Thinking of redoing some Strats...

[PFDarkside]

Thinking of redoing some Strats....

First one is my main black Strat. Originally I built it with three CS69s. They sounded great but there was too much noise and not enough oomph on the bridge for what I need it to do. I put a set of Dimarzio Injectors in it which solved the noise and bridge, but really leave something to be desired for the remaining positions....

I'm thinking:
-Neck: CS69
-Mid: CS69
-Bridge: SSL-5T
-Wiring: neck tone/bridge tone (.022uF), auto tap in position 4
-Ilitch Noise Cancelling pickguard in Parchment

Second is my FSR 62RI (matching headstock with players spec neck, bigger frets, flatter board)
I have this one with APS-1/SSL-1/SSL-1. 50's style wiring with .1uF cap. Similar to above, it was fun having a vintage spec Strat, but I think I want something a little more useful. I do like the A2 neck and A5 mid/bridge though... thinking:
-Neck: Texas Hot middle or Surfer neck
-Mid: Surfer neck
-Bridge: Surfer bridge
(All three should be same polarity/Phase, I think....)
-Wiring: Neck tone/Bridge tone, .022uF
-Ilitch noise cancelling pickguard in Mint

What do you think? Looking for less noise and bigger bridges on both while keeping a mostly vintage tone and appearance.

(Also, first test of Imgur)

 

[gregory]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

We put two original Lace Golds in the neck and middle and an Injector Neck in the bridge of my friend's Strat. He already really liked the Gold in the neck and only had one, so a second in the middle was a no-brainer. The Injector Neck in the bridge was the chance that payed dividends. Tones were assigned to neck and bridge.

I'm not recommending the Lace Sensors because of the appearance requirement (and some people don't like the sound and/or feel), but if you still have your Injector Neck I'd give it a try in the bridge.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

Yeah, I can't stand the Lace Sensors, I've removed them from my old Deluxe Plus.

I was actually thinking of trying an Area 58 in the neck and maybe moving the Injector Neck to the bridge, but comparing to the CS69s, I just love the Fenders for positions 2-5. I've read great things about the Ilitch system, so that's why I'd like to try it out.

 

[Joey Voltage]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

My favorite combo for strats is the dmz virtual solo for the bridge and the virtual heavy blues for the neck. The virtual solo has that single coil bite but is much thicker sounding sorta like a soap bar. The virtual heavy blues is just all sorts of awesome.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

My favorite set of Strat pickups is a Surfer neck in the neck and middle and a Fralin SP43 in the bridge.

I've always loved the sound of vintage Strat pickups for the neck and middle but wanted more from the bridge pickup.

But not too much more, because too strong of a bridge pickup loses the classic Strat sound when combined with the middle pickup.

The SP43 is neither too strong or too weak. It's almost perfect.

 

[gregory]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

The SP43 is neither too strong or too weak.

Same with the Injector Neck.

 

[gregory]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

The SSL5 or 6 is an excellent choice to pair with traditional vintage singles in the neck and middle. I wouldn't bother with the tapped option for the bridge position.

If you must, must have a tap, I'd consult with the custom shop. The 50% tap of the SSL5 is quite weak and can be very brittle in the bridge. I used mine in the neck and had to also apply an RC to get rid of the very annoying high resonant peak. The RC actually worked great, and the level drop wasn't too bad in the neck, but for the bridge it's an entirely different story. You'd really have to drop your middle pickup if you plan on using the tap for position 2 quack.

Oh, another secret to getting the most out of the tap is to use it as the hot lead, rather than shorting it to black.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

Thanks for the comments on the tap.... I figure I'll use the linkage with the highest DCR for the tapped sound. The secret is I have a SSL-5T in my box 'o stuff that I picked up from someone here last year... So worst comes to worst, I'll rewire with out the tap, I won't mess with an RC network. The full SSL-5/SSL-1 combo may be fine in position 2 for me.

Any other experiences with the Ilitch system? It got rave reviews in the Suhr guitars, and other have said it's the best noiseless option for standard single tone.

 

[gregory]

Re: Thinking of redoing some Strats...

You'd be remiss not to try both sides of the tap.