I primarily play 60s-style surf rock (I've got a Jagmaster and a Mexi-Strat for the job), and while I've been rather pleased with both guitars, my Mexican Strat just sounds sort of... tinny. I have to hit the strings really hard to get that surf/country "twang" that Fenders are famous for, and I was just wondering if there was a remedy to the solution - perhaps a new set of pickups or a certain type of string?

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My guitars...

-Squier Jagmaster
-Fender MIM Stratocaster
-Squier Classic Vibe 50s P-bass
-Gretsch Junior Jet bass
-Yamaha F335 Acoustic

Try the Custom Shop 57/62 pickup set.

If that don't "twang" you, nothin' will!



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Texas Specials have a really twangy bridge, but I don't know if that would be the sort of twang you're after or not. It's more along the lines of country than surf.

Pickups are going to make a much bigger difference than strings. Strings all basically sound the same, the main difference in tone can come from what gauge you use. You'll notice a difference between 9s and 12s. That said it's not a huge difference and adjusting the EQ on your amp has more to do with your tone than that.

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Seymour Duncan "Twangbanger" pickups should do the trick!

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MIM Std Tele, MIM HSS Strat, Homemade Mongrel Tele, Blues Jr, Champ600, coupla pedals...sweeeet!

Hi verbeke7 i have a mex deluxe strat that i ended up placeing fat 50s pickups in,they opened the sound nice tight bass and smooth treble they made a good guitar great hope this helps.Cheers from aus.

Yes good pickups is the answer

+1

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Hi verbeke7,

If you want some nice twang for not too much money, try the Fender Tex Mex pickups. I have a set in my RW 60s, and they come standard in other models like the JV, and sound fantastic to me. For half the cost of other Fender sets, I think that the Tex Mex are great, very nice variety of sounds, yet very under rated pickups. I would even say that I like the Tex Mex better than the Texas Specials, as far as authentic Strat tones (especially "twanginess"), and I've used both in Mex Strats.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

Simple solution: Have you checked your pickup height? What amp and settings are you using?

Is this a Mexican Standard that you have? I once got one to sound twangy after lowering the stock pickups just a little bit.

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

You may also try wiring your neck and bridge pickups together like it is on a Classic Player 50 strat. That gives it that tele "twangy" sound.

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Squier Classic Vibe thinline telecaster
Squier JM Black1 partscaster
Line 6 Pod XT Live
Peavey VT Classic 212
Vox AC30 Amplug

FWIW, some strings ARE" twangyer"
The Dean Markley Blue Steel strings are an example
http://www.deanmarkley.com/Strings/Elec ... elEl.shtml

They even made my Les Paul twangy (which I didn't like).

Try Tonerider Surfaris. Under $100 bucks.

Tonerider makes incredible pickups that are relatively inexpensive. The Pure Vintage for strat are great - but for even more 50's twang, try the Surfaris.

http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/stratpickups.html

Check harmony central review section for both sets.

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Guitar+Pickup/brand/Tonerider

They also make an incredible set of Tele pickups - the Vintage Plus.

A set of The Fender custom shop 1969's, they are plenty twangy.

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Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

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If you can find them, try Darco Funky strings. They are the brightest sounding strings I ever put on a guitar.

NBG