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Post subject: $@! 80s Contemporary Strat
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:42 am
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Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:12 am
Posts: 1
Hi Guys

I'd like some advice on this guitar which I've owned now for some years.
It's a lovely guitar, good quality finishing, basswood body, rosewood fretboard, S S H pups configurations, with coil split on H, and Schaller tremolo systems bridge. The pups are Alnico Schaller pups as well.

Now the problem is that the tone is very thin, you can tell this especially on solos. I get the bass response, but when I go down those high strings, there's no sustain!

My style of music is Blues/Rock.

I play it through a Tubescreamer and or Zendrive into a Fender Hot Rod or Laney VC 30, so I like to keep it quite simple really. No Delays, other sound processors. It's definetely the guitar, cos I've tried with other guitars, single coils and humbucks I own and it sounds fine.

Would replacing pups make a difference? Or is it the quality of the wood used?
And if it is the pups, what would you reccomend? I'm after a good crunchy sound, but not too over wound, still want to hear the Strat singing. Texas specials as Single Coils? maybe some SD Trembucker (JB or Custom 5)for the Humbucker?

Thanks

Enrico


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:28 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:07 pm
Posts: 427
The first thing to do would be to unplug it and play it in a quiet place so you can hear what it's doing wihtout any pickups involved.
Does the sustain still suck?
Does it sound like the strings are buzzing on the attack? (could be too low action or needs some neck adjustment)
How close are your pickups to the stings? (magnet pull can kill your tone and sustain if the pickups are too close)

On mine, the higher strings sounded a bit thin when I first got it (not bad, but could improve) so I adjusted the truss rod to reduce the relief (was at .02, changed to .01), and I raised my action a fraction. This made a huge differece. The stings then had enough room to vibrate without crashing into the higher frets. It's amazing what a big impact minute changes can make.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:50 pm
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Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:28 pm
Posts: 1956
I've really been getting into setups lately and a great one can make all the difference in the world! I've been reading books from Fender and Dan Earliwine... spending some bucks on specialized tools too... believe me, it makes a difference. Each item may seem miniscule but they all add up.


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