Dunno, ask "what's his name" who PM'ed me constantly about "snobs" ( like uncle and dean and others) and drove this into the ground.Mister Natural wrote:Do new pick-ups count ? Just replaced the Duncan/Stock units on my Strat with a set of Fender Hot Noiseless
. . . & wow
peace
Your next guitar?
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- Banned
- 5357 posts since 7 May, 2015
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Hermetech Mastering Hermetech Mastering https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=7418 - KVRAF
- 1619 posts since 30 May, 2003 from Milan, Italy
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- Banned
- 5357 posts since 7 May, 2015
The problem with the "deluxe" MIM strats is that they peter out with higher frets (not a setup issue) and have the sharp saddle adjustments (not completely MIM dependent)
So, even at a good price with good hardware, no.
So, even at a good price with good hardware, no.
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- KVRAF
- 5054 posts since 16 May, 2002 from Brisbane , Australia
Hell yeah that counts. I played my USA made Strat a handful of times and never got used to the ear bleeding tone. Now with a SD Everything Axe set installed it is like a new guitar. I nearly sold it but couldn't get anywhere near what was worth selling and now it is a keeper.Mister Natural wrote:Do new pick-ups count ? Just replaced the Duncan/Stock units on my Strat with a set of Fender Hot Noiseless
. . . & wow
peace
Intel Core i7 8700K, 16gb, Windows 10 Pro, Focusrite Scarlet 6i6
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- KVRAF
- 6804 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
Honestly the finest strat tone I've ever gotten is using my 80's Strat Plus with original gold lace sensors. It doesn't sound like any traditional strat to my ears.
That being said we all walk around with very subjective ideals on what something "should" sound like.
There is quite a bit of discussion going on in the variax community about the sound of the 2.+ firmware for workbench and the 1.+ versions. The consensus at large is that the newer sounds aren't as realistic as the older. Well I say poppycock.
Throughout the 50's 60's and even the 70's Fender would use sewing machines to make their pups. instead of counters those winding the pups would have to keep track in their head. Some over wound, some under wound some got the count right. Earlier harnesses had cloth wrapped wires, later plastic. and the gauge of the wiring also would change. Ergo trying to get that "perfect" / sounds like something I want varies from guitar to guitar. Buddy Hollies Strat, Jimi Hendrix's Strat and Eric Claptons Blackie all are quite different in tone. Hell EC bought a boat load of Strats widdled it down to three. Took the Neck from one, the body from another and the loaded pup from a third to get Blackie.
With regards to brightness of tone. The one thing you can't do is change the scale length of a strat. Longer scale lengths will produce overtones with greater clarity. Shorter scale lengths have muddier overtones. The big time strat players have a tendency to tune down a half step or more, (EC, Hendrix, Vaughn etc) it "warms down" the tone a little. The next thing to be aware of is that strat players generally prefer position 2 rather then the bridge pup by itself. Using the tone and volume controls on your instrument as well as on your amp can go a long way towards taming your tone. Many a professional guitarist will have two preamp stomp boxes preset for eq and volume when switching between instruments.
Getting back to pups.
There are SD's and then there are Duncan Designed. I've never heard a duncan design that lived up to a real duncan. The first time I replaced pups I had an old Magnum LP custom. the pups were for crap as far as output and tone. I replaced them with Jazz and JB. Totally blew my mind that such an otherwise crappy guitar could sound so good. Not everyone likes SD's I get that. But you can't judge the entire brand based on one pup in the lineup.
Awhile back I played an Eric Johnson signature strat. Beautiful guitar. Great Neck. Pups sounded great when adding lots of delay and chorus and some grit. But straight out of the guitar and into the amp I got no memorable tones out of it. Which gets back to all strats are different and how much do you think you'll be able to carve out of one? How much time do you have on your hands. How dedicated are you to pursuing the holy grail in each instance and finally how much financial commitment are you going to make into the rest of the signal path to make it a reality?
I can't afford a line 6 helix. I hate the noise that comes in my Korg Pandora mini. I don't have all the time in the world. About the only thing I do well is organize. Chasing tone leads me away from playing and ...Playing leads me away from chasing tone.
That being said we all walk around with very subjective ideals on what something "should" sound like.
There is quite a bit of discussion going on in the variax community about the sound of the 2.+ firmware for workbench and the 1.+ versions. The consensus at large is that the newer sounds aren't as realistic as the older. Well I say poppycock.
Throughout the 50's 60's and even the 70's Fender would use sewing machines to make their pups. instead of counters those winding the pups would have to keep track in their head. Some over wound, some under wound some got the count right. Earlier harnesses had cloth wrapped wires, later plastic. and the gauge of the wiring also would change. Ergo trying to get that "perfect" / sounds like something I want varies from guitar to guitar. Buddy Hollies Strat, Jimi Hendrix's Strat and Eric Claptons Blackie all are quite different in tone. Hell EC bought a boat load of Strats widdled it down to three. Took the Neck from one, the body from another and the loaded pup from a third to get Blackie.
