Single Coils/Dumble's

[boldaslove6789]

When I first got into D-style amp's I was more prone to using a Strat with single coils. After having experienced many D-style circuits in person I've geared more towards Bucker Equipped guitars and since put PAF style pups in just about all my strats. The only guitar that I use that has single coils is an old borrowed tele that I won't give back cause it sounds soo damn good with the Non-HRm circuit.

I'm just not diggin Single coils in strats anymore with any circuit whether it be NON-HRm/HRm, Skyliner/BM, high plate/Low (I've yet to try an amp with the classic config and that's probably the circuit that shines the most with SC's)

Is that anyone else's experience?

[johan]

I have the same experience w Dumble-style amps, and with the Zendrive pedal - I love them both w humbuckers or Teles noot w Strats. Strats in a BF Fenders is a wonderful thing but not w a Dumble, even if the clean tone is close.

[rogb]

I changed my main Strat out to Lace Sensors, they work well in my 50w.

Burgundy at the bridge, Silver middle and Blue in the neck, the Blue has got a warm humbucker thing going.
Plenty of output as you can get these close to the strings and little noise.
TBX global tone control too and a bridge/neck no-loss blend on the spare tone, which also lets you have all 3 at once.
A real sonic improvement has been KTS titanium saddles and Curt Mangan 10-52s.

You should be able to get some decent sound out of that lot!

[stelligan]

Welcome to my world.....
I haven't been able to decide if it is a tonality thing, a gain thing, or a combination. It is just so damned enthralling to play that OD channel with a humbucker guitar. It's like crack. I don't have any troubles with a Tele, but a Strat? fuggetaboutit.... I think a solution might be a Tele bridge pickup in a Strat ala Lowell George. heisthl's RedPlate amps have the edge here for me if I want to play my Stratocaster. I sound like a shill - so be it. Gil had mentioned that the low plate amps work for him. I need to build one, I guess.

[bluesfendermanblues]

I mainly play strats ...........but have swapped the bridge PUP for a Seymour Duncan "Twang Banger", which gives a Tele bridge PUP sound. @stelligan, that the easy route to Lowell George.

Totally agree with ya'll that - especially the in-between-sounds - Dumble amp are not strat friendly. The exeption is maybe the Bluesmaster which has more of a fender amp curve.

Many attempts have been made - on this forum - to tweak the skyliner to be more friendly - e.g. lower value slope resistor and/or a 47n mid cap - but I dont' think anyone has really solved the strat puzzle.

So far the best recipe in my book is Dogears idea of putting a relay on the bright switch, which will take the bright out in OD mode. This off course is only relevant on NON HRM amps with a single master volume. On Bluesmaster and Skyliner/HRM you can simply put a +68p on the clean master.

[ericlee]

Strats are absolutely fantastic with my moded amps. I use Chris Kinman hot blues noiseless pickups in neck/mid position and bridge humbacker with coil split.

Here is a home video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80FM7kbeM30

and here is a live gig one with the same amp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXxwTZCdfzo

Cheers

[vibratoking]

I love them with humbuckers or single coils. I use Fralin Vintage hots in my strats and they sound great. I also use the tone controls on my strats heavily and wire one tone control to the bridge pickup. Humbuckers sound great too. I love the fact that D-style circuits allow the sound of the guitar to come through. I don't tweak the heck out of the amp when I change guitars - strats, teles, LP, 335, SG, etc... I simply enjoy the sound difference. I also agree with the comment that tele bridge pickups sound very nice.

[Dr d]

Have you not heard of Matt Schoffield?!!!! I find all of my guitars sound great through my Bluesmaster. Strats probably sound at their best through lower plate setups IMHO.

[stelligan]

and bridge humbacker with coil split.

Cheers

Cheater....

I'm not saying they don't sound good, just not great. And, for me, It's Matt Scoffield's chops not his Strat tone. Just alright for me, ya know what I'm sayin....

