Do you use your Strat like a Strat?

[bleedingwhiskey]

I have and used an HS strat (03 Fender MIA Strat with an SD Pearly Gates in bridge position and a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues in neck position) for a long time, but never really had an SSS strat until last December.

It's a new MIM Fender Player II Strat. Awesome bang for buck Strat, IMO. I swapped the pickups out for a Seymour Duncan SSL-5 Custom in the bridge and SSL-1 Vintage in the other position. I honestly wish I had gotten an SSS Strat years ago. I love my Gibson Les Pauls, but the Strat sound has always been something I gravitate towards. I love the jangle and snap of Strat. The SSL-5 does a great job of sounding like a Strat bridge pickup, but with the umph of a P90 and not have that icepick tones that Strat bridge pickups can have sometimes.

I could probably use this guitar for pretty much any project I've ever played with. Some songs I would prefer with humbuckers or P90s, but I could make this guitar work and enjoy it.

[Vladimir Putin]

ya my strat is a strat

sss fender strat


that said, I've been eyeing Suhr's real real hard lately, and I'm looking at SSH for a good all arounder. Usually I'm just trying to roll off the bridge tone control to tame the twang of the single coil bridge, so I figure the Suhr can fill that role and I'll leave the Strat for bone stock strat stuff.

[Spaced Out Ace]

I have a Gilmore tribute I built with a Warmoth neck and his EMG set and it is an amazing versatile guitar. Between the Expander and gain boost it can sound anywhere from single coils to very close to EMG humbuckers depending on where you set those 2 knobs. Best of both worlds.

The SPC and EXG are great. Those with SAs are awesome, but I also like them with the other EMGs I use.

[Endtime]

An HSS strat, I do like having the “Strat tones” covered with the 2-5 positions. Really just 4-5, since the split bucket and middle isn’t quite there, but I do actually like Strat tones but couldn’t use one in its traditional form

[greatmutah]

I’ve got two HSS Strats (MIM Charvel and MIM Fender) and one SSS Strat. I can get great Strat tones out of both HSS guitars, more so the MIM because bent steel saddles vs a Floyd bridge contributes a bit to that sound. Also I think the SSL-2s are on the darker end of the single coil spectrum. Still good pickups. Just fatter and darker than the Texas Specials in my MIM Strat. For bridge pickups, the Fender has a PAF Pro. The Charvel has a covered 59/Custom hybrid. Both are set to split to the bottom coil which gets the proper quack you’d want with the middle pickup. The upper coils are too close and don’t quack enough in that position. I can do all the hard rock and metal sounds I love but I can also do the other strat sounds with it. I even have the bridge pickups set on a push pull in addition to auto-split in the event I want that bridge single coil sound by itself. The bridge pickups aren’t on any tone pot as I have 250K pots across the board and didn’t want to mess with a dual gange pot. It works out anyway because with HBs in a traditional volume and tone setup with 500K pots, the pickup sees 250K anyway. So I figured that was fine and it has been. I generally don’t like humbuckers with only 1 500K pot anyway.

The SSS is my unicorn of a Strat. It’s fucking perfect for me. American Special body, Allparts neck. 22 jumbo frets 12” radius. Neck and middle are Fender Pure Vintage 59s. I had the same in the bridge but ultimately wanted something a little stronger so I went with a Duncan SSL-6. I also wired the bridge to the tone on that one too. The 59s are warmer than the Texas Specials but not as dark as the SSL-2s. They’re a great single coil and very well balanced to my ears. The SSL blends well with the middle pickup in the 2 position and on its own it’s got a beefier midrange than the 59 bridge did. Still very much a single coil though but the hotter output ajd thicker midrange makes it wonderful for a lot of styles. It’s my go to for playing Gilmour stuff, Rory stuff and Blackmore stuff. Seriously, playing Stargazer on it is fucking awesome. And futzing my way through Walk On Hot Coals is equally satisfying. It also cleans up wonderfully for Knopfler-esque type stuff. It’s my guitar for chords with numbers in the name. That guitar is everything I wanted a Strat to be.

[JSutter]

I can't get along with single coil bridge pickups. They are too bright for me and I want more mids. I remove the middle pickup, it's in my way and I don't need that sound. The HS configuration is mostly interchangeable with my other guitars with HH, some are wired with neck split. None of my guitars have a tone pot either. I'd rather have 2 volumes and a 3 way toggle.

My mini strat tuned to E, my Squier standard is tuned to C. Both have SC sized HB in the bridge. They are brighter than my other guitars, sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't.

[turbopablo]

If you play clean or lower gain, strats are hard to beat. Higher gain, a humbucker in the bridge is required. That said, a SSH strat with a full size bucker and a coil split will cover as much ground as you want. Clean to vicious.

[linthat22]

I noticed that I had to change my pick attack on the strings and how forcefully I physically moved my wrist up or down on the strings to make the single coils bloom. Took a night of being stoned to hear the difference.

Turned my poor purchase decision into a fantastic sleeper. As they say, the playing is in the hands. Yours too

[turbopablo]

ya my strat is a strat

sss fender strat


that said, I've been eyeing Suhr's real real hard lately, and I'm looking at SSH for a good all arounder. Usually I'm just trying to roll off the bridge tone control to tame the twang of the single coil bridge, so I figure the Suhr can fill that role and I'll leave the Strat for bone stock strat stuff.

You may want to track down a bridge pickup with a baseplate. My black Pittman has one and it definitely fattens up the bridge sound. Takes away some of that shrill tone.

[Riffraff]

My Strat is a HH Charvel San Dimas. Is has a coil splitting switch for dialing in more traditional tones with the '59 & JB.

I had an American Ash Deluxe for a while but sold it while chasing other gear.