Gibson Tone Out Of A Fat Strat

[Nitefly SA]

I want the tone of a les paul but i want it from a fat strat, does any body know a good pickup that would duplicate or at least simulate the sound of an LP thanks.

[jnewman]

You're not going to have much luck for two reasons. Probably the most important of these (although there are people who'll argue with me) is that a Les Paul has a 24.75" scale while a Strat has a 25.5" scale - which has a huge effect on the levels of harmonics present.

Second, there's the wood - most Strats aren't Mahogany. I have a strat with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge, which is supposed to be a little hotter PAF, and it sounds NOTHING like a LP. Don't get me wrong, it sounds good, but it sounds a lot more like Green Day than the Allman Brothers.

All that said, the closest you'll get is with PAF look-alikes - Gibson's that come on new LP's (not actually all that much like original PAF's from the 50's guitars), SD '59, Dimarzio PAF or Air Classic, etc.

Edited August 15, 2005 by jnewman

[crafty]

Trade in the fat Strat for a Les Paul if that's what you want--even if it's an Epiphone. It'll get you closer than any humbucker-equipped Strat ever will.

[Kith]

I agree, theres not much you can do. Try setting your equalizer so it has a lot of mids and bass, with less treble. something like: Bass=7 mid=10 treble=3.

Warmoth sells conversion necks, so you can get a 24 3/4 scale on your strat, but they cost around 200 bucks.

you could try getting a new pickup, although NOT a PAF, they sound to bright. Get something with higher output, so it sounds darker, that uses alnico 2 or alnico 5, Not Ceramic

[lovekraft]

Trade in the fat Strat for a Les Paul if that's what you want

Gotta agree, there's just too many differences - bolt-on, trem, longer scale, lighter body and neck, you can't get there from here, sorry.

[Nitefly SA]

I was looking at this les paul copy on ebay, SX is the brand, it get great reviews at harmony central and it is made of solod mahogany and has a set neck for about the cost of a squire (worst brand ever) if you have experience with this model or dont think it looks decent, please throw in yur 2 cents

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data...aul_Copy-1.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/Electric-Guitar-New-Ma...oQQcmdZViewItem

Edited August 15, 2005 by Nitefly SA

[westhemann]

http://www.rondomusic.net/electricguitar.html

go directly to the source if you are going to do that.

http://www.rondomusic.net/gg1stdmhna.html

[Hunter]

Looks okay to me, but I'd put some Gibson-sounding pickups in there, and maybe even a real TOM.

Edited August 16, 2005 by Hunter

[westhemann]

http://www.rondomusic.net/al2000amber.html

if it was me,and i wanted to get a les paul sound,i would spend an extra $10 for this one...the mahogany /maple ratio is closer.

but there are others at a higher price which have the mahogany neck and body,and the 3/4" maple top...

http://www.rondomusic.net/al2000amber.html

but the pickups really are poor...a set of duncans would help tremendously.

mine has been hanging on the wall for a long,long time now...i only just the other day decided what to do with it...

i am going to turn it into a goth lp(swamp ash body.)

[westhemann]

okay...i just pulled the masking tape off of my agile lp copy and the fretboard is completely seperating from the neck...so no...i do not reccomend them

you get what you pay for

[crafty]

An Epi Les Paul, while being alder/mahogany ply with a maple top, at least gets you a lifetime warranty accessible through a plethora of local dealers. You'd be surprised at how good they really are--my real Les Paul is the only thing besides a PRS that's better, and it cost three times as much. Okay, maybe an ESP/LTD Eclipse is better, too. But it doesn't much matter 'cause my friend and his Epi LP Deluxe can blow me away with skill and chops any day of the week. It's a good instrument, too.

I'd just trade in the Strat for the Les Paul, unless you just have some attachment to it, in which case I'd say save up for the real deal and make do with what you've got, which really isn't a bad axe either.

Edited August 16, 2005 by crafty

[wyldbil]

You're not going to have much luck for two reasons. Probably the most important of these (although there are people who'll argue with me) is that a Les Paul has a 24.75" scale while a Strat has a 25.5" scale - which has a huge effect on the levels of harmonics present.

Second, there's the wood - most Strats aren't Mahogany. I have a strat with a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge, which is supposed to be a little hotter PAF, and it sounds NOTHING like a LP. Don't get me wrong, it sounds good, but it sounds a lot more like Green Day than the Allman Brothers.

All that said, the closest you'll get is with PAF look-alikes - Gibson's that come on new LP's (not actually all that much like original PAF's from the 50's guitars), SD '59, Dimarzio PAF or Air Classic, etc.

←

All this guys says PLUS you have the setneck versus bolt-on factor. Makes a big difference in the resonance of the guitar as well.

To quote Frank Zappa, "A cow don't make ham".

There are a couple of viable less expensive maple-topped mahogany set-neck LP alternatives listed above. Might be a good thing to look into!

Good luck and hope you find the tone you seek.

[Pete]

That SX looks really sweet. Seems like it has a lot going for it. A good price and good reviews from experienced players. They say good things about Rondos too.

Some things you may want to consider:

It doesn't have a maple cap, just solid mahogany, so it may sound a little darker than a Les Paul, more like an SG perhaps. Did you go through Rondos other listings? They're offering a model with an ash cap for $10 more. Looks nice.

http://www.rondomusic.net/gg1stdashna.html

For $149 I strongly doubt that the pickups will be that great, although the folks on H-C think they're ok. But it looks like you could have an instrument deserving of an upgrade. You won't go far wrong with a set of Duncans, a JB and a Jazz perhaps, although you'll spend as much on these as you would on the guitar. I have a set on my Antoria (70s lawsuit) Les Paul.... actually they're the "Duncan designed" HB 102 set, based on JB & Jazz, as good as, at a fraction of the cost and perfect for what I'm playing ... classic rock ... Thin Lizzy, Bad Company etc ... keep watching ebay!

