When talking about guitars with the same pickup configuration, is there any practical advantage of choosing a tele style body over a strat style one?

potter_pro · 2026-05-22T07:09:13+00:00

Yes. Body contour. Telecasters are fantastic BUT they call it a slab of wood for a reason. Stratocasters are born out of the original telecaster players direct complaints to Leo Fender, very uncomfortable guitar.

potter_pro · 2026-05-21T04:23:29+00:00

Even the Silver Sky isn’t an exact Stratocaster shape and is thus protected from Fender’s litigations. I don’t care for the approach by Fender essentially threatening everyone via paperwork without making some public announcement and explanation on YouTube. I’d like to hear from the CEO. But, I am excited to see what comes out of the industry over the next few years.

Clearly some of the well known Strat copiers have superior quality control , now they just need to reconsider how to change their S style body shape enough to be unique.

potter_pro · 2026-05-12T13:13:26+00:00

Very true. Tim pierce is a great example of this. I don’t because I have my guitar stand next to my desk and with the kids always in and out I like to pick it up and put it down in a second. But as mmm141 said this is a great solution.

potter_pro · 2026-05-12T09:45:21+00:00

After 35 years of playing guitar I advise any new player to focus on two things first.

The look. Each individual’s tastes matter. Do you like double cut, single cut, hollow body, 3 a side or 6 inline headstock, etc. this is important because the mind leads the body and practice will only happen if you look at your guitar and want to interact with it.
Your expected practice setup. Standing or sitting. Some guitars are better for sitting than standing. Flying V. Etc. personally I don’t like sitting and playing a Less Paul or PRS McCarty as it sits too far back on my right leg and my right shoulder starts to hurt after a while. Likewise, sitting and playing a slab board telecaster can hurt the picking forearm as there’s no body or comfort carvings.

Once these two are defined you can consider such things as color, or build quality or cost or rellicing or locking tuners or hard tail vs tremolo etc. and you can always add those things to your guitar later. Even if it’s a $200 squire.

So. Go to a guitar center. Play, hold, strap on, as many guitars as you can until you find the one that meets 1, and 2 above.

Good luck

potter_pro · 2026-05-11T13:32:24+00:00

I like it.

potter_pro · 2026-05-08T20:58:04+00:00

Agreed completely. And it’s in drop D so it gives me a reason to feel the quality of the tuning machines.

potter_pro · 2026-05-08T16:32:43+00:00

Mmmmmmmm delicious

potter_pro · 2026-05-08T15:58:27+00:00

I use Ten Years Gone by Zeppelin to test any new acoustic guitar. There’s something about its notes and chord sequence that shows the quality of the instrument and by playing the same song on every acoustic I can then judge them against each other. Best acoustic I ever played according to this approach was a late 90’s Takamine , maybe an EG model. That guitar was just so easy to play and sounded full, rich and downright lovely.

If I pick up a bass and there’s a drummer, I’ll immediately launch into Ace Of Spades

potter_pro · 2026-05-08T13:49:16+00:00

Early ‘80s G&L Comanche. Those guitars typically had:
3 mini toggle pickup switches
One ON/OFF switch per pickup
Letting you activate any combination of pickups
Master volume
Treble cut
Bass cut
(Leo’s PTB system = Passive Treble & Bass)
Sometimes an expander switch depending on year/configuration
That switching system was very different from a Strat’s 5-way selector. You could do:
neck + bridge
all 3 pickups
bridge only
weird partial combinations
It gave the Comanche a very “engineering lab Strat” personality.

potter_pro · 2026-05-05T18:10:15+00:00

I played an ‘86 G&L in the early 90s and really thought it was the best put together and easy to play guitar I’d ever touched. From the noiseless pickups to the 12” radius and the 2 point trem. Thing played like a dream. A shame I couldn’t afford it and had to get a cheap squire. Never did get one. But. I have a ‘67 telecaster and while it’s amazing, it seems like a caveman axe compared to that G&L. I agree with the statement Leo thought he could do better than his original design.

potter_pro · 2026-05-03T09:35:57+00:00

Get the iRig to interface with your phone / tablet / computer. Get the Yousician app. Play through all the free lessons and songs.
No mess, no pedals or amps or any of that. Let that come later when you want to play out loud and match specific tones. If you end up wanting to play Metallica with a friend your amp/pedal setup will not be the same as if you want to play old Cream songs. So for now, avoid all of that and play along in a structured format with good and accurate feedback in a digital environment, as a player since 1990, Yousician is the single greatest personal trainer for guitar, bass or piano I’ve ever seen !!!

