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uxter
04-18-2007, 02:51 PM
Hi I hope this wont sound like an essay ..but
right the guitar that got me into the whole TA love affair was an all alder hollow classic with an HSS configuration, rw fingerboard, switcheroo, vintage trem havent got the serial anymore but it was an 03. It was pretty damn close to perfection except for the colour which was a trans red to black burst. But the shop sold it before I sold most of mine to get, rather annoying! so I then bought a drop top below!

The guitar I bought was 05-25-00N, which was great for the funkier stratty sounds but the neck p/up was far too toppy, it didnt have that classic neck tone, the Hendrixy solo stuff, so it went back, and to anyone in the UK I can heartily reccommend Coda music in Stevenage, great service and very understanding on my change of heart!

So the guitar I want to cover sonically is most of the Strat sounds, which are the clean stuff, the funky stuff and I love the Hendrix/SRV tones as well, I am pretty heavy handed at times so hitting the strings hard isnt a prob. The other stuff I like is prog from Rush through Kansas, Genesis, Marillion as well as indie stuff. So a good range of lead tones, not just bridge, is needed.

It must have the quack sounds as well.

Heres where it gets "INDIVIDUAL"

I love Strats BUT I love the look of Teles, I also dont use a trem too much but when I do I like to really use it!

So I am looking at a hollow classic T, with a Floyd

so how does a floyd affect the tone compared to a TA vintage trem?
how does the Tele body affect the tone?

now pickup wise I was thinking 2 M's and a full size humbucker in the bridge, BUT some say I wont get the full quack with the M's and I do want those classic thin Strat sounds as well, so should it be the same setup as the Classic I tried, which I am sure was two sa's and an H2+, Tom suggested the following when I mailed him, but that was before reading about the M's!, H1-, SA1, and H2+, this was on a all swamp ash hollow classic, I since have tried a solid swamp ash classic and wasnt smitten, so maybe alder is the way forward to me, or alder back swamp ash top, I love a harmonically alive guitar.

Obviously I am going to try as many as I can, but most places seem to have drop tops ot T's, one thing that struck me about the first one was its resonance, it just sang, acoustically, I played it first time without even plugging it in!

Sooooo, just a few things to think of, also do you fit tremsetters? as I am not a great fan of the Floating trm gurgle which I have experienced with all floyd equiped guitars when they are set the way I like them, I have a Yamaha with a floyd and the tremsetter has cured the gurgle.

Oh yeah colour wise it gonna be desert sunset, with chrome hardwar and a pearl pickguard, so at least I know that much!

I did play this one, 04-20-06a and if it had had another pickup it may well be here with me now, oh well.

So if your still with me, well thanks, any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Alan

Stys
04-18-2007, 07:00 PM
For big strat tones, my cherryburst swamp ash classic w/m's really works well. The vintage trem works well - never experience tuning issues. I prefer the vintage trem much better than the Floyd however, the Floyd was the preffered trem years ago. Anyway, I had the vintage trem on the cherryburst classic set up at the factory for 1/2 step float but recently set it flat to the top surface. My two cents..........tone wise, once again, I like the vintage trem better. Tone seems fuller and woodier.

GaryMcT
04-18-2007, 10:23 PM
If I wanted a classic with tons of stratty tones with anderson pickups, I'd get VAs in the neck and middle. The M's just don't have the high end of a true single. If I wanted them to be quiet, I'd put on a suhr backplate.

uxter
04-19-2007, 02:29 AM
thanks for that lads, the one that got away was 09-09-03a, oh I could weep!

entraind
04-19-2007, 04:13 AM
If I wanted a classic with tons of stratty tones with anderson pickups, I'd get VAs in the neck and middle. The M's just don't have the high end of a true single. If I wanted them to be quiet, I'd put on a suhr backplate.

+1...exactly my experience

I find the M's the be wonderful for neck and middle single coil-ish sounds but If you really want the quack of positions 2 and 4 on a strat and the pure stat tones you need the VA's. Get an M or humbucker in the rear for verstility and hum cancelling and away you go...

Stys
04-19-2007, 02:53 PM
I'll try and post some pics this evening. My computer time is limited with two kids and my wife battling for computer time.

