Timmsie Custom Shop Strat Body Options?

[Timmsie95]

The backplate would clash with the string trees.

Other than that it's your guitar.

:laughing7:
string trees are sexy too, you'll see. haha  :glasses9:

 

[Logrinn]

If I were to put a pinup on the backplate of a classic guitar I would use a classic pinup:

But that's just me ...

 

[Timmsie95]

I thought about that, but it's a slightly hot rodded strat, and that girl is stunning, so i figured, why nit? It is only the trem cover, after all. I'm the only one who will ever see that  :laughing7:

 

[Logrinn]

Very true. After looking at the image on the backplate, I am now looking for that red detail on the front of the guitar
Maybe you should have one red knob to complement the red boots. No one would know the relevance making it a sort of secret joke.

 

[Timmsie95]

Or the switch tip.. I like the way you think!  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Logrinn]

The switch tip. Of course. Very cool  :icon_thumright:

 

[Timmsie95]

I think I'm going to do that now, haha. If not right away, I'll get one eventually.

 

[Timmsie95]

(I have way too much time to think about options)

I'm thinking about going with Lace Alumitone pickups in an HSS configuration with a coil tap for the humbucker, and chrome knobs...
??? They sound so damn nice...

Opinions?

 

[Strat Avenger]

Lace pickups do nothing for me.
I suggest a good Seymour Duncan humbucker at the bridge, and some Dimarzio Area series or Injector single coils for neck and middle.

 

[Timmsie95]

I was originally going for seymour duncan pups: hot rails in the bridge, vintage rails on the middle, and cool rails in the neck, with coil taps. But i like how quiet the lace pickups are.

 

[Cagey]

While the various "rail" pickups from Seymour are all very good and they bring out both coils so you can split them if you'd like, you probably wouldn't like them split. The coils are narrow, tall and small, and splitting them doesn't give you a "single-coil sound". They just get weak and noisy. This isn't an idiosyncrasy of Seymour's parts, it's true of almost all pickups with that design. The "splitabilty" of most pickups is a marketing ploy more than a practical option, and the only reason I say "most" is because some pickups are wound so incredibly hot that splitting off a coil still leaves you with a viable pickup. SD's "Super Distortion" or Dimarzio's "JB" would be examples of pickups you could split coils on and get a usable sound from.

 

[Timmsie95]

While the various "rail" pickups from Seymour are all very good and they bring out both coils so you can split them if you'd like, you probably wouldn't like them split. The coils are narrow, tall and small, and splitting them doesn't give you a "single-coil sound". They just get weak and noisy. This isn't an idiosyncrasy of Seymour's parts, it's true of almost all pickups with that design. The "splitabilty" of most pickups is a marketing ploy more than a practical option, and the only reason I say "most" is because some pickups are wound so incredibly hot that splitting off a coil still leaves you with a viable pickup. SD's "Super Distortion" or Dimarzio's "JB" would be examples of pickups you could split coils on and get a usable sound from.

I've always thought that too, actually. (I just wanted a cool little switch to play with, honestly)

What is your opinion on Lace Alumitone's? I only recently looked into them, and even the single coils sound full.

 

[Timmsie95]

Okay, so I know I'm going to get TONS of criticism from this, but I've [finally] decided to go with Lace Alumitone Deathbuckers with a coil tap, on a black pearloid pickguard, with chrome knobs.
Now hear me out...
I listen to a lot of high-gain music, and these pickups really speak to me. they clean up extremely well, too. and the single coil sound actually sounds like a strat.
Now, before Cagey threatens to pee on everything I love  :laughing7:... watch this video, and you will fall in love.
[youtube]YTvrmho3HnE[/youtube]

 

[Cagey]

Little switches are not cool, they're a necessary evil for teenagers and twenty-somethings who are foolishly trying to get 3,596 guitars in one. Never works. Not even close. But, it looks possible and sounds right in theory, so they keep trying.

As for Alumitones, they're very accurate pickups. Along with some Bill Lawrence designs, they're probably the most accurate pickups I've ever heard. Whether or not that could be useful to you? That's a question that can only be answered by trying them. I will say this: they're not "sterile" as some have reported. You can get them to wank and crank. But, you can also get an almost acoustic sound out of them. Versatile little rascals. Not for the faint of heart. If you're not a good player, they will out you like a mob of Baptists.

 

[Timmsie95]

I played a sed strat at my local Long & McQuade (Canadian music store, similar to Guitar Center or Musician's Friend) that had the single coil Alumitones, and I was blown away. Through a Princeton Reverb it was like pure bliss...  :icon_thumright:

 

[zebra]

I've used Alumitones, and liked them.  I probably wouldn't want them on my only guitar, but definitely nice to have them in one of my guitars. 

I second everything Cagey said.  If you're getting them to play high gain metal, that's great - you can slather on layers of gain and they won't get muddy or mushy. 

If you feel like they sound a little too 'flat' in a way that you can't remedy with your amp's EQ, I'd recommend getting a eq pedal...Alumitones are a blank slate, and the eq pedal will help take you where you want to go. 

 

[Timmsie95]

I've used Alumitones, and liked them.  I probably wouldn't want them on my only guitar, but definitely nice to have them in one of my guitars. 

I second everything Cagey said.  If you're getting them to play high gain metal, that's great - you can slather on layers of gain and they won't get muddy or mushy. 

If you feel like they sound a little too 'flat' in a way that you can't remedy with your amp's EQ, I'd recommend getting a eq pedal...Alumitones are a blank slate, and the eq pedal will help take you where you want to go.

Yeah I have a few kickin around, so that's not an issue, haha. I love how flat they sound, it reveals the player's true tone.