At the risk of sounding pompous, I can get any of my Strat pickups to sound like HBs on demand.

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You dig?

A Strat with humbuckers still wont sound like a Les Paul.

Nevin1985, I love both, so that is one reason I have been building these Strats. They are the best of both worlds, LP tones and still lots of Strat quack and chime. Maybe you saw them on a thread I started a while back? A Strat has so much more flavor than a Les Paul, but then the LP has the beefy humbucker tone....both of which I love.....

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Don't give in to the Darkside Luke

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

OH No!!! Apostasy on a Fender forum!!!!! I have quite a number of Gibsons, and I always thought the Strat was more versatile! The Gibson = 3-way switch. The Strat = 5-way switch! LOL! So there is those cool sounds you get in #2 and #4. I love the funky sounds of those positions when playing some types of music. I love the full fat sound and harmonics of a humbucker in the neck for Jazzy/ blues stuff. What kind of Strat do you have again? And how long ya had your LP?

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Why not convert one Stratocaster to a HSS, HSH, HH, PP, HP, or some other configuration and another to SSS. If you do not have 2 Strats, buy one for a project guitar? Difference is the spice of life and makes for interesting tonal possibilities.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

When I got my Les Paul I didn't touch my Strat for a couple of months just so I could get well acquainted with the 3 humbucker arrangement but I never ever tired of the sound of single coils or got bored with them. I'm another one of the die-hard single coil Strats only crowd,the idea of humbuckers in a Strat doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

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'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.

Seems like a lot are bored with single coils... well, at least the Strat type...
Most acts I stumble upon usually use a Gibson or a Gibson style guitar like Schecter or PRS.
I'm a blues and classic rock fan and for every John Mayer you can find a Joe Bonamassa that has made a crossover to Les Pauls. It's been a while since I've found a classic rock inspired group that uses a Strat...

Moreover, most guitar companies that come with a new shape put a humbucker in the bridge of their guitar. How many Vs or Explorers have you seen with a Strat pickup in the bridge? I'm sure that Fender has designers that would jump on the opportunity to make radical shapes or just bring back the Musiclander back from the dead... but come on, too many guitarists won't be ready to use something radical for their glassy cleans or bluesy leads...

And that's how you get stagnation in innovative SC guitar models and saturation in the humbucker equipped guitar market.

I love single coils and kind of bored of hearing Les Pauls on too many songs that need a touch of lightness and snappiness, but to each his own and I'm pretty happy to be part of a minority.

And to answer my own question on Vs with Strat single coils:



Byrd guitars. They are real.


Sorry for the long post...

I will have to think about this for a while.... a lot are bored? and Most acts...... ummmm

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

Neither Fast Eddie Clarke (motorhead), Kirk Hammet (Garage days re-revisited, a lot of Master of Puppets) or Max Cavalera (sepultura, arise album) ever had any problem getting a metal sound out of singlecoils.
It's all in how you use em.

I for one wish that Martian would expound on his methods a bit more. Cmon sir, no need to be cryptic, we want to hear of your advanced alien sciences.

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No no and no

edited

One option, if youre really on the fence about putting buckers in your strat, would be to put in pickups like the DiMarzio Pro Track or the Seymour Suncan JB Jr. and install a coil tap. That's what i did, and now my baby goes from H S H to SSS in the push of a button!! (quite literally i might add ). they may not sound just like the single coils you have now, but hey, you are looking for a change arent you ?

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Gear:

Heavily Modified Olympic White 2007 MIM Strat (my baby!!)
Fender Showmaster 2003
Bugera V55 HD
Peavey XXX Cab
Vox Satchurator
Ibanez TS-9
Dunlop Crybaby
DeltaLab Digital Delay

Try playing a Strat with the EMG David Gilmour pick-up set.
Clean with lots of tone control...
Chaz

I also like variety and enjoy the difference between Strat and LP tones....I have several strategies to 'spice up' my boring habitual tones to keep things fresh and interesting.....Try adding some 'air' with a hollow semi or semi solid......or go the P90 route...my Jazzmaster has a very interesting sound.

try a set of fender noisless. that might soothe your pain and if you want to go back to the origonals then it wont be a big deal.