Telecaster Minimalism | One Tele, One Amp and One OD for EVERYTHING

For over 20 years and thousands of gigs, lessons, rehearsals and recordings, the Telecaster has been by my side. One of the greatest times of growth musically was when I had one guitar, one amp and one pedal. Here I discuss some of the benefits to this approach - and why you might want to give it a go!
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[@user-hj4wm9dd4z]

I plugged a Telecaster into a Fender Blues Junior. I quickly found out why there was just a minimal amount of control nobs . I did not need them . That sweet spot was there . I could play and sound with just my own emotions - sweet and mellow to a dirty grind . All with the same settings. WOW .

[@eyedunno8462]

There's a minimal amount of control knobs because there's a limited amount of space and budget to fit them. The lack of a tone stack decreases the load or impedance, which increases the gain. Gain is good. No mystical reason, no wizard, just engineers building a mass product to a price point

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

To me, minimalism is one Telecaster, one cable, and a reverb-equipped amp set to break up at high volume. Maybe a headstock tuner, for convenience. Volume and tone controls, and pickup selector do the rest.

[@Fotosaurus56]

I traded cheap gear for a $169 Bullet Telecaster, bought a Marshall MG15 CDR for $50 from Goodwill and $50 Digitech RP-50. That is minimalism.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Minimalism is reduction in number of components and options, not necessarily price. I’m a professional guitar player who plays over 225 shows a year and teach music full-time, supporting a family of nine with just my guitar. So I can’t do my job with a 15 watt practice amp, sorry 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@crazywisdom2]

Everyone's definition of minimalism can vary. I'm a fan of the tele as that tool. I have a MIM brad Paisley sparkle that is my edc guitar. Still working out the rest. But plan on keeping it simple. Amen !

[@Thomas-pq4ys]

I played 11's for a very long time... never broke a string. I'm down to 9's now, and still don't break strings... I attribute it to maturity... I don't pick as hard, don't loose myself in the moment. I'm using round profile slanted barrels... Loving my stock pup '52 reissue, pine body, treble bleed, 1 Meg volume pot... and yes, a Tele does it all.

[@ignacedelyon9988]

Bonjour from France, I never break strings. I play 10 s with a light touch. Being also a singer , I rarely play barre chords. I never thought that heavy strokes deliver a better sound, even for riffing.

[@RyanMcQuen]

The only thing better than this setup is a Tele straight into an amp.

[@NEONNOONE]

Love this concept. The tone, in the end, IS in your hands.

[@MacHeath699]

A cousin of mine, the late Peter Amft, was for many years a photographer/designer based in Chicago who did lots of work for Chess, Alligator, and other blues labels. He did a photo shoot of Roy Buchanan for an Alligator album late in Buchanan's career, and Peter was surprised when Buchanan showed up with a Les Paul rather than his Tele. Peter said he asked Buchanan about the tonal differences between the two, and Buchanan said the same thing: the tone was in his hands, not the guitar.

[@Badhands55]

Yep an old tele through a 3x10 tweed bandmaster is hard to beat- especially with a strymon flint

[@michelleneeds4165]

I have a very similar rig, Baja Telecaster, into a mad professor sweet honey clone and a hybrid fender amp, is called a champ 25, huge twin like cleans from a 1x12. Only difference is I got a cheap tremolo pedal too! EHX pulsar. Can't go without those sweet tones for ballads and waltz time etc!

[@gregmock6808]

Great playing....I played most of my career with one analog delay and an amp....now I have quite a few but my favorite is probably my GE7 Q pedal. I play a 335 but this year picked up a black guard tele that I love.

[@bluesslider76]

Totally agree. I still drag a super and a deluxe reverb around and run my board through it . One day I’ll dial it down but I still enjoy the head room added by the super.

[@peterburi2727]

Once ya' go Telecaster, ya' don't go back.

[@jamesadams1064]

Love my Telecaster. But still have arguments with my Strat. Oh well. I play through a Supro Dixie King 12 with a touch of reverb. Nice video. Thanks for mentioning Roy and Nancy.

[@officialWWM]

I never could get along with a Strat. Too many tone choices. I love the simplicity of the Telecaster, you really can play anything on them.