I can get happy using a clean boost in front to push the input. More critical with the bridge pickup than the neck. And I am talking a Stratocaster here. 60's wind pickups, etc. No doubt you cn change out pickups to get you there. Perhaps it's heresy on this forum, but I would rather mod the amp than my Strats. Something about the purity of it. Sounds killer into a Bassman or 5E3, Marshall, Deluxe..... On & on. Dumble - not so much.

[andyhardy]

Hey ericlee
sounds great what are your mods
also what is the od trimmer set at

Cheers
Bob

[ER]

Thanks for bringing this up, I'm trying to tailor my next build to be strat friendly and really going in circles around this issue. I want to do a bluesmaster-HRMish build with EL-34's and a third hiwatt style tone stack at the OD entrance and everything on the front panel.

Maybe I need to go with the early 70's/classic low plate stuff for single coils, Lindley, Lowell, Cooder, SRV, Raitt, etc. I never heard a humbucker through a dumble till the 90's/turn of the century...

One other thing to experiment with is the input resistor, 22K vs. 68K, impedance matching is one of the most overlooked things in amp building.

Even Kimock's strat with WEAK dano pick-ups sounds very nice on D-style amps. I also think that nowdays we suffer from bedroom-itus hence the boom in dirt pedals and humbuckers, turn that sucker up and put on some heavy strings.

I'm going to go with a tele bridge on my strat, actually a thrice-tapped Don mare broadcaster P/U with the second tone pot replaced with a 3-way rotary switch for the taps.

Also I would consider the New Eric Giles sig TR to be a D-style amp, and it just rips with single coils.

-E

[Zippy]

Interesting to see this come back 'round every once in a while. I saw/heard/experienced Robben Ford in Sacramento about 20 years ago and he was playing a Strat as well as his Esprit. I didn't notice any knob tweaking commensurate with guitar swaps either. He was using his rack rig - not just a pedal and Twin.

[ericlee]

Hey ericlee
sounds great what are your mods
also what is the od trimmer set at

Cheers
Bob

Thanks mate,
Trimmer is on 11 o’clock and mods were published here some time ago.
Check out Thiele cab with EV thread.

Cheers

[hitchcaster]

Thanks for bringing this up, I'm trying to tailor my next build to be strat friendly and really going in circles around this issue. I want to do a bluesmaster-HRMish build with EL-34's and a third hiwatt style tone stack at the OD entrance and everything on the front panel.

Maybe I need to go with the early 70's/classic low plate stuff for single coils, Lindley, Lowell, Cooder, SRV, Raitt, etc. I never heard a humbucker through a dumble till the 90's/turn of the century...

One other thing to experiment with is the input resistor, 22K vs. 68K, impedance matching is one of the most overlooked things in amp building.

Even Kimock's strat with WEAK dano pick-ups sounds very nice on D-style amps. I also think that nowdays we suffer from bedroom-itus hence the boom in dirt pedals and humbuckers, turn that sucker up and put on some heavy strings.

I'm going to go with a tele bridge on my strat, actually a thrice-tapped Don mare broadcaster P/U with the second tone pot replaced with a 3-way rotary switch for the taps.

Also I would consider the New Eric Giles sig TR to be a D-style amp, and it just rips with single coils.

-E

i think i remember kimock telling me those pickups were like 3Kish... should sound like crapola but they sound amazing, even tru fender rentals on fly dates.. the clips of the gales sound great with singles, know what circuit it is? my 70's clone sounded ok with singles but hums were where the magic happened

[stelligan]

Perhaps we are splitting hairs here. I mean, of course we always split hairs here.... This is for sure a preference thing. I guess I am talking about achieving that liquid OD tone thing the 'bucker guys get. Where I am coming from is playing a 60's Stratocaster for a zillion years as my main(and mostly only) electric guitar since the early 70's. Played tweed amps for eons, then MusicMan amps. Once I was turned on to these things(which I love) I almost immediately started playing my 345, then bought a couple Teles and several humbucker guitars. Just trying to figure out why I have to put a humbucker in my Strat to be happy.... I never had to before. I for sure identify with boldaslove. Judging by his moniker, he digs a Stratoblaster as well. I guess i need put a TwangBanger in my 1969 Strat. Thanks for the tip bfb. Or just take my ball and slink home................