Fender Stratocaster (Revisited)

 

Here was a topic I covered back in 2006, when my blog was on Myspace.  The earlier blog entries such as that one didn’t make the transition to Blogger, so I’ll redo it. 

Just this last Tuesday, I took my Gibson SG to the guitar shop in Falls Church, Virginia, Action Music, for a setup (restring, intonation, etc.) and saw they had various Stratocasters and a Twin Reverb amp.  A week or so before, I’d visited Fox Music – within walking distance, down Lee Highway, of Action Music – and saw they also had several Stratocasters – brand new (!) – as well as a Twin Reverb.  

Before I go on about Stratocasters, I’ll comment briefly on the Twin Reverb.  I’m a Marshall guy, with a 2554 Jubilee 25/50 watt combo (1x12”) and a Dual Reverb (4100) 100 watt head, 1960AV 4x12” cabinet half stack.  I love the rich, full distortion sound.   But for an amp with “reverb” in its name, the Dual Reverb (JCM900) has an extremely weak reverb sound, practically nonexistent.  A few years ago I tried out the Fender amp at Guitar Center, out of pure curiosity, and the reverb was incredible.  If there’s an amp that makes a clean sound good, it’s that one.  They started out at 85 watts, Fender boosted it to 130 watts, and then dropped it back down to 85.  If I ever wind up with another $1000 to spare, I might well buy one.  Not today.

To make matters even more interesting, marginally so, I put off finishing up the blog until after I’d done what I had to on Friday, which included a trip to Fairfax County’s courthouse.  I swung by the Fairfax location of Guitar Center, now re-opened, as it’s listed as the only Northern Virginia authorized Rickenbacker dealer.  Sure enough, high up in the rafters is a 4003 bass, and off to the side is a used Ritchie Blackmore signature Stratocaster: white, black pickups, scalloped rosewood fretboard and large headstock – for $949.  Of all the signature models, his is my favorite.  But I prefer my own Stratocaster, modified over the years (2000 to present) to my own specifications.

History.   Up until the 1930s, there were no electric guitars, only acoustic.  In the ‘30s, pickups – the electromagnetic device which captures the strings’ sound so they can be amplified - were invented, and slapped on acoustic guitars.  However, two men, Les Paul and Leo Fender, realized that a guitar with pickups doesn’t need an acoustic chamber and can, in fact, be simply a solid plank of wood.  Les Paul developed his own model, brought it to Gibson, but they laughed at him.  Leo Fender, oddly enough not a musician himself, developed the Telecaster (originally called the Broadcaster) and his invention, the first solid body electric guitar, introduced in 1948, was a hit.  Gibson realized their mistake and brought back Les Paul, who gave them the guitar which bears his name, in 1952.  In 1954, Fender upped the game with an improved model, the Stratocaster.

Initially the Stratocaster had three single coil pickups, a tremelo/vibrato bar, and was available in two color sunburst with a maple neck (to my eyes, a pale yellow).  By the late 50s, solid colors (e.g. black) became available; in 1959 the rosewood (dark brown) fretboard was introduced.   By 1965, Fender was in bad health and sold his company to CBS, the TV network.  That company enlarged the headstock, a design which lasted from 1966 to 1981.  Since then the standard headstock has been small, with various reissue models available.  The Strat also became available with double coil pickups (aka humbuckers), which are usually associated with Gibsons. 

Single vs. Double Coil.  Single coil pickups are thinner, more of a twangier sound, whereas double coil pickups have a thicker, meatier sound.  However, overdriven sufficiently, even an otherwise insubstantial single coil bridge pickup will sound almost as nasty as a humbucker.  Jimmy Page likes to remind people that the classic sunburst Les Paul he’s so often associated with, wasn’t on his agenda until Led Zeppelin II, and the first Led Zeppelin album, including “Dazed and Confused”, was recorded on the Telecaster he was using in the Yardbirds. 

Famous Players.   Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Dave Murray, Don Felder, Uli Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, among many others.  Hendrix took right handed Stratocasters, flipped them over, and played them left handed (although there were lefthanded Stratocasters by then). 

Vs. Telecaster.  I never liked the Telecaster and have never even played one.  The lack of an upper horn, the headstock shape, etc., it still looks like Leo’s first practice attempt at a solid body electric guitar, which is what it was. 

Vs. Gibson.  As noted below, most of my guitars are Gibsons, which is Fender’s main US competitor.  Fender can and does put double coils on Strats, and Gibson has its own single coil pickup, the P90, which went on Les Pauls before the humbucker came out, and continues to feature on Specials and Juniors.  I like both companies’ guitars, and see no reason why anyone’s collection has to be exclusively Fenders or Gibsons absent budget constraints or an arbitrary preference.   

