Strats. Are they a bit characterless?

Fuengi · March 2018

I know, I know... Clapton and Gilmour didn't have a problem...

My Strat is super comfortable, has nice pickups and plays like butter, but is a bit bland compared to my Tele.

It's alright if I get a nice delay, a bit of drive and some reverb, but with the Tele I can just drive the amp and I'm happy. Play the Strat maybe 20% of the time (Tele 80%).

I've mild GAS for a Les Paul type after playing a mates Gibson LP Studio, but if it had as much character as my Tele I'd never pick up the Strat again.

How do you get the best out of your Strat?

octatonic · March 2018

It is almost never the guitar that is the problem.

TimmyO · March 2018

Maybe you just enjoy the Tele sound more - it's not a crime

Or maybe the pickups are't all that

Fuengi · March 2018

octatonic said:

It is almost never the guitar that is the problem.

This is no exception.

Fuengi · March 2018

TimmyO said:

Maybe you just enjoy the Tele sound more - it's not a crime

Or maybe the pickups are't all that

Pickups are by a local luthier and consensus is they are good.

octatonic · March 2018

I wasn't being snarky- it just happens that lower output Strat pickups sometimes need a bit of beefing up.
Tele pickups are inherently sharper sounding, humbuckers have more output.

I find a nice clean boost/Klon style pedal gives some beef.
Beyond that it is down to the player and the amp.

Such as:

newi123 · March 2018

I always think the same about teles - no in between sounds and I find them far less dynamic to play - i guess it comes down to personal preference.

darcym · March 2018

isn't this just horses for courses, some guitar styles just work for some players / setups, some specific guitars in specific styles just don't work for individuals.

eg: some people just get on really well with strats for their style,
some people get on really well with strats, but some strats just don't work for them

same with any guitar, for some reason I struggle with Jaguars and Jazz masters despite liking how they sound, I have to fight and work hard on them. They never sound good in my hands and I never feel comfortable playing them.

CountryDave · March 2018

I'm in the same place @Fuengi as I'm a telecaster fan too.
I've been through numerous strats in a quest to find 'the one'. The nearest I have got is an 80's Squier with the ceramic pickups most people detest.
I play the strats unplugged and they are ok but I'm usually underwhelmed when I plug in.
I recently acquired an American Std tele which I believe is routed for a middle pickup, so I've bought a superswitch and a Nashville scratchplate. Instead of trying to get a half decent bridge pickup sound out of a strat, I'm starting with a tele and adding the facility to get the 2 nice stratty in-between sounds. The plan is a 5 way 1- Neck. 2- Neck & Middle. 3- Neck & Bridge. 4-Middle & Bridge. 5- Bridge.

RiftAmps · March 2018

I always HATED Stratocasters and felt exactly the same way you do, then discovered that it was actually Strat pickups that I didn't get on with and then tried a few different typed before settling on a pair of Firebird mini-hums. It still quacks and chimes like a Strat should but without the bits that I hate.

Image: https://s14.postimg.org/ooeh0n1mp/21272965_680050408859486_1203828629632764400_o.jpg

mburekenge · March 2018

Very cool looking strat.

dazzajl · March 2018

If the guitar doesn’t spark something in you, you’re not going to hear the best from it. And they can’t all light your fire.

I’m something of the other way around. Love a LP but they just don’t float my goat the way a Strat does.

Fuengi · March 2018

octatonic said:

I wasn't being snarky- it just happens that lower output Strat pickups sometimes need a bit of beefing up.
Tele pickups are inherently sharper sounding, humbuckers have more output.

I find a nice clean boost/Klon style pedal gives some beef.
Beyond that it is down to the player and the amp.

Such as:

Thanks. I run a Looking Glass on low gain as a clean boost to thicken it up a bit but still doesn't inspire like the Tele. It probably is a personal thing.

Fuengi · March 2018

RiftAmps said:

I always HATED Stratocasters and felt exactly the same way you do, then discovered that it was actually Strat pickups that I didn't get on with and then tried a few different typed before settling on a pair of Firebird mini-hums. It still quacks and chimes like a Strat should but without the bits that I hate.

Interesting. They won't fit in my sss though!

Roland · March 2018

It’s part of the eternal quest. I think @octatonic is right. Part of the secret is in how you treat the signal.

Like @CountryDave ;I’ve been going in the other direction and trying to get Strat sounds out of a Tele. (Yes, I know that the trem springs affect the sound, but I’m a fixed bridge player.) The closest I’ve got so far is a tapped Tele bridge pickup, which gives 1. Neck, 2. Tapped Bridge and Neck in parallel, 3. Tapped Bridge, 4. Untapped Bridge, 5. Both pickups in series.

The tapped Bridge is similar to a Strat Neck, and position 2 is like the two outer Strat pickups. It’s not quite there, and needs a third pickup. I’ve got a Strat middle pickup in my workshop ready to install, but the number of switching permutations is so large. Maybe it should be Brent Mason’s system, with the middle pickup blended in on its own volume pot.

dindude · March 2018

Ubiquitous yes, characterless no way.

Whitecat · March 2018

I love Strats. Very versatile, and although all Strats sound like Strats, not all Strats sound alike so tweaking pickups, wood recipes etc means there is tonnes of room for experimentation.

They are also easy to setup and maintain as well as repair - far easier for an intermediate-level tech to get it right than a Les Paul.

Teles are awesome too but the lack of a trem is the main reason I play them and desire them less. Still a must-have in the quiver but just less “my thing.”

sweepy · March 2018

I find it quite the reverse tbh, Strats really do show your playing characterics and dynamics whereas everyone sounds the same on a Les Paul imho

octatonic · March 2018

Roland said:

It’s part of the eternal quest. I think @octatonic is right. Part of the secret is in how you treat the signal.

Like @CountryDave I’ve been going in the other direction and trying to get Strat sounds out of a Tele. (Yes, I know that the trem springs affect the sound, but I’m a fixed bridge player.) The closest I’ve got so far is a tapped Tele bridge pickup, which gives 1. Neck, 2. Tapped Bridge and Neck in parallel, 3. Tapped Bridge, 4. Untapped Bridge, 5. Both pickups in series.

The tapped Bridge is similar to a Strat Neck, and position 2 is like the two outer Strat pickups. It’s not quite there, and needs a third pickup. I’ve got a Strat middle pickup in my workshop ready to install, but the number of switching permutations is so large. Maybe it should be Brent Mason’s system, with the middle pickup blended in on its own volume pot.

Have a look at: http://www.harmonicdesign.net

They do Tele style pickups in Strat size and Strat style pickups in Tele form, and loads of P90 style in either.
I have 3 sets of their pickups in various guitars and love the tone.

richardhomer · March 2018

sweepy said:

I find it quite the reverse tbh, Strats really do show your playing characterics and dynamics whereas everyone sounds the same on a Les Paul imho

That’s my view. Every famous Strat player is instantly identifiable as themselves - the most ‘transparent’ electric guitar of all to my ears....

guitarfishbay · March 2018

I put an EMG 81 in one and a set of SAs in the other. They sound great to me. I’d love another with classic singles too, but I’d not have much actual use for it at the minute.

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Strats. Are they a bit characterless?

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