Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Telecaster is for country music only, you understand?


I remember clearly walking into a guitar store, (years ago, when I was much younger) greeted by a rather elderly sales person who would ask me if he could be of any help. I told him I was just browsing through the in-store selection, probably something more suited for rock & the likes. I proceeded to look at the Fenders & stopped in front of an attractive sunburst Telecaster hung up on the rack but the sales chap told me the Tele is for country music only & gave a voluntary demo. He fingerpicked his clean licks from start to end but I politely told him that's not my playing style & I'm more of a distortion person. On this note he told me to consider the Stratocaster instead because it's for rock music but I insisted the Telecaster would be my choice; if Danny Gatton could do it all with his Tele, I should check one out. The natural question which followed was- who in Telecasterdom was Danny Gatton? 

Those were the days... The sales person in the above encounter is no longer working in that guitar store but the memory of him saying those things would live on in me. Because it's fatal narrow mindedness, that's why.

10 comments:

Ijau D. Koceng said...

vice-versa questions: is there something wrong playing "softer" music with extreme-shaped guitars?

subversion.sg said...

no problems at all, albert king played blues with a flying-V... it's the old school mentality, i guess :-)

JAIRO said...

arrgghh telecaster.. its so beautiful!!!! \m/

Anonymous said...

Should have told him the solo in Stairway to Heaven was recorded with a Telecaster.

Anonymous said...

similar experience sounded what george would say lol

Dr. Bentara said...

supposedly GIBSON Firebird ni untuk muzik apa ;)

subversion.sg said...

no particular genre- it's the tone of the instrument, Johnny Winter used it (blues-based) but then again, Maniac uses it as well (Skitliv- black metal). some hear that special tone coming form those smaller-than-regular humbuckers...

NiN said...

I wonder if the shop assistant will say the same thing if it was the Jim Root Telecaster?

Anonymous said...

two words: john 5. haha!

subversion.sg said...

there are many straight through players whom we are not aware of. these people, they started with lots of effects at the helm but over time, did away with them entirely or kept to a minimum number to preserve tone. Doug Aldrich is another awesome, no nonsense guitar-to-amp player :-)