I don't think there is any real substitute for the sound of a Tele bridge pickup, so there's that. And I love the "cluck" of a Strat. But one of the things that disappoints me about 3 pickup guitars with 5-way switches is that there is no neck+bridge combination available. A mod I like to do - which is most appropriate on "Nashville" Teles, but also on Strats, is to simply flip the leads for the middle and bridge pickups at the selector switch. Instead of N / N+M / M / M+B / B, you get N / N+B / B / B+M / M. So you forfeit one of the "cluck" positions but regain the Tele-like N+B setting. Of course, some folks like one cluck position more than the other. So, for them, you flip the middle and neck pickup leads at the selector switch. That gets you M / M+N / N / N+B / B. It takes a little getting used to, but not all that much. I don't think I could ever be without a neck+bridge tone!
One of my favorite places, John Leventhal, does that mod. I was watching him play a 3-pickup Tele, and was confused as I watched his selector switch. Afterwards, he told me the wiring mod that he did, just like you explained. I am tempted to flip those connections right now. Another pinned comment, Mark!
Emerson has a great wiring harness for Strats that turns the bottom tone into a blender circuit, allowing you to blend the bridge in when on the neck, and vice versa, and in the 2 and 4 position, blend in to have all 3 pickups active.
Mark Hammer something I did as a mod on a friend’s strat was wiring the neck and middle pickups to a toggle switch. The mod allows home to toggle between the standard 5 way and the M/NM/N/NB/B configuration. It actually works really well and it’s become one of his favorite guitars!
@@thethesaxman23 There's certainly no end to the creative mods one can do with a Strat or other 3-pickup guitar. I generally recommend the lead-swap as an offering to the more timid, who may be justifiably reluctant to start popping holes into their guitar, or reluctant to embark on push-pull switches. Simply flipping two leads around at the switch get you a new guitar without having to add anything, buy new pickups, drill holes or follow arcane wiring diagrams. Old course, no wiring mod on a Strat, no matter how simple, gets you past the frustration and nuisance that could have been avoided if Fender had used the same two-piece pickguard and control plate found on the Tele, the Jaguar, and Jazz Bass. Yet one more reason to love Teles!
Great point about not just playing a “different” guitar not for a different tone or to do different things in a song-but also so that you play it differently.
One of my favorite things about Fender guitars is that they can have SUCH different voices in different players' hands. Especially Strats. Sure, this is true for all guitars, but I really feel like Strats and Teles are the epitome of the sentiment.
@sichuancowboy sure, but it's then the speaker cone choice and makers matter there more than the entire head of the amp to tone. it's why Eminence vs Celestion vs Jensen is a constant thread in guitar forums. The amp isn't the sound as much as your magnet in your cone is. You'll get Blackmore with Celestion, you'll get Clapton with a Jensen, amd you'll get MGK with Eminence because they are dogshit comparatively to the other two.
I'm really hoping this channel grows, you have so much information to share and I love the laid back/calm feeling and delivery. Keep it up and I'll keep watching!
I was a Tele guy until it was stolen. My other guitar was a Strat and by the time I found another Tele that I liked, the Strat had seduced me. The Strat is my voice but when I need to crank up a guitar with some attitude, the Tele can't be beaten. The more refined nature of the Strat drew me in and I felt like it was much easier to play. Playing the Tele is a little more like work to me, but my Tele buddies, of course, disagree. All my Strats (except for the EJ) have 6100 frets (12" radius), Fralin pickups, and upgraded hardware - especially the Trem block. Anybody looking to toughen up the tone of a Strat should consider looking at upgrading the trem block and adding a Fralin steele pole 43 to the bridge position. Great video Zac. Thanks.
I'm a Tele player because it gives me the sounds I want and love. But I love Strats too, for the amazing history of the great players who have shown us how incredibly versatile they can be. From Buddy Holly to Hank Marvin to the greatest Strat player of them all----- Jimi Hendrix---- it's another example of the amazing genius mind of Leo Fender. There aren't enough words to truly describe how brilliant and inventive Leo was.
Love the touch and sensibility of the clean tone playing with country, r&b, americana sensibilities. My kind of thing. This channel has become one of my favorites on YT.
I never liked the quack sound on a strat. The tremolo system also psyches me out too much; I'm paranoid about slipping out of tune during a perfect take. It's more versatile than a tele, because it has more knobs and pickups, but I find that the pickups don't have enough contrast between them to get interesting tones as readily as a tele. My favorite part about a tele is the contrast between the neck and bridge pickups. They're really different on their own, but then they blend so well together in the middle position, creating a humbucking option with a cool glassy character.
My Strat came with the bridge locked down and I left it there. I have an old Yamaha superstrat with a trem if I absolutely need to use one (which is never). In fairness, it holds tune perfectly as long as you don’t dive bomb it so maybe it’s nothing to be scared of.
If your Strat goes out of tune, it's because of a lack of knowledge on how to setup & balance spring tension, nut height, Trem. Block,etc. My stock tremolo stays in tune.
I play Tele’s and Strats and i have no tuning issues Like buddy guy once said” I was doing 100 mph with two woman and Strat with no case and the strat flew out of the car he went back picked it up and not only was it not broken but it was still in tune” ive had the same situations as him good setup proper nut and strings it will stay in tune just fine….unless u do dive bombs 🤷♂️
Personally I really dig the sound of positions 2 and 4, but I think that’s what’s great about Strats. There’s so many tonal options for any style or any player. That’s probably why it’s regarded as “the” electric guitar!
I just found this channel from Five Watt World, and I'm liking it very much! I like channels like this that are more conversational and aren't hammering us constantly with the 'sell, sell, sell...shill, shill, shill' mentality that is so common with many guitar channels on UA-cam. Thanks for doing what you do for the guitar community. I'll be back!
Noticed the Waterloo in the background. I love mine. Feels so perfect. Living in Europe i never had the chance to find vintage Gibsons so getting this thing now feels like the first "real" acoustic in my life (after 30 years of trying all kinds of stuff i could get my hands on here).
I might be one of a handful of players who find the Tele more comfortable than a Strat. The contours and rounded edges cause a Strat to slip if I'm playing sitting down. But Strats are my second favorite after Teles. Add a treble bleed and mini switch for the bridge/neck combo and I do love a good Strat....especially hardtails.
I also find the Tele more comfortable. With the slipping thing, however, I found that I have to hold the Strat differently if I'm playing while sitting down. It's more of a "hug" thing that I do, where my right forearm is more in contact with the body of the guitar. Helps to keep it stable on your lap.
Yesterday I was rigging lights at a venue. I was working at the back of the stage a band came in for sound check. I couldn’t see the band properly but I was struck by the guitarists skill and tone. It sounded like the best Tele tone I’ve ever heard - except there was a trem being used. When I checked I was amazed to see he was playing a Strat! Turns out it was a well worn 89 Strat with Lace pickups! He was playing thru twin amps with slight stereo , Deluxe Reverb and Trace Elliott. Anyhow, he played almost exclusively on the bridge pickup and, as I said , he had it sounding like the best Tele you ever heard!
No guitar has ever been more fun to play for me than my Strat. So versatile and melodic It's my only guitar (besides my SG that is also a great axe) I take my Strat to almost every Gig and it's pure heaven! That neck pickup is so creamy and smooth and paired with my tone king imperial it's my dream come true setup 😍
I really like Your show. I'm 87 years old playing guitars and harmonica for 70 years. I still play with an old buddy who has a 1956 Strat with flat wound strings. With 1956 twin speaker amp, I think 90 amp?
