Stuck

AidanP13

AidanP13

New member
hey guys. Im stuck between what guitar I should be going for. I was looking at an hss standard strat, with a maple fretboard, or an epiphone 1984 explorer reissue.

My dad has a late 60's tele, that I love. It has a maple fretboard, and i think it might have an ash body. it has the stock neck pickup, and my dad put some kind of hotrails in the bridge. I was just wondering if I'd get that different of a sound out of strat.

If I got the strat I'd put a dirty fingers in the bridge, take out the middle pickup, and put a tele neck in.

The explorer has an emg 81 in the bridge and an emg 85 in the neck, which I am curious to try out.

I cover alot of ground, but I mainly play hard rock/metal, but i'd like to be able to go from a thrash riff, to a SRV riff without switching guitars.

strat - $500
explorer - $600
 
Re: Stuck

Go the strat.

If you put something like the PATB 1 in the bridge it will kill for the hard stuff but still be sweet for the clean/low drive.

Middle positions are weird. But they are useful for the quack

You wont get a tele sound by putting a tele pickup in there. I'm not sure about the fit either - there could be some space between it and the pickguard as they're a bit smaller. You also won't really get SRV tone either.

My view is, if you buy a strat for the SRV tone, then don't try to make it a tele because it will never sound like that.....by a tele later if you want one of your own.
 
Re: Stuck

I'm not trying to get a tele sound, I just wanted to know if they sound some what similar, because if they did there would be no point in buying the strat.

I love the telecaster, but i feel it falls a bit short in the metal department, it gets a little "mushed" when I play really fast.

The tele covers everything I need, I just want a "metal" guitar I guess. I used the srv sound as an analogy. just being able to go from crazy distortion, to a really nice smooth clean is what I meant.

Thanks.
 
Re: Stuck

I would do the strat with the dirty fingers at the bridge. Some would say otherwise because they think the DF cleans aren't good, I think it works both for good distortion and good cleans. Also, strats rock :)
 
Re: Stuck

MIM HSS Strat versus EMG-ified Epi Explorer is a no brainer. It has to be the Strat. Plays better and so much easier to modify.

For the OP's apparent requirements, a non-pickguard HSS guitar might prove better. This way, the Tele neck position pickup would not look so out of place. If you fancy trying EMGs, an -89/-FT set could prove interesting.

The EMG-FT is standard issue on my Chapman Stick (see avatar). Plenty of low end!

For maximum versatility, I suggest an EMG-89, -SA, -FT combination. Connect the "Strat" mode output of the humbucker to the five-way selector switch. Connect the "humbucker" mode output to a Lead switch. This way, you can grab the extra power at any time.
 
Re: Stuck

Thanks guys.

I wasent even considering a strat in the beginning.

I went over to my dads second? cousins house last tuesday, and they have a band called sifa, they are really good.

The guitar player had a strat with the same setup. I think it was an MIA lonestar, im not sure. But i loved the sound he was getting out of it.

One thing i hate about my guitar(les pul special ii) that makes me want a new one, is that I feel I can't really.....not necessarily shred, but open it up i guess, i'm not sure how to word it. I do however like the tune-o-matic, its really comfortable for palm mutes.

I played the epiphone in my local sam ash a couple days ago, and I really liked it, but it was no more comfortable to play
:banghead:

The jack on the tele is messed up.....I think, so we may have to go get a new one, so if i can find that strat, ill do a side by side at sam ash. Obviously I wont count the state that the guitar is in. The explorer was all gummy, and it had a bunch of cuts and scratches.

Thanks again guys.
 
Re: Stuck

What you're describing about your Epiphone and the Explorer you tried at the store, , that difficult in playabilty, could boil down to a badly setup guitar.

Have you ever taken your guitar to a tech? You should. Your string action could be too high, plus other things like the neck angle could be out of shape. And that would ruin playability for anybody.

What's my point?? That if the Epiphone Explorer felt uncomfortable to play, check again. Were the strings too high? They can be lowered. That's where setup comes into play.

I know it's hard since you're young and probably just getting started in the guitar world. But there's many aspects that can do a world of difference in how a guitar feels.

I'd get the Epiphone, by the way. That seems to be where you heart is.
Those EMG pickups won't do SRV of course, but particularly the 85 can do nice sounds in the neck position.

And whatever you get, take it to a tech. :)

Good luck!
 
Re: Stuck

I meant that the body was not very comfortable to play. my dad sets up all of our gear. he set up my les paul, and the action is great, the neck is good, it just the body is uncomfortable to play. I feel like i'm fighting it.

lol i've been playing for quite a while, I just felt I needed an upgrade from my cheapy entry level epiphone.(i got it when I was ten)

I figured there will always be that strat, but the explorer seemed like a special run, its not even on the epiphone website.

Me and my neighbor, who is an amazing drummer, were thinking of starting a band. I need something that will last.

my dad has a mustang, and I love the feeling of the neck. Is it similar to the strat?

Thanks again guys.
 
Re: Stuck

The Fender Mustang has a shorter scale length than the average Stratocaster. If your hands are small, this might explain why guitars with deep neck cross-sections feel more difficult to play.

Explorers - like most "shape" guitars - need to be slung correctly to be comfortable. To some extent, the same is true for slab-bodied Les Paul models such as your Epiphone and my Gibson Junior Special.
 
Re: Stuck

AidanP13 said:
i just meant it was really smooth and thin.
Click to expand...

Seems to me that you are shaping up to be a Fender guy rather than a Gibson/Epiphone guy.

Get any Strat with HSS pickup cavity routs. Buy a genuine Fender 1xHB pickguard. Have cut-outs made in it for a Tele neck pickup, a selector switch and a tone control. Rock yo' fundament off.
 
Re: Stuck

ya I think I am almost a convert.

Nothing is set in stone, To raise $500 as a kid means saving up from birthdays and christmas.

I figure if I made 300 in one birthday for an xbox, I can make another 200 at christmas.
 
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