Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Pink Floyd
Jimi Hendrix
SRV (though I think he used the TexMex set?)

Different guitars have different tones for a reason - they're not all supposed to sound the same. The tones they get are the tones that define the instrument. You get a Les Paul for "the Les Paul tone" and a Strat for "the Strat sound" and a Tele for "the Tele tone" and a White Falcon for "the White Falcon sound".

The basic production model USA Strat bridge single is fine as it is. It's bright, it's piercing, and depending on where along the string you pick, it can either sing like a Valkyrie or wail like a Banshee. If your wrist is locked onto the bridge when you pick, you're going to need to start moving that thing around to see everything a Strat can do.

And no, actually, I'm not a huge fan of Strats at all. I've never owned one for very long, though I've had several. I find the body to be completely uncomfortable, and for the cost of a USA model, I would like to have 22 frets at least.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I don't know. I've been playing a long time. I love Strats. I just don't like stock bridge pickups at all. I don't like when SRV uses it, or Backmore, or Eric Jonson, for that matter. I haven't heard it sound good to my ears no matter who is playing, unless it has a tone knob, or has more mids. It is just not the way I like a guitar to sound.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Pink Floyd
Jimi Hendrix
SRV (though I think he used the TexMex set?)

and for the cost of a USA model, I would like to have 22 frets at least.

most american models do come with 22 frets. although vintage re-issues wil always come with 21 since they models they are copying had 21. srv didnt use the tex-mex since they werent around when he died, he used almost all stock pups in his vintage strats. the texas specials were designed for his signature strat but he died before he played them much

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Every USA Strat I've owned had 22 frets...

 

[thunderkyss]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

most american models do come with 22 frets. although vintage re-issues wil always come with 21 since they models they are copying ha 21. srv didnt use the tex-mex since they werent around when he died, he used almost all stock pups in his vintage strats. the texas specials were designed for his signature strat but he died before he played them much

I thought the TexMex pickups were made to replicate the hotter pickups in SRV's guitar. I don't think the pickups in Number1 were stock.

That said... I never liked the sound of a single coil bridge pickup in a Strat. I've heard & seen other players use that bridge pickup & it's a nice beefy strat sound, but every time I get my hands on one... no bueno. It's too bright, roll the tone knob a little, & it's deader than f... y'know.

I can dig the bridge/middle, but not just the bridge.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

#1 was a mis-match of parts. the pups read lower than 6k so ive read. the tex-mex pups were first in the jimmy vaughan strat as far as i know. the texas specials are what is in the srv signature strat but i dont think stevie used them much, if at all before he died.

i use a .015 cap on my sss strat which lets me take just the top edge off, if you have a .1 cap thatll get dark quickly

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Yep strat bridges are completely unusable.
Same as tele neck pickups.
Completely unusable.
What the hell was Leo thinking?

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Dunno....
Now I'll go and play my unusable guitars

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

The Strat bridge pickup is not tinny or twangy enough for me, the only way I can get a good sound is by running that pickup through three treble boosters in series. It helps to use stainless steel strings and a metal pick.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

:laughing:

 

[Liko]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

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?

... Yes, because I've heard it done, but I have yet to set either of my SC Strats up for a bridge tone I really like. Like you, I'm really in love with the vintage-voiced neck through middle, but the bridge is a bit of a problem child.

The usual recommendation is to go hotter on the bridge coil; if you want pure lead tone, consider the Hot for Strat for a Texas Hot setup, or if you like the idea of the vintage EQ shape but just want it flatter and higher output, try the Custom for Strat.

Personally, my favorite Strat bridge tone is Jeff Beck's. That's a bit of a hard one to nail down because his #1 white Strat has a set of pickups hand-wound by John Suhr, that only exist one other place in the world - in his #2 surf green Strat. However, all his other backups use a slightly overwound Fender Noiseless A5, so it's a good bet his #1 isn't too far from that. A Classic Stack Plus would probably do it, or if you want true single coils, a Custom for Strat bridge.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

The usual recommendation is to go hotter on the bridge coil; if you want pure lead tone, consider the Hot for Strat for a Texas Hot setup, or if you like the idea of the vintage EQ shape but just want it flatter and higher output, try the Custom for Strat.

A couple of my favorite Strat tones are The Edge and David Gilmour, which are rather different. I ended up going with a tapped SSL-6 for the fatter lead sound, but I can pull up on the tone for more chime in bridge / middle. I also have it wired with a master tone and Fralin blender because I don't like a Strat bridge pickup without a tone control.


Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Nothing wrong with changing a stock output bridge to a hotter pup for Heavy Blues and Heavy Metal , be aware you'll miss out to a degree on the classic rock , and awesome 1-2 position stock Strat tone. Doesn't matter so much with the SRV slight overwound style bridge pickups, but if you go nuts with the overwound bridge you start to lose that glorious sound...still a great tone though, I have a set of very overwound Strat pickups and the bridge sounds very cool...

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

srv's #1 had pretty low wind pups actually. that huge sound was all amp and fingers

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

I think I'm going to try a lil 59 or JB jr in my strat, as soon as I can find one s/h in decent condition.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

srv's #1 had pretty low wind pups actually. that huge sound was all amp and fingers

Don't forget the heavy strings. I've heard that he used 11s, 12s, or 13s depending on what time period you're looking at.

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Don't forget the heavy strings. I've heard that he used 11s, 12s, or 13s depending on what time period you're looking at.

But did he switch to large strings for tone or because he was breaking them too often?

 

[dystrust]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

But did he play large strings for tone or because he was breaking strings too often?

I'm guessing at least some of it was tone. When using vintage output singles, 11s sound absolutely huge compared to 9s.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

he was also tuned down a half step which makes 11's feel like 10's for example. i think some of it was tone and some of it was to string breakage. his strings were supposedly 13, 15, 19, 28, 38, 58. so the 13 is heavy but the rest arent really much different than a set of 11's. i used to run a similar set 11, 15, 19, 28, 38, 54 but it became a pita to get custom made sets so im back to just plain 11-50

 

[regan]

Re: Is a strat bridge pick up actually usable?

Jimmy Page got absolutely huge tones with a banjo string for his high E & the other stings moved across one.
Obviously bigger strings offer the pups more metal to 'see' but not all that much. I recently wimped out & dropped to 9's after using 11's & it surprised me how little (none to my ear) it actually made.
The feel is massively different, kind of like play arm wrestling a child if you get the analogy, but tone I'm not too sure.

not trying to make any real point but it's something I recently tried & found interesting & just sharing my experience (SD59's in my LP & stock fender sc's in my strat so not particularly hot pups)