As a guitarist i fell in love with electric tenor's after seeing/hearing Warren Ellis in The Bad Seeds ( with Nick Cave) and how they bring a new dimension to a band if you know what you're doing. Warren does have his own signature tenor electrics made by Eastwood. The Fender's look and sound good too.
Electric tenors aren't thick on the ground, but Ibanez, Recording King, Harley Benton and Gold tone produce acoustic tenors. I have four of my own and I am currently building three. I love the whole aesthetic and love playing them. Great video.
Ashbury and Vintage guitars in England make really good tenor guitars too. I play a Vintage brand tenor called the Viaten. Excellent value and great sound. Thanks very much for the great video.
Great to give some visibility to this instrument! I have one tenor from Eastwood plus the same Fender you showed. I have average-sized hands for a dude, and I really struggle with the neck and string placement on the Fender Tenor Tele. The Eastwood is great though. But I guess we're all built differently. I've always struggled a bit with string gaps on 6-strings as well, maybe my fingers are just particularly stubby on the ends lol PS: Another artist who regularly uses a tenor, and who also has a GREAT singing voice, is Maesa Pullman. Check her solo album "Death of the Machine" and the two albums she made with The Last Hurrah, "Los Angeles" and "Mudflowers".
My great-grandpa had a Gibson arch-top tenor that was his main guitar to his dying day. I have no idea where it is now, but I'd imagine it was pretty valuable. I'm thinking it had to have dated from the 30s or 40s.
Wow thanks for this great informative video. I’ve been trying to learn about these instruments with hoping of buying one at some point soon! Fun channel! I subscribed!
In the early Eighties after I learned about tenor guitars from Tom Wheeler’s The Guitar Book, I became obsessed but never imagined just how long it would take for them to be reconsidered.
I just got an Eastwood Warren Ellis Tenor a couple weeks ago! IN LOVE WITH IT! I got the single rail pickup one. I got used to the string spacing really fast and figured out how to play tuned to 5ths really fast. Just weird going back to guitar or I wouldn't mind the string spacing difference.
@@CrazyLazyDavehi, i ' ve received recently the Eastwood tenorbaritone, one of the few available for left handed; the instrument has a powerful output ( blade pick up/ neck , mini humbucker/ bridge) looks very solid, it is pretty heavy as weight, looks almost like a bass guitar ! I had two problems with this instrument, one was with the tuner of the A string, the " ring" that should keep inside the headstock the tuner key, came off from the headstock! Second, the cable " insert" hole, after 2 months, the thread ring came off while i was removing the cable jack . The thread disappered inside the guitar body, and with the help of a little plyer, i pulled it up and inserted the ring. I have changed the strings with a lighter strings set ( the original set has very thick strings), after changing the strings, i can tell you that the tenorbaritone is very playable, the neck is perfect ,as the fretboard is . The strings spacing is ok even if your hands are not big . Soon i will add a third pick up, a Seymour Duncan Minibucker Seymourized, to give a " crisper" sound to the instrument. I have also a hand made tenor guitar, if you like to see it , go on my channel , and search for " video for Astrogerry/ Chuck guitars" , is similar to the Fender model , but with some different features. Hope my english is enough understandable, my best regards, Patrick from Italy
@@GetOffset Our first time seeing her live. Amazing!! Once home, I immediately started looking at tenor’s on Reverb. I’d love it if Gibson released a signature for her. A less expensive Epiphone signature would be even better! So happy to see your video on your tenor collection! What a funny coincidence! Now I need to get a copy of that Fretboard Journal issue…..
Good for you my dear. My uncle taught me to play a concert uke when I was 12, I bought a baritone uke when I was 14 and a tenor guitar when I was 20 I am 79 now a d enjoy them all!!!
speaking of tiny guitars, they make some really cool little solid body electric ukuleles. i got a v style one by vorsen. its really cheap but brings me an unreasonable amount of joy. now i want to go buy a tenor guitar
Or guitalele's are cool too, they're 6 string ukuleles tuned like a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret. I have a gretsch one and it's a fun little couch guitar.
@@brendancleary9490 yeah i got one of those too that is the same brand as my electric ukulele. they are both from vorson, pretty basic instruments, but still fun.
