My "to be built" blues guitar

[juwel1998]

Hey all of you pro's and amateurs,

as to be seen in the "Subject-Line", I am planning to build a pure blues sounding guitar in a Strat body. I just have absolutely no clue at all which PU's to use.
Maybe some of have some tips and hints for me from their "secret box".

Thanks in advance for answers....

Bye for now  JULIA

 

[tfarny]

You don't need any special "blues" pickups at all - just avoid high output metal pickups and active pickups, beyond that choose anything you like. "The Blues" has been played masterfully on every type of guitar.
My favorite strat pickups are the Roadhouse 65s set. http://www.roadhousepickups.com/RH_SixtyFive.html
They are reasonably priced, sound amazingly clear, take overdrive well, and are very high quality. Ace customer service too. His name is Troubled Treble on this board and he has an ever-increasing number of fans.

 

[Cagey]

What's "pure blues"? Would that be like Jimmy Page playing "You Shook Me" on a Les Paul with Gibson humbuckers, or B.B.King playing [anything] on an ES-355 (also with Gibson humbuckers), or SRV playing "Lovestruck Baby" on a Strat w/ single coils from who knows where, or Jimi Hendrix playing "Little Wing" on a Strat with bog standard Fender single coils, or... you get the idea.

Blues is a playing/musical style. It's a touch, a feel, an attack, a lotta flat 5s, bent notes, and vibrato. It's not the instrument.

Don't get me wrong; I understand what you're asking. It's a question many ask. But, there's no answer to it if you're looking for the equipment to do the work. It's really all on you. You could hand Robben Ford or Joe Bonamassa any of the various pointy-shaped hair metal kiddie guitars that are out there and they could make that thing draw tears from your eyes. They don't need magical gear. You don't, either.

 

[jackthehack]

For a standard Strat set, hard to beat the Fender Custom Shop Fat 50's "bell tone", very suitable for blues, reasonably priced

Another good set would be Rio Grande Tallboys in neck/middle positions and a Muy Grande at bridge

 

[Strat Avenger]

Cagey is correct.

For a Strat, if you don't mind hum, a set of Fender Texas Specials sound dandy for Blues.
If you don't want the hum, check out Dimarzio "Area" series pickups...

 

[NonsenseTele]

http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=strats

For Hendrix alike tones, Mother Milk...
For something hotter: Irish Tour or Slow Hand...
Also the new Pat Pend seems to be cool, but I know almost nothing about...

 

[Jusatele]

Teles are real blues guitars
in the words of Enimem
Everything else is just imatatin

 

[stubhead]

I'm pretty sure Rickenbackers aren't blues guitars.... except for their lap steels. I've heard a lot of people playing "blues" songs on nylon strings, but they aren't what I'd call blues guitars. Other than that, the field is wide-open. There did seem to be a minor trend of players changing from Gibsons to Fenders, if Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton could be called a trend. But a Strat setup, substituting a humbucking pickup at the bridge, might be the most versatile thing around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX06XkUhkbs&feature=related

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I agree with tfarny, Ken pickups, Roadhouse Pickups, are great.  If you have a couple of songs, or artists styles, Ken will make sure you get what you are after.  Also if you are buying the body from Warmoth, I believe he has sent the pickups to them to be shipped out of the country in the Warmoth package.  You would have to clear that with the Warmoth guys, but I don't see why it would be a big deal.  Finally, they are a very nice price as well.  I am a big fan of Ken's work.
Patrick

 

[m4rk0]

Welcome to the forum!
what is your budget and on which continent are you?

 

[Tonar8352]

StubHead,
Thanks for turning me on to Freddie Roulette. I like it a lot!  :icon_thumright:

 

[m4rk0]

Ah, so you are in Germany (I grew up 10 miles from the German border, but live in Texas now)

anyway, if you want some value for your money, I would recommend IronGear in England, they are a bit like the European Guitarfetish, and they have pretty low shipping costs.
http://www.irongear.co.uk/index.html

I have tried a lot of their pickups and love them all! I have not tried the Texas Loco yet but have seen great reviews and imagine they would be a great fit for your project.
they sell through Axetec, which has great hardware for low prices: http://www.axetec.co.uk/index.htm

 

[juwel1998]

@ tfarney, Cagey & jackthehack,

thanks for your inputs. I really appreciate it. I have to check prices, compare and think.....rethink.......(anyway right now I ran out of money). But money will come back again to me and then I'll decide.

Teles are real blues guitars
in the words of Enimem
Everything else is just imatatin

Hey Teletuby,

actually I am even thinking about a Tele, to be my first build  :hello2: :headbang:, since I have 2 strats already, or maybe another LP........ hmmmmm gotta thin some more, I guess

I'm pretty sure Rickenbackers aren't blues guitars.... except for their lap steels. I've heard a lot of people playing "blues" songs on nylon strings, but they aren't what I'd call blues guitars. Other than that, the field is wide-open. There did seem to be a minor trend of players changing from Gibsons to Fenders, if Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton could be called a trend. But a Strat setup, substituting a humbucking pickup at the bridge, might be the most versatile thing around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX06XkUhkbs&feature=related

Hello Stubhead,

wellll, that's some great blues played by Freddie Roulette there with the lap steel. Makes me think, but I would prefer to have a "regular" guitar.
But the video is great, thanks for posting it.