Merry Christmas Zack. Just found this on the Strat. I love my mine, it speaks to me. Only a guitar player would understand that. Thanks for the review.
I played a friend's Jazzmaster years ago, and couldn't come to grips with anything about the guitar other than how comfortable it felt against my body. I'd veered back and forth between Teles and Strats, never quite being satified with either, until I had a custom body made: a Jazzcaster with a Tele neck, top mounting Tele bridge, a P-Bass control plate, and three noiseless pickups, strung 0.013-0.058. It has a four way Tele pickup with a phase switch for the neck PU(P/P pot) and a series/off/parallel for the middle PU. It wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea, but this one makes me happy.
I want those pickups. I love a bright tone on the wound strings but the unwound strings are usually too bright. Love the idea of blending the magnets to balance the tone out
I clicked like before even watching. I find most videos a rehash of obvious content, but I always learn something new and in-depth in these videos and consider Zac THE expert. No wonder he’s gathered such a following in a short time.
Great video Zac. It bought back memories of when I was a teen and I saved all my money because one day I would finally buy my dream guitar, a US Stratocaster. That day finally came and before I purchased the Strat, the dealer asked me if I would try out a Tele.........well the rest is history ! 3 decades later that Tele has never left me and I play Teles 99% of the time !
Great clip! In the mind of Leo Fender, the Stratocaster was intended to address all the feedback that players provided Leo from playing his Tele. They wanted something that was more comfortable (comfort carved), a vibrato (to compete with the Bigsby product that people liked), more pickups and sounds. Fender was assuming the Tele would be retired, but demand remained strong with introduction of the Strat. Once Buddy Holly and Dick Dale started using Strats, their popularity exploded. Tele's remained a favorite with the Country players.
@@AskZacnah, users existed in Europe before he, but he was the second birth of the Stratocasters popularity for sure. The classic rockers were chasing the Bursts, and he saw that as folly saying they "Can't stay in tune ... man! The Strat costs way less, and it DOES."
A little trick some techs use is to screw the outside bridge screws all the way in and leave the inside four up a bit Good sounding strat Second time watching 4-22 Love the RE pups
I have 2 Tele's. One black, one white. One hot rodded, one traditional. Love 'em both. I have 2 Strats, one black, one white. One hot rodded, one traditional. Love 'em both. It's a yin and yang thang!
Excellent playing. This video just proves why I love strats so much. I haven’t bonded with Teles but it’s cool to see you explain what you like about them. I have to agree with you for the most part. Ironically, the in between sounds are what I think make Strats wonderful. Exhibit A: slow dancing in a burning room. My favorite thing you said: you don’t want it to sound like a Tele, and I appreciate this. It’s not a direct comparison, let them be what they are and enjoy them for their own innate qualities! Thanks for all of your work on these videos.
I always associated the Strat as more of a rock guitar than a country guitar. Some of the all time greats have played strats. Hendrix, Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Ry Cooder, Lowell George of Little Feat, just to name a few.
One of the best country tones I ever heard was a guy playing a Strat in a Nashville bar years ago. Blindfolded, you would have never known he was playing a Strat.
I have 3 strats and all have the a decked vibrato, never got used to it... I still like my action at 1.75 mm at the low E 12th fret and 1 mm on the high E...YMWV And I have 4 Teles in part because of your youtube channel, Thanks Zac :p
After 40 years of playing Gibsons and Fenders, Strats and Teles are the only guitars I play now and I go back and forth which one is my favorite. They are both such great guitar designs.
Another great video, Zac, thank you! Ive been a died-in-the-wool tele player since 1992 when I put my Les Pauls away. I've owned many strats, and today I still own one - an MIJ Fernandes strat, tobacco sunburst with maple board. Best strat I've ever played. I think of teles as an extension of me and my creativity - MY voice. I think of my strat as utilitarian - a tool needed to accomplish certain sounds and style just not available to me on my teles. After 25 years, though, I still struggle badly with my right hand constantly hitting the strat's volume knob and turning it down! For whatever reason I CANNOT rid myself of that tendency!
Great video Zac. I agree about the tremolo block. I bought a Highway 1 Upgrade Strat about ten years ago in my home town of Liverpool and didn't like the particular tremolo bar so ordered a new American one and when I installed it the threads crossed so I had to replace the whole assembly as the Highway Ones had metric parts apparently and not imperial sizes. I installed a Callaham cast iron block and set it all up again and it sounds and plays great! I like the action a little higher than some people might like as I like the strings to have some room to "bounce" when playing a run. Keep up the good work mate.
I went into a Guitar Center once and came across a deep red with wood grain still visible Telecaster. It was some kind of custom model. But I picked that up and was transported. I didn't even plug it in! Just the look and especially the feel of the neck and fingerboard. It was one of the most comfortable guitars to play I have ever seen. Unfortunately I'm not rich and I couldn't buy it immediately! 😢 But I'll always remember that beautiful instrument. 🎸 😊
I think what a Strat does is soften the single coil sound to prevent the ice picky tone possible with telecasters. Love your playing and tone, I think you’d make anything sound good
Great video! I worked for years as a hired gun lead guitarist in mostly the southern Ohio area. Im primarily a tele guy, but always had what I called my trinity with me. That consisted of a tele, strat and Les Paul. I felt like I could pretty much cover all my bases with those. I worked with Whey Jennings for a while. People sure loved when I'd bring out my leather covered clone of Waylon's telecaster.
I have both . Country pickers have played Strats as well as Teles , Steve Wariner , Vince Gill for example . Strats do make me play different too and I do like that . My Strat is a hardtail though. Nice video Zac and nice playing.
Great vid Zac. Your playing style definitely suites the Tele much more than the Strat so I can see why it is your weapon of choice. Strat man myself but love a Tele as my alternate.
I always do those things you do to every strat I have too, move second tone control to bridge pickup, raw vintage springs always a must together with their saddles plus a cold steel block and also floating the trem.. I don't think it's best for everyone but after 3 strats and many other options/mods that I've tried, this has become my recipe. Another thing that I've found very useful is the baseplate for bridge pickup in a vintage style set to give it some body/mass. I was aware of this mod for a while but just too lazy to try and didn't think it would help much - I was wrong, it balances it out with the rest of the set nicely. Highly recommend this mod (for a vintage style bridge pickup).
My first good guitar was an Ovation Legend, deep bowl. I bought it in Mannys Music, East 52nd St New York, in October 1987. I still have it and still love it .... 🙂
Yeah, I always float my bridge like Carl Verheyen even if I don't always have the trem in, I still occassionally hit the bridge with my hand for a little vibrato. Hardtail strats are alright if it is like a Billy Corgan setup; however, I do see them as rather pointless for a single coil guitar setup.
i have my three Yamaha Pacifica 112Vs floated with two screws, no trem anymore bridges edge to body can be raised with a pick two springs one strong one light tuned to E but a n octave low, no string trees ( they bend the strings and rattle and affect the tension anyway), what else? yeah the strings: Daddario 009-0115-015-024-032-042........(( i dond dig Dads low tension 042, but the 044 is ahair too much especially with my low tuning..., maybe aye 022 d-string would be good if they make one...), seeya, K : )
Ha! I learned the "Eric Johnson mod" as the "Jimmy Vaughan mod." In any event, I HIGHLY recommend players check it out, especially if you play with a hotter PUP or even humbucker in the bridge. Gives you a way to tame it a little if need be. The second aspect to the mod is to have a middle pup that is well balanced and plays nicely in the 2 and 4 positions awhile also delivering the that classic Strat quack in the middle position, running wide open. Good stuff.
