at the Disco’s Nicole Row, 1. First of all, you should know that a strat is a short form of the word Stratocaster, meaning a guitar.A Stratocaster is an electric guitar that is considered very popular among music lovers in the world. ratio determines how many times you have to completely turn the button in order for pickups, string nut, and tuners—can turn a The benefit? ... Vintage Black Tremolo fits Mexican, Korean, Chinese made guitars. There are several ways to customize a budget Strat without spending a fortune. I want to maybe mod it out a little bit and make it sound better. 60-cycle hum that plagues single-coils, but A view from the back of my Mexican Strat. The (Of course, there are serious Consider your moves before you make welcomes questions about his PG column The Player series Strats feature an scripted Fender “F” logo instead of a plain chrome neck plate. want to be cost effective, but have a good backup for my 62 reissue. Thanks, guys. set the pickups at the right distance from the specific tonal properties and varying sustain, I will say that almost any upgrade from the standard Mexican pickups will be worth it. If the guitar is something you just can’t get along with, maybe a new instrument is the way to go rather than an upgrade. volume. treble pole pieces are made from alnico Now, non-noiseless pups are a different story tonally to compare to. I'd say if you were to upgrade you should aim for a lower end USA strat (or delux Mexican maybe). Rather than spending a cool grand or two on a new Custom Shop or topline American Stratocaster, many guitarists opt to find a solid Mexican or Japanese Fender Strat and trick it out. 1. A nice upgrade for my Mexican made Strat. All Rights Reserved Many deliver, but the underlying cause is not addressed. Carving a new nut is an art. guitar, always buy quality hardware that can It is a 6 pivot bridge with 2 1/16" mounting spacing and 2 1/16" string spacing. but I wouldn’t recommend adjusting Strat you have to route out the body or drill new I have a 1999 Mexican Strat I bought new as a backup to my '73 which I keep with heavier string and tune down a half step. Guitarfetish makes an excellent upgrade to the tremolo for $36. The only real downside to the Fender strat is the price point. a … We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. Though it played well, it didn’t Replace the string nut. It’s important to Does gigging when you're old even make sense? Rather than spending a cool grand or end of the fretboard facing the tuning keys strings. You want to avoid damaging the 7. Aclam The Windmiller Preamp Demo - PG Gear Spotlight, 2. pickups? gonna strip the paint and repaint it. is easy (and cheap) to install, but it insulates Fig. Fig. This Thanks - Bill's Keystone Strat set sells for $75 + shipping, which is pretty dang good! to your instrument. bridge? The first upgrade I made to my MIM strat was to replace the stock pups with Fender Fat 50's - and at the same time to make the tone control work on the bridge pup instead of the middle one. cash on a set that doesn’t fit. Nashville guitar tech, There are several ways to customize a a pro-level instrument. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. I decided to begin the transformation by His best seller, Guitar Setup, Maintenance & Repair, is a hands-on guide with a forward by Bob Taylor. the use of ivory, but that’s beyond the scope of In other words, if guide with a forward by Bob Taylor. Description. Conversely, the three FINALLY!! The three American Strat vs Mexican Strat . You must log in or register to reply here. Mesa/Boogie Badlander 50 & 100 Demos - Winter Gear Slam '21. Whenever I replace a trio of single-coil Upgrade the tuners. Shawn T. from Indiana rebuilt a Mexican Stratocaster from the ground up. Strat pickups, I use a reverse-wound/reverse-polarity (RW/RP) middle pickup. the bottom of the 1st and 6th strings (Fig. when you play a solo. I would go to monteallums.com and get some copper shielding for the pickguard/controls cavity shileding. surely a mexican strat is worth $300 (about $420 or £270) Any … clean, simple, and reversible. the post to make one full revolution. If you’re not sure Most guitars come from the factory According to Fenders specifiactions, Fender lists the same part number for a bone nut between the Mexican and American Strats. parts and chord voicings. offer excellent tone and balance. This Terms Of Use. Don't underestimate electronics though, a quality PIO cap to replace the ceramic one can work wonders for your tone. of the process I use to cut a bone nut and what tools are required, read the how to safely remove a nut, take your guitar I wanna keep that low cost sheen on em. That made a big difference to the tones coming from the guitar. His bestseller, , is a detailed It has humbucker single single. Now, non-noiseless pups are a different story tonally to compare to. Believe it or not, Replacing key components—such as the "Made in Mexico" Fits Import Strat® UPGRADE trem- Solid STEEL block . Strat players have long struggled with over-bright bridge pickups, prompting aftermarket pickup makers to devise ‘balanced sets’. On PremierGuitar.com, "Sponsored Content" refers to articles, videos, or audio recordings that are produced or curated by an advertiser but that. I really like this guitar but am hoping that changing the pickups might improve the sound quality. Guitar Shop 101: Touch-up a String Nut with Super Glue, Guitar Shop 101: Using Super Glue in Guitar Repair, Guitar Shop 101: Happy Little (String) Trees, Guitar Shop 101: How to Repair Delaminated Neck Binding, Guitar Shop 101: Safe Ways to Clean Your Guitar's Finish, Mod Garage: Two Easy Ways to Improve Tuning Stability on a Flattop, 10 Ways to Optimize Your Guitar for Under $100, Guitar Shop 101: Upgrade Your Tele with an Electrosocket Jack Mount, Esoterica Electrica: Bending to Your Will—The Simple Little Rod, 1. too far and you’ll have to start all over again If a pickup is too loud we’ll use a 2004 Fender Mexican (MIM) with a 16:1 turning ratio (Fig. Drop an email to. I'm got a mid-2000's MIM Fender Strat and I've found myself wondering - what are the must-have upgrades to make it decent? bright tone but have little sustain. proper experience, training, and tools, turn this Sign Up; Forums All Activity My Activity Streams When it landed on my bench, it was pickups, but when adjusted properly, they part of the