Hi all, quick question regarding a potential upgrade to a cheap strat copy.
I played guitar badly as a teenager, basic chords, rhythms, scales etc but stopped about 10/11 years ago. I've recently decided to pick it up again and learn properly, that's the plan anyway.
I used to play a PRS Tremonti SE but alas through a drunken fall I managed to break it at the base of the neck which I presume wouldn't be repairable (?). Seeing as I'm essentially a beginner again I went for a cheap strat copy with three single coil pickups. I play through a valvestate half stack and it sounds alright to my untrained ears but I'm not naive enough to expect it to stack up against more expensive gear.
Question is, is it possible to/worth swapping the PRS pickups into the strat copy? I'll show my lack of knowledge here by saying that I think the PRS has humbuckers, but they look like two pairs of single coils. Really don't know much so apologies if it's a daft question; obviously the PRS cost more so I presume it's pickups would be superior?
Also, and sorry this is in the wrong section of the forum, would the Marshall benefit from a service (believe it has a tube in the pre-amp)? If it's plugged in and turned on but I'm not playing I get a very occasional pop/crackle.
I'm a fan of John Frusciante so trying to learn some of the more interesting RHCP tunes to train my fingers up; I know he mainly plays a Stratocaster but if the PRS can mate with the strat copy and make it a better sounding guitar all around then that's all good, I'm only learning RHCP to get my coordination back.
Any advice is very much appreciated!
Dave.
Comments
Are the pickups superior? That's subjective - they are very different - but if you wanna experiment and have fun with it you can.
You could also do a partial transplant, if the route works - HSS - with a humbucker in the bridge position, and two singles in middle and neck, is very common.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
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Which model of Valvestate? I assume if it's a half-stack it will be a 8100, VS100R, or AVT50, 100 or 150. Some of these are more problem-prone than others…
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/IMG_20170324_204902_1.jpg
Sorry tried the [IMG] picture [/IMG] thing but it didn't work. Not sure why I ended up with a blank message above either! Technology, eh?
I think the best that can be said for the guitar is that it's not likely to be economically repairable - when you said broken at the body I was hoping it might have come apart at the joint, but that just needs a new neck… almost certainly more than the guitar is worth unless someone wants to take it on as a project .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Thee-ply usually has eleven screws, single-ply usually has eight which makes it less rigid, as well as being a thinner guard. It comes down to cosmetics more than anything though - the traditional look is a single-ply guard with a maple fingerboard and a three-ply with a rosewood board, simply because those were the combinations Fender used in the 50s and 60s respectively.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/received_10154334252851408.jpeg
Here's the guitar before, didn't take a good picture of it in its original state (it's cheap, why would I?) but did take this to show the shelf to someone. As a side note, I'm going to cut the shelf out with the shape of a strat behind it and I'm open to offers if anyone is interested. Can cut it out however is wished for as well as paint it in any colour. Currently has a plastic/rubber surface which the guitar sits on and has a sort of latice pattern. Looks smart and will look even smarter without the yellow board it's mounted on. Do guitar shaped shelves exist or did I invent them for my GCSE project? I should have got a higher grade if i did.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/IMAG0613.jpg
Here it is mid work, as you can see it fortunately already had space for either a bridge or neck humbucker. Maybe useful for anyone else with the same strat copy to know. Sorry for the weird colour, my phone does that sometimes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v491/tav397/149082279260361794796.jpg
Here it is now, notable differences aside from the insides being the black Fender single coils, PRS humbucker and PRS dials. New switch has a black tip now too so need to Sharpie the end of the trem arm! Next thing I'm doing is getting rid of the headstock decal and sticking a new waterslide on. Any ideas apart from the usual Fender style 'Poser phonycaster', 'Faker boguscaster', 'Bespoke customcaster' etc? Even to my untrained ears the new pickups and the guitar set up properly makes it sound and feel worlds better.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com