• From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Topic: Revamping my Stratocaster...AGAIN!

I have a 2001 American Strat that I bought new one day by accident while amp shopping.  I've shown it on here a lot and its by far my favorite guitar ever.  I have built and rebuilt this guitar 100's of times.  I love the Sunburst on it, tried swapping the neck on it and I ended up play the other Strat more because it had this guitars neck on it.  The last time I rebuilt it I put the original neck back on it put some Fender CS 69' pickups in it and a Clapton Mid Boost Circuit.

As great as this guitar is/was the mid boost really didn't do what I thought it would do for me which is make my guitar sound like it has humbuckers.  It got loud and really distorted but not humbuckers.  So the only reason I kept the boost in the guitar was so I could play this guitar in my country band I'm playing (Country Rock Band with a little more Rock then Country) But I keep playing Gibson Les Pauls and my SG because all these songs have some crunch to them.  Yeah I've even kicked the idea that I need a new amp or a Distortion pedal or something to get me there, but thats with the Gibson guitar which on there own do a good job.  The poor strat has been with me through every single musical experience I've ever had and its missing out now because well it lacks the balls. 

So now I'm selling my pickups because I think I'm all about humbuckers now... (flavor of the week player) and I'm trying to decide what should go in it.  I'm going back with a white pickguard and zebra coil picks for sure.  Anybody else revamp guitars this much???  Also do you have a suggestion to what I should put in this baby?  I'm thinking of going crazy and making this a rock guitar.  I'm seriously wanting to push the preamp of my poor blues jr to its limits.

AD3THREE's Website

  • From: WV
  • Registered: 2012-04-04
  • Posts: 115

Re: Revamping my Stratocaster...AGAIN!

Yep, I do the same thing with strats - I have parts out the butt for strats - I actually have a 2001 Sunburst Am Std too - I have tried tons of the fender pickups for strats and different set ups - After a major selling spree this past year, I have around 10 strats left that are complete, and probably enough parts to build 5-10 more - The pick ups I really like and use mostly are the '57/62's that they put in the 60'th anniversary guitars a while back - they sound great to me -Definitely not the sound you are looking for though - Its fun playing around with Strats for sure - My main strat is my 1991, first strat I ever bought - Also i have a 79 strat that is beat to death that I play a lot - Hollar at me if you are ever looking for any certain pick ups - I have box fulls - Including some humbuckers - I got a JB59 and a Pearly Gates I found this week, would have to look if they are bridge or neck - Im thinking about throwing that 59 in one of my LP's next week during the holiday break! Lol

3 Reply by AD3THREE (edited by AD3THREE 2012-11-16 00:37:00)

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: Revamping my Stratocaster...AGAIN!

Totally love the 69' CS fender pickups but this other strat I've got has a set of Seymour Duncan vintage style Alnico 2 pickups in it and when I wanna strat sound thats what I want to use.  It has it in spades.  Would put it in my Sunburst but that guitar is my dads and he can't play anymore so its kinda special.  I'm not wanting anything smaller then a full size PAF style pickup in this guitar.  I've tried Seymour Duncan Mini JB's, Mini 59', hot rails, you name it if it had Seymour duncan's name on it and its strat sized for strat guitars I've used it.  The all sound thin and narrow, because they are.  I am leaning heavily on a HSH style guitar with some bluesy humbuckers.  I'm thinking to start out I might rob from my SG just because those are the only humbuckers I have that I wouldn't mind moving around.  They are Pearly Gates and they sound fine in the SG, but I'm more or less wanting to test my theory about wanting humbuckers before I totally commit to buying some.  I too have more Strat parts then I need and did sell most of mine off or gave parts away.   I've really had a big craving for big hair bands lately, more then likely because the band I'm in wants to start covering some hair metal lol.  This is going to wet that craving.

blues&tattoos wrote:

Yep, I do the same thing with strats - I have parts out the butt for strats - I actually have a 2001 Sunburst Am Std too - I have tried tons of the fender pickups for strats and different set ups - After a major selling spree this past year, I have around 10 strats left that are complete, and probably enough parts to build 5-10 more - The pick ups I really like and use mostly are the '57/62's that they put in the 60'th anniversary guitars a while back - they sound great to me -Definitely not the sound you are looking for though - Its fun playing around with Strats for sure - My main strat is my 1991, first strat I ever bought - Also i have a 79 strat that is beat to death that I play a lot - Hollar at me if you are ever looking for any certain pick ups - I have box fulls - Including some humbuckers - I got a JB59 and a Pearly Gates I found this week, would have to look if they are bridge or neck - Im thinking about throwing that 59 in one of my LP's next week during the holiday break! Lol

AD3THREE's Website