"Fat" sounding

[FoxHound4690]

Just wondering what exactly does it mean when a guitar is "fat" sounding?

[hatamoto]

meaning that it sounds full and lush.

If you listen to a Les Paul vs a Strat the, the LP will sound more full whereas the latter is thinner sounding.

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

meaning that it sounds full and lush.

If you listen to a Les Paul vs a Strat the, the LP will sound more full whereas the latter is thinner sounding.

Ok, thanks. I play a strat and the bridge pickup is very thin and trebly where as the neck pickup is very deep and rich sounding, is that what is described as being fat?

My strat has single coil V-mods and each pickup produces a vastly different tone to the others

[hatamoto]

Originally Posted by FoxHound4690

Ok, thanks. I play a strat and the bridge pickup is very thin and trebly where as the neck pickup is very deep and rich sounding, is that what is described as being fat?

My strat has single coil V-mods and each pickup produces a vastly different tone to the others

Yup that rich deep, rich sound you're hearing is the "fat" tone.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by hatamoto

...If you listen to a Les Paul vs a Strat the, the LP will sound more full whereas the latter is thinner sounding.

Not if you use flatwound 12's, deck the trem, and use a 5-spring setup, the way Leo shipped them in 1954 - clean, clear, smooth in all positions, and not thin or metallic at all...

[6L6]

Originally Posted by FoxHound4690

Ok, thanks. I play a strat and the bridge pickup is very thin and trebly where as the neck pickup is very deep and rich sounding, is that what is described as being fat?

My strat has single coil V-mods and each pickup produces a vastly different tone to the others

Back in the 60's I was told the secret to Hank Marvin's tone off the bridge pickup. He rewired the bottom Tone knob on his Strat to the Bridge pup and rolled it off to around "7". The middle Tone knob is rewired to control the middle and neck pups.

I've had every Strat I've ever owned wired this way. Never liked the "icepick in the ear" tone of the standard Strat bridge pup sound.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by 6L6

Back in the 60's I was told the secret to Hank Marvin's tone off the bridge pickup. He rewired the bottom Tone knob on his Strat to the Bridge pup and rolled it off to around "7". The middle Tone knob is rewired to control the middle and neck pups.

I've had every Strat I've ever owned wired this way. Never liked the "icepick in the ear" tone of the standard Strat bridge pup sound.

Yeah, the bridge position can come off as "ice-picky" but it's also the best position on a Strat for Classic Rock distortion tones (IMHO). Not as good as a Tele bridge p'up, but close.

If your bridge pickup sounds "thin", you may need to raise it a bit. Trebly, jangly or bright is normal - "thin" isn't.

[hatamoto]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Not if you use flatwound 12's, deck the trem, and use a 5-spring setup, the way Leo shipped them in 1954 - clean, clear, smooth in all positions, and not thin or metallic at all...

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to own a strat one day. Gotta love those glassy cleans

[dnf777]

Very subjective term, but “you know it when you hear it”! Remember, an electric guitar is 1/3 of the tone equation. Theres the amp, and and pedals/modelers too. If I was pressed to define fat tones, I would say “billy gibbons”...whether hes playing a LP, V, or vintage Esquire!

[rokdog49]

The early Strat pups were wound very thin and had low output. That tone can be heard on a lot of songs recorded during those years. The bridge is particularly good for cutting through while playing rhythm chord “stabs” in certain songs.
Since I already own a Tele with an overwound single coil bridge and 5/16” magnets, I really like that Strat bridge sound. Those sets also produced the “glassiest” Strat tones in the second and fourth position...heavenly!
BTW, one of John Mayer’s Strats has these pups in it and he uses it a lot.
Here’s a great demo...

[guitararmy]

That Robben Ford "Talk to Your Daughter" tone comes to mind...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM0CWfVZczY

[redir]

Bridge pickup - thin
Neck pickup - fat

Picking up over the fretboard fattens the sound too. I think fat means mid/bass emphasis.

[FrankHudson]

Like most metaphoric adjectives applied to sound, there's an element of "it means what I think it means" to it.

To some it means more lower end and low mids in the sound's EQ profile.

To others it means a broader sustain/decay envelope

To others it means the different overtone mix when a guitar is picked nearer the neck.

To some it means the broader length of string sensed by a wider pickup or by two pickups.

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Yeah, the bridge position can come off as "ice-picky" but it's also the best position on a Strat for Classic Rock distortion tones (IMHO). Not as good as a Tele bridge p'up, but close.

If your bridge pickup sounds "thin", you may need to raise it a bit. Trebly, jangly or bright is normal - "thin" isn't.

yep my bridge pickup definitely isn't "thin" It doesn't lack volume... it's quite a loud pickup to be honest. perfect for distortion it responds very nicely with my Boss DS-1. Clean tone it's very "glassy" sounding. Think of the guitar tone in The Counting Crows song Mr Jones. That's very much my bridge pickup clean tone down to a Tee =P

[nightchef]

The first thing that comes to my mind for a “fat” guitar tone is Duane Allman, quintessentially on “Blue Sky”. If you could eat that sound it would spike your cholesterol (and it would be worth it!).

Another good example would be Clapton on “Spoonful”.