First Guitar. Telecaster advice please

[nmoore1974]

Hi All

 

Hope you are all well and thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

I am just starting to learn guitar (a bit later in life) and have decided on a telecaster. For someone who admittedly doesn't know anything about them, the whole shopping experience has been daunting.

I don't have a massive budget, however I don't want anything cheap and nasty lol.

I suppose what I am looking for is a balance between quality and value for money. 

I am not a brand snob and to be honest, for someone who is still learning how to play "twinkle twinkle little star" I am not sure I would notice any difference !!!

 

The ones I have been considering are as follows - 

 

Squier Affinity Telecaster Bundle £ 239. (comes with a practice amp, gig bag, strap, stand etc etc)

Squier 40th Anniversay Gold edition Telecaster £295 (Apparently the same as a classic vibe)

Harley Benton TE 62 £133

Harley Benton TE 70 £149

Used 2013 Made in Mexico Fender Standard Telecaster £420 ( comes with all the original receipts, manuals, hard case, strap, lead, an EBOW device ??? and a tronical tuner which has an RRP of £250)

 

I am not wanting to start upgrading hardware etc just yet. I think the most that I will do is get new strings and have it set up professionally.

 

Are the above choices any good? Which would you recommend or is there something I have overlooked.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Neil

 

 

[Dad3353]

Good afternoon, Neil...

 

In your shoes I think I would go with the first on the list (the bundled amp etc...); you will notice no difference whatsoever between '63', '70', '40th Anniversary' etc when learning, and many experienced guitarists would not care either which is which. Any difference in cost, as long as budget will support it, would be better spent on at least one or two lessons from a local, reputable, guitar tutor, who will be able to show you how to start off without taking on beginner's bad habits which could bite you later on. A tuner pedal, or clip-on tuner, is a Good Idea from the start; new strings can wait for a few months. If you go to a tutor, he/she will be able to recommend a method for whatever goals you set yourself (depending on what you want to learn to play...). One may learn 'by ear', or from Tablature, or get stuck into reading Music Notation from the outset; all are valuable, Be aware, though, that the fastest way to learn is to go slowly, and this includes the 'theory' side and reading music from a score.
Hope this helps; I'll give my usual encouraging catch-phrase, which applies to many situations...

'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things sometimes tend to get slightly easier. 

[Soledad]

Just my opinion, but I'd go for a Mexico tele, second-hand. Not the one you mention but a quick look around should find one locally and it is a buyers market at the moment. Reasons I say this are I agree you won't hear the difference at first but you probably will later on. The MIM guitar will see you further forward. But the big reason for me is there are so many mint (hardly played) MIM Teles around and if you decide for a change any time later you get almost all your money back.

I'd say a near mint MIM Tele, target £350 (with gig bag) a basic tuner (the excellent Corg CA50 or similar around £20) and a small practice amp around £30.
My favourite hunting grounds are Facebook Marketplace and Ebay, maybe Gumtree.

 

Enjoy the hunt, it's part of the fun!

[ezbass]

My Tele is (or should I say was, I've made numerous changes) a Classic Vibe. Even before messing about with it, it was a great Tele and not just for the money, just great. The neck was the winner for me and still remains unchanged. A 2nd hand MiM is a solid choice, given the resale values as pointed out above, sell the Ebow on and spend that on things you need.

[randythoades]

I would agree with other posts in that a MIM tele purchased used would be a good bet. Not everyone gets on with every style of instrument.

Myself, I love the sound of a tele but dislike the feel, the weight and the look of them, so built a tele into a hardtail strat (which I love the look and feel but can't get them to sound like I want).

You might be a couple of months in and find that a tele just isn't for you, in which case you can sell it for basically the same money you paid for it. If you do like it then it is a perfectly good guitar that will last you for a long time, possibly for ever (or at least until GAS kicks in).

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Squier models, I have several myself and find them excellent instruments, but you will lose money on resale if you buy one new (and you will always yearn for one with the Fender logo on the headstock).

The Harley Bentons are cheap and cheerful and perfectly servicable, but I think best suited to someone that knows how to smooth the rough edges and get them playing their best.