Tele or Hollowbody

**the*doctor** · 05-18-2011, 05:49 AM

Hey Everyone, I've already asked in a few threads for your opinions on different guitars in the impossible quest to find a great first jazz guitar.

I'm pretty set on an Ibanez af105 right now, but just thought I would ask for your opinions on telecasters. Do any of you prefer teles over hollowbodys for jazz?

I'm mainly into players who play hollow-joe pass, wes montgomery, jim hall.
But I also really like Ed Bickert and the tone he gets and I love John scofield as well, and I could probably get closer to his tone on a tele than a hollowbody.

If I got one, I would probably also put on a humbucker in the neck.
I've seen plenty of cheap MIJ teles on ebay and I've heard they're good, so I don't want to rule them out just yet

Thanks for your opinions on this subject,
Cheers.

**fws6** · 05-18-2011, 06:43 AM

there is a typo in your title

it should read "Tele and Hollowbody"

**Subfeeder** · 05-18-2011, 06:52 AM

I recently got a tele and was in a similar quandry to you. A few things to consider:

1) If you want to just play jazz you are better off getting a hollowbody if that's the tone you want. You can get close on a tele but not all the way
2) A tele is very versatile for other styles including funk, blues, rock and, of course, country.
3) A tele has a longer scale length which makes if feel quite different from most hollowbody guitars. That can be good or bad, depending on what you want.
4) A tele is a very solid instrument and will stand up to abuse. Hollowbody guitars are more delicate
5) It may be that other musicians will not accept you so readily playing jazz on a tele.
6) Teles are smaller and may be more comfortable to play than hollobody.

I got a tele based on it's versatility and toughness. I thought I had made a big mistake at first as the brightness and twanginess were quite a shock. However, I've got a humbucker in the neck (not strictly necessary) and done some rethinking of EQ on my amp and can get a reasonable jazz tone. One other thing I'm finding about the tele - it makes you play clean and positive - which for me at the moment is a good thing.

**kris** · 05-18-2011, 07:36 AM

I prefer acoustic string attac from hollow-body guitar.
Tele is just electric.

**NSJ** · 05-18-2011, 07:42 AM

Whats that, you say, Teles and jazz? NOOOOOOOO! Whoda thunk it???

Why must we reinvent the wheel EVERY time??? It's not difficult to do a search of the 4,152 Tele related threads on this forum.

**Subfeeder** · 05-18-2011, 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by NSJ

Why must we reinvent the wheel EVERY time??? It's not difficult to do a search of the 4,152 Tele related threads on this forum.

Maybe the OP just wanted to chat on a forum. Nobody is forcing you to read or take part.

**fws6** · 05-18-2011, 08:24 AM

i dont think teles have a longer scale necessarily... Plenty archtops have 25 or 25,5 as well. All vintage Epis are 25'5

**thenoviceguitarist** · 05-18-2011, 08:43 AM

I own a tele and an archtop, and I purchased them in that order. I think you might do well to start off on the tele (extremely versatile guitars as mentioned above), and don't worry too much about the common mods on the tele just yet. IMO teles are great guitars to learn/ practice on. They are less forgiving through a clean channel and require precision in your playing. I would purchase the tele, see how you like it, and start budgeting for an archtop down the road.

**Billnc** · 05-18-2011, 09:13 AM

I personally prefer the stock tele neck pick up for a jazz sound.
I used a tele for years, but to me there is nothing like an archtop.

**thenoviceguitarist** · 05-18-2011, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by Billnc

I personally prefer the stock tele neck pick up for a jazz sound.

+1

**docbop** · 05-18-2011, 10:56 AM

Both so you can cover anything.

I believe Tele's are one of the most versatile guitar around, next maybe to a 335. Archtops are great for Jazz and limited in other styles. So if you're only going to have one guitar and play a variety of styles then the Tele maybe be the better choice.

**mr. beaumont** · 05-18-2011, 11:06 AM

That said, my tele is set up very much like a jazz guitar with heavier flatwound strings. While there's still a lot of sounds I can get with it between the pickup selections, it's still a jazz guitar for me.

I think you have to play and see what's comfortable. Neither is a bad choice.

**edwardb** · 05-18-2011, 11:46 AM

I asked myself the same question and went with a Tele because:

1. You can get a great Tele for less than a great archtop.
A top of the line Tele is far less expensive than a top of the line archtop. Also, the difference between a top of the line Tele and cheaper Teles is far less noticeable than with archtops. In addition, there are always lots of used Tele's around, driving the price down further. I am frugal.

2. Repairs are easier/cheaper.
Just try repairing a pot on an archtop. Once and never again for me. Also parts are available because there is a much larger community around telecasters.

3. I really like Tele necks.
Well there are a lot of different Tele necks, and I could find one I liked amoung them easily. Maybe its because there is more selection of necks on Teles, or I grew up playing Fender necks, but I could not find a local archtop in my price range that felt really good in my hand.

4. Comfort.
I prefer to play standing up, and found archtops not ideal for playing standing up (for me). If you play standing up, try the archtop standing up. It was a big decision factor for me.

Once I got the guitar, I did not immediately sound like Wes Montgomery, or Jim Hall, or Ed Bickert. I still sounded like me.

