Let's talk Telecasters/Partscasters

Chewie5150

Chewie5150

Fractal Fanatic
In another thread I shared my recent guitar shopping journey and one that stood out to me is LSL guitars. I've heard of them in name only but this week was first time I actually put hands and played one. These Tbone Tele's they make are so nice. I would love to have a tele in my future. This one just came in to local shop today. Man look at the wood. Guy told me LSL used to be a furniture maker and from his contacts in that world gets primo pick of woods before all the big boys do. So the story goes....
 

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Not me.

My only tele is a reasonably decent custom build by a part-time builder no longer in operation. I spec’d it out. My only nitpicks with the actual build is one high fret that could not be sorted out by builder or my tech and the finish was darker than I had asked for (he passed the shade I wanted).

High fret means a trip out of town, and a friend stripped it and stained it for me. V3 will be artwork by Mathias Chau, hopefully this year. In choosing lumber, I didnt think about neck weight combined with the fat profile so it’s a little neck heavy as well. I have considered a second neck for fun. Tonally it is A1.

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Have heard great things about LSL. Never tried one though.

My main (favorite guitar) is a Sadowsky tele I got in 2018. Not a traditional tele setup pickup wise, but hey.. it chugs. :p Ordered another more traditional spec'd one a while back but there's been major delays with pandemic/supply chain etc. IMG_7390.jpg.jpeg
 
Used to have a tele, many years ago, loved it. Added a humbucker and a D'Armond between the two stock pickups, still loved it. Got rid of it at some point for some reason, oops.

They're great.
 
Chewie5150 said:
Yeah I'm not sure why my sudden love fest lately for Tele style guitars. maybe its all the Yellowstone I've been watching. The cowboyin' encroaching into my subconscious
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I asked a former Fender employee what the equivalent of an avri would be (this was when we just had american original) and he said the vinteras. Player series are also a solid bet but have crept in price along with more expensive guitars.

I vote start relatively traditional, maybe branch out from there.
 
I'm thinking of driving back to the guitar shop today and check out that LSL. Damn me for looking at their website. 2 guitar purchases in a week would be out of my norm. The woods on that one are hypnotizing me. yeah the player and performer series aren't bad at all. little over a year ago I picked up a great deal on an American Performer Strat
 
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Chewie5150 said:
Has anyone tried out the Suhr Andy Wood model or say the Ritchie Kotzen Fender ?
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I haven’t played either but would LOVE to give both a spin; Andy’s because Andy is the man and there’s no way that thing can sound or play poorly. The Kotzen because I heard it has a giant neck on it and I love big necks on Fenders.

I’m most likely going to partscaster my first Tele, but if I suddenly found myself with a couple grand to blow, I wouldn’t hesitate to snag an Andy Wood model, even without ever playing it before. I LOVE the look of them and while Andy’s not from this planet, the tones he gets out of them are ridiculous.
 
Chewie5150 said:
Has anyone tried out the Suhr Andy Wood model or say the Ritchie Kotzen Fender ?
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I've heard that the Kotzen model has a massive neck profile...

I'd love to try the Andy Woods or Mateus Asato Suhr T-styles... Or an Anderson Top-T.

I'd really like a Tele but with a trem.

The one I have now is a parts guitar with a conversion baritone neck from Warmoth. Cool, but not typical :)
 
Chewie5150 said:
Has anyone tried out the Suhr Andy Wood model or say the Ritchie Kotzen Fender ?
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I have the Kotzen Tele and yes it has a big neck. Vintage 1" all the way up. But I have to say the thing plays like butter. It's oddly comfortable and I never get any hand fatigue like I sometimes get on thinner necks. Jumbo frets, 12" radius and silky finish. I personally love it, and I didn't think I would....then I played it. I like the pickups in it as well.
I've played the Andy Wood Suhr and it's a great guitar- It's a Suhr after all. I just didn't gel with the somewhat too thin neck profile though. For reference, I'm very comfortable on PRS, Gibson and most Fender type neck profiles. Just can't do the shredder thin neck thing.
The LSL guitars I've tried have all been fantastic as well.
I also have to say the newer Fender Ultra Telecasters I've tried are really nice. They have a great neck profile, compound radius and play effortlessly.
 
The Kotzen Teles also have the forearm contour and the cutaway on the back so are more comfortable than the regular Tele shape. I didn’t find the thick neck much of a problem, was easy to get used to, but it was really heavy. I had the MIJ sunburst model, it weighed a tonne. Still my favourite looking Tele though.

I like the look of the Suhr Mateus Asato signature Tele, but they’re priced a bit too high for me, so I made a replica out of Warmoth parts for about a third of the price, and was able to order the body from Warmoth with the comfort cuts I liked from the Kotzen Tele.
 
@unix-guy I think I need to change my answer to your question about how the neck compares. I went back to the shop today and played two LSL tbones. The necks are very similar to my EBMM axis as they are quite small. They are a medium C shape , easy to play . But I wouldn't say anything like my Charvel now that I've had a second assessment.
 
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