Why do Jazz players use Telecaster and not Les Paul?

[ms80]

This one doesn't make sense to me, is it just tradition? The Les Paul has a thicker darker sound and PAF pickups.

[Clint 55]

It's just tradition. One of my biggest pet peeves - how if 90% of jazz guitarists use a solid body it has to be a telecaster. Many solid body guitars can work well for jazz. LP is an obvious choice because it has a humbucker and fat tone. The tele does sound fine tho. It has a more heavily wound and shielded single coil and is stock as a hardtail so it works well. I use hardtail strats for everything. I adjust them with the pickups and other specs for what music I want to play.

[L50EF15]

Or Les Pauls with P90s, a spectacular jazz sound. I think it’s a combination of things, not least that there haven’t been many people to actually use the LP in that context besides Les Paul himself. Ed Bickert and Ted Greene gave the Tele jazz credibility and younger players have emulated them.

Then there’s cost (the average Les Paul is much more expensive than the average Telecaster) and weight (the average Les Paul is probably heavier than the average Tele. That said, my Tele is definitely heavier than my LP).

I love both, and both get an excellent clean tone. The LP has more lower midrange and to me is a slightly better jazz tone. Note that mine has P90s and not humbuckers, so I get the best of both worlds: more clarity than a humbucker, but denser than a Fender single coil.

[Stringswinger]

I am a jazz player and do many gigs each year on a Gibson Les Paul (IMO, they make great jazz guitars). I have owned a couple Teles (one had a Humbucker in the neck position and the other had the traditional single coil) and could never bond with them (a 25.5 scale guitar with a 1 5/8 nut is simply not optimal for me).

[Jonathan0996]

My first jazz guitar teacher kept a couple Les Pauls on stands within reach where he taught. They were 60s era guitars, I think, but that was before the concept of "vintage" was invented.

There are no rules. You just use what works for you.

[Peter C]

I like a Lester strung with 12s for jazz. At the same time, it's the world's most uncomfortable guitar for playing seated.

[Jim Soloway]

I don't think there's really any mystery. Not that many jazz players from "the tradition" used a solid body but Ed Bickert used one and played a Tele. Ted Greene played a Tele and he taught a lot of other jazz players so they used a Tele. So a new tradition developed. If Ed had used a Les Paul or if Jim Hall had used his Les Paul more, then the new tradition might have been a Les Paul.

[citizenk74]

This one doesn't make sense to me, is it just tradition? The Les Paul has a thicker darker sound and PAF pickups.

[jads57]

Les Paul's were heavy and usually harder to come by than a Tele. Also bolt on guitars are more durable and easier to take care of without any issues regarding headstock breaks etc.

And most older Jazz guitarists from the 50s and 60s weren't all that fond of solid body instruments anyway.

[bluejaybill]

I like a Lester strung with 12s for jazz. At the same time, it's the world's most uncomfortable guitar for playing seated.

Beat me to it! Love my LP, but only when standing, and most jazz players, including me when I'm playing jazz, play seated.

Telecasters are well balanced when seated.

[Marty Grass]

Teles have a harp like tone, great for chord melody. They are cheaper and lighter.

I have reissue of the 1954 LP Custom made by Heritage. Not a true reissue I suppose but virtually the same. The staple neck pickup has much more midrange but still is articulate.

The truth is you can play jazz on an oboe, so any decent guitar can suffice. Even a Jazzmaster can do.

[Gilpy]

I like a Lester strung with 12s for jazz. At the same time, it's the world's most uncomfortable guitar for playing seated.

I agree. I got beautiful jazz tones from Les Pauls but a Tele just feels better when sitting down. On a Les Paul, the upper frets are too close to the player's body.

[entresz]

I somtimes use a 1970s Les Paul Recording for jazz. It has a superb jazz tone.
So does my Tele!

The Les Paul doesn't get played as much because it's too heavy and awkward, especially when sitting.

[mr. beaumont]

Because the idea that a jazz tone needs to be dark is a myth.

Telecasters are articulate, easily moddable, easy to repair, often lightweight (for a solid body) and sound great.

Les Pauls...I dunno...like Slash played one or something?

[Gitfiddler]

A Les Paul might not be the first choice for jazz, but they can do alright in the hands of the right player...even this 21 year kid. He even has the nerve to play his Les Paul through a Fender Bassman amp. He's got it all wrong!

[Tal_175]

Because when an archtop jazz player gets GAS and starts toying with the idea of buying a Les Paul, s/he immediately has to face a dilemma: "Wait, should I get an ES 335 instead? Would an ES 335 suit modern jazz better than a Les Paul?" And the common wisdom answer is yes.

But when a jazz player considers buying a Tele, they never have to face such a dilemma. The question of Tele or Strat doesn't pose the same level of choice paralysis in jazz.

[steve burchfield]

The 335 family certainly is mighty Tasty!!!

[Robertito]

I've always liked this sound - music starts at 0:17:

I agree - the Les Paul, for me, has too narrow a waist to be played comfortably while seated, and the Telecaster usually weighs a lot less.

[markesquire]

I think there’s more to it than random accidents of history. Like the L5 and Super 400 (and many other high end archtops), the Telecaster has a 25.5 inch scale and a maple neck. It also has a shorter attack with less sustain (like archtops), as well as a usually lighter weight body that for some reason (IMO) seems to emulate an archtop sound much closer than a Les Paul. The LP is wonderful for so many things, but it sounds so thick and thunky in my experience that it’s great for some tones (maybe even ES175 tones if EQ’d right) but not as good as a Tele for traditional archtop tones.

[Cunamara]

Gibson LP's have been used for jazz by Les Paul, Clint Strong, Al DiMeola, Jack Pearson, Les Paul's accompanist at his late-life gigs whose name I don't know, George Benson, Pat Martino, Ulf Wakenius (copy), Jim Hall (briefly and he didn't like it). There are probably more.

And yet the LP indeed does not seem commonly used for jazz, even if it was developed for that purpose. For me they're just uncomfortable, but the sound is great.

[Woody Sound]

But then, many tele players substitute a humbucker in the neck position to get a more gibson-ish sound. Go figure.

[Woody Sound]

One thing that DOES bother me about LP's: The few times I've tried one, I occasionally bumped that pickup selector while enthusiastically strumming/comping, and then not knowing why the hell my guitar sound suddenly freaked out in a bad way.

[Marcel_A]

But then, many tele players substitute a humbucker in the neck position to get a more gibson-ish sound. Go figure.

There you have it. Guitarplayers (that play jazz) are not all that smart.

You want a Les Paul?
No.
You like a tele?
Seems nice, but how can i make it sound like a Les Paul?

[Runepune]

Probably a lot to do with tradition, as it is with all instruments and amps etc.

That said, the Tele is:

Cheaper
Easy to modify (bolt on neck etc)
Less prone to headstock breakage
Longer scale ("firmer" string response)
Better balanced

[Marty Grass]

I've always liked this sound - music starts at 0:17:

I agree - the Les Paul, for me, has too narrow a waist to be played comfortably while seated, and the Telecaster usually weighs a lot less.

It's true. But a strap fixes the shape problem.