Fallen out of love with my Strat

57Deluxe

@JOHN_A ; Don't Worry (be happy!) no - sorry - no - we all do!

My '73 was my mainstay right up until I got my PRS P90 and a Tele or two some 30 years on! Even the beautiful Gibson 335 and Les Paul didn't displace it. The Hofner came close a few times and the Yamaha SG2000s did it in the looks and oozing quality stakes. But when I got a plethora of Valve amps I realised how it just didn't want to play fair unless was for chords and Rhythm work. The Tele PUPs and the PRS P90s just took me to another level of playing ability and aural gratification.

A Couple of my students been the same. One went on to a PRS after seeing mine and never touches his Strat, and another got a Rory Strat and just can't get  a tone out of it so trips round with his Epi LP studio still cos I can make it howl through my gear!

Happier Days:

http://i58.tinypic.com/20hlitw.jpg

Sassafras

As @richardhomer says: set your bloody amp up properly.

Voxman

@dindude and @richardhomer  - spot on guys, & beat me to it.  That's why on my Valvetronix & Tonelabs I have specific patches set-up for LP and Strat.  LP's/SG's and Strat's/Tele's are very different animals and its vital to set up both amp & effects specifically for each type of guitar (h/b v single coil). 

Its also one reason why some MFX/Amp presets might sound naff - e.g. if they were designed for a LP or SG and you plug in a Tele or Strat, (or vice-a-versa) you're not going to hear what was intended.  

gitapik

harpdoodle said:

For what it is worth, this is my tuppence........
The Stratocaster comes alive with a Compressor Pedal. 

It is the one effect that makes a Stratocaster come alive. 

I love the S style guitars. Comfy. If you're into the vintage sound, then you need low impedance pickups. Compressors are a low impedance pickup's best friend. I love my Strat.

Another thing about a Strat is ease of play. The extra distance on a Fender from bridge to tuner on the G-B-E strings requires some adjustments to technique if you're used to and/or prefer the standard 3/3 of so many other guitars. Sounds can go south in a hurry if you're struggling just to get comfortable on a guitar in the first place.

I'm giving informal lessons to my friend. He's got a nice '94 MIJ Strat. I brought my LP and G&L ASAT Classic over last night. He was showing me what he's been doing with a few Zep tunes. Proud of his work as he should be...but when he tried the same tunes on my LP it was like he'd just seen the promised land. He'll be shopping soon, I'm sure. As versatile as a Strat is, there are just some things that it'll never, ever, ever do as well as an LP.

siraxeman

get a JB Jnr in the bridge position....and then see what ya think. I have a HSS USA Standard, a Hhh USA Standard and a SSS with Lace red/silver/blue. The ones with buckers in the bridge will never feel lacking for any rawk music, and whilst I love my Les Paul, the Strats with buckers can di it all and feel better doing it.

pumkin

Strat54 said:

harpdoodle said:

For what it is worth, this is my tuppence........
The Stratocaster comes alive with a Compressor Pedal. 

It is the one effect that makes a Stratocaster come alive. 

Yeah I agree, not sure why I only found this out recently either having played Tele's for 35 years and owned every compressor known to mankind...but its true.

Been playing a strat for years without a compressor....any recommendations?

fretmeister

Strangely after decades of Les Paul love I am favouring my strat.

I feel dirty.

gitapik

pumkin said:

Strat54 said:

harpdoodle said:

For what it is worth, this is my tuppence........
The Stratocaster comes alive with a Compressor Pedal. 

It is the one effect that makes a Stratocaster come alive. 

Yeah I agree, not sure why I only found this out recently either having played Tele's for 35 years and owned every compressor known to mankind...but its true.

Been playing a strat for years without a compressor....any recommendations?

I like the Suhr Koji as a smaller footprint pedal. Wampler is great, too, as is the Empress (bit bigger). Plenty of others. Maybe not something you'd want to try, but I had an old Boss CS-3 which I shipped to Mark Humphrey for his mod. I've got it on my small board. Very nice unit, now. Missing a Blend function, though....but I still use it quite a bit.

gitapik

siraxeman said:

get a JB Jnr in the bridge position....and then see what ya think. I have a HSS USA Standard, a Hhh USA Standard and a SSS with Lace red/silver/blue. The ones with buckers in the bridge will never feel lacking for any rawk music, and whilst I love my Les Paul, the Strats with buckers can di it all and feel better doing it.

How we're moving out of my idea of "Strat" and more into an "S" shape guitar. Just a matter of semantics, though.

I've heard some HHH Strats, though never live. Danny Herring plays one. Sounded great. I love my Music Man Silo Special HSS, but the main thing I miss is the sound of the neck humbucker on my LP.

ToneControl

use a mid boost graphic EQ

or even better a Cali76

gitapik

Or both:

https://postimg.org/image/ypnfluzrv/

That modded mid boost is one of the best recommendations I've ever taken. Especially if you like to scoop your amp. Inexpensive and very effective.

I forgot about the Cali76. Expensive but from what I've heard it's worth the coin.

tony99

How does one "scoop" one's amp?

gitapik

tony99 said:

How does one "scoop" one's amp?

Here's an example if you've got a 5 band on the amp:

http://axepalace.com/mesa-mark-v-25-head.html#.WR4mvYEpCEc

If you've got Treble/Mid/Bass pots you can do the same by minimizing the mids and accentuating the others. I had my Blues Jr modded so the mids can be completely cut out. 

