Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: LiamH on August 15, 2006, 08:13:37 PM

Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 15, 2006, 08:13:37 PM
My girlfriend has bought me a Fender American Strat (alder body and maple neck). A very nice thing for her to do. It is being delivered next week. It has the delta tone system and the pickups are  3 x SC (alnico V's). It looks like a lovely guitar and is probably too nice for me as I have only been playing a year. My only slight worry is that it might sound a bit thin. I love SRV and Jimi H, but most tones that grab my ears come from humbuckers. I suppose my ideal tone is Billy Gibbons's. Will I be looking to change  pickups? I am not a great believer in the "fingers are everything:" school of thought - since I got a mule my playing has come on leaps and bounds.
Title: Strat
Post by: hunter on August 15, 2006, 10:00:11 PM
You're a lucky man with such a loving woman !
Title: Strat
Post by: 38thBeatle on August 15, 2006, 10:10:02 PM
Wait until you get the guitar-play it to death and then decide. Strats can kick it out quite well. What a woman eh?
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 16, 2006, 08:48:57 AM
Oh cr@p I feel fuilty now. I better get her one hell of a birthday present.
Title: Strat
Post by: Elliot on August 16, 2006, 08:52:12 AM
If you have a mule in another guitar you wanna keep the single coils - that way you have both styles - if you need beef get some Irish Tours and wack em.

Anyway strats can do anything - they just need the player to tell them what to do  :D
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 16, 2006, 10:26:53 AM
I would agree with Mr 38th...When I got my strat, after a lot of playing, I decided the bridge pickup was a bit too feeble for my liking (maybe better singles would've solved the problem...) so, while thinking of that, I elected to go for a bridge humbucker - just to give me that extra power in the bridge position.

The other thing I did was put in a push/pull to wire the neck and middle pickups in series - and this also gives a closer approximation to a neck humbucker tone :drink:
Title: Strat
Post by: _tom_ on August 16, 2006, 10:30:12 AM
Quote from: deg0ey
The other thing I did was put in a push/pull to wire the neck and middle pickups in series - and this also gives a closer approximation to a neck humbucker tone :drink:


Do you have a schematic or something for that? Sounds interesting..
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 16, 2006, 10:32:37 AM
Quote from: _tom_
Quote from: deg0ey
The other thing I did was put in a push/pull to wire the neck and middle pickups in series - and this also gives a closer approximation to a neck humbucker tone :drink:


Do you have a schematic or something for that? Sounds interesting..


As I have nothing better to do, I'll draw you one up - It'll be hand drawn and scanned as I don't know how to do one on the PC, but I promise to use a ruler :drink:
Title: Strat
Post by: _tom_ on August 16, 2006, 10:37:25 AM
haha ok cool cheers! If it makes any difference my strat doesnt have the 2nd tone knob, just one volume and one tone for me  :)
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 16, 2006, 10:40:16 AM
Quote from: _tom_
haha ok cool cheers! If it makes any difference my strat doesnt have the 2nd tone knob, just one volume and one tone for me  :)


That's fine - where do you want the tone? Bridge, Neck or Middle?

Also - Shoot me a PM as we're stealing this dude's thread :drink:
Title: Strat
Post by: Jp. on August 16, 2006, 12:51:10 PM
slowhands might be the go if your looking to counteract a thin tone. I'll probably be going for them for my ash body strat.

Alder is usually pretty good for an alround sound so I woulndt be to worried.  

If you want more grunt get some irish tours but otherwise.... wait and see.

I've been on this forum for a year and only just got my first set.
Title: Strat
Post by: blue on August 16, 2006, 01:05:53 PM
Quote from: LiamH
Oh cr@p I feel fuilty now. I better get her one hell of a birthday present.


sorry, couldn't ignore "fuilty", what a wonderful new word!  

"i feel so fuilty for your clap of the malice..."

sorry, hijack over
Title: Strat
Post by: _tom_ on August 16, 2006, 01:07:20 PM
Quote from: blue
Quote from: LiamH
Oh cr@p I feel fuilty now. I better get her one hell of a birthday present.


sorry, couldn't ignore "fuilty", what a wonderful new word!  

