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No, but I have a Strat with a Biltoft "CC" in a strat PU shape in the neck position. Inspired by it, I assembled a Wormoth partscaser with a Strat body with a Biltoft HCC. Both sound great.
Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
Thr Strat has the neck PU right under the imaginary 24th fret - ideal for a mellow and fulle jazz tone.
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10-18-2015 02:02 PM
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There areso many tones you can get with the amp and the string type its hard to be fixedd on what's 'right'. I certainly prefer my Strat with low output Alnico 2s - nice and clear and sort of compressed. If you hear Buddy Hooly you know the basic tone of this guitar. However its very bright and jangley so it has to be tamed with something like 1-2 on the treble (clean channel) and about 7-10 on the bass control. Even then you'll be rolling off some treble on the guitar - by then you have a very nice jazzy tone which still has some bite. I've had a Telecaster as well and ended up selling it as the Strat had a sweeter ringing sound with plenty of sustain. But on another day that could have been reversed if the Tele had had the same wood quality of the Strat. If you can use a Tele for Jazz I connot see why anyone wouldn't try a Strat. I guess the look has somethingto do with it. I think this is the same conversation we keep having about the Rickenbacker 330 - which I also had - worse decision I everr made when I sold it!
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I've played both Telecasters and Stratocasters for jazz, blues, etc. In fact, I have a big gig tonight (for me, these days) at a big country club. Gonna use the Stratocaster exclusively...easy to lug 75 miles and back. It will get any tone I want from it.
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I used to use a Gibson BK Custom for any type of gig, but the top caved in, and I had to get another guitar.
I was listening to Ed Bickert a lot, so I considered using a solid body for jazz for the first time.
I told a rock guitar player friend of mine to look around for a cheap solid body for me.
I got a call from him one day telling me to come down to a local music store, because he found the perfect guitar for me.
He told me it was a black, Hondo strat copy, but there were about eight of them hung up on the wall.
He wanted me to play them all, and see if I could find the one with the 'magic' neck pickup (he did a lot of acid in the 60s).
Sure enough, I played every one of them, and found the one with the 'magic' neck pickup. The thing had a beautiful, round tone for jazz on the Cube 60 I brought with me. I loved the fingerboard, too.
I paid the guy about $100 for the new guitar with a cheap, cardboard case.
i wound up using that guitar for five years for hundreds of gigs, and even used it on a jazz record that got reviewed in Downbeat.
Then, one day, the 'magic' pickup died on me. i tried to get it repaired, but they couldn't fix it.
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I have a Strat Plus from the early nineties. I just replaced the stock neck and bridge Gold Lace Sensors with a pair of Pure 90 humbucker-sized P90s from BG Pickups. Haven't spent too much time with it yet, but I like what I've heard so far.
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No, however I’ve recently modded one of my Strats with the Lollar Gold Foils Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
Here are some comparison between these and the CCs by Tim on a Tele
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Interesting, but I like the CC better.
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Has anyone tried one of those single coil size humbuckers in neck position, eg Duncan Little 59?
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I've used the Dimarzio Area T neck pickup for jazz with great results. Dead silent stacked humbucker, warm tone. Think Ed Bickert-ness effortlesslessly (except for the actually playing the guitar well part). There are similar pickups for Strats.
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Yup!! I have a DM Area 58 neck/58 mid/61 bridge on another Strat. Dead silent and warm as you have experienced. Originally Posted by Cunamara
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I really like those Gold Foils. They are inspiring sounding pickups.
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My new Roadhouse deluxe with the built in preamp tones sounds as good as my Peerless archtop and its only sporting 9-42's .Very comfortable to play and no feedback or hassles. Will never go back to archtops Of course jazz is the music not the instrument
Last edited by mispeltyoof; 11-21-2015 at 05:13 PM.
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As old age and arthritic fingers have encouraged me to sell my hand carved accoutic archtop. I came across a Deluxe Roadhouse Strat. The playability is ,of course, superb and the big bonus for me is that this model has a built in preamp that enables the neck pup tone to be dialled to mimic a humbucker. The jazz tone even with the 9/42's fitted is highly acceptable although and could obviously be improved further by a string change . I managed to find a new one for virtually half price on EBay (£370) so purchased . After a couple of weeks getting to know it and the best amp settings I'm extremely pleased with my choice.
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I am going to set up my strat with some Chrome 10-44 (48?) flatwounds and see what it does to the tone - suspect it will imrpove the jazz vibe. Will letyou know when done - maybe some sound recordings ofvthe difference.
