The Stratocaster appreciation thread.

[Metal Overload]

Hey guys, i wanted to open this thread for a while, i know some of you guys own or just love this guitars. at least Mark (Grywolf) and i think Mike (006) i know they have or had a strat.

I gotta admit that i hated this guitars (just because aren´t good for Metal) until i had to buy one just to fit the sound of my classic rock covers band, and now im falling in love more and more with strats.

Also, i would like to ask strats experts or enthusiasts about pickups, because i want to upgrade my strat, which i really don´t know what pups it have, but is a 2000 MIM, my options now are and based on youtube clips or website clips: Rio Grande tallboys, barenuckles mother milks, fender texas special, vintage noiseless or Tex Mex. I don´t know about lace sensor, i want to go for a vintage sound, good cleans but capable of dirty or rusty blues style leads or something like that hehe.

Here`s a picture of me loving my strat (i think this is the first time that i post a picture of me here.)

Come on guys share your love for strats or at least recommend me some pick ups haha.

Pd. Marcus i know you don´t like Strats now, but deep inside of me i know you will, haha. those are shredding machines!!!

 

[Harry Hughes]

I used to hate on strats.........cos they weren't super strats

Then 2 months ago I actually got to play one through a vintage reissue Fender tube amp and I understand the fuss about strats and Fender tube amp clean tones.
There is just something about that single coil sound you can just can't replicate with coil split humbuckers.

As for pickups, do you know about the Seymour Duncan Classic Stack Plus STK-4?
I'm not shitting you, these things have literally less hum than a full size humbucker. I noticed several decibels less hum and they reject feedback incredible well, far better than any normal single coil I've used.

My mate has one of these in his guitar and they sound so close to a real deal single coil. That 2-3 per cent you lose in not being totally vintage sounding, you make up for in having an extremely studio friendly pickup due to the sheer quietness.

 

[Metal Overload]

Yeah dude, Strat on a tube amp is pure delicious tone, im loving having single coils, as you say with some of the combinations of the three pickups, dificult to replicate with hums.

And thanks for the recommendation, i´ll check out those SD right now! cause im planning on have more than one Strat!.

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

"Here`s a picture of me LOVING MY STRAT (i think this is the first time that i post a picture of me here.)" Hahahahaha! I wasnt game to look!

 

[Metal Overload]

Hahaha

 

[Harry Hughes]

The Vintage Noiseless doesn't do the vintage think as convincingly as the Classic Stack, nor is it as quiet. The Samariun Cobalt ones sound better me thinks, a bit smoother, but again don't do the vintage that well.
Lace Sensors have a unique sound, which I would not describe as vintage accurate either, however if you want something different try them, but if it must be vintage, again they probably wont do it for you.
I've tried the Bare Knuckle Irish Tour set before, very nice sounding, but I don't know about their other single coils. I'm pretty sure it wasn't noise canceling.
Don't really know about the Rio Grande stuff unfortunately.
Hope this helps.

 

[Metal Overload]

Thanks a lot Petro, it really helps, Definitely .

I don´t know why i thing the vintage noiseless would sound "sterile", and sensor maybe would be more of a modern sound, im just guessing, i loved a clip of the tallboys in the rio grande site, more of what im looking, maybe some organic sound.

 

[rlcramer]

I never really "got" the whole strat thing, until I recently bought one on a whim. The thing is amazing, and I finally see the light. I never say "Never" but I doub't I'll get rid of it any time soon. The sound is pretty sweet, but playing it is an experience - it's smoother than any other guitar I've ever touched. It's really a player's guitar.

And while I can't recommend good pickups, I can certainly recommend some bad ones. Stay away from EMG SA's. They kill the glassy Fender sound. The stock pickups in my American Std. were noisy, so I figured EMG's would kill the noise. Yeah - they klilled the noise, but they also killed the tone. I'm going to have the originals put back one of the these days.

Bobby

 

[Erlend_]

My uncle is giving me one of his Strats Cant wait for it!

I was very impressed when I saw what guitar the Marduk guitarist uses.

