A lot of guitars get labeled as “super versatile.” However, one guitar that often gets left out of that conversation is the Telecaster.
That is strange to me, because the Telecaster is easily one of the most versatile guitars out there.
In this article, I wanted to put that idea to the test and see how well a Telecaster works across different styles of music.
My Own Telecaster
The Telecaster I’m using here is my self-made Tele that I built years ago at a guitar building course.
This might sound a bit egotistical, but even with all the mistakes I made while building it, it is still my favorite Tele ever.
I finished this guitar in early 2014. There have also been times when it was my only electric guitar. Because of that, I was forced to find out what a Telecaster can and cannot do.
What I found was simple: it can do almost everything.
To test that idea, I used my Telecaster on a bunch of different songs and styles. I went from John Mayer-inspired tones all the way to Devin Townsend-style heaviness to see whether a Tele could handle all of it convincingly.
Mayer Style Song
For this song, I recorded three guitar tracks through the REVV D20.
I started with a fingerpicked arpeggio part using the middle pickup position. I also added a bit of drive with the NUX Steel Singer pedal and rolled back the filter control to make the tone darker.
For the second guitar track, I switched to the neck pickup and added a bit more gain. The chords still rang out clearly, and a bit of delay and reverb in post helped create the right kind of atmosphere.
For the lead part, I stayed on the neck pickup, added more gain, and used more ambience in post for a moody lead tone.
I am no expert on Mayer’s tone, but to me these sounds worked well, which honestly was not a huge surprise.
Blues Song
Next, it was time for some raunchy blues.
Once again, I used the NUX Steel Singer, rolled back the filter for a slightly darker tone, and pushed the gain quite a bit more.
Using the neck pickup for this Texas blues-style riff was a lot of fun. Again, I am not claiming to be an expert in these tones, but I do think I got close enough to what people usually expect from this style.
For the lead tone, I once again added more gain and stayed on the neck pickup. It did not sound like a Strat, of course, but it still worked really well.
Worship Style Song
For the worship-style song, I went much heavier on effects.
The idea here was to layer several guitar tracks and create a wall of ambient rock tones. For the drive sounds, I used the BOSS SD-1 for both rhythm and lead parts.
Telecasters are already heavily featured in the worship scene, so I expected this guitar to work well here. It did.
Radio Rock Song
I love Foo Fighters, and this song was heavily inspired by them.
Telecasters are absolute rock machines, and running mine through a Caline Pure Sky overdrive worked great for both rhythm and lead parts.
Sometimes the best solutions are also the simplest ones.
Pop Punk Song
Teenage me absolutely loved pop punk, and I still have a soft spot for it.
This time I needed a more aggressive drive sound, so I reached for my REVV G3. It worked great right away.
Dialing in the tones was simple, and the powerful EQ controls on the pedal helped me get exactly the kind of sound I wanted for this track.
Ambient Metal
When you say metal, I say Tele and REVV G3.
This combination can get seriously heavy while still keeping the character of the Telecaster intact. If you did not know what guitar was used, you might not guess this was tracked with a Telecaster with vintage-style pickups.
Is there any music style a Tele Can’t do?
I am glad I ended up making this experiment, because the result was clearer than I expected.
The Telecaster is an incredibly versatile guitar. It can handle almost any genre you throw at it.
I do not think it is the ideal choice for chug-heavy metal, at least not without a humbucker in the bridge. Aside from that, though, I was more than happy with the sounds I got.
Telecasters are incredibly versatile guitars, and I genuinely think every guitarist should have at least one.
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