Welcome to the forum!
what is your budget and on which continent are you?

Hey Central Scrutinizer,

thanks for the welcome. Well, what I have tried out on Warmoth for neck and body including the colouring, but no hardware at all, was quite too much for me now. This is why I have to save money and start doing it next year, probably middle to end.  As you found out, I am in Germany.

Well, I've been reading on those websites you've given me. What do think about the "Blues Engine"?




Thanks to all of, I'll keep you posted.

 

[Jusatele]

as far as the blues is concerned

Muddy waters invented the electric guitar

and he played a tele :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

 

[tfarny]

as far as the blues is concerned

Muddy waters invented the electric guitar

and he played a tele :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

So, how do you feel about teles, teletubby? Muddy did invent electric blues as much as anybody, and he did indeed play the cheapest and most widely available guitar on the market at the time - the Telecaster. I mean, the guy was making records before the strat existed, so it's not like he went into Sam Ash, played all the PRSs, and came home with a tele....

 

[Jusatele]

as far as the blues is concerned

Muddy waters invented the electric guitar

and he played a tele :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

So, how do you feel about teles, teletubby? Muddy did invent electric blues as much as anybody, and he did indeed play the cheapest and most widely available guitar on the market at the time - the Telecaster. I mean, the guy was making records before the strat existed, so it's not like he went into Sam Ash, played all the PRSs, and came home with a tele....

Tele hatred
I refuse to listen
nanananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananana

 

[reluctant-builder]

As has already been mentioned, but I feel compelled to reiterate, the blues is a general form through which you add your own flourishes to express how YOU feel.

There is no singular blues sound, only the formats you'd generally follow -- though are totally free to tinker with -- and the general mood of lament, sans whining. You're down about something and you're telling it like it is, matter of fact ... not complaining. If you want to complain, build an EMO guitar...

The blues is about the soul and mojo of the player, first and foremost, and he (or she) chooses the guitar and configuration that best mirrors that emotional voice. Like Cagey said, it's been done with solid body Mahogany guitars, semi-hollow guitars, single-coil Alder or Swap Ash (and yet more types of wood too numerous to list) body guitars, Resonator guitars ... any six-string that was around when someone who felt like saying something followed the urge to express it, musically.

Personally, I recommend having a stable of guitars. But I understand this isn't always financially feasible ... I've got one Strat with three great Texas Special single coils and it's great for blues ... but then so is my curly Maple Heritage H-535 with two SD Seth Lover humbucking pickups. And so, too, do my 24.75" scale solid Mahogany, dual-humbucker Swede and her 25.5" scale Mahogany with Flame Maple top, humbucking sister impart their own unique sounds to playing the blues.

The one thing I'm missing is a guitar with one or two P90s in it but, when my Jazzmaster arrives from Warmoth, I'll have a guitar with a P90 bridge pickup and I'll see what I can express with her, next.

The point is: play what you want to play on a variety of guitars with a variety of configurations. Find out which one best reflects your voice and there is your template.

 

[Cagey]

So, how do you feel about teles, teletubby? Muddy did invent electric blues as much as anybody, and he did indeed play the cheapest and most widely available guitar on the market at the time - the Telecaster. I mean, the guy was making records before the strat existed, so it's not like he went into Sam Ash, played all the PRSs, and came home with a tele....

Hehe! Yeah. Mr. Smith was just a twinkle in his daddy's eye when Muddy was already crankin' away on a Tele.

 

[Jusatele]

Tele Hatred I tell you it is all Tele Hatred

err

actually I feel for those wanting a guitar that has classic blues sound because I do not know what the classic blues sound is. Is it the 2 PAF sound of a 335? the thin single coil sound of a Tele? or the adaptable sound of a Strat, Bonamassa is doing a great job on LPs right now, and I would not want to list all the guitars that have ever played the Blues. Some of my favorites are all on different guitars.
I think it is the sound that attracts you that makes your head snap as you turn to see what it is that to you is that sound. My personal favorite is P90s playing the blues, Guess that is why my Warmoth Tele and my PRS Custom 22 are my favorite Blues guitars to use, but let me switch to comping chords and let someone else do lead duty and I go pick up my 335 clone.
Robert Cray is a favorite blues player of mine but I never pick up my strat to play the blues.

My serious advice is to find your 5 or 6 favorite blues songs, and find out what guitar they were recorded on and THAT WILL BE WHAT PICKUPS USE. I love to play Teles, and wanted one to play the blues with the P90 sound, so I built Barn Door. Simple as that. Seems that a lot of guitar shape is personal taste. same as tone you look for in pick ups.

Good luck in the search.

 

[juwel1998]

Hey everybody,

thanks for your tips and hints. So I checked out some songs and it seems like I have set my mind on B.B. King. As I found out, he seemed to have used the 490T/R in his "Lucille".
I have read a little as well about the 498T/R, they are supposedly "hotter". But what does that actually mean? They are wound tighter?

Can you maybe as well give me tips and hints about those two models? Or a combination of those two HB's, what do you think?
Then I saw there is something like wood mount Humbuckers, what does that mean???

Well, I am getting there. I just have to buy the small parts up front first, before I am getting the body and the neck.
Since I live in Germany I have to pay all kinds of taxes and custom cost when the stuff comes in.......

Bye for now  JULIA