VEGANGELICA

You have earned the right to complain, Liz! You are going without something you'd enjoy, albeit for a very good cause that is worth it: caring for your family members and making their happiness a priority.

I still like the thought of your being able to play a Telecaster whenever you want, though, so that you can commune with a guitar every day, if you wish, and not have to wait until your kids' guitar-owning friends visit! So I've been looking online for used Fender Telecasters, just in case there is a nice silvery one that isn't costly. I have learned, unfortunately, that even used Fender Telecasters are never inexpensive.

During my looking, though, guess what I found that was tempting, tempting for ME? A used Silver Sister Stratocaster HSS for less than half the price of the one I showed earlier!



I investigated and found out that my "Silver Sister" is a Fender Limited Edition HSS (fat strat) that is Made in Mexico (MIM) in the Fender factory in Ensenada, Baja, just 90 miles south of the Corona, California factory where American Fenders are made. The parts used in the MIM Fenders are often identical to those used in the American Fenders, with the implication that the quality isn't that much different: Stratocasters Mex vs American

I also began listening to Telecasters and Strats online to try to learn more about the difference in sound between the two, because your interest in the Tele made me curious about it.

I started thinking...hmm, I don't have a Telecaster, but if I wanted to get one, which one would I want? Why, one of the least expensive, of course! My top choice would be the Squier Affinity Tele by Fender in metallic red, to match my beloved Squier Affinity Fat Strat:

Squier Affinity Telecaster, $179 new (free shipping):



I don't know how different this Squier Telecaster sounds from a Fender Telecaster, but I felt it sounded pretty good...at least in *his* capable hands!

Liz, what do you especially like about the sound of a Fender Telecaster? Do you have some favorite songs that use a Telecaster like your dream one? I'd like to hear that sound. I've been thinking perhaps "Hearth" should be played using an inexpensive Squier Affinity Telecaster, in your honor.

By the way, if you ever want to buy an inexpensive electric guitar and would settle for a Strat, I recommend this guitar/cable/amp package (the one *I* got several years ago):

Fender's Squier Affinity Fat Strat (HSS) Pack with Bullet 150 DSP Amplifier, costing around $250
(comes with Squier Affinity Fat Strat guitar, cable, strap, soft guitar bag, electronic tuner, and picks)
http://www.amazon.com/Squier-Affinit.../dp/B001R2TN4Y

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ribbons

Erica, if you possibly can, get the used Silver Sister Strat! I think it’s a much better guitar than the Squier Tele. The Squier Tele sounds really good on the video; but in my experience with Teles, they are less forgiving than Strats in terms of action and playability. You have to “fight” a Tele a bit more to get versatility of tone out of it – it’s a difficult guitar to play, in a way – and with a cheaper Tele, which is harder on the fingers, the challenge becomes greater. Plus, you already have the Squier Strat and like it; so I think you’ll love the Silver Sister Strat!

On the other hand, what I love about the sound of the Telecaster is its brightness and clarity and very good chord definition. It has a mellow, jazzy bottom and bright top. It can sound full and almost orchestral if you treat it with the slightest bit of chorus. It’s great if you’re basically a rhythm player who occasionally does little solo flourishes. It’s a popular guitar with country and soul players. A very soulful guitar with twanggg. With a Telecaster, rather than the guitar playing you, you’re playing the guitar – you get to put more of your own expression and personality into it. It’s almost more like an acoustic instrument than an electric one. I also like the more compact body of the Telecaster; it seems somehow more manageable to me than a larger guitar, which is like trying to pick up a chair and play it.

Here’s an example of a song where the sound of the Telecaster is prominent. James Honeyman Scott of the original Pretenders is one of my favorite guitarists; he was a guitar connoisseur and had loads of guitars, but used a Telecaster here. I love the solo (although I wish it would go on longer!):

VEGANGELICA

Liz, thank you for explaining so clearly what you love about the sound of the Telecaster. Thank you also for sharing that great example of a Tele played by James Honeymoon(!) Scott in "Kid" by The Pretenders.

The Tele sounds beautiful. I now understand completely what you mean by the twangy, soulful sound of the Telecaster. I like that jangly sound very much, too. The solos are extremely pretty and remind me of bells or a harp, sounding sweetly sad like nostalgia or someone smiling through tears. Contrasting with this delicacy, the guitar provides real substance in the rhythm sections, and can sound wonderfully low, mellow, and rumbly/grumbly. The solo gave me chills.

I'm sure I would also like the fact that the Telecaster has a compact body. Picking up a chair-like instrument and trying to play it wouldn't be much fun.

