Modern Guitars

[dukeman]

I’m thinking about getting myself a Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster. I want a T style guitar, but the only brands I am really familiar with are “dad” guitars eg Fender, Gibson.  
 

Is there a more modern brand, in a similar price range, that I should consider?
 

 

[aenemated]

Not a similar price range really - but my friend Mr. James Trussart makes the raddest Teles.

[NAM2212]

The Squire Classic Vibes are fantastic for the price. G&L makes a nice guitar for less than Fender. Then you could always take a chance on a Monoprice or a Harley Benton. It is hard to mess up a Tele style guitar. 

[Karsia]

Ibanez, Schecter, and LTD all make some T-style guitars that should be relatively in the same price point too, but they'll most likely be HH (Humbucker-Humbucker) setups as those brands tend to skew towards more rock/metal style musicians. Around that price point though, everything is pretty similarly specced out. Biggest thing I'd be peculiar about is country of origin, being South Korea>Indonesia>China, but I've had some decent Chinese guitars as well, so it's not a dealbreaker. 

[butchammon]

The most modern guitar I own is my new(er) 2021 Fender Player Strat in gloss black.  It's amazing!  The other Strat is from 1995 and is a MIM Standard Strat in sunburst.  I raised the saddles, loosened the truss rod a hair, and made it a dedicated slide guitar tuned in Open G.

 

L-R: 1977 Ibanez mandolin, 1991 Yamaha 12 string, 2021 Player Strat, 2011 Gretsch 5122 hollowbody, 1995 Standard Strat, 2008 Alvarez 6 string, 1997 Samick bass (P bass copy).  Also... my beautiful 2008 Yamaha DGX-505 full size, 88-key, keyboard is on the bottom.

Edited August 4, 2023 by butchammon

[Karsia]

That’s what’s up! I had a strat for a year or two but honestly I don’t play much that vibes with single coils. We recently moved back to California so most of my stuff is still packed up, but I’ve got in the range of like 16-18 guitars/basses combined haha. I mostly play heavier music so the majority of my stuff is tuned below C. 

[shankasaurus rex]

The Classic Vibe is a great guitar for the price, and can usually be found for a steal used. As someone else mentioned, the G&Ls (even the imports) are a good value as well. Most of the "modern" brands producing t-style guitars stray too far from the original mission brief, IMHO.