With regards to brightness of tone. The one thing you can't do is change the scale length of a strat. Longer scale lengths will produce overtones with greater clarity. Shorter scale lengths have muddier overtones. The big time strat players have a tendency to tune down a half step or more, (EC, Hendrix, Vaughn etc) it "warms down" the tone a little. The next thing to be aware of is that strat players generally prefer position 2 rather then the bridge pup by itself. Using the tone and volume controls on your instrument as well as on your amp can go a long way towards taming your tone. Many a professional guitarist will have two preamp stomp boxes preset for eq and volume when switching between instruments.
Getting back to pups.
There are SD's and then there are Duncan Designed. I've never heard a duncan design that lived up to a real duncan. The first time I replaced pups I had an old Magnum LP custom. the pups were for crap as far as output and tone. I replaced them with Jazz and JB. Totally blew my mind that such an otherwise crappy guitar could sound so good. Not everyone likes SD's I get that. But you can't judge the entire brand based on one pup in the lineup.
Awhile back I played an Eric Johnson signature strat. Beautiful guitar. Great Neck. Pups sounded great when adding lots of delay and chorus and some grit. But straight out of the guitar and into the amp I got no memorable tones out of it. Which gets back to all strats are different and how much do you think you'll be able to carve out of one? How much time do you have on your hands. How dedicated are you to pursuing the holy grail in each instance and finally how much financial commitment are you going to make into the rest of the signal path to make it a reality?
I can't afford a line 6 helix. I hate the noise that comes in my Korg Pandora mini. I don't have all the time in the world. About the only thing I do well is organize. Chasing tone leads me away from playing and ...Playing leads me away from chasing tone.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- Rad Grandad
- 38044 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
about the necks on the MIM necks, I wouldn't give it second thought. If I am to get another guitar anytime soon it will probably just that (but used), a MIM Strt with single coils. But I dont care about the neck, it's going in the closet with other bodies and necks I have as I would replace that right away with a Warmoth neck. That to me is a no brainer, if no other reason because of the low maintenance truss rod but really I much prefer a wizard profile like the Warmoth I have now and it's not like they cost a fortune. 
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
Has anyone tried out one of those Mitchell guitars? it looks like maybe they range from around $100-$450. guitar center carries them.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/MD ... -Guitar.gc
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/MD ... -Guitar.gc
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- KVRAF
- 6804 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
I wonder who owns the mitchell brand now.
Believe it or not the Mitchell brand used to be owned by....
wait for it........
Martin.
Back in the early 90's I had a Mitchell 3/4 solid body electric. (based on a Les Paul) It was amazingly fun to play The neck didn't last too long. It sounded more like a miniture Blueshawk.I set it up with 10's and bent the life into it. I've never been one for overbending. But this thing made it so, so much fun. A larger or taller man would easily be frustrated with the instrument but not me. Eventually I gave it to my girlfriend.
Believe it or not the Mitchell brand used to be owned by....
wait for it........
Martin.
Back in the early 90's I had a Mitchell 3/4 solid body electric. (based on a Les Paul) It was amazingly fun to play The neck didn't last too long. It sounded more like a miniture Blueshawk.I set it up with 10's and bent the life into it. I've never been one for overbending. But this thing made it so, so much fun. A larger or taller man would easily be frustrated with the instrument but not me. Eventually I gave it to my girlfriend.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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- Rad Grandad
- 38044 posts since 6 Sep, 2003 from Downeast Maine
surely adjusting pups is very personal, I know you're not big on this stuff but it is according to your ears. Adjust slowly, use a pen and paper and right down every turn of the screws you make so if you feel you messed up or perhaps you feel you should have left well enough alone you can return them to their original position. The adjusting screws on pups are machine screws which means this actually will be an accurate measurement though you have no exact way to measure the best you can do is 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, full turns (or any breakdown, I think you get the point). The good news is the screws are fine threads so you should be okay as small adjustments will not make big changes.incubus wrote:None of the above!
I like what I have, but I do need some pup adjustments. Have nodda clue where to go with it
You got this
The highest form of knowledge is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another's world. It requires profound, purpose‐larger‐than‐the‐self kind of understanding.
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- Banned
- 5357 posts since 7 May, 2015
It's taken my a lifetime, but one thing I've noticed is that you have to know what you want.
Willy-nilly is fun, but not productive.
Frankly? I want EVERYTHING!
But I've kinda maybe possibly learned that there are vast differences based on more than what I used to perceive.
I see pictures, I like. I order, I may not like. AND as a bonus troll, I may LOVE it for quite some time and then end up thinking "what the hell is wrong with me????????"
In the end it's a fun topic regardless, but I'm pretty blessed with my family. I have a "team j craft" Ibanez that is wonderful (not a super thin neck, important) and a fantastic E-II (they don't make that one anymore) and a fabulous Carvin (man, I SCORED on that one)
Getting better about what to look for in a guitar. I make the tone most of the time, but what "fits" me. Not just looks, but the overall experience.
