My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

[Thor]

undefinedundefinedundefined

HELP ME!!!undefined

I have an old strat with questionable heritage. I LOVE the way a strat feels on my bod, and it plays well but the sound is thin or noisy (depending) and I've had it.

It has a Dirtmarzio hot pickup in the bridge position that makes more noise than a blender filled with chains. REALLY makes me mad.

I'm considering dropping a hot NOISELESS pickup in the bridge.

I'm checking out the Hot rails for this purpose, but I'm wondering if there is another hot, yet noiseless bridge pickup that looks more like a strat single coil (appearance only).

Lastly, I wanna put a hot pickup in the neck as well, cause I use that for soloing sometimes too.

Guys.....I need your experience. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't have much money and I don't wanna spend what little I have on a useless effort.

ANY and all posts would be greatly appreciated!!!

Your fan,

Thor :dance:

 

[nuntius]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

well if you buy duncans its not a useless effort if you get it wrong, theres the exchange policy - so you can just swap it for another one.

what kinda tone are you after, and more importantly what amp are you playing through?

 

[Thor]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Thanks for the reply!

I was in the UK last summer for an uncle's wedding....what an AWESOME country. When they found out I was from Canada, they were all so nice to me it was embarassing!

I'm running direct through a guitar effects processor (A boss GT-3) and if I do put an amp in the mix, it will be a marshall 100 watt baby amp.

I like to make and record music....and I'm a dinosaur. I like the hard rock of the 60's 70's and 80's. Rock....not metal!! I loved ZZtop's tone, but I like HEAT in my strat. The Dimarzio is hot enough, it's just the shameless amount of noise it produces that makes me crazy.

One of my favorite axes before breakage was a Hamer Explorer with humbuckers.

Ah well....

Nice soundclips. I like the way you play. Nice looking blue strat too....does it have an arm contour? I can see it's bound.

Thanks for your reply and if you've used a hot rails, lemme know....like to know what you thought of it.

Ian

 

[rspst14]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

As far as noiseless pickups go, I've heard nothing but good things about Kinman and Bill Lawrence pickups. Some of the Lace Sensors are great, some aren't. It just depends on the model.

Are you after more of a single coil tone, or would you prefer a single-coil sized humbucker? The design is the same, but some are meant to capture a classic Strat sound, while others are meant to sound like a humbucker in a single coil-sized pickup. I'm actually in the same boat here, I'm putting together a Strat from parts, and I've been looking at various types of noiseless pickups. If you want a traditional single coil sound with more output, you might like the Bill Lawrence L-290S or the Lace HG-1500 Holy Grail Sensor. Kinmans are very highly regarded, but they are pretty expensive and I'm not too familiar with them. The Lawrence pickups might be your best bet. There's a 3-4 week wait if you decide to order them, but they're only $40 each.

Ryan

 

[Kent S.]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

well if you buy duncans its not a useless effort if you get it wrong, theres the exchange policy - so you can just swap it for another one.

DMZ has a 30 day exchange policy also.
Although, on the look issue I can't think of any hum-cancelling pup they have that looks like a stock strat pup and is, as he puts it ... hot ...most of those are dual blade pups ... although the Virtual vintage solo might do him. Still not a humbucker level hot though. If you want to go with dual blades, the DMZ Fast track 2,Pro Track, a tone zone version, and another hot one tht escapes me at the moment, and no ... they don't make any noise.

 

[Trev]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Hi,
Ive a strat, i also like 70's rock likeyourself. I have fitted a Hot Rails
in the bridge, A Duckbucker in the middle and a l'i59 in the neck.
Also i have added a Fender TBX system, guitar is ideal now, sound
amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope you find this helpful.
England, yeah, can be a nice place!!!!!!

 

[Zerberus]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Optics of a strat pickup, but hot(ter) AND noise cancelling: Hot Stack

Not quite so close optics, but not rails (all hotter than the Hot Stack: Lil ´59, JBJr, Lil Screamin Demon (all "true" Humbuckers). Of these I´d recommend the Lil´59 as a starting point.

 

[Duncan]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

As far as noiseless pickups go, I've heard nothing but good things about Kinman and Bill Lawrence pickups.

... If you want a traditional single coil sound with more output, you might like the Bill Lawrence L-290S or the Lace HG-1500 Holy Grail Sensor. Kinmans are very highly regarded,

Ryan

The Kinman Av series are simply fantastic. However, if you're after a classic single coil strat 'quack', try the Lace Sensor Holy Grails - got them in my strat and they are almost perfect - spot on classic single coil strat sound but with no noise or hum...

 

[Thor]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

You guys are awesome!!!!!

These replies are excellent and I will look into the Bill Lawrence, and the Kinman pickups. The hot rails seem to have a good rap though. It would be foolish for me not to investigate your recommendations.

Trev.....very cool set up you have. The picture is interesting too....did someone make the mistake of telling you that Jeff Beck is a hack or something????!??!?!?!

Thanks to all.....

Your fan,

Thor

 

[rumplstratskin]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

I recently installed a set of Lace Holy Grails in my Mia Strat. They have all the punch you could want and they are quiet. I love the way it sounds now.

