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I really love both, but it seems like most people think the strat is more quot;versatilequot;, just has more tones in its arsenal.

I would basically agree with that, but I'm more of a 1/5 person anyway, so I can understand why people would prefer the tele, it's just got that mean, nasty bite and that idiosyncratic quot;twangquot; that is unique to the tele.

But, nothing can soar quite like a strat.

How do you guys quot;seequot; it. Also, I've always been curious as to what model is more popular in terms of overall sales if anybody has insight into that.

I like them both..... but i always lean towards Strats as i like to customize them.... I love strats with Humbuckers and with a tele you are stuck with only one postion as the tele bridges only offer one place for a humbucker... I prefer my humbuckers loaded a little father away from the bridge then you can do on a tele.... I prefer guitars with trems...

Teles.... love the square body feel... Love the string thru design as they offer better tone... One of my home made strats i made string thru and left the edges square like a tele.... i didn't do the forearm or the tummy cut like most strats... It feels great!

AS far as a stock instrument i prefer strats... but oneday i want a stock tele too.....

WhoFan

I have one of each and they have their own sounds and uses.

One thing I like more about Strats are the body and arm contours.

Both are invaluable as each has it's own voice. I have both, but lean toward the Tele due to the more comfortable placement of the controls.


Originally Posted by JumpMarineBoth are invaluable as each has it's own voice. I have both, but lean toward the Tele due to the more comfortable placement of the controls.Ya i do find i hate the placement of the standard strat volume controll.... I like to rest my hand on the bridge...

TELES ROCK!!!

next question!

I love my tele more than any guitar I have ever owned and since mine is a Nashville Tele I can get really nice Strat tones out of 2 and 4!!!!

If it were a quot;deserted islandquot; type of scenario and I had to pick only one, I would go with a Strat with no hesitation.

In the Tele's defense, however, it is a very cool guitar. They both have that Fender-y feel, but the Tele seems more resonant to me, probably because of the string-thru bridge. I like the simplicity of the instrument too, and I prefer the location of the jack on a Tele. Last but certainly not least, there is no substitute for the gorgeous tone of that Tele bridge pickup.

The Strat and its derivatives are the most popular stringed instruments in the world for a reason. They are much more versatile than a Tele, and definitely much more comfortable to play. The Tele's wimpy neck pickup definitely loses out to the Strat's sweet neck tone, and there's no substitute for that bridge/mid notch tone. I also like the bridge pickup solo on the Strat (I love those quot;surfyquot; leads), although not as much as the Tele's bridge. Plus with all the possible configurations of Strat out there, you are much more likely to find your ideal instrument in a Strat.

The Strat has a lot more tones than a Tele...especially if you use a Blender Pot or Mega-Switch to get the neck and bridge pickups combined.

The Strat has a better sounding neck pickup than a Tele...and my Teles have a better sounding bridge pickup than my Strats.

But a Tele sustains better and being a hardtail, I can bend further and more accurately on my Teles...especially if I'm doing pedal steel type double stop bends.

Although I don't like the neck pickup on most Teles, even vintage Teles, I do love the tone of a stock Tele neck pickup combined with the bridge pickup and that's one of my very, very favorite rythym tones...the Strat does not have that same tone even when the neck and bridge pickups are combined with a Blender Pot ot Mega-Switch and I miss that tone when I play my Strats.

The Tele doesn't have those killer neck amp; middle pickups combined and middle amp; bridge pickups combined tones...and I miss those tones when I play my Teles.

All in all, there's things to love about both of them and I own a few nice Strats and a few nice Teles. Wouldn't want to be without any of them!

Lew

The Tele bridge pickup is a beautiful thing, and my favorite type of lead pickup -- and I'm not into country twang. I happen to like a good Tele neck pickup as much as a Strat neck pickup, but I have Teles with full-size and mini HBs and a Phat Cat at the neck that I really love. You may only get 3 tones from a standard Tele configuration, but for me they are all great tones that I actually use. I still can't find much use for 3 out of the 5 positions on a Strat (hint -- they all involve the middle pickup). I have a few Strats, but my Teles have my heart and ears.

I'd have to say Strat. It seems to fit me a lot better than a Tele. I prefer the Strat pickups, as Lew said, neck/middle and bridge/middle tones are awesome! The tremolo bridge is good too, despite the fact that hardtail Strats have the edge in tone, I love the trem. I have played lots and lots of Strats, and I prefer them to any other guitar out there, by a long way.

In fairness to the Tele, I haven't played that many of them. I have played 1 Squier, 1 MIM and one MIA. All three were really nice, and seemed to feel just as nice in the neck as any Strat.

To me tele's are just more uncomfortable, aside from the new american deluxe tele, and the sound of a strat is better, hell the neck and neck middle positions alone beat out the tele.

I'm pretty much of a Fender guy (as you can see below), but if I had to choose one it would be a Strat.

I like both, but I feel at home on a strat. I'm just so used to the electronic layout, that I can't get comfortable with the Tele's clunky 3 way switch.

I think I'd like Teles more if I had a Nashville type; with Surfer neck/middle and a Hot tapped tele bridge. I might put together one of those, and use a regular strat's 5 way on it.

I used to be quot;Stratquot; guy (I still have 2 of them) but I prefer the feel of a Tele these days. It simply has a tighter and more precise feel than the Strat. The Strat feels too quot;loosequot; to me these days. The neck pickup on mine sounds really good and I love it. The Tele also has a wider tonal spectrum and it allows me to colour my tone a bit better, by varying picking style, pick angle, picking position, etc... I wouldn't mind if mine had a tummy cut and a forearm cut and I wouldn't say no to a quot;middlequot; pickup, although its not really necesary.

Last but not least it suites me better :
Marin

Tele with a mid pickup!

J/K I couldnt answer that question. a tele can get thick with the neck pickup and ballsy with the bridge. but a strat got that quack man... I dont know which I would choose. Probably a strat though

I love my tele, theres just some kinda magic about a big flat slab of wood with a maple neck and some simple electronics.

Altho, that said, I have serious gas for a strat too, but I'd never sell the tele.I'd think the strat is a more popular guitar, because country players use teles and they got the stereo type that they can't rock. Altho IMO a tele can sound far harder and meaner than any strat.

I don't have any more strats. does that answer your question

I prefer a Strat for the versatility and the bigger neck pu tone. I love the quot;cluckquot; positions (#2 and #4) and I have mine wired so #3 is bridge and neck for some pinchy twang (don't care much for the middle pu by itself).

You can also get a big tone from the Strat bridge if you put the right one in there. The Twangbanger is designed to do just that, though I haven't tried one and can't say for sure. I do know the Antiquity Custom Bridge will do the trick.

On the other hand, I would be very interested in a semi-hollow Tele with a neck-bucker or underwound Phat Cat...

I love both for different reasons.

I really like the body contours and neck pickup tone of a strat, as well as the wang bar.

I really like the middle and bridge tones of a tele, and the tighter, less airy tone.

Ideally, I'd like two strat bodies with tele necks. They would have strat pickguards with minimal routing underneath, tele bridge pickups and strat neck pickups. one would be hardtail, the other with a wang bar and locking keys.