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Post subject: Brand New Strat-Some Questions
Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:14 pm
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I just got a Strat (Standard Strat, the entry model), and it is also my first electric guitar.

I'm pretty excited, but I had a few questions:

1. What is the difference between the two tone knobs?

2. I know the pickup switch changes which pickups are being used, but what does each position do?

3. My guitar school (Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago) offers a class specifically about electric guitars. I can only fit two classes into my schedule this year, and one of them is the Guitar II Rep. class. Should I make the other one the Electric Guitar class or go with a general class like Fingerboard Theory or Lead Guitar?

I know the third one doesn't have a definite answer, I'm just looking for advice.

Thanks,
Dylan


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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:31 pm
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My recommendation is to take basic guitar classes that emphasize actual playing, and not just studying-a-book learning. The more time your fingers are on the fingerboard when you are learning, the better. Music theory and "book learning" is great, but you will get more out of it when you become a more profecient musician.

Just one opinion based on very little info ...


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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:44 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
My recommendation is to take basic guitar classes that emphasize actual playing, and not just studying-a-book learning. The more time your fingers are on the fingerboard when you are learning, the better. Music theory and "book learning" is great, but you will get more out of it when you become a more profecient musician.

Just one opinion based on very little info ...


I already am. I'm talking about a second class-I've been taking guitar classes with an acoustic guitar since January. (With a break in the summer).


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:06 am
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Welcome on forum! :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Brand New Strat-Some Questions
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:15 am
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Dylnuge wrote:
1. What is the difference between the two tone knobs?

2. I know the pickup switch changes which pickups are being used, but what does each position do?

1. One is for the neck pickup, the other for the middle pickup.
2. Neck, Neck/Middle, Middle, Middle/Bridge, Bridge


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:46 am
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Welcome to the wild and woolly world of the Fender Stratocaster. You made a great choice, and I wish you lots of fun with your new instrument. I'll attempt to answer your first two questions, but in reverse order:

2. I know the pickup switch changes which pickups are being used, but what does each position do?

From top to bottom:

1. Neck pickup only
2. Neck & middle pickups
3. Middle pickup only
4. Middle & bridge pickups
5. Bridge pickup only

The bridge pickup is the brightest of the three, providing the higher tone usually associated with "lead" guitar. The neck pickup is the richest-sounding, very useful for a soulful blues tone. The other settings give you something in between. The electic coils of the middle pickup are reverse wound relative to the neck and bridge pickups. This means that positions 2 and 4 are less prone to hum and feedback than any of the single pickups on its own. Experiment and see what sounds you like.

1. What is the difference between the two tone knobs?

The top tone knob controls the neck pickup, and the bottom one controls the middle pickup. The bridge pickup has no knob of its own because it is set at maximum treble. Again experiment with these to find something you like. There's no wrong answer!

I'm sure some more experienced players can give you a better answer, but I think that covers the basics. Rock on!


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:19 am
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1. One controls treble and one controls something else. Buy a video on guitar playing to find out other stuff and how to play.


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:05 am
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Thanks everyone!

I assume that the settings on the switch work so that the neck pickup option is closest to the neck pickup, and the bridge pickup option is closest to the bridge pickup. Sounds easy to remember.

I'll have fun experimenting with those settings.


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:31 am
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Dylnuge wrote:
I assume that the settings on the switch work so that the neck pickup option is closest to the neck pickup, and the bridge pickup option is closest to the bridge pickup.

Neck-pickup position is all the way up
Bridge-pickup position is all the way down


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:36 am
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Any doubts, you can always scratch or tap the top of the pickups with a pick: you will hear through your amp which ones are switched on.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:03 am
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as far as lessons go make sure you include theory. Theres learnt by ear guitarists everywhere, and not too many classically trained guitarists. The best way to master any form of music is to know theory and every renown player has some theory training and it gives you more options when you graduate. Would you employ a surgeon who had picked his skills up along the way or a plumber. By the same standards you wont get session recording work without either a masters in musical theory or has appeared on previous hit records. You can and will pick up traditional electric guitar licks anywhere just like the majority of us did and still are doing. Your ear will develop quicker through theory training not just learning pitch but intervals too and the relations between notes for certain phrases and how interchangeable they are.
Your fingerboard skills will only improve through hands on time. The more time you spend playing the better you will become dont waste time and money on lessons that are nothing more than a jam. Sure any respectable teacher is going to want to see you play in order to assess where you've improved and where you need help. To put this in perspective a previous kung fu sifu of mine would spend no time practicing anything with his students, he said "your here to learn, practice in your own time".
Ive just paid a piano player friend a small fortune to teach me theory after playing 20 years, im struggling to learn it now and soon get frustrated and want to let rip on my guitar. Wish i'd stuck with it when i was 15.

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:04 pm
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russianracehorse wrote:
The electic coils of the middle pickup are reverse wound relative to the neck and bridge pickups. This means that positions 2 and 4 are less prone to hum and feedback than any of the single pickups on its own.

This is not the case for the Standard Stratocaster we're talking about here.


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:08 pm
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nikininja wrote:
... as far as lessons go make sure you include theory. Theres learnt by ear guitarists everywhere, and not too many classically trained guitarists. The best way to master any form of music is to know theory...

I agree with you. However, this is thread is for someone who is trying to find the pickup selector switch on their guitar ... not someone who is exactly contemplating their class selection at the Berklee School of Music.
:wink:


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:17 pm
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On my squier strat the switch controls all pickups and wherever the switch is out of the six settings is which pickups are on. Mine is from like 05 or 06 though.


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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:21 pm
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01GT eibach wrote:
... However, this thread is for someone who is trying to find the pickup selector switch on their guitar ...


Hahaha! Well, that's a kinda brutal way to put it, but... :lol:

Mind you, I read Nikininja's post with strong agreement. I come into the self-taught category and, my goodness, I had an ignorant teacher! To this day I am a feeble sight-reader - I virtually have to follow sheet music with my finger like a five year old.

All of that is worth saying, because you so often hear the view, "Jimi Hendrix couldn't read music, so I don't need to either". Even Jimi was trying to learn when he died - and you'd never hear a novelist boasting that they couldn't read and write.

There is no such thing as surplus knowledge and skill. We never stop learning - but the sooner we start, the better. So to the OP, grab all the theory you can get hold of.

I'll get down off my soapbox now...

Cheers - C


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