Tennessee Waltz starting with an intro at 13:36 was really beautiful. Is this notated anywhere? I'd love to learn that version. Are transcripts available in the store, cuz I'd pay for that.
For those double bends I learned to use my ears and my right hand meaty section of the palm to counter the m movement of the vibrato when doing those bends. I also do use raw vintage springs.
Hardtail strats all day long, I have two of them..my neighbor calls them wimpy telecasters...but, I can play me some sweet slow blues on a strat, through a super...
Show your neighbor the video of Lloyd Jones playing "Treat me like the dog I am" the version of him with a white suit on. If that's whimpy grits ain't groceries!!!
I also prefer the hardtail Strat because I don't like the Strat vibrato and how you have to choose between decking and floating, neither of which are that appealing to me. Sadly, Fender currently does not offer an American-made hardtail Strat. The closest you can get off the rack and not CS is the Robert Cray Strat, which is MIM but still a great guitar. I wish Fender would make a similar American Strat with almost the exact same specs as the Robert Cray (vintage pickups, but with 6105 frets instead of medium jumbos).
Those Danocasters are some of the best vintage relic guitars around. Love my '63 Dano' double cut more than anything I've owned or played out of the Fender Custom Shop, including my butterscotch '52 Thin Skin Tele.
Love quack myself. Though I started playing on a 78 tele cause I was a Springsteen fan. My string broke at a gig and a guy from the other band handed me a white strat. It was not only weird to hold but I felt an immediate lack of attack and immediacy. Over the years though I’ve switched over to a G&L legacy with some nice boutique pickups. It’s great. I play mostly acoustics these days.
My theory on why they had no tone control wired to the bridge pickup originally is that the three identical pickups give a naturally quieter bridge pickup so if you have no tone control it has 250k across it instead of 125k (two parallel pots) which pushes up the resonant frequency of the bridge pickup making it seem louder: compensating for it's position but it makes it pretty bright of course...having an overwound bridge pickup solves the problem much more effectively of course! Thanks for the videos!!
I have a black 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special I bought brand new in '96. The HSS configuration was a challenge soundwise because I could never get that clean bright quack with a split bridge humbucker paired with a middle single coil on 2 so I decided to swap the single coil positions putting the middle pickup in the neck position and I got a different sound that really moved me. Over 20 years I've been sounding like a Tele but never knew it until one day I walked into a Guitar Center and played a Telecaster for the second time ever in life and it was a Fender Classic 50s Telecaster with both pickups in parallel, realizing my Strat sounded similar to this Tele; at that point I really fell in love with the Telecaster more because of my reconfigured Strat. A pickguard swap took out the RWRP pickup when the pickup cover came off so I decided to convert it into a traditional SSS configuration with a new loaded pickguard I rewired with CTS 250K pots and a CRL 5-way switch w/pushcloth wiring but that Tele bridge/neck sound was missing so i swapped the bridge & middle pickups as a true Tele homage to 1st reconfiguration and all positions are bright especially the 2nd position quack that defines a Strat as much as the twang of the Telecaster bridge pickup and I've acquired two Teles (a Tradition CAB10 & a used DIY kit i Esquired!) and two Strats (Squier Affinity & Bullet) since then.
I use them both. I like the scooped mids & overall airy sound of a Strat. If a band has two guitars, I prefer that one is a Telecaster & the other is a Strat. I own 5 Tele type guitars(72 Telecaster/73 & 78 Tele Customs/75 Tele Deluxe/76 Tele Thinline) with 4 Strats(74 & 76 Hardtail Strats/86 AVRI 62/88 American Standard). I probably play the two Customs most, but will use any of them depending on my mood. Probably a perfect combination is a Telecaster with a Strat neck pickup & a 4 way switch. Strats generally mate up better with effect pedals than Telecasters. The hardtail Strat is a great option for Tele players. It's why I have two of them.
Decking the strat vibrato improves tuning stability compared to floating, and doesn’t make it useless or like a tele as you say - you can still bend downwards, and you can still apply gentle vibrato effects
Great video. One thing- I played country for years on a Strat with a floating bridge. It could raise G string up a step, and the B and E strings up a half step giving me Sus chord when I pulled up and more recently a cool pedal steel lick when I play a sixth on the G and E and pull them up and let them down. It can throw certain licks out of tune, but over years of playing I learned to bend the E and B strings up as I was bending the G or B to put it in tune. Probably not good enough for a recording, but good enough to give me the best of both worlds live -and no one complained ;-)
Damn it's good to have someone who can actually play to listen to. Also Zac's content is the best. One thing I done different is, I ALWAYS put roller saddles on the bridge. That just seems to help keep it in tune better, and I put brass or bone nuts on everything. May or may not help sustain, but it's my little mojo.
Another great video. I've played Teles since right after I started in the early 70s but have always had a Strat or two around since the early 80s. I never used the bridge pickup for years until I wired it to the tone pot. I deck the trem and use five springs so I can do that 50s Ike Turner/ Johnny Guitar Watson thing. I usually only play a Strat on a couple of songs and the rest on a Tele but awhile back I got called to do a festival with some old friends. The other guitar player always plays a Les Paul, planned on playing a Tele until I saw the set list, they were all Strat songs. So my beloved 52 AVRI sat in the stand as a backup. Sometimes a mans got to do what a mans got to do. Thanks Zac, looking forward to the next one.
I,m an old man now but all the guitar players used to say,,, to play pro you need a strat, a tele and something with humbuckers then you can cover everything.
Thanks for all info. The pickup video was Great. I just bought my first tele ever, 51 custom chop, this guitars tone would get most old fender players jeoulous I think, played it unpluged a couple of seconds, that was enuogh. However I wonder does the tone affects with a bigsby, I just ordered one bigsby for tele with the f logo? Per
This channel has begun my understanding of the Tele, now I’ve got my eye on the new MIM Nocaster. Would love to see you put one of those through the paces and see if you approve of what Fender has come up with for this specific era Tele.
To Mark Hammer......when I "Nashvilled" a Korean-made Fender Squier Tele, I didn't want to give up that Telecaster bridge/neck combination. My solution was to keep the standard three-way switch for bridge and neck p/ups, and added a mini-toggle between the volume and tone knobs for the middle p/up. That way I could get any combination of pickups EXCEPT the middle by itself.....but I never used the middle alone when I played Strats. This way, I could get that Strat-cluck sound with bridge OR neck. As it turned out, I found the middle p/up got in the way of my pick, so that Telecaster is back to a "normal" Tele two p/up configuration. BTW Zac.....I tend to prefer natural or 'burst finished guitars, but I LOVE the color of that Danocaster.
Strats are great, they are just not as great as a Tele. They look great, have very cool sounds and the one true advantage is the strat does provide some additional access to the heel area of the fret board. Their "pretty shape" however is not a comfortable in the lap as a Tele. Once you have played your self out, the guitar you will pick up and play unplugged when sitting quietly alone is your Tele. And that is how your Tele becomes your best friend.
When I'm not playing my Strat, I pick up a a Tele...now, where do I order a Danocaster Strat?By the way, those Fender Squier Japan Strats were great guitars and highly-sought after.
Thanks. I use the EJ writing but 7 way switching and an Illitch silent single coil pack plate with K-line signature pups on my Xotic XS-1 I also use five raw vintage springs love this guitar. FYI loved the video dig the channel
Zac - great insight on how to sculpt tone from a Strat! Can you confirm please your setup? You've got the normal volume - are the two tone controls for neck and bridge only, leaving middle with no tone control? And what value pots and capacitor are you using? I've got "Sliders" 59' SRV pickups and I'd like to set mine up like yours. Thanks much!!!