The Ibanez RG is STILL my absolute favorite looking guitar, BAR NONE. But most the ones I've had have a fatal flaw.
Oh well, In a rambling mood, I digress......
Willy-nilly is fun, but not productive.
Frankly? I want EVERYTHING!
But I've kinda maybe possibly learned that there are vast differences based on more than what I used to perceive.
I see pictures, I like. I order, I may not like. AND as a bonus troll, I may LOVE it for quite some time and then end up thinking "what the hell is wrong with me????????"
In the end it's a fun topic regardless, but I'm pretty blessed with my family. I have a "team j craft" Ibanez that is wonderful (not a super thin neck, important) and a fantastic E-II (they don't make that one anymore) and a fabulous Carvin (man, I SCORED on that one)
Getting better about what to look for in a guitar. I make the tone most of the time, but what "fits" me. Not just looks, but the overall experience.
The Ibanez RG is STILL my absolute favorite looking guitar, BAR NONE. But most the ones I've had have a fatal flaw.
Oh well, In a rambling mood, I digress......
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
as it turns out, i seem to gravitate toward the 'mustang' types of bodies, but ibanez rg guitars are the fastest i've played. i've not tried schecter/prs or whatnot, but those rgs are fast.
one of the odd things that's happened to me over the years is in moving from humbuckers to single coils.
never had a bad ibanez, whether it's rg or some other model...
i'd have to say, g&l and ibanez are my favorite brands. the '3rd tier off brand stuff' is exciting, but g&l/ibanez are the staples over here...
one of the odd things that's happened to me over the years is in moving from humbuckers to single coils.
never had a bad ibanez, whether it's rg or some other model...
i'd have to say, g&l and ibanez are my favorite brands. the '3rd tier off brand stuff' is exciting, but g&l/ibanez are the staples over here...
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- Banned
- 5357 posts since 7 May, 2015
The only problem with G & L's that I've played is that they've all been 7.5 radius which doesn't work for me personally. The craftsmanship and tone have been excellent (and they look rad too) There is a bass in the local store that is really nice (the radius doesn't bother me for bass)
My one remaining ibby is the 1520. It has a 18/20mm neck profile (almost all now are 17/19mm which is just too thin) That's a life-er for me. I'd have to be really desperate to sell it. Hink calls it "swimming pool blue" , pretty accurate. Still struggle with parts for everyday play though. There is a burr on one of the saddles, too lazy to call Rich and get the part. Should take care of that....I never break string but do on that one now. 30 bones is a worthy price.
My one remaining ibby is the 1520. It has a 18/20mm neck profile (almost all now are 17/19mm which is just too thin) That's a life-er for me. I'd have to be really desperate to sell it. Hink calls it "swimming pool blue"
, pretty accurate. Still struggle with parts for everyday play though. There is a burr on one of the saddles, too lazy to call Rich and get the part. Should take care of that....I never break string but do on that one now. 30 bones is a worthy price.-
- KVRAF
- 6804 posts since 20 Jan, 2008
In my early years I was convinced that thinner was better. I was so convinced I'd always play as fast as I could on thin necks perpetuating my myth while not even trying to on thicker necks. When I finally played a V neck after years of dismissing them I was rather impressed. That being said I'll never buy a guitar with a "U" or "Boat" neck.
I've always tolerated Ibby necks at best and it has nothing to do with the thickness and everything to do with the radius. Even now I find the Variax which is very much an ibby neck.... tolerable. If I could I'd swap it for a fender slim C, standard C or modern C. My hands and my playing style agree with those types of necks. I don't do sweeps that much if at all. I never over bend (my limit is one whole step) and I can tap as well.
How natural a neck feels is more about how much experience you have playing a particular neck.
I've always tolerated Ibby necks at best and it has nothing to do with the thickness and everything to do with the radius. Even now I find the Variax which is very much an ibby neck.... tolerable. If I could I'd swap it for a fender slim C, standard C or modern C. My hands and my playing style agree with those types of necks. I don't do sweeps that much if at all. I never over bend (my limit is one whole step) and I can tap as well.
How natural a neck feels is more about how much experience you have playing a particular neck.
Dell Vostro i9 64GB Ram Windows 11 Pro, Cubase, Bitwig, Mixcraft Guitar Pod Go, Linntrument Nektar P1, Novation Launchpad
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PurpleCatfishBettie PurpleCatfishBettie https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=211816
- KVRAF
- 3278 posts since 22 Jul, 2009
..getting an 'AXL Marquee SRO in Lake Placid Blue'. this thing went from around $143 on amazon, then to $194, then dropped to around $120 and then $113, so i couldn't help but get it. now it's back to $194 again, so go figure...
It's an 'S'-shaped guitar with 3-pickup setup, but with a humbucker at the bridge. It's got a blue headstock, rosewood fretboard, and all of the pickups are alnico. this could be tight/lit/rad.
It's an 'S'-shaped guitar with 3-pickup setup, but with a humbucker at the bridge. It's got a blue headstock, rosewood fretboard, and all of the pickups are alnico. this could be tight/lit/rad.
