Think PRS will ever make a Tele?

[SinSir]

I hope not and count me out, but I don't care for the SS either. Yes I said it. Blasphemy

I love me a strat and tele though.

 

[dmatthews]

I hope not and count me out, but I don't care for the SS either. Yes I said it. Blasphemy

I love me a strat and tele though.

Lol!
It's all subjective, so you're all good in my book.

 

[Serious Poo]

I might consider one if the switching / volume / tone pot was configured the same as on a McCarty. I love Tele's (I own 2) but really don't like the control layout.

 

[dcm_guitar]

No disrespect intended to any of the long-time members and PRS aficionados here, but every argument against the Tele was a reason not to make the Silver Sky and 594. I think we’re all glad those were made, whether for us/others/PRS-bottom-line. Both of those represented much more than a replication of the past, and included quite a lot of innovation and advancement along with inclusion of the “standard” portions that did work....

.

I think this is an interesting point!!

As for the 594, from my point of view (as well as MANY others) the Les Paul was "broken". Gibson was producing poor quality Les Pauls (not really the Custom Shop, but the assembly line guitars). For example, the headstock angle is a known issue causing all sorts of problems that Gibson chooses to not address. The finish issues, the nut issues, the tuning machine placement issues, the pickup tonality etc are all things Gibson was not changing. I, and many others, wanted a quality Les Paul and were willing to pay for it. I bought a nice Les Paul from Gibson and could never make it the guitar I wanted it to be. PRS made the Les Paul I wanted!!!

Strat players wanted the "magic" of the 60's era Strat. The new high-end Strats are amazing guitars!! Players wanted the "mojo" of the 60's era Strat, and PRS took that on as a challenge. The Silver Sky is not meant to be a modern Strat. It's meant to be an attainable version of a "magical, mojo filled" Strat from the 60's.

I could be missing something, but I don't get the impression that there's something lacking in modern Teles like there is in modern LPs and Strats.

Don't get me wrong, I think a PRS T-style would be a fun guitar; although the Vela is already pretty close. A Vela bolt-in? Hmmmmmmmm................

Anyway, the 594 and SS looked like designed to fill a specific void, and I'm not sure there's a similar void in the T-style world.

 

[JJDon]

Agreed.

I’m really not trying to be argumentative to any of the opinions here. I’m not sure why I’m even taking the time, as I’m a 513 guy. But where did the inspiration for that evolution of the McCarty come from? The best sounding old McCarty-influenced Les Pauls. I can’t imagine anyone doesn’t see the SC594 as a 21st Century Les Paul, a ‘59 Burst that plays right all the time. Although it didn’t start as a LP project, and came by a different road, the 594 part of the McCarty line landed there. And bettered the breed in the process. The actual McCarty still exists in several models, and the 594 is what it is. I’m glad of it!

I think the Tele is it’s own thing. I think others have made it better than Fender, at least at times. I just think PRS can add something valuable and useful to the evolution, because they already have done that in two other instances, even if the path to the result wasn’t the same for each.

I’m not on a crusade, just throwing it out there. I don’t want to

The 594 has already been around and been a proven seller for a long time now. Its basically just an updated version of the PRS Singlecut (the lawsuit and post lawsuit ones), then the SC245, and then SC58. After those models were discontinued, they needed to fill the void of a LP guitar that wasn't the Tremonti model with its specific "hot" pickups.

Anyway, the 594 and SS looked like designed to fill a specific void, and I'm not sure there's a similar void in the T-style world.

This is why I don't think PRS would invest in a Tele style guitar. Besides not much to improve on (I'm sure they still could though, especially the neck), I don't think there is a void out there for a Tele style guitar, especially from PRS players or players who don't play PRS, but would like to switch to a PRS.

Then again, I don't know what void the Silver Sky was filling because PRS already had a strat style guitar in the Custom 24. You could argue I guess that the Silver Sky, being cheaper, a more familiar design, and backed by John Mayer appealed to a lot of people.

 

[Jimi D]

I have a Japanese Fender Richie Kotzen telecaster. That’s what I would imagine a PRS tele would be like with the comfort cuts and flamed maple top. It’s an amazing guitar

Ya, I've always felt my Fender Select Telecasters were Tele's done with a nod to Paul's contributions to the industry... The Koa Carve Top particularly has a refined, PRS-like feel that is unlike any Tele I had before it (still twangs like a dirty ol' Esquire tho'... and yes I know it has a six saddle bridge; doesn't matter...)

 

[django49]

Now maybe if they came out with a version that was all Brazilian Rosewood (body and neck)......




With a caution....If not weight relieved, it is going to be REALLY heavy!

 

[Tony M.]

Ummm.....

PRS will never make a Telecaster.
They may some day make a guitar that
looks, feels and sounds like a Telecaster
but only Fender can make a genuine Telecaster.

(The same goes for Stratocasters, Jazzmasters and Jaguars.)

 

[strat63]

Now maybe if they came out with a version that was all Brazilian Rosewood (body and neck)......




With a caution....If not weight relieved, it is going to be REALLY heavy!

An all rosewood Tele can be a heavy beast. So cool though.