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It sounds good! I used to have 13 gauge chromes on my 50 strat, since it was my only guitar back then (I blocked the trem). If you haven't blocked the trem than I understand why you choose to have light strings, but if your trem is blocked than I would suggest a higher gauge. I guess it is important to dial in a good amp setting for a strat so that you don't have rely on turning down the tone control on your guitar, since imho it kills the advantages of the neck pu if you turn down the tone control all the way. Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
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Just avoiding having to adjust the truss rod because of going to heavier strings - its a Strat that needs the scratchplate taking off to adjust it not the ones with the nut at the headstock end - so first step was to go to a set similar to those I'm taking off. Yes the trem has been blocked with a piece of oak - I did it almost as soon as I bought it. Trems are not my thing.
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I have an older ('74) Strat sitting under the bed that I was thinking of stringing up with TI flatwound 11's. In terms of blocking off the trem, I've also read about some players simply adding a couple of additional springs to the 3 that are currently there, for a total of 5: can anyone who's done that comment on that approach (versus the piece of wood blocking technique)? thanks! Originally Posted by ChrisDowning
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I've tried blocking, and both 4 and 5 springs (been sticking with 4 for a long time). I use the whammy occasionaly, and like having a little float, so 4 springs works best for me. Tuning is completely stable with 4 unless I dive-bomb (which I don't really do), and I didn't find 5 to be an improvement. I have an American Standard, which is a different and more stable bridge design from the traditional Strat bridge, to begin with, so you might have a different experience with your '74. No matter what, though (even with 5 springs), there can be a slight warbly effect on the high e string under very hard picking. With blocking, the vibrato is disabled altogether, tuning stability is identical to a hardtail, and there's no warbli-ness of the high E under any conditions. Changing the number of springs or blocking the whammy is completely non-destructive, so there's no risk other than time you spend to experimenting. Originally Posted by bmw2002
John
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I usually run 5 springs on 2pt trems, and 4 on 6 screw trems...both let me have a quasi-Bigsby effect, especially since I usually run flatwound 11's or 12's.
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I used to play Tele's. I could never stand the feel of Strats just because of the tremolo set ups. Just never gave me a positive feel like a Tele would. Later on I switched to Strats that I assembled by hard tailing them and stringing them through the body. Now I have even gone as far as assembling a 12 string hardtail Jazzmaster with the main strings through the body. Originally Posted by docbop
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I blocked my trem right from the start of owning my 'Strat'. I used a small piece of oak that is wedge shaped and about 2" x 1/2" x 1/2" - you just tap it in behind the bridge - but the wooden block will take a bit of sanding down until it fits correctly. The Dan Erlewine books are good for guitar maintenence and repairs. The springs are still there but not doing anything - interesting - perhaps I should remove them? (Eric Clapton says he leaves them in cause he can hear them)
Secondly, I was later to discover the correct way to set up a Stratocaster bridge on reading the two books by Dan Erlewine. There is a flat part to the underside of the bridge piece where the trem needs to 'rest' when not being used - this is where the tuning stability comes from. If you depress the trem it pivots on the front edge of this flat section and if you pull up it will pivot on the rear edge. It is all about getting a very close balance between the string tension and the spring tension. You have to adjust every time you change string guage, tension, brand, or type of string. When not being used the trem needs to rest in this flat area of the bridge. If you have it resting on either the front or rear edge, that's a trem that will constantly seem like it goes out of tune easily. (keeping a trem in fine fettle is a faff - still going to leave mine blocked for now)
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Playing a Strat is miles away from playing an acoustic, it is like a different instrument. The notes on the Strat sustain for ever compared to an acoustic and this can get in the way of how you are playing. If you play or teach a lot on different guitars it gets a bit like getting into different cars - there are some small differences - but the basics are in the same place and you get used to it. But this path may lead you to playing gigs on three or four guitars!
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The MIM Strat with STOCK PICKUPS is my new secret weapon... just saying. Set it up right, EQ it right, and a quality tube amp helps
Last edited by p1p; 12-29-2015 at 12:23 AM.
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I have two strat's that I've had for a couple years and thought I was starting to get into strat, but I keep going back to my tele's they are so much better all around. A buddy of mine was a hard core strat man, until a couple years ago he picked up a gig in a Country band so got a Tele for grins, he now a Tele convert and has four tele's now. He's even had a 12-string Tele built that sounds great. I think 2016 is the year my strats go bye-bye. Originally Posted by lammie200
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Originally Posted by docbop
A lot of it is simply what you are used to. I prefer the ergonomics of a Strat over a Tele (lower weight, tummy and forearm cuts, double cut), greater sonic options (3 pickups), and of course, a properly setup floating bridge and whammy bar.
I do appreciate the Tele. Aesthetically, a Tele is very appealing, it's less of a hassle to maintain and play with the fixed bridge, and I would prefer a low end Tele over a similar Strat. You set up the guitar once and you're done. Built like a tank, I'm comfortable leaving it on a guitar stand 365 days a year and let anyone but my dog play it. Love my Tele which was dirt cheap.
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