Muddy Waters for my first tele?

[walshb]

I'm considering the purchase of my first tele. I don't know if I could get used to a 7.25 radius, I'm gonna try playing some tomorrow to see how they feel. But, I'm leaning towards a Muddy Waters because of all the great things I keep hearing about them, and the larger radius and frets.

I definitely want some tele twang and I kinda prefer maple necks, so would I be better off with an American series? I don't know much about the tele pickups, etc but I keep hearing how the MW sounds so good, etc. I guess I'd prefer the tone to be slightly on the 'fatter' side if that's possible without going to a fat tele. (I do want single coils only in my first tele.)

I don't know if that's enough info, but it's a start. Would the Muddy be a good choice for me?

[SteveB334]

Absolutely!! I love my Muddy. If you do find you enjoy the 7.25" radius and the vintage frets don't over look a Classic 50's tele since you prefer maple. Good luck on finding the right tele for yourself. Once you buy one you can't stop. Its a disease lol :tw59 Here is a pic of my muddy:

[walshb]

Nice pic bluesgtr20. The CAR is really growing on me! I do prefer maple mainly because my maple neck strat plays better than my rosewood, and I also like the look. But mainly I just want good tele sound at a good price, so I'm not gonna rule out the rosewood if I decide I like the MW.
I'm gonna play a lot of tele's tomorrow, I hope! Thanks for the reply and info.

[SteveB334]

thanks WalshB I feel the muddy has the greatest bang for buck and combonation of features. I am now a big fan of the ash body/rosewood neck combo. The rosewood neck seems to tame some of the natural highs and snappiness of an ash body.
Is there any specific tele players tone you are going after? Buchanan, Bloomfield, Gatton etc...?

[walshb]

Nope, no specific player in mind. Early Zeppelin, "Middle of the Road" by Pretenders, "Emminence Front" by the Who, when I hear these songs I just know I can't even come close to these tones with my strats.
But I think not having a specific tone in mind will make my choice easier, I'm not trying to nail anything in particular at this time. I'm looking for something that plays easy and has that twang, mainly. Thanks again for your assistance!

[SteveB334]

Originally posted by walshb
Nope, no specific player in mind. Early Zeppelin, "Middle of the Road" by Pretenders, "Emminence Front" by the Who, when I hear these songs I just know I can't even come close to these tones with my strats.
But I think not having a specific tone in mind will make my choice easier, I'm not trying to nail anything in particular at this time. I'm looking for something that plays easy and has that twang, mainly. Thanks again for your assistance!

Those are great choices. Have you ever listened to Buchanan? I hear ya on the strat thing. The only strat that had a bridge pup of any use to me is my robert cray strat.

As for twang I never had a tele that couldn't twang. Some did it better than others but it was there. The best advice is what you already know...play all you can get your hands on.
Let us know if you have anymore questions and we want a full report on your search tommorrow.

[walshb]

As far as I know, I've heard very little by Roy Buchanon, only heard his name quite a bit. I'll have to check him out if I get a tele, eh?
The classic 50's look cool, if I can handle the neck radius; I'd like to get used to it because I'm ruling out a lot of good guitars otherwise.
Full report will be coming, probably later today. I'm an impulse buyer so if I find one I like at a good price, it'll be mine. I plan to hit a few stores in Nashville today.

[Tele-Bob]

walshB, make sure you try as many Teles as possible before settling on something. My personal Tele-Quest took me across the country and after having played 80+ Teles, I played the one I now own. I know that may seem a little obsessive, but guys our age, who have suddenly heard the call of the Tele cannot settle for just any decent Tele we come across. Just go out and play as many as you can and make up your mind that you're not buying one today. For the price of a new MW Tele, there are several excellent used offerings available as well. Go with your ears, not your eyes. And once you've narrowed it down to 3 or 4, take your amp with you and try them out again. I don't mean to be so "over the top" about this, but Teles vary from one guitar to next possibly more than any guitar I've ever played. You've been playing for a long time and have developed a good ear. Take some time to develop that ear a little further to the point where you actually know exactly what you're looking for in a Tele sound. The simple, humble Tele can soothe, excite, and satisfy when the right one finds its way into your hands. That same model can shreek, scratch and nauseate if it's not the right one for you. Sorry if I sound a little overboard on this subject, but buying a Tele was one of the more gratifying experiences of my GAS life. It is not something to be rushed, but savored. Much the same way as maturity has taught us to play a little slower and with a little more expression. OK, I'll go away now. Enjoy the journey.

