Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Strats confound me - they look great - if only they could sound fat. I have just sold my 57RI for a Lonestar fat strat - humbucker (Seymour Duncan pearly Gate) in the bridge. Its OK but.... Should I change that HB for someting else or pursue the Seymour Duncan pedal that claims to change the tone - would any one recommend that? Are there any other pedals that can fatten your strat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Look at the sustain block in the trem of your Strat. Often replacing that for a big one can have a dramatic effect (I agree). People say that trem stops can be quite advantageous in that regard as well (I don't have personal experience with these). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Metalrulez Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Replace it with a Les Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 An EQ pedal can work wonders. For pickups the Pearly is a vintage voiced PAF type that is on the bright side. You might go for something that has a hotter tone with more mid range. The Duncan JB is a nice example. It works well with the stock 250K pots that strats usually come with. Speaking of pots.....It might be worth finding out what value yours are. Typically the higher the value the brighter the tones. I have no idea what Fender puts in their H-S-S types but it might be worth finding out. If for example they are using 500K's because of the humbucker you may want to replace at least the volume knob with a 250K which will tone down the brightness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 An EQ pedal can work wonders. For pickups the Pearly is a vintage voiced PAF type that is on the bright side. You might go for something that has a hotter tone with more mid range. The Duncan JB is a nice example. It works well with the stock 250K pots that strats usually come with.Speaking of pots.....It might be worth finding out what value yours are. Typically the higher the value the brighter the tones. I have no idea what Fender puts in their H-S-S types but it might be worth finding out. If for example they are using 500K's because of the humbucker you may want to replace at least the volume knob with a 250K which will tone down the brightness. I just sold my EQ pedals DOH! You are right it has a very bright tone - I will investigate the pots..thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I just sold my EQ pedals DOH! You are right it has a very bright tone - I will investigate the pots..thanks Dialing down the guitars tone and volume can help. Might be worth a try. Maybe set the guitar volume at 7 and the the two tones around 5 then dial up the amps EQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 wait...what? if you wanted the sound of a les paul, why did you get a strat? really though, you're not going to be able to make your strat sound like a les paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clay sails Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Try keeping the volume lower and turning up the gain, dirty up the sound. You may not get the fat LP lusciousness, but what you'll get will be all good. I don't know what a Pearly Gate sounds like, but if you put LP pups in (i.e. 498T or Burstbuckers) you might get closer to the sound you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members orbm1 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 you could..... with the VG 99 supposedly, you can emulate the sound of a les paul...[YOUTUBE]Can2rajQO_Q[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 wait...what? if you wanted the sound of a les paul, why did you get a strat? really though, you're not going to be able to make your strat sound like a les paul. True enough...but....the OP is also looking for suggestions to fatten up his strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 wait...what? if you wanted the sound of a les paul, why did you get a strat? really though, you're not going to be able to make your strat sound like a les paul. I know this is true - have just sold a PRS Singlecut (Les Paul copy) - they are just SO HEAVY my back cannot handle them... I had been hoping the Fat strat would be the Swiss Army Knife solution to all my problems - some songs I play need a strat - but for Rock it has to be HBs.... I briefly flirted with a Parker Fly but was not happy with those HBs either...and it did look a bit wierd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Have you tried using position 4 (instead of position 5) on the switch? I have the Lonestar strat as well, and find that position 4 will get me a bit of a different sound while still sounding humbucker-like (I'd have to describe it as a bit darker and more defined, less sparkle)...not sure if that's what you're going after or not though. You can also try setting your middle/bridge tone pot to 7, helps get rid of some of the brightness of the middle/bridge combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dimibetan Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Lil 59 on neck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Have you tried using position 4 (instead of position 5) on the switch? I have the Lonestar strat as well, and find that position 4 will get me a bit of a different sound while still sounding humbucker-like (I'd have to describe it as a bit darker and more defined, less sparkle)...not sure if that's what you're going after or not though. You can also try setting your middle/bridge tone pot to 7, helps get rid of some of the brightness of the middle/bridge combination. thx - will try this combination... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Loudog99 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 My SX Ash sounds very fat- it's got a GFS Vintage '59, orange drop .022, and 500K pots. Stainless steel saddles and the trem is decked. I think a humbucker is the way to go if you want a thick sounding strat. Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Lil 59 on neck what is Lil59? Is it a single coil size HB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roygbiv Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 A strat with the right HB in the bridge will get you as close as you can get to the swiss army knife you are looking for. You won't ever totally nail the LP tone with the strat bridge/trem and scale length, but you can get close enough with some tweaks. As others have mentioned, try playing with your volume and tone knobs before you change out that Pearly Gates. What I've found is that I prefer the bright PAF style HB's because I can dial out the brightness with my knobs. If you go with a more middy HB, you can't dial in the brightness, because it's not there (at least on the guitar). I've played that Lone Star at GC and I was pretty impressed with the versatility and tonez in it. I could get some pretty fat stuff out of the Pearly Gates simply by dialing back the tone about 1/4 turn and bringing the gain up on the amp just a hair. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jedistar Posted July 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 A strat with the right HB in the bridge will get you as close as you can get to the swiss army knife you are looking for. You won't ever totally nail the LP tone with the strat bridge/trem and scale length, but you can get close enough with some tweaks. As others have mentioned, try playing with your volume and tone knobs before you change out that Pearly Gates. What I've found is that I prefer the bright PAF style HB's because I can dial out the brightness with my knobs. If you go with a more middy HB, you can't dial in the brightness, because it's not there (at least on the guitar). I've played that Lone Star at GC and I was pretty impressed with the versatility and tonez in it. I could get some pretty fat stuff out of the Pearly Gates simply by dialing back the tone about 1/4 turn and bringing the gain up on the amp just a hair. Cheers. OK - will persist with guitar settings for a while - may also play with my amp valves ...thanks for your help all :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Because of the radical differences in construction, a HB which would sound fantastic in an LP-style guitar won't necessarily sound anywhere near the same in a Strat. Maybe one of the pickup gurus could weigh in here with some authentic expertise -- but, speaking strictly as a layman, I'd reckon that anyt HB specifically designed for a Strat would need a majorly different wind and voicing to deliver any kind of equivalent tonality -- and also that such a PU would sound impossibly dark and muddy if it was installed into an LP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stratman323 Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 A Strat can't sound like a Les Paul. And a Les Paul has even less chance of sounding like a Strat - they are fundamentally different. A Strat fitted with a HB sounds like a Strat with a HB... However, in my last band, we used to do Black Magic Woman, & I got a vaguely Santana-ish tone by turning the gain on the amp/pedals up, selecting the neck pickup & backing the guitar tone off most of the way. It helps to use a smaller cap (.022) as this only rolls off the top, not the mids that larger caps also remove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr_Kuh Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Replace it with a Les Paul. this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Florbastang Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Honestly, I've gotten some seriously fat--almost humbucker sounding--tones out of my Strat just by cranking the tone knob down. Trying turning that tone knob on the guitar down, while turning up the bass and mids on the amp. It's never going to sound exactly like an LP, but you can get any guitar to sound fairly close to any other guitar just buying tweaking the amp and guitar controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrod Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 I tryed this for years looking for the LP sound. I prefered the strat for the smaller neck and body comfort, but I own 3 LP's now. I still love my strat and it is a HSS strat. if you turn the bass up on the amps eq and turn down the treble this will beef you sound up. also turn the tone knob on the strat down and this will help a lot. the big difference is the LP are made of mohagany while the strats of alder, big differance in sound, also the size of the guitar plays a huge differance in the beefyness of the sound. I have learnded to accept the strat as it is and the LP alike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buchanan-d Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Replace it with a Les Paul. This, no strat will ever sound like a Les Paul. Different woods , pups, scale length etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members golias Posted July 23, 2009 Members Share Posted July 23, 2009 Honestly, I've gotten some seriously fat--almost humbucker sounding--tones out of my Strat just by cranking the tone knob down. Trying turning that tone knob on the guitar down, while turning up the bass and mids on the amp.It's never going to sound exactly like an LP, but you can get any guitar to sound fairly close to any other guitar just buying tweaking the amp and guitar controls. What you are describing is "Woman Tone" which is a beautiful thing on a Strat, but it's nothing at all like the Les Paul sound. I like H-S-S Strats, but if you want the Les Paul sound, you need something a bit more like a Les Paul. If weight is what's bothering you (the OP, that is), I have a few suggestions: 1. The SG. A lot of people dislike how they look (including me), but they are lighter while still retaining enough common elements (tune-o-matic bridge plus tailpiece, dual-HB pickups, recessed headstock), that they are rather similar-sounding. Certainly a lot closer than a Strat with an HB anyway. 2. Steinberger Spirit or Hohner G2T w/ a pickup swap. I've got a headless Hohner which I loaded with Duncans that KILLS a lot of the more affordable Les Pauls out there (Epiphone, Agile, etc.) while being way smaller and lighter. 3. The Goddess. Pretty much since the day I got it, my Gibson Les Paul Goddess has been, and remains, my #1. Slightly smaller body, with a lot of well-chosen chambering, yet still has a very traditional LP tone. They were discontinued after less than two years, but you can sometimes find a used one for about $1000 - $1500. The Les Paul Vixen (it's kid sister, kind of as a Studio is to a Standard) also pops up on the used market once in a while for slightly less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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