OK, So this year I got a craving for one of these, and I don’t know why. Perhaps it was retroactive craving, because now that I have one, I’m loving it and wouldn’t want to do without it. I’ve used it on every track I’ve worked on since it arrived, bullying its way into the studio and pushing the other electric guitars aside.
I have replaced the tuners with Steinberg Gearless ones, partly because I’ve always wanted to try them, and partly because the stock tuners were probably the weakest component out of the box. Tuning the guitar up didn’t feel as solid and reliable as I felt it should be. Also – the black tuners are sexier than the old chrome ones.
I have a theory that every competent electric guitarist will, at some point in their careers, inevitably enter into an affair with the Telecaster.
Leo Fender’s prototypes were constructed in 1949 and the instrument was originally dubbed “the Broadcaster”. The name was changed in 1952 for the mass-produced model, but this was accompanied only by minor refinements to the design. It’s almost as if the archetypal electric guitar emerged fully-formed from the forehead of Zeus.
Arguably the World’s first electric guitar design, the Fender Telecaster has a clean, practical look and an honest simplicity that remains unchanged today: A solid body, bolt-on neck, with two single-coil pickups.
With a reputation for both a melodious twang and a raucous screech, the Telecaster is an unforgiving instrument – if you flub a phrase or miss a note, you can be sure your audience will notice. Despite these limitations, or strengths, the instrument has found devoted players in almost every genre of popular music, including Country, Blues, Rock and Jazz.
It’s also eminently hack-able – the affordability of the instrument and ability to hide numerous mistakes beneath its plastic scratch plate make it open to experimentation: Changing components, wiring, and even additional pickups.
Over the years, successful official variations on the basic design have been attempted by Fender, many of them very successful product lines in their own right, used by many talented musicians, and still available today: the T hinline, the Deluxe, the 1972 Custom. But you will always be able to find the original Standard Telecaster hanging on the rack in any reputable guitar store. It’s a living fossil of the stringed instrument lineage: the “tuatara” of electric guitars*.
And so, if every competent electric guitarist will eventually enter into an affair with the Telecaster, then it is time I gave in to fate.
Here’s mine. Meet ‘Tara:
Beautiful, and eminently hack-able.
* OK, I know that strictly speaking, the term “living fossil” applies to species with no close living relative species. And clearly, I’ve just documented that the Telecaster is anything but that. Well, guess what: The tuatara isn’t strictly a living fossil either. So ‘Tara it is.
What we’re About
Melodic progressive rock songs and instrumental interludes, a touch of 70’s influence but a product of the dystopian Now.
“Very smooth, hi-tech sounding delivery…” – Chris Jemmett, alt.music.yes
“This guy is awesome.” – Dazed, on the Carvin Forum.
“..on a rare occasion you just have to conclude that the prog world should be feasting upon the birth of a new and promising act. That’s exactly the case with this [first] album.”
– Theo Verstrael, DPRP.net
“I find this new album attractive, [..] slightly less appealing than the 2014 debut. But as that is often the case with great artists, let it not distract you from trying this fine album. Especially those that are interested in bands that play varied, cleverly made, well played and sung [..], this might just be your cup of tea.”
– Theo Verstrael, DPRP.net
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