


> I've noticed that Hollowbodies ahve thise weird effect on the attack of a guitar.....



Yeah, I don't know what to say to that. All I can say is from my personal experience, I've never had any issues like that with any semi-hollows I've played. They've got plenty of attack and aggressive, it's just simply more resonant and airy. My only experience with semi-hollows are with PRS, G&L, Flaxwood and Fender though.

Check out this shit, Emil uses hollowbody PRS:


----------



## GuitaristOfHell (Mar 16, 2011)

I love tele's and on my friends USA tele can do death metal on it.


----------



## thrashcomics (Apr 7, 2011)

so who is using the bkp piledrivers? i think within the next 6-9 months i want to find a cool beatup tele and hotrod it. modern hardware like sperzels and hipshot bridge. bkp pile drivers and maybe an emg spc control.


----------



## zimbloth (Apr 7, 2011)

thrashcomics said:


> so who is using the bkp piledrivers? i think within the next 6-9 months i want to find a cool beatup tele and hotrod it. modern hardware like sperzels and hipshot bridge. bkp pile drivers and maybe an emg spc control.



I have a Piledriver in one of my G&L Teles, it sounds heavy as hell but still sounds retains that Tele character.


----------



## Gitte (Apr 8, 2011)

i play telecasters  and they freaking rock!! i just ordered a seymour duncan hotrail humbucker for the bridge and a dimarzio twang king. This will be my favourite 6 string!


----------



## Loomer (Apr 8, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> In all seriousness BKPs are what it sounds like when your guitar has sex with your amp.



With my War Pigs, I'm not 100% sure it's entirely consensual, but it is definitely rough!


----------



## punisher911 (Apr 9, 2011)

I live by the theory, "if it's good enough for Tom Morello, it's good enough for me." 

He uses a standard single coil tele, he get's the job done. Nuff said....


----------



## highlordmugfug (Apr 9, 2011)

zimbloth said:


> Teles sound great for heavy stuff, even with stock pickups. They have a lot of punch and growl. However in mine I installed a BKP Piledriver and that was just insane sounding. I strongly recommend anyone considering a Tele to get a semi-hollow. I get a lot of both here and the semi-hollows always sound better (IMO).


This.
I'm lusting after a semihollow tele, and have been for some time.


----------



## anne (Apr 10, 2011)

thrashcomics said:


> so who is using the bkp piledrivers? i think within the next 6-9 months i want to find a cool beatup tele and hotrod it. modern hardware like sperzels and hipshot bridge. bkp pile drivers and maybe an emg spc control.



My sig links can take you to a black metal track of mine ("Kuru") with BKP Piledrivers. When it gets real heavy in the middle, that's the Piledriver bridge doubled with a Tone Zone on an open low F#, and then the first solo after that is the Piledriver neck. That pup set is ridiculous, man... Upgrading the tuners might be in order, but I'd probably keep the bridge if it's reasonable.


----------



## romper_stomper (Apr 10, 2011)

I just bought the latest mexican made telecaster standard with the ash body. I play it through a vetta II combo with a 412 extention loaded with v30's. I use the angel p ball amp for the heavier stuff and I can say that I can easily achieve the heaviest/brutally tones I need. Im really not left with any desire to change the pickups out. Maybe just the tuners but that's about it. I love the tone I can get with it.


----------



## sebby123 (Apr 10, 2011)

I just tracked this with a stock fender road worn i think it sounds heavy enough
Dirty-Tele Bassier by sebastianrizo on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free


----------

