Favourite Stratocaster 'in between' tone on record?

RandallFlagg

What's you favourite Fender Stratocaster 'in between' bridge and middle pickup tone?

Got to be Dire Straits 'Telegraph Road' for me, those opening finger picked notes at 1m 50s is a great Strat tone:



Closely followed by Derek & the Dominos 'Bell Botton Blues', those pinched notes in the solo are wonderful. This is the only Eric Clapton record I really like, it sounds sounds genuinely wrought with passionate feelings of infatuation and guilt for Patti Boyd.

mburekenge

It's a sound I have a love/hate relationship. Those Clapton tones are great, as are SRV, but the OG has to be Hendrix.

ICBM

Those, and The Edge on The Joshua Tree.

I'm not normally a fan of that sound at all - it could be my most-hated standard electric guitar tone, in fact - but those three examples are ok. Knopfler and Edge on anything, in fact.

impmann

Its the sound of satan's bowel movements after a particularly nasty Egg based curry... except Knopfler (although I can't help thinking that elements of Telegraph Road would sound better with a different sound).

Alnico

Sweet Home Alabama

ennspek

Alnico said:

Sweet Home Alabama

Good shout that.

Blackjack

Alnico said:

Sweet Home Alabama

Good choice. Very good! 

RandallFlagg

Alnico said:

Sweet Home Alabama

I prefer 'I Need You' from the Second Helping album with the Fender Twin tremolo.

mburekenge

Great call on 'sweet home'! Fits that track perfectly. 

lasermonkey

Normally I hate that sound with a passion, but I'm pretty sure that Big Star's September Gurls is the in-between tone, and I love that song.

richardhomer

RandallFlagg said:

What's you favourite Fender Stratocaster 'in between' bridge and middle pickup tone?

Got to be Dire Straits 'Telegraph Road' for me, those opening finger picked notes at 1m 50s is a great Strat tone:

At the risk of being called a pedant - Telegraph Road was recorded (and played live) on a Schecter Strat style guitar, with Schecter pick-ups. They sound 'much' fatter than vintage style Strat pick-ups. MK also switched to Mark Series Boogies for the Love Over Gold album and subsequent tour. I agree it's a great tone - but not one you'll get from a typical Fender.

I love the inbetween sound on 'Hey Nineteen' by Steely Dan - and the first Dire Straits album - Down to the Waterline in particular.

RandallFlagg

richardhomer said:

RandallFlagg said:

What's you favourite Fender Stratocaster 'in between' bridge and middle pickup tone?

Got to be Dire Straits 'Telegraph Road' for me, those opening finger picked notes at 1m 50s is a great Strat tone:

At the risk of being called a pedant - Telegraph Road was recorded (and played live) on a Schecter Strat style guitar, with Schecter pick-ups. They sound 'much' fatter than vintage style Strat pick-ups. MK also switched to Mark Series Boogies for the Love Over Gold album and subsequent tour. I agree it's a great tone - but not one you'll get from a typical Fender.

I love the inbetween sound on 'Hey Nineteen' by Steely Dan - and the first Dire Straits album - Down to the Waterline in particular.

Pedant

richardhomer

RandallFlagg said:
Pedant

Lol. A fair point, well made.

hubobulous

Out of interest, what was it about the Schecter pickups? Were they active?

noisepolluter

richardhomer said:

RandallFlagg said:

What's you favourite Fender Stratocaster 'in between' bridge and middle pickup tone?

Got to be Dire Straits 'Telegraph Road' for me, those opening finger picked notes at 1m 50s is a great Strat tone:

At the risk of being called a pedant - Telegraph Road was recorded (and played live) on a Schecter Strat style guitar, with Schecter pick-ups. They sound 'much' fatter than vintage style Strat pick-ups. MK also switched to Mark Series Boogies for the Love Over Gold album and subsequent tour. I agree it's a great tone - but not one you'll get from a typical Fender.

I love the inbetween sound on 'Hey Nineteen' by Steely Dan - and the first Dire Straits album - Down to the Waterline in particular.

I had those F500T pickups in my schecter too. They are quite a lot darker than normal strat pickups - fine for clean but when using OD pedals I had to really crank the treble up to stop them sounding muddy. Probably says as much about my tonal limitations as a player! 
I now have a tapped Oil City bridge pickup for grunt and two normal output ones in neck and middle for sparkle - seems to be a good compromise between fender and schecter type tones. 

impmann

hubobulous said:

Out of interest, what was it about the Schecter pickups? Were they active?

All you ever wanted to know...

http://www.mk-guitar.com/2011/01/10/inside-the-schecter-f500t-pick-up-what-is-a-tapped-pick-up/

hubobulous

@impmann - many thanks and an interesting one to ponder for future build ideas.

Wazmeister

Richard Thompson - Across A Crowded Room album

richardhomer

Wazmeister said:

Richard Thompson - Across A Crowded Room album

A great choice - the follow-up Daring Adventures was superb too (I didn't  mention RT earlier for fear of ICBM wading in with how much he dislikes his tone.... )

fendergibson

Left field choice - warning superstrat

Steve Vai - Boston Rain Melody ( opening chord section ) ( one of my fave of all time ! )

Chuffola

richardhomer said:

 
I love the inbetween sound on 'Hey Nineteen' by Steely Dan - and the first Dire Straits album - Down to the Waterline in particular.

Excellent choices. Hey Nineteen is, in my opinion, a hugely underrated Steely Dan song. I think Gaucho might be, maybe, my favourite Steely Dan album (this afternoon, anyway)

Also great shouts for Sweet Home and much of Joshua Tree.

But Richard Thompson makes me want to stab myself in the ears with pointy things. Voice, guitar sound - can't abide it. Wish I did coz there's a ton of stuff and a great history / family tree. My loss, perhaps.