Hi Emily, On your Gibson acoustic tenor, since it’s out of tune on the first several frets, that may mean that the string slot in the nut has not been filed deep enough. It could be the bridge too. Hope that helps!
Eastwood still has the Astrojet Tenor Deluxe editions with P-90 pickups, BUT... they also have an EXTRA VOLUME AND TONE! I bought two when the first came out. They still have some left, but they're about $900.00 (U.S.) so make sure you want one before investing. I bought two and one is in Chicago tuning (E B G D) and the other is in Arkansas tuning. (G D A E) Both sound wicked, and are super fun to play. The brought back the standard Astrojet as well which goes for $700.00 (U.S.) they have a few of those left, but those are going fast. (And there's no whammy bar on the standard models, either) I'm not a Tele player, so I don't feel the need to track down a tenor Telecastor, but, yeah, you're right, that thing is a little Funk Machine. If I played funk, I'd probably hunt one down. (Or I could play Minutemen covers, since D. Boone played a Tele. I'm sure Corona would sound good on one of those babies, but I think I'll still stick to a six string for Corona) Anyway, thought I would just stop by and drop some more info and updates about the Astrojets.
For some reason, I want to put super heavy strings on these and tune them to low Drop-A instead. (A, E, A, D). That would be great for some drone-doom a la SuNN O))).
Hey Emily, how is playing the tenor different than from say Nashville tuning a standard guitar? Other than the obvious less strings on the tenor. I ask because we don't need yet another guitar. Nope! Not at all!
Oh it's completely different. it CAN sit in that same range as Nashville tuning, but it doesn't have to. It can be a fuller-range sound like it is on the Warren Ellis (try to imagine that with a high string lol), but I mostly use it as a little funk or plucky guitar for when I really don't need the low E or A strings.
Many people tune tenors in fifths, like a viola (CGDA) or an octave mandolin (GDAE). I find fifths tuning gives some great voicings (especially on minor chords).
Ahhh, a tenor guitar! Every now and then, I get a hankering to buy one if I feel I'm getting a little stale musically, but, whenever I've played them, that neck! It feels like I'm fretting a broomstick (probably because I play classical style/thumb behind the neck)! So, as of now, no tenor guitar for me. BTW, Eastwood might make the only electric tenor guitar at the present time, but Ibanez, and Blueridge do make acoustic tenor guitars at the present time.
@@GetOffsetNo I haven't. I wonder if the neck width is similar to the neck width on the infamously narrow "speed necks" Gibson put on their hollowbody, and semi-hollowbody guitars in the 70s (I had 70s era Les Paul Signature with one of those necks, when I was in college). Also, while my favorite local guitar shop is supposedly an Eastwood dealer, I haven't seen one at the shop in years. I had a couple of Eastwoods 10 plus years ago.
You are right, I am left hopelessly confused by this thing. So it's basically a massively high output banjo? An SG banjo, ok this too much for me to deal with. And you finally admitted that women as the weaker sex, must only be allowed to play tenor guitars cuz those are girlz guitars. I think that's what you said. I might have misquoted.. Oh, oh oh, I need one of these for slide.
Tenor guitar nation represent! 🐱👍
hell yeah!
YEAH! Tenor guitarists unite!!! 🤣
Neko Case is the first person I saw playing a tenor-guitar about a decade ago, but have never played one.
It’s cool to know you’re also a fan.
Oh yeah, been listening to Neko since I was a teen!
@@GetOffset I saw her at a block-party in Chicago on her tour in 2013 & she was great.
I've spent WAY too long on the Eastwood website checking out the tenor guitars. This is the first I've seen them in the wild.
As a guitarist i fell in love with electric tenor's after seeing/hearing Warren Ellis in The Bad Seeds ( with Nick Cave) and how they bring a new dimension to a band if you know what you're doing. Warren does have his own signature tenor electrics made by Eastwood. The Fender's look and sound good too.
Electric tenors aren't thick on the ground, but Ibanez, Recording King, Harley Benton and Gold tone produce acoustic tenors.
I have four of my own and I am currently building three.
I love the whole aesthetic and love playing them.
Great video.
Ashbury and Vintage guitars in England make really good tenor guitars too. I play a Vintage brand tenor called the Viaten.
Excellent value and great sound.
Thanks very much for the great video.
That's a lot of tenors! Definitely gonna go back and check out other tenor vids you've done!