I'm now listening to more songs by the Pretenders to hear the Telecaster in action. I can tell now that the guitar in "Chain Gang" is a Telecaster, for example. I always liked the way the sound of the guitar makes that song seem full of yearning.

I'm glad to hear your recommendation, Liz, because yesterday while I was thinking over my guitar options and whether now was the time to upgrade to a more solid guitar with better electronics than my Squier Strat has, I came to the same conclusion as you did, which means that...

...I'M NOW THE EXCITED OWNER OF MY VERY OWN FENDER SILVER SISTER STRAT!!!

(This is when we jump up and down and scream!)

My Silver Sister has already been shipped and is somewhere en route at this very moment. Here is what "she" looks like, Liz, in a photo that was taken of her in the New England store:





I decided to go for it because I *had* been thinking I would someday want to upgrade to a Fat Strat reputed to be sturdier and more carefully constructed than my Squier Affinity. When I saw this Silver Sister available at a decent price right after having told you that I feel it is a beautiful style of guitar, I realized that if I didn't jump on it now I might not have a chance for years, since I have read that only around 600 Silver Sisters were made. The last Silver Sister that was sold on ebay was sold a year ago for $550, which is much more than this one cost.

Before I made the decision to buy the guitar, though, I called the store and talked with the salesperson to check on its condition. He said the guitar plays fine and looks in good condition with only a few dings on the edge of the body where it rests under the strumming arm. He said all their used guitars are checked over and played to discover any defects before the store sells them, and this one had no problems.

I asked if he could tell me anything about the person who sold the Silver Sister to the store, but the salesman wasn't the one who took the guitar in. I wanted to learn if the previous owner seemed nice, so I'd know what sort of "vibe" the guitar has! Alas, I'll probably never know who that person was.

I can see, though, that the guitar has been played enough to cause discoloration of the fretboard around the first two frets, which shows me that someone's hand has been there frequently. This means the previous owner probably liked the guitar enough to play it often, which is nice. Of course I'm curious why the person decided to sell the guitar. And I'm very curious what it will sound like.

I'm greedy, though, and now I want a Telecaster, too! Maybe someday we can both get a Tele, Liz: I'll get a Squier Affinity, and I'll keep my eyes out for your future American-made Fender inca silver Tele with a rosewood fretboard and, ideally, a chrome pickguard.

Then I can jump up and down and scream for YOU.

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ribbons

(((Erica))), you Strat Sorceress!! I am so happy you got the Silver Sister! Congratulations - I get the feeling you're going to love that guitar! I'll bet it plays like a dream. You work so hard on your music and you deserve to have this superior instrument to compose with.

And now, in honor of YOU and your beautiful new guitar, here's a live video of Chrissie and Honeyman both playing Strats on "Talk of the Town". When I was in a band as a teenager, we used to play this song; and now looking back on it, there's a specific verse that reminds me very much of you: "Oh but it's hard / to live by the rules. / I never could, / and still never do. / Rules and such / never bothered you. / You call the shots, / and they follow." That's you, Erica!

VEGANGELICA

Thank you, (((Cyber Sister))), for celebrating with me! I'm looking forward to testing out the Silver Sister on a short solo I wanted to record again for a song I'm working on. This will be the perfect way for me to compare my Squier Fat Strat with the new guitar.

Thank you also for the Strat song. I wish I could have seen you and your band playing "Talk of the Town" when you were a teenager! I love that quote from "Talk of the Town" and am honored that you would associate it with me.

I think it is true that I don't like social rules when they are based on negativity. I hate feeling confined, but I especially hate feeling confined by disapproval where the disapproval arises out of tradition rather than rational reasons for the convention. As a result, I definitely don't follow some social rules and I don't just do something because it is "expected." I like to learn about whether the conventions are good or not before deciding what to do.

However, I do actually follow safety-related rules very, very carefully, Liz. Just yesterday, my child wanted to jump in one of those inflatable bounce houses in which he had jumped previously, but I noticed a sign had since been posted saying that kids had to be 7 or younger to jump. A friend of mine said our kids would be well-behaved so we could let them jump, but I still told mine that he wasn't allowed to because the owners were limiting the jumping house to younger children.

I'm sure my child would have jumped safely without knocking over little kids, but I knew that if I let *him* jump, then there's be no reason to expect anyone else to follow the rule, and pretty soon the bounce house would be full of a mob of teenagers (and me!) bouncing off the walls while tiny toddlers scream in terror!

Liz, I listened to more songs by The Pretenders today at work, assimilating what I like about them, when it suddenly occurred to me that your hearing might not be back to normal yet. I hope it is so that you can hear the "Kid" solo in all its short glory through both of your ears.

