Stratocaster Blues

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by perttime

...I've listened to some demos of people using P-90s, and am wondering if you could get into the same ballpark with low output humbuckers (say, Alnico 5 PAF-style) or a somewhat hot wound Telecaster bridge pickup.

The closest I've ever come to P-90 tone - close, but still not quite - is with the very hot single-coils in the long-discontinued Yamaha SSC-500:



IME underwound/low-output humbuckers will give you a good clean sound well suited to postwar jazz and blues (much like the first P-90's), but by their very nature won't have the upper-mid/treble response of a true single-coil, nor will they hit the front end of your (tube) amp with the same impact when you want to get some grit into your tone; even with the quantum leaps in pickup technology over the last 50 years there's a reason many savvy players still reach for this early-postwar design, and paradoxically enough there's sufficient interest for guitar manufacturers (as well as custom pickup winders) to expand their availability across their product lines...

[blue]

Originally Posted by perttime

I don't think I'm buying yet another guitar soon. I've listened to some demos of people using P90s, and am wondering if you could get into the same ballpark with low output humbuckers (say, Alnico 5 PAF-style) or a somewhat hot wound telecaster bridge pickup.

Get a decent 7 band (or more) Graphic Equalizer pedal. MXR or Boss are a great deal. You can find some P90-esque tones in there with PAF style humbuckers. Most GE pedals provide a good amount of boost. G&L MFD pickups are really easy to push into P90 territory with the right pedals.

[blue]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

but by their very nature won't have the upper-mid/treble response of a true single-coil, nor will they hit the front end of your (tube) amp with the same impact when you want to get some grit into your tone;.

Treble Boost pedals are misnamed. But "Upper mids boost" which is what they actually do doesn't sound as sexy

Everyone should own a treble booster. And a Graphic EQ pedal...

[Nama Ensou]

Nothing made by man is perfect and that includes the Strat and Les Paul as well. I took lots of liberties with modding my Strat before it became much more of a perfected instrument for me, but now there are lots of other companies, and Fender too even, who have made so many changes that work better for a lot of players.

And then there's the traditional method of simply learning what doesn't work with a stock Strat and training your hands to adapt to it as is.

[G_jeffers]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Hey Steve, I bought my Tribute used at Long & Mcquade in 2015 for $599 CAD + tax ($678) and it came with an SKB hardshell case with TSA lock. It was my first P90 guitar. I played it 2 nights ago through my Marshall Vintage Modern and the tone is amazing. It's not a guitar I play often but when I do I smile.

Bought it new. Great giging guitar. Added the Bigsby with Vibramate.

[Dru Edwards]

Sweet - looks fantastic with the Bigsby.

Originally Posted by G_jeffers

Bought it new. Great giging guitar. Added the Bigsby with Vibramate.

[Dru Edwards]

Here's my 2011 Gibson Les Paul Tribute with P90s.

[j3ffr0]

I think you are doing right by checking out other guitars. Not everyone grooves on ALL of the iconic guitars. Strats never did it for me. I was turned off by a lot of the stuff Fender put out in the 80s that would not stay in tune and have never been interested in Strats since. they never felt right to me in those days either.

OTOH - I wasn't always a Les Paul guy either. I've had one for years at this point, but only been playing it more and more lately. I'm coming to appreciate everything about it more in spite of it being heavy. Sometimes one grows into something over time.

[Bob Womack]

I had a 2011 Tribute with a '60s neck.



I thought it was an absolutely fabulous value. I loved the p-90 sound but didn't like the noise. Every time my wife walked by she'd say, "What is that racket?" A secret: I wanted a gold top but no-one in my family liked gold tops and this one played really well. I never really bonded with the un-bound neck, though. That was probably my fault because I didn't take it to my tech to have the fret sprout tamed. Again, it was a really fantastic value. It brought a premium in a trade at a dealer.

