Best Country Guitar?

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 30 Nov 2004 6:55 pm

Speaking of Brent Mason, I just got the Players DVD a few days ago and on a couple of songs, Brent played a Peavey Reactor AX. I couldn't tell a nickles worth of difference in the sound of it and his old primered Tele. His Reactor looked to be stock, with the original double blade pickups. I have one of these and it plays and sounds as good as my USA Tele Nashville Deluxe , and the quality is as good also. The Reactor AX's come up on Ebay quite often for $150 to $200.

------------------
Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 30 Nov 2004 7:05 pm

First choice: Tele & Fender tube amp. My personal preference is 3-saddle bridge, brass saddle, no extra caps or resistors, 500 ohm pots, maple board, ash body, 0.010/0.046 string gage, strings-thru-body, not a toploader.

Second choice: something that imitates the sound of a Tele & Fender tube amp.

Alternate: I have one Tele set up as an Esquire. Removed the neck pickup, and re-wired 3-way switch in 50's fashion. Not a huge selection of tones, but some really good ones. Lack of magnetic pull on the strings around the 24th fret lets 'em ring out even longer...didn't believe it until I tried it for myself.

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 1 Dec 2004 2:38 am

You got a Tele neck with 24 frets???

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 1 Dec 2004 4:24 am

As far as Rockabilly goes, Ibanez has a guitar out that works fantastic for that type of music. I bought one about a year ago after reading the rave reviews in Guitar Player magazine (July '03). The guitars are the Ibanez Artcore series. I have a blue one, just like the model GP reviewed which is a thin line, single cutaway, F-hole, double humbucker model with a Bigsby style vibrato. These guitars go for $369.00 at Guitar Center or Musicians Friend and are one helluva deal. GP magazine stated that they couldn't believe the quality of the guitar for the low bucks. At the Elvis festival in Va. Beach this summer I used mine in a 50's set of all Sun Record Presley tunes. I just used an old Ibanez analog delay with a Fender DeVille 2-12 amp and the old Scotty Moore sound came right out. If you're looking for a jazz box or something to play western swing or rockabilly these are hard to beat. The vibrato arm on mine works as good as any Bigsby I've ever seen. Also it has a roller bridge on the vibrato model....Have a good 'un..JH

------------------
Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 1 Dec 2004 11:59 am

The Tele has always been number one. But, i have to put a word in for the Super 400. Earlier this year i finally got to play a 1960s Gibson Super 400 with flatwound strings. Now i know why Merle Travis, Joe Maphis, etc loved to play this guitar. The bridge pickup sounds unbelievable! This guitar is a great choice for vintage country.

BTW, the Super 400 has a long scale of 25.5 inches, unlike 335s, les pauls, etc which are 24.75.

Post by **Joey Ace** » 1 Dec 2004 12:14 pm

If there was a Country Guitar Army every new recruit would be issued a Tele.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 1 Dec 2004 1:53 pm

A Country Guitar Army..

Uhhmm..now there's something I've never heard of before..

Stephen, I added 3 frets to my FENDER Tele's with Duck Tape..the bad news is that if you bend a note the glue from the tape makes the string stick to the fretboard and the note doesn't return..

I call it Jazz..

I guess I'm just a private in the Country Guitar Army.

t
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 01 December 2004 at 01:55 PM.]

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 1 Dec 2004 2:11 pm

clarify! -- where the 24th fret would be if there was one, about where the neck pickup lays

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 1 Dec 2004 7:52 pm

Maybe he means 22 frets instead of the standard 21?

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 1 Dec 2004 7:53 pm

Maybe he means 22 frets instead of the standard 21?

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 2 Dec 2004 1:41 am

I believe that D Schubert is talking about where a Tele neck pickup is, right about where the 24th fret would be.
Some folks claim that having the magnetic pull of the pickup right under the strings, where an harmonic is, deadens the sustain of the string.
That's why some say that an Esquire with just a bridge pickup has a clearer tone and better sustain.
Then on the other hand having the neck pickup under the 24th fret harmonic is what helps make the Telecaster such a great guitar for that staccato chicken picken' sound.
[This message was edited by Alvin Blaine on 02 December 2004 at 01:44 AM.]

