There are certain terms that come up again and again when talking about Strats. Being as I'm fairly new to this discussion, I have vague ideas what they mean but would like to know for sure so I thought I'd ask if anyone could refer to a specific song, say that has "quack" in a certain part (youtube videos might help) or is "glassy" etc.

Some of the tones I'd appreciate hearing defined are:

Twangy
Quacky
Glassy
Bell-like
And any others you can think of that might apply.

Like I said, I have a pretty good idea on most of them, but it would be cool to hear the "definitive" quacky sound, etc.

Thanks in advance!

I'm posting this from work, so I can't get too far in detail, but to tackle those terms...

For examples of twangy, look for videos of Strats playing single-note melodies, especially with the bridge pickup selected. Country music.

Quacky is all over the place in Hendrix and SRV's music. The intro to Little Wing has a lot of quack.

Also, while I'm at it, I'd say at least the intro to Lenny (if not the whole song) has glassy qualities.

EDIT:
And in Lenny, when he uses harmonics, I would feel that its fair to call it a bit bell-like. Clear and chiming. A little more resonant than "glassy."

I've always found terms like this to be a little funny and misleading, because they are so subjective. My "glassy" could be another poster's "bell-like" and we could argue all day and never reach a definitive conclusion.

Quacky is most often heard when one uses the 5-way Strat switch in positions #2 or #4. This is the neck and middle or the Bridge and middle pickups together in a sort of out-of-phase sound. These tones are what make Stratocasters famous. Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits uses this tone a lot, like on the song Sultans Of Swing, as a classical example. In country music this is the Twangy tone used for many tunes. And in Funk music this same hollow Twangy sound is used as well.

GLassy IMHO, is more the vintage sounds of a single coil pickup. This could be a Tele or a Strat. Very crisp, thinner sound, that has a slight edge too it. 1950s Strat pickups on Bridge or Neck can have this edgy sound to it.

Get a Strat. Plus it in. All questions answered!!!!!! Was this thread serious or is someone just trying to see what kind of interesting things people might write????

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Xhefri's Guitars
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I'm actually serious because I'm thinking of doing some upgrades to my MIM and you often hear such terms thrown about how this type of component does this when someone's describing different things.

So I appreciate your input. I'd love to have someone say, "hear Knopfler's solo in Sultan of Swing?" that's quacky. Or whatever. And then the next time I hear something I could nod my head and go, "Yeah, that's quacky..."

Robert Cray also likes his quack quite a bit and who can blame him? As far as I'm concerned, quack is the biggest reason to own a Strat in the first place. It's important to note that both Cray and Knopfler use a combination of a flat pick and bare fingers. Sometimes Cray doesn't even use the flat pick at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2EvSNHqh0&ob=av2e

Pay close attention to the tone of the guitar during the lead breaks. Cray's quack is definitely more prominent when he picks lead lines than when he strums chords.

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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.

Twangy= Bridge pickup with generous doses of reverb, and or tremelo with picking hand playing close to the bridge of the guitar. Can be single coil or humbucker. Sound associated with country western music, surf music, and early rock n roll. Some artists associated with this sound include Duane Eddy, the Shadows, the Ventures, Dick Dale, Chuck Berry, and just about any early Clint Eastwood Spaghetti western theme song.

Quacky=Generally associated with 2 out of phase single coil pickups in series switching ie Stratocaster in position 2 or 4 on a 5 way switch. Tone was noticed by early Strat players when they accidentally had their three way switch in an in between position. The tone comes from the location of those pickups in relation to the string length. Each pickup emphasizes a different harmonic. The pickups have to be fairly close to each other to achieve this. In other words you can't make a Telecaster quack unless you add a middle pickup. Some examples of Quack would be the intro to Sweet Home Alabama, Lay Down Sally, or Sultans of Swing. I believe that quack can be addicting and should be dispensed with a prescription and only under a doctor's care. I am a quack addict.

Glassy=Also described as shimmery and associated with clean out of phase positions on pickups along with compression, reverb, and some chorus effects. Your amp settings can have as much of an affect on this tone as the guitar. An example would be John Frusciante on Californication. I also think that string gauge can contribute to this sound.

Bell like= I've always associated this term with the harmonic overtones generated by the guitar while playing single notes with a heavy or thick pick. Not neccesarily pinch harmonics but I would include them along with the harmonics generated on an open string.

I think that the neck/fingerboard materials play a role in the tone too. I just played an American Special w/ maple neck at GC and in my opinion it had a very nice Straty "twang" to it (apparently in all switch positions, to varying extents). Kind of that country tone, but also very nice for some blues too.

Personally I like the switch in the neck or middle pickup positions on Strats, and when you play single note leads near the 12th fret position, you get that real Strat tone that cannot be desribed simply by words. It's just that Strat tone you don't achieve on other guitars.

Just my opinion...

Whenever I think of the "bell-like" sound, I think of the opening of "Under The Bridge". Actually, in general I think Frusciante has a ton of definitive examples of classic Fender single-coil sounds . There are bell-like tones all over By The Way. BSSM has tons of songs with "quack", which I generally associate with the 2 and 4 pickup positions, especially stuff like "Funky Monks". Glassy I instantly think of "Lenny" by SRV... It's all subjective of course; everybody knows a Strat when they hear one but it's just hard to come up with words that quantify all the unique sonic quirks that make them so great.

Thanks all. I appreciate it!

Not to hijack this thread but while you all are at it, how about the dairy products? You know, define, "buttery", "creamy", etc.

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You dig?

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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.

I can dig it, Martian! How about some examples of "buttery" and "creamy?"

No need for examples of other milk terms like "stale," "coagulated," or "cheesy" though.

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You dig?

A new term for my guitar dictionary: "sonic quirks"...love that. Oh how I hate advertisements that say a guitar plays like "butter." Like I get terrible images from that one. They mean "smooth" I guess, but I think "greasy." The "bell-like tones" became famous through the sale of the Strat Plus series describing the Gold Lace Sensor pickups. That was the FIRST time I had ever hear that one. Oh then there is the guy who says the neck on his guitar is "straight as an arrow"! Wow, that is too bad, as a neck should have about .08 to .10 relief in the middle meanings it is not straight but slightly concave!!!!

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Excellent descriptions,
But IMHO bell like tones, i describe the best as,
The tone you get when the strat is in the neck position and
your playing below the 12th fret clean

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