USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

[musicartrevolution]

Okay, so i'm doing a "project" on this start which i love, it has a mahogany body, humbucker/single/single pickup configuration, and a maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard. I'm using this for stuff from heavy rock to alternative. I'm doing a little routing work and putting a Fernandes Sustainer in the neck position. But i still need to decide on a humbucker for the bridge and a middle single coil.

At first i was thinking a Distortion in the bridge and a Hot Rails in the middle, but i don't know if this would be too crazy. I go from playing heavy prog/post hardcore type stuff like Isis, Cult of Luna, Pelican, etc to also playing rock like Muse, Queens of the Stoneage, Failure, etc. So i guess i'm wondering what you would think of this combination for bridge and middle? Too hot? What you recommend? Looking for heaviness and clarity but also able to clean up for clean tones, even if it means a little volume roll off. Thanks guys!!!

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

welcome to the club of this strat!

(You DO NOT want to know what mods went in.... but that's a digression)

OK, back on topic. First off, you shouldn't need to rout much as it's an H-S-H under the hood, so you'll only need to buy a new PG in the same color as the stock one, however I'm not fond of sustainers so much as I am the idea of getting the sustain from the guitar's natural tendencies. I like the Idea of a TB-6 (The distortion you want that lines up with the way a strat's bridge is), and a hot rails (SHR-1n) in the middle, to be honest, however you will have to change out the tone pots for them. If I was to do a neck one, just dump in a SH-6n and you'll have more than enough firepower to do what you want, and with that much power may not even need the sustainer... although this means you'll need to increase the sustain elsewhere. Wymore guitars has these pups in good supply and gives discounts to SDUGF members. Look for his signature, the code is there.

As for pots and caps, you want a very modern sound. I'm partial to the idea of having the best pots for the money, and to me that's RSGuitarworks / CTS's stuff. Get a hold of Billy there, and tell him what you want to do. Tell him you plan to run a high-output rails pickpu and a ceramic mag'd, 17k output bridge HB. You'll probably end up with 500k for both tones, and a 500k for the volume. How you wire it up for the tone and bridge is up to you, and if you send the Pickguard with the pups, they'll do the wiring and calibrating and pick out good caps, and make that guitar sing / roar. I went with them for the pictured strat (albeit for a more vintage flavor), and I have nothing but high praise for the work they do. I would say you'd end up with a 500k SuperPot for volume and 2 500k's for middle and bridge.

Now, onto the sustain issue. GET RID OF THE STOCK BLOCK!. I cannot say that enough that the stock block for the American Deluxe is a thing of hamburger metal. Go to callaham guitars and get a Premium American Deluxe kit for $126 + S&H. Drop it in, as a direct replacement and replace the saddles. Then adjust for radius, tune, and intonate like you usually would. Watch not only the tuning stability go up from the heavier block, but the notes will sustain better and have more bloom, and you won't have strings break as often, and the string will have more of itself resting in the block, so you won't get internal string breaks as often. The bar rests in a hole with a bushing, and you get ABSOLUTELY zero play. The bar doesn't bounce up and down, or fall out of the hole, it just sits right where you want it. If you want to change the tip to black, just call up fender and ask for a black tip. I did that and they were happy to oblige.

If you have any further questions on modding your guitar (having been through it), or just want to see what I did to bring out more of its natural sustain, feel free to ask. You have an incredible instrument, and I'd love to see the end result.

Jason

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

What the hey.... here's the mod list.

Mods:

