I have a VM '70s with the DD PUs, and mine is as stratty as it gets, at least to my ears. I am using a Fender and other fender style amps, along with a compressor and other pedals. I find that compressor, and some light reverb gives me the strattiest tones of all. I would say, if you know someone with a similar set up, give it a try. It might be your rig, and not your guitar.
Help - Cannot get "Stratty" Tone from VM Modified 70's Strat
- Thread starter Numerov
- Start date
SquierTap
Squier-holic
I'll just throw my little 2 cents in; I say that if you want "Stratty" tone, you just can beat a set of Alnico V single coils... One of my best sounding (and most Stratty sounding) Strats is a '89 Korean Squier II with a set of those Belcat Alnico pups that cost $25 for the SET on Amazon... Another thing I'll mention that MAY help, is in order for me to get that "round" "rubbery" Strat sound, I've gotta turn the bass up a little... Single coil Alnicos are cheap, and the bass knob is free with the amp, lol...
mechanic1908
Squier-Meister
I'm not sure about the other variables involved here but i will say that I have a VM 70'S SQUIER strat with stock pickups in it.
When I plug into my rig ( usually straight in to amp) my wife from another room yells over " you're playing your Strat again aren't you"?
So she can tell what it sounds like and she's not " into" guitar.
Hth
When I plug into my rig ( usually straight in to amp) my wife from another room yells over " you're playing your Strat again aren't you"?
So she can tell what it sounds like and she's not " into" guitar.
Hth
GilmourD
Squier-Nut
I feel repetitive, but I think the OP's problem is the amp, not the guitar.
DougMen
Squier-Axpert
We keep telling him that it may be the amp, but he seems to think that there's something inferior about basswood, and seems to think that is the problem, so we're trying to convince him otherwise.
It is often said but seldom comprehended: "When all else fails, examine your expectations." This is not a put-down...rather, the perspective of many years (with thin gray hair and tinnitus to prove it (Laughter of the Immortals (Google it))). I'll assume you have an internal notion of the sound you seek. So did Les Paul and Leo Fender. I'll also assume you don't have a guitar manufacturing facility at your disposal. What to do? Here's my best, time-earned advice: go to a real music store staffed by real, music savvy guitar players in an off-peak time. Cultivate a relationship (even with a COVID mask) with one or two and let them help you systematically work through combinations of guitars, effects, and amps on display until you find a kit that approximates the sound you crave. Unless you're independently wealthy, this quest cannot be accomplished via Amazon. That approximate kit is your baseline. Then, and only then, bring in your own guitar and plug into the effect(s) and amp your experiment indicated. Finally, with expert and now-friendly guidance, determined what you need to do and buy to OWN that sound. As a Nissan auto commercial featuring a 'Japanese mystic mechanic' once ended: "Life's a journey, enjoy the ride." Best wishes!
Robbmonster
Squier-holic
I'm gonna throw something out there that will cost you next to nothing and makes a HUGE impact on the sound of any guitar I play...
Try using a different gauge pick. Buy a bunch, eveything from a .33 to a 2mm. Try them all, and hear the differences
Try using a different gauge pick. Buy a bunch, eveything from a .33 to a 2mm. Try them all, and hear the differences
DougMen
Squier-Axpert
That's true. I can hear a difference in seemingly similar celluloid picks from different makers. A Fender medium and a Dunlop medium and a D'Andrea medium all sound a little different, even though they're all celluloid. And, then different materials sound different too, Tortex, Ultex, nylon, Delrin. They all have their own character.I'm gonna throw something out there that will cost you next to nothing and makes a HUGE impact on the sound of any guitar I play...
Try using a different gauge pick. Buy a bunch, eveything from a .33 to a 2mm. Try them all, and hear the differences
Ian Sheridan 1978
Squier Talker
I've got to chime in with that I own a 70's VM (fsr smashed avocado) with stock SC101's and it's my favourite strat I've owned. The in-between settings are beautiful. Just love it for knopfler like clean sounds. Amazing guitar. Always in tune and loves fuzz!
(It has a big block and tusq nut, but I don't think it's essential)
(It has a big block and tusq nut, but I don't think it's essential)
Shine
Squier-holic
Nice! I like that Mosky thing.
squierTony
Dr. Squier
DrBeGood
Dr. Squier
I don't remeber where I saw that, but it was after I sold my Red Line Studio Pro. Someone said that by diming the volume on the gain channel and adjusting loudness with the gain knob was the best tone you could ever hope to find.
CV50sFan90
Squier-Nut
I swapped a pair of Fender Yosemite pickups into my CV 50's Strat and I absolutely love the tones I get. They're definitely not hot. Also, I'm playing through an MK2 Katana 50, which has blown me away for the price. Might want to upgrade your amp, as well.
