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How do you make a Strat sound like a Les Paul?


surfcat

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Can anyone let me know the names and models of some single coil sized, hum cancelling, fat/warm tone pickups to get me closer to that Les Paul warm sound?



Do you realize this thread is over 3 years old?
Anyway, welcome to the forum.

And there are plenty of "How to make your cat bark like a dog" topics :)

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Those Deaf Eddie switches look vey cool! The link still works after 3 years. :thu:

Certainly, the Fender/Bill Lawrence SCN pickup system with S1 switch gets into humbucker territory. it's not too surprising since the pups are stacked humbuckers.

The classic Eric Claption active preamp Mid Boost Kit is designed to make a Strat SC pup sound more like a humbucker. EC uses it to get into "woman tone" territory with his Strat. Ok...so woman tone was done with an SG...but they're close to an LP tone.

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I've got a mint condition Squier (boo! hiss! say the purists). Anyway, I'm a beginner but the goal is too play blues music. I must say just from checking out youtube, I prefer the blues played on a Les Paul or a Les Paul style guitar. It's a nicer warmer crunchier tone and more sustain.


I can't afford a new guitar and don't really want to dump the old one so I need to modify it. First thing is I hate the hum from my guitar, I practice at home at low volumes and the hum is louder than the playing - argghh!. Secondly, is too high pitched and quacky a bit like Celine Dion and it doesn't sound nice to my ears.


Anyway, as I'm keeping the guitar and don't want to cut and rerout the body. I'll probably swap out all the pickups for fatter sounding ones. I'll probably go for some single coil sized humbuckers.


Can anyone let me know the names and models of some single coil sized, hum cancelling, fat/warm tone pickups to get me closer to that Les Paul warm sound?



sell it and get an Epi LP ... another almost a real guitar, but closer to what you want. :facepalm:

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buy a American Deluxe Strat with the Noiseless pups, I thought it sounded a lot like me LP

 

 

Not even close with a humbucker, never mind the singles in series. I a-b'd a 1980 LP studio with an Am dlx HSS, and it didn't come very close. There's something about the midrange in an LP that is difficult to get with a strat. I think the mahogany body is at least part of the equation.

 

I think a strat even with a humbucker is brighter than an LP. You need to get a dark sounding humbucker (stacked or full size), block the trem, then you get a little closer.

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I've got a mint condition Squier (boo! hiss! say the purists). Anyway, I'm a beginner but the goal is too play blues music. I must say just from checking out youtube, I prefer the blues played on a Les Paul or a Les Paul style guitar. It's a nicer warmer crunchier tone and more sustain.


I can't afford a new guitar and don't really want to dump the old one so I need to modify it. First thing is I hate the hum from my guitar, I practice at home at low volumes and the hum is louder than the playing - argghh!. Secondly, is too high pitched and quacky a bit like Celine Dion and it doesn't sound nice to my ears.


Anyway, as I'm keeping the guitar and don't want to cut and rerout the body. I'll probably swap out all the pickups for fatter sounding ones. I'll probably go for some single coil sized humbuckers.


Can anyone let me know the names and models of some single coil sized, hum cancelling, fat/warm tone pickups to get me closer to that Les Paul warm sound?



Hi Ian!!! :wave:

Hows it going? It's been a while since you were here in force but it great to see that youre preping a new list of ID identities to hide behind and to know that you'll soon be providing us with your personal brand of fun.

Youre such a kool guy!!!! :rolleyes:

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Can anyone let me know the names and models of some single coil sized, hum cancelling, fat/warm tone pickups to get me closer to that Les Paul warm sound?



I don't really like those single sized humbuckers as much as a quarter pounder. When i was a young man I had a saga strat. It sounded terrible until I put that quarter pounder in it. i bought it used from a guy who didn't like it. I also sheilded it with some foil tape I bought from radio shack and replaced the leads to the output jack, which got rid of alot of the hum.

I played that guitar out for a long time actually. It trained me on how to play out in bars with single coils pickups. One thing I do, when I get to the bar and get sound, I hold the guitar and sweep the room like a radar mast. You will find that there is one direction you face that isn't as noisy. I put a piece of duct tape on the floor pointing in that direction. So when I stomp on the fuzz, I turn that way to deal with the added buzz.

Singles are cool. especially when they have 4 ounces of magnets :thu:

The quarter pounder (do they still make them?) has a bunch of meat and sound much thicker than the strat bridge pickup. I have one in my strat now. It doesn't sound anything like lay down sally any more.

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I've got the second tone control hooked up to the lead (bridge position) pickup on all of my Strats. I just turn down the tone control halfway on the guitar and turn the gain on the amp up a notch to get a thicker more sustaining tone like a Paul.

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How do you make a Strat sound like a Les Paul?



It's actually pretty simple. Just replace the bolt-on neck to a mahogany set neck and change the scale length to 24.75". Oh, and replace the trem with a stop-tail tune-o-matic bridge. Oh, and change the body from alder to a thicker mahogany with a carved maple top...and while your at that, switch out the pups for humbuckers.

Pretty simple really...:cop:

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