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 2 Dec 2004 1:43 am

OH, and for the best over all guitar.
My first choice would be a Tele.
Second would be a Tele.
Third a Tele.

OK the only electric guitar I like to play is a Tele.
Although I did play a Gibson ES-150 from the late 30's that I really liked. Just couldn't afford it.
[This message was edited by Alvin Blaine on 02 December 2004 at 01:50 AM.]

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 2 Dec 2004 2:08 am

And the proof that the Tele is the #1 guitar is this:

Kenny Chesney is regularly seen with a Les Paul on stage and in his video's..

there it is, we can close the thread now..

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 02 December 2004 at 02:08 AM.]

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 2 Dec 2004 6:15 am

Here's some "statistical" info of the guitars/players on classic 50's rockabilly recordings:

-Scotty Moore: Gibsons
-Cliff Gallup: Gretsch Duo Jet
-Carl Perkins: Gibson Les Paul, ES5, Strat
-Joe Maphis: Mosrite
-James Burton: Tele
-Grady Martin ( who was on 90% on rockabilly recordings coming out of Nashville): mostly Bigsby
-Merle Travis: Gibson Super 400
-Larry Collins: Mosrite
-Johnny Meeks: Gretsch, Strat
-Eddie Cochran: Gretsch
-Hank Garland: mostly Gibsons
-Chet Atkins: Gretsch
-Roland Janes: Gibson Les Paul
-George Barnes: Gibson, Guild
-Gary Lambert: Bigsby, Gretsch
-Hal Harris: HELP!! does someone know?? Sounds like P90's?
-Mickey Baker: Gibson, Strat

... and the list goes on. Seems like no brand over the other, all great sounding stuff.

Larry King · Post by **Larry King** » 2 Dec 2004 6:49 am

To Jussi....I think you'd better add Gibson to Chet's guitars

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 2 Dec 2004 11:18 am

Jussi, that's a great list you put together. By the way, in interviews, Chet Atkins said that the D'Angelico was his favorite guitar. He admitted to using it on a lot of his records, even the ones that showed a Gretsch.

Dan Sawyer · Post by **Dan Sawyer** » 2 Dec 2004 3:29 pm

Two more things. Frank Reckard played with Emmylou Harris for many years. He used a Gibson Les Paul Special with a B-bender. It sounded great.

Also, a big part of the Nashville Tele sound is using a compressor.

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 2 Dec 2004 5:11 pm

Alvin B, that's exactly right -- only you said it much better. My Teles all have 21 frets. The 24th fret was a reference to the approx location of the neck pickup, if it were there.

As I said, I did not believe the "hype" about Esquire sustain & twang until I removed the neck pickup, and tried it for myself. With classic Esquire wiring, the pickup selector switch gives you semi-mud on the left, Tele-bridge with a functional tone control in the middle, and Katy-bar-the-door on the right.

Tim Harr · Post by **Tim Harr** » 2 Dec 2004 5:17 pm

I am a country picker and this is what I use:

Fender Telecaster B Bender
- Maple Neck
-.009 - .052
-Scruggs tuner on Low E
-S. Duncan PUs (Nashville Studio Brent Masons)

EFX:
MXR Dyna Comp Compressor
sometime some delay
Goodrich Volume Pedal

AMPS: Twin Reverb, Webb 6-14E, or Nashville 400

------------------
Tim Harr
Carter D-10 8p & 9k w/ BL-705s; Hilton pedal; Webb 6-14E Amplifier

http://groups.msn.com/TimHarrWebPage/yourwebpage.msnw

Tim Harr · Post by **Tim Harr** » 2 Dec 2004 5:18 pm

Weh Frank Reckard played in the Hot Band he used a Gibson LP Junior, It had a 3/4 size neck and a B bender.

He 'honked' !!!!

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 2 Dec 2004 5:30 pm

I had a '58 Les Paul Junior, and it had the same scale as any other Les Paul, 24-3/4 inches. Maybe that one had a custom neck?

