Members GRAF Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 What I mean is no matter what you do, setup wise, pickup wise, you just can't seem to get any real tone out of it? Sort of like the wood itself is just bad? Is this even possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 I've got one currently that after having a refret (frets from another guitar), it sounds flat and lifeless. I have a new neck coming to me next week and I hope it helps with the lifeless tone it currently has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Help!I'maRock! Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 of course its possible. there's a reason some guitars are called "dogs". just poor, uninspiring guitars. its your job as the buyer to weed those out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Ran into plenty of just about any model. It's all in the body blank used. That's one of the reasons I never buy a guitar online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 No, but I've had one on life support! What I mean is no matter what you do, setup wise, pickup wise, you just can't seem to get any real tone out of it? Sort of like the wood itself is just bad? Is this even possible? But yeah, I have one MIJ Fender Strat that sorta fits that description. It's like on a scale of 1-10 for a strat (and I'm talking standard production strats), I don't think it could ever be more than a 6 and that's being generous. I am however tempted to try putting an upgrade trem block on it to see if that helps. But I think it's the body wood. I upgraded the p'ups from stock to Texas Specials, but even after that, it still wasn't as good as the MIJ Strat we'd gotten for our son for $350. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Never owned one such (for which praise be to Allah), but I sure as hell played a few, all made in the late 70s/early 80s. The last one such I tried was a 1977: nice big U-shaped neck profile, but it weighed more than many Precisions, had a 'Thick Skin' poly finish which would probably bounce bullets and (since I was playing it unplugged) it was obvious that it had all the resonance and sustain, wood-wise, that you'd expect from an instrument constructed from soggy Weetabix. The guy trying to sell it swore it had fabulous pickups. Alas, I never found out, but I know it was unpleasant to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MoreCowbell Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 What I mean is no matter what you do, setup wise, pickup wise, you just can't seem to get any real tone out of it? Sort of like the wood itself is just bad?Is this even possible? While there's a whole array of things that could be the cuplit, some of which are fixable and some arent, I had a strat that had exactly what you're describing and I was able to bring it to life for a cost of $0 and 20 miniutes work. It's was a new Malmsteen strat that no matter what I it sounded like the strings were totally dead, just lifeless sounding. After awhile I figured I had nothing left to lose to I took the neck off and found a paper shim in there. I tossed the shim, did some minor scraping of some extra paint in the neck pocket, readjusted the bridge, and the guitar totally came to life. Solved the problem 100%, I couldn't be happier with it, nice springy tone, plenty of presence and......well, just a lively sounding guitar. Up to that point point I thought the while shim debate was nonsense, but that definately was killing my strat's tone. Some guitars may be ok with them, but definately not all. Give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 I don't think the problem is a stat problem, but a guitar problem. That's why I like to play guitars before buying them. Of course that's impossible for things like SX and Xaviere (unless you buy them used). My threshold for online, sight unseen purchases is $300 for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twisty571 Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Yes it was a used 98' MIM sunburst Strat,played nice when it came but lifeless. Took it in for a set up and still dead,bought a Dimarzio Fred & SD Alnico II sc's and it still had no life. After $300 in upgrading & set ups I traded it. Got that 02' MIA Lonestar Strat and was amazed with the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Willyguitar Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 I had one that I thought was dead, but it was actually just resting. [YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE] How could I resist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 I'm a strat guy and I've rarely said anything bad about most models of Fender, but I've had two MIMs from 1995-1997-ish that were both pretty bad. Got great deals on both of them and profited from both of them, but they were pretty bad. And I've wanted a MIJ Fender Photoflame but the only really good deal I've ever had a chance at was pretty lame sounding as well. Neck felt great and I almost bought it for that, then parted the rest out, but I passed. The funny thing is, most folks talk smack about plywood Squiers. I have two plywood Squiers right now - one from 1989, and a Bullet from 1994 - that are both very lively and among my best sounding guitars. Both of these are radically better than my two worst MIMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mymindsok Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 My rule is: I don't buy any guitars that I cannot play first. That weeds out the dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EADGBE Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 A dead sounding guitar could be caused by a variety of things. Body wood, neck wood, bad bridge, wrong pickups, etc. Or it could be a combination of any of the above. Sometimes just changing the pickups, or maybe changing the sustain block on the tremolo bridge can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 i've foud that every dead bolt on guitar i've played is because the neck didnt fit well in the pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GRAF Posted November 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Some really interesting posts... thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 You could try the trick of loosening the neck bolts under string tension to seat the neck tightly, but if it's the wood then there's no saving it. Like CSM, I played someone's strat that they bought new in 1980 (pretty: ash body, black guard and PUs, maple neck) and it was both a boat anchor and lifeless. Played a Tokai LS75 like that but even worse (in Machinehead, Hitchin): it was so bad it almost seemed to suck the resonance out of the strings, which was weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Fender made a LOT of Teles and Strats back in the CBS-era that were boat-anchor heavy and tonally dead. You have to be very careful when thinking about buying any Fender from the 70s. While I would not hesitate to buy a new Fender sight-unseen (Better QC these days), I would never do so with one from that era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 I had an SG like that. It was a fairly new gloss black SG Special. It played fine but just sounded flat. I changed the 490 pups out with everything I had and it still sounded bad no matter what.When I played it at practice with the band it would just vanish into the mix. No other guitar I had did that. It was definitely odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funkwire Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Yep. A former bandmate had a late 90s MIM Strat that he told me I could use if I wanted. I tried it at practice for about 20 minutes, put it down and never picked it up again. Sounded dull, didn't play well...wouldn't even hold a tune. On the other hand, our rhythm guitar player has an MIM that is as good as any Strat I've played. I tried out one of the Road Worn Strats at GC. Didn't even bother plugging it in. Felt more like a prop than an instrument. Our bass player has a 1976 Strat that he bought brand-new. It's been in the closet ever since he switched to bass in the late 70s. He never bonded with it. It's all-original...I told him to dump it. People are paying stupid money for Strats from that era, considering their quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr_Kuh Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Jep. I played one. Didnt have one. Was maybe from ~54? Poor plastic parts and just dead. Although expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richey888 Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 Yup. "The Strat" from '79-'80. Beautiful, dead as a doornail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Z Posted November 27, 2009 Members Share Posted November 27, 2009 It could be in the electrical wiring. A bad pot or cap, poor ground or cold solder connection. Sure it might test okay with a VOM but not funtion properly. I have found running a new ground wire across the pots and to the bridge and output jack has solved many issues with a few Strats I've owned. Just an idea that may help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buchanan-d Posted November 28, 2009 Members Share Posted November 28, 2009 If you own a Strat, do yourself a BIG favor, buy the complete Callaham set for it. You'll thank me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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