Bob

[OregonJim]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Telecaster Deluxe MIM. OMG I love the neck! Satin and Fat. Controls out of the way. Could be best of both worlds? Super interested. Didn’t get to plug it in. What do these sound like? Really cool guitar, if I’d have bought this I’d probably not be looking now. Oh, who am I kidding...

I recently bought a MIM Tele (not a deluxe) and LOVE the neck. As you said, satin & fat. I reversed the control plate after taking the picture below and couldn't be happier. If I were looking for a Tele with humbuckers, I'd get a Schecter PT Pro. My wife has one and it's even better than a Fender MIM, fit and finish wise. You gotta be cool with thinner necks, though.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by blue

...Everyone should own a treble booster. And a Graphic EQ pedal...

I do - bought 'em back in the '70s, haven't used either one in 40 years...

Thing is, to my ears there's an immediately-recognizable audible difference between the natural "chime" (upper-mid response) and "air" (treble) of a "wide-body" single-coil (P-90, Dynasonic, Franz, etc.) and an EQ'd full-size humbucker in a live setting. I find the former musical at just about any volume from bedroom to stadium, whereas the latter ranges from saccharine and artificial at lower levels, to annoying and abrasive when cranked - and while outboard EQ devices unquestionably have their place in certain situations (compensating for room acoustics, adding clarity to an old-style Class-A tube amp), I've found that by matching one's gear complement to musical style(s)/technique(s) they're not as necessary as some may be led to believe...

[kookaburra]

I've played Strats for a long time, so it is no longer an issue. However, early on, it was an issue. I pulled the knob off. Still was able to do some adjusting on the post sticking up from the pot. Worked well. Eventually I put the knob back on for easier adjustment, and I just got used to it.

[blue]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

I've found that by matching one's gear complement to musical style(s)/technique(s) they're not as necessary as some may be led to believe...

Yeah. IF you have the gear required to complement varied musical styles...

The OP has one guitar. And it appears they are trying to keep it at that number...

I suggest that by using certain carefully chosen, and frankly, readily available and reasonably priced pedals, having a bunch of guitars to complement varied musical styles is not as necessary as some may believe...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by blue

Yeah. IF you have the gear required to complement varied musical styles...

The OP has one guitar. And it appears they are trying to keep it at that number...

I suggest that by using certain carefully chosen, and frankly, readily available and reasonably priced pedals, having a bunch of guitars to complement varied musical styles is not as necessary as some may believe...

IME it's easier (and cheaper) to do than you think...

The OP has a Strat - so do I; served as my workhorse guitar for 25 years, replacing the pictured Yamaha SSC-500 (a $199 bargain in 1982 that still does backup duty) - placed the Strat in semi-retirement in 2016 when I bought a 3-PU cats'-eye Gretsch 5622...

I've done nearly every electric gig for the last five years with the Gretsch and a "blue-light" Bugera V22 combo, just straight-up guitar-cable-amp: got enough power for any hall I'm likely to play, all the tones I'll need for a variety of styles from jazz comping to classic rock and anything in between - and it's a quick two-hand, one-trip carry-in/setup/teardown when time and/or stage space is at a premium...

Is it a pure rocker like the LP, an old-school jazz/blues/rockabilly axe like my Godin CW II, or as glassy as the Strat - not quite, but flipping a switch or two and/or twisting some dials on the amp brings it nicely into line...

Yeah, I've got the gear (as do most of us here on the AGF, in one form or another - mine gradually amassed over nearly 60 years of playing, BTW) but the point here is that it is indeed possible to match one's rig to one's preferred style(s) with a relative minimum of expense/complexity; if I were stranded on a desert island for my remaining days I could get along nicely with the Gretsch/Bugera rig (and enough sets of D'Addario flatwound 11's to allow for wear/breakage/sea-air corrosion) - and since the OP is coming over from a strictly-acoustic background, IMO he probably doesn't need the added complication/learning curve of peripherals at this point...

[Dirk Hofman]

Yeah modeling amps are fine for me right now. If I ever start gigging electric I’ll look into all that other stuff.