"i feel so fuilty for your clap of the malice..."

sorry, hijack over


HAHAHAH hilarious, I thought people had forgot about the clap of the malice!
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 16, 2006, 02:08:39 PM
he he fuilty - perhaps it's feudian slip of farking guilty !!!
Title: Strat
Post by: Searcher on August 16, 2006, 05:29:55 PM
You could check the routing when you get your Strat (maybe not right away while thegirlfriend is watching).  A lot of them have space for a bridge humbucker.  You'd just need to get a new pickguard and tone pot.
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 16, 2006, 05:50:31 PM
Thanks Searcher, I thought I spotted something about that when I was googling it after she told me, but I thought I was imagining things again (see the Vai Rat posts).
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 16, 2006, 05:55:34 PM
I just found the spec on the fender website. It has HSH routing !!!! I think I will do as the sages on here suggest, play the bugger to death as it comes and then see how I feel about it. Presumably the pickups are better quality than my pacifica and should give good tone. Maybe I will find "my sound" if I learn to play with something that I would not choose myself.  Alternatively Tim gets an order for a set of Mules.
Title: Strat
Post by: Sifu Ben on August 17, 2006, 04:19:30 PM
If you want series switching on your strat (and can't afford a USA Deluxe model), the easiest way is to get the "Hot Little Knob" from Rothwell Audio products. The strat neck pickup is capable of some great rock tones (think Hendrix and Blackmore).
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 17, 2006, 06:22:00 PM
Yeah, that's an idea - but you could do it cheaper with a regular push/pull...and that knob thing wouldn't work if they wanted a bridge 'bucker
Title: Strat
Post by: Sifu Ben on August 17, 2006, 10:07:48 PM
But as I said, it's the easiest option, and it's only about £25 I think.
Title: Strat
Post by: Johnny Mac on August 18, 2006, 12:37:09 AM
Lucky man!!

There's always the sinner bridge. My IT bridge is very hot as well.
Title: Strat
Post by: Elliot on August 18, 2006, 08:25:28 AM
If you read one of the Harmony Central reviews the Hot Little Knob does work with a HSS strat - I haven't tried it with that combo but I would recommend the HLK to anyone - great cheap product that adds more to your strat.
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 19, 2006, 12:03:12 AM
I am going to get me the HLK. I am going to get to know my guitar first, as she is my first grown up one. I am not going to slag off my pacifica though, it cost me £150 (sale), and it was really well put together. I can get some very decent tones from it, now it has a mule it rocks. I might shift the mule over to the strat. Who knows, it so a lot of fun faffing around with sounds anyway, it only costs a bit of time and solder to experiment.
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 19, 2006, 12:06:41 AM
Quote from: LiamH
it only costs a bit of time and solder to experiment.


If you're gonna do the wiring yourself, then make sure you have a steady hand - I nearly melted a hole in my pickguard due to being in a cold room and shivering at the wrong time :drink:
Title: Strat
Post by: _tom_ on August 19, 2006, 01:12:48 AM
^I'm clumsy with the iron, I always manage to melt the wires' insulation without realising somehow :P
Title: Strat
Post by: deg0ey on August 19, 2006, 08:37:06 AM
Yep, I did that a number of times too - and then had to get the electrical insulation tape out :P
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 27, 2006, 06:58:57 PM
WOW. My first real guitar. It's lovely to play, it is hard to explain how nice it is. I think I like the whole single coil thing, not much power, but sweet as anything.
Title: Strat
Post by: lp_man on August 27, 2006, 08:47:17 PM
I'm selling a SD hotrails on ebay at the moment. Do not get one! They are pretty rubbish in my opinion, stick with bkp's or singlecoils.

Ideal solution; Get a new pickguard for the bucker to fit in your strat, put the bridge single coil in the passifica and hey presto!

Or just buy a pre-wired set from bkp :P

-Will
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 27, 2006, 08:54:10 PM
At the mo' I am just getting me ears used to the new sound. I am happy at the moment. I am sure that will change as the endless search for the perfect sound goes on, but for the moment, all is lovely.
Title: Strat
Post by: lp_man on August 27, 2006, 08:57:29 PM
Quote from: LiamH
At the mo' I am just getting me ears used to the new sound. I am happy at the moment. I am sure that will change as the endless search for the perfect sound goes on, but for the moment, all is lovely.

The only problem I had with mine is it just didn't fit with my band sound and I need two guitars with buckers. It is a real shame because I do love my one, but it has to go to make room :) I tried an SD hotrails but it was quite frankly...cr@p! Don't make that mistake!

-Will
Title: Strat
Post by: Siadern on August 27, 2006, 09:25:33 PM
If you like the single coils but feel you need a bit more power, you may want to think about a Sinner in the bridge instead of a humbucker. They don't sound like humbuckers (nor do they try to), but they do sound awsome. There are some nice clips in the Players forum that are worth listening to.

As for the middle and neck, if you like SRV, you'll love Irish Tours. They also match up nicely with a Sinner in the bridge.
Title: Strat
Post by: LiamH on August 27, 2006, 09:28:40 PM
Quote from: Siadern
If you like the single coils but feel you need a bit more power, you may want to think about a Sinner in the bridge instead of a humbucker. They don't sound like humbuckers (nor do they try to), but they do sound awsome. There are some nice clips in the Players forum that are worth listening to.

As for the middle and neck, if you like SRV, you'll love Irish Tours. They also match up nicely with a Sinner in the bridge.


I am going to think about that. If I do change I do not want to lose that sweetness. It is a nice dilemma to face.