I have a MIM Strat lefty, can anyone tell me how to get sustain out of this guitar. I'm thinking of putting a new set of pickups in it,HSH to beef it up. Would that do the trick ,or do I adjust the Texas Specials I have in it now. Thanks David

Google search says:

If the guitar is well constructed then sustain shouldn't be an issue. If it isn't sustaining sufficiently then its because something is loose and causing the guitar to lose energy. Is the neck a bolt on neck? If so make sure that everything is tight. If the bridge properly secured? Make sure that every bolt and screw is tight. If anything jiggles or rattles you will lose energy.

Beyond that you can increase your sustain through the use of effects, amps, etc. Typically sustain is caused by overdrive or feedback. A tube amp with high gain, or an overdrive/disortion pedal will dramatically help.
Source(s):
http://grandweepers.wordpress.com

_________________
Fender Forum member # 152,101 and proud of it!

I have no friends here,,,-snif- snif-

It could also be the guitar needs a setup.

_________________
No no and no

Also the nut could affect sustain a little bit, If your guitar has some kind of not really hard nut then it will loose sustain faster...

Hello Tuners,

Firstly, welcome to the Fender Forum.

Run you guitar with all controls at 10
and get pickup heigth optimal.
This should help.

Cheers.

Yes a good set up and another thing that helps is a good high mass bridge block.
http://www.specialtyguitars.com/trem.html

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I agree with this, but will emphasize, the FIRST thing you need to do is get your guitar set up properly.

After hitting that starting point you can determine if you want to replace the trem block, or install a different nut. But it is key to optimize your guitar in its current configuration first. Modifying a poorly set up guitar is a waste of time effort and money. You won't realize the benefits of any other mods. in fact you may be happy enough, and leave it be.

Editted: I actually have one of these blocks in my strat, and Civ is very right, you won't believe the difference, it really is that good.

Double post - sorry

Does your guitar have the pre-06 tremblock?

_________________
Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Build up your hand strength. Grab a note and hold it for as long as you can without letting off. You could refret the guitar with bigger frets, which would help too, but it's expensive and it changes the feel of your guitar.
You could beef up your tone and build your hand strength by switching to a heavier string gauge, but that would require a set up and on an MIM Strat (I assume yours is like mine and has Medium Jumbo frets) it may be hard to play with anything heavier than .11's because of the smallish frets.

_________________
Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

Those Callaham blocks are the best mod you can do to a strat. Compared to a pickup swap, the block is a far better return on your investment. I also recommend the Callaham bridge saddles as well. Do those two mods along with a good setup and you won't believe it's the same guitar!

The Callaham I believe are double the weight of the MIM upgrade Strat blocks.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

All good stuff. And a compressor helps too, if you like it.

_________________
James Burton Upgrade Telecaster
Hot Rodded Am Fat Strat Texas Special (now featuring Kinman Traditional II pickups)
Fender Blues Jr.
SWR California Blonde
Pedals Pedals Pedals

Some good answers here.

Number one reason why a guitar doesn't sustain: it's a guitar. It's not a saxophone, it doesn't have the string length of a piano.

Number one reason why a guitar might not sustain as much as a guitar should: It's not set up right. Especially on a Stratocaster, there is a delicate balance between nut, neck and bridge, and if you don't have it dialed in, the guitar feels lifeless.

My experience is that it's almost always the set-up. Other possible culprits: Pickups set too high. Crummy amp. Crummy strings (or you just forgot to change them in the last year).

On a Strat, a Callham trem block makes a huge difference, but that's not going to fix a guitar that isn't set-up right to start with.