Awesome, thank you!
Great to give some visibility to this instrument! I have one tenor from Eastwood plus the same Fender you showed. I have average-sized hands for a dude, and I really struggle with the neck and string placement on the Fender Tenor Tele. The Eastwood is great though. But I guess we're all built differently. I've always struggled a bit with string gaps on 6-strings as well, maybe my fingers are just particularly stubby on the ends lol
PS: Another artist who regularly uses a tenor, and who also has a GREAT singing voice, is Maesa Pullman. Check her solo album "Death of the Machine" and the two albums she made with The Last Hurrah, "Los Angeles" and "Mudflowers".
Thanks for the recommendation!!
The idea of the tenor guitar is pretty cool. I'm definitely liking the vibes from both the Eastwood models. Thanks for sharing more of your collection
Thanks for watching!
I love that home made tenor guitar it is my favourite of your’s
My great-grandpa had a Gibson arch-top tenor that was his main guitar to his dying day. I have no idea where it is now, but I'd imagine it was pretty valuable. I'm thinking it had to have dated from the 30s or 40s.
Wow, that's really cool! Do you have any pics?
@@GetOffset No, but I might be able to dig one up!
Wow thanks for this great informative video. I’ve been trying to learn about these instruments with hoping of buying one at some point soon! Fun channel! I subscribed!
Glad it was helpful!
In the early Eighties after I learned about tenor guitars from Tom Wheeler’s The Guitar Book, I became obsessed but never imagined just how long it would take for them to be reconsidered.
As a Neko Case fan I've always been curious about these so thanks for the video. Oh, and we all have those gear purchases. Don't feel bad about it.
That's true, and I'm sure it's fixable!
I just got an Eastwood Warren Ellis Tenor a couple weeks ago! IN LOVE WITH IT! I got the single rail pickup one. I got used to the string spacing really fast and figured out how to play tuned to 5ths really fast. Just weird going back to guitar or I wouldn't mind the string spacing difference.
I think it's just that my hands are smaller! But I think they're really slick. I wanted one of their baritone tenors, too.
@@GetOffset yeah I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for a good deal on a used Baritone. Or the 5 string Baritone. Super cool and fun.
@@CrazyLazyDavehi, i ' ve received recently the Eastwood tenorbaritone, one of the few available for left handed; the instrument has a powerful output ( blade pick up/ neck , mini humbucker/ bridge) looks very solid, it is pretty heavy as weight, looks almost like a bass guitar ! I had two problems with this instrument, one was with the tuner of the A string, the " ring" that should keep inside the headstock the tuner key, came off from the headstock! Second, the cable " insert" hole, after 2 months, the thread ring came off while i was removing the cable jack . The thread disappered inside the guitar body, and with the help of a little plyer, i pulled it up and inserted the ring. I have changed the strings with a lighter strings set ( the original set has very thick strings), after changing the strings, i can tell you that the tenorbaritone is very playable, the neck is perfect ,as the fretboard is . The strings spacing is ok even if your hands are not big . Soon i will add a third pick up, a Seymour Duncan Minibucker Seymourized, to give a " crisper" sound to the instrument. I have also a hand made tenor guitar, if you like to see it , go on my channel , and search for " video for Astrogerry/ Chuck guitars" , is similar to the Fender model , but with some different features. Hope my english is enough understandable, my best regards, Patrick from Italy
After seeing Neko Case in Edmonds last weekend, I immediately looked up that TV yellow SG she’s wielding. Now I need a tenor!
I totally blanked that she was in town!
@@GetOffset Our first time seeing her live. Amazing!! Once home, I immediately started looking at tenor’s on Reverb. I’d love it if Gibson released a signature for her. A less expensive Epiphone signature would be even better!
So happy to see your video on your tenor collection! What a funny coincidence!
Now I need to get a copy of that Fretboard Journal issue…..
Oh a gibson custom would be so cool but so spendy!
Good for you my dear. My uncle taught me to play a concert uke when I was 12, I bought a baritone uke when I was 14 and a tenor guitar when I was 20 I am 79 now a d enjoy them all!!!
speaking of tiny guitars, they make some really cool little solid body electric ukuleles. i got a v style one by vorsen. its really cheap but brings me an unreasonable amount of joy. now i want to go buy a tenor guitar
Or guitalele's are cool too, they're 6 string ukuleles tuned like a guitar with a capo on the 5th fret. I have a gretsch one and it's a fun little couch guitar.
