Getting a Jazz Tone from my Fender Stratocaster

[rexi]

I tried a tele with charlie christian neck pickup yesterday and really liked it, has anyone tried one in a strat?

[Retroman1969]

I had actually contemplated doing that, and after some research, this was the route I was going to go...

Charlie Christian Style Pickups

Seemed like a good fit for the application (Strat), and wasn't too horrifying on the price.
Gave up before I got a chance to try it though.

[oldane]

I have one of Pete Biltofts CC blade Strat PUs in a Strat. Sounds nice, rich and full. That said, I could also get a nice jazz tone with the original Fender Strat neck PU. The CC is more midrangy though. It's more a question of the strings, action and maybe also the pick than the PU.

[Patrick2]

I had Ronaldo Orlandoni of Pastore's Music in Union City NJ (I love the guy and never pass up a chance to give him his props or a plug) make me a "jazz" strat. He made the body in an exact Strat form with the comfort contours and all, used 30 year old swamp ash that he had in his shop since 1965. I asked him for a bound ebony finger board, abalone dot inlays with active EMG pups. It had a fat switch in the end tone control but I 86'd that . . . didn't care for it. In the neck position I roll off the treble about 25%. On my Pro Reverb, I set the bass at 8 and the treble at 4 . . .with just a tad of 'verb. I do the final tweaking with the parametric EQ on my Digitech 944 Chain Reaction. (I know, I'm a dinosaur)

It certainly doesn't sound like my L5 Wesmo . . . but, in a blind tast testing . . . no one would be able to identify it as a "Strat" either. If it was the only guitar I had . . and I had to do a jazz gig . . . it would not only suffice . . . it would shine!!!

[quencho092]

Hello! This is my first post!

I happen to play an American Deluxe Strat with a duncan seth lover in neck position (antiquity 2 surfer singles in middle and bridge), and people who hear me without seeing me play sometimes guess that I'm playing an archtop. It gets a great articulate jazz sound on tap through my bass amp (Acoustic 200H), and makes for a rugged gigging guitar.

Chromes 13's and a PAF on a strat= headache free jazz gigs for me. IF you dig how it plays and feels first and foremost, dial in a fatter more complex tone with a good neck pup.

[Doctor Jeff]

I have a Tele with a Seymour Duncan Alnico 2 at the neck position. It is an awesome pickup that I can't recommend too highly for a warm jazz tone.

I would think about putting a similar SD Alnico 2 in the neck of your
Strat to see how that sounds - easy enough mod.

I would also second what was said above about pure nickel strings - warmer than chromes.

[JorgeFon]

I have a MIM Statocaster, I think its 2007, it stays in tune wonderfully, even after using the whammy though I don't really whammy that much anymore at my advanced age (may be I need to try a prescription).

Jazz tone is alright if you roll down on the tone of course, and EQ your amp a little rich, kind of neat sound actually if a bit unorthodox. If I had to take one guitar to a desert island it would have humbuckers but the clarity of single coils is a nice change of pace at times.

[rexi]

I have one of Pete Biltofts CC blade Strat PUs in a Strat. Sounds nice, rich and full. That said, I could also get a nice jazz tone with the original Fender Strat neck PU. The CC is more midrangy though. It's more a question of the strings, action and maybe also the pick than the PU.

I´ve been considering getting those pickups. How are they in terms of hum and noise, similar to regular strat single coils or more?

[oldane]

I´ve been considering getting those pickups. How are they in terms of hum and noise, similar to regular strat single coils or more?

A little less than the strat PUs. To minimze hum, you may consider shielding the inside of the PU cavities and the underside of the pickguard with copper foil. I did that to a strat shaped partscaster with a single coil Vitage Vibe HCC. It's the quitest guitar I have - quiter than my two humbucker equipped guitars. Just be shure the leads don't tuch the foil - and connect the foil to the ground of the harness (the strings should be connected already via the bridge).

[Jon S]

Check out Quinten Warren on a strat and probably a brown deluxe with Jimmy Smith....nice!

[jazzboob]

My strat has Chrome strings ( subbed the e and b strings with 12,15 ), Fender noiseless vintage puickups played in neck position and a Villex passive midway boost with 3 way switch played in 3rd position. It plays jazz very nicely.

[quencho092]

My strat has Chrome strings ( subbed the e and b strings with 12,15 ), Fender noiseless vintage puickups played in neck position and a Villex passive midway boost with 3 way switch played in 3rd position. It plays jazz very nicely.

I did the same exact thing. I found an old sealed pack of chromes 11's in my room, and grabbed the plain 16? G and 13 B strings off a DR pure blues set to use as my E and B. Huge clean sound.

I also like what the flatwounds do to the playability and action. I realized that vibration radius is reduced so I could lower the action quite a bit more.

Mini humbucker is on its way too, I'm looking for a quirky jazz tone!

[xuoham]

@jake acci

Jake, first of all, i admire very much all the great stuff you put on instagram.
You are an incredibly talented musician in my opinion.

