What can 'do Strat' that isn't a Strat?

BRISTOL86

Not in the market to purchase anything at the moment, but what should one be looking at if one wants to be able to get close to Strat territory tone wise (Neck and Neck/Middle tones) but is bored to tears of Strats having had several and always got bored of them?

I've always loved the look and vibe of semi hollow guitars like this but I know nothing about them

https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitars/hollow-semi-hollow-body-guitars/prs-se-hollowbody-ii-charcoal-burst

This particular model is humbuckers and not splittable.

I guess, with only playing at home and using modelling (Helix and studio monitors/headphones) it's fairly easy to contrive most of the tones you could want with any guitar, but still would appreciate any advice on things to consider. 

It would probably end up being my only electric, so versatility is pretty key. Budget would be around £1k eventually, new or used I'm not fussed.

ICBM

You do need something with two single coils in those positions, really. The one electric guitar sound that’s really difficult to duplicate with anything else is the Strat in-between sound, because it’s a complex notch-filtered sound which is dependent on the type and spacing of the pickups, not just EQ.

You can get reasonably close with two split humbuckers, but they need to be in the ‘24 fret neck’ positions and split to the inner coils. The Strat neck sound needs to be a single coil in the *outer* coil position. You can also get fairly close with two single coils as far apart as a Tele, with some clever circuitry like the Jerry Donahue Tele, but it’s still not as accurate as simply using a pair of Strat-type pickups.

So I would probably look for either a two-humbucker guitar with 24 frets and the right coil-splitting arrangements, or some sort of HSS pickup configuration.

lovestrat74

Tele with a Twisted Tele in the neck does a good Strat neck pos

stickyfiddle

I once played a JJ Jewel with dimarzio soapbar-humbuckers that actually did a mean Strat impression with them both split. 

thegummy

lovestrat74 said:

Tele with a Twisted Tele in the neck does a good Strat neck pos

Heard that many times, though never tried one myself.

I'd guess if it was one of the Teles with a middle pickup it could get the notch tones, assuming the spacing was right.

JD50

Nashville Tele?

thegummy

ICBM said:

You do need something with two single coils in those positions, really. The one electric guitar sound that’s really difficult to duplicate with anything else is the Strat in-between sound, because it’s a complex notch-filtered sound which is dependent on the type and spacing of the pickups, not just EQ.

You can get reasonably close with two split humbuckers, but they need to be in the ‘24 fret neck’ positions and split to the inner coils. The Strat neck sound needs to be a single coil in the *outer* coil position. You can also get fairly close with two single coils as far apart as a Tele, with some clever circuitry like the Jerry Donahue Tele, but it’s still not as accurate as simply using a pair of Strat-type pickups.

So I would probably look for either a two-humbucker guitar with 24 frets and the right coil-splitting arrangements, or some sort of HSS pickup configuration.

I'd wonder if the 24 fret neck pickup position would stop the split coil sound like a Strat neck.

I know that a neck humbucker on a 24 fretter doesn't sound as "necky" as it does on a Strat or Les Paul; just doesn't sound right. Never tried it with a single coil though.

ICBM

thegummy said:

I'd wonder if the 24 fret neck pickup position would stop the split coil sound like a Strat neck.

A bit, but not as much as the 22-fret position stops the split inner coils sounding like a Strat in-between. The spacing is quite critical for that, without extra JD-type trickery.

The other big problem with splitting humbuckers is that they just don’t really sound the same as Fender-type single coils. There are some humbuckers that get around this by being like two Fender pickups - eg Duncan Stag Mag, Oil City Brassknuckle - but they don’t sound like normal humbuckers when not split.

Basically it depends which sound is your priority and which you can accept an approximation of. If you really want true Strat neck and neck/middle sounds, you need true Strat-like pickups there, whatever is at the bridge.

JohnPerry

Reverend Jetstream 390

maltingsaudio

Musicman silhouette or silhouette special or PatrickEggle Berlin Pro or Patrick Eggle New York or ibanez Jem

Sassafras

Musicman Albert Lee with single coils?

mark123

JD50 said:

Nashville Tele?

this ^^^^

BRISTOL86

Thanks all, lots of food for thought!

Bucket

Sassafras said:

Musicman Albert Lee with single coils?

Good shout... very good shout.

gazrichards

What is it about strats you don’t like?
I’m in a similar position in that I don’t like trems really, don’t like the 3 pot system on a strat, a master tone and vol would be way better and less in the way and don’t really like the jack input on a strat. 

I used to have a musicman cutlass that was brilliant but I didn’t use it enough to justify the real estate value of it. I now use a charvel dk24 which is brilliant too but I’m maybe having similar thoughts about if I can justify keeping it

BRISTOL86

gazrichards said:

What is it about strats you don’t like?
I’m in a similar position in that I don’t like trems really, don’t like the 3 pot system on a strat, a master tone and vol would be way better and less in the way and don’t really like the jack input on a strat. 

I used to have a musicman cutlass that was brilliant but I didn’t use it enough to justify the real estate value of it. I now use a charvel dk24 which is brilliant too but I’m maybe having similar thoughts about if I can justify keeping it

It's not that I don't like them, I do. I just find them a bit....dull and sterile. But I have an inkling that a lot of that might actually come from playing through a laptop and helix software rather than playing through an amp. But in a small house with paper thin walls it's the most sensible option and gives me access to a lot of tones without expensive pedals etc.

vasselmeyer

If you've the inclination then a Variax might do the job. There are lots of the JT models that don't look liek strats. They have the magnetic pickups as well as all the emulated guitars. If you're playing through a laptop then you won't really be able to tell the difference from the original guitars. I used one live on a couple of songs in a former (classic rock) band when I needed a pretty close approximation of an iconic guitar and really it was close enough for me to be happy with.

EricTheWeary

https://i.imgur.com/nxu5GIF.jpg

Whitecat

Funnily enough, I used to have a PRS NF3 that did the in-between tones *really* well, despite all the pickups being humbuckers. Very convincing, and if I were in a live act that needed me to do Knopfler I think you would get away with it and then some (other than if it were me having nowhere near the technique)

The downside was that the standalone position cleans were a bit meh.

tone1

I watched someone play a Tokai Strat in a store once, and it sounded absolutely fantastic...The chap told me that to get the best out of Strats you really have to ‘wring their necks’ 

TTBZ

Musicman Cutlass.

PRS Silver Sky?