Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

[regan]

Over the last year or so I've begun to use a strat more & more after being almost exclusively a LP user.
I've learnt to love the middle, neck & the position inbetween them, but almost as a fendery alternative to the 3 positions of a LP if that makes sense.

However I find the bridge position totally unusable bright thin & generally lousy, am I missing something or is this the general consensus?

Before I stick a s/c size humbucker in there can someone educate me as to what I'm missing & how to get the best out of a bridge s/c?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

whats are the pups? do you have a tone control on the bridge pup?

in most of my strats i have a hotter bridge pup. aps2/aps2/twangbanger, surfer trio with the custom bridge, ssl2/ssl2/ssl6, blackout singles trio (bridge model is hotter than neck/middle), strabro90 trio etc... but i have one strat that ive been playing a lot that has a trio of pups that are all the same. master volume, master tone. the bridge pup can be bright with the tone full up depending on amps settings but i get lots of useable tones out of it. ymmv

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

It's an US standard strat with stock pups, the bridge tone pot 'unlocks' at 10 and is removed from circuit.
The gain is fairly even across all 3 pups but the general timbre of the bridge is underwhelming, perhaps I've been spoilt with a lp & tele bridge sound & expecting too much?

The only use I could see is cutting through a very congested mix, but it's still not a pleasant sound.

Are there any archetypal strat bridge sounds on classic songs I can use as a reference? or a guitarist whose signature tone is a strat's bridge?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

is that tone control only wired to the bridge? if its on 10 then it isnt taming any treble. i dont like no load tone controls for bridge pups for that reason. putting a base plate on the bridge pup can tame a little treble too.

is the bridge pup tone way off where you want it or you just wish it was a little softer?

recordings are only so much help since there is a lot of other things going on

 

[Archer250]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Yes it is. It's great for cleans and can sound great distorted if you fight it. You really have to work a bridge single coil. It's a very different discipline from bridge humbuckers.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Stick a Lil59b (SL59-1B) in in there and wire it for auto-split. It has balls when selected alone and sounds like a strat should when combined with the middle pup. Rock on!

 

[Mincer]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I always rewire my Strats to have a master tone for the neck & middle and a tone for the bridge. I have no idea why modern ones aren't already wired that way. But, in the end, I am still not happy with a regular single coil in the bridge. Bright, screechy, and no power. I almost always change it to something warmer and more powerful, like any of the sc-sized humbuckers, a SSL-6, a Hot Rails, or a Hot Stack.

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Stick a Lil59b (SL59-1B) in in there and wire it for auto-split. It has balls when selected alone and sounds like a strat should when combined with the middle pup. Rock on!

This is the position I feel I'm in now, I was hoping someone could teach me to love the bridge pup, oh well.

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I always rewire my Strats to have a master tone for the neck & middle and a tone for the bridge. I have no idea why modern ones aren't already wired that way. But, in the end, I am still not happy with a regular single coil in the bridge. Bright, screechy, and no power. I almost always change it to something warmer and more powerful, like any of the sc-sized humbuckers, a SSL-6, a Hot Rails, or a Hot Stack.

That's how my strat's wired atm, I'm surprised Fender hasn't 'fixed' the bridge pup in 60 odd years
I have a STK3b in my tele, how similar does the strat stack sound to the tele stack? & does it balance well with the stock sc's?

Otherwise a lil jb or 59 methinks

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

What is there to fix??
As long as the guitar is good and you can play and such...
There is a long and old list of players who have used the normal bridge pickup for all kinds of stuff....

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

What is there to fix??
As long as the guitar is good and you can play and such...
There is a long and old list of players who have used the normal bridge pickup for all kinds of stuff....

Gimme some reference tones, so I can learn to use the bridge, I never got a LP neck until I learnt to roll the treble off & think Santana/Clapton.
This is what I'm asking in a nutshell, what tones can I emulate using a strat bridge?

 

[jtougas]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I've come to the conclusion that Strats work best with a slightly hotter pup in the bridge. For instance, 2 SSL-1 in the neck and middle, then an SSL-5 in the bridge.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

a lot depends on your rig. when i use a mushy amp like a tweed deluxe, i love a vintage type strat bridge pup. same when i use a fuzzface type pedal. as far as recorded tones i have no idea since i dont usually listen to music that way but some of duane allmans studio work was done with a strats bridge pup. id guess that the guitar work on wilson picketts hey jude is a strat bridge pup

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I have a love/hate relationship with Strats (SSS.) I think the bridge pickup sounds best with a baseplate added.

 

[Firebrand]

Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?


~~~

 

[Firebrand]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Custom Shop 69s in neck and mid with SSL5 bridge pup here. Happiest I have ever been with a strat pickup set yet. And this is coming from a guy who cut his teeth and became a man using humbuckers...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spudman]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

On all my Strats I wire the bridge pickup to a tone pot. Never have any problems getting what I want from any of them. True, hotter bridge pickups make it easier to get a ballsier sound, but I can still get great tones with stock bridge pickups...with a tone pot attached. No - it isn't going to be a Les Paul, but when you really listen to the sound of that position it's possible to tailor your technique and adjust the tone pot to get a usable tone. Sometimes it's pretty good flat out bright, but I usually have the amp adjusted so that it sounds good and not too ice pick-like.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I think the question is are you good enough to make a Strat bridge pickup sound good ? You don't just pick up a Strat and start playing and get the legendary tones, it takes many years to come to grips with Strats (I mean proper Strats with three single-coil pickups). You have to dig those great sounds out with your playing, they don't just automatically fall out fully-formed.

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

~~~

What on Earth does this mean? am I getting old?

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I think the question is are you good enough to make a Strat bridge pickup sound good ? You don't just pick up a Strat and start playing and get the legendary tones, it takes many years to come to grips with Strats (I mean proper Strats with three single-coil pickups). You have to dig those great sounds out with your playing, they don't just automatically fall out fully-formed.

Short answer, no
Long answer, if I can get a ballpark idea of a good bridge sound,maybe one day.