Strat-i-tis

V8

If a pic is a 1000 words...It doesn't really describe the fun we had last friday play testing a bunch of Strat's at the Gear Junkie. Was inspired by a bunch of Niles Rodgers tutorials I went through earlier in the week. Graham is a also a fan so we sat around swopping licks and going through strats (because we can?) Left to right : modded 95' MIJ, late 70's CBS, 82 Dan Smith hardtail, 80's "Strat", stock 80's MIJ. All such different guitars - feel and sound wise. No winners (or losers), but Graham and I have a soft spot for our MIJ's. I keep on A/B'ing our two against whatever comes into the shop - so far I havn't found one that I prefer to either of our MIJ's. It's been close a few times, but that's usually G.A.S ::)

Squonk

So you were funking it up! ?

V8

Squonk wrote: So you were funking it up! ?

Heh, trying to... bass playing has helped a lot!

A bit more feel for spaces that Niles style needs. And what a discography to choose from ?

peterleroux

Meron Rigas wrote:
Squonk wrote: So you were funking it up! ?
Heh, trying to... bass playing has helped a lot!

A bit more feel for spaces that Niles style needs. And what a discography to choose from ?

I used to think all 80s disco/funk guitarists sounded the same- until I realised I was hearing the same guy on Madonna, Bowie, Chic etc. etc.

So, having played all of those, does the hardtail come closer to capturing his sound, or were the electronics more of a factor?

V8

peterleroux wrote: I used to think all 80s disco/funk guitarists sounded the same- until I realised I was hearing the same guy on Madonna, Bowie, Chic etc. etc.

So, having played all of those, does the hardtail come closer to capturing his sound, or were the electronics more of a factor?

A bit of a 70's funk fan...I couldn't explain why I liked certain 80's tunes (Duran Duran, Inxs, Bowie, etc..)...the guitar feel & sound was just soooo right. Then (thanks to Studmissile!), a Niles Rodgers doccie made sense of it all...as you say, the same guy!

Disclaimer...Graham and I are biased towards the MIJ's. He went into a JC120 with his stock one and used a green Sharkfin on position 4 & 5. Sounded fairly close to me.

I went into my 80's Roland Spirit 50W bass amp, with some light compression from the mfx. Used a white Sharkfin - position 4 & 5 were okay, but I found I got a bit more cutting sound in pos 1 & 2 with the neck blended in about 60-70% (I got the K7 mod on mine).

The hardtail feels great, but the pups sounded bland to us - a real pity! The 70's CBS is good, but needs a setup. The 80's Strat has way too beefy a tone I reckon, even with the S1 style switching (then it was a bit thin) - but it felt great. We'd have to try many, many more - I think a contemporary Deluxe Strat would work well.

Apparently, in the studio, Niles DI'ed straight into a desk. From the doccie I thought he was using a light pick (white/red sharkfin) and using either position 4/5 on the strat. So it's mostly in his hands? Wouldn't be surprised if he added a touch of comp after the fact.