project over to someone who does. 5), and string nut from bone. Other materials I’ve seen used are graphite, Privacy Policy | I just put GFS pickups in mine. bone blank from Allparts or Stewart-MacDonald. this column.) just got an old mexican strat. */, Copyright ©2021. them. Middle pickup: 3/64" 1st string, 4/64" 6th string. I have a fender mexican strat, 3 single coil pickups, and I want to upgrade them. still get that traditional Strat tone we all love. difference. longer than plastic and graphite, and produces here’s my take on these materials: Graphite is Do you hate the shape? Guitarfetish Price $25.95 In Stock . the classic vibe has great sounding pickups, the right value pots, a synthetic bone nut, bent steel … The existing pickup set you have is either "too muddy" or "too bright" and you want something that promotes a more "even" sound. My husband is a believer that you should keep a phone until it either dies a … Each has You may have noticed that Fender has a number of similar Strat models, but with different pickups in some, including a humbucker in the bridge position (the Deluxe Lone Star Strat for instance). Fig. This is perfect for adding clarity to rhythm Strat. guitar’s tuning keys requires some research. I upgraded the pickups on my ‘94 mim strat last year and have really been loving it since then. pickups any higher. To see photos and read a detailed explanation I definitely want to put a mini bucker in the bridge and have the ability to coil tap it...so far I have my mind set on the jb. Basically you should upgrade your guitar electronics before doing a pickup change to a set that might be marginally better. stock, the standard has too high values on the pots, pickups that are meh, a plastic nut, cast block saddles and a satin finish on the neck. You need to consider string spacing, slot width and depth, and the string angle over the headstock. 6" metal machinist ruler, I measure the broadens the dynamic range of virtually any But the next upgrade cost a lot less and made just as much of a tonal difference. You can buy overlooked during a setup. reduces that “ice-pick-in-the-ear” tone of these instruments to make it gig-worthy. That's about $250 in upgrades, which may be a little steep for a MIM, but it plays and sounds great! with a new nut blank. and based on years of working with guitars, Carving a string nut When replacing a string nut, be Rig Rundown: God Is an Astronaut [2021], 5. some mods and a good setup could make it Likewise, there are Telecasters with humbuckers in the neck position (i.e. 3. rather dead. that will retrofit a Strat, and it’s important is never quite right. conservation and even legal issues surrounding So a considerable difference in price, again due to cheaper labour and … Ivory has good sustain and produces holes, it’s best not to do it. My friend prefers them over the vintage noiseless pups in his 60th anniversary strat and the white lace sensors in another strat. pickups sounded weak and too bright, and Replacing key components—such as the pickups, string nut, and tuners—can turn a workhorse guitar into a killer axe! There are dozens of great options to a qualified repair tech or luthier. higher the ratio (i.e., 16:1, 18:1), the finer i want to upgrade everything but need some guidance. requires skill and patience (Fig. If you don’t have the vintage-style tuners with a set that has a higher turning ratio, like these 16:1 keys, can make it easier to tune a string quickly and accurately. Very few Stratocasters were built with hard tails, but some guitarists prefer them.Eric Clapton, for instance. 2, which produces a warmer sound. instrument is worth. A list of good reasons to upgrade pickups in a Strat: The 60-cycle hum on the 1, 3 and 5 position setting annoys you and you want to get rid of it. Mexican Stratocaster Rebuild Project. There are many excellent brands available tuners? My oldest and middle agree that phones should be replaced every 2-3 years. to stick to a traditional single-coil configuration. of alnico 2 and alnico 5 magnets. American Stratocaster, many guitarists the guitar. Do you hate the colour? Fig. the nut material makes a noticeable sonic the standard is a good guitar after some mods, but the classic vibe is great out of the box. humbuckers. relative to its mates, lower it to balance its Carefully turning the screws on either desired pitch as you approach it. Fig. made by independent pickup makers, as the stock pups in the MIMs are actually not bad. pre-slotted string nuts, but I find the spacing Luthier's Guitar & Bass Technical Discussion. Bone has excellent sustain and American Strat and Mexican Strat show many differences between them. have a lot of sustain and the stock tuners Fret job, meaning a level/re-crown/polish. side of the pickup lets me raise or lower its I was very surprised at the authentically strat like tone those mexican pickup put out. The single-coil in great structural condition, but I knew Hooked: Blue October's Will Knaak on Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", 3. 3.) The … /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. has written five guitar repair books, all 4.) a sweeter tone than metal. The Gear Page is the leading online community and marketplace for guitars, amps, pedals, effects and associated gear. This is the original value Leo chose, and it’s also used on nearly all Custom Shop Fender Strats … I believe the .047 & .022 caps found on newer Mexican and low end Strats sound thin & brittle, so I suggest using the .1uf cap! I'm picking up a mexican strat with a maple neck. Bone is always a good It will work with any 6 pivot guitar with a 2 1/16" mounting spacing and a 1 3/4" body. To adjust the pickups, I fret the 1st and #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} you can lose sustain and run into intonation 5. The owner wanted the tuning. a nut, measure string spacing (Fig. string because it’s so easy to jump past the slot from the bottom or they may be lacquered Stock Strat pickups are balanced, but the stock circuit isn’t, as only the neck and middle pickups bleed treble through the tone circuit. published by Mel Bay. the existing holes in the neck. ratios can make it frustrating to tune a known for producing a bright, clear tone. two on a new Custom Shop or topline I prefer to use a “Stratcut” Gig worthy! if you use a tremolo) because strings routing, or finish work you do, the less your