[@codymessick7745]

Very nice! I've done a few tours this year already where I just brought a JV tele with 11s, a little pedaltrain riser board like yours with a peterson mini tuner and a strymon deco, and a milkman combo. If it's a quick gig or we're hopping on stage with the headliner then I'll typically leave the mini board in my gear bag and just go straight in, but that deco gives me a little boost if I really need it and also lets me do some slapback and flange tones based on the artist I'm with.

[@Lowtech14]

Tab Benoit I believe plays a tele thinline straight into the amp.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Absolutely!!! One of my favorites!!!

[@UncleDanBand64]

Yes sir. Like all or most Tele guys, I spent most of my time lugging around 2 tube amps and ton of pedals. As I got older and wiser...well really just lazier. I started stripping back first to just one amp and eventually no pedals. I have to run an amp with a gain and volume. I just set the gain to bring me into SRV territory if I dime my volume knob. Just roll her back for clean. My homemade Tele is really an Esquire bridge only. I run a lefty bridge to angle the pickup opposite. I find that makes the lows more snappy and takes the icepick out of the highs. It works for me. That is my sound. So, when I do side gigs they get my sound for better or worse. Minimalist or Laziness 😂 👍

[@maxpeck4154]

Amen to that. I bought an amp with gain and volume controls but it also has power scaling. After 30 years of playing I finally learned how to get everything from the amp and the guitar by using the guitar's volume control. I don't own an overdrive pedal.

[@UncleDanBand64]

@maxpeck4154 Yes sir. I own a bunch of them but, they are collecting dust 👍

[@sonnywolfblues]

I'm similar this way.I bring a Strat and a Tele to the gig and use whichever one suits the song best.Can't beat a Tele bridge pickup or a Strat neck pickup tone...those are my selling points as to why I need both.But amp and pedal-wise I like it simple.I use an Ibanez 808 Tubescreamer set to full gain and set even with the amp(these days a Fender tweed Blues Deluxe with a modified Jensen Alnico for that old school 1950s tone).I leave the pedal on all the time and use my volume knob on the guitar to clean it up or bring slightly down for rhythm work.That one tone is my sound and for the Blues and Rock n Roll I play it does everything I need.I use no reverb and might use a Vox wah for 2 or 3 tunes when needed.That's it for me.Nothing against more complex rigs but I like to keep it minimal.

[@doubled5383]

I put a strat pickup in the tele neck position. It is wound to fit the tele neck position. Agree tele neck, strat neck are THE fender sound.

[@sonnywolfblues]

@@WilsonJonesMusic No not interested in that....I love Strats too much and I also use it's other pickup positions when needed.I also like the Tele neck pickup for certain things where I want that smoother sound compared to a Strat neck pickup also although 90% of my Tele playing is on the bridge pickup .I'm perfectly happy using both models depending what the song calls for....if it's SRV then the Strat,if it's Rolling Stones then the Tele ect.

[@None-lh5mx]

I'm at the exact same point in my playing. Tele -> Nobels -> Amp is where I'm at.

[@heavyasi1981]

Are you still here in Minneapolis? I’m a 35 yr exp guitarist, wish I could have the history you have, but mine’s based off of local playing since 2001. Anyway, I’m in love with my telecaster ms, and an only guitar teacher of mine was just like you, ALL TELECASTERS!

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

I spent 10 years in Dallas Fort Worth, playing, and teaching for a living and just moved to Oklahoma so I’ve been away from Minnesota for quite a while!

[@heavyasi1981]

@@KoreyHicksGuitar thts cool, man! I keep telling my wife I wanna move to rural Oklahoma! I recently picked up a 58 fender 400 pedal steel and a hotrodded fender Esquire b bender, so I’m learning more country lead playing these days.

[@cwyld5278]

I recently sat in on a few tunes at a friend’s gig. I brought my tele, but the other guitar player handed me his les paul plugged strait into an ac 30. I was so surprised how great it sounded just with nothing else on it. I’ve been seriously considering dropping some cash on a good les paul style guitar.

[@shobudski6776]

You should!

[@telefrk49]

Awesome video!! I have a Carr Super Bee, best Fender style amps i feel!! Now i guess i need a Protein too!! Thanks for the info!!

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Love Carr amps! Haven’t tried the Bee yet - how would you describe it?

