Strat’S the Way
Is it possible to increase the output of a strat in such a way that it becomes comparable with a twin humbucker equipped guitar? Dave Burrluck considers some alternatives…
t urning back the clock some years, I learned a lesson the hard way. I owned an SG copy (which sounded okay for the doom-laden riffs I was required to play) but I really wanted a Strat. Luckily, I managed to borrow one and thought I’d pull it out mid-set and all my mates would be gobsmacked as I turned into Hendrix right in front of them.
Ability aside, nobody told me a Strat sounds very different to a twin-humbucking mahogany plank. Instead of the thick, saturated power-chord riffage that was needed, the Strat sounded bright, bass-light and clean. I struggled through one number and didn’t play a Strat again for years.
The intentional disparity in the typical output of a single-coil guitar and a humbucking guitar can still catch us out, not least if our Strats are vintage spec. With the original tone control setup – tone 1, neck pickup; tone 2, middle – the bridge pickup has no tone control so you can’t roll off some highs and maybe kick in a level boost to compensate for the lower output and thinner tone. Those highs can be rounded by changing the tone controls – for example, running both the neck and middle to tone 1 and the bridge to tone 2 – a typical set-up on many modern Strat-alikes. Another popular linkage is to run tone 1 to the neck and tone 2 to the bridge leaving the middle pickup without a tone control. Or, you can run tone 2 as a master tone for all three pickups and leave tone 1 unwired.
Experiment with the height and tilt of that bridge pickup pulling it down a little on the treble side and raising it a little on the bassside. As ever consider your string choice – going up a gauge and using darker sounding strings can help.
If you’re just using your Strat you can obviously tune your FX/amp to balance out its voice. But, if you’re using other guitars, not least that Les Paul with its humbuckers, things are far from even and, before you know it, you’ve added a clean boost (or an EQ pedal) early in your chain to compensate.
Another option, of course, is to swap out single coils for something hotter. The danger is you can lose the character of your Strat as the increased power often means a darker sound without the sparkle. Again, it depends on your style – if you want a beefier, rockier sound then those reduced highs and extra power will probably help. But you just need a bit more power…
One solution comes from Radioshop Pickups. With this Strat/Les Paul dilemma in mind they’ve created a set of single coils, the ID: Evolution (ID stands for increased dynamics) that have increased power but aim to retain that high-end sparkle. Another trick they’ve added is a steel baseplate to the bridge pickup, like a Tele’s bridge pickup, which alters the magnetic field and sound.
They offer plenty of vintage mojo: “handbevelled, vintage-staggered [slightly wider and taller] 5.25mm diameter Alnico V magnets, vintage cloth hook-up wire, black fibreboard bobbins dipped in nitrocellulose, a unique Radioshop ‘ID’ wax potting procedure to reduce microphonic feedback while boosting clarity and dynamics.” The DC resistances reflect their hotter stance: 7.2k ohms for the neck and middle and 7.8k at the bridge.
Loaded into our Fender Road Worn Strat there’s certainly extra power on tap. The individual voices have strength and fullness albeit still with slightly less – compared to other Strats we’ve had for comparison – high-end sparkle. The (nonhum-cancelling) pickup mixes, especially, sound strong yet textured, while the bridge pickup balances beef with clarity that makes crunchier, rockier voices easy to dial in too. And it’s this bridge pickup that seals the deal. Whereas so many can simply sound too thin and bright, there’s a strength and a hint-ofTele that suits this positon, clean or cranked. Swapping between a Seth Lover-equipped Knaggs Kenai and the Radioshop’d Strat we still hear plenty of Fender-versus-Gibson character yet the outputs are a lot closer. Interesting stuff.
Pickups are hugely time-consuming to evaluate and hugely personal to the player, their style and their signal chain not to mention the instrument you put them on. This Radioshop set offers extra oomph for those that need more heat but don’t want to eradicate their Strat’s signature sound. It really is quite a find.