Stratocaster Upgrades | 2 Small Improvements for a Mexican Strat
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- Опубликовано: 21 окт 2019
- The build quality on Fender's Player Stratocaster Plus Top is just as impressive as its good looks, but that doesn't mean there aren't a couple of upgrades that can make it even better.
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The build quality on Fender's Player Stratocaster Plus Top is just as impressive as its good looks, but that doesn't mean there aren't a couple of upgrades that can make it even better.
Fender Player Stratocaster Plus Top:
www.thomann.de/gb/fender_player_series_strat_plt_mn_acb.htm?offid=1&affid=367
Heraldry Pickups by CSGuitars:
www.csguitars.co.uk/heraldrypickups
More from CSGuitars:
Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars
Buy CSGuitars Merchandise:
www.csguitars.co.uk/store
Website:
www.csguitars.co.uk
Contact:
colin@csguitars.co.uk
Small improvement: I didn't like the pickups, so I made some.
🤣🤣🤣
He's been doing it for years, so it's a small improvement for him 😂
Small Improvement: I didn't like the neck so I made a new guitar
+1 for the Knopfler-with-hair bit
Sometimes the quality is in the little things that we don't concider, like the nut, but GRAPHTECH products make a diffence, also the use of diferent type of magnets poles for single coil or plate for rail pickups to each possition give a improve performance.
Greetings from México. 🇲🇽
I agree on the nut. Just replaced my plastic one with a tusc XL nut and wow, the Character of the tone came to life. It's so vibrant now. My SE stratocaster is so thankful. Today I may be getting my dream guitar.
Love that your making your own pickups bro! Very cool!
Even better, the "Eric Johnson" pickup wiring: top tone on the front pickup, bottom tone on the bridge pickup, middle pickup wide-open. You get a but more punch and clarity in the 2 and 4 positions and that cool, glassy middle pickup sound.
Sultan's of swing. Noice touch 👌
Holy crap! That's literally my dream Strat, down to the color, the pick guard/knob color, and the sound!
Love your mexican strat I have the same but with a humbucker in the bridge. Also i have been spend a lot of time going thru your back catalog of videos because you have some of the best content I've discovered on youtube! keep up the great work homie!
VERY good sounding pickups, man. I think you’re onto something.
now THAT'S a Strat ladies and gentlemen! The best way to appreciate a Strat's tone is to play it clean. And that's what Colin did first. The pickups are HAPPENIN', man!
4:31- Awesome! look forward to hearing your pickups!
Hey I've been watching the channel for a few years and I've gotta say you've consistently made improvements to your content in terms of quality and production.... it's top notch, entertaining and informative ! Please keep up the great work !
I've only one for guitar right now and it's equiped with the emg 57/66Tw set in a LDT 1001-CTM But I'm interested in making an affordable strat and I love the example you've laid out in this video. I think I'll keep and eye for a good mexi to go on sale and get to work
I'd rather have a master volume / master tone / bridge-neck blend
I know right ? It makes more sense honestly. And there are companies selling kits of pre-wired electronics offering just that!
Check ObsidianWire. They have some really good solder free controls, including the blender mod you’re talking about.
I got a pre wired harness with that mod from Six String Supplies , he's on RUclips as well , really nice bit of kit and the blend mod just opens your Strats capabilities so much .
@@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee I just picked up a partscaster with this on it and it is very cool.
* The one odd thing is that the blend seems to be off at 10 and maxed at 1, which seems counterintuitive to me. Otherwise very cool
@@EtherDais Sounds like it might be a bad pot.
Your videos are always very well done and informative. Thank you. Also, I just like listening to you talk.
I own the same Strat but in metallic blue, it's almost stock except for a roller string tree, Graphtech nut and straplocks. The next mods are gonna be some Fender locking tuners (to improve tuning stability even more) and Graphtech String Saver saddles (because I found myself breaking strings on it more than on any other guitar I own)
The electronics though are gonna stay stock, because they're perfect for my taste
Funny , I have the exact same guitar as in video and I broke 2 high e strings in a 24 hour span and prior to this I haven’t broken a string in years. All I did so far to mine was a bridge hit rail and locking fender tuners .
@@jamiewhite6798 edit: I solved the issue by stopping using Ernie Ball, moved to Daddario and haven't broken a string on the damn thing.
I also installed Planetwaves Autotrim locking tuners instead of Fender lockings
@@Mr.Goldbar cool I do I have a pack of nyxl laying around maybe I’ll try them. I am hoping it was fluke but maybe I’ll give something other than slinky .
the entire rig is this video had some of the best strat tones i've heard to date. Fantastic job my guy!!
I believe this is the first Fender I've seen you feature! Well done Colin, Nice Mods! Thanks for sharing brother! Be Well!
A pick up named Sgian Dubh, love it. Take all my money. Just need a guitar that take a single coil now. Minor inconvenience.
