Swamp ash 7/8 S guitar

[mrpinter]

Just finished:

Showcase body, swamp ash on swamp ash, chambered, lightweight at 3 lb 5 oz, black/brown/yellow burst finish, gloss black back finish
Showcase neck, Indian rosewood on maple, SS6115 frets, Black TUSQ nut, pro construction, clear gloss finish, standard thin profile, 10-16 compound radius
Bartolini Strat pickups
Gotoh SG38 tuners
Wilkinson tremolo
I'm using Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bebop strings in a custom gauge set of .010-.047

 

[drewfx]

Nice! Love the all black with that body.

What's your impression of the Bart strat PU's?

 

[mrpinter]

Sorry Drew, I just now saw your post from a few days ago. Yeah, I think my little 7/8 S guitar turned out to be a real looker, and fortunately she's also a very nice player. I'm still getting used to the Bartolinis. They're different from other Strat pickups I've had experience with (Seymour Duncans, Lollars). They are not high output pickups, but more like "vintage output" level. They're very smooth sounding - kind of jazzy compared to the other pickups I mentioned. The middle is RWRP (or is it RPRW?) so positions 2 and 4 are hum canceling, but there isn't really any "quack" like I'm used to. Not necessarily good or bad, just different. And for some reason the notch positions are lower output than the straight bridge, middle or neck by themselves. Maybe that's normal, but I haven't noticed it in other Strat type guitars. It makes for a kind of built in lead boost when switched to a single pickup... pretty useful, actually. There is a huge tonal range from the bridge through to the neck by themselves. Almost like having three guitars. You definitely have different characters in the different pickups, but they still blend well in the notch positions. So, overall, I am really liking the Bartolinis, I think they were a great choice.

 

[Strat Avenger]

'Sure is purrdy.
:kewlpics: