I'm not sure if you guys mentioned this in the video, maybe I missed it, but one of the most useful things you can do with a Strat in this context is turn the tone control down! If your electronics are half decent dropping the bridge tone control to somewhere around 5-7 (depending on the guitar) makes a huge difference!
Yup… the the HSS is insanely versatile. I have a super distortions the bridge of my strat and I can get anything from a broken up classic rock tone to a pretty damn convincing metal tone. I can go from a super springy sparkling strat clean to all out destruction just like that. The only thing that I can’t really get is that super spanky single coil bridge tone, but honestly that’s not something I really desire
Haha, thanks! It's all my wife's "fault". Whenever I wear anything that's not black, it was her suggestion. Lucky to have such a great fashion consultant. 🫶 //Kris
If it sounds good, it sounds good. The drunken crowd don’t care if you’re playing humbuckers or single coils. A good mix, keep the beat, proper song choice, and a decent singer is far more important
Another approach, which I prefer over EQ (since what feels like a different frequency curve is - on the electrical side - really a difference in what is called the resonant peak) is to use a pedal (which must be before any buffers) that can shift the resonant peak by altering the impedance on its input. Two pedals that do that very well are the Effectrode Firebottle (valve boost with 3-position impedance switch), and the Mad Professor Sky Blue Overdrive (has a dedicated "Z"-knob). Yes, admitted, not the cheapest solutions, but flying with one guitar less and saving on excess baggage charges does recover that rather quickly.
A compressor works wonders for single coils on drive and distortion sounds. It takes some of the "hair" or "fuzz" out and can really smooth everything and make single lines with heavy distortion much clearer and tighter. A sound I typically associate with humbuckers.
pre/post drive EQ is such a huge concept, i didnt appreciate it for a long time. one walrus audio pedal (eras i think) had the bass knob before the clipping and then the treble control afterwards, which is what finally got through to me. another great vid!
All you need is a Dimarzio virtual solo in the bridge,and a heavy blues in the neck and middle, you will be able to do any gig, and any kind of music! 👍🏽
Cool Video, Guys! Way back in 1987 i bought me a Strat Plus with a Maple Neck in gun metal blue. At that time, Clapton endorsed this new Strat with Pickups that came closer to a Hubmucker-Sound. It came out ro be true. I used that instrument ever since and have been very happy with it. My other Strat has been a 40th-Anniversary-Model in Brown Sunburst with a Rosewood Neck, which gave me a more traditional Strat-Sound. Strat. What a classic Guitar with so many possible Sounds! Love it!
As long as it’s not a Harley Benton. I’ve been ongoing with them for over a week about getting a return label on a Harley Benton that arrived with finish chips and scratchy frets. Sad thing is I love Thomann and that’s why I watch all these videos.
It's a cheap asian guitar produced by a contractor. Shit happens. Just don't buy an expensive acoustic from thomann. They are stored awfully and all manner of things can happen to the wood in such climate.
@@RealROCKnROLLA yup. That’s the last time I buy from Thomann. I know there’s a risk factor with cheaper guitars. I’m more surprised that they are seemingly unwilling to resolve the issue. It’s not my fault the guitar arrived in the condition it did 🤷🏻♂️
@@mattmartinez7135 I currently live in Germany, where thomann is located and here they are super cool about the returns. It's free and no questions asked. My buddy has been ordering HBs and sending them back until he had got a perfect one haha.
Honestly, the Eric Johnson wiring (master volume, neck tone, bridge tone) with a .022uF cap go a LONG way to making a Strat sound amazing with gain. Treble bleed depends on a couple of things (it doesn't play too nice with a Fuzz Face, for instance) but could be a good idea as well. Strat into a distortion pedal (OCD, DS-1 are the usual suspects) into a cooking Marshall for sure is a killer sound. Works pretty well for EJ and another master of rock Strat, John Norum.
Ich bin ja ein Freund von Strat und Tele,s. Hab aber in meine tele einen Humbucker in der Neckposition. Ich liebe den perligen Klang der Strat, aber ebenso gefällt mir der Humbucker . Beide haben ihren Reiz, aber meist ist die Strat in der Hand.
