Bright sounding Strat- any ideas? Or does it depend on the other gear I use with it?

Jacko.02

Hi there,

I'm looking for a Strat with a really nice bright sounding tone, similar to Adam Hann's Of The 1975. I've been looking at the Deluxe Roadhouse Strat because of it's tonal versatility with the 6 position preamp switch. Anyone got any ideas? Or can I get a sparkly sounding tone from any strat, it just depends on the kind of other gear I use with it? Open to other ideas about this. Not really wanting to spend any more than £800.

Cheers
Rory

SteveRobinson

Get a low capacitance guitar cable, you'll be amazed how bright your guitar is.

guitars4you

find a used AM Strat Deluxe with the noiseless pick-ups - not everyone's favourite but they are bright and crisp - might just sneak one in for around £800

thebreeze

The amp you use can have a big bearing on this.  I have a couple of Strats and they sound different though the same amp.  I prefer one with a Tweed and the other through more of a silver face type amp.  For me it’s about finding the right balance in the brightness - I generally consider Strats as sounding “bright”.

thebreeze

Another thought I have is that my Diamond compressor can make a Strat sound brighter/more sparkly. Again, that’s not so necessary through the silver/blackface...

John_A

Low output pickups generally have more sparkle than higher ones, but lack of brightness is the opposite of my Strat problems 

Sassafras

Bridge pickup and tone all the way up = brightness.

ICBM

Sassafras said:

Bridge pickup and tone all the way up = brightness.

Or get a vintage-spec one with no tone control on the bridge pickup.

If that's not bright enough you need your ears cleaned, not a brighter guitar .

Bridgehouse

Or stop playing it through an amp covered by a duvet?

ToneControl

try using an AC30, or DC30, and you'll be laughing at this question

what amp are you using that doesn't sound bright enough with a strat?

rico

ToneControl said:

try using an AC30, or DC30, and you'll be laughing at this question

what amp are you using that doesn't sound bright enough with a strat?

I think the OP is looking for recommendations as to what strat to acquire. 

ESBlonde

The far eastern guitars with ceramic pickups can sound thin and scratchy or bright depending on your POV. But any decent amp will give the guitar room to breath. If you want to poke it brighter then some kind of Aural exciter (Aphex maybe) possibly followed by a some compression to take the nastyness out of it. But as others have alluded to, the right amp makes all the difference.

paulmapp8306

Look for an ash rather than alder bodied strat, and maple rather than rosewood board.  That the brightest combo.

Jacko.02

Cheers everyone for your advice. I shall me mulling over this for the next few weeks!

Octafish

Swapping out the standard spec 250k pots in a Strat for 500k pots will give you more top end. @ESBlonde mentions "far eastern guitars with ceramic pickups can sound thin and scratchy or bright depending on your POV". This has a bit to do with a lot of them being fitted with 500k pots.

Alegree

The ceramic magnetic assembly in Strat pickups makes them warmer than they would be than alnico rods.

Octafish

Alegree said:

The ceramic magnetic assembly in Strat pickups makes them warmer than they would be than alnico rods.

Yeah, that's what I've found when I replaced some ceramics in a Squier with alnicos. Must be the 500k pots in cheapo guitars that add the top end.

Voxman

SteveRobinson said:

Get a low capacitance guitar cable, you'll be amazed how bright your guitar is.

Or a Line 6 G10 or G30 wireless kit.

Voxman

Jacko.02 said:

Hi there,

Or can I get a sparkly sounding tone from any strat, it just depends on the kind of other gear I use with it? 

This!  

It's definitely more about the amp.

I get gorgeous bright glassy/sparkly cleans with my Strats or Tele through my Laney VC30-210. The same guitars are still good through my Cub12R, Vox Valvetronix, Marshall Valvestate 8080 or DSL401 - but it's the (ahem, I know) 'Class A' VC30 that makes them sound the sparkliest - especially with the bright switch engaged.

sweepy

Use 10’s, don’t expect 09’s to sound anything other than “flappy” in comparison. Strats do vary but if you have decent wiring and pots it is the Amp that’s making the sound dull