Barry
04-19-2007, 03:59 PM
thanks for that lads, the one that got away was 09-09-03a, oh I could weep!
I checked out your drummers sons band . Much anger !

Stys
04-19-2007, 06:56 PM
OK, here are shots of my cherryburst classic w/m's. I call it my "Victory" guitar because of the 'V' in the wood grain. I know, call me crazy but it is a cool looking pattern. Sorry the pics are small but this is my first attempt at uploading. I'm using a Nikon D-50 with the image set at the smallest. Still, the pics come in around 391KB.

uxter
04-20-2007, 03:14 AM
thats a nice looking guitar

Yep my sons band is a little on the angry side, they went down well in eastern europe!

I reckon its now down to the difference in tone between the tele and strat bodies the alder/alder combo and the ash/alder combo (I hope to find one to try this side of the pond) and the trem, I just like the way the floyd stays in tune for......weeks!

I think I will stay more trad on the pickups than the M's unless one will work in the bridge, but I do need those out of phase sounds in both positions.

uxter
04-24-2007, 03:22 AM
in an effort to keep my thread alive anyone have any info about the tone differences between a Tele body and a Strat? I know the classic versions of these sound different but I do want this a 3 pickup guitar. I am probablly leaning towards a HSS set up as well as I dont think I have too much use for the neck pickup in HB mode but I do love a good Strat neck pickup sound, I reckon I will take Toms advice on that score, but I would like some advice on the body shape and trem differences. Is the trem tone thing more down to the fact that the floyds are set to float and dont have that contact with the guitar face?

tom
04-24-2007, 09:37 AM
there is difinitely a difference between the way they sound, but there are other factors that for me are more important.
the strat shape is more middle focused, the tele shape has more top and bottom. can i say this for real or is it a guess? it's for real. years ago i made two, identical as guitars can be, guitars. same board for the bodies, same board for the necks, same pickups in the same positions. guess what? they sounded different. since then we have made thousands of guitars, and i've played nearly every one. i stand by my original listening. having said that, for me personally, the way the two shapes hang on me is more important to the way i feel when i play so i play better and get a better sound when i play the shape that "isn't the best" tonally for me.
years ago we did some clinics in stores and people were always surprised when we played the floyd guitar after the intage trem guitar. it realy wasn't missing bass, it just had some extra top end. kinda like brand new strings. if the floyd is floating like they usually are, you do also get the flutter when you hit the trings hard.

uxter
04-26-2007, 12:12 PM
Thanks Tom

I have the sort of figure that most rear contouring is lost on except when sat down!

decisions decisions!

I have just seen a hollow t on ebay over your side of the pond, its mainly rosewood, alder back but all rosewood neck and front, 3 p/up and a vintage trem, what would that sound like? theres no entry on the tone reference for it!

tom
04-26-2007, 01:18 PM
we've done some gotw's on those. they are very large sounding guitars. they have a very bold bottom without being bass heavy. they also have a fairly fast attack without being harsh.
sounds like i'm describing wine, sorry.

uxter
04-27-2007, 07:19 AM
LOL no worries

well apart from whats a gotw?

Suriel Zayas
04-27-2007, 10:13 AM
Guitar of the Week........:D

uxter
04-30-2007, 01:32 PM
doh! blame my dyslexia:rolleyes:

korinabill
04-30-2007, 11:38 PM
Hi,

Strat tones, eh?

I have a drop top classic with stacked humbuckers that will handle the strat sound in single coil position (neck). It's not hollow. Also very nice Hollow Classic with close to the same stacked humbuckers. I came very close to getting a Classic, maple fretboard with VA12 neck,VA12R middile,VA2 bridge(I think) at the Dallas Guitar show last weekend. The VA12's absolutely wail, plus you have the mini switch choice of VA1 or VA2. And, I almost forgot, my TAG Classic Magical Mystery Tour guitar sounded awfully stratty in the neck pickup yesterday at church (I wonder if anyone noticed the Hari Krishna symbol). No Floyd's on any of mine however.

Also, for some good TAG-with-Floyd expertise, contact Brian at Charley's in Dallas.

Just my 2 cents..

Bill

uxter
05-15-2007, 05:05 PM
Hi Thanks for that Bill

havent been around here lately, in fact havent been around anywhere, busy at work and play!

thanks guys for all the advice