Standard Strat for modern metal?

[NateFalcon]

It IS nice to have a tool made for the job...

 

[Sollipsist]

Maybe look into the emgs the schecter has? I would really advise that you look at all possible options. I am currently dealing with the same dilema with my Jackson Soloist. I am trying to find a set (Active or Passive) that fits my criteria.

Fuck I even bought a soldering kit to begin doing this stuff.

I plan as practice taking apart my squier and assembling back together (electronics wise). Any tips since I am sure you have experience soldering guitar pickups and stuff?

Cold solder joints caused me endless problems when I was getting started. Tone issues, mystery buzz, etc...

It's pretty frustrating with top pickguard guitars to restring and button everything up only to have to take it all apart again. Then again, semi hollows are annoying too... fishing around for wires inside a 335 is not for the easily discouraged

The best advice I can give is not to cut your pickup leads too short, and only solder with as much heat as you need for as little time as you need it. Soldering is kind of an art.

 

[MoJoToJo]

Cold solder joints caused me endless problems when I was getting started. Tone issues, mystery buzz, etc...

It's pretty frustrating with top pickguard guitars to restring and button everything up only to have to take it all apart again. Then again, semi hollows are annoying too... fishing around for wires inside a 335 is not for the easily discouraged

The best advice I can give is not to cut your pickup leads too short, and only solder with as much heat as you need for as little time as you need it. Soldering is kind of an art.

Good advise on the soldering technique! I have the swapping of loaded pickguards on my Strat down to fifteen minutes, if not replacing strings just loosen them all & pop the pickguard out couple of solder joints pop back screw down pickguard retune.

 

[techjsteele]

The DiMarzio Fast Track 2 might be up your alley. It's a humbucker in a single coil sized housing and from first hand experience can sound very heavy in a strat. It's a 4-conductor pickup, so it will support parallel and coil-splitting options with a DPDT switch and/or a push-pull pot as well.

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

Cold solder joints caused me endless problems when I was getting started. Tone issues, mystery buzz, etc...

It's pretty frustrating with top pickguard guitars to restring and button everything up only to have to take it all apart again. Then again, semi hollows are annoying too... fishing around for wires inside a 335 is not for the easily discouraged

The best advice I can give is not to cut your pickup leads too short, and only solder with as much heat as you need for as little time as you need it. Soldering is kind of an art.

Is there any other external resources that can be helpful for me? I am more of a visual learner and do-er instead of just reading something.

 

[Sollipsist]

Is there any other external resources that can be helpful for me? I am more of a visual learner and do-er instead of just reading something.

This one is pretty in-depth:

 

[USMarine75]

I've got a Fender Strat that isn't getting much play, so I've basically been using it as a test guitar for pickups.

Problem is, it has a lot of things that make it very different from the guitars that the pickups would end up in - pickguard mount, vintage tremolo bridge, classic rounded neck radius, nickel frets, etc.

So I'm just not sure I'm ever getting a fair idea of what modern higher gain pickups would sound like. Does anybody use a Strat or similar guitar for modern tones? I guess it probably shouldn't be done, but can it be done?

1. Here's an example with someone playing a Charvel SH in C-Std (IIRC):


2. You can buy dual blade or stacked humbuckers that fit in a single coil route.
http://www.dimarzio.com/node/2168

3. Companies like BKP make hot single coils like the Trilogy, Sinner, and Cobra. They will definitely do metal. Plus they will be more open and less compressed sounding (which I like).
https://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/pickups/strat

 

[A-Branger]

with the right humbucker, yes, it would do modern metal. Any other spec of the guitar is up to your preference. The fact that it has a different neck or rounder fretobard or traditional tremolo doesnt affect the "metal" part of it, it affects you and the way you play. If you happy with those specs, then yeah it would do modern metal. Other than that its jsut the look of the guitar.

Guitars dont need to be black and pointy to play "metal"

 

[USMarine75]

Guitars dont need to be black and pointy to play "metal"

Amen, brother! Preach. Metal AF.

 

[raytsh]

Works.

 

[JohnIce]

... there's a lot more "rattle" from the pickguard mount and trem springs. Definitely adds a zing to some pickups, a tiny bit of metallic echo.

