Any downside to getting the universal route in a Strat?

[Jet-Jaguar]

So I saw this loaded pickguard over at Sigler music that had three mini-humbuckers, and it got me thinking about how versatile Stratocasters are.  But it required a universal route. Which makes me wonder: do you lose much when you lose the wood in the SSS route, the little bits between the pickups? 

If you're buying from a company like Warmoth where you can choose whatever you want, why not buy all your strats from Warmoth with the universal route?  I mean, if you wanted to try a lot of things, but keep the same Strat body, it seems like you could just get the universal route, and swap pickguards whenever you want to try different pickups.

 

[stultzies9]

This is one of those questions where a lot of people have a lot of opinions, so take mine with the usual 5lb bag of salt. 

I owned a chambered Strat with a universal rout for years. Not only did I think it sounded great, every person who ever played it, or heard it said the same. At no point did anyone say "hey, that would sound just like a Strat if it didn't have that universal rout under the pickguard".  :-D

I'm sure on a pure physics level it's going to make a difference to the sound. The question (and the thing so many people have an opinion on) is "how big of a difference"?

So there you go. Again, this is strictly my opinion, and I'm sure there will be other responses from people with every bit as much experience saying the exact opposite. 

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

And honestly, there are a lot of Strats that Fender manufactures as a universal route by default, so they can load them with pretty much any combination of pickups.  You'd be surprised when you start lifting the hood & see just how many various lines that they do this with, same with a humbucker route in the neck position of a Tele body.

 

[fdesalvo]

The small amount of wood absent in a universal rout makes zero difference.

 

[Great Ape]

The small amount of wood absent in a universal rout makes zero difference.

  +1

 

[aarontunes]

This conversation always makes me smile.  :icon_biggrin:

According to the "internet logic" of those who "know tone", Strats with a swimming pool rout are somehow inferior, yet Don Grosh - one of the darlings of the cork-sniffing crowd - uses it on every S-type he makes.

So apparently the swimming pool rout's effect of tone is conditional to the name on the headstock.

I guess.

 

[river]

What I like to have is HSH then superimpose p90 routs at the bridge and neck. All the custom shops will do this. That way I still psychologically am avoiding the universal rout and keeping those tabs of wood in case they help stiffness or stability. I don't see myself using anything other than a single coil in the middle so it works for me as a universal rout.

 

[KaiserSoze]

I've built several, all with the universal route.  Its a little lighter and makes zero difference in the sound.  Even if it made some tiny difference I couldn't hear it anyway, particularly in a band setting.  Its nice to be able to put different combinations of pickups in.  My favorite strat just became a "one-humbucker-just-volume" creature and another one has a mini humbucker and a P90.  Theres not really any drawback to the universal route.   

 

[Strat Avenger]

There is absolutely no downside to the universal rout, and it has no affect on the guitar's tone.

 

[Re-Pete]

The Strat is a quintessential logical design. The curves, the shape, the hardware design all have purpose as well as damn good looks.

If humbuckers & the aftermarket pickup industry had been around in 1953/54, Leo, George & Freddy would've put a swimming pool rout in there instead of the 3 pickup routs. Its that....um....logical!

Tonally, well, you could argue that with that amount of wood removed & the mini chamber under the pickguard instead of wood surrounding pickups, would have some effect on the reflective tone around the pickups....blardy, blah, blah.....but seriously folks, hands up who could possibly hear that?  :dontknow:

 

[swarfrat]

Ever listen to some band on the radio and think, - man that strat player is awesome but his tone is ruined by that swimming pool?

Yeah, right.

 

[Cagey]

If humbuckers & the aftermarket pickup industry had been around in 1953/54, Leo, George & Freddy would've put a swimming pool rout in there instead of the 3 pickup routs. Its that....um....logical!

You're probably right. George and Leo were pretty practical guys. When they started G&L Musical Instruments, they designed their S-style bodies with universal pickup cavities. When the subject comes up on their forum, they're referred to as "tone chambers" as a tongue-in-cheek way of shutting down the universal route naysayers.

 

[Neo Fender]

When the subject comes up on their forum, they're referred to as "tone chambers" as a tongue-in-cheek way of shutting down the universal route naysayers.

My hands are "tone suppressors".

 

[Strat Avenger]

When the subject comes up on their forum, they're referred to as "tone chambers" as a tongue-in-cheek way of shutting down the universal route naysayers.

Mine too.

My hands are "tone suppressors".

 

[pabloman]

I refuse to accept the blame. It is always the finish, pedigree of timber used to make the paper for my speaker cones, color of bobbins, the way my guitar resonates whether I'm sitting or standing, if Abby wrote her initials with a sharpie or a ball point, and if I'm using Energizer or DuraCells.

 

[bagman67]

Not me. 


Bagman hits a clam?


THANKS, OBAMA.


Either that, or I blame my ex.  Handy catch-all, right there.

 

[sixstringsamurai]

I refuse to accept the blame. It is always the finish, pedigree of timber used to make the paper for my speaker cones, color of bobbins, the way my guitar resonates whether I'm sitting or standing, if Abby wrote her initials with a sharpie or a ball point, and if I'm using Energizer or DuraCells.

Or how many screws you put back in the rear cover....
My friends, and I refer to that as Bat Ear territory, Much like cork-sniffing, but WAY more pretentious....

 

[pabloman]

OMG!! You put the back cover on??!! Might as well turn your time knobs down and cover your amp with a blanket. Well it depends I guess. The covers with 6 holes have a more vintage tone. The ones with one big slot have more of a modern tone. The holy grail cover has a chipped corner.

 

[Re-Pete]

When the subject comes up on their forum, they're referred to as "tone chambers" as a tongue-in-cheek way of shutting down the universal route naysayers.

My hands are "tone suppressors".

Ditto.

And that is also my argument in any debate for wanting the best possible tone too. My fingers do a good enough job of destroying the musicality of any instrument, so you wanna start with the most tone you can find!  :help:

 

[musicispeace]

I have stuff with the traditional routing and stuff with the swimming pool route. I can't tell a difference. I am inclined to order the universal route though just for flexibility with pickups. I am probably not the only person who changed their mind on the pickups as a project puttered along.