Kara-Moon Forum

Having fun with guitars!! I have an old Mexican Strat that somehow I got set up pretty well. But I can't imagine how good the pickups could be in a $400 guitar. So, just got back from the local (small) music store with installed high output single-coil noiseless pickups at the middle and neck and a Seymore Duncan JB Humbucker at the bridge. Wow, what a bunch of strange sound  :D But, oh my, does that JB sing! Best yet, I was figuring $300 or $350. "Oh really, $234 OTD! (including a black knob kit, strings, and a new tremolo bar for the one I never had cause I'm not too smart)". "We don't charge for labor if you buy from us". Nice folks there. And now a solid throw around workhorse for Freddy!

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together ;D

Yeah, if only that would happen a little more often  ;D

Hey Will,

Are you by chance,quoting the famous line from George Peppard's character in the old t.v. series,The A-Team? ;D

-Thom

G&L tells me that Seymour Duncan designed and manufactured the pickups for my 1996 G&L George Fullerton Signature. The guitar was built to give to the tonal and handling characteristics of a 1954 Strat, with today's technological advances included.
Seymour did a lovely job of the pickups ;D

You did good with the old Mexican Strat.....(I understand the Fender Mexico factory is right across the border from Fullerton California, where Fenders were originally made)

You may think that...
I coudn't possibly comment ;D  >:D

Cool !
I own a mexican strat and I think it's a great guitar and I got it at a bargain price
I installed a SD hot rail pick.up (bridge). I like the neck pu sound and I don't want to change it
Have fun with it !

Cheers

Until about a year ago, I had no idea how fun guitars are!  Each one seems to have its own personality. And the difference the pickups make, especially between single coil and HB, is astonishing.

LR, that Mexican Strat was once considered by naive me to be a piece of junk! But once you learn about trusses, intonation, string height, etc.. you can do a lot with a basically sound guitar (no dead spots for example). The neck on that Strat is really quite nice to play. I don't think my American Deluxe is much better if at all...just different.  The necks on both are Maple, but the Mex has a smoother finish. That, and the deluxe has that old V-neck design which feels much different...good but definitely different. How long have you been playing?

Owen, I just have to get my hands of one of those G&Ls someday!!

Only guitar I own is a Mexican Strat, about 13 years old.
 Love it
Black with maple neck..
..but I'm a keyboard player...er a trumpet player originally...no, wait; I started piano first.. or was it kazoo?

There you are...in the picture...

The Kazoo is not an easy instrument in any stretch of the imagination  ;)

I just took this puppy in for a new nut, a fret dressing, and set-up for .010 - .046 strings. It had .009 - .042 strings installed, but the medium jumbo frets seem to respond better to slightly heavier string set.
(the Fullerton came from the factory with .009 - .042 guage strings, and performs admirably with them, but it has the smaller vintage-style frets)

I told my tech to spare no expense and make it better than new - we'll see what happens... ;D

You're a brave man.

I'll let anybody play with my strat, but if I had that guitar I'd be afraid of anybody touching it..

It's a bit scary  :D
The fellow I have found is a teacher of lutherie who decided to quit teaching and get back into the business. He also builds electric guitars to your custom specifications.
Here's hoping he has the chops... ::)

Update: the S-500 came back in "better than new" playing condition. $150.00 covered a fret dressing, new strings, and a fresh set-up for the heavier guage.
Some of the best work I've ever seen... :-

Fred,
You put any mileage on those Seymour Duncans yet?

@Oren
Glad the risk paid off.

Now lets get hearing it :)

Beautiful guitar, Oren!! 

