Strat Or Tele?

One of the most common questions I get asked in the store by mostly beginner guitarists is, ‘What is the difference between a Stratocaster and a Telecaster?’. These two instruments are the most recognised and loved guitars in the music industry and are even recognized by many non-musicians as they have been used by so many artists from all genres of music… and of course, are still heavily used today!

Both of these models were designed and first introduced in the ’50s and still used by thousands of people today, in fact, most guitarists will most likely have one or both of these guitars in their collection! The Strat and the Tele typically feature an Alder body: Alder being a nice, snappy tonewood which gives the instrument its sound and bites. It is also definitely worth knowing that other tonewoods are available other than Alder, including Ash which some players believe adds more depth to the tone.

The standard Telecaster features two single coil pickups with a three-way selector switch, one of which is generally referred to as the Tele ‘Lipstick’ pickup which is in the neck position. The neck pickup is the warmer sounding of the two. The traditional Fender Stratocaster typically has three single coil pickups and a five-way selector switch giving you a few more variations and combinations of the pickups to open up a wider range of sounds and tones. Both models also have a tone dial which can be rolled off to make the pickups sound more dull and warmer; this can work well with a little bit of overdrive to give the guitar a vintage ‘bluesy’ tone.

I personally always find the Telecaster to be a much more twangy and bright sounding guitar especially in the bridge position which is the pickup towards to back of the guitar. This is the brightest sounding pickup on an electric guitar. Because of this, the Telecaster has also played a big part in country music and country rock. Brad Paisley, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard just to name a few country players, all play a Tele because of the bright, jangly tone they can produce.

The Stratocaster has been a huge part of rock n roll history and played by various artists such as; Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hank Marvin and many, many more! This range of artists just shows the true versatility of the Strat as it can produce anything from the sweet, clean tones of Shadows hits, to the gritty bite of Clapton numbers. I think it really takes a guitarist to come down and spend some time with both of these models as Fender now have so many different series and ranges, and find the right one for you!

– Nasar, Bolton