Strat advice needed

[Colin Johnston]

Hi all!

I'm restoring my fave old JV Squier Strat.  Long story short - I have two of the original US vintage reissue pickups in it at the moment (bridge & neck).  I was thinking of moving the bridge one to replace the current cheap middle pickup and buying something toneful for the bridge position.

A bit of info - rich clean and natural overdrive tones with Fender amps is the priority.  Basically I'd love an early 50's Tele tone from the bridge - I'm thinking of an Apache or a Mothers Milk.  Has anyone tried putting a base plate on their bridge position Bare Knuckle?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

CJ

http://www.musicgalleria.com

http://www.colinjohnston.org.uk

[metal_god]

hey dude theres a pair of bkp irish tours for a strat on ebay at the minute, check them out....

[Colin Johnston]

Thanks for that.  They look great - and I'm sure they'd sound really fat in bridge pos - but I'd worry that I'd loose all the "twang" and sweetness because they're so hot (?)

[38thBeatle]

Hi welcome to the forum, I cannot recommend the Apaches enough-great classic vintage Strat tone but beware, you will want a whole set. Very articulate and obviously make it clear that it is destined for the bridge. I cannot answer regarding the base plate though. The closest I can come to a Tele tone is the neck and bridge switching option that I have on my Strat- almost but not quite Tele mid position.

[Elliot]

I have a JV with Mother's Milk in it - I had Apaches in it but the went to my Mexi 60s classic.  To my ears the 60s winding of the Mother's Milk worked better with the slightly bassier tone of the JV (it could be my model, or it could be the difference betwe)

To my ears the difference with the Mother's Milk and the Apaches is that the EQ in the MM goes further into the mid range and the bass, producing a thicker, woodier sound.  The Apache has more in the twang range.  Both are great.

What type of music do you play?

[Colin Johnston]

I play a mix of stuff - don't we all!  :-)  On gigs I'm playing a mix of country, rock & blues.  Basically it's classic roots music.  I really don't want the super fat, overwound sound - even though I love Rory.  It has to sound like a Strat!  :-)   My main gigging guitar at the moment is a stock US 52 reissue Tele and it's bridge pup tone probably has the perfect balance of bright-yet-round plain strings and taut, punchy wound string tone for me.

[Colin Johnston]

btw - theres some pics of the work in progress JV Strat here...



http://homepage.mac.com/coljohnston/PhotoAlbum8.html

[Twinfan]

You'll never get a Strat bridge to sound like a Tele bridge in my opinion.  The ashtray contributes a lot to the sound of the guitar.

From what you're saying, and from the guys above's comments, I'd say you want Apaches.

I have David White Old Glories in my JV (don't have the original pups, foolishly) and they're vintage toned and I would guess similar to Apaches.  They work very well for a full, bright Strat tone.

[Colin Johnston]

You'll never get a Strat bridge to sound like a Tele bridge in my opinion.  The ashtray contributes a lot to the sound of the guitar.

Very true - steel bridge & 3 brass saddles make all the difference.  I was just using the Tele as a tonal reference.  It'd be cool to try an Apache with a metal base plate though.

Something I just noticed - Apaches have AlNiCo III mags versus the AlNiCo V (I presume) in the Fender RI pups at neck & middle.  Will the single Apache sound a little weaker in comparison given it's position and mags?  Perhaps a Mothers Milk would blend better??

[Twinfan]

It's not just magnets, it's the windings that contribute to the sound too, as does the quality of the materials used...

[Elliot]

The original Jv pickups (I still have all but the bridge) were not RI Fenders - they were just old US stock that Fender sent to Japan, nothing magical in my opinion, but not poor - so they are Alnico V and probably with polysol wire.  

In my view Apaches even with A3 would kill the old Fender pickups in a tone/output test - Mother's aren't Rory hot, they are smooth with a bit of bite.

What amp do you use?  I could record a basic comparison between Mother's Milks and Apaches - playing the same thing, although the JV has a basswood body and the 60s MIM has an alder body, so you wouldn't get an exact difference.  I also prefer rosewood necks, so that would make a slight difference.

[Colin Johnston]

I'm a maple board kinda guy!  My '83 JV appears to be alder and has what looks like (and what I was told was) US RI pups -  black fibre, staggered poles, cloth hookup wire - but nether-the-less I take the point about materials & construction.

Mostly using Fender style amps - if I have to I'll use my Boogie F50, but I much prefer to gig my SF Fender Champ through 2x10" Celestions.  I run the Champ pretty much flat out and use a SD1 for a little more crunch/sustain.

Thanks for all the help so far guys - much appreciated & fun too!!   :D

[Twinfan]

I'm pretty sure all the JV Strats were alder bodied so I don't know why you think yours is basswood Elliot?

By the way - here's a great site about the JVs:  http://www.squierjv.info/

[Elliot]

I posted a quickly done example in the player's forum

As the website says 'Basswood Squier JV guitars are quite common.' - they are especially common in block colours - however, there is basswood and there is basswood - the cheapo stuff that breaks is not the same grade of basswood used in JVs (which are indestructible) = JV have the higher grade basswood used in top end Ibanez guitars (there's a website on this somewhere, but I can't find it)

[Colin Johnston]

I posted a quickly done example in the player's forum

Many thanks for that.  I'll listen through headphones later, but my initial impression through the tiny iBook speakers is that pickup number 1 is the one for me!  The Apache I presume?  :D