You probably can play anything with any type of guitar. But I just can’t do strats, and I wish I liked them. My boss just picked up an 82 walnut strat and it felt great to play and it sounded great, but I just can’t see myself using anything besides the neck pickup. Not my type of guitar, but props to anyone playing strats. They’re great guitars
Technically, a Steel core pickup, as are most HB's and some SC's, could be described as "scooped" because the Steel rolls off above ~1kHz until the resonant peak brings the level back up. It depends on a few factors, but that doesn't happen with AlNiCo core pickups.
I installed a FreeWay 10 way switch on my Nash S-57. Totally worth it! The pickups are the Lollar "Dirty Blonde" set. They are all single coil, with a slightly overwound bridge. I also shielded all the cavities to reduce hum, which greatly improved the noise floor. I could have changed the pickup cabling to coaxial cable, but I did not want to mess with soldering the very fine magnet wire. I really like the bridge and neck in series, or in parallel. All 10 positions give usable tones.
Could you make an episode on a dummy coils to cancel the hum of the S type guitars. It be interesting to know what Suhr guitars and Music man cutlass guitar use as well for their dummy coil. There is also the ILITCH ELECTRONICS - Hum Canceling Systems and the Ulbrick NRD system.
You can use any guitar for everything. Some work better for specific things then others for shure. .but you can make it work. For example: i can get a closer iommi sound out of my strrat then of my SG. 😂 In my personal experience it makes a huge different how the guitar feels to you. I think thats why i can sound more iommish on my strat then on my SG. I feel much more comfortable on my strat so my playing is better in generel. But thats just my personal thoughts...dont know if its true in general. Have a nice day ✌️
Guillaume got closer but I could hear the Srat neck pickup all the time ;) I almost never play with the neck pickup myself, it really is not the tone I gravitate to. On the guitar itself, I think you both overlooked positions 2 and 4 which would have gotten you closer still. On my Strat, the middle pickup is wound reverse of the two others so in position 2 (where I love95% of the time), it has very little hum. It's hum "bucking" ;) It's also a fatter sound than even the neck pickup alone. Try it!
The first and second round I liked the sound created by G #greatguitarguy very much. High Gain Sound was a bit more what I expected by hearing from KB #kilohertzblender. Nice to know how to spice up an S-Type Guitar.
My way is to Use 3.3nf tone capacitor and roll off your tone knob around 3-5. It filter only your very2 high frequency and make mid freq stand out. Try your self and you will be suprised.
:58 it isn’t always the right or best option but choosing violence always leads somewhere interesting ( typically not a fun place). I perfer to use the (Chris )Jupiter fx Add violence pedal.
It seems that Guillaume's strat pickups are set closer to the strings but the treble sides are low. I think that's a also what makes it sound warmer and humbuckeresque :)
You guys are getting so good at this whole video, instruction, demoing thing. Thank you! Oh, and my road to humbuckery will go through the GE-7…because that’s the tool I have in my toolbox.
Aww man, thanks so much! After all these years we really should show at least some development, don't we? 😆 The GE-7 is the OG, keep it close to your board. That's what I do, it's always the secret tool to fix things. Cheers //Kris
A lot of the Strat brightness, mid-scoop, and rattling/clanking tone comes from a floating bridge. Blocking the bridge can do a lot to making a Strat with single coils sound like a PRS with humbuckers, particularly if you block the bridge from the top with a wedge slipped into the gap under the back of the bridge. 😎
So basically… instead of buying guitar with humbuckers, spend the same amount on a bunch of gear to make it sound like you have humbuckers but not as good. Got it 👍
yes, you absolutely can get away with a strat for fat sounds. You need two things: a fat bridge pickup like a texas special, for instance, and a nice, creamy and fat overdrive. Make it two: A Klon(e) into a Bluesbreaker and you are all set. Thank me later. Edit: For high gain with a strat, get the REVV G3.
