C-Grin
Ambassador of Wonderland
That sounds like more realer guitar tone
Strat Pickups and why do I hate them?
- Thread starter ibmorjamn
- Start date
C-Grin
Ambassador of Wonderland
I play mostly Strats and have a few favorites. I have a couple sets that are pretty high wind singles ( currently not in guitars) but I did find them usable. I only have 1 Strat with actual singles in it right now and they are a vintage type wind. But Iwouldnt mind giving those trilogies a go, I don’t want to pay for them though
OP
ibmorjamn
Ambassador of Moar Jammin
Me either, so the search continues.I play mostly Strats and have a few favorites. I have a couple sets that are pretty high wind singles ( currently not in guitars) but I did find them usable. I only have 1 Strat with actual singles in it right now and they are a vintage type wind. But Iwouldnt mind giving those trilogies a go, I don’t want to pay for them though
Fender TexMex might be useful and the SD quarter pounders. I just can’t see spending that much.Never mind, I remember lace sensor red.
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frostyjr2
Well-Known Member
You might be surprised at what proper shielding in the cavities and an aluminium scratchplate can do to tame the noise.
Then again, i have to say that i do like lo fi sounds myself sometimes.
Oddly, I don’t get a lot of noise with the Strat….. guessing because I play more at 3-4 than I do 8-10. But most likely on the agenda next time I change strings will be to pull that plate off and do a better job of shielding the cavity. Can’t hurt.
I did that on the fake Tele I have and the end result was a lot less noise. And all I did was add copper tape to the control cavity. Didn’t pull pups and add tape to those. Didn’t fully eliminate it, but it did get it to the point it’s almost not noticeable.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
I think I have made peace with Strat pickups (and Strats in general) after fighting with them for 35+ years. I just don't try to make them do anything they don't do well anymore, and focus on the things they do well. I have Les Pauls for bringing the heat, so the Strats now are for low/medium gain sounds and they really do shine there.
Exactly!
Let the Strats be the Strats and let the Les Pauls be the Les Pauls. If you let them be what they are, you may just discover you can love them both.
C-Grin
Ambassador of Wonderland
I have a guitar with a Lace red in the bridge and it does kick it up for sure. I have a few different cominations of noiseless pickups and some vinagy singles too. All have a place for me. But when I want to play with some gain the vintage single coil is not my go to. I just prefer to play Strats and have found some things that work for me, whatever makes ya happy I say.
Exactly.
I know not everyone here is in the same camp as me… but personally… I wouldn’t put humbuckers on either a Tele or a Strat. Many do and betting they love it that way. And conversely, for obvious reason, wouldn’t put single coils on a LP or SG or some iteration of the two. Although I guess P90s are singles, and I know they sound great. So may need to rethink my opinion.
OP
ibmorjamn
Ambassador of Moar Jammin
I here you C-Grin, the issue I guess is the singles I have been used to hearing many of my favorite Strat players have a tone that works but I believe they use enough pedals to drive them and it is mainly the treble side.
OP
ibmorjamn
Ambassador of Moar Jammin
Rear route, yes !
C-Grin
Ambassador of Wonderland
I hear ya, I am not sure any single coil sized pickup will be great for drop tuning or modern heavy music. I think it is really quite the opposite as they seem to work best for clarity. I play pretty much nothing in drop tunings unless you count half a step down. I do however have a few single size pickups that do gain pretty well, the Dimarzio injector is pretty damn good pickup. The Duncan stk s-9 is pretty dang good. But still they will take a DOD 250 or some EP booster to get over the top, or close to the top.
Nope.
OP
ibmorjamn
Ambassador of Moar Jammin
I am not really much in to drop tuning. More of a Uli Roth fan. He did not have many pickup options in around 1974. However, what is done in the studio could be completely different from live. Obviously Rudolph handled the rhythm/ humbucker parts.I hear ya, I am not sure any single coil sized pickup will be great for drop tuning or modern heavy music. I think it is really quite the opposite as they seem to work best for clarity. I play pretty much nothing in drop tunings unless you count half a step down. I do however have a few single size pickups that do gain pretty well, the Dimarzio injector is pretty damn good pickup. The Duncan stk s-9 is pretty dang good. But still they will take a DOD 250 or some EP booster to get over the top, or close to the top.
C-Grin
Ambassador of Wonderland
Well good luck with whatever you choose to do. I lost my interface to a roof leak and just have not replaced it yet so my latest recordings are on the crap I phone. But this is the last one I could get it to work, but the volume is too low. But it is a Lace Sensor Blue in the bridge which I actually like better than the Red. But my youtube channel is littered with me butchering some terrific songs to death with strats and various pickups is you are interested. Probably not advisable though, 
.
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OP
ibmorjamn
Ambassador of Moar Jammin
That sounds good , it could get the job done. ThanksWell good luck with whatever you choose to do. I lost my interface to a roof leak and just have not replaced it yet so my latest recordings are on the crap I phone. But this is the last one I could get it to work, but the volume is too low. But it is a Lace Sensor Blue in the bridge which I actually like better than the Red. But my youtube channel is littered with me butchering some terrific songs to death with strats and various pickups is you are interested. Probably not advisable though,
67plexi
Ambassador of Amps
Funny how things go started out with a Gibson Les Paul SG and a Les Paul Custom then Stratocasters
next a PRS Custom 24 10 top 1989 pre factory the PRS was built better than Fender or Gibson at that time
stayed in tune didn't break strings sounded great it was expensive at that time $3400.00
Now I sound like me no mater what guitar I play 99% of the time straight guitar into the amp
More into amps have 50 or so 30+ guitars today only play 3 amps and two guitars
My friend Joe was over yesterday we have been playing music since 2008 in different bands now were both playing guitar
let Joe play my PRS Brazilian McCarthy rosewood neck I played PRS Custom 24 ten top Brazilian neck and fingerboard
the two guitars were a match they complemented each other ended up playing a bunch of Iron Maiden songs
next a PRS Custom 24 10 top 1989 pre factory the PRS was built better than Fender or Gibson at that time
stayed in tune didn't break strings sounded great it was expensive at that time $3400.00
Now I sound like me no mater what guitar I play 99% of the time straight guitar into the amp
More into amps have 50 or so 30+ guitars today only play 3 amps and two guitars
My friend Joe was over yesterday we have been playing music since 2008 in different bands now were both playing guitar
let Joe play my PRS Brazilian McCarthy rosewood neck I played PRS Custom 24 ten top Brazilian neck and fingerboard
the two guitars were a match they complemented each other ended up playing a bunch of Iron Maiden songs
Exactly.
I know not everyone here is in the same camp as me… but personally… I wouldn’t put humbuckers on either a Tele or a Strat. Many do and betting they love it that way. And conversely, for obvious reason, wouldn’t put single coils on a LP or SG or some iteration of the two. Although I guess P90s are singles, and I know they sound great. So may need to rethink my opinion.
Well, I have no problem with putting humbuckers in Strats or Teles. I actually have an HSS Stratocaster. I was assuming the intended "Strat" pickup being discussed is the traditional single coil pickup. In that context, it is a mistake to expect the Strat to sound like something like a Les Paul (assuming the typical humbucker setup).
But, I didn't mean to preclude the option of putting humbuckers in a Strat. Having said that, a humbucker in a Strat will still not sound like a humbucker in a Les Paul. That's not a bad thing. It's just something to be aware of.