Teleblasting! 50 awesome licks
Fender’s Telecaster is among the most iconic of all electric guitars. Leo’s first solidbody, the Esquire, came along in 1950, and although it was almost the same as the instrument that would become the Tele, had only one pickup. Enter the Broadcaster in 1951. The Broadcaster name was changed for legal reasons (leaving some headstocks bereft of a model name so the term ‘Nocaster’ was coined. After this momentary lapse the Telecaster as we know it, was born.
There are many reasons why the model is still in production seven decades on. But obvious reasons include its sound, playability, ease of use, simple workmanlike looks and, perhaps most important of all, versatility, which we will attempt to demonstrate here.
The Tele can be heard powering all styles of popular music, due to its pickups’ clarity and adaptability. The unique twang produced from the bridge pickup is one of the reasons it has tended to be the country guitarist’s preferred choice, and that type of sound proliferates within that musical style. But the sweet-toned neck pickup and both coils on together, also offer some fantastic tones.
Due to its genius design the Tele has been used by guitarists from all musical genres, and has been adapted and modified over the years to reflect the requirements of a diverse range of players. From the jazz-friendly semi-solid Thinline, to the heavy metal Jim Root twin-EMG humbucker equipped Telecaster, it is loved by guitarists from all musical backgrounds. From blues to rock, metal to Motown, the wonderful Telecaster stands proud. This we shall see as we delve into this month’s cover feature. What we have for you here is a plethora of licks in the style of 50 great Telecaster players, which demonstrate the variety of their techniques and the sheer brilliance of the model’s design.
The examples are grouped into six musical genres and the various Tele players within those styles. They are: Rock, Country, Pop, Blues, Soul-Funk-R&B, and Jazz. As you will see, a wide range of techniques is used throughout the musical examples, which vary in ability level from easy through to advanced, in no particular order of difficulty.
“REASONS THE TELE IS STILL MADE 70 YEARS ON INCLUDE: SOUND, EASE OF USE, PLAYABILITY, WORKMANLIKE LOOKS, AND VERSATILITY”
Naturally, it doesn’t matter whether or not you play these on a Telecaster, as you can get the benefit of the exercises on pretty much any guitar. It’ll just be the tone that’s different. There are a few exceptions to this however.
There is one example that utilises a B-bender equipped Telecaster. If you’re unsure what that is, a B-bender is a mechanical device that’s fitted to a guitar (usually a Telecaster) that mechanically bends the second string sharp by a tone. This allows for some multi-string complex pedal steel-like sounds to be achieved, as the strings above or below the bent one don’t get choked up. If you don’t have one, you can still try to bend this string as normal and adapt the licks in that exercise to compensate.
Another exception is the use of behind-the-nut bends in a couple of the examples. These are string bends that are performed by the fretting hand pushing down on the string behind the
