Time Machine

[Nelskie]

*Sheesh* It's a sad day at a guitar forum when there's only been two new posts under the "Stratocaster" section since 1/17/06. *ahem* That's almost two entire months!! :eek: Well, anyways, I aim to put that to an end, and under my close personal supervision, this Strat section is gonna start rockin' again.

As some of you may know, I ordered a set of Custom Shop '69 p'ups for my MIM Classic 60's Strat about two months ago. Since they have yet to arrive (I think Abigail must be on extended leave or something), and also since the arrival of my new G & L Tele, the 60's Strat led a somewhat quiet life. Thinking it needed a little love, and needing my Strat fix for the day, I dug it out of the case. To my delight, I found with fresh strings, polished up, and ready to play!! Zam! To the Cyber Twin, Batman! I dialed up a sweet 60's Tweed setting that I'd concocted some time ago, with a smidge of tape echo on it for that cool Knopfler feel, set the p'up selector to the bridge+middle, and launched into "Tunnel of Love". A wide smile came across my face. The classic, vintage Fender tone has a natrual tendency to do that. It didn't take long before I had dialed in another cool tone, this time a '65 Twin Reverb surf flavor, and bounced gleefully through a little of the Venture's "Walk Don't Run". Hang 10, you hep cats! Since things were really clickin' now, I couldn't help but play "Peggy Sue", which through a vintage-toned Strat always sounds amazing. When did that tune come out - like 1958? Such a classic, and so much fun to play! To complete the set, I sessioned a bit of CCR's "Bad Moon Risin'", and it was pure heaven to behold.

As I sat back and admired her lovely 3TS finish, and curvaceous body, I started trying to convince myself that I really needed those new '69 p'ups in it. But somehow, after a jam session like the one I'd just finished, well . . . I couldn't. The tones you get through vintage Fender pickups are flat-out awesome! Yeah, I know it would be killer to be able to tap into the Hendrix and SRV vibe w/ those CS 69's, but I'm thinking that I might just drop them in my MIJ Strat, and keep my Classic 60's Strat just the way it is, and that fabulous vintage Fender Strat tone at my beckon call.

Has anyone else come face-to-face with this little quandry? Do you think the '69's will have that same trademark "spankiness" as those vintage p'ups do? Maybe I'm just getting too sentimental about this whole thing, too.

Anyways, I'm sure my fellow Fretters have some interesting insights, not to mention an abundance of stories about that legendary Fender Strat tone - the first time you heard it, how it affected your playing, the joy of owning your very first Strat, or how became a part of your own sound. Myself, I've only been a Strat player for the past (3) years, and let me tell you, it has had the equivalent effect of a direct lightning strike to my own style and sound. The vintage Strat tone is the epitome of guitar-playing coolness. :cool:

[Justaguyin_nc]

All those songs and that strat and no Audio Clip Nelskie? sigh... That's actually the first and only Fender Strat I have..... Classic 60's in White and of course the rosewood neck... Nice feeling and the sound is all I wanted in a strat... In good hands it sounds awesome... Wouldn't think of trading it or changing anything in it... Once I get past my Tele and 51 cravings I will get back to it I am sure..

[SuperSwede]

So are you more happy with you MIM sound than your MIJ?

[Nelskie]

Swede - Surprisingly (or not), they're two different animals tone and playing-wise. The MIJ has a grittier, perhaps more bottom-heavy tone to it than my MIM, which is brighter, and a bit more on the mid-dy side of things. I like to use my MIJ for crunchier stuff, like Black Sabbath, SRV, Hendrix, and the like. My Classic 60's is what I turn to for stuff with a more traditional, vintage-y feel, like what I've described above. The MIM has a fatter maple / rosewood neck, whereas my MIJ has a medium-sized, all-maple number. Both play wonderfully, and sound amazing.

Which one do I like best? Well, if the truth be known - neither. I'm very fortunate to own (2) awesome Strats, each very unique in their own respects. I love 'em both!

Justa' - Hmmm - do I detect a hint of sarcasm there? :rolleyes: Heh, heh, heh. Let's just call now the "calm before the storm". Rest assured, when the time does come to bear arms, the guitars and amps at the Fort Nelskie will come a' blazin'.