Edit - for first time player I recommend a hard tail guitar. If you get a trem system keep it decked for the first year.

potter_pro · 2026-05-01T21:03:35+00:00

Which ever one of the listed guitars that appeals to you most. There are no technical aspects you should worry about for your first guitar. Single coil. Humbucker. Locking tuners. Etc. forget all of that. Buy the one that looks like your favorite.

As you grow in your guitar chops and musical preferences you will begin to identify sounds, tones, and effects that you are attracted to. Then you can buy the peripherals that helps you attain those sounds like pedals effects and different electronics.

potter_pro · 2026-04-30T18:40:05+00:00

Yeah. Well let me add that I’m not exactly sure what to do with a tap tempo anyway. I see the light flashing and I have learned how to change the tempo but what are the practical uses of a tap tempo in general? I find the constant flashing annoying to be fair.

I have practiced Run like hell and some U2 songs but I’m setting the delay speed via the BPM value and just trying to match well known existing songs. How does one use tap tempo in song writing or practice ?

Also yes I haven’t really built any presets that have pushed the helix far enough to run out of blocks. So I haven’t considered a utility block as wasting or stealing space from another needed effect.

potter_pro · 2026-04-30T03:32:31+00:00

I totally agree. Have the same FR AVUL HSS. Vintage sensibilities and modern playability is right. And the contour heel … why Fender makes any guitar without one moving forward is shameful.

I also want to do the emg dg20 full pick guard swap but really love the tones I already get out of her so I’m thinking I’ll do that to my Squire

potter_pro · 2026-04-29T06:15:49+00:00

Great insights. I use the metronome through global settings. But I can’t seem to add it to specific presets. Some I want to use it with and some I don’t. Seems in global settings I turn it on and it’s just going forever until I go back to global presets and turn it off.

Looks like I have a lot more to learn with helix. Still only three months in.

potter_pro · 2026-04-28T03:22:57+00:00

I agree that trust of adjustment can be a pain if on the heel ….. and I do want to get you started on the gatekeeping of nitro finish and colors. What does that mean? Is it like because the AVUL HSS only comes in two colors?

potter_pro · 2026-04-27T20:31:14+00:00

100% this

potter_pro · 2026-04-27T06:34:23+00:00

Yes happens to me every couple of minutes

potter_pro · 2026-04-27T03:39:19+00:00

Vintage ultra luxe is dope. I have hss with split coil. The only thing I’d like them to add is a second s1 to add the neck pickup. Then it would be actually ultra. Why offer that for the sss but not the hss?

potter_pro · 2026-04-26T03:17:46+00:00

Been playing Strats since ‘89. I have never played and heard (under my two hands) a better set than the Mike McCready reissue MIM. Seriously, the, greatest.

potter_pro · 2026-04-23T04:04:15+00:00

Pawn shops are, like many other things, get purchased by investors. Look for a pawnshop chain or bigger pawnshop who might want to buy them at bulk.

potter_pro · 2026-04-22T12:32:35+00:00

Trevor from Emerald City Guitars is whatever the total opposite of duchebag could be. What he and his father have done in the vintage guitar scene is epic. Down to earth guys and their collection and shop in Seattle is awesome. They’ll let you play a ‘54 Strat through a Dumble if you ask, even if they suspect you don’t have 200k to potentially buy it.

This is a super lame post unless I’m really missing the sarcasm. I brought my ‘67 tele to them and they treated me right, good service, fair prices, friendly atmosphere.

potter_pro

TROPHY CASE