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For Those Who Think the Strat Volume Control is Misplaced.


onelife

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This entire video is a treat to watch.

 

At 3:18 he plays "I Need You" with the volume control.

 

I'm thinking the original was probably done with a volume pedal but this is a good example of what they were trying to design into the strat.

 

[video=youtube;jzDJXQrXzgw]

 

this guy is pretty good - I saw the show "Rain" a fews years ago and they do a fine job (including the guy in the shadows at the back of the stage with the rack of synthesizers) and are able to pull off some of the big production numbers.

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I understand the point but I palm mute a lot more than I swell. Palm muting treble strings is a big part of my style and honestly I don't think swells would be made much tougher by moving it back a little bit.

 

 

So the Strat isn't the right guitar for you, simple as that. That's not a strike for or against the Strat, Kind of like if you need to haul 4 kids to school every day a Nizzan Z might not be the right car for the job. I think we already had like a billion page thread that established this.

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Actually, it's John lennon using the volume pedal while Harrison was playing, because he wasn't able to do both at the same time (remember pedals were something pretty new back then).

About the use of the strat volume control with the pinky, how not to think about the late Rory Gallagher, a master.

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So the Strat isn't the right guitar for you, simple as that. That's not a strike for or against the Strat, Kind of like if you need to haul 4 kids to school every day a Nizzan Z might not be the right car for the job. I think we already had like a billion page thread that established this.

 

Actually it was one other thread and there were a lot of those "you don't know how to play" comments.

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I used to think it was poorly placed, until I started using it as more than a fancy on / off switch. I don't think it makes me better than anyone else, it's just another tool. I never do volume swells, though. It's almost universally bad (with a few exceptions... Lindsay Buckingham, and country guys come to mind...).

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It's perfectly placed if you like to wrap your pinky around it to control the volume. I don't, so it's just in the exact place where I like to rest my pinky. For this reason, the DeLonge mod works for me.


StratBPblackcouch.jpg

 

That PG is perfect, did you make it yourself? Or does someone offer it like that?

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Actually it was one other thread and there were a lot of those "you don't know how to play" comments.

 

Well, when you start a, self-admitted, troll thread complaining that a guitar sucks because it doesn't work for your style then you have to expect such responses. Of course being an internet forum you might have gotten similar comments had you simply stated that the Strat is not a good guitar for your style.

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Why don't you just get a high-friction pot if you find you're spinning the regular variety inadvertently?

 

 

b/c I don't like the way those handle? I don't want my pinky jamming into them in the first place. All these things are compromises for a problem that doesn't exist on other guitars. I install the same Alpha B500k mini-pots on every guitar I have. I enjoy consistency.

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b/c I don't like the way those handle? I don't want my pinky jamming into them in the first place. All these things are compromises for a problem that doesn't exist on other guitars. I install the same Alpha B500k mini-pots on every guitar I have. I enjoy consistency.

 

 

And apparently you also enjoy crappy pots:poke:

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Haha. I know you're joking with me but I have found it funny that there are cork sniffers out there who think Alpha are {censored}ty pots.

 

But you know, so many BOUTEEQ pedal builders use dime sized Alpha pots and the same cork sniffers never seem to complain.

 

Pots is pots. There are low friction CTS pots out there but on average I find them too stiff for me. That's what she said.

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Haha. I know you're joking with me but I have found it funny that there are cork sniffers out there who think Alpha are {censored}ty pots.


But you know, so many BOUTEEQ pedal builders use dime sized Alpha pots and the same cork sniffers never seem to complain.


Pots is pots. There are low friction CTS pots out there but on average I find them too stiff for me. That's what she said.

 

 

Pots is most definitely not pots. The big thing for me is the taper. Many of the manufacturers (including alpha) have an audio taper that is so close to linear that you might as well be using a linear taper pot (which some people prefer). CTS and Bourns have an audio taper that is closer to a proper logarithmic slope. I recently ordered a batch or Bourns pots and definitely find them a bit smoother than the standard CTS.

As for full-sized vs. mini, I could see a full sized perhaps having a longer life-span but definitely no impact on tone.

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I rewired my strat to be master volume and master tone; I removed the original volume pot and just covered up the hole with a pick I taped to the inside of the pickguard.

 

Seriously, anyone who thinks that they can't own a Strat due to the volume knob placement is sorta nuts. It's very easy to move the volume knob away from that location.

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Pots is most definitely not pots. The big thing for me is the taper. Many of the manufacturers (including alpha) have an audio taper that is so close to linear that you might as well be using a linear taper pot (which some people prefer). CTS and Bourns have an audio taper that is closer to a proper logarithmic slope. I recently ordered a batch or Bourns pots and definitely find them a bit smoother than the standard CTS.

As for full-sized vs. mini, I could see a full sized perhaps having a longer life-span but definitely no impact on tone.

 

 

Well, minimally decent pots is pots in the sense that if it doesn't crackle and it is made well, I think they are fine. Certainly, CTS and Alpha have never let me down in that regard, I've used both quite a bit. The one pot I've hated using was the Fender TBX but that's mostly because its extra stiffness, there's nothing wrong with the quality of the pot. I'm not much of a taper chaser, I don't even have numbered knobs anyway, I just do everything by relative feel so as long as right is louder than left, it's fine with me. And I do think I prefer an almost linear taper.

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b/c I don't like the way those handle? I don't want my pinky jamming into them in the first place. All these things are compromises for a problem that doesn't exist on other guitars. I install the same Alpha B500k mini-pots on every guitar I have. I enjoy consistency.

 

 

As I said in the other thread, this isn't a 'problem' for chrissake. It's a feature. Try playing the linked video on anything but a strat.

 

If you don't want the feature I understand; get a different guitar. But the guitar is the way the guitar is designed for a reason.

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Well, minimally decent pots is pots in the sense that if it doesn't crackle and it is made well, I think they are fine. Certainly, CTS and Alpha have never let me down in that regard, I've used both quite a bit. The one pot I've hated using was the Fender TBX but that's mostly because its extra stiffness, there's nothing wrong with the quality of the pot. I'm not much of a taper chaser, I don't even have numbered knobs anyway, I just do everything by relative feel so as long as right is louder than left, it's fine with me. And I do think I prefer an almost linear taper.

The pot must pass through the digestive tract of a ferret to be considered acceptable. ;)

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My pinky hits the volume knob on a strat. I have to fan my pinky ala George Lynch to keep this from happening. Just takes a small bit of attention to avoid turning myself down but it's annoying.

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Actually, it's John lennon using the volume pedal while Harrison was playing, because he wasn't able to do both at the same time (remember pedals were something pretty new back then).

About the use of the strat volume control with the pinky, how not to think about the late Rory Gallagher, a master.

 

 

Close, Paul worked the knob on the guitar while George played. No volume pedal.

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My pinky hits the volume knob on a strat. I have to fan my pinky ala George Lynch to keep this from happening. Just takes a small bit of attention to avoid turning myself down but it's annoying.

 

After some thinking of a way to stop this it dawned on me that all you need to do is replace the vol. pot with a Reverse Taper/Lefty Pot. That way your always knocking it open instead of shut.

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/CPC500R/CTS-500K-Reverse-Audio-TaperLefty-Volume-Tone-Pot.html

 

And these guys say simply swapping the wires on the vol. pot will do the same thing. ???

http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/tech-talk/82250-where-get-reverse-taper-pots.html

 

Simple solution...for myself anyway.:)

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