Yeah, I've been practicing (and practicing, and practicing). Your thoughts on the fret and string size are interesting. I had moved up to 10's originally on that Mexican Strat, but was having a difficult time bending. So, I went back to 9's and reset the action and truss. The frets are of the smaller vintage style (as you noted above), so it seems to work pretty good. We all can't be SRV I guess :D

Actually, I've also been working on getting my keys in order. I'm gonnal have to have something to do when I retire at the end of the year, so I have a stage setup in mind. Bought another controller to go with my S90ES. But its a small, 61 key M-Audio. Same as one board on a Hammond. And my new laptop just arrived. I also picked up a stage mixer stand (5 wheel base) which just happens to be the prefect ticket for the laptop!!  Will be putting NI's B4 and a handful of my best softsynths on the PC to run both keyboards through. I considered an XK1 because they sound pretty damn good IMO (they really got some of the subtleties right), but I had to opt for the laptop instead as just I couldn't pass up the accoustic piano I'm getting with the bright grand patch in the S90 (direct) and a Bosendorfer softsynth in stereo   ;D  If I can sell the other 4 boards I have and save up enough pennies, I might still buy that XK1 someday.

Way too much talk about me :D  I'm glad your guitar is playing great!! She surely looks gorgeous!!  It'll still be awhile until you hear anything on an axe from me :-[

Gents,

As soon as there's time, I'll lay down a little blues instrumental with the new Godin bass and upgraded G&L.

I like that 2 keyboard/laptop/softsynth thing you got going on, Fred! Marc JX8P is also using an M-Audio board.
Until going with the "electric bass/electric guitar/digital processor" combo for my backing tracks, I had decided to proceed with a controller keyboard and softsynths. So much potential!

The .009-.042 guage is perfect for the Mexican Strat.
Stevie Ray was a maniac to use those massive strings. Have a listen to Ingwie Malmsteen to hear big tone from light strings (and scalloped fretboard!).
I think he uses .008-.042 :o and DiMarzio humbuckers.

Lotsa fun.... :;

Here's a bit from my G&L S-500. It employs G&L Magnetic Field Design single coil pickups with ceramic magnets and adjustable pole pieces.

Oh, yes... the guitar is effected with some chorus and reverb from my Digitech RP12, just my usual all-purpose settings  8)

...and again in Ogg Vorbis... ::) :D

Mmmmmm. Sounds nice O0

BTW Interesting way of getting two bytes of the cherry  :D

Sorry, Will, this doesn't translate very well (or am I just a little thick this late in the day... :D?)

One bite was the mp3
the other bite was the ogg :D

And the cherry was... Oh, I get it ;D  Thanks!

Showoff ::)

Sounds killer. Oren!

The pickups sound nice. Any noise trouble?  Both my Strats now have "noiseless" pickups. I like them, but they're maybe not as hot as say "texas" type.

Those Fender "vintage noiseless" pickups are a good all-round choice, as are the Seymour Duncans. "Texas Special" pickups should be avoided unless you want that specific sound - I don't like it. Ideally, "hot " is about the player, not the pickups ::). For a seasoned player, the stock Fender single-coils are plenty versatile enough, and the "in between" pick-up selector switch positions (#s 2 and 4) are hum-cancelling.

As you could probably tell, I'm still getting accustomed to the heavier strings and those Magnetic Field Design pickups. Leo Fender designed this pickup to have a higher output and an intense tonal focus that I find disconcerting. A very different touch is necessary, and attention to the tone controls (which I normally never adjust) can produce remarkable results - right now, for me, remarkably bad :D. There is a bit of noise to them when using a distorted/overdriven sound, but less than a normal single-coil pickup.

Oh damn, I thought those pickups would make me a hot player...always looking for that techinical advantage, ya know :D

Actually though, I'm sort of impressed with the bridge pickup (noiseless) on my Deluxe Strat. Seems to have a pretty good pick attack with the right amp settings....maybe as good or better than the Humbucker. But the HB seems to excell better with power cord type noise. I assume however, that all good guitarists know these things, and as a novice, I'm just starting to understand.

" I assume however, that all good guitarists know these things, and as a novice, I'm just starting to understand."

..welcome to my world..
  :'(

I often tinker with the idea of improving my strat, but soon realize I should improve the driver before redesigning the car

[quote author=rharv link=topic=2439.msg21798#msg21798 date=1227993377
...I often tinker with the idea of improving my strat, but soon realize I should improve the driver before redesigning the car...
[/quote]
 ;D

Yeah, Fred, the single-coil size humbuckers have a sweet sound. Did I miss something - you have a Deluxe Strat? Any photos; perhaps a review...?

