Strats. Are they a bit characterless?

Garthy

Fuengi said:

RiftAmps said:

I always HATED Stratocasters and felt exactly the same way you do, then discovered that it was actually Strat pickups that I didn't get on with and then tried a few different typed before settling on a pair of Firebird mini-hums. It still quacks and chimes like a Strat should but without the bits that I hate.

Interesting. They won't fit in my sss though!

Could you not run hotter single coils or stacked humbucker?

RiftAmps

Garthy said:

Fuengi said:

RiftAmps said:

I always HATED Stratocasters and felt exactly the same way you do, then discovered that it was actually Strat pickups that I didn't get on with and then tried a few different typed before settling on a pair of Firebird mini-hums. It still quacks and chimes like a Strat should but without the bits that I hate.

Interesting. They won't fit in my sss though!

Could you not run hotter single coils or stacked humbucker?

I did and didn't like them. The FBMH pickups were the only ones that did what I wanted them to. Just my preference.

peteri

I think it’s down to what you’re used to. 

If if all your sounds are dialled in with a Tele, which I always find much more spiked and with a faster attack (and more treble), the Strat will sound dull and boring. 

I find the same in the other direction, dial it in from scratch and play nothing else for a week to get your ear in and it may be different 

Voxman

If we all liked the same thing it would be a very boring world. For me, one guitar can't do everything and it's also about my mood. I'm fortunate enough to have a few different guitars and I bounce between them. Sometimes I want to play one of my Strats, sometimes only my Tele will do and other times its my Les Paul Custom, SG Standard or Epiphone Sheraton II. When I need a single guitar that can switch between humuckers and single coil I'll reach for my PRS Cu24 or my Yamaha Pacifica 611vfm which has a P90 neck and humbucker in the bridge.

Each has it's charms, advantages and limitations.  It's not a case of which is best, merely which is best for what I need at any particular time, and how I'm feeling. 

GoldenEraGuitars

Strats... characterless? Eh???

BBBlues

The strat quack in 4th position is one of the most characterful sounds a guitar can make I reckon.

martinw

Yes, they can be, for me at least.

I like quite hot single coil pickups in a Strat, like the ones in the 2nd generation Highway One guitars. 

Some of the more restrained rails type pickups are also good, Chopper and Fast Track etc.

Otherwise I'd rather have a Tele.

menamestom

Strat’s sometimes either work clean or dirty for me, but not always both.  Also, they can get lost in the mix a bit, especially if they sound great clean with scoopd mids.  I prefer a darker fuller Strat neck pickup.  I like the pretty chime some pickups give but can’t get them to work in a band setting so go for more powerful pickups, which can sound a little blander clean (depending on your perspective, I don’t think of that as blandness)

Tele’s cut through easier and usually sound great clean and dirty.  

Phil_aka_Pip

Not in my opinion. They have their own character, same as an SG, LP, Tele or anything else with the possible exception of a PRS. I don't get on with them so well as an SG or LP, but that's hardly the point.

Alnico

I found that turning the amp volume up with a Strat helped so I just accepted that other guitars are inherently louder and I love what my Strat does.
Without doing that, yes it lacks a bit but I've always felt that it gains a bit in a more precise feel so it's not louder or better or worse, just is what it is.
As I get further into programming my GT100 I've found that my Strat needs its own patches to get the best out of it and if I then plug one of the others into that patch, the output volume is affected a fair bit so I'm starting to do that now.
If a song or sound is definitely going to be using the Strat, I'll set the volume and level for it and Title that Patch 'Maiden Lead ST' or something.

Mine uses SD Stacked humbuckers which I like a lot and I think they have a little more output than normal single coils but characterless isn't a word I'd use to describe my Strat at all.
It hangs next to a bright pink, striped RG that looks like something 'Steel Panther' would play and as far as me and everyone who's played it so far is concerned, it's got tons of its own character and holds it's own next to any of the other guitars....but yes those dedicated patches do help to not notice what the OP is talking about quite as much.

My Tele just plugs into any amp and shouts "Yeaaahhhh, let's have some fun!" so I do see why people come to this conclusion with Strats but I think they have their own unique place where they rule what they do.

Freebird

John Frusciante disagrees and he recommends SSL-1 pickups.

matt.drink73

It's all in the pickups for me, don't get much of a Hendrix vibe out of this!
Strats are very comfortable to play and are pretty bulletproof but like a few others on here I'm not a big fan of the sound aside from the neck position, mainly because I'm not accurate enough to make one sound good.

This thing is absolute monster for heavier stuff though, I'd take it over all of the Gibsons I've had but before I had the pickup put in it I hated it. A stock strat isn't for everyone but the possibilities are endless!

AlexC

It’s each to their own, isn’t it? Personally I find LPs and Teles have a sound and do that sound well. Whereas I prefer Strats because, for me, they have many sounds in one guitar. But I cannot stand the ‘quack’ that is s’posed to be characteristic. Who wants to feed their guitar stale bread?

Winny_Pooh

I don't own one anymore because they are so common place that they look boring to me now. Regarding tone, I always found that a standard SSS could do great neck pickup tones, light drive neck tones and some Knopler esque cleans, however the bridge pickup was always a bit underpowered. Teles have a more raunchy bridge pickup tone for overdrive and skronk, but it gets harsh with most distortion boxes and will never do a smooth liquid lead tone. 

HSS on a strat would be my pick tonally but they just look wrong. 

mburekenge

No.

slacker

Fuengi said:

How do you get the best out of your Strat?

traded it for a rickenbacker.







I'm actually looking for a fender after 10 years. I've tried a lot of starts teles and jazzmaster and nothing's really doing it.in the end tastes change.

In your position I'd keep the strat and keep playing the tele.

stickyfiddle

I love a good strat. Currently aching for a something properly old-school - maple board, sunburst finish, no tricks. 

There's plenty of dull ones about, but they're a classic for good reason. 

BBBlues

If you stick humbuckers in a strat its no longer a strat. The sound is in the single coils and pickup combinations.

Freebird

stickyfiddle said:

I love a good strat. Currently aching for a something properly old-school - maple board, sunburst finish, no tricks. 

There's plenty of dull ones about, but they're a classic for good reason. 

What happened to the synths, or was that just a fad? 

Jalapeno

My Strat has it's original 90s Lace Sensors (Blue neck, Red mid, Silver bridge) - really flexible sounds (with the passive TBX boost, also original)