petejt
Active member
I've been playing a Fender Stratocaster way too much. It's my housemate's Strat, actually a Fat Strat that was made in Mexico. It got a full setup by a local reputable guitar technician (called Nitrovane). I only has 22 frets, which is fine for me.
I just LOVE the sound of this thing. Clean tones it is just MAGIC. Semi-dirty tones are awesome too. I love using the 2nd & 4th positions, and also the neck pickup but picking the strings in different places. That Glassy Twang virtually makes me wet.
The only thing that is lacking is the sound of the stock humbucking bridge pickup, for dirty sounds. As I guessed, there is not enough strength, chunk and low-mid roar compared to the sound of my Les Paul copy (ESP ltd ec-400) loaded with Suhr Doug Aldrich humbuckers.
I like to have just one guitar that can do everything, rather than use different guitars, because when I am playing at home I often jump between different styles & sounds. I do have two guitars, but the old one is a backup- in fact it looks very similar to my main axe, even the colour & style.
If I bought a Fender Fat Strat and replaced the bridge pickup with a Suhr Aldrich, would it help get some chunk when used with a dirty tone? Or will it just be too twangy-sounding & shallow still?
I've had a look into other guitars but prefer the Fender. I tried some Ibanez super-strats and did not like them at all. I even tried an 80s Charvel which is something I really don't like, even if it is supposed to be in between these two types of guitars. I looked into Maton's electric guitars, like their Mastersound 500, but it doesn't have a 5-way pickup switch, which is something I need.
A week or so back I did make a comment on a 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite !!!, mentioning it could be just what I am looking for. But when I revisited the demo video of it, the neck & middle pickup tones when used with a clean sound, sounded rather bright and thin in a way, at least compared to a real Fender Strat. I know it's a stretch to compare a dodgy YouTube video clip with me playing a real Strat, but still, I was not impressed as much the first time. Yet playing the Strat really blows me away.
Or is it worth just installing a middle position pickup and a 5-way toggle switch? I've asked about that elusive twang, and was advised that it is related to the scale length of the Stratocaster- 25.5".
I know that superstrats that are further modified with special pickups (like Fralins) and used with outboard equalisers, are needed to get a more twangy sound. This draws me back to the fact that I might be better off getting a Real McCoy Stratocaster and hope to beef up its bridge pickup sound.
I gotta do something about this- my housemate is sick of me playing his guitar instead of my own!
I just LOVE the sound of this thing. Clean tones it is just MAGIC. Semi-dirty tones are awesome too. I love using the 2nd & 4th positions, and also the neck pickup but picking the strings in different places. That Glassy Twang virtually makes me wet.
The only thing that is lacking is the sound of the stock humbucking bridge pickup, for dirty sounds. As I guessed, there is not enough strength, chunk and low-mid roar compared to the sound of my Les Paul copy (ESP ltd ec-400) loaded with Suhr Doug Aldrich humbuckers.
I like to have just one guitar that can do everything, rather than use different guitars, because when I am playing at home I often jump between different styles & sounds. I do have two guitars, but the old one is a backup- in fact it looks very similar to my main axe, even the colour & style.
If I bought a Fender Fat Strat and replaced the bridge pickup with a Suhr Aldrich, would it help get some chunk when used with a dirty tone? Or will it just be too twangy-sounding & shallow still?
I've had a look into other guitars but prefer the Fender. I tried some Ibanez super-strats and did not like them at all. I even tried an 80s Charvel which is something I really don't like, even if it is supposed to be in between these two types of guitars. I looked into Maton's electric guitars, like their Mastersound 500, but it doesn't have a 5-way pickup switch, which is something I need.
A week or so back I did make a comment on a 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite !!!, mentioning it could be just what I am looking for. But when I revisited the demo video of it, the neck & middle pickup tones when used with a clean sound, sounded rather bright and thin in a way, at least compared to a real Fender Strat. I know it's a stretch to compare a dodgy YouTube video clip with me playing a real Strat, but still, I was not impressed as much the first time. Yet playing the Strat really blows me away.
Or is it worth just installing a middle position pickup and a 5-way toggle switch? I've asked about that elusive twang, and was advised that it is related to the scale length of the Stratocaster- 25.5".
I know that superstrats that are further modified with special pickups (like Fralins) and used with outboard equalisers, are needed to get a more twangy sound. This draws me back to the fact that I might be better off getting a Real McCoy Stratocaster and hope to beef up its bridge pickup sound.
I gotta do something about this- my housemate is sick of me playing his guitar instead of my own!
