Could a PRS successfully crack the Telecaster barrier?

garrett

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As much as I love my PRS guitars, nothing beats a Telecaster for the band I play in. My HBII and SE Soapbar II just don't fit into the mix as well as my Teles do.

So I've been thinking: PRS have taken on the Stratocaster and the Les Paul, so would they be able to take on the Telecaster? And if so, what form would it take?

The mad scientist part of my brain wants to get an SE EG and implant a pair of Tele pickups in it. Or, what about the Narrowfields? Are they dynamic and twangy enough to hang with a Tele?
 
I feel like people have asked Paul and the general consensous is that PRSi generally are created to cover a broad spectrum of sounds in one instrument, so for someone looking for that "tele" sound they should get a tele.

With that being said, Ive heard some pretty close tones coming from a properly EQ'd amp and a DGT.
 
I've gotten close with a 5708 in bridge position, tapped or not, in a SAS Studio.
 
Try to find a Johnny Hiland model.Some great twangy sounds in that guitar.A bolt-on neck PRS is the way to go for more Tele character.I agree with themike,a tele is a tele,a strat is a strat,a PRS is a PRS.An alder or ash body like DC3,bolt-on mapleneck and a fixed JohnMann bridge is the closest i can think of.Personally im not a fan of one guitar do it all idea,i prefer simple designs with basically one sound.I rather have a strat for stratty sounds and a PRS as in my case a CU22 soapbar for a different character.Although i have changed the tremblock for a more upper mid character to the sound it doesnt sound like a strat.It sounds like a "strattier" PRS :).
 
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I sold my ash Tele. My 513 and SAS cover all the Tele ground that I need handle.
 
I sold my tele after getting my 513 also. I recorded my tele and then recorded my 513 on it's "tele" setting, and I couldn't hear the difference, in fact, I would say the 513 had more twang and pop to it than my tele did. The tele I had was an American Deluxe Ash with a callaham bridge. It sounded fantastic, but my 513 is way more versatile. So I sold the tele and just ordered a used SAS with NF pickups. I really did love that tele, but side by side, I think a PRS has more tonal variations.

Still, there's something cool about a good tele!
 
Johnny Hiland, 513 Swamp Ash, Swamp Ash NF, and a Swamp Ash Studio. Those all do Telecaster better than the cheap Telecasters I have played. Against a really vintage Tele, I put my 305 Prototype, because it has the balls of one.
 
The Johnny Hiland definitely can cop the tele vibe very well as can the swamp ash specials I have played. I am also betting if you tracked down an old stop tail CE model and slammed a 2TEK bridge in there it would really have some snap and twang available!
 
My love of the Telecaster is more about feel than anything else. Part of that is the style of bridge and I can't imagine ever seeing a PRS with one.
 
I got a chance to ask Paul about that very thing at Sweetwater's Gearfest last June. Apparently Brent Mason's using a PRS, and I wanted to find out which one. Paul showed me a pic on his cel phone of Brent with either a NF3 or a DC3, I couldn't tell which. Paul recommended that I try either a DC3 or a 305--I've since tried them both, and to my ear, the DC3 sounds a little closer to a Tele, at least in the bridge position. The 305 is a little more Strat-like, but it's a great Strat sound--it actually sounds better than my Custom Shop Strat! I've tried a couple of 513's, and they're really nice too. Guess I'd better start saving my money and deciding which guitars to sell off...
 
I have a friend who has been playing country for a few years and uses a Tele for it. When he tried my CU24 and switched it to the tele setting on the 5-way he was like, if the neck didn't feel so much better on this guitar than my Tele I would swear I was playing a Tele.
 
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