My Strats.  By now I’ve had several of my own.  I have 5 guitars: 4 Gibsons (Firebird, Explorer, SG, and Les Paul) and one Strat.  I’m not inclined to acquire more than one of any model, but rather pick what I consider the best version of that model, and the Stratocaster is yet another example.  So my progression was as follows…

1.         Applause Stratocaster Copy.  In September 1985, following my brother’s cue, I started learning to play guitar: first song I learned was “Saints & Sinners”, by Whitesnake.  And almost immediately I fixated on the Stratocaster.  But US made versions were expensive, and I had only just learned to play.  So I worked at the Visa Section of the US Embassy in Paris over Christmas holiday 1985-86 – under the guidance of a French guy, Bernard, who turned me onto Hawkwind - and in January 1986 I bought this.  Cherry sunburst with a maple neck.  Not great sounding, and the only “Strat” I ever had with a maple neck, but I was happy for awhile.

** Copies.  I may as well address this issue here.  The Stratocaster may well be the most copied guitar in the world.  In addition to faithful copies like my Applause, companies such as Ibanez, Jackson, and even Gibson have produced Strat-shaped guitars by the thousands.  Our own first guitar was an Ibanez Roadstar II, black with three single coil pickups.  I’d just as soon have a real Stratocaster, even if it was made in Mexico and not ‘Merica (California).  As Fender’s quality control went up and down over the years, some feel that there are many copies which exceed Fender’s quality.  Maybe, maybe not.  That being the case, I’ve never owned a Squier, which is Fender’s budget brand. 

2.         Fender Stratocaster (made in Japan).  By fall 1986 I was at college, University of Maryland, College Park.  My parents agreed to buy me this for Christmas 1986.  It was a Fender Stratocaster, made in Japan, black, rosewood fretboard, small headstock with standard logo.  It had a locking tremelo.  I liked it, and considered it a major improvement over the copy.  Eventually, though, I wanted a US made model.

3.         Fender Stratocaster, ’62 Vintage Reissue (made in the US).  I gave my Jap Strat and my Strat copy to my guitar teacher, Joel, who sold them for me, in June 1990.  I used the money to buy this, a US-made reissue model:  black, rosewood fretboard, three single coil pickups, small headstock with “spaghetti” (pre-CBS) logo.  Very nice, much better than the Jap Strat.  I made no modifications to this.  By January 1990 I had purchased my first Marshall, the 1x12” tube combo, 2554 Jubilee edition, so I had a nice combination – in addition to the Gibson SG ’62 reissue I’d bought in May 1989. 

4.         Fender Stratocaster, Fat Strat Deluxe (made in Mexico).  My current model.  By summer 1999 I’d fallen in love with the larger, CBS-style headstock, and saw this at the Ozzfest:  black, black pickguard, humbucker in the bridge position, rosewood fretboard, and the large headstock.  By January 2000 I succeeded in trading in my Vintage Reissue model for this – at Guitar Center in Seven Corners - and have been happy ever since.  I replaced the stock humbucker with a DiMarzio Tone Zone zebra coil (one black, one, white), replaced the stock tuners with locking tuners – just pull the string through and it catches, and stays in tune better than stock tuner – and the standard Fender tremelo with a Super Vee Blade Runner.  Pepper Keenan, in DOWN, can be seen playing what looks like one in the live video, “Diary of a Mad Band”.   Humbuckers on a Strat?  Yep, some of us like it that way, especially through a Marshall….

Pickups

By this I mean the kind that go in electric guitars, not pickup trucks.   I’m also ignoring bass guitar pickups and acoustic pickups.

Anyone who has ever strummed an electric guitar when it wasn’t plugged in knows you need an amplifier to make noise.  Anyone who has ever played a Stratocaster AND a Les Paul can probably tell the difference between a single coil and a double coil pickup.

Single Coils.   These were the first and featured on Fender Telecasters (2) and Stratocasters (3).  Gibson’s P90 and Soapbar pickups are also single coils.  They have a very bright and twangy sound – as a baseline.  But Jimmy Page reminds you that Led Zeppelin I, including “Dazed and Confused” and “How Many More Times” was recorded on his Telecaster, not the Les Paul he acquired by the time LZ II came around.   Even so, even with a Marshall 1x12” tube amp, I still didn’t like the single coil in my ’62 Vintage Stratocaster, and traded the guitar in for a Fat Strat with a humbucker in the bridge position.