Jussi's list is very interesting, but I don't believe it is completely objective despite he says "Seems like no brand over the other....", since it's clear that in this list, Gibson and Gretsch prevail, and I'm sure that was the case in the '50's when solidbody guitars were new and considered by most as newfangled planks with strings, despite a few high-profile players using them such as Joe Maphis and Les Paul.

Personally, I love the older Gibson and Gretsch guitars, that's what I started on, but I believe Billy's question is asking what IS the best guitar for country music, not what WAS the most popular guitar for country in the '50's. Country music isn't quite the same as it was in the '50's, not even in bands claiming to play the "traditional" country music....one big difference is the volume bands play today. In the '50's, ampls with 25 watts RMS were considered quite high-powered. Playing a big-bodied Gibson or Gretsch with modern bands using amps with 100+ watts presents a whole different scenerio than the 10-25 watt amps of the '50's, namely, serious feedback, and I know of what I speak, having played a '69 Gibson Super 400CES through a Fender Twin and Super Six Reverb for some years. You wanna talk feedback, try playing a Super 400 while standing a couple feet in front of a 100 watt all-tube Fender blasting through 6 10-inch speakers! This is one reason why the Tele (and other solid bodies) are more popular than full-size hollowbodies, these days. The hollowbodies can be played, if a player really wants to take the time to learn how to place his amp, keep his right-hand palm ready to damp the low strings on the bridge, etc. I think most players likely find it easier to just play a solid body than control the feedback tendencies of the hollowbodies.

We have to also mention the dreaded "S"-word, that "best" is subjective. Any objective person must admit that most people in the last 20-30 years consider the Tele as THE country and country/rock axe, but for SOME, it may be a Gretsch, Gibson, Guild, Microfrets, or whathaveyou.

Experienced guitarists know which kind of guitar turns them on in different situations, and whatever guitar that is, is the best for that player.

If a guitarist doesn't have enough experience onstage with different types of guitars to know what guitar is best for him, specifically in country music, the Tele is the most likely candidate, but as things go, that doesn't mean that player may not end up finding that his ideal country guitar is a Gibson Super400CES (I played my '69 several years and would give my right arm to have it back) or something else totally un-Tele-like.

Bottom line, IMHO, is that the best guitar is whatever guitar really just turns on the player. That's how I know I'm playing the right guitar for the music/style, for me; when the sound inspires me to play. The wrong guitar for me, is the one that doesn't turn me on, or inspire me to play and I have to think of what to play. When I'm playing the right guitar, I don't have to think of what to play, I just play automatically. Forget about trying to play the guitar with the sound the audience will prefer, 99% of them can't tell the difference between an L-5 and a Tele. Play whatever turns YOU on.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 02 December 2004 at 09:53 PM.]

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 2 Dec 2004 11:37 pm

Larry, Jim & others: I was purely just refering to the guitars these guys used on the rockabilly recordings, which in Chet's case was Gretsch, like say, on Janis Martin sessions. I know these pro sessions guys had many guitars and lot of times you don't really know what exactly they were using. By the time Chet was doing r'n'r sessions, his D'Angelico had suffered an injury and John D'Angelico converted it back to acoustic. Hank Garland favored his Gibsons on these sessions, but occasionally used other brands too to get the sound he wanted; he's playing a Jazzmaster on Elvis' Little Sister.
And Tony P, thanks for your email regarding Mickey Baker, you made my day!!

[This message was edited by Jussi Huhtakangas on 03 December 2004 at 12:11 AM.]

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 3 Dec 2004 4:48 am

"And the proof that the Tele is the #1 guitar is this:
Kenny Chesney is regularly seen with a Les Paul on stage and in his video's.."

And Marilyn Manson's lead guitar player has a Tele NAMED for him---so what's your point, Tony???????

Scott Henderson · Post by **Scott Henderson** » 3 Dec 2004 1:32 pm

THE ONE IN BRENT MASON'S HANDS

------------------
Steelin' away in the ozarks and life,
Scott
www.scottyhenderson.com

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 3 Dec 2004 1:44 pm

Is Marilyn Manson a Steel Player too ?

Possibly a Steel Player in drag ?

It's a good thing the Steel only faces forward..

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 03 December 2004 at 07:16 PM.]