[SuperSwede]

It sounds like both of your strats should keep their pickups.

Perhaps its time to get a THIRD strat for those 69´s nelskie :D

[Justaguyin_nc]

Swede your on to something here... He needs a made in Indonesia Strat... he already covered the others... seems only fair.. and that one will need the 69's..

[SuperSwede]

Indonesia Strat a.k.a Squier ?

[Nelskie]

Justa' - Another Strat, eh? Hmmm. That's an interesting idea. Maybe I just keep those p'ups under wraps until I either talk myself into dropping them into one of the Strats I already have. Or, wait for that special one to come along, and turn it into a total tone monster with those '69's. I've seen some really cool MIJ Foto Flame Stratocasters, and those I really like. I guess it just depends.

Actually, I'm toying with the idea of putting my Hamer on Ebay, and getting myself an Epiphone SG. But since this is a Stratocaster thread, I won't go into any further detail on that.

[duhvoodooman]

*Sheesh* It's a sad day at a guitar forum when there's only been two new posts under the "Stratocaster" section since 1/17/06. *ahem* That's almost two entire months!! :eek: Well, anyways, I aim to put that to an end, and under my close personal supervision, this Strat section is gonna start rockin' again.
Well, you've probably realized by now that it doesn't take much encouragement to get the ol' Voodoo Man rolling on the subject of guitars, 'specially one that he happens to own.

I've loved Strats since I first owned one after I got out of college in '73. Bought a cream colored one w/ a white pickguard and a small Fender amp, both used. Loved playing that sucker, but ended up in an apartment where the neighbors didn't appreciate, er , "quality musicianship" (or maybe the problem was that they did!), and I sold it after about a year and a half. But I always missed it and regretted having let it go.

Finally, back in '97, after me talking about it for a couple of years, my wife spotted this used Strat Plus in a little music store in Lititz PA, where we were living at the time, and I "returned to the fold" of happy Strat owners. Mine is a '90 model with the Lace Sensor Gold pups, which I really like. Not quite as twangy as the vintage single poles, but still a nice biting Strat tone, and they can really growl when you turn up the volume. They match up with my love of SRV tunes very nicely!

The only thing I didn't really like about the guitar was its looks--between the black body, white pickguard and the solid white covers of the Lace pups, she looked pretty bland. But we solved that a couple of days ago with a new black pearloid guard. Now I think she looks as as good as she talks! Photographic before & after evidence follows: :D

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/strat_before.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/strat_after.jpg

[Nelskie]

Zowie, Voodoo! She's sure a looker with that snazzy pearloid pickguard (commonly called a "MOTO" as in "mother of toilet seat" amongst hep Fender cats.) I was in the exact same frame of mind as you with my blue MIJ Strat, which had a rather bland, white-ish pickguard just like yours. I eventually decided to put a stylin' white MOTO number on her, and voila', she was ready to go to the ball! I posted snaps of her on the Squier thread awhile back:

http://www.thefret.net/showpost.php?p=581&postcount=6

I've heard great things about those Lace Sensor p'ups. I believe they come standard on the Eric Clapton signature model, which is way more than enough cred to establish them as benchmarks for killer Strat tone. ;)

[warren0728]

that black pearloid guard looks great....i bet it plays better now too!

ww

[duhvoodooman]

....i bet it plays better now too!
Maybe! Too bad I don't!! :D

[duhvoodooman]

I eventually decided to put a stylin' white MOTO number on her, and voila', she was ready to go to the ball!
Yes, indeedy--lookin' good. I think those MOTO pickguards can really dress up a Strat! And I like that shade of blue. Very sharp!


I've heard great things about those Lace Sensor p'ups. I believe they come standard on the Eric Clapton signature model, which is way more than enough cred to establish them as benchmarks for killer Strat tone.
Yep, that's exactly what the music store owner told me when I asked him what the heck a "Lace Sensor" was. After hearing that EC used 'em, no further convincing was necessary (other than listening to them).

[SuperSwede]

A friend of mine bought some kind of deluxe fender strat, it must have been around 1994-96. It had three different colors of lace pickups, I think it was Red-Blue-Gold. I remember that it sounded really good.

