Gibby Player Needs Strat help!

[marcg71]

I am an old gibby player, but the ole' back and neck have got some serious chronic issues. So I thought I'd step back in my old days and I had an old crappy strat that was sittin around setup with some old parts. I had either a gibson 490 OR 498 (not sure which cause it was old) humbucker setup in the bridge, but the the bass is loosey goosey!

So if i was lookin for a "fatter" high end and a "tighter" low end what the heck would I throw in this damn thing? I've got 500k pots on the volume and tone.

Thanks for the help in advance!

[gibson175]

Chunky bridge like the fender 2 point is good, or a nice chunky gotoh will help if its a six point trem. Big block underneath and if you dont need trem then 5 springs makes a big difference to fatten up your tone. See how that stuff goes before you shell out for new pickups.
I used to run a pair of 59s in my strat, and while they are not specifically designed to have a "tight" low end they did sound great, the only reason i took them out is because i have a 335 so the strat went back to being a proper sss strat. 59s are very articulate. Its an strat plus deluxe -so alder body, rosewood board and a 2 point trem.
A lot of people use pearly gates in the strat bridge position so if you like the alnico II sound then that would be great - or a custom custom for more grunt. Personally i have never liked an HSS set up, so i totally recommend the 59 in the neck.
FWIW - the current crop of charvel production model superstrats use either a JB/59 combo or a dimarzio tone zone and air norton. Both models use an alder body and a maple neck, but they are both modern (i.e. post Van Halen) sounding axes. If you want something more agressive then either of those are prolly gonna work. Personally i like the pair of 59s for an axe that can literally do anything from very sweet jazzy cleans to heavy -especially cool if you have the nickel covers.
ANother cheaper option (im gonna get slammed for this) is the 57 pickups from GFS - more middly and less hifi than the 59s, but still pretty good sounding pickups.

[marcg71]

Chunky bridge like the fender 2 point is good, or a nice chunky gotoh will help if its a six point trem. Big block underneath and if you dont need trem then 5 springs makes a big difference to fatten up your tone. See how that stuff goes before you shell out for new pickups.
I used to run a pair of 59s in my strat, and while they are not specifically designed to have a "tight" low end they did sound great, the only reason i took them out is because i have a 335 so the strat went back to being a proper sss strat. 59s are very articulate. Its an strat plus deluxe -so alder body, rosewood board and a 2 point trem.
A lot of people use pearly gates in the strat bridge position so if you like the alnico II sound then that would be great - or a custom custom for more grunt. Personally i have never liked an HSS set up, so i totally recommend the 59 in the neck.
FWIW - the current crop of charvel production model superstrats use either a JB/59 combo or a dimarzio tone zone and air norton. Both models use an alder body and a maple neck, but they are both modern (i.e. post Van Halen) sounding axes. If you want something more agressive then either of those are prolly gonna work. Personally i like the pair of 59s for an axe that can literally do anything from very sweet jazzy cleans to heavy -especially cool if you have the nickel covers.
ANother cheaper option (im gonna get slammed for this) is the 57 pickups from GFS - more middly and less hifi than the 59s, but still pretty good sounding pickups.

Thank you! I am going to try the extra springs....but can a couple extra strings really do the trick?!? Thanks!

[gibson175]

Yes 5 spings cranked up tight make a big difference. But if you really want more beef you need chunkier bridge saddles! The regular fender type rolled steel ones look and sound vintage - but you can beat the increased bass, treble ans sustain of saddles with some more mass. A big chunky block also helps, but if you buy a good bridge assembly, it should have a nice block in there already.
Here are some options for us or import strats (or even copies) for cheap:
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Tremolos_c_203.html