Zac ... another beautiful video - I enjoy them as much as your column in Vintage Guitar magazine. Your playing here reminds me of the wonderful Eldon Shamblin ... a beautiful tribute to his memory.
For strat trems, I found that a trem stabiliser was the right balance between floating and decked. I can bend strings without everything going out of tune, but the trem arm can still go both up and down. I used a Göldo Backbox, it works great.
Thanks for the heads up on the raw vintage springs. Just ordered a set. I got a couple Blue Chip picks last year and they are still holding up. So smooth. Good thing they last considering the price. ;-) I can't get the chirp or pick scrape out of them that I get from a square edged Clayton so I go back and forth. But the Blue Chips are definitely the most effortless pick I've ever tried. I have a pull pot on my bridge tone so I can get a sort of middle Tele sound. I also have it wired with the "Scott Henderson" configuration where the 2 "quack" positions bypass the tone pots. That lets you roll back the tones and still get that sharper thin sound when you want it. It also boosts the level a bit to make the guitar balance better. I tend to use position 4 or my fake Tele thing for funk.
My favorite "couch" guitar is my strat. Or my Ibanez RG. Both because of the contours. Funny thing is, they're also my go to guitars in my home studio and I own 11 including some acoustics. For me, comfort is a huge deal. Sound is important too, of course. But if you're not comfortable, it shows in your playing.
I put off getting a tele for years because of that idea and always thought if I did get a tele it better have the comfort contours...well.... A few months ago I got a standard shaped tele and it is the most comfortable to play guitar I've ever owned and just yesterday I played it for hours while in my comfy chair --- That never happens with my Strat, PRS, Gretch, or others. Go figure. Took me only 40 years to find out I'm a Tele guy! Edit -- just realized how this coincides with my relationships...LOL
If you wire the tone only to the bridge pickup on a tele, will it make the neck pickup brighter even if the tone is always at 10. What I mean is will it take a load off the neck?
@@AskZac Nice, I'm gonna try that because I never use tone on my neck pickup and the way i set up my tele the bridge is always to bright. Because I set it up for both pickups together as my main sound and the neck pick as my seconds sound and I don't use my bridge pickup much at all. But maybe it would be more usable if i could get away with a little more bass and a little less treble on my amp. How would you set eq on a fender twin? I set my bass at 4, mid 6 and treble at 7. I need it to cut for funk but sometimes its just a little too bright
My Strat issue is the volume knob is right where I knock it out of place. So, my Strat has a plug where that knob used to be and one tone for all 3 PUs with the volume one position down in the 'middle' spot.
Interesting video. A couple of months back I installed a Vega-Trem tremolo on my Japanese Strat, what a great move that was. The Vega's require no routing and screw holes match up perfectly. I also have a Cunetto Custom Shop-Strat with a vintage floating trem which is wonderful, but I'm seriously considering getting another Vega for this as it involves no invasive surgery.
Fender did a run of American HSS strats w mahogany bodies back in 2007 that are the ULTIMATE in versatility. NO OTHER STRAT gets closer to mimicking Gibson tones than that guitar. But back the volume down a bit and mix in the single coils by switching to positions 1,2,3 or 4 and you get pretty good strat tones. These guitars have an LSR roller nut, locking tuners, a thicker trem bar and a Fender DH-1 HB (Alnico 2) in the bridge. WELL WORTH the $
I‘m a strat guy and love its tone and feel but not the vibrato/tremolo bridge. I have just no use for it. So I decked the bridge, put 5 springs in the back and screwed them in almost all the way. You still get the tonal character of the strat but it’s like on steroids.
There's no doubt that a Strat will give the player different ideas than playing a Tele... or a Jazzmaster or Les Paul, etc... In the spring department I've found that the Fender Vintage Tremolo Tension Springs are very good. I have those on my Strats set up floating and the feel is very even. I'm running 10-46 with three of those springs and they're wonderful...no iisues and they deliver a fantastic feel and performance for the trem...
It's funny that the Stratocaster was designed for country players using input from several of them, as Leo was a big fan of c&w. Yet they all used Teles, lol. Any I liked them initially due to Hendrix but it was Clapton's "Brownie" on the Derek & the Dominos album and then Ritchie Blackmore on Machine Head that made me really want one. Real country players, all three. Glen Campbell wielded a mean Strat in any case. Speaking of Vaughans, how about that Kenny? Now there's a Tele man.
I don't think there is any real substitute for the sound of a Tele bridge pickup, so there's that. And I love the "cluck" of a Strat. But one of the things that disappoints me about 3 pickup guitars with 5-way switches is that there is no neck+bridge combination available. A mod I like to do - which is most appropriate on "Nashville" Teles, but also on Strats, is to simply flip the leads for the middle and bridge pickups at the selector switch. Instead of N / N+M / M / M+B / B, you get N / N+B / B / B+M / M. So you forfeit one of the "cluck" positions but regain the Tele-like N+B setting.
Of course, some folks like one cluck position more than the other. So, for them, you flip the middle and neck pickup leads at the selector switch. That gets you M / M+N / N / N+B / B. It takes a little getting used to, but not all that much. I don't think I could ever be without a neck+bridge tone!
One of my favorite places, John Leventhal, does that mod. I was watching him play a 3-pickup Tele, and was confused as I watched his selector switch. Afterwards, he told me the wiring mod that he did, just like you explained. I am tempted to flip those connections right now. Another pinned comment, Mark!
Yep. My Strat has this mod, but simply because I swapped the middle and bridge pickups around in the pick guard!
Emerson has a great wiring harness for Strats that turns the bottom tone into a blender circuit, allowing you to blend the bridge in when on the neck, and vice versa, and in the 2 and 4 position, blend in to have all 3 pickups active.
Mark Hammer something I did as a mod on a friend’s strat was wiring the neck and middle pickups to a toggle switch. The mod allows home to toggle between the standard 5 way and the M/NM/N/NB/B configuration. It actually works really well and it’s become one of his favorite guitars!
@@thethesaxman23 There's certainly no end to the creative mods one can do with a Strat or other 3-pickup guitar. I generally recommend the lead-swap as an offering to the more timid, who may be justifiably reluctant to start popping holes into their guitar, or reluctant to embark on push-pull switches. Simply flipping two leads around at the switch get you a new guitar without having to add anything, buy new pickups, drill holes or follow arcane wiring diagrams. Old course, no wiring mod on a Strat, no matter how simple, gets you past the frustration and nuisance that could have been avoided if Fender had used the same two-piece pickguard and control plate found on the Tele, the Jaguar, and Jazz Bass. Yet one more reason to love Teles!
Great point about not just playing a “different” guitar not for a different tone or to do different things in a song-but also so that you play it differently.
One of my favorite things about Fender guitars is that they can have SUCH different voices in different players' hands. Especially Strats. Sure, this is true for all guitars, but I really feel like Strats and Teles are the epitome of the sentiment.
Very astute observation.
Compare Claptons strat tone to Richie Blackmore... drastically different sounds. Astute observation
@@PageandPlant4Life that's because amps matter way more than guitars in the signal chain. they used different amps.