[Spudman]

Nelskie
Since you revived the thread....
I am overrun with Strats and Strat style guitars...and...I just bought two more. Both are the Special Edition Squier Strat. One is cherry sunburst and I've had it for a while now. I'll post a photo soon cause it is a beauty and the one still coming is a silver-burst.
The Cherry sounded and played so good I had to have another (like a hole in my head). I don't know why I do it. It's like a disease or something. Make it stop PLEASE!
My first good guitar was a Strat and it is what I've always had on stage with me. I may play another guitar for a night but there is always a Strat there. I have 8 of the little buggers now. Two of those are Peavey Falcons which are basically the same guitar made in America.
So am I into Strats? Um, I think so.
Do you know if there is a Strats Anonymous in the US?

[Nelskie]

Do you know if there is a Strats Anonymous in the US?
Well if there isn't a Strats Anonymous, Spudman, I suggest that you form an online version of here, and I'll officially nominate you as "Grand Poobah"!! :D I'd offer my services to be your right-hand man, i.e. "Deputy Poobah", and we can fill in the ranks from there with other Strat-afflicted Fretters.

I also had a craving for one of those Cherry-burst Squier Strats when they first came out, but ended up going with the MIM Classic 60's model, cuz' I liked the neck a lot better on that model. The Cherry-burst finish on that instrument is waaaayyy hot, and I'd bet it would look even tighter with a sweet vintage-style nitro all-maple neck. Yeaaah, that's the ticket! I haven't seen the silver-burst finish you'd mentioned, so post some snaps of it when it arrives. BTW - where are you getting it from?

You know, I was taking some guff from Robert and Tone2 yesterday about my rampaging gear-buying habit, but you buy new guitars by the bunches, usually two at a time! Dude, you got it BAD! Now I do realize that Squiers are reasonably-priced instruments, but you pretty much have a herd of them thar' Squiers now, don'tcha? Lemme' see - I know you have a '51, a Tele II w/ the P-90's, a Std. Strat, and now another Std. Strat. Can the Squier Tele Std. be far behind . . . ? Or maybe one of those tasty chambered Teles with the dual 'buckers and worn cherry finish? Am I getting warm yet?

(in Captain Kirk broken English) Must . . . resist . . . buying . . . guitar . . . AAAAARRRGGGHH!

[Tone2TheBone]

(Captain Kirk)....get...offa...my...ship...misterrrr....

Guff? Whats guff? Is that like gruff? ;)

[Nelskie]

Guff = good-natured ribbing. Kinda' like the rubbin's racin' thing we've already discussed.

And yes, Your Honor, on the charges of being a total gear freak, I stand before you guilty . . . as charged.

[Spudman]

Nelskie
You nailed it. I'm keeping my eye open for a chambered Squier Tele at the right price. I've played several of them unplugged and the have great tone and feel. they project so much you don't need an amp. (kidding) They do though.

I got rid of the P90 Tele. It didn't hold a candle to my Agile LP P90 guitar. I only could justify one guitar with P90's. I'm done with Tele's unless I find a killer Standard with a maple neck. I'm very happy with the Tele Special and use it for all my Tele needs. Like the CSB Strat it has an alder body and little finish so the tone really comes through. It is the dark natural finish.

The finish is way hot on the Cherry Sunburst. Great sustain too and I like the neck, but I do agree with you that a maple fretboard would be way hot. I've been watching for a decent priced 22 fret one and they are a rare breed in my price range.

What to collect next?

[Nelskie]

Spud - Here's a place that has some good prices on necks. I'd been thinking of changing out the neck on my Squier Tele, but then decided to just get a G & L Tele with an all-maple neck instead. I know you said you wanted a (22) fret neck, but they have a nice (21) fret tinted one here for $99:

http://www.wdmusic.com/std_fender_strat_reg_guitar_24283_prd1.htm

And a std. maple (22) fret neck for $99:

http://www.wdmusic.com/fender_strat_reg_guitar_necks_24281_prd1.htm

Either of those necks would look tight on your CSB.

[Spudman]

Thanks Nelskie. Ya the maple has always been my preference.

[Nelskie]

I haven't seen the silver-burst finish you'd mentioned, so post some snaps of it when it arrives. BTW - where are you getting it from?