[walshb]

Aw, man, I was really looking forward to buying one, too! LOL.

That's the problem, not knowing what I want. I'm gonna play a bunch of them today, but I know myself well enough to know that if I find one I like, it'll have a good chance of coming home with me. It'll be based more on feel, most likely, because I don't have a tele tone in mind that I'm looking for. I think it'll be difficult at this point, to accurately decipher the differences between them unless I can plug them all into the same amp, in the same store.

Being my first tele, it probably won't be my last and I'm not opposed to trading or upgrading later on, after me ear develops a little more to the tele sound.

But I appreciate the advice and will 'try' to avoid a quick purchase. If you could tell me more about what you were looking for, it would be appreciated as always, Tele-Bob.

[Tele-Bob]

Cool man.

It happened to me exactly the way it happened to you. I started to hear guitar tones that I really liked and soon discovered that many of them were produced on a Telecaster. Then that Tele sound became fixed in my heard and the search began. In the beginning I played a bunch of Teles that were lifeless sticks and I thought that I had somehow been mislead into thinking I wanted a Tele in the first place. The real problem was that I wasn't approaching the guitar like a Tele. It's a different vibe and it requires a different approach. Once I had started to appreciate this difference and act on it, (and I know many here will agree), I began to notice that the stuff I'd play on a Tele was somehow different than what I'd play on my Strat or other guitars. The Tele seemed to bring out a different style from me because of it's sound and vibe.
In searching, the guitar had to play great. One thing for sure though, I didn't like the ones that played real slinky. It seemed that a slightly, just slightly stiffer feel seems to compliment the way a Tele is played. It makes you "work for it" a little and the result is a sound that has a bit more "conviction" to it. Anything less than 100% commitment will sound trite on a Tele. They are perhaps the coolest guitar made in their own rite. Take your time. Develop that "Tele-ear" a little, and then make a choice. In my own experience, the guitars which have taken me the longest to find were the ones I suffered the least amount of Post GAS Depression over. Good luck. The thrill of the hunt IS all it's cracked up to be!

[walshb]

Well, I went to 3 different stores in Nashville today, and none of them had a Muddy Waters. None of them had a classic 50's either. I played several 52 RI's and didn't really care for them because of the neck position being so dark. A salesperson said there was a capacitor on the neck pu I could remove, but I didn't really want to buy the guitar not knowing how it would sound later after I removed the capacitor. I didn't really run across a neck that I felt I couldn't live with; one I played had a baseball bat for a neck, now I can't recall, maybe a 60's strat? It felt good though, real good but the guitar was out of my price range.
I played several Hwy 1's and I liked them a lot. I played some MIM's and they were pretty nice also.

I wasn't even gonna try the one I ended up with, because of the color and the rosewood neck. When I couldn't find a Muddy, I decided I really wanted maple and I would have preferred a blonde with black pickguard, or a sunburst. But the salesperson at Guitar Center got down this chrome red tele with rosewood, and I tried it only for comparison purposes. For some reason it stood out, I kept plugging in other guitars and coming back to the chrome red one, which was also more than I wanted to spend. It had a slightly darker or meatier tone, and in the end, I let my ears decide, as you recommended, Tele-Bob. I bought the one that sounded the best to me, it's an American series. I just plugged it into the Chubster, and I'm pretty sure I made the right choice but I have 30 days to bring it back if I decide for some reason I don't like it. I don't think that's gonna happen though. :nya
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and assistance! I am now a happy tele owner!