@sichuancowboy sure, but it's then the speaker cone choice and makers matter there more than the entire head of the amp to tone. it's why Eminence vs Celestion vs Jensen is a constant thread in guitar forums. The amp isn't the sound as much as your magnet in your cone is. You'll get Blackmore with Celestion, you'll get Clapton with a Jensen, amd you'll get MGK with Eminence because they are dogshit comparatively to the other two.
I'm really hoping this channel grows, you have so much information to share and I love the laid back/calm feeling and delivery. Keep it up and I'll keep watching!
Thank you so much!
I was a Tele guy until it was stolen. My other guitar was a Strat and by the time I found another Tele that I liked, the Strat had seduced me. The Strat is my voice but when I need to crank up a guitar with some attitude, the Tele can't be beaten. The more refined nature of the Strat drew me in and I felt like it was much easier to play. Playing the Tele is a little more like work to me, but my Tele buddies, of course, disagree. All my Strats (except for the EJ) have 6100 frets (12" radius), Fralin pickups, and upgraded hardware - especially the Trem block. Anybody looking to toughen up the tone of a Strat should consider looking at upgrading the trem block and adding a Fralin steele pole 43 to the bridge position. Great video Zac. Thanks.
I'm a Tele player because it gives me the sounds I want and love. But I love Strats too, for the amazing history of the great players who have shown us how incredibly versatile they can be. From Buddy Holly to Hank Marvin to the greatest Strat player of them all----- Jimi Hendrix---- it's another example of the amazing genius mind of Leo Fender. There aren't enough words to truly describe how brilliant and inventive Leo was.
im pretty sure it was an accident
David Gilmour.
I choose a strat to have a smoother sound, a Telecaster for a spit on it and punch it home... a kinda bare knuckle sound.
Love the touch and sensibility of the clean tone playing with country, r&b, americana sensibilities. My kind of thing. This channel has become one of my favorites on YT.
I never liked the quack sound on a strat. The tremolo system also psyches me out too much; I'm paranoid about slipping out of tune during a perfect take. It's more versatile than a tele, because it has more knobs and pickups, but I find that the pickups don't have enough contrast between them to get interesting tones as readily as a tele. My favorite part about a tele is the contrast between the neck and bridge pickups. They're really different on their own, but then they blend so well together in the middle position, creating a humbucking option with a cool glassy character.
My Strat came with the bridge locked down and I left it there. I have an old Yamaha superstrat with a trem if I absolutely need to use one (which is never). In fairness, it holds tune perfectly as long as you don’t dive bomb it so maybe it’s nothing to be scared of.
Interesting, luckily most people don’t agree with you
Someone’s got a Tele bias….
If your Strat goes out of tune, it's because of a lack of knowledge on how to setup & balance spring tension, nut height, Trem. Block,etc. My stock tremolo stays in tune.
I play Tele’s and Strats and i have no tuning issues Like buddy guy once said” I was doing 100 mph with two woman and Strat with no case and the strat flew out of the car he went back picked it up and not only was it not broken but it was still in tune” ive had the same situations as him good setup proper nut and strings it will stay in tune just fine….unless u do dive bombs 🤷♂️
Personally I really dig the sound of positions 2 and 4, but I think that’s what’s great about Strats. There’s so many tonal options for any style or any player. That’s probably why it’s regarded as “the” electric guitar!
My first pick, a strat, as always
My second pick, another colour of strat.
My third pick, maybe a tele... or a strat
I like your first 2 picks, the 3rd not so much.
Zac, of my 55 years worth of playing, I've never owned a Strat! Always Telecasters! I met Phil Kubicki when he was making a Tele for Don Mclean.
There's a device called the tremol-no that allows you to easily disable and re-enable the tremelo. It replaces one of the springs in the back.
www.tremol-no.com/
No need, just "deck" the term and ad two springs
I just found this channel from Five Watt World, and I'm liking it very much! I like channels like this that are more conversational and aren't hammering us constantly with the 'sell, sell, sell...shill, shill, shill' mentality that is so common with many guitar channels on UA-cam. Thanks for doing what you do for the guitar community. I'll be back!
Glad you enjoy it! And thanks to Keith!
Noticed the Waterloo in the background. I love mine. Feels so perfect. Living in Europe i never had the chance to find vintage Gibsons so getting this thing now feels like the first "real" acoustic in my life (after 30 years of trying all kinds of stuff i could get my hands on here).
I might be one of a handful of players who find the Tele more comfortable than a Strat. The contours and rounded edges cause a Strat to slip if I'm playing sitting down. But Strats are my second favorite after Teles. Add a treble bleed and mini switch for the bridge/neck combo and I do love a good Strat....especially hardtails.
I also find the Tele more comfortable. With the slipping thing, however, I found that I have to hold the Strat differently if I'm playing while sitting down. It's more of a "hug" thing that I do, where my right forearm is more in contact with the body of the guitar. Helps to keep it stable on your lap.
I myself am glad there are many different types of guitars.
Even the shredders like Jackson and Charvel have their place
Nice one Zac. You make a Strat sound 'Nashville' like nobody else I've heard. 👍
I can’t believe you mentioned raw vintage springs. They are absolutely a great “mod” and no one ever talks about this
Yesterday I was rigging lights at a venue. I was working at the back of the stage a band came in for sound check. I couldn’t see the band properly but I was struck by the guitarists skill and tone. It sounded like the best Tele tone I’ve ever heard - except there was a trem being used. When I checked I was amazed to see he was playing a Strat! Turns out it was a well worn 89 Strat with Lace pickups! He was playing thru twin amps with slight stereo , Deluxe Reverb and Trace Elliott. Anyhow, he played almost exclusively on the bridge pickup and, as I said , he had it sounding like the best Tele you ever heard!
No guitar has ever been more fun to play for me than my Strat. So versatile and melodic It's my only guitar (besides my SG that is also a great axe) I take my Strat to almost every Gig and it's pure heaven! That neck pickup is so creamy and smooth and paired with my tone king imperial it's my dream come true setup 😍
I really like Your show. I'm 87 years old playing guitars and harmonica for 70 years. I still play with an old buddy who has a 1956 Strat with flat wound strings. With 1956 twin speaker amp, I think 90 amp?
Merry Christmas Zack.
Just found this on the Strat.
I love my mine, it speaks to me. Only a guitar player would understand that.
Thanks for the review.
I love the talk sections but love even more when you play - so laid back melodic and full of natural tone Thanks Zac and keep on keeping on !
finally figured out what was so different about your playing ... super light touch
I played this at 1.25 speed...good channel!
I read your comments at 1.25 speed
Ask Zac witty retort, sir. Keep keepin on.
@@kevinseversonandhisvizslas8287 You too!
Great tip and great comeback as well. Props all around
hahahaha great comment, i did the same thanks for the tip!
I played a friend's Jazzmaster years ago, and couldn't come to grips with anything about the guitar other than how comfortable it felt against my body. I'd veered back and forth between Teles and Strats, never quite being satified with either, until I had a custom body made: a Jazzcaster with a Tele neck, top mounting Tele bridge, a P-Bass control plate, and three noiseless pickups, strung 0.013-0.058. It has a four way Tele pickup with a phase switch for the neck PU(P/P pot) and a series/off/parallel for the middle PU. It wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea, but this one makes me happy.
I want those pickups. I love a bright tone on the wound strings but the unwound strings are usually too bright. Love the idea of blending the magnets to balance the tone out
Strats were made to get the Richard Thompson- tone😊🎶🎸😉
@randalclarke5487 I love Thompson’s Strat tone and playing on Bonnie Raitt’s “Luck Of The Draw”. That’s the only song I’ve ever heard his Strat on.