 

[Metaltastic]

Lovin' the Mosvalve Antonio And yeah man, I recognize that Strats have an undeniably identifiable tone and whatnot (playability I'm not as sure about, in fact I can't stand that neck heel block ), it's just the fact that they all look so similar (especially with that big slab of plastic on the top, otherwise known as a "pickguard" :Smug: ) that I find it so hard to get excited over them, especially when someone is looking at one and absolutely losing it because of when it was made (Joe ) and I'm like, yeah, sunburst with a big sheet of white plastic and a 6-screw trem bridge, MY GOD how unique But like I said, I totally recognize the uniqueness and beauty of their sound (though I hate the sound of single coils playing metal), and I won't rule out the possibility that I might pick one up down the line! (it's just not that high on my priority list)

 

[SentencedToBurn]

fender guitars are the BEST guitars you can buy in my opinion... unless you play metal of course. Even then you can make them sound pretty decent for metal. But for rock, jazz, country... they are fuckin awesome! i got myself a cheap strat and a kick ass tele. my guitar player has a jaguar. I love fender!

 

[006]

2000/2001 MIM Standard w/ Tex-Mex, 50th Anniversary Tex-Mex, 1979 25th Anniversary USA

Fucking love my Strats. I like the Tex-Mex pickups but single-coils are different for every player, they just seem to work best for me. Texas Specials are good, the Vintage Noiseless are not all that great, same with the EMG SAs as has already been said. Even though Gilmour uses them I hated the set myself in all three Strats (pre-wired pickgaurd from EMG). I'm interested in trying other pickups though, and probably putting a humbucker in the bridge of my 50th ann. since I tend to only use the neck for teh riffz on that one anyway. I dunno. The black one is actually my first guitar ever, I really didn't intend for it to look like Gilmour's (black with black pg and white covers, maple board...) it just ended up that way over the years.

 

[Line666]

I want a strat so I can beat the fuck out of it.

 

[JMarz]

Don't be rippin' on single coil metal, guys.

Jari Maenpaa of Wintersun uses and used a Telecaster.

 

[SentencedToBurn]

I want a strat so I can beat the fuck out of it.

buy a road worn strat. they are already beat up!!

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-RoadWorn-60s-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=526796

 

[Forceps]

I bought al parts for a strat on the internet and assembled it... total costs about 350 euros, but it's my main axe since I made it!!

 

[Harry Hughes]

Lovin' the Mosvalve Antonio And yeah man, I recognize that Strats have an undeniably identifiable tone and whatnot (playability I'm not as sure about, in fact I can't stand that neck heel block ), it's just the fact that they all look so similar (especially with that big slab of plastic on the top, otherwise known as a "pickguard" :Smug: ) that I find it so hard to get excited over them, especially when someone is looking at one and absolutely losing it because of when it was made (Joe ) and I'm like, yeah, sunburst with a big sheet of white plastic and a 6-screw trem bridge, MY GOD how unique But like I said, I totally recognize the uniqueness and beauty of their sound (though I hate the sound of single coils playing metal), and I won't rule out the possibility that I might pick one up down the line! (it's just not that high on my priority list)

To me it's really about how it makes you think different.
I mean, no surprise, most of what I play is metal, so I'm usually rocking a 7 string Ibanez with smooth neck hell, 24 jumbo frets, twin humbuckers.
As soon as I pick up a strat, I'm thinking everything except metal and I'm not thinking in terms of soloing high up the neck. I'm thinking pretty chord voicings and digging in real hard with the picking to take advantage of the attack you can get only with single coils.
Oh, I do hate the 6 screw trem however. Always like the twin point Fender trem much better, so much more stable.

 

[Ironbird666]

I love my MIM Strat! I know putting a humbucker in the bridge position takes away from its Strat-ness heh, but I find you can get some damn good metal tones out of a Strat if it's set up correctly. I personally love the way the neck single coil pup sounds when overdriven, great lead tone IMO.

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, like I said, I really wouldn't mind having one to screw around with, there's just other things I want more! (chief among them being new amp and guitar with a Floyd)

 

[Nitsuj]

Go with Lindy Fralins if you want to do Jimi or its blues special if you want a spot on Ray Vaughan tone. really can't go wrong with it.

Not a fan of EMGs on strats unless u want to do Gilmour. the 60 cycle hum is part of the strat sound. Just gotta turn down the vol knob when you're not playing.

the 57/62 pickups from Fender are pretty authentic Straty tones but I find them to be a little shrilly on the trebly side.