Bitten by the strat bug

Bad Kitty · Post by **Bad Kitty** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 2:56 pm

Ever since I got my amp done I've noticed that you can really hear the diffrence in guitars.
I've had this Squier strat laying around for years. I only used it for recording rhythm tracks once in awhile. It's got Carvin pickups in it and shielded paint inside the cavity and is dead quiet.
I plugged it into my marshall and HOLY SHIT, this thing sounds heavenly. For lack of a better word it sounds so stratty. I mean I'm not going to get rid of my LPC or anything but it's coming to the gig this weekend for sure.
I can only imagine what a "good" strat sounds like.
The guy that gave it to my wife said that it was part of the first shipment of Squiers that the Japan factory sent over here and they were really trying to impress Fender with the quality that they could put out. The whole shipping container was stolen off the dock. He's got a blue one with a rosewood fretboard. This one is white with a maple fretboard.
I always hated maple fretboards but I just can't seem to get away from them since my LPC has a maple fretboard too.
Now I'm off to go look at strat porn!

Mike

npminard · Post by **npminard** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:25 pm

If you have a Japanese Squier, don't discount it in my opinion. Many are on par with higher end Strats. I have an '89 Squier Strat that was made in the U.S. white/rosewood and it plays and sounds fantastic. I bought it as a backup to my Gibson, but now I seem to play it more

robert · Post by **robert** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:32 pm

Have you ever played an old Squier JV '52 Telecaster? Absolute killer sound & feel, but she seems extremely rare.

Regards

Robert

npminard · Post by **npminard** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:31 pm

No, but I'd like to

. I hear the JV's are amazing. I'd like to get a big CBS headstock rosewood/olympic white to match my pre-CBS '89 Squier US. The JV's are getting more expensive, $600 and up on eBay.

Bad Kitty · Post by **Bad Kitty** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 9:22 pm

It's nice having both around. Even with splitting the humbucker you just can't get that single coil thing happening with a Les Paul. Of course you can't get that big sound out of a strat either.
Now if I can just get that Jeff Beck tone I'd be a happy camper!

Mike

npminard · Post by **npminard** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:55 am

I agree on coil splitting, it's just not the same. Same with Strats that have the middle/bridge p/u's on or the neck/middle p/u's on, I was told by a salesman that it "humbucks", but it sure doesn't sound like a Les Paul. They both achieve well in their own areas.

Nathaniel

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 6:54 am

It does humbuck. Just in a different way. You can get humnbucker tone from a strat. Ytou just have to use 2 switches to put the br/mi or mi/nk in series. But it sounds wierd like that. Not as tight as a normal humbucker but a little tubier. Very cool actually. Its what Brian May did with his 3 single coil red special. But that salesman was clearly spinning BS. The right thing to say is that the notch positions are somewhat noise canceling because the middle is reverse wound.

Im finidhing a strat build now. Im waiting on the neck to arrive.

Bad Kitty · Post by **Bad Kitty** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:32 pm

Hey Billy,

Where did you get your neck from?
Mine needs some fret work done, they're a little on the small side and uneven in spots, and I thought maybe a new neck might be cheaper.

Mike

77custom · Post by **77custom** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:14 pm

Bad Kitty wrote:Hey Billy,

Where did you get your neck from?
Mine needs some fret work done, they're a little on the small side and uneven in spots, and I thought maybe a new neck might be cheaper.

Mike

I've got a mighty might strat neck for sale!!!

22 frets, maple fretboard, grover tuners, $75 shipped!!!

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:34 pm

Bad Kitty wrote:Hey Billy,

Where did you get your neck from?
Mine needs some fret work done, they're a little on the small side and uneven in spots, and I thought maybe a new neck might be cheaper.

Mike

I love huge strat necks. I got a warmoth boatneck, maple/maple. Thinner on the sides then gibson necks but fatter from the point of the back to the frets. One inch! CBS headstock. I think all said it was around $200 with nut prep and shipping.

I love em unfinished and tahts what I got. I know Ill only get so many years out of it but its not a vintage strat or even a new fender for that matter.

npminard · Post by **npminard** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:00 am

Didn't know that about the coil splitting, although I do know that the middle/bridge or middle/neck cancels the noise. Didn't know how it was done to achieve the humbucker sound, thanks for the info! I thought something was up w/that salesman though, no wonder he said he was "just learning to play guitar"

Sent you a PM about that strat neck 77custom. Thanks

Bad Kitty · Post by **Bad Kitty** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:17 am

When the middle pup is reverse wound it cancel out 60 cycle when you have the middle pup and another pup on. It just cancels out noise. It doesn't sound even remotly like a humbucker.
I've got some old Carvin stacked humbuckers in mine. Tried it next to my brother in law's stock strats and I couldn't tell the difference. Just no noise.

Mike

JimiJames · Post by **JimiJames** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:50 am

In Fenders 50th RI Stratocaster they use the new innovated S1 switching.
Switches from Series to Parallel.
All the specially designed pups are a stack noise cancelling.
They were voiced like a 50's pickup.
In Fender's Frontline mag in a side by side comparison fooled the purist.
Real Stratty tone without the noise.

If a person desires to install 3 aftermarket noise cancelling stack pups they will need a special switch.
DiMarzio sells a switch to accomodate noise cancelling in all positions.

BTW... The Fender Cobalt Samarian pups can be had on fleaBay.
They are being parted out by sellers and lucky for that because it's the only way to obtain them without buying the whole guitar...

Jimmie K.

Billy Batz · Post by **Billy Batz** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:16 pm

JimiJames wrote: In Fender's Frontline mag in a side by side comparison fooled the purist.
Real Stratty tone without the noise.
.

Funny. I remember the same being said in ad's and marketing pieces of the Lace Sensors which supposedly use the same idea.

I guess they got that idea from Eric Johnson with his HS-2 stacked bridge pickup of which he only uses 1 coil. I cant quote exact but his words were seomthing like 'vintage tone and just having the other coil there as a dummy cancels 60% of the hum'. I think I first read about him doing that 10 years ago.