[@martydibergi5228]

do you know John Jorgenson? Can’t believe you 2:36 mentioned Ed Bickert. check out jazz giant Lorne Lofsky. They recorded 2 albums together

[@adamcherry434]

Hey great stuff fella Luv it Let your simple set up and fingers do the talking Especially coming from someone whose done the miles Great

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Thank you! 😊

[@astewart9410]

What happened to your 51 CS Tele? The 59 is nice but that 51 is so sweet! Overall Agreed, Tele are simple but so versatile!

[@steverolfeca]

When I started out as a bassist in 1972, most people played one electric and maybe doubled on upright (except some studio guys). 13 years of getting ALL the tones out of a P-bass and one string type made me as a musician. 40-odd years later, I’m still grateful. Even now, my 3 basses are completely different: A Dingwall ABZ-5, plus a Guild acoustic and NSD NXTa 5-string electric upright. Same w/guitars- Thinline Telecaster w/4-way switch and piezo bridge saddles, baritone Tele w/P-90’s, classical, and an exotic side-ported Karol acoustic.

[@iamanovercomer3253]

I'm a Fender guy; love my 🇺🇸 strat . I was looking for a telecaster, love the professional 2 telecaster.... BUT fender has gotten too corporate. I checked out a G&L Fullerton Asat classic and it is a telecaster on steroids ‼️ ❤️ the guitar, much better built guitar than fender and the pickups are insane ‼️ Leo Fender was a genius ‼️👍

[@lazvt8469]

Sold my Pro 2 Tele recently...nice indeed...but not special. The MFD's on my USA G&L Tele (and even on the Indonesian Strat) sound as good as Lollars/Fralin/boutique pups. If you win lottery...HIGHLY recommend an LSL TBone One. Mine is sooo special....more so than my CS to be honest...and it's a gem too.

[@markmcdonald5711]

G&L guitars are low production mostly hand built guitars made like Leo used to build them in the 50's and 60's, made in Fullerton CA. on Fender Ave. I went there in 2005 and they gave me a tour of the factory including Leo's workshop, try that with Fender and see where it gets you.

[@maxpeck4154]

Try a Nash. If the price of a new one scares you off, look for a used one. I have a T63 (Tele with rosewood slab board) and an S63 (Strat with rosewood board). Bought them both used for a good price and they're stellar. My local shop is a dealer and I've probably played 2 dozen of them over the years - they were all great. No, they're NOT all relic'ed to death.

[@lazvt8469]

@@maxpeck4154 I'm a lefty...and my searches on Reverb/Google...often include a Nash... My son played one recently and loved it. I also wouldn't mind a K-Line...rare especially lefty.

[@maxpeck4154]

@@lazvt8469 Aaahhh, gotcha. Yeah that's true that they are more rare. I also had a K-Line but was unimpressed with the fretwork, although it was just one guitar and everyone raves about them so likely it was just a bad case of fret sprout.

[@hgostos]

Great video and concept!!

[@JosephCompton66]

What a great lesson.

[@Bigubus]

You know I'm getting same vibes with my Edwards Les Paul, vox wah pedal and behringer amp. Just plug and play

[@glenlapwing8468]

Yep, 58 years of playing & minimalism is the way to go-a tele or les paul, a good cable & a non high gain amp & maybe 2 or 3 pedals-everything else is just a toy

[@robertstan2349]

now chuck the drive pedal

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

The beginning of the video I talked about plugging my telecaster straight into a re-issue Deluxe Reverb for the first thousand gigs I played. No pedals there.

[@CBGypsy03]

Dig this approach 😊

[@johndaugherty4127]

Indeed. If it's good enpugh for Keef, it's good. Besides, all thebest picker's play tele's. I got a mahogany body, ebony fretboard 'goldfoil' tele, and it is my life tele.

[@hansemannluchter643]

You just HAD to get the fanzy-schmanzy Tele with binding, didn't you? 🤣

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

😜

[@jacko717]

Impressive chops Sir, kudos🥇

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Thank you!

[@karmakarrot7960]

My minimalism is a Ultra Telecaster and A Fender Deluxe 5e3.

[@richardbesley9683]

You are so right

[@martydibergi5228]

sweet playing❤

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Thank you!

