does anyone have suggestions for adding low end to a strat?

[mentoneman]

my tyler is awesome. ash body, rosewood neck, wilkinson 2 point trem, sperzel tuners, i use 10s
but it's a little on the bright/tight side of things in terms of resonance and bloom


by comparison, my alder fender strat and the g&l ash tele i just sold have more natural low end.
i had an american strat with swimming pool route that was a bit too scooped versus traditional routing.

anyone know of ways to increase the low end of a strat "acoustically" via changes in bridge/saddle/tuners/springs/claw/sustain block, etc....or maybe even a simple pickup mod via cap/resistors----not active electronics/mid boosts or anything on the pedal/amp side.

remember the groove tubes fat finger?

that confused me as holdsworth used to swear that his headless guitars had more sustain because the traditional headstock "robbed" sustain by transferring string vibration away from the string, versus aspen pitman claiming the fat finger added sustain by increasing mass at the headstock.

if you've ever done the lean the headstock on the coffee table while you play trick it would seem aspen had something to his theory...

 

[mentoneman]

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/F ... -2011.aspx

 

[Anonymous]

Try a full brass trem block

 

[carlygtr]

Ash is bright.

 

[Wagster]

Voodoo Labs giggity might work for you. Check out some clips on YouTube.

 

[mentoneman]

Try a full brass trem block

was thinking more callaham steel
worked out pretty well on a japanese fotoflame strat i used to have

 

[cardinal]

Fatfinger won't do what you want it to do (it's for moving a deadspot around).

I'd suggest replacing the block with the heaviest block you can find (probably Tungsten, if they make them for that trem). I've installed various size big blocks and the heavier the weight, it knocks off more high end, making the guitar sound fatter. It also slows the attack IME.

Modern cast saddles also sound warmer to me than the traditional bent steel saddles. I was surprised by this, but it's what I heard when I switched them out. I suspect machined brass saddles also would sound warmer than the bent steel saddles. I admit I don't know what saddles your Wilkinson uses.

 

[mentoneman]

Ash is bright.

yep and overall i'd rather favor that end of the spectrum versus traditional alder strat looser low midrange
i've had poplar, basswood, mahogany, alder, and ash strats. and played a buddies maple body--talk about bright!

i'd be curious to hear a semi/chambered ash. my ears are gravitating towards thicker fatter single notes ala semi hollow, but also want some chirp on dirty chords. anyone mess with a 339?

 

[mentoneman]

Voodoo Labs giggity might work for you. Check out some clips on YouTube.

id rather approach it from the front end before i seek yet another pedal.

 

[barnesjd]

was thinking more callaham steel
worked out pretty well on a japanese fotoflame strat i used to have

I love my Callaham bridge and stop bar on my Les Paul. Very good stuff that I'll probably put on every guitar I get from now on. It brought loads of clarity and sustain. My low end is rock solid and filthy fat.

 

[Meathead]

Guitars are what they are acoustically, but a pickup change could turn that around through an amp.
I love a poplar body on a strat with a rosewood fretboard. I know that isn't common, but that combination sounds really great.

 

[mentoneman]

Fatfinger won't do what you want it to do (it's for moving a deadspot around).

I'd suggest replacing the block with the heaviest block you can find (probably Tungsten, if they make them for that trem). I've installed various size big blocks and the heavier the weight, it knocks off more high end, making the guitar sound fatter. It also slows the attack IME.

Modern cast saddles also sound warmer to me than the traditional bent steel saddles. I was surprised by this, but it's what I heard when I switched them out. I suspect machined brass saddles also would sound warmer than the bent steel saddles. I admit I don't know what saddles your Wilkinson uses.

yeah the block might be a good place to start.
i'm not a saddle connoisseur so i don't rightly know how to describe my wilkerson saddles other than they look like little pieces of lego, not the vintage bent deal. i used to use graphtechs on an old ibanez and thought those were an improvement at the time.

 

[sytharnia1560]

Try a full brass trem block

this (or big block steel..but that may also add top end) ... brass can be a little hit and miss. Are the pots 250 or 500?? that could be an option to...also make it an Eb guitar??

 

[Anonymous]

Get a brass block from Killerguitarcomponents.

They make them for the wilkinson trems and are fantastic.
Add a brass claw while you're at it.

 

[Deleted member 13074]

what pickups are in the tyler?

is it a Wilkinson vs100 bridge, like this?:

 

[rupe]

Add a brass claw while you're at it.

Why?

 

[Anonymous]

They look lovely and add a nice finishing touch.

Adding tone is bollocks but they're beautifully made and not expensive so why not ?

 

[marshallmel]

A .47pf cap on a 250k volume pot will help tremendously.

 

[mentoneman]

what pickups are in the tyler?

is it a Wilkinson vs100 bridge, like this?:

i'm not even sure this is a wilkinson? i used to have a wilkinson bridge that looked like the picture you posted, prior to this one that pete skermetta put on for me when he refretted my neck a few years ago--
maybe gotoh?

and i mistakenly identified my tuners as spertzel and they are actually gotoh

 

[Anonymous]

That's a Gotoh 510 mate.
killer do a ' killer ' brass block for them too.

The saddles you have sound great so there's no need to change them.