How to fatten up a Strat?

What's Hot
2

Comments

  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    X2 for the Bareknuckle Sinner, huge output on paper but surprisingly good.....IMHO every Strat should have one!....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    How to fatten up a Strat: exchange it for a Les Paul.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
    3reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    How to fatten up a Strat: exchange it for a Les Paul.
    Be off with you and think about your life choices ;)

    5reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    If its a Mexican Strat please throw the Bridge in the bin and buy a proper one
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • thegummythegummy Frets: 4389
    sweepy said:
    If its a Mexican Strat please throw the Bridge in the bin and buy a proper one
    Bridge pickup or the bridge itself?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    thegummy said:
    sweepy said:
    If its a Mexican Strat please throw the Bridge in the bin and buy a proper one
    Bridge pickup or the bridge itself?
    In my experience, some Strats sound small/thin when played unplugged. Poor quality bridges (the blocks in particular) - and sometimes inappropriate woods - are usually responsible for this.

    You can attempt to compensate for these things by changing pick-ups/adding base plates, etc - but unless the guitar has a strong ‘acoustic’ low end, these things will never fully cure the issue.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    How to fatten up a Strat: exchange it for a Les Paul.
    Oh I have a couple ;)

    sweepy said:
    If its a Mexican Strat please throw the Bridge in the bin and buy a proper one
    What would you recommend? It's a partscaster strat - how would I identify a Mexican bridge?

    Bareknuckle Sinner 
    Will investigate, many thanks!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • DrJazzTapDrJazzTap Frets: 2158
    edited June 2018
    I was gonna say feed it pies but @darthed1981 beat me to it
    I would love to change my username, but I fully understand the T&C's (it was an old band nickname). So please feel free to call me Dave.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    Give it a stressful job and a taste for pizza.

    Worked for me.
    Is your middle position or your neck position a nicer tone tho?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • JayGeeJayGee Frets: 1254
    Don't ask me, I just play the damned thing...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mudslide73mudslide73 Frets: 3049
    I'm still enjoying the SSL-5 + GE-7 tbh. If I need it fatter I get my L.P. out. 
    "A city star won’t shine too far"


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • AlegreeAlegree Frets: 665
    tFB Trader
    Easiest way is to add a 3-10k resistor in series with the bridge pickup.
    Alegree pickups & guitar supplies - www.alegree.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • lovestrat74lovestrat74 Frets: 2489
    Alegree said:
    Easiest way is to add a 3-10k resistor in series with the bridge pickup.
    Sounds interesting, any more info on this..
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • AlegreeAlegree Frets: 665
    tFB Trader
    Alegree said:
    Easiest way is to add a 3-10k resistor in series with the bridge pickup.
    Sounds interesting, any more info on this..
    Leeches treble out of the pickup by increasing the treble loss to ground through the distributed capacitance of the pickup coil.
    Alegree pickups & guitar supplies - www.alegree.co.uk
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11411
    rico said:
    Thanks for all the comments guys. I’ll try and address a few things!

    They are custom shop 54 pickups and I love the neck pickup sound. 

    I have a collection of boosts/drives/EQ and they can’t get it there without colouring the tone and becoming noisy as shit. 

    I’ve been using it through a cranked Marshall and Matamp, it’s not the amps that’s for sure! 

    Bridge pickup is indeed wired to the tone, it tames the harshness but is still gutless. 

    Is it possible to put a tele bridge pickup in a strat? I don’t mind a bit of hacking. 

    Part of the Tele sound is the way the pickup is mounted in the bridge, but part of it is the baseplate on the pickup.  As a few others have said, a baseplate will help.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • John_AJohn_A Frets: 3775
    You really dont need to throw money at the 'problem'  use the tone control, add a touch more gain to the amp, boost the mids and reduce the highs.  Plenty of great sounds to be had with weedy pickups
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    I’ve been experimenting with EQ and gain - the trouble is that I’m trying to boost frequencies that just aren’t there. If I make drastic changes then it screws with the tone that I enjoy when the neck pickup is selected. 

    The bridge pickup does have a copper baseplate - is this usual? 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11669
    Give it a stressful job and a taste for pizza.

    Worked for me.
    Is your middle position or your neck position a nicer tone tho?
    Certainly fuller, and it hasn't affected the functionality of my whammy bar.
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
    3reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SunDevilSunDevil Frets: 511
    Baseplate and a tone control on the bridge
    The answer was never 42 - it's 1/137 (..ish)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12641
    SSL-5 by Seymour Duncan.

    If that hasn't got enough welly for you, then your amp is bust.
    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.