I clicked like before even watching. I find most videos a rehash of obvious content, but I always learn something new and in-depth in these videos and consider Zac THE expert. No wonder he’s gathered such a following in a short time.
Great video Zac. It bought back memories of when I was a teen and I saved all my money because one day I would finally buy my dream guitar, a US Stratocaster. That day finally came and before I purchased the Strat, the dealer asked me if I would try out a Tele.........well the rest is history ! 3 decades later that Tele has never left me and I play Teles 99% of the time !
Great clip! In the mind of Leo Fender, the Stratocaster was intended to address all the feedback that players provided Leo from playing his Tele. They wanted something that was more comfortable (comfort carved), a vibrato (to compete with the Bigsby product that people liked), more pickups and sounds. Fender was assuming the Tele would be retired, but demand remained strong with introduction of the Strat. Once Buddy Holly and Dick Dale started using Strats, their popularity exploded. Tele's remained a favorite with the Country players.
The Strat almost went away before Hendrix. The Tele stayed strong because of Country and Soul players
And funk, and blues.... and rnb and rock....
@@AskZacnah, users existed in Europe before he, but he was the second birth of the Stratocasters popularity for sure. The classic rockers were chasing the Bursts, and he saw that as folly saying they "Can't stay in tune ... man! The Strat costs way less, and it DOES."
A little trick some techs use is to screw the outside bridge screws all the way in and leave the inside four up a bit Good sounding strat Second time watching 4-22 Love the RE pups
Thanks!
I have 2 Tele's. One black, one white. One hot rodded, one traditional. Love 'em both.
I have 2 Strats, one black, one white. One hot rodded, one traditional. Love 'em both.
It's a yin and yang thang!
I really like the “popcorn “ reference. You and I see things differently at times, but I get your take. You help me to evolve!
you killed it on Tennessee waltz, soulful
Excellent playing. This video just proves why I love strats so much. I haven’t bonded with Teles but it’s cool to see you explain what you like about them. I have to agree with you for the most part. Ironically, the in between sounds are what I think make Strats wonderful. Exhibit A: slow dancing in a burning room.
My favorite thing you said: you don’t want it to sound like a Tele, and I appreciate this. It’s not a direct comparison, let them be what they are and enjoy them for their own innate qualities!
Thanks for all of your work on these videos.
Kyle Smith I took your challenge and watched/listened to John Mayer playing Exhibit A. Beautiful playing, beautiful sound. Thank you!
Great track. Sold lots of Strats!
So enjoyable are your videos Zac. It's like you are just talking to me and a couple of mates. Picked up a few good tips too.
Everyone should color coordinate their shirts with their guitars, don't ya think?
Or like Guitar Slim used to do and dye your hair the color of your guitar!
I always associated the Strat as more of a rock guitar than a country guitar. Some of the all time greats have played strats. Hendrix, Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Ry Cooder, Lowell George of Little Feat, just to name a few.
Eddy Shaver. Unshaven album. There’s your Strat country.
@@kaiserthegreat Eddy was amazing. RIP Eddy.
One of the best country tones I ever heard was a guy playing a Strat in a Nashville bar years ago.
Blindfolded, you would have never known he was playing a Strat.
I have 3 strats and all have the a decked vibrato, never got used to it... I still like my action at 1.75 mm at the low E 12th fret and 1 mm on the high E...YMWV And I have 4 Teles in part because of your youtube channel, Thanks Zac :p
After 40 years of playing Gibsons and Fenders, Strats and Teles are the only guitars I play now and I go back and forth which one is my favorite. They are both such great guitar designs.
I love them both, Fenders & Gibsons. As my playing matures though I do find myself reaching for that Tele more often.
Another great video, Zac, thank you! Ive been a died-in-the-wool tele player since 1992 when I put my Les Pauls away. I've owned many strats, and today I still own one - an MIJ Fernandes strat, tobacco sunburst with maple board. Best strat I've ever played. I think of teles as an extension of me and my creativity - MY voice. I think of my strat as utilitarian - a tool needed to accomplish certain sounds and style just not available to me on my teles. After 25 years, though, I still struggle badly with my right hand constantly hitting the strat's volume knob and turning it down! For whatever reason I CANNOT rid myself of that tendency!
Great video Zac. I agree about the tremolo block. I bought a Highway 1 Upgrade Strat about ten years ago in my home town of Liverpool and didn't like the particular tremolo bar so ordered a new American one and when I installed it the threads crossed so I had to replace the whole assembly as the Highway Ones had metric parts apparently and not imperial sizes. I installed a Callaham cast iron block and set it all up again and it sounds and plays great! I like the action a little higher than some people might like as I like the strings to have some room to "bounce" when playing a run. Keep up the good work mate.
I went into a Guitar Center once and came across a deep red with wood grain still visible Telecaster. It was some kind of custom model. But I picked that up and was transported. I didn't even plug it in! Just the look and especially the feel of the neck and fingerboard. It was one of the most comfortable guitars to play I have ever seen. Unfortunately I'm not rich and I couldn't buy it immediately! 😢
But I'll always remember that beautiful instrument. 🎸 😊
I think what a Strat does is soften the single coil sound to prevent the ice picky tone possible with telecasters. Love your playing and tone, I think you’d make anything sound good
Great video! I worked for years as a hired gun lead guitarist in mostly the southern Ohio area. Im primarily a tele guy, but always had what I called my trinity with me. That consisted of a tele, strat and Les Paul. I felt like I could pretty much cover all my bases with those. I worked with Whey Jennings for a while. People sure loved when I'd bring out my leather covered clone of Waylon's telecaster.
I have both . Country pickers have played Strats as well as Teles , Steve Wariner , Vince Gill for example . Strats do make me play different too and I do like that . My Strat is a hardtail though. Nice video Zac and nice playing.
Great vid Zac. Your playing style definitely suites the Tele much more than the Strat so I can see why it is your weapon of choice. Strat man myself but love a Tele as my alternate.
I always do those things you do to every strat I have too, move second tone control to bridge pickup, raw vintage springs always a must together with their saddles plus a cold steel block and also floating the trem.. I don't think it's best for everyone but after 3 strats and many other options/mods that I've tried, this has become my recipe. Another thing that I've found very useful is the baseplate for bridge pickup in a vintage style set to give it some body/mass. I was aware of this mod for a while but just too lazy to try and didn't think it would help much - I was wrong, it balances it out with the rest of the set nicely. Highly recommend this mod (for a vintage style bridge pickup).
My first good guitar was an Ovation Legend, deep bowl. I bought it in Mannys Music, East 52nd St New York, in October 1987. I still have it and still love it .... 🙂
I don’t use the trem but don’t like the way hardtail Strats sound. The trem definitely an essential part of the classic bluesy Strat tone.
Yeah, I always float my bridge like Carl Verheyen even if I don't always have the trem in, I still occassionally hit the bridge with my hand for a little vibrato. Hardtail strats are alright if it is like a Billy Corgan setup; however, I do see them as rather pointless for a single coil guitar setup.
i have my three Yamaha Pacifica 112Vs floated with two screws, no trem anymore bridges edge to body can be raised with a pick two springs one strong one light tuned to E but a n octave low, no string trees ( they bend the strings and rattle and affect the tension anyway), what else? yeah the strings: Daddario 009-0115-015-024-032-042........(( i dond dig Dads low tension 042, but the 044 is ahair too much especially with my low tuning..., maybe aye 022 d-string would be good if they make one...), seeya, K : )
Ha! I learned the "Eric Johnson mod" as the "Jimmy Vaughan mod." In any event, I HIGHLY recommend players check it out, especially if you play with a hotter PUP or even humbucker in the bridge. Gives you a way to tame it a little if need be. The second aspect to the mod is to have a middle pup that is well balanced and plays nicely in the 2 and 4 positions awhile also delivering the that classic Strat quack in the middle position, running wide open. Good stuff.