@@brendancleary9490 yeah i got one of those too that is the same brand as my electric ukulele. they are both from vorson, pretty basic instruments, but still fun.
Hi Emily,
On your Gibson acoustic tenor, since it’s out of tune on the first several frets, that may mean that the string slot in the nut has not been filed deep enough. It could be the bridge too. Hope that helps!
Hi again, I saw the bridge saddle, and it’s definitely too high
Thanks for the confirmation!
Eastwood still has the Astrojet Tenor Deluxe editions with P-90 pickups, BUT... they also have an EXTRA VOLUME AND TONE! I bought two when the first came out. They still have some left, but they're about $900.00 (U.S.) so make sure you want one before investing. I bought two and one is in Chicago tuning (E B G D) and the other is in Arkansas tuning. (G D A E) Both sound wicked, and are super fun to play. The brought back the standard Astrojet as well which goes for $700.00 (U.S.) they have a few of those left, but those are going fast. (And there's no whammy bar on the standard models, either) I'm not a Tele player, so I don't feel the need to track down a tenor Telecastor, but, yeah, you're right, that thing is a little Funk Machine. If I played funk, I'd probably hunt one down. (Or I could play Minutemen covers, since D. Boone played a Tele. I'm sure Corona would sound good on one of those babies, but I think I'll still stick to a six string for Corona) Anyway, thought I would just stop by and drop some more info and updates about the Astrojets.
That's awesome to hear, thanks for dropping the info!!
@@GetOffset You're welcome. Glad to be of help.
For some reason, I want to put super heavy strings on these and tune them to low Drop-A instead. (A, E, A, D). That would be great for some drone-doom a la SuNN O))).
Oh man, that sounds so sick hahaha.
Hey Emily, how is playing the tenor different than from say Nashville tuning a standard guitar? Other than the obvious less strings on the tenor. I ask because we don't need yet another guitar. Nope! Not at all!
Oh it's completely different. it CAN sit in that same range as Nashville tuning, but it doesn't have to. It can be a fuller-range sound like it is on the Warren Ellis (try to imagine that with a high string lol), but I mostly use it as a little funk or plucky guitar for when I really don't need the low E or A strings.
@@GetOffset Thank you for the insight! Cheers!
Many people tune tenors in fifths, like a viola (CGDA) or an octave mandolin (GDAE). I find fifths tuning gives some great voicings (especially on minor chords).
How is the Cozart tele-tenor? Obviously lower end, but is it ok for a cash strapped player?
The issues on the Gibson should be easy enough to fix. If you are unsure I do recommend taking it to an experienced repair person though.
Okay, but can you play Punk on them?
Ahhh, a tenor guitar! Every now and then, I get a hankering to buy one if I feel I'm getting a little stale musically, but, whenever I've played them, that neck! It feels like I'm fretting a broomstick (probably because I play classical style/thumb behind the neck)! So, as of now, no tenor guitar for me. BTW, Eastwood might make the only electric tenor guitar at the present time, but Ibanez, and Blueridge do make acoustic tenor guitars at the present time.
Have you tried the Eastwood ones with the wider necks?
@@GetOffsetNo I haven't. I wonder if the neck width is similar to the neck width on the infamously narrow "speed necks" Gibson put on their hollowbody, and semi-hollowbody guitars in the 70s (I had 70s era Les Paul Signature with one of those necks, when I was in college). Also, while my favorite local guitar shop is supposedly an Eastwood dealer, I haven't seen one at the shop in years. I had a couple of Eastwoods 10 plus years ago.
I would like to see a band play with a bass vi and a tenor guitar
OMG yes!
You are right, I am left hopelessly confused by this thing. So it's basically a massively high output banjo? An SG banjo, ok this too much for me to deal with. And you finally admitted that women as the weaker sex, must only be allowed to play tenor guitars cuz those are girlz guitars. I think that's what you said. I might have misquoted..
Oh, oh oh, I need one of these for slide.
Haha, banjo in origin, but this is all guitar
Hi Sassy ✌️ Emily
Hey GZ! 👋
hey hey!
Check out Willy Tea Taylor, amazing songwriter and uses an acoustic tenor!