My love/hate relationship with the strat

[ItsaBass]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

If that is really enough of a reason to get rid of your Strat, then I guess you don't love them after all. Sounds more like an annoyance on a guitar that you otherwise like. It can't be that hard to work around it. I am a palm and finger muter too, almost all the time, and I can't say that the knob positions on any guitar bother me or impede my playing. You just have to be flexible. Different methods for playing different guitars.

 

[dominus]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I love Strats. I love the body style, and how comfortable they are to play. However, after coming up on Les Pauls for the bulk of my 26 years of playing, I can't get used to the position of the volume knob. It drives me crazy. I've considered ordering a pick guard from Warmoth with the relocated volume knob position, but I'm not really sure if it will help. All I know is that in its stock position the knob is very much in my way. I can't rest my hand on the bridge when standing to acini date how I like to play.

For those of you who have relocated the knob, does it help? I'm about to sell off my last strat if I can't figure this one out.

As B2D said, replace one of the tone knobs with your volume knob. I use a carriage bolt to cover unused pot holes.

 

[blueman335]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I'm about to sell off my last strat if I can't figure this one out.

That would be my suggestion. Rid yourself of the foul beasts once and for all!

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

That would be my suggestion. Rid yourself of the foul beasts once and for all!

PTSSD

Post Traumatic Strat Stress Disorder...:scratchch

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Strats are great but I dig Tele's better...they have a better bridge sound, I like the neck sound better too and they just feel right to me but Strats can go a long way too.

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That would be my suggestion. Rid yourself of the foul beasts once and for all!

We get it Rick...you are a Fender Fobe.

With nothing really add to Fender threads except about how much they suck why do you even bother to open these threads and post??

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Thats what I Love most about the tele,is the bridge pickup...The strat is comfier to play in my case though..

I dig Strats overall but I do feel they they lack something Tele's have however Tele's don't have a vibrato bar so when I need/want the bar I grab a Strat...sure, floating them (like I do) kills some sustain but the trade off is worth it IMHO.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I dig Strats overall but I do feel they they lack something Tele's have however Tele's don't have a vibrato bar so when I need/want the bar I grab a Strat...sure, floating them (like I do) kills some sustain but the trade off is worth it IMHO.

Funny...Half of my strats I have floating and the others I don't..I Know it's proper to have them float and all...With that being said,I very rarely use the whammy bar! I Like it for subtle stuff,but most of the subtle vibrato I do with my fingers/wrist etc..

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I'm pretty much a Fender guy and I enjoy playing a strat or a tele...Both nice sounding/playing guitars...The thing I dislike most about the Gibson stuff(for me) is the clubbier necks...I don't have huge hands and maybe that's why I like a Fender "C" kinda shaped neck..Something not as deep and not quite as wide also..I adjust,but the Fenders are more comfortable..

 

[uOpt]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Not seeing the difficulty. It take very little time to convert to master volume and master tone and you just dump the first pot. Close the hole to some tape from the back and you are all set.

 

[BrianS.]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

...convert to master volume and master tone and you just dump the first pot. Close the hole to some tape from the back and you are all set.

This is what I did on my strat right away. Volume knob was always in the way otherwise.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Getting rid of the two tone knob setup on a Strat eliminates some of the best tones, and takes a lot of the function away from the switch. I'd gladly eliminate the volume before doing that.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Getting rid of the two tone knob setup on a Strat eliminates some of the best tones, and takes a lot of the function away from the switch. I'd gladly eliminate the volume before doing that.

Yep, I almost always have the two tone knobs set differently. In some guitars I even have different cap values for each knob (I like 22nF for bridge and 47nF for neck)

Don't think I could ever get rid of the volume though. I'm always fiddling with it.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Does it have the stock knobs? The only time I remember having any issues with a strat was on a guitar that had brass knobs on it. Maybe you just need to find lower profile knobs. If not, I'd hella go to a V/T setup.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Yep, I almost always have the two tone knobs set differently. In some guitars I even have different cap values for each knob (I like 22nF for bridge and 47nF for neck)

Don't think I could ever get rid of the volume though. I'm always fiddling with it.