Spudman - do tell. I'd like to see what these guitars look like.

[Nelskie]

I see that the Strat thread is getting quiet again. Lemme' see what I can do here . . .

My buddy just e-mailed me yesterday to tell me that my *NEW* Custom Shop '69's are at the shop, and are ready to be dropped in!! Since early January, when I put in my order for the p'ups, I've acquired a very tasty cream moto pick-guard, and a new Callaham trem block - both will get installed when the '69's go in. The cream pick guard should look nice with the aged plastic knobs and covers. Dialing in those mods should make that Classic 60's a full-fledged screamer, with buckets o' tone, and whole lotta' 'tude!

As much as I like the tone of the Fender Vintage p'ups that are in there now, I figured that the '69's would be the way to go for that guitar. I mean, a 3TS finish, rosewood fretboard, tinted neck, aged hardare, vintage tuners - and now, Custom Shop p'ups. Boys, I do believe it's floodin' down in Texas.

Even if I ended up getting the jones for vintage-tone, I could always drop those other p'ups in my MIJ Strat. Heck, maybe I'll even do that when I have the others replaced, and have the best of both worlds (hey, that's a great name for a song!)

Still trippin' on the fact that I'll soon be playing through the very same p'ups, wound by the very same person, that Hendrix did. If that ain't totally mojo-riffic, I don't know what is! ;)


5-10-06

Well, they're in. And they're spec-tacular! (Seifeld, anyone?)

So how do they sound? Well, to my ears, they sound exactly how a Strat should sound - chimey highs, fat, tasty mids, and defined lower registers. They aren't overly hot, or overly bright. Just right. The huge difference is at the "2" and "5" positions (bridge / middle & neck) - and I mean like astoundingly HUGE. These p'ups sound good everywhere, really, but in those positions - it's mind-boggling. Total Hendrix / SRV vibe using the neck, and pos. 2 gives you the versatility to move into the Dire Straits and Creedence tone depts. with ease. As well, I've also noticed that the tone / volume controls seem to be provide a more responsive, and noticeable difference in adding textural depth to the tones in all of the positions. The vintage p'ups I had in there before were OK in that respect, but not to the level that the '69's are.

Before I dropped them, I turned them over, and like all of the Fender CS '69 sets, they were signed and dated by Abigail Ybarra. So cool.

[Robert]

That's cool Nelskie - sounds mojo-riffic to me!

Just wanted to mention the CS 54s - really nice pickups too, except for the bridge pup is too harsh sounding on my Squier strat, but the neck pickup is to die for.

[Nelskie]

Do you know if there is any way you could tone that brigde unit down a bit? I mean, for the sake of keeping the p'up set in tact? If not, what are your thoughts about putting a warmer p'up unit in the bridge, ya' know - the best of both worlds? And if you did decided to change it out, what would you consider? A Duncan? Fralin? Muy Grande? There's a lot of options there.

[Robert]

Me, I'd go with noiseless pickups overall if I did it again, DiMarzio VV 1.1. Only because playing live is a pain with these pickups. Otherwise, why not put in a Fralin?

Is your CS 69 bridge pup too harsh too?

[Nelskie]

Is your CS 69 bridge pup too harsh too?
Still haven't made it out that way yet - his shop is in Bismarck, about 2 1/2 hrs. W of Fargo. Right now they're just sitting there . . . waiting. I 'm planning on doing a full run-down on them after they're installed.

I'm just hoping I can make it out of his shop w/o buying a new guitar . . . ! That's dangerous territory for me! ;)

[Robert]

I have my strat wired so the tone knob works on the bridge pup. Calms it down a bit.

[Spudman]

I do a similar modification and wire the second tone knob to control the bridge pickup and leave the first tone to control the neck and middle pickups.

[Robert]

Yes, Spudman, that's what I meant - that is the exact mod I have done to mine.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

ITS called the "blender mod" basically ..1 volume , 1 tone, 1 midrange controll.. tonal charastics can be changed depending on the values of the inductor and the capacitor wired in to the set up ... i use it on one of my strats ..love it ....6s9l

[Nelskie]

Blender mod, eh? Well, if it can mix a good regular margarita (on the rocks!), then I'll call it a done deal, Senor Stratocaster!