prickstein
Newbie
- Messages
- 9
Hi all,
I'm in the planning stages of building the perfect guitar for me and need some advice.
What I want is a strat for all occasions. I want to be able to pull classic neck/ mid p/u strat sounds sounds as well as high gain metal tones and everything in between. (Big ask, I know)
The guitar tones I love include Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Ian Moss of Australian band "Cold Chisel" and David Gilmour (all strat players) through to heavier sounds like Van Halen, AC/DC and Killswitch Engage.
My favourite guitars that I own are a pre Samick Valley Arts Standard Pro and a Hamer Chapparal Elite w/ sustainiac. The reason they don't get used as much as I'd like is the fact they both have Floyd Rose trems, and I tend to write in a lot of alternate tunings and sometimes need to play at concert pitch, sometimes half step down, sometimes whole step.
I was thinking about a hardtail strat so I can tune to whatever I want at the drop of a hat, but I'm torn between the hardtail idea and setting the trem hard against the body so it only goes down. I tend to only tune strings down, not up when writing in alternate tunings so it shouldn't pull the other strings out.
How much does the trem contribute to that classic strat sound? Am I going to miss that by going hardtail?
I played a Tom Delonge strat at a music store with a hardtail and Duncan Invader in the bridge, great heavy sound and the immediate "bang" I got from it reminded me of my Epiphone Les Paul with tune o matic bridge.
The other issue is whether to go hollow. I like the idea of a lighter strat with great sustain but have never played a chambered strat and I don't like my chances of finding one to try in my area. Is a chambered strat going to be any good for chunky metal as well as classic neck and mid p/u strat sounds? The reports on the effect of the chambers vary drastically around here.
So far my specs are-
Mahogany or Alder strat body (solid or chambered) in either Matt Black or a figured maple top. (Hardtail or trem)
Maple Boatneck w/ stainless steel frets (possibly even Ebony fretboard) Unfinished with locking tuners
Duncan Invader bridge p/u, Kinman neck and middle p/u.
Any thoughts on how to achieve the sounds I'm after?
Thanks heaps,
Rick
I'm in the planning stages of building the perfect guitar for me and need some advice.
What I want is a strat for all occasions. I want to be able to pull classic neck/ mid p/u strat sounds sounds as well as high gain metal tones and everything in between. (Big ask, I know)
The guitar tones I love include Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Ian Moss of Australian band "Cold Chisel" and David Gilmour (all strat players) through to heavier sounds like Van Halen, AC/DC and Killswitch Engage.
My favourite guitars that I own are a pre Samick Valley Arts Standard Pro and a Hamer Chapparal Elite w/ sustainiac. The reason they don't get used as much as I'd like is the fact they both have Floyd Rose trems, and I tend to write in a lot of alternate tunings and sometimes need to play at concert pitch, sometimes half step down, sometimes whole step.
I was thinking about a hardtail strat so I can tune to whatever I want at the drop of a hat, but I'm torn between the hardtail idea and setting the trem hard against the body so it only goes down. I tend to only tune strings down, not up when writing in alternate tunings so it shouldn't pull the other strings out.
How much does the trem contribute to that classic strat sound? Am I going to miss that by going hardtail?
I played a Tom Delonge strat at a music store with a hardtail and Duncan Invader in the bridge, great heavy sound and the immediate "bang" I got from it reminded me of my Epiphone Les Paul with tune o matic bridge.
The other issue is whether to go hollow. I like the idea of a lighter strat with great sustain but have never played a chambered strat and I don't like my chances of finding one to try in my area. Is a chambered strat going to be any good for chunky metal as well as classic neck and mid p/u strat sounds? The reports on the effect of the chambers vary drastically around here.
So far my specs are-
Mahogany or Alder strat body (solid or chambered) in either Matt Black or a figured maple top. (Hardtail or trem)
Maple Boatneck w/ stainless steel frets (possibly even Ebony fretboard) Unfinished with locking tuners
Duncan Invader bridge p/u, Kinman neck and middle p/u.
Any thoughts on how to achieve the sounds I'm after?
Thanks heaps,
Rick