Tennessee Waltz starting with an intro at 13:36 was really beautiful. Is this notated anywhere? I'd love to learn that version. Are transcripts available in the store, cuz I'd pay for that.
I agree. I'd like to learn that version of the Tennessee Waltz too. I've bookmarked this video and will return in an attempt learn this arrangement.
I like the thumbnail examining the Strat bridge pickup!
I also spent a few years in Kingsville. Thanks for all the guitar info videos , keep them coming.
For those double bends I learned to use my ears and my right hand meaty section of the palm to counter the m movement of the vibrato when doing those bends. I also do use raw vintage springs.
Hey I’m from south Texas too! Mission, Tx about 1:30 hours south of kingsville. Love the 2/4 position on the strat.
Mission!!!
Hardtail strats all day long, I have two of them..my neighbor calls them wimpy telecasters...but, I can play me some sweet slow blues on a strat, through a super...
Show your neighbor the video of Lloyd Jones playing "Treat me like the dog I am" the version of him with a white suit on. If that's whimpy grits ain't groceries!!!
I also prefer the hardtail Strat because I don't like the Strat vibrato and how you have to choose between decking and floating, neither of which are that appealing to me. Sadly, Fender currently does not offer an American-made hardtail Strat. The closest you can get off the rack and not CS is the Robert Cray Strat, which is MIM but still a great guitar. I wish Fender would make a similar American Strat with almost the exact same specs as the Robert Cray (vintage pickups, but with 6105 frets instead of medium jumbos).
@@danielstoddart G&L makes hardtail strats, they call it the Saddle Lock Bridge.
OMG, your version of The Tennessee Waltz was simply beautiful. Great pickn' my friend 🧡
Those Danocasters are some of the best vintage relic guitars around. Love my '63 Dano' double cut more than anything I've owned or played out of the Fender Custom Shop, including my butterscotch '52 Thin Skin Tele.
Love quack myself. Though I started playing on a 78 tele cause I was a Springsteen fan. My string broke at a gig and a guy from the other band handed me a white strat. It was not only weird to hold but I felt an immediate lack of attack and immediacy. Over the years though I’ve switched over to a G&L legacy with some nice boutique pickups. It’s great. I play mostly acoustics these days.
My theory on why they had no tone control wired to the bridge pickup originally is that the three identical pickups give a naturally quieter bridge pickup so if you have no tone control it has 250k across it instead of 125k (two parallel pots) which pushes up the resonant frequency of the bridge pickup making it seem louder: compensating for it's position but it makes it pretty bright of course...having an overwound bridge pickup solves the problem much more effectively of course! Thanks for the videos!!
I think you are right
Forgot to say I finished a Tele build about a month ago with a Strat neck pickup and a Bigsby. Problem solved.
Nick Benjamin What ?
I have a black 1995 Fender Stratocaster Special I bought brand new in '96. The HSS configuration was a challenge soundwise because I could never get that clean bright quack with a split bridge humbucker paired with a middle single coil on 2 so I decided to swap the single coil positions putting the middle pickup in the neck position and I got a different sound that really moved me. Over 20 years I've been sounding like a Tele but never knew it until one day I walked into a Guitar Center and played a Telecaster for the second time ever in life and it was a Fender Classic 50s Telecaster with both pickups in parallel, realizing my Strat sounded similar to this Tele; at that point I really fell in love with the Telecaster more because of my reconfigured Strat. A pickguard swap took out the RWRP pickup when the pickup cover came off so I decided to convert it into a traditional SSS configuration with a new loaded pickguard I rewired with CTS 250K pots and a CRL 5-way switch w/pushcloth wiring but that Tele bridge/neck sound was missing so i swapped the bridge & middle pickups as a true Tele homage to 1st reconfiguration and all positions are bright especially the 2nd position quack that defines a Strat as much as the twang of the Telecaster bridge pickup and I've acquired two Teles (a Tradition CAB10 & a used DIY kit i Esquired!) and two Strats (Squier Affinity & Bullet) since then.
I use them both. I like the scooped mids & overall airy sound of a Strat. If a band has two guitars, I prefer that one is a Telecaster & the other is a Strat. I own 5 Tele type guitars(72 Telecaster/73 & 78 Tele Customs/75 Tele Deluxe/76 Tele Thinline) with 4 Strats(74 & 76 Hardtail Strats/86 AVRI 62/88 American Standard). I probably play the two Customs most, but will use any of them depending on my mood. Probably a perfect combination is a Telecaster with a Strat neck pickup & a 4 way switch. Strats generally mate up better with effect pedals than Telecasters. The hardtail Strat is a great option for Tele players. It's why I have two of them.
Decking the strat vibrato improves tuning stability compared to floating, and doesn’t make it useless or like a tele as you say - you can still bend downwards, and you can still apply gentle vibrato effects
Great video. One thing- I played country for years on a Strat with a floating bridge. It could raise G string up a step, and the B and E strings up a half step giving me Sus chord when I pulled up and more recently a cool pedal steel lick when I play a sixth on the G and E and pull them up and let them down. It can throw certain licks out of tune, but over years of playing I learned to bend the E and B strings up as I was bending the G or B to put it in tune. Probably not good enough for a recording, but good enough to give me the best of both worlds live -and no one complained ;-)
Are you Michael Ross, or Steuart Smith?
@@AskZac I wish the latter but confess to the former
Damn it's good to have someone who can actually play to listen to. Also Zac's content is the best.
One thing I done different is, I ALWAYS put roller saddles on the bridge. That just seems to help keep it in tune better, and I put brass or bone nuts on everything. May or may not help sustain, but it's my little mojo.
Another great video. I've played Teles since right after I started in the early 70s but have always had a Strat or two around since the early 80s. I never used the bridge pickup for years until I wired it to the tone pot. I deck the trem and use five springs so I can do that 50s Ike Turner/ Johnny Guitar Watson thing. I usually only play a Strat on a couple of songs and the rest on a Tele but awhile back I got called to do a festival with some old friends. The other guitar player always plays a Les Paul, planned on playing a Tele until I saw the set list, they were all Strat songs. So my beloved 52 AVRI sat in the stand as a backup. Sometimes a mans got to do what a mans got to do. Thanks Zac, looking forward to the next one.
I,m an old man now but all the guitar players used to say,,, to play pro you need a strat, a tele and something with humbuckers then you can cover everything.
I went to school at Texas A&M-Kingsville for a little bit years ago. Had a ton of fun down there.
Thanks for a great channel!
Thanks for all info. The pickup video was Great. I just bought my first tele ever, 51 custom chop, this guitars tone would get most old fender players jeoulous I think, played it unpluged a couple of seconds, that was enuogh. However I wonder does the tone affects with a bigsby, I just ordered one bigsby for tele with the f logo? Per
Why does the Tele neck pickup get poo-pooed so bad? It opens up a whole new realm of tonal options. I love it
How come fender did not go after the people who make the Danocaster? Or is it that they have licensed the headstock design like Warmoth have done🤔
This channel has begun my understanding of the Tele, now I’ve got my eye on the new MIM Nocaster. Would love to see you put one of those through the paces and see if you approve of what Fender has come up with for this specific era Tele.
