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Things to do to a strat...


FWAxeIbanez

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So I have a MIA strat on its way right now, and I feel like tricking it out... I'm pretty sure that american standard strats don't have a swimming pool route, but I'm considering making it an HSS configuration because while I love a single in the neck, I can't seem to get along with a single in the bridge all the time... I will use that tone every now and then, but I much prefer the girth of a humbucker...

 

maybe just one of those lil 59's or something...

 

I recall liking the stock american std. pups more than the stock deluxe pups oddly enough, so I'm pretty sure I'll leave them in there, but I do however want to install that whole S-1 switching option the deluxes have, I loved that about the deluxes, also, I want to add a bridge+neck pup config...

 

what else is there? I know thats kind of like saying "find my a decent guitar for under a grand" but what have you guys done to your strats? I feel like tricking it out, visually and tonally speaking... making it unique and all that, especially since the stratocaster is probably the most customizable guitar out there if you don't mind straying from the vintage spec realm.

 

Specs are:

American standard in Navy blue

Maple neck and board

hardtail

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I used to have strats with more options that you could poke a stick at. 5 way seitches, push-pull knobs, caps across the volume......ect

 

Now i have 2 strats and about 4 different scratch plates w/different pups in each :thu:

 

One of my strats is currently (and has been for a while) loaded up with a set of Fender Fat50s, while the other one might have an EMG set of S's or a HSS configuration (JB, SSL1, SSL1)

 

As far as all those 'mods' are concerned, KISS ;) The ony abnormal thing about my strats are that the sencond tone controll is for the bridge instead of the middle.

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Definitely get a tone control on the bridge pickup. I never understood why Strats have the wiring setup they do. The bridge pickup is arguably where you need it the most to tame the treble and ice pickiness.

 

Throw on a new pickguard to enhance the looks, I've never found the need for locking tuners but not a bad idea if the guitar isn't holding tune as well as you'd like. You gotta figure out what you want to change and what the guitar needs and go from there.

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i chose to install a sd jb humbucker in the bridge position of my am std strat. i wired it so a push pull 500k vol pot changes from series to parallel and a small toggle switch to split the humbuckers coils. the jb sounds best split or in series imho. very happy with all the tones out of my strat!

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Originally posted by AzCat

A
, locking tuners, and a tremsetter will improve the usability of any Strat.

 

 

Locking tuners would look a bit goofy on my hardtail strat... heh, but thanks for the suggestion...

 

oh yeah, and I really want to put a no load on at least the neck... they wouldn't happen to make a single coil sized P-90 that is at all convincing do they?? that could be kinda neat... a bit more girth than a bucker but still a bit of twang and spring so it doesn't completely abandon the traditional strat appeal

 

I can't wait, I'm stoked big time... I've been wanting a bolt on with a maple board for a while now

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Originally posted by Tonemeister69

Now i have 2 strats and about 4 different scratch plates w/different pups in each
:thu:

 

the guy I'm gonna talk about is probably reading this as we speak, I know he's a lurker here... but a dude I know who is the store director for Banjo Mart about an hour from where I live is known for bringing a strat, some tools, and a couple prewired pickgaurds (which is what I'm assuming you're calling a scratch plate) to gigs and in between songs and sets he'll install different gaurds and therefore new pickup configs and such... haha, thats pretty {censored}in hardcore man... haha

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Come payday I'm gonna turn in my strat to the local tech to have a series/parallel switch installed and a neck + bridge blend knob. The only question is whether I should also get a phase inverter while I'm at it :D

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no locking tuners needed... its a hardtail guys

 

and I'm not lookin for a scalloped board either guys, or hotrails... I have an SG with Bareknuckle and Anderson pups for metal and high gain needs... this is for a decidedly mellower styling...

 

I'm eyeing the Kent Armstrong single coil sized p-90's, I bet that'd sound so warm and fat... anybody have any experience with these?

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