• Pickups: Seymour Duncan
  • Neck: Seymour Duncan SSL-1 rwrp
  • Middle: Seymour Duncan SSL-1
  • Bridge: Seymour Duncan Brobucker overwound to 11k
• Potentiometers: RSGuitarworks Custom Kit
  • Volume: 280k RSGuitarworks / CTS superpot (readout: 300k)
  • Tone 1: 250k RSGuitarworks / CTS pot (wired to neck and middle SSL-1s)
  • Tone 2: 500k RSGuitarworks / CTS pot (wired to brobucker)
• Capacitors: LuxeRadio Vintage Reissues
  • Tone 1: Luxe 1957-1958 Phonebook .1uf/150v capacitor wired to tone control #1, controls neck and middle SSL-1
  • Tone 2: Luxe 1956 – 1960 “Bumblebee” .022uf / 400v PIO capacitor wired to tone control #2, controls Brobucker in bridge position
• Switching: 5-way Lonestar Switching with AutoSplit in position 4
  • Position 1: Neck SSL-1rwrp (wired to tone control #1)
  • Position 2: Neck SSL-1rwrp in parallel with middle SSL-1 (wired to tone control #1)
  • Position 3: Middle SSL-1 (wired to tone control #1)
  • Position 4: Middle SSL-1 wired in parallel to inside coil of Brobucker in bridge (SSL-1 wired to tone control #1, Brobucker wired to tone control #2)
  • Position 5: Full Brobucker in bridge position in Series (wired to tone control #2)
  • Switch: Fender / CRL 5-way superswitch
• Bridge:
  • Block: Premium Callaham American Series Block made from Cold-Rolled UNS 1018 to match 1950s Stratocaster Specifications
  • Saddles: Callaham Hardened Steel saddles for American Series / American Deluxe Stratocaster with elongated string openings for reduced breakover angle
  • 5 American Series Springs to Stratocaster Claw, with claw clamped down
• Neck: Screw upgrade Kit by Onyx Forge Guitars
  • 4x 10-32 thread, 18-8 stainless steel machine screws
  • 4x Stainless steel inserts for 10-32 thread machine screws
• Miscellany:
  • AcmeGuitarWorks Solderless connector kit for hot wire, output wire, and ground wire, soldered to Volume Pot
  • Grounding wire connecting all 3 potentiometers together for further hum-reduction

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

errr uuhhhmmmm

to answer your question about pickups:

I actually play in a similar style to you and could cite some of the same references. I used to have a Hot Rails in my Strat and it was basically only good for hardcore heavy ****...granted it was REALLY good for that, and I had the two single coils to dial in a more vintage tone if i wanted, but i definitely scrapped the pickup within a few months.

I had the CustomCustom in my Strat for a long time (now it's in my SG-X) and the thing kills for hard rock rhythm tones and thick leads...cleans up and splits awesomely but always has a thick / rude character that i love. It's pretty high output (something like 14k?) but it feels and responds a lot like a vintage PAF humbucker, so i find it's the best compromise between modern heaviness and vintage awesomeness.

If that was my guitar i'd want the middle pickup to be a vintage-style Strat pickup. That way regardless of how hot the bucker in the bridge is, you'll be able to hit the switch and get some sweeter, chimey vintage tones. Just gives you more options as a player and keeps it's Stratty character.

What kind of amp / effects are you using? Cuz you can get extremely heavy tones out of vintage-output pickups if you're using a rig with lots of gain on tap...i was playing Slayer on my P90 strat yesterday because my Big Muff and modded DS-1 get such thick crunchy gain together that i don't need anything hotter...

 

[astrozombie]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

ive had my eye on those guitars for a while.

what are the pickups like stock?

and dude i dont think you need a sustainer, thats only for really whack crazy sounds. you can get the same effects with pedals or just alot of distortion with a good pickup.

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

ive had my eye on those guitars for a while.

what are the pickups like stock?

and dude i dont think you need a sustainer, thats only for really whack crazy sounds. you can get the same effects with pedals or just alot of distortion with a good pickup.

Great guitars.... I got mine as a gift

Stock pup: meh, tex-mex neck and middle, diamondback bridge, S-1 switch a nightmare to work with.

I agree, no sustainer needed.... good pedals and a lot of distortion will work too

 

[astrozombie]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

Great guitars.... I got mine as a gift

Stock pup: meh, tex-mex neck and middle, diamondback bridge, S-1 switch a nightmare to work with.

I agree, no sustainer needed.... good pedals and a lot of distortion will work too

and the sustainer is a one trick pony.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

errr uuhhhmmmm

If that was my guitar i'd want the middle pickup to be a vintage-style Strat pickup. That way regardless of how hot the bucker in the bridge is, you'll be able to hit the switch and get some sweeter, chimey vintage tones. Just gives you more options as a player and keeps it's Stratty character.

I agree wholeheartly with you. I like it in my alder strat, but i never got a good SC tone out of my solid mahagony Tele. After a lot of swapping round in this Tele i have a P90 in the neck and a lil 59 in the Bridge. It doesnt sound like a Fender - you need Ash/Alder, maybe Basswood or even Maple for this bod.

