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A Strat comes back from the tonal "wilderness"


jkay

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My MIM Fat strat has taken a few unfulfilling tonal detours in the three years I've had it.

 

Right from the get go, I really liked the tone, but somehow felt that it could be improved by pickup swaps.

 

So, I got a set of GFS Lil Killers. Like the neck and middle, hated the bridge but kept trying to convince myself that it was OK. After about two years of that, I bit the bullet and put a Duncan SSL-3 (hot single) in the bridge.

Hideous, shrieking and soulless. Maybe OK for Arena rock, but not for my living room or my headphones.

 

Finally, I pulled the trigger on what I had really wanted to do for a while.

I had gotten one of those (in)famous Overstock Squier Fat Strats with the Duncan Designed buckers (it's supposed to be a cross between a JB and a 59 or a custom).

 

Anyway, loved the sound of that pickup, absolutely hated how the guitar played, the neck was a mess, just never comfortable for me, buzzed like crazy, always had to keep action high, etc. Finally just ripped out Duncan Design and put it in the MIM.

 

The MIM kills now, unbelievable power, sweet, soaring tone, I don't think a fat strat could sound any better for me.

 

Should have done it sooner, I'm just glad I didn't give up on the MIM, for a while I thought it might be a dud. You just have to keep searching, I guess.

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Yup...sometime you buy some pups and the search is over. Other times the road never seems to end.

 

 

I had a bit of the same thing happen to me. I bought a few dif' pups for a guitar but was never satisfied with the results. One day I found in a draw some 80's Ibanez pups I had pretty much forgot about. I threw them in and BINGO!

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Yup...sometime you buy some pups and the search is over. Other times the road never seems to end.



I had a bit of the same thing happen to me. I bought a few dif' pups for a guitar but was never satisfied with the results. One day I found in a draw some 80's Ibanez pups I had pretty much forgot about. I threw them in and BINGO!

 

 

I've had many SDs and a few DiMarzios and I swear, the Ibanez Super 58s are my favorite bridge HB pickups EVER!

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I've had many SDs and a few DiMarzios and I swear, the Ibanez Super 58s are my favorite bridge HB pickups EVER!

 

 

 

 

:cop:I hear that. The experience got me on a bit of an older Ibanez pup kick. I snagged a few off of e-bay and Craigs for future use.

 

 

Their older single coils are not to shabby either. I was very surprised.

 

 

Maxon pickups seem to be the ticket as well. I read around that they were making them early on for Ibanez.

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When that sale was going on, I bought one traditional H/S/S and one of the Double Fats for the wife (thats how I "sold" the purchase).

 

Unfortunately for me, the double fat was actually playable, while mine was not. I found the double fats bridge tone to be a little different, a little less "edgy", but still very, very nice. Might be because of the covered buckers. The neck pup seemed surprisingly mellow.

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I also bought an HSS from Overstock. After replacing the neck, new pups and a complete rewiring, it's very nice.

 

The HHs get uniformly high reviews. Now we know the pups are a big part of that. Thanks! and congrats!

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