Adding life to a dull Strat?

spacecadet

A while ago I picked up a second USA STD Strat and love them both. I did however play a Suhr Classic S the other day and while I've never really "got" the Suhr thing this one in particular had something special. I didn't plug it in but acoustically it just sang.

I got home and played my USA's and the first thing I noticed was how dull and lifeless they are acoustically. Is there anything I can do to improve that? I've seen people talk about trem block's and saddles making an improvement. I just want to add some zing to them.

LooseMoose

Strip it. Will make little difference to the plugged in tone but the acoustic resonance would be improved. Trouble is you've no idea if the wood underneath is any good

steamabacus

May be stating the obvious, but tighten up all screws that should be tight. Neck screws and machineheads particularly.

spacecadet

Didn't want to go down the stripping route. It's a sunburst and the wood seems OK. I know the thick poly finish won't help but I do want to keep the finish.

Gave it a birthday a couple of weeks ago, fret polish etc and all the screws are tighter than a nuns tight parts. Just seem to lack that acoustic volume which I know translates when it is plugged in.

ICBM

DO NOT strip a USA Standard. They are very often veneered block bodies and will look awful bare.

You can easily tell on a sunburst - if the dark shaded area follows the inner edge of the belly cut on the back rather than the outer edge of the body, it's a veneered body. Even if it's a solid two or three-piece, it's unlikely to be very pretty wood.

Changing the bridge for a Wilkinson VS100 - they fit on the same posts - will make it much zingier. Personally, I hate the Wilkinson and would do the swap the other way, but that's a taste thing! If you want zingy rather than thick the Wilkinson will be more so.

spacecadet

I've looked at the Wilkinson before but I hate the look. If swapping the trem will make a difference I'd go for a Gotoh 510 or change the saddles and block. I'm seeing a lot of people saying they swapped to the Callaham saddles and block and it made a huge difference but don't say how!!

What got me about the Suhr is how ringy it was. Very loud, lots of sustain and it made it easier to play somehow. Setup wise it wasn't any different to how I have mine set up. I have a horrible feeling I will spend money on upgrading my strats then just go out and buy a Shur.

horse

spacecadet said:

I have a horrible feeling I will spend money on upgrading my strats then just go out and buy a Shur.

In that case there's only one thing for it!

ICBM

horse said:

spacecadet said:

I have a horrible feeling I will spend money on upgrading my strats then just go out and buy a Shur.

In that case there's only one thing for it!

I would agree with that.

At the end of the day there is only so much you can do to improve the sound of a guitar which is actually not bad at all in the first lace - the US Std bridge is by no means poor.

What you may find is that the Suhr is just a more resonant guitar and has something special that you're picking up on. Once you find one that does it for you in that way it's hard to go back to "ordinary good" guitars.

Sell the Fenders and buy the Suhr. If you need a backup, you can cross that bridge later...

FelineGuitars

1) make sure you are NOT using the microtilt on the neck - much reduced contsct in the pocket. If you need tilt then see about having a very slight angle machined into the neck pocket instead.

2) take neck out and make sure there ae no labels or inspection stickers between neck and body

3) before tightening neck bolts up push neck hard into body so that the end of the neck is making firm contact with the body and then snug the screws up

4) Have an Earvana nut fitted - you will have way better in tune-ness and the guitar will also be much livlier and top end will shine through more.

Not sure what the sustain block of the trem you have is made of but a steel one is likely to be the best for lively zingyness.

Evilmags

All of the guitars I've played that really resonate have sadly been expensive, and not all expensive guitars do it. A mate of mine has a fairly plain PRS Mccarthy and it feels amazingly alive and vibrant alongside even other PRS guitars. Go and buy that Suhr, you might have to wait a bit to find another one.