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Post subject: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:33 am
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I was recently lucky enough to pick up a second hand Eric Clapton Blackie Strat (the Artist model, not the Custom Shop version) at a good price. It had been bought new by an old guy who had fancied learning to play the guitar (yes, really) but he gave up after finding out you don't get to be great overnight. He sold the guitar on to another bloke who then decided he preferred his Les Paul so he left it in its case for a few years, again unplayed. What I eventually bought, then, was effectively a brand new guitar.

From the start it felt great to play - the neck is a dream - it just needed the action raising a bit to suit my playing style. But plugged in, it sounded shrill and biting. Pretty uninspiring, to be honest, and certainly not what I expected. My other Strats have a lot fuller sound to them.

My first step was to replace the TBX pot. Setting it in the lower part of its travel (1 to 5) did tame the top end a bit but anything above that was really not for me. So out came the TBX, to be replaced by a standard 250k (audio taper) and 0.022uF arrangement. Now we were getting somewhere with the sound. As a bonus the new pot was a lot easier to adjust on the fly with a quick touch of the finger - by comparison the TBX pot was stiff, especially around the centre detent.

The next tweak was to change the 0.022 to 0.047uF and this got me even nearer to where I wanted to be.

Finally, I adjusted the pickups way down, to 12/64ths on the bass side and 10/64ths on the treble side.

Now I'm there! The sound I've been after: full and soulful, with less piercing top end but still plenty of volume. The master tone control is now a delight to use, and the mid-boost is an added bonus that I'm still exploring.

Apologies if this has gone on a bit, but if any of it helps someone else, then so much the better.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 9:21 am
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Eric Clapton's personal guitars lack off the TBX since March 2000.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:31 pm
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I had the PUPs lowered on mine too but not sure how low. I’ll have to check with my luthier lowering really helped bring the tone to life.

The guitar is a beast and has its own tone. I love mine and love the vintage specs.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 1:43 pm
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How would you describe the tone of your EC Strat now?


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:22 am
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I'm curious too about the tone you've achieved


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 3:07 pm
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The best way I can describe it is that it's more soulful and full-bodied than it was when I first bought the guitar. More bottom end, certainly, and less 'ice pick' top end - so more balanced overall. There's still plenty of treble to be had from the bridge pickup and the intermediate positions, so I reckon it's a more usable set of tones, for me, anyway.

Of course, your guitar might not be set up the same and your personal taste in tone might be completely different to mine, but all the changes I've made are easily reversible and cost me next to nothing. I'm really happy with the guitar now.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 4:04 pm
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An update: I thought I was happy with the guitar... while practising at home. When I used it in the context of the funk and soul band I play in, in the rehearsal room and then (for a couple of songs) at a gig, I wasn't so convinced.

The active circuit just didn't seem to get on with my pedal board and amp. Perhaps it was because I use a compressor pedal pretty much all the time, but the sound was still just too brittle, sterile even.

I absolutely love the feel of the guitar with its vintage tuners and wide string spacing, the neck profile is perfect for my hands and unplugged it's a very lively instrument to play. So moving it on didn't seem the best option, though I did consider it briefly - even went to try out one of the new American Original 50s Strats, but I didn't really bond with that, for some reason.

Ok then, Plan B: I removed the electronics lock, stock and barrel, so they can go back in one day, if I ever change my mind or do decide to sell the guitar. In went CTS 500k pots all round, with a 0.022uF tone capacitor.

The result is great! No more brittleness. Just decent, honest to goodness Stratiness. Yes, I've lost the mid boost, but to be honest that was never really the appeal of the guitar for me.

And in the band context? It absolutely nails it. I took it to Saturday night's gig as a backup to my usual Custom Shop Deluxe Strat, and ended up using it for the whole night because the electrical interference in the club was awful and the CS buzzed loudly, no matter where I stood. The Noiseless pickups in the Blackie were a godsend.

Now I'm sure some might say it's kind of missing the point of the Clapton Strat, to take out the active circuitry. But I've now got a beautifully built, comfortable and great sounding guitar, which happens to look pretty good too. What's not to like? Like I said, I can always stick the original electronics back in some day, if I want to.

