Hey all, I have a 99' MIM strat that I LOVE. But, I want more out of the guitar. What would be a good first couple of mods I could get to improve the tone of my guitar. I mostly play blues and rock, if that helps narrow down the options. Thanks for the help!

1st post!!!

Texas Specials for the pickups.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

A steel trem block will increase sustain and produce a brighter, more articulate tone.

HTH

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

A set of Lindy Fralin pickups and a complete wiring harness with top notch parts.

http://www.griblinengineering.com/lindy_fralin.htm

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

A set of Tex-Mex or 57/62s would give her considerably more butt kicking ability than she has now.

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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.

The pups have it. An article in an issue of Premier Guitar Magazine this year dealt with the question of upgrading and MIM Stratocaster, and the FIRST step wasthe pickups.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. I have a 96 MIM Strat that I recently purchased just to mod. I loved the color which was a Crayola Crayon Red color and the neck was in good shape with a RW fretboard. I had a set of pickups out of my new American Standard Strat so I purchased a mint green pg and new pots, etc... and put them in. Changing pickups is the biggest change in tone and it's easy to do. just do your research based upon what you are looking for in tone and get the pups and install them. If you can, and have time and money; a complete new wiring job is great fun. Use quality pot's and a good capacitor (I used Orange Drop) and you'll enjoy the tone.

The next thing that I did, and has already been mentioned; was to upgrade the bridge assembly. I went with the Callaham Assembly as I've used his stuff before and it was just an incredible upgrade. It was a relatively easy upgrade and the tone is greatly enhanced! When you look at and hold your old MIM bridge in comparison to the Callaham, it just incredible the difference!

I've got some more 'tweaking' to do with the guitar, but she's coming along very well. I'm gonna post some pics when it is all done. Good luck with your project!

I just installed the callaham premium upgrade( block, saddles,springs, screws). I cant believe the difference it made! Sounds like a new guitar. My wife even noticed the difference!

How encouraging and supportive. My wife notices the difference between the amp being on and off.

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"Another day in paradise!"

I went with texas special pickups in one of mine, made it a REAL guitar. But honestly, almost any name brand aftermarket pickups you choose will be an improvement over your stock pickups. But you do have to choose the pickups that you like for the type of music you play. Youtube and product reviews can help you narrow down pickup choices since there's no realistic way to try them all yourself. But pickup swapping would be the best first mod you can do to your MIM guitar

Was i this one
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Aug/10_Easy_Strat_Mods_to_Improve_Primary_Tone.aspx

Or this one?
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2010/Feb/Finding_a_Strat_and_Giving_it_a_New_Soul.aspx

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Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.-Khalil Gibran

bare knuckle Apache = heaven!

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/mai ... kup=apache

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upgrades depend on two things. Cosmetics and tone. If its tone, new pickups, pots, caps, wiring, input jack, tremolo block, tuners, etc. If its cosmetics, then look at pickup covers, knobs, gold hardware, different vintage tinted neck... Strap locks are a must with me. I took a Roadhouse Strat in Alpine white, swapped the neck for a Lonestar, changed all the hardware to Gold, new strap locks, and a fret dress. It was one of the best strats I ever played.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Welcome aboard Loomietheman! You'll get many responses, I'm sure.

Mine would be :
1. Pickups
2. Tuners
3. Bridge
4. Electronics

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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!

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... _Soul.aspx[/url][/quote]
This be it.

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"Another day in paradise!"