Fender American Standard Strat.....Meets Axe-Fx 3

[Bman]

Yep. Pre-EQ as in Pre-gain or before the amp EQ. You can use the Input EQ in the amp block itself or PEQ, GEQ, or Filter blocks in front of it. Whichever you prefer. Benefit of using a separate PEQ or GEQ block out front is you have 4 channels in each to setup EQ curves for different guitars or pickups. You could then use one preset for say both a Strat and a Les Paul, and use different Pre-gain EQ curves for each to compensate for their differences. You could possibly avoid having to create separate presets dialed in for different guitars this way. It's a trick used by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. He has a 31 band graphic EQ in front of his rig that has the EQ curve setup to mimic the tone of his favorite 59 Les Paul "Miss Pearly Gates" live without having to travel and gig with a cherished guitar worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Other folks do a similar thing with the tone match block as well. For example, tone match a Strat to a Les Paul and use that to shape the sound more in that direction.

There's more to it than just EQ, so it will never be exactly the same, but it's a step in the right direction that can be close enough for some folks.

I apologize if I missed it in your posts, but are you using the Amp Block's input EQ? On the AX8 I used a PEQ block in front of the amp block, but I've found the Axe3's amp block's Input EQ functions the same. Of course each guitar sounds different, so I use the slight mid boost and will slide the EQ hump until I find the sweet spot.

 

[neale dunham]

Bman,
Thanks for the advice. The common theme here seems to be putting the Peq before the amp block.

This is something I am certainly going to try over my next couple of sessions.

 

[ccc118]

I didn't see this mentioned, but does your bridge pickup have a tone control wired to it? I pretty much always roll back the tone knob on the bridge pickup a little. It really helps to roll off excess brightness. Also, before you make any modifications, you might want to check your pickup height and try playing around with it. Start off with factory specs and then go from there. Minor adjustments can sometimes make a big difference. It's usually recommended to have the bass side lower.

 

[johnnypig]

Any mid boost is going to help fender style singles since they have basically no midrange. You can also try the mid boost drive model. I use it for my Anderson tele with Mojo broadcaster quiet coils.

 

[Doug Notter]

I've had my American Standard Strat since it was new in 1998 and just recently installed real single coil pickups in it. When I first got it I immediately switched it out to either EMGs or blade style humbuckers (I don't remember which was first) and just before I installed these it had a HSH setup in it. This is really my first foray into getting good single coil tones. The preset still needs some tweaking but I'll upload it if you want it.

The pickups are from 920D. Texas Vintage Custom is what they call them. Amp model is one of the AC20's with a Mesa 1x12 and I think one of the Carol Ann 1x12's.

 

[johnnypig]

Here's a brown super preset with a new ff comp and the mid boost I use with my teles.

 

[Mystic38]

this..

the fat 50's are imo actually a great pickup but if not setup right they will be thin, weak and a bit shrill i suspect, so i highly doubt its your guitar.. they are in two of my strats...one a SSS and one a HSS

if you are going from the neck sc to a bridge sc, you may well need a boost, and another +1 to an EQ before the amp.. its a technique i have used extensively even with discrete eq like the empress paraeq, or in a tc nova & G system to get a certain tone... as an example of the flexibility an eq prior to the amp is, an intriguing video to watch is the Orange twostroke demo on youtube.. one of the examples is to fatten a sc into a hb'esque sound....

I didn't see this mentioned, but does your bridge pickup have a tone control wired to it? I pretty much always roll back the tone knob on the bridge pickup a little. It really helps to roll off excess brightness. Also, before you make any modifications, you might want to check your pickup height and try playing around with it. Start off with factory specs and then go from there. Minor adjustments can sometimes make a big difference. It's usually recommended to have the bass side lower.

 

[DLC86]

@neale dunham try the new firmware, I think it will solve any issue you have with harsh highs

 

[Josetxu]

Does anybody have a guitar similar to this, and managed to coax any of these tones from it or am I reduced to forever playing clean Shadows-esque tunes from it?

