The TTR Official Strat Pride Thread

Enough about Eric No-Chin!:BH:
I thought this was about OUR GUITARS, not some wore out old stinker in England.....

Little brother, you look just right with a Strat. That's a one size fits all instrument.
And ya look cool on stage... But smile more often!
 
Sergio, tell me what the particulars are on this guitar. I think one of my 2 are it's twin. Mine is an '89 Am Std with the TBX pot and is all stock. My other one is a '90 same setup just Maple board instead.

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Chili, Jessica is a 2013 American Standard, all stock. It has 3 Fat 50's and a Delta Tone pot, which actually works the bridge pickup. When I first bought it, I found out that it was too bright, almost shrill compared to other strats, and as I bought it new with papers and case candy, I refused to mod a brand new US Fender, so I started reading and researching qbout how I could make it sound sweeter and creamier. Then I read about this: from the 90s on (or so) the Am Stds came with a different tone control system, and a deliberately hotter bridge pickup. When the lower tone knob is at 10, it kills the pot, so what you hear is the screechy overwound single coil. If you roll the knob back one or two points, the bridge gets deliciously creamier and the mids come out in a very pleasant rock tone.
 
No joke. If all I had ever heard was his Strat (lack of) tone it would have put me off of both him and the guitars immensely. To this day, whenever I see/hear him playing a Gibson it just sounds so much better that the Strats.

The only song he did that I really loved was "Forever Man. "
 
Oh...and just to prove I'm keeping the Strat pride in the family, here is my son's Stratocaster!

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For $25 I'd go inside and link the bridge pickup to the mid tone pot. A 30min job. My customers were ready to have me knighted. I just smiled and put the coin in the box.

Only the über super Redneck geetar players used the wide open ear splitting treble stuff!:eek:
 
For $25 I'd go inside and link the bridge pickup to the mid tone pot. A 30min job. My customers were ready to have me knighted. I just smiled and put the coin in the box.

Only the über super Redneck geetar players used the wide open ear splitting treble stuff!:eek:


Yes, yes! Indeed, when you leave the tone knob at 10, the bridge pickup sounds almost annoyingly screechy, all trebles. It's like a needle puncturing your ear if you're using lots of distortion... I'd say this position is only for crystal clear clean tones and pretty rough southern stuff.

Then I started learning how to use the Delta system and when I dial in the right amount of treble for the amp settings I'm using, this guitar sounds rich and creamy as your favorite pumpkin peccan pie.

Older Brother, I'd happily let you rewire it as I trust your expertise and ears more than my own, knowing that you have decades of experience AND very similar musical tastes to mine...

but truth is, I live down in a small inland town (though I travel to play at the state capital every week) and in this neck of the woods I don't trust ANY tech. I wouldn't let anyone mess with my strats or my SG, no no. The only guy who does a light tech job whenever I change strings (and I mean just tighten the claw a little and set the truss rod if needed) is my former bass player, who is a very gentle and precise fellow, but even he does NOT get to mess with the electronics... I'm a bit OCD about my guitars :rolleyes:

But about linking the bridge pup to the middle, that's what the Delta tone does. When you switch the last tone knob to 10 you hear a slight but distinct "click", unlike the other knobs. That's what kills the pot. So if you leave it alone cranked up at 10, you'll have a wild beast with a shrill bridge pup. But if you use the knob and roll it back a bit, you get to control the tone on the bridge.
 
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