Long time Strat owners (a little input please)

I get plenty of quack outta my Zecoils in positions 2 & 4. Pleking is great IF you find the right person - it is both an art and a science.

I LOVE bone nuts. TUSQs are OK too. Often a bone nut changes everything.
barhrecords said:
I have Kinman's and one of their K harnesses.

Very stratty for noiseless pickups. You do give up some quack in positions 2 & 4 for the tradeoff of less noise.

What took my strat to next level was I had it Plek'ed and refretted and a bone nut installed. And then a really great setup for intonation. Turned into a monster guitar.

I can live with the lower pickup output of the Kinmans as compared to active EMG's or stacked humbuckers. Those hotter pickups give a good first impression but they don't give that sweet clean tone that I like from a strat.

Here is what my Strat sounds like clean with the AxeFx Vox model: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-recordings/78450-ac30-tb-clean-my-blue-rainbow.html
Click to expand...
 
funny_polymath said:
That is one of the prettiest strats I've ever seen.
Click to expand...

Thanks! It was definitely the looks that made me pick it up. I was kind of jonesing for a Tele at the time. I've always wanted a Strat but could never find one that felt right to me. This one looked so good I had to give it a try and it played and sounded great unplugged so after I did some research on the specs I called the store and told them to hold it for me.

The prime thing for me is the compound fingerboard radius with large frets mixed with a mix of new and old school specs. For example, bent steel saddles, but a 2 point bridge. Non-noiseless pickups with a no load tone control. Locking tuners, etc...
 
Wow - a strat with locking tuners and a compound radius fingerboard? Wish I'd heard of that before I bought my last one! Sounds like a perfect strat.
Hellbat said:
Thanks! It was definitely the looks that made me pick it up. I was kind of jonesing for a Tele at the time. I've always wanted a Strat but could never find one that felt right to me. This one looked so good I had to give it a try and it played and sounded great unplugged so after I did some research on the specs I called the store and told them to hold it for me.

The prime thing for me is the compound fingerboard radius with large frets mixed with a mix of new and old school specs. For example, bent steel saddles, but a 2 point bridge. Non-noiseless pickups with a no load tone control. Locking tuners, etc...
Click to expand...
 
Well, I'm a sucker for tinkering with Fenders. Not sure what it is about them, but my Mexican Road Worn Strat has had the kitchen sink thrown at it as far as upgrades and now easily hangs with much more high end guitars.

For pickups, if you can find them, I can highly recommend WCR SR pickups. They have as best I would describe it a nice, balanced tone with a strong midrange. Pretty sure they're Alnico V. I have a set and absolutely love them. They're probably to the hotter side of vintage 60s sounding, but they retain a beautiful clarity with cleans while the bridge pickup sounds great for rock, Malmsteen, even venturing into metal territory.

You have to email Jim Wagner to have him wind you a set as they're not listed on his site, but they're well-worth it.

http://www.jimwagnerpickups.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom