Teh Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 I've been listening to a fair amount of Clapton lately, and am digging his lead tone. Fat, warm and really rich -- the antithesis of what you expect out of a Strat. So, on a whim, I ordered up the Fender mid-tone boost mod kit off of eBay to try in a back up Strat. I have a set of Lace Hot Golds in the parts basket, and thought it would be fun weekend project to build a poor man's Clapton Sig Model.Has anyone installed one of these? Any hints or tips? After reading up on the Fender Community, I found a suggestion for placing the battery in the back trem rout after removing all but the two outer springs. It also mentioned that you could also out an extra spot outside the springs, but I don't trust myself to do that. Besides, I rarely use the trem anyway, so its just as easy to lock it down and not use it at all...Any wisdom on this?
sirDaniel Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 clearly my favorite strat. I've owned 3.with a piezo bridge (ala pete townshend), makes the ultimate stage weapon this side of humbuckers.
Lockbody Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 Those things are only $60? I don't know why I thought they were more. Anyway, just ordered one myself.
geoff_hartwell Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 They're great. DEFINITELY put the battery in the trem cavity (whether you block it or rout out the extra space) otherwise you have to take the strings and entire PG assembly off to change it, which will always be at the least convenient time... Geoff
tomteriffic Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 My BIL put the complete Clapton rig in a hardtail Strat. I don't know how.
burningyen Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 I had the EMG midboost in my old Melancon Pro Artist. It was very useful back when I was playing with discrete pedals and an amp. You probably don't need one if you use a multi-FX unit.
Teh Posted October 8, 2010 Author Posted October 8, 2010 Yeah, I was thinking about the amp/pedal thing as well. Since I'm primarily an acoustic player, my electric rig is set up for clean tones first and overdrive second -- Roland JC120 amp and a Boss GT10 board. I like the flexibility of the Boss, the way it emulates how guitar gain impacts overdrive, etc. It's fairly easy to tweak the presets and the amp models don't suck. The downside is the Roland JC-120, as clean and loud as it is, can be almost too clean at times. Great for 80's chorusy tones and simple jazz comping. However, it lacks the warmth that you get from a tube amp. You can turn back the treble and boost the mids and bass, but it still doesn't have that fat warm tube tone. It's a nice tone - Don't get me wrong - But it's not tube. When I record at home, I run the GT10 through a tube preamp to warm it up. It helps.That's why I think the next acquisition is going to be an Egnater amp -- Either the Tweaker or Rebel 20. I've been reading the reviews and watching the videos and it seems like a nice match for my style. Cleans are nice and warm, the overdriven tones are killer, it's a manageable size and weight, and the price is reasonable. I can throw the Clapton mod Strat at it, get the tone that's in my head the natural way. The downside is it looks like I need to go with the Rebel 30 to get channel switching, and I'm not sure I want to spend that much...Getting back to the pedalboard, I also like how you can turn off the preamp/modeling and throw the GT10 into manual mode, assigning an effect to each switch and effectively turning it into an 8 pedal floorboard with volume/wah. It also has an effects loop of its own to allow add-on pedals as needed. This set up gives me the option to be as complex or simple as I need. Sorry about the detour! What kind of control did you have with the EMG and how did you setup to get the most out of the boost tonally?
Teh Posted October 8, 2010 Author Posted October 8, 2010 SirDaniel - Funny you mention the piezo bridge. I just took an X-Bridge out of a Strat -- Never used it. Found that anytime I wanted to have both acoustic & electric available, I grabbed the Taylor T5. I also didn't care for the plastic saddles they use on the X-Bridge. Besides, I don't think you could fit all the electronics and TWO 9V batteries into the cavities without doing some major woodshop work on the body!LockBody - Yeah, the price was just too cheap to pass up. They get $1500 for a Clapton sig model, and the chief differentiating component is only $60 retail? No brainer in my book...Geoff -- I agree. A little double-sided tape and six screws and you're done.Tom - I saw photos of how, if you clip the corners of the PCB to fit it in the control cavity then wrap the battery in a non-conductive material and shove it up between the p'up switch and the pots, you could do it. IMO, that tight of an install is an intermittent issue just waiting to happen...