Double Coils.  Most famously done by Gibson and its “PAF” “humbuckers” from 1957 onward.  The Firebird pickup is a variation of the “mini-humbucker” later released on the late 60s Les Paul Deluxes.  Double coils have a noticeably chunkier, meatier sound, even when clean.

Active vs. Passive.  Most pickups are passive, but some – EMGs are the most popular – use a 9 volt battery to supercharge them to active status.  I’ve found the EMG81s in my Gibson Explorer to be warm and thick sounding, even more so than most humbuckers.   EMGs have gotten much more popular in recent years, probably due to James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica) installing them in all their guitars, including their signature models from ESP and Gibson. 

Ceramic vs. AlNiCo.  Here’s where it starts getting esoteric.   Recently I joined the Gibson Firebird group on Facebook, and the issue came up that Gibson currently equips its Firebirds with ceramic magnet pickups, whereas the original 1960s models had Alnico magnets in the pickups.  There’s a Johnny Winter signature Firebird pickup which has Alnico magnets.  As you can imagine, the purists scoff at ceramics, while the rest of us wonder, “what’s the difference?”  I watched a Youtube video someone posted of a Firebird being played, before and after, re: a swap to Alnico magnets.  Verdict?  To my ears, a VERY small difference, barely noticeable.   

Bottom line, if the word “ALNICO” makes you hard or wet, by all means indulge yourself.  Eric Johnson claims he can tell the difference in sound in pedals depending on what brand of 9 volt battery you put in.  Is he right?  Who knows.  Do what you want.

So what’s in my guitars?

Gibson SG Standard (ebony, small pickguard).  Stock Gibson humbuckers.   I had Iommi models in my prior SG ’62, but to be honest I never heard much of a difference.

Gibson Explorer (ebony).  EMG81s.

Gibson Les Paul (Black Cherry Pearl).  Stock Gibson humbucker in the neck position, but bridge switched out to a Gibson 500T (black & crème zebra coils).   This is the hottest pickup Gibson makes, and it blazes through the Marshalls.  Gibson used to put this in the Les Paul Classic, which is how I found about it, but not anymore.  Fortunately it’s still available as an aftermarket pickup.

Gibson Firebird (2013 reissue)(ebony).  Stock Firebird pickups, ceramic model.  I’m not sold on the Alnicos.

Fender Stratocaster (Fat Strat).  This has a S-S-H format (humbucker in the bridge position).  I replaced the Fender humbucker with a DiMarzio Tone Zone zebra coil (black & white).  I also replaced the tuners (vintage) with locking tuners – just insert the string, turn the knob, and it locks – and a V-Runner Tremelo, which ups the sustain a bit.

Gibson RD

The other night I saw Ghost in concert for the second time.  Since I already commented on the prior concert last year, I’ll comment on the guitars instead.   Aside from the singer, who calls himself Papa Emeritus III, the other band members – two guitarists, a bassist, keyboardist, and drummer – refer to themselves as “Nameless Ghouls” and dress identically.  Both years the costumes were black robes with various symbols on them, with the facial coverings differing:  in 2014 it was “plague doctor” masks (black, beaked faces like the medieval plague doctors who attempted, none too successfully, to cure the Black Death in the 1300s) and this time around it was silver devil masks, mouthless with horns.  Both are damn cool.

The two guitarists, NG/GB (guitarist, black) and NG/GW (guitarist, white) played Gibson RDs, in black and white, thus the names.   They traded solos, so each could be considered a lead guitarist.  Later in the set, NG/GB pulled out a sunburst RD.  Since he has an Omega symbol on his black RD, some of the fans have begun referring to him as Omega.  As you can imagine, calling them all Nameless Ghouls gets confusing.

The odd thing is that Ghost seem to be the first band to play these instruments professionally.  I’ve yet to see any other musician use them - except Jimmy Page playing one on "Misty Mountain Hop" at Knebworth.  And Gibson is a popular brand.   Les Pauls, SGs, Explorers, Flying Vs, ES335s, Firebirds, all have several musicians well associated with the specific models.   Krist Novoselic of Nirvana played a bass version. 

Design.  It looks like someone took brown acid, freaked out, and attacked an Explorer.  Then instead of using an offset headstock, 6 tuners in a row, they simply used the standard 3x2 Gibson headstock.  When the acid wore off, they decided that active electronics were cool – which we now associate with EMG pickups.  The Standards kept standard pickups, with the Artist and Custom models with the fancy electronics.  Active electronics were something Gibson was experimenting with back then, and the RD wasn't the only model they came in. "Artist" versions of the Les Paul and ES335 were also issued, but not very popular.  My guitar teacher, Joel, had an ES335 Artist model - a bunch of switches on an otherwise 50s style guitar was a dead giveaway.