Thanks again for reading.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:12 am
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Just curious to know what strings you are using. have you made a change with them, and are they 9 or 10 gauge? Your thoughts?
TIA.

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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:46 am
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Fender Strat Brat wrote:
Just curious to know what strings you are using. have you made a change with them, and are they 9 or 10 gauge?

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies (10-46), same as I always use on my Strats and Teles.


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:49 pm
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stiggie_9 wrote:
Fender Strat Brat wrote:
Just curious to know what strings you are using. have you made a change with them, and are they 9 or 10 gauge?

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies (10-46), same as I always use on my Strats and Teles.
Thanks for your reply, stiggie_9. I can relate with my using those strings and noiseless pickups. I like the combo for the purpose I require. That’s not to say I don’t like other combos having played where they also do the job as intended.

It’s like ice cream. I like a lot of flavours, some more than others; but, for consistency, I tend to stick to one while being tempted by others. :roll:
Being familiar and comfortable with your strings and pups is certainly an advantage in chasing your tone IMHO.

How much do the strings play a part? Look at an acoustic for that example. Not hard to hear a mismatch there. YMMV. Some will argue that electronics have difficulty in reproducing the natural tone, and they turn to miking the guitar for a closer natural reproduction. Hard to think that an electric has a unique and natural tone, but they do. Is it the key to reaching your tonal utopia? Maybe, maybe not. There are a lot of sweet electric guitars made of many materials that have no desirable natural tone, or maybe they do.

On the other hand, electronics can enhance the sound. Strings + electronics = an abundance of pleasurable choices. A matchup of strings and pickups is not unlike a matchup of strings and microphones IMHO. The problem is when adding or changing pups and/or electronics it’s like the chicken and egg question of what comes first, and other’s experience may be subjective; however it’s a start. I think deciding on the pups and strings first is a good start. Just like any hot rodding, start with the big things, and then do the tweaking as you are showing here. :P
Have many good times with your quiet EC stiggie_9, and thanks for posting your progress.

FSB

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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:53 pm
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Another quick update. Decided to experiment a bit more...

I tweaked the circuit to a CTS 500k log pot on the volume, with CTS 250k log tone pots and a 0.022uF orange drop capacitor. This was great sounding but the sound became just a little muddy as I rolled down the volume. Not drastically, but enough for me to look into treble bleed circuits.

After a few trials the one I've settled on is based on the circuit from the American Professional Strat. I've used a 1000pF capacitor in parallel with a 150k resistor, then a 22k resistor in series with that RC pair. This assembly connects across the left hand and middle lugs of the volume pot.

The result seems great so far. The taper of the volume pot is slightly affected - it has to be turned down just a little more to achieve the same reduction in volume - but I'll get used to that pretty quickly. The tone stays bright and vibrant all the way down the volume range now - just perfect.

Happy. Until the next tweak!


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Post subject: Re: Clapton Strat story
Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:37 pm
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[quote="stiggie_9"]Another quick update. Decided to experiment a bit more...

I tweaked the circuit to a CTS 500k log pot on the volume, with CTS 250k log tone pots and a 0.022uF orange drop capacitor. This was great sounding but the sound became just a little muddy as I rolled down the volume. Not drastically, but enough for me to look into treble bleed circuits.

After a few trials the one I've settled on is based on the circuit from the American Professional Strat. I've used a 1000pF capacitor in parallel with a 150k resistor, then a 22k resistor in series with that RC pair. This assembly connects across the left hand and middle lugs of the volume pot.

The result seems great so far. The taper of the volume pot is slightly affected - it has to be turned down just a little more to achieve the same reduction in volume - but I'll get used to that pretty quickly. The tone stays bright and vibrant all the way down the volume range now - just perfect.

Happy. Until the next

I had a bone nut installed in my EC - not sure of how much of a difference it makes with the tone but I’ve played an EC in the store and it sounded shrill as well (with the synthetic nut). My own EC is very mellow sounding and warm. Not shrill at all with a great sustain. I use NYXL Daddarios 9’s for strings and it sounds great. Also had the PUPs lowered as well.


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