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Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 6:48 am
by GrantB
So much love for Strats. I honestly wish I could make them work for me.

The best sound I’ve had was neck pickup into my Princeton breaking up. So Fender into Fender.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:37 am
by Slowy
slash-ed wrote:
Slowy wrote:Borrow any unmolested Blackface Fender. Plug straight in. You may or may not like what you hear but try and tell me it’s not pure alchemy.

I use vintage low gain pups. Bridge lead requirements are served brilliantly with a Hermida Zendrive.
For everything else l like Klon flavour. Fond of the Archer but I think you’d prefer the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. (More gain on tap.)
So - Bright channel/switch or Normal? For clean I'm liking things with Bright on but then it gets a bit ugly in the high end once you put a drive in front. How do I get around this?
Wire your tone controls to the bridge and middle pups. Don't be afraid to use them. Often, backing off the volume a bit can take the bite away too.
Also, I find too much drive on a trad Strat can get a bit ugly. Others of course, will not agree.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:46 am
by sizzlingbadger
The DS Mini is a JTM style amp and works really well with my Strat, No drive pedals just a Flint in the loop. I have the tone control mod that connects it to the bridge & middle pickup, this is a requirement for higher gain or it gets very sharp sounding. I also find I'm using the volume control a bit more than my SG, running at around 8 or lower most of the time.

This guitar has been really inspirational in the first few days of ownership and got me playing more than ever.

Still deciding on whether to float the Trem though, just have it sitting back against the body at present, but still useable.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:12 am
by Molly
sizzlingbadger wrote:
Still deciding on whether to float the Trem though, just have it sitting back against the body at present, but still useable.
Pros and cons I suppose. Some folk think against the body is essential for transference but I like to use the trem without it banging against the body so set mine just a couple of mm up. Then there's that double-bend dilemma where the string you're bending flattens the one you're not. And then there's the harping you sometimes get behind the nut (on some Strats I put a hair tie over the headstock to kill it) and also the trem spring vibration that sometimes gets picked up... All those imperfections just make them more interesting. God forbid someone should ever iron-out all the bugs. :-)

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:16 am
by Olderama
Molly wrote:
sizzlingbadger wrote:
Still deciding on whether to float the Trem though, just have it sitting back against the body at present, but still useable.
Pros and cons I suppose. Some folk think against the body is essential for transference but I like to use the trem without it banging against the body so set mine just a couple of mm up. Then there's that double-bend dilemma where the string you're bending flattens the one you're not. And then there's the harping you sometimes get behind the nut (on some Strats I put a hair tie over the headstock to kill it) and also the trem spring vibration that sometimes gets picked up... All those imperfections just make them more interesting. God forbid someone should ever iron-out all the bugs. :-)
They did
Floyd Rose :oh:

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:30 am
by Molly
Olderama wrote:
Molly wrote:
sizzlingbadger wrote:
Still deciding on whether to float the Trem though, just have it sitting back against the body at present, but still useable.
Pros and cons I suppose. Some folk think against the body is essential for transference but I like to use the trem without it banging against the body so set mine just a couple of mm up. Then there's that double-bend dilemma where the string you're bending flattens the one you're not. And then there's the harping you sometimes get behind the nut (on some Strats I put a hair tie over the headstock to kill it) and also the trem spring vibration that sometimes gets picked up... All those imperfections just make them more interesting. God forbid someone should ever iron-out all the bugs. :-)
They did
Floyd Rose :oh:
Naaa. That just lets you wang like crazy but a properly set up Fender will stay in tune through some pretty decent abuse. And you don't have all that clamping / unclamping / fine-tuning poos. They do still look cool though. First one I saw was on Brad Gillis' Strat during the Ozzy 'Speak of the Devil' tour.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:39 am
by jeremyb
A Tele with a strat like neck pickup into a katana :lol:

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:44 am
by sizzlingbadger
Molly wrote: Pros and cons I suppose. Some folk think against the body is essential for transference but I like to use the trem without it banging against the body so set mine just a couple of mm up. Then there's that double-bend dilemma where the string you're bending flattens the one you're not. And then there's the harping you sometimes get behind the nut (on some Strats I put a hair tie over the headstock to kill it) and also the trem spring vibration that sometimes gets picked up... All those imperfections just make them more interesting. God forbid someone should ever iron-out all the bugs. :-)
I do prefer to be able to bend without the other strings going flat, but I don't like the feel of the trem with it against the body. The other stuff is what makes it a Strat I guess.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 10:52 am
by kdawg2a
Here's mine,
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Traditional Strat into a Bassman.
Here's what I set the amp to,
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Note the channels are bridged and both volumes are dimed.
Here's the clean setting,
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Volume on 5.
To get the dirty setting, just turn the volume up to 10. Roll the tone back to 8 and Bobs your Uncle.
Needless to say, I never really get to hear how good this setup sounds.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:52 pm
by chur
sizzlingbadger wrote:
Molly wrote: Pros and cons I suppose. Some folk think against the body is essential for transference but I like to use the trem without it banging against the body so set mine just a couple of mm up. Then there's that double-bend dilemma where the string you're bending flattens the one you're not. And then there's the harping you sometimes get behind the nut (on some Strats I put a hair tie over the headstock to kill it) and also the trem spring vibration that sometimes gets picked up... All those imperfections just make them more interesting. God forbid someone should ever iron-out all the bugs. :-)
I do prefer to be able to bend without the other strings going flat, but I don't like the feel of the trem with it against the body. The other stuff is what makes it a Strat I guess.
My Fender Strat Plus came with a Hipshot Tremsetter in the back spring bay that I believe was designed to help combat that, but it seems they are a love or hate device depending on how you like to use your trem. (personally I never attach the wang bar)

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 9:45 am
by olegmcnoleg
Hipshot tremsetter is good, but you have to set it by flipping the guitar over...so you need to plan ahead. Several years ago, Wilkinson made a version of the V100 that locks when you drop the trem arm, and floats when you pick it up. Magic, and a great fix to the out of tune string bending issue. Fiddly to set up, mind.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2019 10:10 am
by Molly
olegmcnoleg wrote:Hipshot tremsetter is good, but you have to set it by flipping the guitar over...so you need to plan ahead. Several years ago, Wilkinson made a version of the V100 that locks when you drop the trem arm, and floats when you pick it up. Magic, and a great fix to the out of tune string bending issue. Fiddly to set up, mind.
My Steinberger had a wee hook you could use to lock the trem. Good idea.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:26 am
by slash-ed
So, I've been playing the Strat all weekend and am really digging it.

Advice needed on where to set the middle pickup height to get more quack out of positions 2 and 4? Trying not to have to wind it up too far if possible as I just keep hitting it (years of playing HH guitars I guess).

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 1:44 pm
by Molly
Put the middle where you want it and balance the other two accordingly. Some folk run their Strat pickups low anyway. Something to do with 'wolf tones' (which I've never experienced) and reducing the magnetic pull on the strings / increasing sustain. Personally, I've never adjusted by anything other than ear but still don't set my pickups close to the strings.

Re: What is your quintessential Strat rig?

Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:52 am
by slash-ed