Thanks for the guitar lesson at 6:28 been wanting to learn Dire straits for a while now. couldn't find a good youtube video until I accidentally ran across this.
Holy tone monster Batman! The pickups on your Ash guitar sound incredible!! The neck blade pickup sounds exactly like the tone I hear in my head when looking for a neck pickup. And that bridge pickup is sweet! Volume wise they match perfectly. You can be sure I’ll be watching your website for availability!
Loved this video since I'm enjoying teching out my existing guitars.
Cool. I want to try these on a strat build I'm planning. Thanks Colin!
Arent you that guy that comments on Funhaus vids
The Echelon - wait are you that guy that comments on the Wiggles videos?
I always put a spring on my string trees instead of a bushing and I always rewire it to have each two master tones with a different value on each and phase switches. I really like the sound of the bridge and middle in phase with the neck out of phase through a fuzz face.
I actually picked up one of these just a couple days before you posted this video...I love it. Got it for 40% off during a "B-Stock" sale, but it was actually not b-stock, but was used briefly at a trade show, so it didn't really look like it'd ever been played! Feels great to play and I actually prefer these new alnico pickups over the vintage voiced for my personal needs...I've been playing it more than my American guitars.
Wow those pickups sound amazing. Awesome job. I’m sold.
Those pickups are sweet. Love that clean sound. Gonna have to buy a set from you
I'm just getting new pickups wound for my Tele. But being shit at soldering I've sent the scratch plate and control plate to the winder to do most of the work for me. New pots and a 4 way switch so I can have both pickups on either in parallel or series.
I bought mex strat plus 3 month's ago, it's my favourite guitar now! So amazing playability and feel, and that flamed maple top looks amazing!
Perfect timing, I just bought one of these!
love my MiM strat ! I need to do the wiring mod tho; I'd really like a tone knob for the bridge pickup
In the simplest version it's just a single new connection on the switch
I bought a player Strat few months ago, the upgrades I did:
- Change the plastic nut to a tusq xl
- Rounded the frets and polished them with a 1200, 2000 grit then buffed them
Visual upgrades:
- Pickguard changed to 3ply Black
- changed white plastic accessories to vintage white
As for pickups they are fine for now.. maybe I'll swap for something noiseless and change pots
Nice choice of riffs for that sweet strat tone to shine 👍🏽
Awesome axe, man. I was actually thinking of getting the exact same one months back, but I already have a Sage Green model from 2018. I've upgraded quite a few things since then, but out of the box it's still a killer instrument. Swapped the Fender HSH pickups with Planet Tone, Callaham trem block and saddles (which requires an actual American bridge plate, in case anyone didn't know), and some flat-top knurled knobs -- because attitude=tone.
Overall, I'm very happy with it, and recommend the Player series to anyone. Hard to go wrong.
You have inspired me to play today. Idk if that was your intention but I thankyou for that. Keep killing it!
Those are some great sounding pickups in the strat. Gave me real Ritchie Blackmore vibes with some distortion added.
And holy shit that super 10 sounds incredible.
Great Demo beautiful playing and the guitar sounds great.
Nice sounds!
The player series is absolutely incredible, I installed graphtech saddles and trees on mine, as well as fender locking tuners. I do plan on getting a bridge humbucjer eventually, otherwise this guitar is pretty damn perfect
Sounds really good I got a player strat I really like it but I haven't changed the pickups. The pickups you wound do sound pretty awesome.
Beautiful guitar and mods. Side note, is it me or has Collin's playing improved recently. Great job, Collin!!! Keep up the great videos, dude!!! 🤟🏼✌🏽🧟♂️
Very interesting, these are exactly the things that I haven’t got round to changing on my MiM strat. It’s a brilliant guitar though, the feel and build quality are as good as I could want.
You're pickups are sounding great!
Picked up the HSS version of this in blue burst last year. It’s quickly become one of my favorite guitars. Totally changed my mind on Strats.
Great job!
Brilliant as always
The tone with your pick ups are exceptional
On my 2002 MIM Stratocaster I changed the string tree & the saddles to Graphtech. 👍🏻
Humbucker guitar pickups. Having individual tone and sound from each pickup while maintain the same level of sound without using the volume knob. Freaking outstanding.
Well Well Well... Look at these bad boys, aren't they FUCKING AWESOME ? Man, remember when I said "i'll consider them when modding a guitar" ? CONSIDER ME SOLD.
If he ever ends up winding something similar to a set of Warpigs. I swear me fokken wallet over his craftsmanship. Imma be among the first dude to pickup those types of high output babies
@@Ndlanding I'm sorry, English isn't my first language and it's always hard to find new vocabulary. If I had to redo this comment I'd say : "insanely brilliant"
@@Axel_Xirics_Music can't deny, pickups like this would make my bank account have a mental breakdown.
