Strat Bridge Single Coil Rock Tones

Keg8605

Power User
What do you guys do for that bridge single coil in a strat to tame it for a bit more rock tone? I've been just rolling off the tone knob a bit and that seems to help warm it up. Should I be using a compressor maybe? Just looking for tips thanks.

I picked up my first quality strat in October, a Nash S-57 Mary Kay and truly love the guitar. Just starting to miss that bridge humbucker a bit.
 
I play an Eric johnson strat from 2007, for reference. I work that tone knob a lot. I'm constantly listening at the tone coming back at me, and if it becomes too shrill, I'll definitely get it under control. For the stuff I do, humbuckers are too much. I do hate the single coil Noise though on the Bridge and neck. I do use a compressor as well. If I'm using the Fas boost, I'll warm it up that way as well, by turning the Tone value down.
 
I just got the Gilmour EMG prewired set. It sounds very good and is very versatile. It goes from ultra clean to even metal tones and everything in between. Absolutely love it.
 
Never could bond with a strat single coil pickup. Had to go to the humbucker in a SC package. It's an SD thats around 17k ohms in series.

It has much more meat in the mids than a SC. Plus, I have it on a switch for parallel which blends very well with the two Kinmans in the other two positions for chording work.
 
For now I'm resisting the urge to swap any pickups or anything. My Nash has Lollars which are a bit more mellow than other strat pickups I've played. Thanks for the tips dudes. That Gilmor set might be something good to pickup for my mex strat though too.
 
Never could bond with a strat single coil pickup. Had to go to the humbucker in a SC package. It's an SD thats around 17k ohms in series.

It has much more meat in the mids than a SC. Plus, I have it on a switch for parallel which blends very well with the two Kinmans in the other two positions for chording work.

It really is a work in progress for me. I came from humbuckers. I find Strats to be more work but more rewarding too.

I find them harder to play and they expose more of my performance flaws but at the same time offer a level of expression and nuance I can't attain with humbuckers.

I use the Kinman noiseless strat pickups. They are a good compromise of vintage tone and low noise floor for me.
 
Yea the bounce i get from that neck single coil is quite awesome. I also enjoy the bridge coil for country twang too. That tone knob is definitely my friend lol.
 
I use the tone know quite little usually. I find the Volume knob is my main source of tone control. Though I will use a compressor to tame the attack dynamics some at times. I might also change the input impedance to include a cap in the mix. For some additional smoothing characteristics.

I am using a set of Jeff Callahan unpotted HSS strat pickups.
 
Kinman pickups.
Say no more.

I really like mine.

For Strat aficionado's, the 2 and 4 "quack" positions are not as pronounced as vintage Strat and a lot of aftermarket single coil sets. If the quack position is where you live, Kinman's might not float your boat.
 
I have a Suhr Classic loaded with ML single coils. Like so many others here, I roll off the tone. Not a lot. I run the tone set to right around 7 give or take. That retains some of the bite, but warms it up nicely. Also, check the pickup height adjustment. Just a little bit can make quite a difference. I have great balance between the bridge, middle and neck. Absolutely love the Classic with the ML pups.
 
What do you guys do for that bridge single coil in a strat to tame it for a bit more rock tone? I've been just rolling off the tone knob a bit and that seems to help warm it up. Should I be using a compressor maybe? Just looking for tips thanks.

I picked up my first quality strat in October, a Nash S-57 Mary Kay and truly love the guitar. Just starting to miss that bridge humbucker a bit.
I'm using Dimarzio Area 61 and 58s' in this video. I use my bridge pickup in this entire video I think... http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/mesa-boogie-lonestar-with-a-strat-video.108070/#post-1293846
 
Whatever magic dust the guys at LSL put in their guitars. They sound awesome.
I'm also happy with the Bare Knuckles I have in my Parker, but it's HSS, so I have a humbucker there. They have some offerings you'd like for single bridges anyway :)

Also, try lowering that bridge pickup well into the body and compare. You might be surprised ;)
 
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I agree with the pickup changes idea - it's pretty simple to do on a Strat type guitar so worth experimenting a little.

I have a Levinson Blade Texas that I modded with the Clapton mid boost kit ...... crazy amount of boost on tap.

I also have a 1998 Strat Deluxe with the original noiseless pickups which are fairly hot but retain a lot of the typical Strat sound - I wanted to keep it original looking so I modded it under the hood with a Toneshaper - and set it so the farthest tone knob is a blender pot so I can blend in some neck pickup with the bridge at positions 1 and 5 whenever the mood takes me. There's loads more options capable with the ToneShaper - but the downside is you have to set the configuration dip switches by taking the scratchplate off - so you can't easily change things around on the fly.
 
Although playing for over 35 I only got my first Strat 3 years ago and my first Tele around 6 months, so I am new to single coils (in the bridge position) and also an owner (so I have bonding time with these two guitars).

The Strat, American Standard had some Fender custom shop pickup, love the sound! But the noise, so from there went to DiMarzio Area 61 in the bridge and Area 58’s in the middle and neck. They did sound good but certain things were bugging me, one of those things, I found the guitar very fatiguing to listen to for long periods of time. I have heard other people use these pickups and get great results, but just was not for me. Was on the prowl for new pickups, lots of youtube videos and so on. So came my Tele got it new from GC. That guitar was loaded with Fender’s N3’s; now I have read allot of reviews how these pickups are terrible, well not in this Tele. So what the hell got a set for the Strat, long story short like them allot! They are a bit more pronounced in the mids compared to the Fender Customs Shops and also the DiMarzio’s.

But lately------

I have my eye on the Fishman Fluence pickups. I am not sold on the humbucker versions but the single coils do peak my curiosity. If I do decide to try them first will be the Start perhaps followed by the Tele.

John
 
Two of the greatest secrets for strat players are the treble bleed mod and the Eric Johnson tone mod. The EJ mod lets you control your bridge pickup with one of the tone knobs.
 
Another tip, use a long guitar lead or set the Fractal to 22K + cap.

With my real amps, the longer cable capacitance tames the ice picks.
 
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