Earlier this year, I bought a new Telecaster and sold my old Telecaster to make room. Although I don't regret selling my old Tele, buying the new one has proven to be a regrettable mistake.
Not that the new Tele is a bad guitar. On the contrary, it's a beautiful, rare guitar, which is why, on that fateful January 31, I had to have it.
I explained it to my wife this way: Say you need to buy a car. You can either do research and find out what you really need and choose one with good ratings and reviews that fits you best, or you can choose the shiniest, prettiest one on the lot, needs be damned. That's pretty much what happened with the Telecaster. I was captivated by its beauty and disregarded everything else. The "gotta have it" eclipsed the "need to have it."
I knew almost immediately that I had made a mistake. First and foremost, it hurt me. Something about the neck, whether it's the thickness or the profile, really brings out my DeQuervain's something fierce. I tried everything I know to make it more playable - put on lighter strings, brought down the action as far as I could with the saddles and truss rod - but you can't change a neck profile, at least without changing the whole neck.
It was also very uncomfortable for me to play, even more than my red Tele. I found out that it has the "sharp '52 style body radius," and the sharp edges are just not comfortable.
I then made the mistake (although now I consider it more of a revelation) of playing a beautiful purple Ibanez a few months later and realizing just how much better a guitar like that fit me than my Telecaster did. This revelation was the first step in the undertaking that became the Short List, and now that the list is down to the final three (with a clear leader), it has become apparent that the Telecaster must go to make room for the guitar I should've bought in the first place.
So the Telecaster is now on Craigslist and I'm hoping for a quick sale. If anyone is interested, comment below or use my contact form. Even though it wasn't the right guitar for me, it is a stunning instrument and many people love the way Telecasters feel. Just not me, although I do love the way they look.
On a side note, I noticed that the guy who bought my old red Telecaster is selling it on Craigslist. I'm half tempted to call him and get it back. I must resist the sentimentality and remember why I sold it in the first place!
Think "Ibanez...Ibanez...Ibanez..."
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