[@thomasd9237]

When you're done with your amp Can I have it .??. ☺️ LoL

[@adamcherry434]

Very welcome Your vid is keeping me outside on a cold night with a red wine and a rolly cigarette That says something 😉

[@jamesiepoo23]

Love it 🤘🏼

[@NoWayOut-]

I would make intensely strategic decisions at any suggestion for another pedal. However, with this setup I’d go with a phase 95 mini pedal for those Waylan Jennings tones. Aggressive forehead sweat begins.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

I’ve used the phase 95 for years on my big board for country gigs! Great pedal

[@arcifric969]

very nice !!!

[@ORJeeper]

My Telecasters sound and feel so good, sometimes I don't even plug into an amp.

[@haroldbelfast]

Tele, tweed deluxe, archer drive, ehx reverb pedal, done.

[@cowboygypsey]

I live by the Kiss (keep it simple stupid), philosophy.

[@aaronwinter1092]

I worked at Guitar Center in Roseville from 2000-2003. Which location did you work at and when?

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

I was at Roseville from May 2003 until January or Feb ‘04

[@GuitpickinCowhippy]

I'm sure I crossed paths with both of you. Spent almost as much at GC Roseville as I did at Northridge Music.

[@aaronwinter1092]

@@KoreyHicksGuitar we must have just missed each other. I left in May of 2003. You could have been my replacement! I still keep in touch with Dave Phillips and some of the others I used to work with there.

[@aaronwinter1092]

@@GuitpickinCowhippy were you a regular customer? I worked there 6 days a week. I’m sure we’ve crossed paths.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

@@aaronwinter1092 Mark Althans too!

[@lynnglidewell7367]

But if don't play professionally just for enjoyment with friends you can still go minimal without investing a fortune. Besides, I'm no purist. I can have enjoyment for thousands less. But if your a Pro you need the best as you're able and willing to afford. It's your job. It may have been best to stipulate all that at the start of the video.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Thought I did? I mentioned playing my first 1000 gigs or so on just a Tele and Deluxe Reverb…

[@lynnglidewell7367]

@@KoreyHicksGuitar Well if you're calling out makes and names of an instrument not many people know what that indicates. You need to be a little more direct and intentional then that. Other pros know what you mean but average Joe? No.

[@Bingopete71]

Jimmy Page used a Telecaster to sell Gibson Les Paul guitars. Johnny Winter bought a Les Paul because he liked Jimmy's sound, only to find out that the tones he wanted were recorded with a Telecaster.

[@jasonstarkie2775]

!

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

!!

[@oafleming]

and one looper pedal?? 🫣

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

I’ll allow it 😜

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

@@KoreyHicksGuitar I won't! Loopers take the entertainment out of entertainment.

[@AlexTroulanGuitar]

Telecaster or a 335

[@Da_Publick]

Need a pedal? Not minimalism.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

The beginning of the video I talked about plugging my telecaster straight into a re-issue Deluxe Reverb for the first thousand gigs I played. No pedals there.

[@jonathanfoster2263]

I'm afraid I'm not making the connection to seeing some of the biggest names in blues rock all playing strats causing you to want to sell all your strats..... does not compute unless your one of those guys who loves something until its popular then you suddenly hate it for no specific reason

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Same reason people like Josh Smith quit playing Strats… They have a way of making you immediately play a certain way and when you are young and trying to cultivate your own style, it’s nice to have a guitar that is a clean slate which the telecaster was for me. There was no baggage attached to it.

[@jricoc3475]

This rig owes almost nothing to minimalism. Fender regularly offers fifteen Telecaster models with lesser materials, specs, quality control, and design cues than the Tele shown here. Similarly, Carr's lineup of amps offers a few options that have lesser features than the Sportsman, even allowing for the fact that none of Carr's amps are truly "minimalist". While this rig appears to be "traditional" or "understated" its feature sets belie any hint of minimalism ...

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Minimalism is a reduction in number of components and options, not necessarily price. I’m a professional guitar player who plays over 225 shows a year and teach music full-time, supporting a family of nine with my guitar. My job and 20+ years in the biz have allowed me to work up to quality stuff I like. But it is still “Tele into an amp with only a pedal or two”. With your definition, Derek Trucks plugging a Gibson SG straight into a vintage Super Reverb isn’t minimalist because the rig costs $15k? 🫤

[@jricoc3475]

I never mentioned cost. The features in these components are not even considered minimal standard by their manufacturers. The PCB of that amp is not at all like one you'd find in a Fender Blues Junior or Hot Rod Deluxe ...