One could make a very strong argument that I easily have more money than talent  :D
I have that Mexican Strat, a LP Studio, Strat Deluxe, a Yamaha Acoustic, and a Shecter C1+. I'm going to sell the Shecter however, as I'm retiring at the end of the year and don't need it to practice during lunch time any longer.

Anyway, the Strat; its a two-tone burst and has the old V neck. I'll take some pictures and post them later. The main differences in the Deluxe is the locking tuners, the noiseless (cobalt sonarium) pickups, and an extra switch on the volume knob (pushes in), which gives it a little more of a Humbucker sound. Some say the noiseless pickups are a little too quite, but I've not noticed that. To me, the bridge pickup especially sounds clean and hot with the right amp settings. I've tinked around with the setup a little bit, but it came very playable from the factory. Actually I think it plays a little better than my LP which I had set up by Lucifer (luthier :D). I've had to mess with that LP quite a bit to get it where it is now, which is pretty good for me.

I really, really, like both the LP and the Strat, and I constantly go back and forth between the two. They are such different guitars in the way they play and feel. The Mexican Strat also has a nice neck...extreemly smooth but not as wide as the deluxe...closer to the LP actually. The Shecter actually sounds excellent, but the next is just not wide enough for me....my short stubby fingers still get in my way :D I think that Shecter might be good as a shredder, but the only thing I know how to shred is paper :-[

Probably more than what you asked for, but what the heck ::)

I'm turning green here, Fred. Envious of your outstanding crop of guitars. Schweet!

In Gibson-land I favour the SG, for it's comfort.
If I want the Gibson vibe but with a wider, more playable neck, I go Godin LG or LGX. 16 inch fretboard radius, generous width, and a body with contouring for ribcage and right arm, like a Strat.
http://www.godinguitars.com/godinlgp90flamep.htm

Looking forward to the photos of your entourage... ;D

Wish I could play as well as you do. Green right back at ya ;)

Hi Guys . Didn't know we had a guitar thread going on. I've been playing guitar since I was twelve but I still don't know shit about pick-ups and the like though. I just play  ;D  ::)

Anyways I have Fender Strat 1978. Don't know where it was made. I could probably find out. I have Hagstrom Super Swede (LP ) reissue which I love playing. The switches are making a bit of noise which I should probably have fixed rather sooner than later. I could have gotten my hands on a vintage Hagstrom Super Swede but I think my wife would have probably killed me if I had done so. ;D

I have an Indie twelve string which sounds amazingly good considering the price. It's an imitation of the famous Rickenbacker twelve strings which are way too expensive to even consider buying for me.

I do have a vintage Hagstrom twelve string and 6 string acoustic guitar. The B120 and J 45. And a Tanglewood 6 string Jumbo size.

That's about it folks

Nice stable, Martin. I would think that Strat is a great guitar.

Ok, so how do you attach pictures? I think there was a time when I knew how...but evidently, not anymore :-[

Same way you attach a song..."additional options" :;

Here's some. Maybe not the best photographer :-[

Here's a couple more...

So from top to bottom...
Shector C1+
Les Paul Studio
Yamaha electric/accoustic
Strat Deluxe (I think this is currently my favorite)
The aforementioned Mexican made Strat

Now, if only I could play them  ::)

Five outstanding guitars, Fred. Thanks for the photos :-
I like the tobacco-burst strat best, but that Mexican strat is the perfect companion. Tobacco-burst for recording, and Mexico for practice and gigs.

Have a peak at what Ingwie can do with a strat...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAO6GjGa7SY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn6-XqmkKUA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MHvEwhthlo&feature=related
Undoubtedly one of the finest guitarists ever to draw a breath. Don't waste time on guitar lessons. Watch Ingwie, and learn from the best. ;)

I'll get right on that. Do you think letting my hair grow long would help the learning curve? :D

Of course it will ! Start letting you hair grow long now and practise 4 hours every day. By the time your hair is as long as his, you'll play as good as he does  ;D

k

....not a bad plan, actually... ;)
Malmsteen looks to classical violin players for his inspiration, rather than guitarists.

That's me out of the frame then - I just had my hair cut short before Christmas. Guess I'll have to stick to synths  ::)

You can always play the bass ;D

k