I agree on the G3 by REVV. I bought it to get a good thick and controllable Gainsound that doesn't give me hughe volume boost. It works great for that and probably for many other things
🤣 Love that. Yeah it's a way too reasonable thing to say that you only need one guitar. It's blasphemy and should be avoided. Haha! Cheers buddy //Kris
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses YES! ... and it is history correct: LesPaul was in favor of low wound single coils! AND if you really need 2 coils, get a dummy coil: 1 extra coil for 2 PUs ... Always consider the environment: use beer to cope with rising temperatures and decreased humidity ... PUNK just needs a case of Schultheiss (ancient Berlin beer factory of the last millenium) for every rehearsal ... 🍻
So you woke up this morning and chose violence too? 😆 Just kidding man. And for the most part... I agree with you. I might prove it to Guillaume in a tele version of this video. Cheers //Kris
I'm not sure if you guys mentioned this in the video, maybe I missed it, but one of the most useful things you can do with a Strat in this context is turn the tone control down! If your electronics are half decent dropping the bridge tone control to somewhere around 5-7 (depending on the guitar) makes a huge difference!
Yes Chris suggests to turn down the tone control at 5:30! 😊
I play in three wildly different cover bands and all I need is my HSS Strat. It has never failed me.
Yup… the the HSS is insanely versatile. I have a super distortions the bridge of my strat and I can get anything from a broken up classic rock tone to a pretty damn convincing metal tone. I can go from a super springy sparkling strat clean to all out destruction just like that. The only thing that I can’t really get is that super spanky single coil bridge tone, but honestly that’s not something I really desire
Kriis, you look great with this color, great video 🤗
Haha, thanks! It's all my wife's "fault". Whenever I wear anything that's not black, it was her suggestion.
Lucky to have such a great fashion consultant. 🫶 //Kris
If it sounds good, it sounds good. The drunken crowd don’t care if you’re playing humbuckers or single coils. A good mix, keep the beat, proper song choice, and a decent singer is far more important
Unless the st. Pauly girl is near the stage
Another approach, which I prefer over EQ (since what feels like a different frequency curve is - on the electrical side - really a difference in what is called the resonant peak) is to use a pedal (which must be before any buffers) that can shift the resonant peak by altering the impedance on its input. Two pedals that do that very well are the Effectrode Firebottle (valve boost with 3-position impedance switch), and the Mad Professor Sky Blue Overdrive (has a dedicated "Z"-knob). Yes, admitted, not the cheapest solutions, but flying with one guitar less and saving on excess baggage charges does recover that rather quickly.
A compressor works wonders for single coils on drive and distortion sounds. It takes some of the "hair" or "fuzz" out and can really smooth everything and make single lines with heavy distortion much clearer and tighter. A sound I typically associate with humbuckers.
I agree completely.
Oh man I needed this. I'm flying home for Christmas and I got a Christmas gig. I only have access to strats, and I'm a Les Paul player. Thank you!
That is awesome. What a timing, isn't it? 💪 Have a cool gig! //Kris
pre/post drive EQ is such a huge concept, i didnt appreciate it for a long time. one walrus audio pedal (eras i think) had the bass knob before the clipping and then the treble control afterwards, which is what finally got through to me. another great vid!
The Seymour Pickup Booster was designed todo exactly that. And it works!
I installed a Free-Way 10-way switch. You should try one. It's transformative.
All you need is a Dimarzio virtual solo in the bridge,and a heavy blues in the neck and middle, you will be able to do any gig, and any kind of music! 👍🏽
As always this show so informative. You both are just amazing. Kris, you are just so educated on electric guitars components and techniques.
Joe, you are so kind! Thanks for all the kind words and everything, we really appreciate it. 🙏 //Kris
Cool Video, Guys! Way back in 1987 i bought me a Strat Plus with a Maple Neck in gun metal blue. At that time, Clapton endorsed this new Strat with Pickups that came closer to a Hubmucker-Sound. It came out ro be true. I used that instrument ever since and have been very happy with it. My other Strat has been a 40th-Anniversary-Model in Brown Sunburst with a Rosewood Neck, which gave me a more traditional Strat-Sound. Strat. What a classic Guitar with so many possible Sounds! Love it!
Was just going through some blogs and posts to know bout a good guitar for ambient. Strat was always the most sought after in all those posts!
Ambient benefits from a nice clean tone without compression. Single coil for the win. You can always add gain and compression with pedals.
Cool video! Really informative ! Would be great to watch something like this about the tele.
