Effects of universal route

[JK]

I'm am considering ordering a strat body with the universal route. I will be installing one SD Phat Cat in the bridge position initially, but want to have the ability to add another pu or two later and as cheaply as possibly. Does the universal route have any adverse effect on tone compared to regular pu routes?

 

[thumb55]

I'll never have anouther guitar without it being routed for a Hum-Sing-Hum set up. (just for options down the road)

Not a big fan of boat routes though.

 

[simple]

I'm am considering ordering a strat body with the universal route. I will be installing one SD Phat Cat in the bridge position initially, but want to have the ability to add another pu or two later and as cheaply as possibly. Does the universal route have any adverse effect on tone compared to regular pu routes?

In my opinion a universal rout does not have an adverse reaction on string vibration which is what your pickups are listening to.

 

[bwbass]

Does the universal route have any adverse effect on tone compared to regular pu routes?

I don't know about "adverse", but it does remove a big chunk of wood from the middle of the body, so it should gain of the tone characteristics of a lighter, or even semi-hollow body.  Whether you'll be able to hear the difference is another matter.

If you're concerned about it, HSH routing is probably a safe bet.

 

[JK]

i was going to build a semi-hollow at first but when i started counting coins, i decided i'd hold off. maybe this is a good compromise. thanks 

 

[bootlegger]

You may  loose some sustain charactristics with the extra wood routed since you are lessing the weight of your body.  I agree with bwbass get a h-s-h rout and a single pickup pick guard. When your ready to add the second pick up puy a new pick guard and your set.

Bootlegger.

 

[red king]

That being said, Jake E Lee's "Charvelized Strat" had the swimming pool route and he had tons of sustain, but he also had a hard tail bridge.  I believe SRV's white "Charley" strat also had a swimming pool route and it had kind of a jangly tone, but he also had Dano lipstick tube pickups in that guitar.  I think the effect it will have on your sound depends on your pickups, amp and bridge more than anything else.

 

[Jimmy Jingles]

That being said, Jake E Lee's "Charvelized Strat" had the swimming pool route and he had tons of sustain, but he also had a hard tail bridge.  I believe SRV's white "Charley" strat also had a swimming pool route and it had kind of a jangly tone, but he also had Dano lipstick tube pickups in that guitar.  I think the effect it will have on your sound depends on your pickups, amp and bridge more than anything else.

You are correct about SRV's Charley. It was originally routed for 3 humbuckers! I always loved the tone of that guitar.

 

[snouter]

My 1999 G&L S-500 has the universal route and I was disappointed when I first found that out.  Add another vote for H-S-H route as the favorite for top routed guitars. 

 

[Superbeast520]

I have to agree, If I had to choose between swimming pool and H-S-H I would definantly get the H-S-H, if for nothing more than the extra stability in the center, probably more a psychological thing than a  true stability issue. Theres something that says Cheap to me when ever I see a swimming pool route, hell I would even take a H-H-H route if at all possible before taking a swimming pool. But just an opinion, though it may be true tonally there may actually be a slight advantage to the lighter mass of less wood, but like stated above, its hard to say wether you could actually notice the difference or not. :icon_scratch:

 

[texasblues]

That being said, Jake E Lee's "Charvelized Strat" had the swimming pool route and he had tons of sustain, but he also had a hard tail bridge.  I believe SRV's white "Charley" strat also had a swimming pool route and it had kind of a jangly tone, but he also had Dano lipstick tube pickups in that guitar.  I think the effect it will have on your sound depends on your pickups, amp and bridge more than anything else.

You are correct about SRV's Charley. It was originally routed for 3 humbuckers! I always loved the tone of that guitar.

Absly no,its yellow stratocaster,here is some information about  yellow strat.



There has been some debating going on about whether Stevie called this guitar Yellow Or Butter, or whether it even had a name. Some fans have called it Yellow to distinguish the Stratocaster, since it’s yellow.

Yellow is a certified 1959 Stratocaster that was given to Stevie Ray by the lead guitarist of Vanilla Fudge. Yellow was restored by Charley Wirz since it was presented in poor condition. The previous owner had hollowed out the body to accept four humbucker pickups. Wirz removed these and made a new pickguard in which he placed a single Fender pickup just below the neck. Stevie Ray bears his initials where the two pickups would normally be placed.

This hollow body gave Yellow’s tone for songs such as “Honey Bee” and “Tell Me”. Unfortunately Yellow was stolen in 1985, however it is now recovered and on display now at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Café.

 

[Fish Out of Water]

Interesting...I thought that I read in an article soon after his death that he called that guitar "Scotch"... I guess it's true, you do learn something new every day...

 

[texasblues]

Butterscotch and yellow are different guitars, butterscotch is all stock 61 Fender.
Here is photos of Steve's guitars:

http://dirtypool.be/srvgear.html

 

[T.L.]

Although I think the H-S-H rout is cooler, I believe that any tone difference of the "swimming pool" rout would be negligible. Your bridge and neck are still anchored to the same solid chunk of wood...

 

[stubhead]

It's hard to argue the crucial value of precious tonewood and the advantages of a chambered body in the same sentence.... :toothy12: Those little baby flying V's and the shrunken Strats seem to sound O.K. I think the relative woodiness of your tone is affected more by the power of the pickups and the amount of amp overdrive.

http://www.warmoth.com/guitar/bodies/radical.cfm?fuseaction=v2

 

[jmasin]

My '95 Am Std has a swimming pool and I love the thing (have TS pickups in it though, not the originals).  The only difference I notice in it and guitars without the pool is that the Am Std is louder when played without an amp (i.e. just twiddling around).  I can't tell an amplified difference. 

JMHO.