 

[Brian]

Do I think PRS will ever make a Tele? Probably, at some point.

 

[Geo408]

Paul could jot the math down needed to improve the Tele, on a cocktail napkin in about 20 minutes, design the components needed, in an hour or so, and build a better Tele than anyone in less than three months. I would love a Tele that could play in tune up and down the neck, stay in tune, sound great, be ergonomically sound, And still look like a Tele. I have owned many Tele’s throughout the years, and dumped all but one..that I built myself. The Brent Mason was close, but was built to be a more versatile instrument.
In order to build a “simple” guitar like a telecaster, it takes a certain “old school” mind set, coupled with a modern approach. Paul is the only one I could see doing it, while retaining the original vibe of the instrument...just my thoughts on this challenge. ymmv....

 

[Bob Hundemer]

Well I have a PRS Tele, uh kinda. My 1998 McCarty sounds exactly like a Tele if you spill the coils. So much so that I ended up letting go of my USA tele some years back. If I AB'd the guitars it was near impossible to tell them apart.

 

[Kingfisher76032020]

They did the Silver Sky, so not completely out of the realm of possibilities.

I would buy one. Would you?

If PRSh and co see this, shell pink or baby blue please.

They sort of did already with the Vela and Starla... Despite the pickups and depending on which tele you want, the Vela solves it with a plate bridge and cylindrical brass saddles and the Starla's pickups are voiced in a very twangy tele voice. Not to mention a singlecut is basically a tele. If you play either SE Starla or S2 Vela they play and sound just like a Tele.

 

[Kingfisher76032020]

This is a loose conversion for the most popular guitar styles IMO PRS makes.
Double cut PRS or Silver Sky = Super Strat (Pauls guitar with its TCI slit coil pickups sounds like a Strat)
Tremonti= Les Paul single cut
Starla/Vela = Telecaster with options
Hollowbody 1-2-piezo = Gibby 335
Santana/Mira - VERY close to a SG Les Paul cut!
Then they have a P bass and J bass
They have custom 24's with floyd rose for metal
And almost everything in between.
ETC...
One thing PRS did when they expanded into the SE line was build a guitar model in almost every category except an explorer and a flying V.

 

[Stephen J.]

One thing PRS did when they expanded into the SE line was build a guitar model in almost every category except an explorer and a flying V

Poking the bear. Stirring the hornet's nest.

 

[Austin_Taunt]

This is my number one. Anderson Hollow T classic. Has a drop top maple cap, body and heel contours that give it just the perfect amount of modern playability with impressive looks. I’m confident PRS could do something along these lines that is their take and people would love it. I get traditionalist want the slab body and bridge plate but there are plenty of players that like some of the tele bite but want to enjoy a comfortable guitar

 

[Ben Pinkus]

I'd think if they did, it would be a signature SS type dealio, or a Tom Anderson Cobra Shorty type vibe

 

[SinSir]

This is my number one. Anderson Hollow T classic. Has a drop top maple cap, body and heel contours that give it just the perfect amount of modern playability with impressive looks. I’m confident PRS could do something along these lines that is their take and people would love it. I get traditionalist want the slab body and bridge plate but there are plenty of players that like some of the tele bite but want to enjoy a comfortable guitar

I wish I could un see it. Resembling a tele aside, there are so many things that look wrong, incomplete, or undecided to my eye.

 

[Austin_Taunt]

I wish I could un see it. Resembling a tele aside, there are so many things that look wrong, incomplete, or undecided to my eye.

Hey I get it!! To each their own. To me it’s the best guitar I’ve ever played but to others it’s not what a tele should be. I love the hollow body for the weight reduction and coupled with the lack of bridge plate it takes the top end in a good way for me. It’s the only tele I’ve played where I don’t have to roll back the tone knob on the bridge pickup. Definitely a modern guitar which is perfect for me. This unseat a Fender CS 53 heavy relic which was also an amazing guitar but the tones were vintage all the way. Sounded great for that but not for me.

What’s your favorite tele?

 

[SinSir]

Hey I get it!! To each their own. To me it’s the best guitar I’ve ever played but to others it’s not what a tele should be. I love the hollow body for the weight reduction and coupled with the lack of bridge plate it takes the top end in a good way for me. It’s the only tele I’ve played where I don’t have to roll back the tone knob on the bridge pickup. Definitely a modern guitar which is perfect for me. This unseat a Fender CS 53 heavy relic which was also an amazing guitar but the tones were vintage all the way. Sounded great for that but not for me.

What’s your favorite tele?

I didn't realize it was yours. In that I case I apologize, and I'll refrain from commenting anymore on it.

The best tele to me is the one built. That's the very nature of a tele. A tele doesn't have to be refined or polished. That's a tele to me. Otherwise it's Fender. I'm not a huge fan of established companies taking a design form another and stamping it as their own because they change a headstock or the likes. On the flip side I get it. They are a business, want to capture a market, and there are only so many designs to go around. Personally, I would rather see brands excel at what they do best, keep production streamlined, open up innovation on their products, and more for the consumer's dollar instead of copying someone's wheel.