I found that how I fretted, and plucked the strings made a huge difference in the way that Tele sounded. I found using a soft right hand, relaxed left hand and plucking right at the heal of the neck I could get a sound I was extremely happy with. This took a long time. Eventually I started to believe a good portion of the tone was in the user, not the instrument.

However, I will warn that I still look at archtop guitars. They are so nice looking and alot of the greats played them. Some day I will probably get one to satisfy my curiosity. You don't know til you try right?

In the end the guitar has to be functional and inspiring for you. I would argue it is far easier and less expensive to find a functional Tele. However, the inspiration part is just not something that I can express in words and is up to the individual.

ECB

**Steve Z** · 05-18-2011, 12:14 PM

I currently am playing a G&L ASAT Classic thinline with neck humbucker and so far I am really happy with the playability and tone. The thinner body is definitely more comfortable for me to play, though I am sure at some point I will find a sweet thinner archtop that I enjoy as well. The Tele tone and a hollowbody are definitely two different critters. It really all comes down to personal preference.

Here is a gorgeous guitar made by Toru Nittono Guitars. Rather cool idea since I am playing Telecasters more and more. Perhaps this is what the child of a Telecaster and a Benedetto archtop would look like

I think this would set you back around $6,000... ouch!

Cheers,
Steve

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 05-18-2011, 12:40 PM

*Doctor,

Love your avatar, buy you have to admit...

Anyway, I'm in the "and" camp. A used Mexican Tele or Classic Vibe Squire is cheap, and you can always resell it for what you paid for it. Get both.

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-18-2011, 02:51 PM

As I posted recently, I have gotten Tele fever and am in the process of changing the excessively relic'ed black body on the one I scored to a nice amber burst, which I think looks more classy. The guitar has a Seymour Duncan Alnico 2 at the neck and Quarter-pounder at the bridge. I can't say enough good about these pickups--they give a nice, warm, balanced tone.

My main electric archtops are an Epiphone Joe Pass and a Godin 5th Ave. Kingpin. The latter is a particularly versatile guitar that among archtops under $1000 gives you the best bang for the buck, IMO.

My conclusion is to get a Tele first. The Squier Classic Vibes are very nice, very well made and have a good tone. At $350 you can't go wrong. Later you may want to vary your palette with an archtop, after all, you can't have too many guitars! ;-)

**the*doctor** · 05-18-2011, 05:42 PM

Thanks for all the replies

I'm thinking that I'll defintely have to get a tele further on down the track,
but get a hollowbody now. It's hard to resist the looks of an archtop, even though teles look cool in their own right.

Which tele would you recommend, are the MIJs good? I've heard good things about them, some even prefer them over MIA, or would you go for a tele copy?

Oh, and by the way, Thanks big daddy love handles, I made my avatar in photoshop for a school photography assignment

Glad you like it

**Stackabones** · 05-19-2011, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by the*doctor

Which tele would you recommend, are the MIJs good? I've heard good things about them, some even prefer them over MIA, or would you go for a tele copy?

You've really got to try 'em out for yourself.

I recently bought a Fender American Standard Stratocaster (MIA). Initially I went in and I thought I was going to get Fender Standard Strat (MIM). I played several of each of the MIMs and MIAs, and the MIAs won out easily. It was the difference between lightning and a lighting bug. I was amazed, for I didn't think that they would be so different. To me, they were. YMMV.

**the*doctor** · 05-19-2011, 02:53 AM

cool, thanks for the info, stackabones.
I might have to go to Allans Music in Sydney, they have a large selection of guitars to try out.

**blackwingchai** · 05-19-2011, 03:14 AM

i have both, Tele copy by Gregg Benette Samick and an AF84 by Ibanez, good enough for me im not gigging musician. But make me happy.

**Retroman1969** · 05-19-2011, 10:26 AM

I have both & I love both. Got a good deal on my Tele, and bought my archtop used from a starving college student, so have less than $600 tied up in both of them.
To choose just one would be tough.
There's nothing like that big, boomy, warm, lively, organic sound you get from a good archtop (seriously, nothing), but then I get on my Tele. While it doesn't have quite as big and warm a sound as the archie, it's really close, and it's so comfortable and easy to play and carry around it's like an extension of my body.

Or, you could combine three guitar types into one instrument like this Hollow-body TeleStrat....

**the*doctor** · 05-19-2011, 06:26 PM

woah, what is this insane hybrid! That's pretty cool, I bet it costs a fortune.

**lpdeluxe** · 05-19-2011, 06:59 PM

I'm a little biased, perhaps: I play a 335 as my sole electric. But the reason doesn't really have anything to do with sonic shortcomings of the Tele. I just don't feel comfortable with a solid body. I've tried: among my other guitars have been a Strat, a Les Paul and an SG. I need a nice big (but thin) body to wrap my arms around, and, after owning a Gretsch Chet Atkins and a Sheraton II (and, deep in my past, a couple of Ventura copies) I've learned that that is what suits me. I have a full-bodied jazzbo that I wanted to love, especially since it sounds so good, but the thin semi-acoustic is IT for me. I'd love to have a Tele for the sound, but its form factor drives me away.