Old97s.com

I noticed that Ken played a couple of different Telecasters at the show and I really like the sound he gets out of them. I'm looking at getting one soon, probably the Standard because I can't justify paying more than about $600 since I just bought another bike seeing as the wife would probably kill me. :-)

Is there any way that any of the more musically inclined members of the forum could tell me what he's using to get it? Is it the type of Tele, or does it have more to do with pickups and effects boards? Any help is much appreciated. 

What's up alohaboy?

The Telecaster is an AMAZING guitar, so you're making the right choice. As far as what you spend, don't sweat it for right now, get the best you can afford and use it to experiment with the sound to get things right.

I play with a band out of Atlanta called Missy Gossip and the Secret Keepers. We do alt-country/Americana/indie type music. (Think Old 97s meets Patsy Cline meets the rev, etc.)  For the band, I play a Nashville Signature Telecaster. It's like a standard tele with an added third pickup between the bridge pickup and the neck pickup. I feel it gives you that gritty twang you expect from a telecaster, but allows you to fatten the sound up when needed. I got mine for under 500 bucks out the door at Guitar Center because it had a ding on it.

 When it comes to what type of setup you should look for if you're trying to get that same kind of sound, I wouldn't put too much money into it right now. The twang is going to be a big product of effects, setup,  and playing style before the guitar. If you're just starting out, I would recommend getting a Squier tele and learning some good country chops to build a foundation before sinking money into a nicer tele. (Youtube or guitartricks.com)

 Hope that helps! Good luck and enjoy the new tele!

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. The way I am, I need to go with the Fender Tele, not the Squire. I'm just anal like that. I bought an Epiphone Les Paul years ago, and was just never that happy with it. I've gotten a better ear for what music I like since I've gotten older and matured, so this would be something I'd stick with. I did the same thing with my acoustic. I got an Epiphone acoustic with a cutout and pickup because that's what I liked at the time, but soon realized I didn't like how it sounded for all the stuff I played. I eventually got a regular Martin acoustic and absolutely love it.

Thanks again for all of the info.

 

Jeff 

Hey Jeff,

 Best of luck w/ the tele. I recommend checking out a standard tele, nashville tele, or one of the other american teles that aren't outrageous. (Baja teles are good, so are the highway ones)

 Also, I'd recommend getting either a fender reverb amp or a vox, they have a great sound to push that tele twang out. As for the acoustics, I was never a big epiphone fan, they just didn't have anything I liked. If you're looking for a new acoustic axe, I would recommend checking out Saga musical insturments. They make a line of flat top acoustics called Blue Ridge that are sweet. They're pretty inexpensive for the quality of insturment you get. When you're in a music store, check one out, I think they have a beefier sound than Martin acoustics. (unless you're dropping several grand on that Martin)

A thread right up my alley (as I listen to Uncle Tupelo No Depression!!). I also play in a (as we say) AlternativeCountryBluesRock band out of Chicago called Echo Park. I've got an American Standard Tele, and American Fat Tele (as well as a couple of SG's) that I play through my Vox ToneLab SE and onto my Fender Hot Rod. I agree that twang is somewhat determined by you style of playing, but don't underestimate the Fender twang factor. It took me years (and lot's of equipment) to find my 'sound', but nothing helped more than getting a Fender amp. Even my Gibson SG's can get some twang (it works for Gary Louris) through the Fender amp.

Yeah, the Fender amps are definitely the kings of twang. I prefer the reverb series over the hot rods or devilles. I play through a 66 deluxe reverb, and it has enough crunch and twang to really roll some rocking bends. SGs can sound really twangy if you play them right, Unknown Hinson plays an SG a lot of the time and you would think it was a tele by hearing it.

 

I talked to Ken a while back about this. If you want the sound of the early 97's albums, with the stronger twang, get a telecaster and put some Van Zandt "True Vintage" pickups in it. http://www.vanzandtpu.com/pickups.html

 

I put them in a Hwy 1 telecaster and it sounds awesome.

 

He changed pickups in one of his teles right before Fight Songs, but that's the ones with twang.  

 

 

Well it depends on which Telecaster you want to sound like. If you like the sound of his black one better (the one with the flame sticker) then you need to replace the bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. or Little 59er. His sunburst Tele (with the "97" sticker) looks like it has regular Tele pickups in it, but they could be custom.

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The Easy Way gets harder all the time...

I go through an American Deluxe tele with the single coil and lipstick pickups, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp, and a volume pedal, generally, when I'm chasing that sound. For some real grunt, I kick in a Route 66 pedal from Visual Sound. 

 

If you want a fatter sound, I've been told you can get the pickup switch reqired for fairly cheap, which changes the pickup selection you have from 3 options to 4 options. Basically the middle switch is reqired so you can have it in series and in parallel. Changing this gives you a fatter tone, as you would get from a humbucker. I'm planning to invest on this in the near future.