Need Help From Fellow Fender Metal Players

[amyhalim]

Hi ther,

Need some help from u guys who own Fender Srat. I have a Fender Voodoo
Strat now they call it Fender Reverse 68. I love ut too much that I wont do any modification to my Voodoo.. Now the think is I do played a lot of heavy metal, Metallica, Black Sabbath s well s clean Scorpions. Question is (a) What effects are most suitable for me to make a single coil pick-up sounds Humbucking? I want a THICK, HEAVY AND WARM sound for my rhythm and a SCREAMING sound for my solos ....(b) What amp is best for my kinda music
but not more then 40 watts.....

Pleeeezzzz Help bro

 

[Sunbane]

You can't get a singlecoil to sound like a humbucker. Period.
Even if you get replacement pickups that are humbuckers in a singlecoil format, the sound will be a tradeoff between the two. You need a full-size humbucker.

On the plus-side though: This is a strat with a pickguard right? Then buy another pickguard with another pickup configuration in it, to replace your old one. That way you don't have to cut it up or anything.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Yeah, I was posting this really long explanation of what bane just said, and then UM went down when I clicked Post, so Im going to just add some in. Bane is 100% correct, you simply cann not get that thick sound out of single coils, especially for the music you are describing, because all of those bands used humbucker guitars. Also like bane said, why not simply throw in a humbucker in the bridge position of you strat?? It would make the guitar very versatile, and give you just what you need as long as you picked the right humbucker, which we could help you do. Just go get a different pickguard with the other configuration, though you might still have to carve out a little because I dont think they make those big pickup "reservoirs" on the higher end models, I think they only carve out what is needed?? Just unscrew your pickguard and check.

 

[Sunbane]

though you might still have to carve out a little because I dont think they make those big pickup "reservoirs" on the higher end models, I think they only carve out what is needed?? Just unscrew your pickguard and check.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that! Thanks for pointing it out Leper.
If it's a valuable guitar, routing out the pickup cavities may diminish its value and I would definitely think it over both two and three times before doing it. Maybe it would be better to get another guitar...

'bane

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Well, see the thing is, I used to think that way, about guitars' values, and modifications that lower their values, but unless it is a REALLY valuable guitar like a one of a kind Gibson or something like that, the most value that a guitar is going to have for you is the pleasure of playing it. So I say, dont think about hte value in proce going down, but decide whether this small mod will raise the guitar's value to YOU, and allow you to enjoy it more. Selling guitars that were bought new is a major ripoff, so I have come to the resolution of never selling my guitars, even when I buy new ones, because it will be a nice collection, and it simply holds more value to me to keep them, than get like 200$ for trade ins on a 600-700$ guitar. The only way you should really sell your guitars is if it is a private sale, and it is a good deal, or if you REALLY need the money for like medical bills, food, rent, etc.

 

[Sex Machine]

yeh i usually make tons of mods to my guitars and shit

and whenever people make me think twice about it i say this. "im a player not a collector" which stands to reason, i dont give a flying fuck how much something is worth, if it plays good, it plays good, and thats all that really matters.

and yeh i never ever sell anything like leper said, it just adds to the collection

 

[-Gavin-]

You can't get a singlecoil to sound like a humbucker. Period.
Even if you get replacement pickups that are humbuckers in a singlecoil format, the sound will be a tradeoff between the two. You need a full-size humbucker.

On the plus-side though: This is a strat with a pickguard right? Then buy another pickguard with another pickup configuration in it, to replace your old one. That way you don't have to cut it up or anything.

Not through...
Stick in an EMG Pa2, it gives a 20db distortion boost and can beef up any single coil.

only needs a 1/4 inch hole drilled into the pickguard.

 

[Sunbane]

Not through...
Stick in an EMG Pa2, it gives a 20db distortion boost and can beef up any single coil.

Well, yes and no: The PA2 will boost the output to create more distortion, but the pickup will still sound like a singlecoil - plus it will also boost the 60 cycle hum, so chances are you'd end up with a pretty noisy guitar. Another way of trying just to boost the signal, would be to plug in a distortion pedal or a line driver between the guitar and the amp, and just use it to crank the volume up.

Two of the reasons a humbucker sounds like a humbucker is that it reads a wider area of string due to its physical design, and since its design is naturally hum cancelling, it also cancels out a little bit of treble. So generally, a humbucker will sound darker than a singlecoil. If you take a "mini humbucker" (or a stacked one), it will still not sound like a full size humbucker, due to its smaller size (narrower string reading area and typically less coil windings).

All this has little to do with output, although output is also key if you're going to play real metal. The PA2 can certainly be useful to boost a pickup that is lacking punch, but it isn't a replacement for quality pickups. It will simply make a bad pickup sound like a boosted bad pickup.

'bane

 

[Indiooo]

Single coils can sound thick. Sounding thick is not exclusive of humbuckers. Singlecoils sound different from humbuckers. Thick is another story.

Passive singles can be a bit noisy on high gain settings, but actives retain that beautiful clean sound and can also put out some very heavy tones with no noise whatsoever. It all depends on your amp.

 

[Leper_/-\ffinity]

Hey guys, I have a question, on my Ibanez RG421, I have coil split selector, and I usually play on it for all my clean stuff, and I was wondering how much worse/better coil split humbuckers sound compared to actual single coils?? Is there any difference??

 

[-Gavin-]

Hey guys, I have a question, on my Ibanez RG421, I have coil split selector, and I usually play on it for all my clean stuff, and I was wondering how much worse/better coil split humbuckers sound compared to actual single coils?? Is there any difference??

Not really as all you are doing is cutting off one of the two coils of the humbucker so it is in effect the same as a single coil with it has been tapped.
I would much rather have this than a single coil as it does offer loads more sound potential.
i do this with my EMG 89 in the neck of my rhoads, i keep a push/pull put inside my control cavity.


And Sunbane, i know what a humbucker is, i was jut saying it gives single coils more balls than a non-boosted single coil.


If you are wanting a moe bassy sound, why not get the EMG bass booster?

 

[Ravenous Enemy]

As a compromise, ie, no mods to the guitar (apart from changing the pickup, obviously) I would get a hotrails in the bridge. This has a very high output and would give you a useable metal sound, but would fit where your existing single coil does. (If you wanted, you could get 3 hotrails, but that would be expensive). Then, you could get a good high gain amp - if you've got lots of money the Ashdown Fallen Angel 40watt would be good, or maybe a tube/solid state hybrid amp. Then, get yourself a Digitech Metal Master or some such pedal and you'll have thicker riffs and screaming solo's.

 

[Sunbane]

And Sunbane, i know what a humbucker is, i was jut saying it gives single coils more balls than a non-boosted single coil.

True. Yeah, I figured you knew what a humbucker was - my reply was directed more to the original poster than it was to you, but I failed to make that clear. My apologies bro. =)

'bane

 

[-Gavin-]

Hey, no problem, we're all fighting for the same cause huh, a better guitar tone