You didn't say what pickups you have in your Strat. Maybe you could swap them with the SX. If you do swap them out, throw some Lace sensor duallys in the Strat. With some clever switching you could turn this into a very versatile guitar, and it never hurts to have a backup. I'm working on something similar and hope to have it done in the next few days.

I think you may be on to a winner here, just bear in mind that $149 probably won't be your final cost. The good thing is you don't have to spend all the money at once. If your finances allow, get the hard case too.

I hope it works out for you. Go for it!

Pete

[Nitefly SA]

The people at harmony central say that the pick ups are good but i was planning on replacing them any way with SD alnico II pros, because thats what slash uses and thats pretty much what this is about

[westhemann]

i guess i was not clear...i will be clearer just so i know you hear me...those guitars(sx,agile) are very poor.i pulled of the fretboard and i foundthe reason it seperated...it is glued on very shoddily by using either epoxy or poly glue(looks like poly),and only is glued in two lines(about 1/8" wide each) on either side of the truss rod...plus there is glue spillage all throught the truss rod channel...that truss rod is incapable of adjustment...plus the fit of the neck into the neck pocket leaves alot to be desired...

this just goes along with the review i gave on them months ago.dead spots all over the fretboard(now i know why),bad nut slot filing,horrible finish...

i just want you guys to know the truth about them...this is not coming from a bunch of kids on harmony central who are just players,not builders.the construction of these guitars makes them worthless for anything more than a starter guitar...and there are better starter guitars out there.

the esp ltds are MUCH better constructed.

so there you have it.you can't say you weren't warned.i am sure some people will disagree(they always do),but if they really took one apart and knew the way a guitar was supposed to be,they would agree.

buy them if you wish.but don't expect the "gibson and epiphone quality" some are claiming

[Nitefly SA]

the 2 reviews i red were bothe from people that had been playing 20 and 30 years, and i got a guitar from them (a douglas) and it works great, every factory has some imperfections, im sure the guy at rondo wil replace it, or refund your money.

[Nitefly SA]

im not trying to copy his sound completely i just want the tone of an lp and hes my favorite artist that uses one

Edited August 17, 2005 by Nitefly SA

[stageleft]

Honestly I wouldn't waste my time with them. Rondo is just down the road from me, I don't know if I have touched a SX worth messing with. They just aren't worth it. Remember reviews you read on the internet have no real back up. A 14 year old can say he has been playing for 20 years. Westerman has played one and he doesn't recomend it, I have played several, and never found even a decent one. I wouldn't waste my money or time.

George

[Pete]

I read those reviews on Harmony central too. As Nitefly says, many were from guys who had been playing for 30 odd years, which is why I took them seriously.

I guess it had to be too good to be true. The only way to be sure is if you can check them out yourself

Stagelefts post came in as I was typing this. He has a point, people could lie about their age, although I don't see that myself.

But, there you have it, a member of the forum who has had hands on experience.

Save your money and try before you buy.

Pete

[Pete]

I just checked out the ebay link for the Greco. I don't have any experience with this brand name.

However, be careful with "lawsuit" guitars. I have two Antoria Les Pauls (Antoria is a brand used in the UK, I don't think it appeared in the USA, but they were made in the Ibanez factory). One is absolutely superb, the other is a POS.

Both were bought on ebay.

The bad one had a bolt on neck (I didn't realize this else I wouldn't have touched it, should have asked), And the body cap is a sheet of ply shaped to a Les Paul type carve top. It's hollow underneath. The main body wood isn't ply, but I'm not sure it's mahogany either.

Luckily it didn't cost too much, and will come in useful as something to experiment on as I learn about building.

The top of that Greco doesn't look like maple to me. But I could be wrong.

I gave you bad advice in my first posting, so I'll stick with "try before you buy", or at least be VERY sure about what you're getting.

Call the guy. Ask him how much it weighs. A solid LP should weigh about 10-11lbs.

Pete

[Pete]

I should mention that my good LP has a mahogany/maple body, mahogany/rosewood set neck, and weighs about 10 lbs. Closest thing to a Gibson that I've ever seen.

Pete

[crafty]

A solid LP should weigh about 10-11lbs.

A solid LP will weigh 10-11 lbs, and wear a hole in your shoulder. The key to a good Lester is not too light, not too heavy, around 8-9 lbs. Anything lighter is too thin, and heavier is too dark and muddy.

Nitefly, I know you're a big Slash fan, I can see it from your avatar, but unless you're really willing to limit your style and the equipment you use, you aren't going to get his sound without a real Les Paul with Alnico II Pros and a JCM 900/Slash/Silver Jubilee setup. It's just not going to happen, and even if you get all that stuff ($6,000) later, you still gotta play reasonably well to cop his licks.

Find your own sound and save up for a real Les Paul. It took me ten years to get mine, so be patient, we've all been there. Don't waste your time on that cheap $100 crap. Good things will come in time.

[Jivin]

Maybe check out Tokai?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=7343165978

- Dan

[Nitefly SA]

im not trying to copy his sound completely i just want the tone of an lp and hes my favorite artist that uses one, is tokai good?

Edited August 17, 2005 by Nitefly SA

[Jivin]

I would get a Tokai before I got one of those Agiles, mainly because I have played some Tokai Love Rock's that were very very nice. I am by no means an expert, however I think there is better models of Tokai copies than the one in the link I posted above, and I was probably playing a better one. The one I played had a mahogany body and neck and a genuine carved maple cap - it was still significantly cheaper than a Gibson though... it wasnt too much more than a decent Epiphone, and would have been worth every cent more.

- Dan