I wouldn't want to get rid of the volume either. But if I only had two holes to use, I'd rather have two tones and no volume than V/T. Not being able to use the switch to change between both tone pots, or no tone pot at all on the bridge, would take away a lot from how I like to set Strats.

How I would probably go about this if the volume knob bothered me would be to use two concentric pots. That's four pots in two holes. You could go V/T/T/T, or master volume, tone, tone, and bridge volume, which could be used to give you "bridge on" in any position.

I'm modifying a Strat right now. It has two holes in the pickguard, and each of those is getting a concentric pot. Then I am putting a third hole over by the neck pickup, kind of like some old Gretsches did. Master volume will go in the forward spot, and the other four controls will be T/T/T and bridge volume.

 

[rts99]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I also find the strat vol knob to interfere some times, depends on what I'm playing. But instead of re-wiring a strat I've spent a little quality time with the new PRS Studio. Wowsers! Outstanding tones, very easy player, exceptional quality, nice range of choices (bridge, neck, plating, etc), great look, and just a sweet blues guitar. Everything the strat is but better. Unfortunately it's also priced like it. I hope to order one before they're all gone......

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Boy, if you want to talk about interference, talk about the 3-way switch and volume knob on a TELECASTER!

When I'm onstage and I finish taking a solo on my Tele's bridge pickup, it's a real struggle to get my fingers between the volume knob and the switch to switch back to the neck pickup again. There's just no room at all. Almost feels like I need BOTH HANDS sometimes to make it happen. :banghead:

Strats are perfectly set up for fast pickup selection and easy volume & tone changes.

Teles? Not so perfect. I love 'em - but they're like a stubborn, difficult to get along with woman that you fight with all the time but want in your life anyway.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Boy, if you want to talk about interference, talk about the 3-way switch and volume knob on a TELECASTER!

When I'm onstage and I finish taking a solo on my Tele's bridge pickup, it's a real struggle to get my fingers between the volume knob and the switch to switch back to the neck pickup again. There's just no room at all.

I think Strats are perfectly set up. Teles? Not so perfect.

I can see Strats being laid out very well but Tele's are fine for me too.

If you are having issues with the 3 way I've seen a LOT of "fixes" for that...Jeff Beck uses no switch tip, Danny Gatton bent his over at an angle but to me this is the way to go if a Tele's 3 way placement bothers you.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I can see Strats being laid out very well but Tele's are fine for me too.

If you are having issues with the 3 way I've seen a LOT of "fixes" for that...Jeff Beck uses no switch tip, Danny Gatton bent his over at an angle but to me this is the way to go if a Tele's 3 way placement bothers you.

View attachment 36474

Cool! Never seen one like that before. That's the way all Tele's should be. I do bend mine like Danny Gatton...but it's still a PITA.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

Cool! Never seen one like that before. That's the way all Tele's should be. I do bend mine like Danny Gatton...but it's still a PITA.

You'd like that Rutters plate...not only is the switch angled slightly but if you look at it next to a stock Fender plate you can see Marc moved the switch as far form the volume knob as possible still being able to leave the guitar stock.

 

[jimlp]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

I love Strats. I love the body style, and how comfortable they are to play. However, after coming up on Les Pauls for the bulk of my 26 years of playing, I can't get used to the position of the volume knob. It drives me crazy. I've considered ordering a pick guard from Warmoth with the relocated volume knob position, but I'm not really sure if it will help. All I know is that in its stock position the knob is very much in my way. I can't rest my hand on the bridge when standing to acini date how I like to play.

For those of you who have relocated the knob, does it help? I'm about to sell off my last strat if I can't figure this one out.

Yes it helps. Not a Charvel just a partscaster.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: My love/hate relationship with the strat

You'd like that Rutters plate...not only is the switch angled slightly but if you look at it next to a stock Fender plate you can see Marc moved the switch as far form the volume knob as possible still being able to leave the guitar stock.

I'd like to have a couple of those. $30 each on his website. He's got a lot of cool stuff!