EttieneB
Ok now dont freak out! I know all the strat purists are reloading their shotguns! But i wanna know if there is anyone that has experience with dimarzio's in their strats?
I was thinkin of replacing my pups to a Tonezone s for the bridge, an area 61 for the middle and a chopper for the neck! Then on the volume putting a coil tap on all of them?
So how much of that awesome strattiness will i sacrifice by doing this! I do really like dimarzio so thats all im looking at and the strat is an american std 2010!
I am very scared of doing something that takes away more than it ads!
Any ideas? Thoughts? Opinions?
Gearhead
Kck-kchck (or whatever a shotgun reload sounds like)
More seriously: what part of Strattiness do you want to emphasise and which part are you willing to compromise? There is always a trade-off so to give you any sensible answer, we must first find out what you want to achieve. Remember that story about 'your sound'? It's yours, not ours.
VellaJ
My tutor owns a late 1950's Strat, which, way back when he bought it off a guy for a hundred bucks (long time ago) he replaced the pups with *GASP* Dimarzios.
Dum dum DUM!
Although one would think it would hurt the vintage value of the instrument, he's had some pretty decent (to say the least) offers on it from overseas, so there's still a market for it, though it isn't stock.
And them pups sound darn fine too! They're obviously a hang of a lot older than the modern ones, and are 3 single coils (as a Strat should be). But the fuzz sounds that he's got out of his guitar over the years is absolutely mind blowing, whilst still keeping those twangy Strat cleans.
So yeah, let the purists have a go at you. But I say go for it!
EttieneB
The problem is, is that i play everything from jazz to shred and everything inbetween! so for the heavier stuff i have more than enough gain on my amp yet the strat just doesnt cut it on some of the chunkier stuff!
I do like the idea of what Andy Timmons is doing pickup wise! and the hum must go! eeeeerm.....
I dont want to loose the character of the strat by killing it with pups that put out too much as those that i have mentioned.......... just more versatlie than what it already is! I know that there are some pro studio dudes in sa that are using the exact setup and they claim that its awesome!!!! :-\
MikeM
Dude, all due respect. If you know of pro's using this setup and regard it so highly, why are you asking us plebs here?
You have 5 tonal options. Find out which you use and which you don't. Do you need strat attack for jazz/shred? I think not. Do you need the wonderful single coil shimmer for what you play, perhaps? You won't get true Dire Straits or JMayer tone without regular single coils.
If you're interested in a decent "straty" sounding noiseless set with some extra balls, Kinmans are widely regarded as the best noiseless pickups, and I am selling their woodstock set, which is their answer for a hot strat setup. Lotsa balls while retaining detail in the high end.
However if you want something more modern sound, with less quack, twang and shimmer, while being more suited to brütals, the choice you have laid out seems like a great solution.
AlanRatcliffe
+1 on the Woodstocks. The Strat lovers pickup for heavier things. Still sounds like a Strat, but hotter, fatter, more modern, noiseless, take drive and distortion better than any other Strat pickups and still work very well at cleans (albeit somewhat thicker cleans). Work best in a bright guitar or if you want a fat sound.
I Like DiMarzios - like all the other manufacturers, they have both good and bad pickups in their range, but mostly good and a few exceptional ones. My Humbucker guitar has a DIMarzio Air Zone in the bridge (paired with a Lollar Imperial at the neck) - I've had 15 pickups in that guitar over the first decade I owned it and the Air Zone has been the keeper in the bridge slot for the last two decades.
Otherwise most things you are planning take you away from "Strattiness" - especially on position 2 and 4. The pickups are a bit unbalanced with a very low power middle pickup. So if you must have those three I'd put the Chopper in the middle and the Area 61 in the neck for better balance. In fact, I would say try and keep your middle and neck well matched with similar pickups (a pair of Choppers or a Chopper mid and Fast Track 1 neck will work well with the Tonezone S) - you'd end up with a very hot Strat, but it would still be a Strat.
Gearhead
Bottom line is you need another Strat to add, not another set of pickups in the one you have ?
VellaJ
Gearhead wrote:
Bottom line is you need another Strat to add, not another set of pickups in the one you have ?
Excellent solution ?
EttieneB
thats a def!!! thanx all!! keep me updated if u ever come across that set in a strat though!
peace!
guyfeld
Hey there...I have a white 60's Roadworn that I bought used ...came with a Tone zone s bridge,Blue velvet in neck and red velvet in middle...Still experimenting with coil-tapping the Tone Zone as I don't get a true-enough strat sound in pos 2 at the moment, but I might move this gtr on for about R7K. I also have Kinman Woodstock plus's that I'm trying out in a Squier Classic vibe 50's strat..I might sell these for R1600 if I can't get them to work for me.
