Re: Strat Sounding Les Paul

[S.A.]

HI there

I was talking to a mate who loves Les Pauls but swapped his for a strat. REason for this was quite simple - he needed a brighter funkier sound for the type of music he now plays. He still loves the les paul shape though.

Now,I don't want to stir up a hornets nest or upset any purists (I have seen how the threads regarding tonewoods degenerate )

But, my question is this : would it be possible to make a strat sounding Les paul ?

If you used the typical strat wood and a fender signle coils. could you end up with something similar to the strat ?.

Thanks

Travis

[x189player]

could be easier than that. try taking a standard LP and coil tapping the humbuckers.

Hey, i hear the stratophiles say, a coil tapped humbucker doesn't sound the same! Well, mighty close. And the pickups are far more important than the wood in getting these sounds.

THis is a pretty standard mod- install a DPDT toggle switch that grounds out a coil from each pickup. Give a humbucker guitar way way more versatile sound. I empathize with your friend- I'm not sure I could stand a humbucker-only guitar either, even an LP.

Even better, install a second DPDT switch for phase reverse, then you have a truly versatile instrument. Here's a diagram how to wire it:

If it's a real LP, I wouldn't want to drill holes for a toggle switch, so I'd replace two of the pots with pull-switch pots so you pull the knob out to flip the switch- stealth wiring mods, woo hoo!

[S.Dodding]

Split coiled humbuckers wont sound anything like strat single coils, in the same way strat single coils dont sound the same as all other single coils. They just have the wrong characteristics.

If you were to use the same woods and the same pickups as you'd find on a strat, the tonal difference should be small.

Edited February 3, 2005 by S.Dodding

[x189player]

See? I told you they'd say that- yet I have a coil tapped humbucker guitar that sounds so much like a strat that it's hard to tell side-by side in sound clips.

don't believe me? try this test:

A or B ?

C or D?

E or F ?

G or H?

One guitar is a 1982 '69 Strat reissue, the other is an '84 Electra with humbuckers being coil tapped. Can you tell the difference?

Just to prove these are indeed humbuckers, here's the same Electra (with coil tap off) compared with a LP- which is which?

X or Y

heh, I'll let y'all chew on that a bit before telling the answer. For the record, the Electra is BTW made of Canadian Rock Maple, and the strat is made of... whatever strats are made of.

regardless, I'm responding to what you said your friend needed- " he needed a brighter funkier sound for the type of music he now plays." If filling that need is the goal, coil-tapping may be the answer, as the above clips show.

btw, Electra made stellar LP copies with all that wiring already installed, just like the above- and you can get them for under $400 on ebay all the time, with gorgeous flamed tops and all- I'd suggest your friend look there first.

Cheers,

Paul

Edited February 3, 2005 by x189player

[screwdelulu]

Nice way to prove your point!

I took the chalange and here is my opinion:

I couldn't decide between A and B...

D, E and H are the Strat.

They sound so similar, so I am probably wrong but...

[orgmorg]

Also, remember that part of the Strat's sound comes from the longer scale length. If you are building from scratch, no prob, but if using existing parts, you will have to modify them to get that right.

If you want to use a strat bridge, you will have to figure out how to mount it on the arched LP top, and keep the right string height.

I say go fer it! You could call it a Lespocaster... Umm well maybe not.

[S.A.]

Thanks for the insight and the curcuit guys

If we do move on it I will make it from scratch so I can pretyy much do to it what I will. I was just curious to know if it was posible, or if someone has done someting simliar.

Regards

Travis

[LukeR]

I guess another problem would be 'positions 2 and 4' on the strat. I dont really think you can get those sounds using a Les Paul- coil tapping or no.

However, I *realy* hope someone can prove me wrong on that- please tell me if anyone has any tricks!

Luke

[erikbojerik]

First...an all-maple LP will sound much different than a traditional mahogany+maple LP. The Electra will already be closer to a strat because of this.

Second...what's the neck & fretboard wood on the Electra?

Third...can you tell me if the coils you're tapping are both the same magnetic polarity, or opposite to each other?

Then I'll do the blind test.

Fourth...you will not get the quacky strat sounds of positions 2 & 4 with this rig.

To answer the question directly...just make a LP out of alder or swamp ash, with a maple neck (maple or rosewood board, 25.5" scale) and toss in some Fender single coils & 5-way switch. That'll get you there.

[Mickguard]

I don't get it...the guy wants a guitar that LOOKS like a Les Paul but SOUNDS like a Strat?

Well, the answer is pretty obvious. Buy a strat, reshape the body to look like a Les Paul, and there you go...