@@hazrod13 Nothing wrong with your English, my friend. And I believe Ndlanding was just messin' with ya.
@@bravotronalpha3787 true, but I still share his statement about the word awesome
Turning a Fender into a Charvel (somewhat)! I'd love to get a Fender HSS Floyd Strat at some point.Great video!
That middle position sounds excellent! The Old Man NC
Oh my god, I wish more people used the taller string tree on the e and B strings more often. That downward pull cost me tuning stability for a long time. Ditching the D and G tree and putting it on another tree helped with tuning a lot, especially with whammy use.
I got to try that Neck/Middle tone, Bridge tone configuration. After I put a treble bleed circuit on my Strat it made the Neck and Middle clearer, but also resulted in the bridge being too bright. Glad to know about that.
Lastly, Colin, I suggest having the springs at the back parallel with each other and not in a triangle position. Chances are, with the middle spring not having the same pull as the others might make it "jump out" from the slot.
Strat bridge pickup sound is so cool
I bought an Affinity Squier Strat and it came wired the same way. That’s the only way I’ll have a Strat. Being able to tone the bridge pickup down is a fantastic feature.
These stock alnico 5 single coils are amazing. I’ve attempted to better them with installations of 3 different well-known aftermarket brands with no success. Great eq balance, output and tone that brings out the unique character of the strat. Having said that, the humbucker in my hss was easily outdone by a SD JB. Great single coil tone when split.
Hey Ryan, I plan on keeping the stock pups too, but am curious on the height of yours? Having a strange time getting a balance with these.
I have put those string trees on a couple of guitars. About half of them needed a quick smoothing with some micro mesh. I am interested in your pickups... very interested. You sultan of swing you.
These sound excellent.
Damn dude, Colin's demos sound so much better with that ENGL. Crazy how much difference a nice amp can make. Even though I've always liked the videos, the sound demos could be rough sometimes- esp for the heavy sound demos.
No longer. Well done Colin! The new sound samples sound much much better.
Experienced in building your own guitars, now your own built pickups, I see where this is going and I'm curious where it's leading, because that there sounds good!
Just bought my first MIM Stat. Love it. But the only mod I'm going to do is put the Fender locking tuner on. I think you will have a "spanky and clean" prosperours future with you pickup winding business, and lets hope your never experience and "muddy dark bottoms" in your treasure chest. Looking forward to check out your pickups Colin.
Need CSG single coils ASAP!!
I'm a balls to bone thrasher and certifiably in love with my Floyd Rose/Bill Lawrence into my Boss MT-2 and Randall setup, but lately find myself digging a lil more on the bluesy end of the classic rock spectrum. There's just something immortal and timelessly cool about Strats.
Excellent
Nice tonal range on those pickups!
Are we going to get some CSG bass pickups? Love these strat pickups
Your pickups sound great! I love the look of that black and silver bridge on your Ash Fossil, what is it and is it easily available?
I like this....you have earned a new subscriber
I always love the plus top strats, which is why I bought one. Then I put in some seymour duncans and a floyd because why not
i have a squier and it is amazing for me out of any other guitar iv played
Years ago I messed up my wiring, making both tone knobs attached to the middle and bridge, confusing me at all times when switching between positions 4 and 5. One of these days I'll fix it...
Nice sultans of swing remix! Like it
I can’t believe I didn’t stick around for the last 3 seconds of your video! Oh the can of worms you opened up with that comment Colin! 😂 Now you’re going to HAVE to do a video on how removing the backplate ABSOLUTELY makes a difference in tone. SRV...no backplate. EVH...No backplate. Jimi Hendrix...No backplate. Among many others. And I suspect it’s for more reasons than ease of spring access.
I've a player strat as well, and have rather liked it so far. The satin neck is nice, I just wish it was slightly thicker/chunkier. I'm not crazy about the two point bridge, but it works decently. I would've liked the PF freeboard to be a little darker and more uniform in color, and prefer the larger 70s headstock, but those are just nitpicks. I might do a little electronic work down the line, but for now I'm rather satisfied.
Jump to 4:27 for "peckup".
Thanks for the great video!!
I recently bought a new deluxe Mexican strat ( I think it's a 2016 model) HSS with vintage noiseless single coils and I don't really like the sound of the humbucker in it and I was thinking of changing it out to another humbucker. Any suggestions. Id like something versatile, good for blues, rock, punk, and a little bit of heavier stuff and lots of other genres. I really like the sound of pearly gates, but apparently they create lots of hum when paired with vintage noiseless pickups. Any suggestions or info would be really helpful. I really should know how to pair pickups lol.
I like the bent saddles cause I can feel where my hand is at better than the smooth block style.
I would love to try your own pickups
Do you maybe have some schematics for this arrangement with the middle and bridge tone combined? I'd like to explore the idea on my strat but maybe adding the grease bucket circuit not the traditional because I'm loving the one on my tele, have you ever tried it?