As long as it’s not a Harley Benton. I’ve been ongoing with them for over a week about getting a return label on a Harley Benton that arrived with finish chips and scratchy frets. Sad thing is I love Thomann and that’s why I watch all these videos.
It's a cheap asian guitar produced by a contractor. Shit happens. Just don't buy an expensive acoustic from thomann. They are stored awfully and all manner of things can happen to the wood in such climate.
@@RealROCKnROLLA yup. That’s the last time I buy from Thomann. I know there’s a risk factor with cheaper guitars. I’m more surprised that they are seemingly unwilling to resolve the issue. It’s not my fault the guitar arrived in the condition it did 🤷🏻♂️
@@mattmartinez7135 I currently live in Germany, where thomann is located and here they are super cool about the returns. It's free and no questions asked. My buddy has been ordering HBs and sending them back until he had got a perfect one haha.
... have to admit: you guys nailed it (this admission was a hard 1 4 me ... you know why )
Honestly, the Eric Johnson wiring (master volume, neck tone, bridge tone) with a .022uF cap go a LONG way to making a Strat sound amazing with gain. Treble bleed depends on a couple of things (it doesn't play too nice with a Fuzz Face, for instance) but could be a good idea as well. Strat into a distortion pedal (OCD, DS-1 are the usual suspects) into a cooking Marshall for sure is a killer sound.
Works pretty well for EJ and another master of rock Strat, John Norum.
Ich bin ja ein Freund von Strat und Tele,s. Hab aber in meine tele einen Humbucker in der Neckposition. Ich liebe den perligen Klang der Strat, aber ebenso gefällt mir der Humbucker . Beide haben ihren Reiz, aber meist ist die Strat in der Hand.
You probably can play anything with any type of guitar. But I just can’t do strats, and I wish I liked them. My boss just picked up an 82 walnut strat and it felt great to play and it sounded great, but I just can’t see myself using anything besides the neck pickup. Not my type of guitar, but props to anyone playing strats. They’re great guitars
Great video! I needed this for sure!
Huh? There are 'other' types of guitar out there? Madness.
Right? It shocked Guillaume too. 😆 //Kris
Technically, a Steel core pickup, as are most HB's and some SC's, could be described as "scooped" because the Steel rolls off above ~1kHz until the resonant peak brings the level back up. It depends on a few factors, but that doesn't happen with AlNiCo core pickups.
Anyone tried those 10-way pickup switches that are supposed to give you humbucker tones on a strat?
I have bought a freeway switch and once my guitar is built I’ll post a video on it.
I installed a FreeWay 10 way switch on my Nash S-57. Totally worth it! The pickups are the Lollar "Dirty Blonde" set. They are all single coil, with a slightly overwound bridge. I also shielded all the cavities to reduce hum, which greatly improved the noise floor. I could have changed the pickup cabling to coaxial cable, but I did not want to mess with soldering the very fine magnet wire. I really like the bridge and neck in series, or in parallel. All 10 positions give usable tones.
honestly, .....
a strat with individual tone controls for all pickups or at least bridge and neck, is everything i need from a guitar.
Could you make an episode on a dummy coils to cancel the hum of the S type guitars. It be interesting to know what Suhr guitars and Music man cutlass guitar use as well for their dummy coil. There is also the ILITCH ELECTRONICS - Hum Canceling Systems and the Ulbrick NRD system.
You can use any guitar for everything. Some work better for specific things then others for shure. .but you can make it work. For example: i can get a closer iommi sound out of my strrat then of my SG. 😂 In my personal experience it makes a huge different how the guitar feels to you. I think thats why i can sound more iommish on my strat then on my SG. I feel much more comfortable on my strat so my playing is better in generel. But thats just my personal thoughts...dont know if its true in general. Have a nice day ✌️
Guillaume got closer but I could hear the Srat neck pickup all the time ;) I almost never play with the neck pickup myself, it really is not the tone I gravitate to. On the guitar itself, I think you both overlooked positions 2 and 4 which would have gotten you closer still. On my Strat, the middle pickup is wound reverse of the two others so in position 2 (where I love95% of the time), it has very little hum. It's hum "bucking" ;) It's also a fatter sound than even the neck pickup alone. Try it!
