Maybe you could borrow another amp to try so as to delete that question. It could very well be that you need a good equalizer to adjust some levels. I know that Martian is a big supporter of them and Martian knows his stuff!!

No. two separate amps either side of the stage or room.my tone just sounds thin even for single coils. I'm sure it's EQ but please all your comments are very welcome. My tone is a sort of dynamic crunch but lacks balls! Iv ya get me lol

Yep, EQ issue. EQ is something I admit to be dumb about, so I can't tell you what frequencies to boost or cut for a Strat to compete with humbuckers. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

p.s. Have you checked your pickup heights? Not too low or too high?

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

currently it's setup to fender pickup height measurements

All other things being equal (similar amp wattages, pedals, etc) Hot single coils will complete with humbuckers.

I've got a set of Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in my Tele and I hold my own against humbucker equipped guitars easily.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Thought about that or some stacked humbuckers but don't wanna lose any "stratiness" the reason I play one

Might have to go with a slightly distorted or driven Telecaster!!

Noooo! I won't be convertid I refuse haha

Duncan also makes the Quarter Pounders for Strats. Don't worry you won't lose your "Stratiness", your Strat will just have more "nutz" to draw upon when needed.

_________________
"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Just another opinion:

Could it be your band is playing to loud. For a while my band went through a volume wars phase. I would turn up to hear me, everyone would turn up to hear themselves, I would turn up some more, they would turn up, and this would continue until someone lost, which usually was me.

So, what did I do, I went and bought a Fender Twin Reverb. Now I win. What did the lead guitarist do, he bought a Peavey Triple XXX halfstack. So he wins.
Our bass player promptly realized we were both idiots, so he won because he didn't spend any money.

Eventually, we learned to turn down, and in the event we wanted to hear ourselves better each guitarist got his own type of monitor, be that a speaker in front of you or in ear, it really helped keep the volume in check and our tone got better because we snapped out of our gain war, and we became tighter as a band.

Anyway, that's just what we did, by the way, before the Fender Twin I was using a 150w Line6 2x12.

_________________
94 Fender Strat MIM
08 MIM Fender Telecaster
Fender Pro 185
www.newdilemma.com

I'm not in a band, I play only for me. I win.

Good thread guys!

Good point!
I still think the OP's problem might be solved by EQ adjustments to his and bandmates amps so they sit well with each other in the mix. And the point above about volume is right on the money too. Think about Occam's razor: the simplest strategy is the best one.

Why should the OP have to go out of his way to spend time and money on pickup changes that might or might not work while the bandmate with the humbuckers gets to just sit and watch from the sidelines? Why has no one suggested the other guitarist to get different guitar or swap in some weaker output hums or P-90's?

I'd suggest talking about tone and mix levels with the other guitarist and work out a compromise. A plain old Strat and a humbucker equipped guitar really can get along in the same band. I'm sure we've heard hundereds of bands do it before. Heck even the last band I was in was a Standard MIJ Strat and Gibson SG combo and we worked it out and rocked.

Good luck!

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Have you tried setting your amps bass and mids on ten and backing off treble to 6or7?I'm not familiar with your amp but if it has a presence control try putting that on 10.Also set your master volume on 10 and just adjust your levels using the other volume controls.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I would try to dial in your mids and highs. When I was in my teens, everyone decided that mids needed to be scooped with highs and bass cranked on dirty settings. I played that way forever, but found I get a better tone with more mids and highs with less bass. Single coil pups will pick some high frequencies that your buddy's humbuckers wont. Try to find a clean setting that cuts and add a little drive to it, and adjust appropriately.