Joel also gave me a stack of old Gibson sales literature which included the RD.  The original run was in 1977-79, with reissues sold in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2014; only the 2014 has active electronics. 

In addition to not seeing any professionals play this model until Ghost came around, I’d never seen any in music stores or used guitar stores – until I found a 2014 Artist at Guitar Center Times Square recently.  I might have played it briefly out of sheer boredom and curiosity, as I’d never buy it - white with gold hardware is not my scene, black with chrome/nickel is my preference.

The show at the Fillmore Silver Spring was packed – much more crowded than last year’s show.  Will Ghost be able to continue their momentum?  Who knows.  If they do, I can see Gibson RDs suddenly getting much more popular.   The guitar players among the Ghost fandom have already begun to notice.

Gibson Firebird

Ages ago, an automotive advice column got some feedback from a reader.  “You told that man having problems with his Firebird that he should contact General Motors.  You should have told him to contact Ford.”  Apparently the reader was confusing the Pontiac Firebird (made by GM) with the Ford Thunderbird (made by Ford).  However, the guitar world has the Gibson Firebird and the bass equivalent, the Thunderbird, also made by Gibson.  And Fender makes both the Jaguar and Mustang, models considerably less popular than the Stratocaster or Telecaster, although Kurt Cobain liked the Mustang – and much less popular as guitars than the auto equivalents are, of course.  Confused yet?  Good, because it gets better.

In 1963, following up its replacement of the Les Paul with new models – the SG, the Explorer, and the Flying V – Gibson watered down the Explorer into the Firebird, designed by Ray Dietrich, who normally designed cars: Packard and Lincoln.   These models were the so-called “reverse” models.  The body looks like an Explorer radically toned down with a reverse headstock and chrome mini-humbuckers.  Rare among Gibsons – indeed, among guitars – the Firebird has “neck through body” construction, meaning the neck and middle of the body are all one piece.  Fenders have bolt-on necks (removable and replaceable) while most Gibsons (e.g. SGs and Les Pauls) have glued in necks.  The tuners were originally banjo tuners which went straight through the headstock and turned from behind, rather than from the side like regular tuners. 

Nonreverse.   Soon after the reverse model came out, Fender bitched and hollered, so Gibson changed to the “nonreverse” model, which to my eyes looks even MORE like a Fender than the reverse style - especially since they went from a reverse headstock (generally unique to the Firebird) with a regular 6-in-line headstock very similar to Fenders; some of the last reverse body Firebirds from 1965 (the transition year) actually have nonreverse headstocks.  Go figure.   The standard pickup on the nonreverse seems to be the single-coil P90s, sometimes with minihumbuckers (e.g. the Firebird X, see below). 

Since the sixties, Gibson has reissued the nonreverse model a few times, but reissued the reverse model far more often, so that the latter is effectively the standard Firebird model.   Gibson used Roman numerals to designate the individual reverse Firebird models, I = one pickup and dot inlays, III = two pickups, no vibrato, trapezoid inlays, V = two pickups, vibrato, trapezoid inlays, VII = three pickups, vibrato, and block inlays (i.e. a Firebird “Custom”).  As reissued the V wound up as the standard, without a vibrato.   There’s also the Firebird X, a modern nonreverse version with a 3x3 headstock, and the Firebird Studio, which uses regular humbuckers.  

For 2014, Gibson is still selling reverse Firebirds, although now only in cherry, classic white, and tobacco sunburst.  There are two signature models, the Eliot Easton (guitarist for the Cars) signature model in Gold Mist with humbuckers and a Bigsby vibrato, and just now the Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan) signature model in copper.   Funny, Easton more often plays SGs, and I’ve never seen Baxter play a Firebird.  That’s like an Angus Young signature Strat.

Pickups.  In addition to its neck-through-body construction and reverse headstock, another unique feature of the Firebird is the pickups.  While they look similar in shape and size to the minihumbuckers Gibson started putting in late 60s Les Paul Deluxes - themselves a stockpile of Epiphone pickups the company inherited when it bought Epiphone - they are a different design and sound different from minihumbuckers.  While PAFs, P90s, and other Gibson pickups appear on multiple models, the Firebird is the only Gibson with a pickup specific to the model. 