The first and second round I liked the sound created by G #greatguitarguy very much. High Gain Sound was a bit more what I expected by hearing from KB #kilohertzblender.
Nice to know how to spice up an S-Type Guitar.
My way is to Use 3.3nf tone capacitor and roll off your tone knob around 3-5. It filter only your very2 high frequency and make mid freq stand out. Try your self and you will be suprised.
Love Les Paul
Kernom pricing almost got a used sg gibson or nice epiphone :D
:58 it isn’t always the right or best option but choosing violence always leads somewhere interesting ( typically not a fun place). I perfer to use the (Chris )Jupiter fx Add violence pedal.
It seems that Guillaume's strat pickups are set closer to the strings but the treble sides are low. I think that's a also what makes it sound warmer and humbuckeresque :)
Yes
You guys are getting so good at this whole video, instruction, demoing thing. Thank you!
Oh, and my road to humbuckery will go through the GE-7…because that’s the tool I have in my toolbox.
Aww man, thanks so much! After all these years we really should show at least some development, don't we? 😆
The GE-7 is the OG, keep it close to your board. That's what I do, it's always the secret tool to fix things. Cheers //Kris
Install a humbucker in Strat bridge position or buy a HSS Strat and you are done. You are welcome 🙂
10 way pickup switch on an SSS also covers a wide tonal range.
A lot of the Strat brightness, mid-scoop, and rattling/clanking tone comes from a floating bridge. Blocking the bridge can do a lot to making a Strat with single coils sound like a PRS with humbuckers, particularly if you block the bridge from the top with a wedge slipped into the gap under the back of the bridge. 😎
Did you mention positions 2 and 4?
So basically… instead of buying guitar with humbuckers, spend the same amount on a bunch of gear to make it sound like you have humbuckers but not as good. Got it 👍
Life with HH is possible, but no fun UNLESS you can split it
Not if the Strat has a tilt back headstock. If it has a tilt back headstock, you can only get Blues Pop sounds.😄
No. It can't do humbucker sounds. Esp if the st. Pauly girl is next to the stage. Humbucker means no hum. Not just tone
yes, you absolutely can get away with a strat for fat sounds. You need two things: a fat bridge pickup like a texas special, for instance, and a nice, creamy and fat overdrive. Make it two: A Klon(e) into a Bluesbreaker and you are all set. Thank me later. Edit: For high gain with a strat, get the REVV G3.
You mean something like a Colosseum right?
@@DavidGodfrenIdk the colosseum, but if that's got a bluesbreaker side and a klon side then yep
I agree on the G3 by REVV. I bought it to get a good thick and controllable Gainsound that doesn't give me hughe volume boost. It works great for that and probably for many other things
I refuse to entertain any notion I need only one guitar.... it's just blasphemy.... sorry. 🤪
🤣 Love that. Yeah it's a way too reasonable thing to say that you only need one guitar. It's blasphemy and should be avoided. Haha! Cheers buddy //Kris
Can You ONLY Use A Strat For Everything? NO
Can You ONLY Use A Tele For Everything? YES
Ugh, I’d probably quit music if the only guitar I could have was a Strat.
I wouldn't quit. But my main strat would have a tele bridge, pickups and control plate, that's for sure. 😆 //Kris
Ha ha, I might be able to live with that!
A humbucker is just a waste of material: two times the parts for even less sound
Haha, so now we know that every environment activist plays single coils. 😆 Never thought of that. //Kris
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses
YES! ... and it is history correct: LesPaul was in favor of low wound single coils!
AND if you really need 2 coils, get a dummy coil: 1 extra coil for 2 PUs ...
Always consider the environment: use beer to cope with rising temperatures and decreased humidity ... PUNK just needs a case of Schultheiss (ancient Berlin beer factory of the last millenium) for every rehearsal ... 🍻
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses OMG 😅🌊🌊🌊
That's the style of guitar I hate most. Tele crushes that planks.
So you woke up this morning and chose violence too? 😆 Just kidding man.
And for the most part... I agree with you. I might prove it to Guillaume in a tele version of this video.
Cheers //Kris
@@ThomannsGuitarsBasses I've laid to bad yesterday like that :D