[SteveB334]

Congrats WalshB, its like an american muddy with that color combo lol. Seriously you made a great choice. Enjoy it:tw59

[walshb]

Yeah, come to think of it, I guess I could put some different knobs on it and try to pass it off....nah! I think the saddles would still give it away. LOL

[BlueFrogs]

Congrats WB! Looks like you're a happy man!

[Tele-Bob]

Congrats man! Sounds like you picked a winner. I'll share some Rivera/Tele settings with you if you'd like. I love my Tele through the Chubster.

[walshb]

Thanks Tele-Bob! I'd be happy to check out the settings when you have time to post them. I'm playing around with it and trying different settings, this tele seems to like the ninja boost better than some of my other guitars.

[Sven]

Originally posted by walshb
Well, I went to 3 different stores in Nashville today, and none of them had a Muddy Waters. None of them had a classic 50's either.

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and assistance! I am now a happy tele owner!

I should have warned you. Muddy Teles are not usually in stock, and a lot of shop owners have never seen one. You almost always have to hunt for a while, or have the shop order one for you to try.

[SteveB334]

Originally posted by Sven
I should have warned you. Muddy Teles are not usually in stock, and a lot of shop owners have never seen one. You almost always have to hunt for a while, or have the shop order one for you to try.

Thats true Sven I forgot about that too. The only one I ever saw was in a Sam Ash in NJ and it was beat to shit

WalshB You gonna get a pic of that badboy up here or what?:tw59

Enjoy!!

[walshb]

I could post a pic, but I'm gonna leave the Fender decal on the pickguard for a while yet. I have 30 days and if I do decide to return it (not likely) I want it to be in the same condition as when I bought it. (It's perfect, not a mark on it.)
It was hanging up too high to reach, and the salesperson thought I was probably the first person to play it in the store.

Anyway, it looks just like this one on the Fender site.

http://www.fender.com/gear/gear.php?partno=0118400

[Tele-Bob]

walshb you are so correct! The Tele loves the Boost mode on the Rivera.

If you're not using the Boost mode, make sure to pull the "Notch" knob. It will give you a very convincing, traditional Fender amp sound, (without the flabby lows). Keep the Master Vol up around 8 and then bring up the pre-amp to desired volume level.

Nothing like a new guitar to get you out of bed early and diggin the sound.

[photoweborama]

Yes, you got my guitar. I love mine also. Not a bad choice at all.

[walshb]

Thanks again Tele-Bob. I did try the notch again last night and noticed a huge difference.

photo, yeah, that looks exactly like mine, sticker and all! LOL!

[Tele-Bob]

OK walshb, here's my cross between a Super Reverb and a Deluxe Reverb on my Rivera. This gives me that sweet Deluxe chime, but with a tighter bottom end and a bit more clean head room. My Tele sounds great on these settings.

The settings are posted as you would set them from left to right on the amp face.

Channel Two

Low Gain Input

Volume 4

Treble (pulled) 4

Middle (pulled) 4

Bass 5

Master 8

Reverb - to taste

Presence 4

[walshb]

Excellent, I'm gonna print this out and try it tonight! Thanks again, Tele-Bob!

[walshb]

Most excellente sir Tele-Bob!!! When I tried out the tele yesterday, the amp I chose was a Deluxe. These settings sound so close to what I heard yesterday, it's amazing.

I love the bass on this setting, it's nice and full but still very tight, as you mentioned. Man, I'm gonna have to play around some more with this amp, I'm still learning and I've had it over a year now!

Thanks for sharing! Hope you get that CD so I can feel like I helped you out somehow.

[Tele-Bob]

Glad to be of service. You meet the nicest people playing Riveras! Your Strat sounded great through your Rivera at the Jam in Arkansas.

[walshb]

Yeah, thanks to you dialing it in for me! LOL! It was great listening to you play it!

[Tele-Bob]

I love hearing other people play through my gear. It gives me a rare chance to really hear it.

[Spazz]

The only strat that had a bridge pup of any use to me is my robert cray strat.

Word.