Hi Colin! Have you thought about taking a leaf from Kris Baroczsi's (from Thomann) book and stick a Tele pickup in the bridge of a Strat? It sounds huge! I'm definitely considering putting together a pickguard to try it with, but seeing as you wind your own pups I thought you might be up for trying it, too.
Kris is a Tele player, so it makes complete sense that he'd put Tele pickups in a Strat.
I've never been a fan of the standard Tele personally, so it's not something I'm in any rush to discover, but I'll keep it in mind for an experiment one day.
I decked the tremolo, set it with 8 gauge, locking tuners and replaced the bridge pickup with a SD hotrail. My Stratocaster has Volume, tone, tone, and the mid tone is for the neck and mid, the last tone is only for the bridge. You telling me my 2023 modell is better than yours, because i would be mad if i could not change the tone on the bridge. Made the mid and neck pickup sound cheap right from China, and the SD doesnt hum at all, but the default fender pickups... they hum, the bridge on it way to thin... Im gonna change the mid and neck when i can afford it, because the ones that are default on a MIM Strat sounds worse than the Squier Stratocaster i got in 1999. The Squier Affinity Telecaster that i just bought tho, is as if it's not a Squier at all! Sounds great, easy to play, and for now i don't plan to replace any of the 2 pickups on it. BUT i will replace the pickups on my fretless Fender player series J-bass.
This would be an excellent guitar for slide use.
Nice advertising scheme...your pickups sound pretty good
Congrats on the pickups. Starts are so dirty fun. Yeah, no no headroom characterless hot pickups.
I just bought the black version of the player series with white pickup covers. Honestly I’m really surprised how good it sounds and plays. It’s one of the few Mexico strats I’ve played where it never really occurred to me it’s country of origin.
Typically I can feel or hear a difference. I’ve owned multiple guitars from multiple countries of origin, so I hope it doesn’t come across as biased.
I might get different pickups, but I honestly lowered the stock ones and I’m pretty happy with the sound and feel so I might just keep it stock.
I got the same guitar but with a humbucker
I have a question. Why do you have what seems like a capo behind the nut on the strings? Would it not mess with string tension and pitch of the notes?
Along with some of the other comments, I think locking tuners are a great Mex Player Strat (and Tele) upgrade. Another easy upgrade is a bone nut.
Up next ditch that trem arm for something shorter and and sleeker. The tone is awesome, nice job on the pickups.
I prefer having no tone control on the middle pickup. Sounds great with a touch of chorus
How about using your volume knob to back off output ?? No need to swap out pick-ups.. crank it up again for more boost.
He is selling pickups...
Your pronounciation of Sgian Dubh was spot-on - no mean feat for a lowlander.
I've been practicing being a proper Scotsman
@@ScienceofLoud What you wear (or do not wear) under your kilt is your own business.
I enjoy the new Fender pickups the way Fender intended them on the player models. If it's good enough for Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, it sure as hell is good enough for me. If I'd wanted your kind of peck up, I'd buy a different Strat, not a player model.
I received this video yesterday as I am a Patron. Sadly it did not play and still does not as I am watching this. I have a Mexi 2012 Strat which is great but the pickups have little detail in their sound and I have been debating getting another set but am not sure what to go for. The Graphtec trees work great, I fitted a pair on my HB Fusion after removing the horrible tension bar and no more problems with tuning and the trem. A wiring diagram would be good to convert to the bridge pickup having a working tone control, I never use it except in conjunction with the middle pickup.
So when do we get your pickups Colin ?
Interesting, I also have a player series and I did not think about that tree fix. Would you say that changing tuners to locking tuners would be a good change too? And with respect to rounding the edges I was wondering what would happen to the finish of the neck.
You'd need to protect the finish and wood with masking tape or painters tape
People will disagree with my carelessness but I just take micro mesh sanding sheets from 1500 to 12000 and go to work on the edges of the fretboard. By the time I am through the sheets, the corners are smooth as silk and feel like they have been played for years and years. Since I am on the corner, I don't bother protecting anything. I do this to all my guitars regardless of brand/quality. I like the feeling of rounded corners. (The sheets are pliable and it is easy to put your finger on just the corner through the sheet)
I bought this guitar and it's one of my go tos and I have a couple much more expensive guitars. from the factory, mine had not even a bit of fret sprout. I put in some Seymour duncans in and white period pickguard. fender should do more flame tops. 3 tone tobacco bursts are for boomers.
You gonna make any updates on the Flying V I enjoyed those videos
I may be getting this guitar today. I can already tell you, I want to upgrade the pickups to boutique. Do you sell them?
Question , like the old strat but not the old low output pickups ? MY OLDEST tube amp is pre 1940s and a couple more modern lol Whats wrong with being period correct ?