Agree on Eric Johnson wiring setup. Have one and it's my favorite.
To Mark Hammer......when I "Nashvilled" a Korean-made Fender Squier Tele, I didn't want to give up that Telecaster bridge/neck combination. My solution was to keep the standard three-way switch for bridge and neck p/ups, and added a mini-toggle between the volume and tone knobs for the middle p/up. That way I could get any combination of pickups EXCEPT the middle by itself.....but I never used the middle alone when I played Strats. This way, I could get that Strat-cluck sound with bridge OR neck. As it turned out, I found the middle p/up got in the way of my pick, so that Telecaster is back to a "normal" Tele two p/up configuration.
BTW Zac.....I tend to prefer natural or 'burst finished guitars, but I LOVE the color of that Danocaster.
Strats are great, they are just not as great as a Tele. They look great, have very cool sounds and the one true advantage is the strat does provide some additional access to the heel area of the fret board. Their "pretty shape" however is not a comfortable in the lap as a Tele. Once you have played your self out, the guitar you will pick up and play unplugged when sitting quietly alone is your Tele. And that is how your Tele becomes your best friend.
When I'm not playing my Strat, I pick up a a Tele...now, where do I order a Danocaster Strat?By the way, those Fender Squier Japan Strats were great guitars and highly-sought after.
"..actually a vibrato..." I love technical accuracy. You got a like for that alone.
Some 2 string bends are still possible on a floating trem if you bend up the lower string a bit.
Thanks. I use the EJ writing but 7 way switching and an Illitch silent single coil pack plate with K-line signature pups on my Xotic XS-1 I also use five raw vintage springs love this guitar. FYI loved the video dig the channel
I primarily love the neck position of a Strat, its so warm depending on the type of pickup...I prefer 50s pickups for a classic chime...
The proof is in the playing. And it seems like it really works for you. You sound great, felt playing. Keep 'em comin'.
Thanks so much!
Zac - great insight on how to sculpt tone from a Strat! Can you confirm please your setup? You've got the normal volume - are the two tone controls for neck and bridge only, leaving middle with no tone control? And what value pots and capacitor are you using? I've got "Sliders" 59' SRV pickups and I'd like to set mine up like yours. Thanks much!!!
All standard vintage type except for no tone on the middle pickup. Gotta have a tone for the bridge!
@@AskZac Thanks.
Zac ... another beautiful video - I enjoy them as much as your column in Vintage Guitar magazine. Your playing here reminds me of the wonderful Eldon Shamblin ... a beautiful tribute to his memory.
Very kind, Bob! Thank you
For strat trems, I found that a trem stabiliser was the right balance between floating and decked. I can bend strings without everything going out of tune, but the trem arm can still go both up and down. I used a Göldo Backbox, it works great.
Great tip!
I just love the strat's ergonomics. Looks like a spaceship and is so comfortable i often fall asleep with it on
Thanks for the heads up on the raw vintage springs. Just ordered a set. I got a couple Blue Chip picks last year and they are still holding up. So smooth. Good thing they last considering the price. ;-) I can't get the chirp or pick scrape out of them that I get from a square edged Clayton so I go back and forth. But the Blue Chips are definitely the most effortless pick I've ever tried.
I have a pull pot on my bridge tone so I can get a sort of middle Tele sound. I also have it wired with the "Scott Henderson" configuration where the 2 "quack" positions bypass the tone pots. That lets you roll back the tones and still get that sharper thin sound when you want it. It also boosts the level a bit to make the guitar balance better. I tend to use position 4 or my fake Tele thing for funk.
Just got the Raw Vintage springs. With the 10.5-50 set I use it took all 5 and I can still slightly float the bridge for a smooth wobble. Great tweak!
What was the tune at 13-ish minutes?
TN Waltz
@@AskZac I thought so although your version was new to me. Lovely!
I looooove Telecasters but Strats are just so damn comfortable, especially if I’m playing while sitting on my couch
My favorite "couch" guitar is my strat. Or my Ibanez RG. Both because of the contours. Funny thing is, they're also my go to guitars in my home studio and I own 11 including some acoustics. For me, comfort is a huge deal. Sound is important too, of course. But if you're not comfortable, it shows in your playing.
I put off getting a tele for years because of that idea and always thought if I did get a tele it better have the comfort contours...well.... A few months ago I got a standard shaped tele and it is the most comfortable to play guitar I've ever owned and just yesterday I played it for hours while in my comfy chair --- That never happens with my Strat, PRS, Gretch, or others. Go figure. Took me only 40 years to find out I'm a Tele guy! Edit -- just realized how this coincides with my relationships...LOL
I just switched from an Ibanez 7 string to an American standard strat. I couldn't be any happier.
If you wire the tone only to the bridge pickup on a tele, will it make the neck pickup brighter even if the tone is always at 10. What I mean is will it take a load off the neck?
It does make it brighter. Which I like!
@@AskZac Nice, I'm gonna try that because I never use tone on my neck pickup and the way i set up my tele the bridge is always to bright. Because I set it up for both pickups together as my main sound and the neck pick as my seconds sound and I don't use my bridge pickup much at all. But maybe it would be more usable if i could get away with a little more bass and a little less treble on my amp. How would you set eq on a fender twin? I set my bass at 4, mid 6 and treble at 7. I need it to cut for funk but sometimes its just a little too bright
My Strat issue is the volume knob is right where I knock it out of place. So, my Strat has a plug where that knob used to be and one tone for all 3 PUs with the volume one position down in the 'middle' spot.
Interesting video. A couple of months back I installed a Vega-Trem tremolo on my Japanese Strat, what a great move that was. The Vega's require no routing and screw holes match up perfectly. I also have a Cunetto Custom Shop-Strat with a vintage floating trem which is wonderful, but I'm seriously considering getting another Vega for this as it involves no invasive surgery.
Might try the same on my old hohner strat then, it needs replacing too.
I think that telecaster is more a rithm guitar and a Strat a solo guitar.
And all cause of the different bridges.
What’s do you think about this.
Opposite.
@@AskZac touché
Fender did a run of American HSS strats w mahogany bodies back in 2007 that are the ULTIMATE in versatility. NO OTHER STRAT gets closer to mimicking Gibson tones than that guitar. But back the volume down a bit and mix in the single coils by switching to positions 1,2,3 or 4 and you get pretty good strat tones. These guitars have an LSR roller nut, locking tuners, a thicker trem bar and a Fender DH-1 HB (Alnico 2) in the bridge. WELL WORTH the $
I‘m a strat guy and love its tone and feel but not the vibrato/tremolo bridge. I have just no use for it. So I decked the bridge, put 5 springs in the back and screwed them in almost all the way. You still get the tonal character of the strat but it’s like on steroids.
There's no doubt that a Strat will give the player different ideas than playing a Tele... or a Jazzmaster or Les Paul, etc... In the spring department I've found that the Fender Vintage Tremolo Tension Springs are very good. I have those on my Strats set up floating and the feel is very even. I'm running 10-46 with three of those springs and they're wonderful...no iisues and they deliver a fantastic feel and performance for the trem...
It's funny that the Stratocaster was designed for country players using input from several of them, as Leo was a big fan of c&w. Yet they all used Teles, lol. Any I liked them initially due to Hendrix but it was Clapton's "Brownie" on the Derek & the Dominos album and then Ritchie Blackmore on Machine Head that made me really want one. Real country players, all three. Glen Campbell wielded a mean Strat in any case. Speaking of Vaughans, how about that Kenny? Now there's a Tele man.