Is the Fender Telecaster only for Country Music?
A Fender Player Telecaster in Butterscotch Blonde
How many times have you heard this said? Mention a Fender Telecaster to someone and their response may be “oh those are only for country music”. I know there is good chunk of people out there that are under this impression, and will probably avoid giving the Telecaster a try because of this belief.
Not all Telecasters are single coil guitars, like this Fender Professional Deluxe with Shawbuckers pickups.
So is the Telecaster only for playing Country style music? I don’t think this idea could be any further from the truth. I believe Telecasters are one of the most versatile guitars and can be used in any musical genre.
So how did this connection to country music start? Being the first solid body electric guitar, it’s likely this was the first guitar played by many musicians.
The country misconception can probably be linked to the fact that many of today’s top country artists do in fact play a Telecaster. Whether it’s Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, or James Burton, just take a look at their guitar rig and you’ll likely see a Tele somewhere. The Telecaster is very capable of creating a great country twang, so it’s not surprising that it probably became the go to guitar for that specific tone. You just won’t find these guys playing a pointy Metal based guitar like a Jackson or Ibanez.
However also take a look at other artists like John 5, Bruce Springsteen, Andy Summers, Jonny Greenwood, or Jim Root whom all play a Telecaster. The musical spectrum is pretty much covered by Telecaster players.
It Can do so much more than Country
Ask most musicians today and they will tell you that you can play anything on a Tele. And it has been proven over the years. It’s used in rock, metal, and pretty much every musical genre that you can name. There are so many different options when it comes to what kind of pickups you can have loaded into a Telecaster. They aren’t just single coil guitars. There are a number of models out there that are equipped with Humbuckers. I personally love my Fender Professional Telecaster Deluxe. It’s loaded with two Shawbucker Humbucker pickups. This guitar can handle gain really well, and can also create some great clean tones.
Now with all this being said, Telecasters are absolutely great for Country music. That’s been proven time and time with amazing country artists. So I’m not dismissing that fact. I just hope people are open to the idea that you can create any kind of sound for any genre of music, with a Telecaster.
So if you are on the fence about trying one out because of the Country music association, let that idea go and go try a Tele!
One model I absolutely recommend and it won’t break the bank is Fender’s Player Series Telecaster. Here is a brief breakdown of the specs you can expect to find.
Fender’s Player Series Telecaster
Alder body with gloss finish
Two Player Series single-coil Telecaster pickups
“Modern C"-shaped neck profile
9.5"-radius fingerboard
String-through-body bridge with block steel saddles
This is absolutely a gig worthy workhorse of a guitar. It’s also a great at home hobbyist machine. In my opinion you do not need to upgrade anything in this guitar.
Check out my video below about the Fender Player Telecaster. It’s a made in Mexico model that sounds and looks awesome!
One of Fender’s most recent Telecaster creations, the Mexican made Player Telecaster