[@karlwanninger7675]

Telecaster Minimalism for about $ 9.000 ? Really?

[@Bigubus]

You can just buy squier Tele, behringer ha40r and cheaper versions of pedals as wel

[@duderinoification]

reminds me of when a bunch of people got super upset and went on a cancel campaign when a certain band i know decided to release a special edition album for $70 a pop. Sorry, dude, but just because you can't afford something doesn't give you the right to shit on people who can. Not everyone deserves to drive a lambo. get over it.

[@karlwanninger7675]

@@duderinoification Of course deserves everybody to drive a lambo.

[@duderinoification]

@@karlwanninger7675 have fun with your huffy bike. i've seen people win competitions with them. but if you want a lambo you better get lucky as $$$$$hit. that being said, 9k is less than your typical used commuter sedan and if you made money playing guitar a 9k rig would pay for itself quick and be a tax writeoff too.

[@karlwanninger7675]

@@duderinoification I don't want a lambo, I prefer Porsche and Mercedes. Btw. I bought my first Mercedes at the age of 18 and the first wonderful red Porsche at 22. Ok, if you say so, than that's minimalism.

[@ejtonefan]

One pedal is too many pedals! Learn to hear and play clean.

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Of course, in the video I state that I played my first thousand gigs or so plugged directly into a Deluxe Reverb 😊

[@mikeb5372]

Telecaster is a great guitar but every youtuber refers to them as versatile. Pretty much every guitar can be referred to as versatile and some much more versatile than a Tele. Two things I wish youtubers would stop doing- referring to Telecasters as versatile and playing Little Wing! Just as music stores ban playing Stairway to Heaven so should youtube ban playing Little Wing

[@tommym321]

Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?

[@mikeb5372]

@@tommym321 Lol.. gotta have my rant of the day or my brain will hurt

[@tommym321]

@@mikeb5372 I can relate.

[@crosbycofod5052]

Gigging player here. Tele is THE most versatile. Middle can sound like a strat. Neck tone rolled down matches my 335. Then you have that bitey bridge. I’ve tried playing strats but they always sound like a strat.

[@7171jay]

@mikeb. Calling the Telecaster "versatile" is just an overcompensation for the way many people back before the interwebs felt about the guitar.... that is was pretty much a guitar meant to play country music on. This idea was of course wrong as we found out that even Page who was known for the Les Paul actually played a Tele early on and it was all over Zeppelin's recordings in spite of him using the Les Paul pretty exclusively live during the 70s. Decades after every knowledgeable guitarist should understand that most guitars should be able to handle most types of music the old incorrect thinking still exists somewhat and people feel they need to go on about the versatility of the Tele. Back before guitar pedals existed or were common you could certainly get a bit more bite and sustain out of humbuckers straight into an amp than Fender single coils so at least for a short time there was something to the argument that a humbucker was what you needed to push the amp. Plenty of guitarists in the 70s thought incorrectly that a Les Paul and a Marshall amp were the path to all heavy guitar sounds but eventually we learned that Page and other greats were using stuff like Tonebender pedals and the LPB1 boost or even two LPB1 boosts run in series. While there certainly can be something cool about running a guitar straight into an amp with no pedals more often then not many or even most of the great classic heavy guitar sounds were indeed made with pedals. The overdrive, the fuzz and distortion pedals make the differences between a low output single coil pickup and a humbucker pretty much moot. The only real argument being that the noise of single coil can be a bit of an issue especially as you add gain.

[@djizzah]

Hardly a minimalist tele made in USA, special binding, expensive instrument

[@KoreyHicksGuitar]

Minimalism has nothing to do with price. Are you saying that Derek Trucks, with a Custom Shop Gibson SG plugged straight into a vintage $10,000 super reverb isn’t minimalism? Minimalism means reducing the number of components, not the price. The beginning of the video I talked about plugging my telecaster straight into a re-issue Deluxe Reverb for the first thousand gigs I played. No pedals there.