 

[musicartrevolution]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

Wow, thanks for all the feedback you guys! Definitely a big help. While i know the Sustainer is definitely not a necessary thing, i actually have it in another guitar for the project i'm working on currently and it's massively helpful in doing a lot of interesting textural and atmospheric type stuff, plus i got the kit for $50 for this guitar too. ;-)

I think i may now look at doing a CustomCustom in the bridge and something else in the middle.

Ganzosrevenge - Thanks for all the info! I think i am going to go the same route as you replacing the block. And as for the routing, it actually seems like i won't have to do much of anything as long as there is room for the little circuit board, as the sustainer driver pickup i have is a single coil size.

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

a custom custom with an A2 mag + the mahogany's tendency to emphasize low-end equals a lot of chug. I have an 11k Brobucker and I get a LOT of lowend, but overall it's fairly evened out. I would say that to avoid getting mud city, stick with a custom 5 in the bridge, a stack in the middle (prob. classic stack plus) and if you must, the sustainiac up in the neck... although with a well-set up strat (there are little tips and tricks to improving a strat's overall performance EVERYWHERE on this forum), you probably won't need the sustainiac unless you absolutely have to have a note last for minutes on end.

Read away here as a good start point: https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?p=2024405 and see what you can get from that before you stick in an artificial, battery and PCB-powered pickup.

Jason

 

[musicartrevolution]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

Jason-

Awesome info again, thanks! I'll browse a little more and i think you're definitely pointing me in the right direction. I'm planning on doing lots of the "tweaks" recommended as well! As for the Sustainer, it's not at all about not thinking i can't get sustain out of the guitar naturally. I know with the proper adjustments and settings it would do just fine. It's more of an effect, and i much prefer it to any pedal based sustain-ish effects that i've used. I've been able to do things with it in combination with other effects that i haven't been able to duplicate otherwise, so it's just a fun accessory for me. Thanks again for all the great info!!!!

-Danny

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

yea, mahogany is a low-range tonal wood. IT likes to emphasize lows. A CC would be great for a super bright body. I would try, before getting the sustainiac in, getting as much natural sustain out. If you build a great start point, it's easier to get where you want to go than starting at zero and not maximizing what you have been giving with natural ingredients

 

[Mincer]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

i dig the sustainer for atmospheric things too, plus I love sustain without distortion, and it works well. i wish i could find them for $50!

 

[musicartrevolution]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

Exactly what i use it for as well, Mincer!

Couple more questions for ya as well, Jason (if you don't mind). So thanks for pointing out i would need the trembucker version of the Distortion, i actually spaced that out. I was also wondering if the parallel axis Distortion would be an option, and if so, how you think it would compare/differ from the trembucker version?

Thanks again for all your help, i'll be sure to post picks of the project.

 

[ganzosrevenge]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

Parallel Axis is a different type of bobbin / polepiece combo, I have no experience with using them, so I cannot give you a fair answer on that part. As far as spacing goes, if you ever see EVH's "Frankenstein", the bridge pup is at a slight angle.. This angle turns the pickup at just enough of an angle so that the polepieces somewhat line up with the strings. The Normal Spacing is for gibson-style bridges, whereas Trembuckers, which are F-Spaced, are designed to line up better with the spacing on a Floyd Rose tremolo or Fender vibrato bridge. Hence the need for the Trembucker. You can get the Parallel Axis Distortion as a Trembucker as well, it's called the PATB-2. Wymore Guitars can get it, and they offer a discount to SDUGF members. (Look for "Wymore Guitars" Signature to find the code.)

Good luck!

Jason

 

[bagouser]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

CustomCustom/5-2/Cool Rails sounds like a winner

 

[uOpt]

Re: USA Fender Mahogany Strat HSS...

The Pearly Gates became my go-to pickup in a tremolo Strat. It's really good in there, it fills some of the bottom that was unrepresented due to the tremolo, and it gives you that bright screech through medium overdrive. It is A2, so it goes from very sweet to very saturated.

I don't like the Cool Rails I'm afraid. The simple Antiquity 1 (Texas hot) sounded best to me so far. The hot rails are good but as mentioned one-trick ponies.