burningyen Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 What kind of control did you have with the EMG and how did you setup to get the most out of the boost tonally? My Pro Artist was basically a Strat-type guitar. Gerard Melancon installed the EMG SPC pot where the neck pickup tone control normally sits. I didn't do anything special to get the most out of the boost. At the time my pedalboard consisted of a Hotcake, FM-4, Voodoo Lab Tremolo, EB VP Jr., and DigiDelay, and I was running that into either a Bruno Underground 30 or Dr. Z Rt. 66. The midboost just gave me a little more of a humbucker-type tone for certain songs. Nothing magical about it.Now I'm just using an RP355 direct to the sound board. It has a SC-to-HB tone filter built in, and I'm sure I could also just use the parametric EQ to get the same effect.
Disturber Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 Which Clapton tunes, or which album, should I listen to to hear an example of the strat tones you are refering to? Just interested, that's all. Thanks.
Teh Posted October 8, 2010 Author Posted October 8, 2010 Which Clapton tunes, or which album, should I listen to to hear an example of the strat tones you are refering to? Just interested, that's all. Thanks. A bunch of stuff. One that comes to mind first is EC's appearance on Joe Bonnamossa's "Live From Royal Albert Hall" where the two traded leads on Further On Up the Road. Some others that I've been listening to lately include: Cream Reunion 2005 Any of the electric leads from Me & Mr. Johnson Title track from Pilgrim "Travelin' Alone" from the latest release, Clapton The entire Ridin' With The King album. Everytime he picked up a guitar at Crossroads 2010! You get the idea!
Disturber Posted October 9, 2010 Posted October 9, 2010 Yeah, I listened in. I'm not a huge Clapton fan, but the BB King album has been on spin before - it's good.The EMG Hex cirquit in the Hamer T-62 will take you there hazle free. It's pretty much how I have it dialed in right now. Get one, great guitars. And it will let you use the trem, and you don't have to route anything on a guitar that you already own.
flattop Posted October 9, 2010 Posted October 9, 2010 Got the Clapton boost kit fitted to my 2 USA strats both got Kinmans on.Makes a HUGE difference.Battery in trem cavity,dont use trem anyway.Can get very close humbucker sound as well as single coils with mid boost pot AWESOME kit.Well worth doing this mod.
murkat Posted October 10, 2010 Posted October 10, 2010 I have done the mod for a few clients in the past. I always thought that a TS-9 does the same thing to my ears.
Teh Posted October 11, 2010 Author Posted October 11, 2010 Did the mod this weekend. A few thoughts...:1. The wiring diagram that Fender provides in the kit is confusing at best and, in one instance, flat out wrong. The instructions call out the 250k pot as the volume control. WRONG. Use the 50k pot for volume and 250k as boost gain control. The wiring diagram available at www.guitarelectronics.com is much clearer and easier to read.2. This mod gives your Strat some serious cajones. With the boost control all the way down, the guitar is still significantly louder.3. I read some folks didn't like the TBX control. From my little experience with it so far, I think it's a necessary and key component to the mod. As the gain is increased, the highs roll off fairly quickly. The TBX mod allows you to regain some of those highs if desired.Overall, I like it. I wouldn't do this mod if I only had one Strat, but the tone it brings across is a nice addition to the arsenal. Downside is, now I've got a serious hankering to upgrade the amp situation...It never ends...
geoff_hartwell Posted October 11, 2010 Posted October 11, 2010 Did the mod this weekend. Overall, I like it. Nice! Did you route out a battery compartment next to the springs, or block the trem?
Teh Posted October 11, 2010 Author Posted October 11, 2010 Did the mod this weekend. Overall, I like it. Nice! Did you route out a battery compartment next to the springs, or block the trem?Used a little velcro and dropped the battery into the trem cavity -- No routing. Two springs are holding the bridge at the corners for now, but I definitely need to block it as soon as I get back into town at the end of the week. That will complete the project.
Craig S Posted October 11, 2010 Posted October 11, 2010 I did a 70s reissue strat. got a battery clip/holder ffrom radio shack and mounted it parallel with the switch on the pickguard... harder to change the battery but I wanted the trem active... worked well... I have a actual Clapton again, my 3rd. Don't think I'm going to keep it though... not a Strat guy anymore.
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