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Using a Strat for hard rock


Forbidden-Donut

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I absolutely love the feel and sound of a Strat. I'm looking to buy one, and would be using it for hard rock, which is what I play primarily. Who here uses a Strat when they're rocking out? What I'd like to know is what pickup combinations I should think about. I want to keep the some of the warmth and tone variety Strats offer (though I know some will need to be sacrificed!). Which do you use, or have heard work really well?

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If you're a single guitar player, consider a SSH configuration. It's hard to wrong with SD's IMO, but your tastes may vary.

 

IF you're one of 2 or more guitar players, I suggest keeping a SSS configuration and just using positions 2 or 4 and then 5 for a solo if you wanted. This would work best if the other guitar player uses a HH equipped guitar.

 

I've done both with good results. Currently I like to use a tele if I want the SC type of sound. But that's just me.

 

YMMV.

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I have an HSS that I bought in 2005. The honeymoon isn't over by a long shot, and I can play her clean or dirty. I use a H&K Edition tube 20 for an amp, and that thing just makes the Strat sound great. To save myself some typing, here's a linky to specs & photos. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showpost.php?p=35158616&postcount=68

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I find a P90 or humbucker in the bridge position does wonders for a Strat playing hard rock. I have a humbucker in one of my Strats, and a P90 in the other, and they can both easily handle hard rock. I personally like the P90 option since it still keeps more of the Strat tone, but is much ballsier.

 

A single coil in the bridge could work too, but IMHO a P90 or humbucker works better.

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Honestly, I use my Tele with singlecoils for everything these days, hard rock included. It`s really how you play, how ballsy your approach is, etc. Having said that, my other guitar is a strat with JB Jr in the bridge. Sounds so much fatter in the gain channel than the Tele.

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pardon my ignorance
:eek::facepalm:
, but whats a coil tap?

A coil tap is when less of the windings are used on one single coil pickup - so the pickup will have two outputs: full output, and the lower tapped output.

When switching one coil off on a humbucker it's called (technically speaking) a coil split.

 

If you want a more hard rocking Strat, wire all the pickup combinations in series for more output, you may want to include the neck+bridge combo in the pickup selection too.

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My pair of 74 Strats have their original p'ups and I am very happy with them. One has a 3 way switch and the other has a 5 way. And to be honest, I think the 3 way is less complicated just for the fact that they automatically pop into places 1, 2, & 3. I don't accidentally go to 2 or 4.

 

I also don't use my bridge p'up as much as I use the middle one.

 

It's the JCM 800, 900 or 2000 that I plug into that delivers for me.

 

I even like my pairs of 15w practice amps for small rooms. Two Vox Pathfinders and two Fender Frontmans. The Vox's sound better. More sparkle. My stereo output comes from my Chorus Factory or Digi Delay.

 

Those little Vox Pathfinders sound so good at small venues where there's too much glass and cinder brick walls with a linoleum floor that I might get two more. They're cheap used and 4's gotta be better that 2. Spread all that crunchy goodness at a nice volume in a {censored}ty room where a 100w Marshall is way out of place.

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I geared up one of my strats with a Dimarzio Tone Zone S rail with a push-pull to split, stock Fender middle and Dimarzio Virtual Blues noiseless in the neck. It gets me any sound I want from true single coil to smooth bluesy noiseless neck goodness and thick low humbucker chunkyness. The 2 and 4 postions are real good for some clean funky rythym stuff as well. I did have to put 500k pots in to get the best sound out of the Tone Zone S and Virtual blues instead of the standard 250k in strats. The Tone Zone S is great if you are looking for a single coil sized humbucker.

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My SSS strat is fine for hard rock, in fact that's what I play on it most of the time. Single coil bridge pickups can do hard rock fine. I see why many prefer a humbucker for that kind of music, but if you don't mind a bit of hum (or have a nice noise gate, like an ISP Decimator), a bridge position single coil pickup can give you a useful and very different hard rock tone.

 

And as a side note, although it's not really hard rock, when I saw the Black Crowes, Rich was using a couple SSS strats (and a tele or two) with a TON of gain. No issues at all, it sounded great (and gave me GAS for a telecaster)

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An HSS strat is a good choice, as is an HH (Big Apple?) strat.

 

SSS strats can do it, too, but I think you have to work harder to get the same sheer rocking power of a humbucker. (Mind you, in the right hands, with the right equipment, a broken broom handle with dental floss on it can be made to rock.)

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American Deluxe with the S1 switch. In regular mode you get all the normal Strat sounds. With the S1 pushed in, you can get the bridge and middle or neck and middle running in series which sounds a lot like a humbucker and not as bright as regular single coils. You can play pretty much anything on that guitar.

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I use a Strat for hard rock, and I always play with the lead (bridge position) pickup on. The second tone control is hooked up to the lead pickup and I turn it down halfway to get rid of that harsh 'twang' that single coil pickups are so famous for.

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I wire ALL my gigging strats with a push/pull to put the bridge in series with whatever the 5-way is on. So middle/bridge in series is a VERY convincing humbucker, more output and with a dirt box, does hard rock w/the best of 'em.

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I tried the S/D Hot Rails in my Strat and for me they work great. On the clean channel they still have that jangley sound, sound bad ass with distortion. Hardly any noise from these as well.

 

 

 

guitarpics001.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

turckster

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