It's popular in metal but I love it for cleans. Funk, blues, jazz. Lots of styles. When I need to cut through I'll kick in the pedal EQ. Either with or without OD. 
 

siraxeman

gitapik said:

siraxeman said:

get a JB Jnr in the bridge position....and then see what ya think. I have a HSS USA Standard, a Hhh USA Standard and a SSS with Lace red/silver/blue. The ones with buckers in the bridge will never feel lacking for any rawk music, and whilst I love my Les Paul, the Strats with buckers can di it all and feel better doing it.

How we're moving out of my idea of "Strat" and more into an "S" shape guitar. Just a matter of semantics, though.

I've heard some HHH Strats, though never live. Danny Herring plays one. Sounded great. I love my Music Man Silo Special HSS, but the main thing I miss is the sound of the neck humbucker on my LP.

For many a single bucker in the bridge fixes the Strats inherent weakness - that thin screechy weedy plinky strat bridge sound. The bridge bucker gives it as much beef as you like depending on your choice of bucker. Now the middle and neck still remaining single coils leaves those more desirable strat toanz untouched. Even the split sound with a decent bridge bucker with the middle single coil remains fairly close to an SSS config. People often like the feel of a Strat, they like a trem, the balance and everything else...just a lot of folks feel its wimpy in the bridge position...1 lil bucker like the JB Jnr fixes that just fine IMO.

Another option is noisless pups + a mid boost ala the old Clapton Strat for example. But for me a HSS Strat is even more betterer. My Lace equipped Strat sounds good but the blue and red pups lose some of that Stratty twang and give a darker fatter tone whilst still being true single coils...but still a real bucker in the bridge still winz for me (having tried 'em all)

tony99

gitapik said:

tony99 said:

How does one "scoop" one's amp?

Here's an example if you've got a 5 band on the amp:

http://axepalace.com/mesa-mark-v-25-head.html#.WR4mvYEpCEc

If you've got Treble/Mid/Bass pots you can do the same by minimizing the mids and accentuating the others. I had my Blues Jr modded so the mids can be completely cut out. 

It's popular in metal but I love it for cleans. Funk, blues, jazz. Lots of styles. When I need to cut through I'll kick in the pedal EQ. Either with or without OD. 
 

Right, just had a go at that and I think it's a big thumbs up from me, tried some melancholy "nearly bridge" blues and it sounds choice, so now this humble bedroom noodler will be doing a lot more scooping from now on,
I hereby bestow you with one wisdom

see these kinda things are what I need to know more about, what other tips can I get???

gitapik

tony99 said:

gitapik said:

tony99 said:

How does one "scoop" one's amp?

Here's an example if you've got a 5 band on the amp:

http://axepalace.com/mesa-mark-v-25-head.html#.WR4mvYEpCEc

If you've got Treble/Mid/Bass pots you can do the same by minimizing the mids and accentuating the others. I had my Blues Jr modded so the mids can be completely cut out. 

It's popular in metal but I love it for cleans. Funk, blues, jazz. Lots of styles. When I need to cut through I'll kick in the pedal EQ. Either with or without OD. 
 

Right, just had a go at that and I think it's a big thumbs up from me, tried some melancholy "nearly bridge" blues and it sounds choice, so now this humble bedroom noodler will be doing a lot more scooping from now on,
I hereby bestow you with one wisdom

see these kinda things are what I need to know more about, what other tips can I get???

I got turned on to that by a country picker who was obsessed with Twin Reverbs. Fell in love with the sound right away. Had a Boogie Mark IIB forever and often used that config on the 5 band.

Thank you for bestowing me with this great honor, Tony. I shall attempt to wear the mantle with dignity and humility.

I hear siraxeman with his points about the HSS configuration. It adds so much to the guitar. I just decided, though, that I wanted to maintain the dynamic balance between pickups with my Strat, so I picked up a Duncan "Twangbanger" for the bridge. Not as beefy as a humbucker but definitely makes the bridge much more useable for leads. Especially when you add a compressor. My Silhouettes Special does the HSS thing beautifully.

ESBlonde

I find that having the amp set a bit louder than you want and then taking the volume down to say 6-7 takes a bit of the edge off the sound without killing it. My two favourite positions on the switch are neck only everything on 10 or bridge and middle with volume about 7 and tone about 3, whack the volume to 10 for that lead break and back down again.

gubble

I've had a similar thing recently regarding the sound of my strat.

My USA special plays fantastically and at home sounds sublime, but in a live setting with a covers band it just doesn't have enough balls and I always end up reverting to my trusty Vintage V100.

I don't have the same issue with my telecaster though which sounds great in a live situation.

My Sambora Strat being a HSS is a completely different animal however. That thing is the best live guitar on the planet - but i'm always a little wary of it being gigged as i'm way too precious about it

tony99

ESBlonde said:

I find that having the amp set a bit louder than you want and then taking the volume down to say 6-7 takes a bit of the edge off the sound without killing it. My two favourite positions on the switch are neck only everything on 10 or bridge and middle with volume about 7 and tone about 3, whack the volume to 10 for that lead break and back down again.

Bridge and middle yes, or nearly bridge as I call it, I'm very much learning to love it

siraxeman

been listening again to Jeff Beck Guitar Shop CD in the car today...no hint of wimpy strat anywhere on that album.........