I'm pretty much a strat-only guy, and what I always do to help with high gain is to take a cut-in-half cleaning sponge and wrap it zigzag above and below the springs, like a "W". I've sometimes put a thinner slice of sponge underneath the springs as well if needed. The main idea is that it needs to be very tight and snug, just to the point where it doesn't physically bend the springs out and cause tuning instability. But if muted well enough, you should be able to run your fingernail along the spring and not hear any "spring reverb", then you're good.

Another good idea is to put a piece of tape (very little is needed) on the threads of the tremolo arm before screwing it in, that should eliminate any rattle from the arm.

 

[MoJoToJo]

I'm pretty much a strat-only guy, and what I always do to help with high gain is to take a cut-in-half cleaning sponge and wrap it zigzag above and below the springs, like a "W". I've sometimes put a thinner slice of sponge underneath the springs as well if needed. The main idea is that it needs to be very tight and snug, just to the point where it doesn't physically bend the springs out and cause tuning instability. But if muted well enough, you should be able to run your fingernail along the spring and not hear any "spring reverb", then you're good.

Another good idea is to put a piece of tape (very little is needed) on the threads of the tremolo arm before screwing it in, that should eliminate any rattle from the arm.

Slide some clear plastic tubing inside the springs to kill the rattle works for me & for the sloppy trem arm do yourself a favour & replace with Callaham especially if its a MIM Strat. https://www.callahamguitars.com/strat_trem_amstandardupkit_catalog.htm

 

[Sollipsist]

Slide some clear plastic tubing inside the springs to kill the rattle works for me & for the sloppy trem arm do yourself a favour & replace with Callaham especially if its a MIM Strat. https://www.callahamguitars.com/strat_trem_amstandardupkit_catalog.htm

Good tip on the tubing!

Got a Callaham V/N on another guitar. It's outstanding.

 

[MoJoToJo]

Good tip on the tubing!

Got a Callaham V/N on another guitar. It's outstanding.

 

[Andromalia]

Give a try to Lace alumitones. I have a set of them in a Warmoth hollowbody strat of all things and the result for playing metal has been pretty astounding.

 

[Wolfhorsky]

Most of Ibanez guitars are basically moded strats, so strat is metal \m/
Alle You need is a proper pickup.
HB in single size format thing was deeply tested by me.
I tried DiMarzio ProTrack, Tone Zone S, Fast Track II, and Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. Imho Fast Track II is the best. No strange freq peaks, nice even mids, chunky yet tight lows, articulate highs.
As the full HB format goes, in the medium bright quitars, I like Seymour Duncan Custom Custom (EVH tone - think „Unchained”). In bright ones i like Dimarzio Breed- meaty, throaty nicely compressed PU. In medium-dark guitars Seymour Duncan Full Shred is my go to pickup.

 

[Rocks256]

You can play metal with Strat, for e.g look for Iron Maiden. If you want stronge rpickups get Quarter Pound for Strat

 

[JustinRhoads1980]

You can play metal with Strat, for e.g look for Iron Maiden. If you want stronge rpickups get Quarter Pound for Strat

He is talking about modern metal. I do not think Quarter Pound pickups will do the job. He should be looking into fishmans BKP, not single coil pickups that have oversized pole pieces. Maybe for maiden it will cut it, for the modern stuff I would be impressed if that could be pulled off.

 

[Sollipsist]

He is talking about modern metal. I do not think Quarter Pound pickups will do the job. He should be looking into fishmans BKP, not single coil pickups that have oversized pole pieces. Maybe for maiden it will cut it, for the modern stuff I would be impressed if that could be pulled off.

Absolutely. There's plenty of good examples and options for metal from a Strat. I used one of the original red Lace Sensors in the bridge for many years, it got me almost all the high gain sounds I needed. Since then, a lot of even better single-sized pickups have come out for a drop-in replacement. It's not the form factor that concerns me; I have a swimming pool rout and a HH pickguard ready to go

The classic Strat design does seem to make for some complications when trying to get a truly tight modern sound, compared to something with wood-mounted humbuckers, big stainless frets, and a fixed bridge. The things that work great for blues, twang and jangle tend to work against clean precision and controlled frequency response.

Currently I'm trying to decide between a Fishman Modern set (love that USB back plate option) and a handful of modern voiced passives. My suspicion is that the active pickups will minimize any natural "Stratiness" but the passives might work with it to give me a more unique sound.