Which do sound bloody brilliant if i'm honest !!! Its what the guitar was built for.

But before I change the pickups.....Is there a way to set one of the 250+ amps in the AF3 so that the bridge pick doesn't sound so shrill and thin as to be almost unusable? ~If not, then absolutely fine, I will know for sure that I need to swap out the pick up. I just wanted to eliminate that aspect first before doing so.

Thanks Guys.

The American Standard has a no-load tone pot for the middle and bridge pickup, so if it's completely opened (10) it's out of the circuit and it's like no having tone pot attached to the pickups. This, with the Fat 50s that doesn't lack highs, can give you that problem. What would I try? first roll back the tone pot. If it doesn't solve your problem you could even try to put a higher tone capacitor: the American Standard comes with a 0.022uf one and most of vintage style guitars came with 0.047uf or even 0.1uf (50s and up to 67-68). If you like the sound of the neck and middle pickup as it is you could also try to put a hotter pickup in the bridge position: a Dimarzio FS-1 it's a very popular choice and it's what the Edge signature Strat has with two Fat 50s in neck and middle. Seymour Duncan SSL-5 it's also a good option, it's what Gilmour uses in his signature black Strat. I have both, a FS-1 in my Edge signature and a SSL1C-DG (The Duncan Custom shop version of the SSL5) with two CS'69s in another Strat. They are very similar, the SSL1C maybe brighter but the FS-1 has a better in-between position. Another great option is the Duncan Antiquity II Surfer Custom bridge, it's like a underwound version of the SSL5: not as beefy but more classic Strat sound. Keep in mind that: the Antiquity and the SSL1C-DG have the same polarity as Fenders, so you can install them the standard way, with the SSL5 you'll have to reverse wires and I think you have to do the same with the FS-1...

 

[neale dunham]

Josetxu,

Thanks for going to all the trouble of explaining that to me. Really appreciated.

Gives me more than a couple of options and solutions there.

Having never owned a Strat before im realising its a very diferrent animal to my Prs's and Gibson's …...but that's to be expected I guess!

 

[neale dunham]

the American Standard comes with a 0.022uf one and most of vintage style guitars came with 0.047uf or even 0.1uf (50s and up to 67-68).

So am I correct in thinking, that the higher the tone pot capacitor value, the less shrill and treble-y my Stratocaster will be?

 

[neale dunham]

I think I managed to Google and answer my own question......

However, If my stock 0.022uf tone capacitor sounds good at roughly number 5 or 1/2 way on my tone control, does any tech minded guy know what value of capacitor I should install to get close to this value when the tone control is on maximum.

In other words, what value of capacitor do I need to install to reduce my tone control effect by 50%?

 

[Dave Merrill]

I think I managed to Google and answer my own question......

However, If my stock 0.022uf tone capacitor sounds good at roughly number 5 or 1/2 way on my tone control, does any tech minded guy know what value of capacitor I should install to get close to this value when the tone control is on maximum.

In other words, what value of capacitor do I need to install to reduce my tone control effect by 50%?

You want tone all the way up to sound like it does now when it's at 50%? Not gonna happen just by changing that cap.

Tone all the way up takes the cap more more or less out of circuit, regardless of its value.

Not 100% sure I'm thinking right, but you could put a resistor the same value as the tone pot from the top of the pot to the bottom of it.

The idea is to make it at like the pot is halfway down when it's all the way up.

The tone pot taper might be a bit weird, you'd have to try it. See least it's cheap and pretty nondestructive, if you have a soldering gun and solder anyway.

 

[neale dunham]

Maybe a pick-up change is more appropriate?

 

[GreatGreen]

Just in case this might save you a block on the grid...

A PEQ block before the amp is nice, sure, but the Input EQ tab built into the Amp block is already really flexible. You have a Tilt EQ and single-band PEQ combo ready to go. These controls combined with the Amp block's Input Trim means there's really not much additional EQ controls you'd need before the Amp Block.