Mini Humbucker Versus Firebird Guitar Pickups: What’s the Difference? – Humbucker Soup 

The Firebird pickups give the guitar a sound which is closer to a single-coil sound, but not quite – I’m actually not personally familiar with P90s to compare.  In 2010 the banjo tuners were replaced by Steinberger models. From what I can tell among the Firebird owners on Facebook, as of 2020 the Steinberger tuners are the most popular, even more so than the original banjo models, which seem to be preferred only for pure nostalgia and not playability.  https://guitarchitecture.org/2010/10/13/steinberger-gearless-tuners-review/

Famous Players:  Johnny Winter, Paul Stanley (KISS), and Allen Collins (Lynyrd Skynyrd) are the most commonly associated with the reverse model.  I’ve seen Eric Clapton, James Hetfield and Gary Moore playing them, albeit rarely.  For a short time, Dave Grohl was playing Firebirds in Pelham Blue while in the Foo Fighters.  Stanley has a Washburn signature model which copies the Firebird.  Brian Jones was playing a reverse model briefly, and Keith Richards played a nonreverse. 

My Own.  In 2014 I had a surplus of time and money, and at yet another visit to Chuck Levin’s in Wheaton, Maryland, saw an ebony Firebird V (brand new 2013 model) and fell in love immediately.  As a V model, it has the trapezoid inlays, two Firebird pickups, and as a 2013, the Steinberger tuners.  More recently I replaced the pickguard with an ebony model, still with the Firebird symbol.  It’s definitely a fun guitar to play, and if anyone wants another unique Gibson to add to their collection, by all means, choose this one – though I’d recommend getting a model with the Firebird pickups and Steinberger tuners.

Les Paul

A few months ago, Les Paul died.  He was 94.  His passing was noted by much of the musical community – he was a remarkable man, well ahead of his time.  Here are just a few of his accomplishments.

 Gibson Les Paul guitar.  In the 1940s, Paul had been working on solid body guitars.  With the exception of Rickenbacker’s “Frying Pan” electrics, most, if not all, electric guitars made in the 1930s were hollow body guitars which simply had pickups installed.  Paul reasoned that since electric guitars were amplified through the pickups and amplifier, they no longer needed to be hollow body – they could be solid body.  He developed his own crude but very workable model, which he called “The LOG”.  Paul went to Gibson with this, and they laughed at him, calling him “that guy with the broomstick.” 

            Fastforward to 1948, and Leo Fender released what is now known as the Telecaster, the first widely sold solid body guitar.  Gibson saw this, and reconsidered its earlier rejection of Paul’s not-so-stupid-after-all guitar.  His design had a single cutaway, two single coil pickups, and a gold finish.  This was issued in 1952 and became widely known as the Les Paul, even having his signature on the headstock (except for Les Paul Customs).  

            In 1957, Gibson released the double-coil pickup, also known as the PAF (Patent Applied For) humbucker, and the Les Paul got this pickup.  In 1958, sunburst became available as a finish.  Oddly, the guitar sold poorly at the time, and was discontinued in 1960 in favor of the SG.   In the late 60s, with Eric Clapton and other guitarists discovering the Les Paul’s thick, rich sound and superb sustain (Nigel Tufnel: “Listen to that sustain!”) the ’58-60 sunburst models became in heavy demand – and continue to be produced today.

            Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Slash (Guns N’Roses, Velvet Revolver), Peter Frampton, Alex Lifeson (Rush), Steve Gaines & Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Ace Frehley (KISS), Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Adam Jones (Tool), Duane Allman, and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) are just a few of the many guitarists favoring this model.  I’ve never owned one, but my brother has a Les Paul Custom, black with 3 pickups, similar to what Robert Fripp plays.  When the money fairy strikes, I’ll get myself a Les Paul Studio, black with chrome hardware.

 Music.  "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit."  Jeff Beck. His music itself is very jazzy, mostly short instrumentals, with some singing by Mary Ford.  I’ve only heard it recently – I guess I’m spoiled by the guitarists of the 60s and 70s who built upon their own influences for decades and brought it up to modern times, so much earlier guitar work kind of goes in one ear and out the other.  I find his music to be soft jazz with competent but hardly special guitar playing. 

 Studio Innovations.  His most important studio innovation was multi-track recording, first using acetate discs and later reel-to-reel recorders brought to the US from Germany by Bing Crosby.  In 1951 he had recorded 24 track music – consider that even the Beatles were recording in only 4 tracks in 1967.  The principles behind multi-track recording, as developed in the 50s and which continue to this day, were invented and established by Les Paul, thus he has an impact on the entire music industry far beyond his own substantive music.    He also invented tape delay echo, phasing effects, and other innovations which we take for granted today.