[selmac]

isn't a gibson L6S kinda like what your talking about, A maple bodied guitar shaped like a LP ( except flat top) and capable of splitting the humbuckers? I'd do some thing like the L6S except with single coils to make a strat-paul but thats just me

[westhemann]

B,D,E,and H are the strat

and Y is the lp

[S.Dodding]

I'd fully agree with Wes' assertion on those strat/electra tests, while, i'll admit. the differences are impressivly small for a coil tapped humbucker, there is still enough of a tonal change to tell.

Edited February 3, 2005 by S.Dodding

[westhemann]

so i am guessing i was right on all counts.

[crafty]

The thing is--who really cares? I mean, if you have a Les Paul and want to get more of a Strat sound out of it, coil-splits will get you pretty close. If you want to get more of a Les Paul sound out of a Strat, you either use positions 2 and 4 on the switch or just throw some humbuckers in it.

My point is, no matter what you do to each instrument, it's not going to sound exactly the same as the other one. I think it's better to concentrate on making the music sound good rather than to worry about what you've have to do it with. If you only have a Les Paul and you want a Strat-like funk sound, coil split the pups and leave the toggle with both turned on. If you need to crank out some hard rock on a MIM Strat budget, crank up that amp and throw the switch to 2 or 4. Work with what you have to work with, man.

[marksound]

The thing is--who really cares? I mean, if you have a Les Paul and want to get more of a Strat sound out of it, coil-splits will get you pretty close. If you want to get more of a Les Paul sound out of a Strat, you either use positions 2 and 4 on the switch or just throw some humbuckers in it.

My point is, no matter what you do to each instrument, it's not going to sound exactly the same as the other one. I think it's better to concentrate on making the music sound good rather than to worry about what you've have to do it with. If you only have a Les Paul and you want a Strat-like funk sound, coil split the pups and leave the toggle with both turned on. If you need to crank out some hard rock on a MIM Strat budget, crank up that amp and throw the switch to 2 or 4. Work with what you have to work with, man.

←

You are correct, sir!

I just got home from rehearsal, where I messed around a bit with the other guy's PRS. It has 2 HBs and a 5 way rotary switch and I found a pretty good strat sound on it.

For all the going on about this guitar and that guitar, I still think that it's not so much what you have but what you can do with it.

But that's just me.

[Maiden69]

You should hear the PRS 513, a friend in the wood shop bought it for her husband and he says that he don't need any other guitar, he can make any sound he needs, from strat to gibson sound.

[crafty]

Yeah, for what, nearly $5000 that thing better sound like a Les Paul AND a Strat, if not better. It better bake me a pie and steam me up some espresso for that kind of scratch too.

[Maiden69]

I just wanted to note that it could be done! Is all in the electronics, and now the Mr Smith has released it, you can be sure there will be some copies out there in a few

[westhemann]

The thing is--who really cares?

someone cares...or else the post title would not be "strat sounding les paul"

i am sure you could do it...and i would even be happy with split coils personally...but add a single coil in the middle position and use mini toggle to turn all the pickups on/off so you can get all pickup posiotions in a minimum of fuss

but there are certain things that youwant that "snap" of a strat to play

[Meegs666]

i would just settle for going hsh and tapping coils and using a five way and some mini switches to get inbetween sounds. thats just what i would do though. there are many options though as pointed out. i think the best route would be to make it so that you can go from sounding like an lp to a strat by the flip of a few switches. there are just certain things you need the two different sounds for.

[Maiden69]

In the new guitar magazine that is all PRS, Mr Smith talks about the system on the 513 and kinda explains the difference between it and colitaping. I think that coiltaping sounds good, but like he explains, the volume drops a bit and gets thin, you can compensate for this by instaling a preamp that will engage only when you tap the coils, something like the EMG afterburner with a switch dpdt switch that turns it on at the same time it splits the humbucker.

[crafty]

I just wanted to note that it could be done! Is all in the electronics, and now the Mr Smith has released it, you can be sure there will be some copies out there in a few

I seem to remember in the past you could get a Fender Strat loaded with double Lace sensors at the bridge. You could select to have both on at the same time or split between the two of them. Seems like you could do a similar thing now like the 513 with the double Lace sensors you can still buy from Lace.

As far as caring whether or not a certain guitar can be made to sound like another, I think people tend to forget that Strats, LPs, and PRSs all have unique personalities. There is no way one of them is going to sound EXACTLY like the other. There are ways to get quack out of an LP and ways to get crunch out of a Strat, but they're not necessarily going to be able to do those things like the other guitar. The PRS is a great compromise between the two, but even that will never sound like both.

My advice is to work with what you have. If you don't think anything other than a Strat will do on your song, buy or borrow a Strat. If you can compromise a little and don't absolutely need the real Strat, you can still get plenty of quack from a LP if you set it up with the coil-splits.