I do take exception to the placement of the leads from pup to the pots/5-way. They exit the pup from the side rather than the center[that sidewinder technology they tout I suppose]. If I had it to do over I would opt for Antiquities since they know where the channel in a Strat body is.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

I think you should give those Holy Grail Laces a shot. Those, or a nice Bill Lawrence pup

 

[jeremy]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

the kinmans are killer pups, very dynamic and responsive, dead quiet but i dont like the way they sound all that much. a little thin and bright for me. i can see how people like em but they dont suit me well
the hot stack is a killer pup but it has a single big rail not the normal six pole pieces like the classic stack.

are the rest of your pups noisy or just the bridge?

 

[Thor]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Thanks again for all the posts,

Jeremy, I did as my forum friends suggested and looked at the different pickups and they did not mention much about being low in noise. NOT DISAGREEING with you! Or maybe I missed it....didn't like their web site too much, but that doesn't mean anything about the quality of their products.

Interesting you said they were thin.....I think that might be my overall desire. It's hard to pick a pickup when you are confused about what you want.

I don't mind the Strat sound (with a hot pickup) but I'm thinking a beefier humbucker without noise will make me a happy camper.

YES!! The bridge pickup sounds like a riot when I'm playing, but when I'm not. It sounds like someone is miking a dentist drilling into a tooth....the noise is ridiculous. Aggravating during recording too (for an amatuer like me!).

I 'm going to get $300 handed to me in the middle of the month. $300 Canadian (about $1.68 American...Ha!!) and that can go towards a hot rails, and perhaps a refret with some bigger fret wire.

I may yet resucitate this aged war-horse of a strat.

Thor
p.s. you ever keep a guitar that is noisy, and has intonation problems for the simple reason that you have owned it since you were 19 and it is just too precious to junk for parts? I am gonna have a tech see if it's worth saving and if a refret and hot rails are worth it.....tally ho!!

 

[midnite_man]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

undefinedundefinedundefined

HELP ME!!!undefined

I have an old strat with questionable heritage. I LOVE the way a strat feels on my bod, and it plays well but the sound is thin or noisy (depending) and I've had it.

It has a Dirtmarzio hot pickup in the bridge position that makes more noise than a blender filled with chains. REALLY makes me mad.

I'm considering dropping a hot NOISELESS pickup in the bridge.

I'm checking out the Hot rails for this purpose, but I'm wondering if there is another hot, yet noiseless bridge pickup that looks more like a strat single coil (appearance only).

Lastly, I wanna put a hot pickup in the neck as well, cause I use that for soloing sometimes too.

Guys.....I need your experience. I don't know what I'm doing, I don't have much money and I don't wanna spend what little I have on a useless effort.

ANY and all posts would be greatly appreciated!!!

Your fan,

Thor :dance:

How about SSL-1's in the neck and mid/rwrp, and a SSL-3 in the bridge? The rwrp mid-pup would cancel out a lot of noise when in use alone or with the neck or bridge pups. They'd also give you that vintage rock tone you're after. The SSL-3 would give you a nice boost in the bridge to cut through the mix.
For me, since learning by experience the benefits of a rwrp single coil in the middle, it's hard to fathom why anyone would want to use any other kind of p.u. there. It really improves the quality of the signal, IMO.
Granted, finding a used rwrp pup is hard to do and you would probably have to buy a new one....but there are always good used SSL-1's and 3's on ebay all the time, which would save you some money.
Hope any of this helps.

-Bob

 

[Thor]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Thanks for taking the time to reply Bob,

I'd like to pick your big brain some more if you don't mind.

The SSL-3 sounds cool, but it is not a humbucker which would seem to indicate that it will sound the way I want, but again....that damned buzzing.

Really interested about what you said about the rwrp (im not exactly sure about this acronym....rewound, repolarity? Sorry...). I can understand how a modified middle pickup (which I never use) could reduce hum when used in conjunction with the bridge pickup....but you seem to say it would cut down on the noise when the bridge pickup is used on its own. Intriguing!!!!!!!

Is this really so??? If it is....I could keep the screamer I have, add a small mod and be happy???

If you have the time could you confirm this for me?!? If it's not too much trouble I'd like to know how.....and why....but not completely necessary. Always interesting to explore options.

Thanks again!!

Thor

 

[sonnyblu]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

Just another item to mention about the Lace Sensor Holy Grails which IMHO is great to have... the set is calibrated with a hotter 1500 model bridge pickup.
I think this is a big deal...
Also personally, I would like to try the DiMarzio Area 58's & 61's but what would you use as a hotter bridge pu? Without going the humbucker sound route? What would a slightly hotter DiMarzio noiseless "single coil sound" PU for the bridge, that would match up with the Area 58's & 61's be?
Damn what a wordy question!

 

[Guitar Guy]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

If you want something that sounds and looks like classic strat pups, get the new Fender SCN pups. They sound great and they're quiet. If you wan't something hotter and a thicker sound, get sd mini 59 neck and a mini jb or hot rails. I use the SCNs and the 59 in both of my strats.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: My STRAT needs help SOS! SOS!

...DMZ Fast track 2,Pro Track, a tone zone version, and another hot one tht escapes me at the moment, and no ... they don't make any noise.

Fast Track 2, Pro Track, Tone Zone S, and you probably mean the Chopper, and no... no noise whatsoever.