+1

Looks like a weenie-waggin' contest to me.



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

there is a joke here but i cant come up with anything.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

You guys took this to a whole new level, I appreciate it. Unfortunately, the artists listed as EMG users do not have the sound that I would want to produce with this particular guitar, and I can say the same for most of the Seymour Duncan's, apart from Gorgoroth maybe. But as I said,
I've heard many positive feedback on the BKP's, like the sound and I wouldn't need to change pickguards. Frankly, I don't like EMG's designs and Duncan's just seem a tad on the !@$ side, although I don't exactly know how to explain this. I've asked a question on the BKP forum, and they recommended the Miracle Man & Trilogy Suite HSS configuration for a sweet raw sound. Also I like the fact that they are made in the UK. Just feels right. But thank you for taking the time to offer alternatives.

Now, I'd like to ask another more technical question regarding the nut of the guitar. Not this Strat, but another one with an identical neck to this Special. I recently broke it (the end where the low E fits chipped of while installing 13 gauge strings because I was a bit drunk while doing so). I wanted to try out 13's just for the feel and I broke it. Now, I would like to replace it, but I don't know what kind of nut to buy from eBay, and moreover how to remove the remaining old nut and put in the new without #$@*&!% up the neck. As I hear, it's an easy operation, but I wouldn't want to rush myself. I would like to widen the new nut a bit on the low E so that I may fit 12's or 13's properly (is this necessary?), but I don't know if all types of nuts are able to be modified. On eBay I've found something called "Locking Nuts" and frankly I've never used those and don't know what is they're purpose. And there are regular brass or plastic nuts which seems a bit inappropriate. The Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster nuts seem to be metal and look sweet, but I don't know if they could be modded, or could they fit a 12 gauge set of strings? I know these are n00b questions, but the only parts of my guitars I've ever changed are the strings, so it's good to get the proper info.

Thanks..

locking nuts need a tremolo with fine tuners on it so those are out. for more info on these look at floyd rose tremolos.
ok now for your question answers,
i suggest either bone nut or tusq nuts. the tusq is a graphite nut that "self lubes"
as the strings move within the groves. good for those that do heavy bending and trem work.
the bone nut is a great choice too as long as its cut right.

just curious as to why the use for such heavy strings?

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

+1 on the Tusq nut.
GraphTech make them, and they offer various nut materials, but the "Black Tusq", as mentioned, self-lubes, and is really great. I replaced my cracked nut (not my head ) with one, and have been a happy puppy ever since.
If you do replace it yourself, be aware that the underside of the nut is radiused, so any sanding-down to size needs to be done from the top. Also, do not glue the nut in place (contrary to some beliefs), sand it so it snug fits in place, then the pressure of the strings, and the fit, will keep it goin' nowhere!

WRT the tuners, I'm not aware of issues with heavier guages and slippage, but I can also recommend the Schaller locking tuners just for it being a practical (and good-looking) addition to a strat (and trust me, there will be NO slippage).
* why such heavy strings bro ?

So we know where he stands on his end of the ruler. Now when it comes to nuts, not that he is one, Niki has designed one which might be of interest. He might jump back into this with it if......he hasn't ruled himself out of this discussion entirely.

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"Another day in paradise!"

It's nice to see the pickup company reps chiming in on this thread with those glowing endorsements.

The end all be all truth about pickups is that it's all a matter of taste. It's like arguing about anything that is subjective. It's a waste of time.

The better question shouldn't be, "What are the best pickups?" It should be, "What are the worst?"

they pay some of us well.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Paris....those aren't reps. They are Forum members with lots of time on their hands. Though the contributions are valuable, in the end it all comes down to a matter of what your 'ear' hears, in the pursuit of tone. This was pretty much confirmed by Stratinni in his later comments. Apparently neither EMG or Duncan have what he is listening for.

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"Another day in paradise!"

exactly doc.
i dont know if this helps but i was contacted by a newer pickup company
the other day. D.allen pickups. go see if david has what your looking for or if hes willing to make up something for you.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

for clarification, i was only responding , really to the one sentence i quoted.
To make the point that if the OP was basing his pick up choice on what some undefined people say about them, he'd be better served listening to some of the people who use them to make up his mind.
His later post shows he's done a little more comparing than it seemed in the original post.
Again Doc says what i needed to say, (but didn't achieve with a long post,) in just a couple short sentences.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Stratinni came into this already having developed a point of view about the two brands which were offered up. He should have prefaced his remarks by stating that EMG and Duncan
were out of the running. Nothing sloppy about the efforts of those who tried to help. Takes a considerable amount of time to transcribe all of that copy from a website. It is was it is.
Regrettably, I was born loquacious, but that educated tongue has paid off in more ways than one. Now with regard to the question, I refer ya'll once again to their archives, and a three part article which Premier Guitar ran entitled "The Psychology of Tone". It's a must read and will likely bring a different perspective to these little skirmishes we seem to find ourselves in with respect to all of the component issues on the matter.

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"Another day in paradise!"

got a link for it doc?

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Nah don't think I will bother.

As for nuts, I'm not even getting into that. If anyone wants to pay money to a tech/hack to widen slots. Let em, I'd gladly accept the money for doing nothing.

I urge any of you here to put some feeler gauges into the high E slot of a Fender nut and measure exactly how wide it is. It's a good bit wider than .013"

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No no and no

oh come on niki, you know you want in on this one too.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."