Seeing you often with that strat, i was wondering if your radius is 7.25 or 9.5.

I have a 52 tele that feels like a 7.25 should be, very curvy.
But i also have a classic series strat that is supposed to be 7.25 as well but somehow feels flatter, i don't know why. Maybe yours is like this too. It's amazing how well you play this Isaac Negrene line on it.


Thanks, and sorry for the slight thread ride. ^ ^

[krusty]

I can get a twang out of my Strats, or a very passable jazz tone simply by changing picks. Dunlop Ultex .73 for most things, Fender Tru Shell medium or heavy for Jazz. Without any amp or guitar tone changes, the feel and overall tone changes dramatically.

Wow. Necro bump. Still a valid thread, though.

[JakeAcci]

Hey thank you!

Maybe I should be embarrassed but I don't know the neck radius on the guitar. I think is a '57 reissue, for whatever that's worth! It is very easy to play but for some reason hard to bend on it.

[Greentone]

How curvy or flat a Fender 7.25 radius neck feels depends on neck width. I had a '65 and a '68. Both 7.25 radius. But the 65 was a B width neck and the 68 a C width neck. The wider 68 felt much flatter.

[rpjazzguitar]

I've tried the same thing. Here is what I found.

I couldn't get the high notes to feel warm with a stock Strat, even though the midrange sounded fine to me.

I put in a Lil 59 humbucker, which helped, and the stock middle pickup still got close to the original neck pickup sound.
But, the Lil 59 did not sound like the tone that originally induced me to get a Strat.

I use a Boss ME80. One afternoon, I spent hours with it, trying to find the right combination of amp model, EQ and FX to make the guitar sound the way I wanted. That proved to be very helpful. I used it to add a little bit of the octave-down, the solo feature on the compressor and a little distortion - and that thickened the high notes nicely.

I could have lived with that, but I could not get used to the 9.5 radius.

I then switched to a Yamaha Pacifica Strat copy and installed the Lil 59 in it. The radius of that guitar is 14, I think. I gigged with it for several years. In fact, I took it to a gig last week rather than my newish Comins GCS-1. It's a lot easier to play and it sounds good enough (not as good, but it doesn't bother me) with the ME80.

I did try heavier strings, maybe up to .012 high E, but that didn't solve the problem. I can't play any heavier than that for physical reasons.

Meanwhile, I played a session with a Strat player recently -- the guy whose tone originally made me want to get a Strat. He sounded great with it. Stock Eric Johnson model. His tone is very bright and his high end isn't thick, but it works well with his style. It doesn't sound like Wes, but it sure sounds like jazz. He plays more in the mid range and doesn't usually try to sustain high notes. He also processed his tone with a couple of boxes -- a good reverb and some other things I never identified. Used a boutique small tube amp. So, as usual, some of it is the player not the gear.

[Doug B]

If you don't mind modifying your strat, maybe put a humbucking pickup like a PAF in the neck position?

Also, have you heard Mark Letteri of Snarky Puppy? He just uses a standard strat with single coil pickups.

mark lettieri - YouTube

snarky puppy - YouTube

[Greentone]

I have used a '66 Stratocaster with a patent sticker Gibson Humbucker in the neck position. Great guitar. However, the best jazz tone I get comes from a regular single coil, flush with the guard, and TI Swing flat 11s.

[sgcim]

I got a great jazz tone with a Hondo Strat copy. It was the pickup. As soon as the pickup went, out went the Hondo.
Just experiment with pickups, and get the guitar setup for jazz, not rock/blues.

[Gitfiddler]

Jazz tones from a Strat? Great suggestions already given, but I'll list what worked best for me. (I sling a '96 Fender SRV)

1. Thicker picks, combined with a lighter touch...Check

2. Heavier gauge strings (11's or 12.s)...Check

3. Compressor foot pedal (MXR Dyna Comp, or most any quality will do)...Check

4. Single coil sized humbucker in the neck...I haven't tried this, but seems logical to thicken up a Strat.

5. Get a good Tele...then follow steps #1 through #4 above.

[neatomic]

, the best jazz tone I get comes from a regular single coil, flush with the guard, and TI Swing flat 11s.

agree...sink the neck pup down and use some pure nickel strings (like thomastiks!)...flats or rounds..

& roll back your guitar vol and tone knobs

if you wanna get fancy...after you get your neck pup height set up right, play with the height of the middle pup so that you can put it in the in between setting and still have a warm tone with both pups...get the middle pup so it just adds bit of phase thickening..this'll get you two different warm jazz tones..comp and solo etc

cheers

[Bach5G]

Dropping the height of your pickups is important. That, along with your amp settings and your pick, should get you closer to a traditional jazz sound.

[rintincop]

Just went through this with a Strat , could not get a good jazz sound with American Standard Strat pickups; opted for a Seymour Duncan Little '59 in neck & bridge positions. Kept middle pu stock.

[morroben]

Neck/middle combo with the volume and tone rolled down a little. That in between spot adds a bit of hollowness to the sound. At least this is what works for me.