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AxelMorisson
Squier-holic
ok let me try to help. Get a trial version of Amplitube 5 - and use a "Fender 50's" style amp sim. It's not perfect but it will not break the bank even if you go full version later. And you get to explore the sounds. And if you like it there's your answer... stay digital or start raising for another type of amp. All this modelling business (ha!) taught me to appreciate guitars differently.. now I don't plug in and compare- I plug in and run the sims... After 20 minutes I know what type of amp the guitar "likes" and if it will amount to something at all . I have been surprised ..basically all guitars that came to me after a good setup- both old clunkers or misfits or modded ones, mine or my friend's - they all sound good to exemplary but each has a "personality". And then there's the wonderful world of ..tone caps and treble bleed circuits- basically you can "voice" the already installed pickups- pretty much in some cases. I suspect the guitar's fine- even with the normal pickups.
BTW for the classical nasal yet clear sound, bright but with enough bass and clarity- sounds amazing in description but sounds more like surf rock in person- you can go for a very cheap Fender Vintera 60's pickup set. They come with a wiring manual and their "vintage" schematic shows a 0.1 uf. Yup not a typo, zero point one micros. And it will surely sing. Then again, change ONLY THE CAP ( 4 USD, shipped perhaps) with any 0.1 uF, even ceramic disk , for "authenticity of tone" as they were built like that in the 60s. Did the full mod to my affinity, was pleasantly surprised and that was it- for a while. Then the curiosity bit me- what would happen if I kept the cap and pots and swapped the old pickups back? Just for funzies? Well- it was nice. Just as nice- but a tad different. If I were to chose they could stay- or not? Will buy parts and put them in- with a 0.1 uF.Very stratty- disturbingly so.
BTW for the classical nasal yet clear sound, bright but with enough bass and clarity- sounds amazing in description but sounds more like surf rock in person- you can go for a very cheap Fender Vintera 60's pickup set. They come with a wiring manual and their "vintage" schematic shows a 0.1 uf. Yup not a typo, zero point one micros. And it will surely sing. Then again, change ONLY THE CAP ( 4 USD, shipped perhaps) with any 0.1 uF, even ceramic disk , for "authenticity of tone" as they were built like that in the 60s. Did the full mod to my affinity, was pleasantly surprised and that was it- for a while. Then the curiosity bit me- what would happen if I kept the cap and pots and swapped the old pickups back? Just for funzies? Well- it was nice. Just as nice- but a tad different. If I were to chose they could stay- or not? Will buy parts and put them in- with a 0.1 uF.Very stratty- disturbingly so.
Dave M
Squier-holic
Sorry for the late reply....this vid is 10 years old...he's playin' a VM 70...he's getting "stratty" tones....I had one ....maybe Fenderish tone amps do something...but the lower output pups do tend to have that stratty tone to,,,like in the CV 50's...
Robbmonster
Squier-holic
Since it's been resurrected, I can't help but wonder what ultimately happened here. Did the OP ultimately find what he was after?
Reminds me of a thread that got resurrected on TDPRI a couple of months ago with similar tone issues. Hundreds of suggestions, refused to try any of them (not suggesting that's what the OP here was doing), and after a dozen pages or so not a single thing was resolved.
Reminds me of a thread that got resurrected on TDPRI a couple of months ago with similar tone issues. Hundreds of suggestions, refused to try any of them (not suggesting that's what the OP here was doing), and after a dozen pages or so not a single thing was resolved.
Dave M
Squier-holic
Yes, lots of that always, sometimes you find answers to your problem, cause somebody else already had one,,,.I saw that 2022 date and thought it was started on sept of this year...oh well....
thats ok mate. 2020 and 2021 never happened hehe.
on topic, i wonder being VM strat in the first place wouldn't the tone be more beefy and not very stratish in the first place? i mean, comparing it to the likes of a player strat or a CV strat.
FraKo
Squier Talker
Agr
(Pssst... I like the sound, strattish or not. Sounds more on the beefy side imho. I put the 2nd tone control on the bridge pup, and this makes the guitar more versatile - still imho).
Agreed. Anyway, I'm the lucky owner of a maple on black VM Strat (exactly the same axe featured in the video posted by Dave M), and I would say that: 1) the neck is fantastic: beautiful, chunky, with rolled eges and 2) the neck is fantastic: see my avatar <. Being the neck 80% in a guitar, 'nuff said.
(Pssst... I like the sound, strattish or not. Sounds more on the beefy side imho. I put the 2nd tone control on the bridge pup, and this makes the guitar more versatile - still imho).
AxelMorisson
Squier-holic
and real bone nuts really make a difference in the top end of any and all guitars they equip....as well as heavier blocks on strats regardless of actual manufacture
