Thank you sir. I do believe that the MIM's are the closest things to 60's-70's era Strats you can get, without spending the bank.

)

A Clapton w/ either Gold Lace Sensors, or SCN's...Basically what you have there is a '57RI with cojones. Great maple neck profile, extremely versatile electronics, and you can mobilize the trem if you care to.

If you shop around, you might be able to acquire a used model at a decent price and then Martianize it to your taste.

Somebody posted a video elsewhere of Bonamassa playing a Strat ( ), and I was quick to observe that it was a Clapton.

With respect to the comparison between MIM's and MIA's....with respect to the mass in an MIA with the vintage trem block, you WILL do better with the latter.

Keep those cards and letters coming to Martian, won't you Im trying to persuade him to write a book.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Martian worded like the pro you are.lol I have to say you brought up a point that I just read a whole 8 pages from an old post on Vhlinks.com. Roger Crimm who is a tech for Peavey was on it and it was during the time that Peavey was making the Wolfgang and he said exactly what you did that wood does not play as big a role in the sound of the guitar as most people think and that electronics probably have a bigger impact and he kind of got blasted for saying it. Now you stress the same thing and I have to agree with you.

When I swapped out the stock pups on my 62 reissue tele and put in Dimarzio fast tracks the whole guitar changed drastically and was more SG than Tele. The thing with humbuckers to me is that the palette of tones is not as broad as single coils which you can dress up much better.

I also favor rosewood necks and that probably is the biggest role where wood has an effect on tone as a maple neck is brighter and I know exactly what you mean by the snap.

Well we can consider ourselves lucky that we have Martian who is not only a great guy but the electronics Guru that helps out everyone and I have yet to see a question he could not answer. Martian just let me know when you want to open up a shop as I am waiting on you.

Great thread!

I'm pondering a stock 62ri Olympic White/Rosewood or a Classic 60s (SB/RW) with 57/62s. Want alternative/comparison pups and neck to my '09 MIA Standard (which I like very much) and these two stand out for me.

Thank you!

I'm not familiar with the interview of which you speak but obviously, it is always a plus to hear that a major, respected manufacturer (or their representative) reinforces my point. Here's further proof which segues me to a profound point you brought up and is the crux of Larry DiMarzio's success: He reasoned that if the pickup is powerful enough, it will make any guitar sound as beastly and beyond that of a stock Les Paul because the pickup will be 'hitting' the 'front' of the amp harder where the pickup itself will take over, thus making whatever model or brand the guitar may be of much less consequence. Of course, with experiment and experience, he made and makes all his pickups with a predetermined sound. I'd venture to say that millions of players would readily agree with this assessment and for those who don't, all one has to do is point to the tonality before and after amplification of the paper thin, porous wood and hardware of most Ibanezs. I've seen time after time where when amplified, they just blow the doors off stock Les Pauls.

Conversely, and I see where you're coming from, with humbuckers, each coil would have to be wound rather lean in an effort to maintain the higher frequencies and faster 'report' they inherently lose in order to become humbucking. Hence, to retain the faster 'report', this is where the ceramic magnets (vs. alnicos) come in. And sidestepping the magnet type, this also supports your point about the inherent transparency (if I'm interpreting your statement correctly) single coils have which humbuckers as of this typing, still do not. However, and of note is the fact that DiMarzio and Kinman by fine tuning two coils to different windings, etc. are doing a great job nowadays of making humbuckers to mimic predetermined single coil models. They are definitely getting there but neither is perfect yet. Who will win? We'll have to stay tuned!

I truly appreciate your kind words. As only a fool would claim to know all the answers, I will say this, if I don't know an answer (and I'll be the first to admit it as I have nothing to prove), I guarantee you, I will thoroughly investigate it, find it and study it to the point to where I can hopefully give some sense of an erudite answer! To give a balanced presentation though, stuff which I personally find an utter waste of time such as for example, "How many machine heads did Kluson make in 1954 destined specifically for blond Esquires?", or some equally inane minutiae, I'll defer to others who hold such things in a higher regard.

As to opening a shop, I promise, if ever I get the urge, you'll be the first to know!

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You dig?

Just make sure it's somewhere near Liverpool!

My paternal ancestry is from England (Birmingham to be exact). I'd love to not only see England but that would be something to give a shop a go there!

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You dig?

[quote="Martian"][quote="straycat113"]:

In short, much as a painter with a pallette and brush, all of the elements in these discussion illustrate a variety of ways in which to obtain tonal colorations in one's music, and it would not be beyond reason to have an assortment of 'colors' at one's disposal.

I personally have had, at one time or another, an assortment of guitars, each possessing one or more of the characteristics illustrated in the foregoing discussions. That laundry list has been revealed, all or in part, in the course of many discussions of the past two years and need not be reitterated here.

What ever is 'right' becomes the exclusivity of the creator alone. What we enjoy herein are the contributions which make so many things possible.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"