GreatRedDragon
Well-known member
My first "proper" Strat, a 2023 Fender Japan Hybrid II model:
Great guitar, but the stock Strat electronics are just not for me. My favorite Strat tones were never the truly vintage, they're the more processed and I suppose sterile sounds from the 80s.
Explored a few options looking for noiseless pickups, considered EMGs and stacked offerings from Duncan and DiMarzio, ended up going for a set of Lace Sensor Hot Golds. Passive single coils, but still noiseless. The set I ordered has a hot bridge pickup (DCR of 13.2k vs the 6k of the neck and middle), going for somewhere in-between Gilmour and Clapton.
The pickups are just part of it though.
I'm going to get a 10-way Freeway switch. I like that it retains classic 5-way positions, and the five new combinations are all on the second bank. It's cleaner and easier than push-pulls, mini toggles and blend knobs.
I'm also going to swap out the two tone knobs, which I find pretty useless as-is. Interest in Gilmour's Red Strat and Clapton's signature Strat got me curious about active tone controls, so what I have planned is to swap the tone knobs for two EMG pieces: The SPC (mid boost) and the AB 220 (output boost). The SPC can dial in more humbucker-style grunt, while the AB 220 has two detented positions (8db and 20db) that make it a very useful boost. I especially like that when dialed down to zero they are disabled, whereas the Clapton preamp is always on to some extent.
To make life easier, I will also swap the stock volume pot for an EMG solderless 250k, which is designed for passive pickups and includes a ground wire. Mating the output of the switch to the input of the volume pot is just a matter of clipping off the EMG cable's connector and soldering it to the switch. So everything after the switch will be on EMG's solderless system, which I am a big fan of overall.
Great guitar, but the stock Strat electronics are just not for me. My favorite Strat tones were never the truly vintage, they're the more processed and I suppose sterile sounds from the 80s.
Explored a few options looking for noiseless pickups, considered EMGs and stacked offerings from Duncan and DiMarzio, ended up going for a set of Lace Sensor Hot Golds. Passive single coils, but still noiseless. The set I ordered has a hot bridge pickup (DCR of 13.2k vs the 6k of the neck and middle), going for somewhere in-between Gilmour and Clapton.
The pickups are just part of it though.
I'm going to get a 10-way Freeway switch. I like that it retains classic 5-way positions, and the five new combinations are all on the second bank. It's cleaner and easier than push-pulls, mini toggles and blend knobs.
I'm also going to swap out the two tone knobs, which I find pretty useless as-is. Interest in Gilmour's Red Strat and Clapton's signature Strat got me curious about active tone controls, so what I have planned is to swap the tone knobs for two EMG pieces: The SPC (mid boost) and the AB 220 (output boost). The SPC can dial in more humbucker-style grunt, while the AB 220 has two detented positions (8db and 20db) that make it a very useful boost. I especially like that when dialed down to zero they are disabled, whereas the Clapton preamp is always on to some extent.
To make life easier, I will also swap the stock volume pot for an EMG solderless 250k, which is designed for passive pickups and includes a ground wire. Mating the output of the switch to the input of the volume pot is just a matter of clipping off the EMG cable's connector and soldering it to the switch. So everything after the switch will be on EMG's solderless system, which I am a big fan of overall.
