Strat sounding thin?

robgilmo

Its an early Mexican, and its light at 7 lbs, it sounds quite thin and harsh, its got very staggered pole pieces and ceramic bar magnet pickups. Obviousley the pickups wont be helping but If I buy new ones and perhaps swap out the trem block will it still sound thin and harsh because of its weight? Its in lovely condition so would I be better of selling it and buying something with more weight to it then spending money on that one? It makes all the right noises, it sounds very much like a Strat should, just a bit thin and harsh.

SimonC

Quite clearly, you need a Les Paul.

Modulus_Amps

Have you tried fatter strings?
does it sound thing acoustically?
have you got the tone pots wired for all positions?

I had a squire that was quite thin sounding, but it had great quack too

DrCornelius

Have you tried to raise the pickup height a tad ?

tone1

Tune down 1/2 step to E Flat 

robgilmo

Im playing with pickup height now, its very quacky, almost too sensitive, if I don't want it to sound  like Daffy Duck I really have to try hard. Is this normal for a Strat? Its my first Strat and Ive only had it a week. I am going through the clean channel on my Vox Cambridge with no effects. I somehow thought it would sound warmer than this.

richardhomer

Strat style pick-up with ceramic bar magnets aren’t going sound as good as something with the ‘correct’ construction.

I can understand you not wanting to throw a lot of money at replacements, as the level of improvement you’d gain is an unknown quantity. Perhaps the best bet is to buy a used set which you can move on at little or no loss?

Kebabkid

You could install baseplates on all the pickups and they're less than a tenner. They do offer a slightly fuller sound.
Ash at Oil City stocks them.

I don't know what gauge strings but if it's 9 or under and you think you can handle it and still bend comfortably, try a 9.5 hybrid set or go to 10s. 11s are even better

robgilmo

That's what I am thinking, perhaps a set of standard Mex Strat pickup's from a later model? Also, people say to put a different Trem block in , is that just a sustain thing? It needs a few obvious things like a new nut and maybe some fret work so the dollars are adding up and I want to make sure I have a keeper after spending on it.

amarok1971

I put one of ashs baseplates under my bridge pickup and it made a massive difference.

hobbio

Have you tried playing with the eq on your amp at all? 

Schnozz

This is why I fell out with my Strat, but you come back to it and I think you just fall in and out of love with different Guitars.

...Except Teles, Teles are shit ALL the time 

ICBM

Baseplates won’t fit on those ceramic bar magnet pickups.

Get some decent pickups for it before you make any assessment of what it sounds like. If you’re finding it thin and harsh, you would probably be better looking at a slightly hotter-wound set than traditional vintage spec. Something like Fender Texas Specials are commonly available second hand quite cheaply because a lot of people who are looking for more of a vintage sound don’t like them...

robgilmo

I have set the pickup height, Fender spec then I had to lower them quite a bit. Backed off the tone on the guitar, backed of slightly on the volume and faffed with the amp settings. Its much better but still a bit off, it seems the G string rings out quite loudly, so , volume off, when the G string is plucked it or somethings rattles, it does this open or fretted on any fret. It happens less with the guitar sitting on its back but in the playing position is very noticeable. I will check the other strings.  

robgilmo

Its happening ever so slightly on the B string as well , all other strings sound fine. This was an unused set of fender strings that came with the guitar so I have no idea how old they are but they were in their sealed packaging so they should be Ok. Only other thing is the string tree that connects both these strings?

Funkfingers

robgilmo said:

will it still sound thin and harsh because of its weight?

Hell, no. Some of my best Fender guitars feel as if they weigh nothing.

robgilmo said:

I am going through the clean channel on my Vox Cambridge with no effects. 

Say no more. http://www.voxshowroom.com/uk/amp/c30_hood.html Try your guitar through another amplifier. 

robgilmo

Its the only amp I have, apart from another little Vox practice amp and a Fender 10G so out of the three the Cambridge is my best bet I think.

ICBM

The Cambridge is actually not a bad amp. If I'm remembering right, you also have an Epiphone Les Paul? And if so, presumably that doesn't sound thin through it...

The problem is almost certainly those pickups.

The rattle/buzz is most likely either wiring in the cavity if it's affected by which way up the guitar is, or something on the bridge like an intonation spring. It won't be the string tree if it does it on fretted notes.

robgilmo

I think its the saddles, I raised the saddle up right as far as the screws allowed and it went away, lowered it back down and it came back. If I pluck the string close to the saddle, say between bridge and bridge pickup there is no rattle, if I pluck it further up towards the neck its there, the further up towards the neck I pluck the worse it gets. Ive tried damping it with my finger on various parts of the saddle/bridge but it is still rattling. 

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

The problem is almost certainly those pickups.

Agreed. Incorrectly adjusted ceramic bar magnet 'n' stud pickups, cast zinc vibrato sustain block, (possibly) Poplar body.

ICBM said:

The Cambridge is actually not a bad amp. If I'm remembering right, you also have an Epiphone Les Paul? And if so, presumably that doesn't sound thin through it.

If the amp control settings that suit the LP are applied to a Stratocaster, it should sound thin (and quieter) by comparison. To get the same sound pressure level, the Stratocaster requires more amplifier input stage gain. 

If the amplifier had input sockets of two different attenuation values, it might be as simple as using the more attenuated input for the higher output guitar. 

Given the controls offered on the VOX Cambridge, it might be worth finding a pleasing setting for the LP with the bass and/or mid boost options switched off. Only engage them for the Stratocaster.

HAL9000

robgilmo said:

That's what I am thinking, perhaps a set of standard Mex Strat pickup's from a later model? Also, people say to put a different Trem block in , is that just a sustain thing? It needs a few obvious things like a new nut and maybe some fret work so the dollars are adding up and I want to make sure I have a keeper after spending on it.

Std Mex pickups will still be ceramic and quite bright. I bought a set of OilCity Stone Tones for my MIM Std and they are definitely warmer and more organic sounding. I've also got a baseplate on the bridge pickup which fattens things up quite a bit.

I've also had the alloy sustain block replaced with a steel one. It does slightly improve the sustain but it's quite subtle. It also adds a little of what I'd probably describe as 'zing' or brightness to the sound (which I'm not sure I like). A brass block might possibly have added a bit more warmth and suited me better. If you do change the sustain block then make sure you get one with the correct string spacing - it's not the same for all Strats.