Members J.L.C. Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 I've played humbuckers for years but picked up a USA strat a while back. I love the feel of the guitar, and unplugged is resonates forever - sounds great. But, I can't get it sounding all that great through the amp (Boogie Mk IV). It sounds kinda flubby and thin. I know it's not going to sounds the same as my buckers, but is there anything I can do to get her sounding a little meaner with gain? It's got the stock USA standard pickups in it. What height do you guys usually set the 3 of em to? I hear strats sounding pretty damn good on a lot of recordings. Is a dirt or OD pedal required? How much is possible with a high gain tube amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DylanWilde Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Just use a boost pedal to boost the signal until it is at a similar level to your humbuckers. Here is a good one - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ElectroHarmonix-Nano-LPB1-Power-Booster-?sku=150092 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Yes, you need a boost pedal. I use a RC Booster myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members googoomuck Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 I had the exact same problem, documented on an earlier thread. And as mentioned in the last two posts, the solution I found was in a pickup booster. This one, to be exact: Here's a great demo of it: 3xIXw9JIqjk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.L.C. Posted July 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Thanks for the help fellas! I was hoping that the amount of gain in the boogie would be enough, but if boosting is the way to go I'll have to look into it. The strat is awesome to play and feels great, but the anemic sound always has me reaching for another guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 My 62 Strat has Fralin blues, and it does high gain very well through my Mesa F50. The Classic Player Strat with CS69s however, don't sound so good with high gain. So, it just might be the pickups in your Strat. I like the Fralin 'cause they sound like a Strats, but still can take lots of dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members googoomuck Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 The anaemic sound you talk about won't necessarily disappear with a pickup booster, but it will give them a dirtier tone. Try the booster first and then if that doesn't help then maybe try replacing the pickups for something a little hotter. The booster works perfectly for me, and I have stock American Series pups, but depending on what you're after you may want to replace them. I really can't recommend the SD Pickup booster enough. Easily the most invaluable pedal on my (admittedly small) board - in fact, by having it, it makes my Rat slightly redundant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 or you could go with an Ibanez Tube Screamer for more towards the SRV type of tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 It's not the amp that needs gain, but how you slam the first stage. You could try a low-bucks option of using something like a bad monkey or the new Danelectro transparent overdrive as a clean boost instead of a dirt pedal. Another tip I've found helpful for serious dirt levels is to roll back the tone a bit - it helps reduce the thinness and annoying excess high frequency overtones. *edit* that Duncan booster sounds really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Play around w/the eq of the amp and the guitar. You can run the pre-amp of your amp a bit hotter to make up for less output from your ax. I've found that "hot" strat pups tend to get muddy and I'm not a big fan of them. An overdrive such as a tubescreamer will get your signal up there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BadCompany89 Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Pretty cool. I wonder what it would sound like with P90's or humbuckers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members curseoftruth Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Pretty cool. I wonder what it would sound like with P90's or humbuckers... Sounds like ass and does little for humbuckers and I didn't like it with P90s either. I sold mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members googoomuck Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Yeah, it's not really designed for anything other than standard single coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members book_of_lies777 Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 Just use a boost pedal to boost the signal until it is at a similar level to your humbuckers. Here is a good one - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ElectroHarmonix-Nano-LPB1-Power-Booster-?sku=150092 agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PigWings_v2.0 Posted July 19, 2008 Members Share Posted July 19, 2008 The Duncan pick-up booster has a switch thats ment to make single coils sound more like humbuckers. It's either in the nuetral position, or you pop into a vintage humbucker pick-up setting or a modern hotter setting. I haven't played around with the switch too much but unless you wanna switch out the p'ups to humbuckers it sounds like this may be what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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