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Hello, my Squier-Fat-Strat-and-soon-to-be-Silver-Sister-Strat-slingin’ (((CyberSister)))! Your little guy is lucky to have such a safety-conscious Mom – which is no surprise, really, because I know you put a lot of thought and consideration into all you do. My son has always been very leery of those bouncing houses! When he was a toddler, he was afraid of going into them, and would stand outside having his fun by throwing back the little plastic multicolored balls strewn on the floor of the bouncing house after the kids threw them out. And now, he still won’t go into bouncing houses for fear of accidently pouncing on the younger kids!

Hope you two had a great time yesterday, even though you both didn’t get to bounce!

My hearing is much better now, Erica - thanks for asking. The last audio test revealed the equivalent of about a 30% hearing loss, which is of course a vast improvement over the 80% loss I had before. Still a bit of rumbling and ringing going on in the ear, but it's more than tolerable.

VEGANGELICA

That's a cute story about your son's hesistant response to bounce houses during the course of his life, Liz. And I'm very glad your hearing is starting to get better. We did have fun yesterday, even though it was bounce-free.

I've been thinking more about The Pretenders' "Kid" guitar solo, appreciating its simplicity and use of open strings and sustained notes, plus two very nice bends, some well-placed vibrato, and a perfect, poignant harmonic. I've been thinking about this, of course, because I've been thinking about the "Hearth" song for you and what to include.

I will NOT use any long shreds. I don't like most guitar shreds, which often seem like directionless noise to me...noise for the sake of noise.

An example of a guitar solo that I hate:

Eddie Van Halen playing tedious stuff on his guitar



In comparison, the Pretenders' "Kid" solo uses around 1/20,000 of the notes, but I like it at least 1,230,051 times more.

Someone playing The Pretenders' "Kid" guitar solo
Now you can listen to the solo over and over to lengthen it.

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Erica, I am now addicted to reading your poetic description of the “Kid” solo. I’d like to put that on a permanent loop. You have a way with words! And I am very appreciative that you are considering sounds for “Hearth” – I was very touched that you wrote the song to begin with. Words of thanks seem inadequate when someone takes the time and care to create something so thoughtful and special, just for you. But from the bottom of my heart I want you to know that I am very grateful.

On another note (or in this case a million notes ): God, how I hate Van Halen! Perhaps Eddie should be locked in a room and forcefed Honeyman solos to learn about economy of playing in service of the song. I think my ears just “erupted” (the good one, that is – can’t put the headphone on the other ear just yet ) listening to that!

That guy covering the “Kid” solo is really good; he nails it perfectly down to the sweet harmonic at the end. I’ve always loved how Hynde comes in right after, singing, “Shut the liiiight” - sort of echoing the harmonic on the first word.

Time for me to shut the liiiight now….sweet dreams to you, dear Erica.

VEGANGELICA

Thank you, Liz. I like your use of words, too! I'm happy you are touched that I made something creative for you. I'm grateful to you that how you are inspired me to want to be musical and do something I love.

Well, you've discovered at least one benefit of having temporary hearing loss in one ear: you didn't have to listen to Eddie's solo with both!

Yes, let's lock Eddie in a room with Honeyman solos! You describe the problem I have with Van Halen's guitar solo perfectly: he is not demonstrating "economy of playing in service of the song." I appreciate solos that blend with yet accentuate the feeling of a song rather than take over and become their own monstrous entities.

Even if I don't like listening to all of Eddie Van Halen's music, I enjoy watching him play it. I've always thought Eddie Van Halen was cute because of his mischievous, happy smile that he often flashes. He reminds me of an endearing, enthusiastic puppy. Maybe I'll go post about him in the attractive male musicians thread.



^Dawww. He just looks so happy!

The guy covering the "Kid" solo is really good! I've listened to him around 30 times now. He plays confidently and effortlessly and shows how elegant the fairly simple fingering is.

I also love how Hynde echoes the harmonic on the first word of her post-solo entrance! I hadn't thought of how to put it into words, but you found a way. I love how you notice and appreciate subtle details, Liz. I hope you had sweet dreams, too.

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Hi, Erica! I know what you mean about Eddie's happy look and mischievous smile, but he's not really my cup (pup?) of tea. Aren't I the superficial one? I hardly think that Ed would be heartbroken (housebroken?) to know I don't find him overly attractive.

OK - so while I'm being superficial I'll tell you who really rings my chimes aesthetically:

Syd Barrett

I think he was so handsome. I had teenage fantasies of 'rescuing' Syd from his precarious state - then he'd recover miraculously and we'd fall in love (naturally!).



I also love Syd's gracious demeanor in this interview. ***swoon***