|
Post by gino24 on Jun 25, 2018 14:07:32 GMT
Hey Guys,
I am in doubt over what i should do. I have a budget strat type guitar from the unknown brand called Hudson. It plays nice the neck feels comfortable. but the sound isn't great because of the cheap ceramic pickups. what would you do ?
Would you upgrade the pickups and maybe the tremolo/bridge.
Or buy a new guitar like a harley benton st-62DLX or st-59 ?
The pick up set that i would upgrade to is a fender tex mex or a tonerider vintage set.
|
|
rtm
Harley Benton Club Junior Member
|
Post by rtm on Jun 25, 2018 14:27:18 GMT
Odds are that while the pickups may be bad, once you upgrade them you'll reveal other issues through the magic of good pickups. If the guitar has bad sustain, no pickup is going to make it ring out (well, active pickups might help but that's cheating)
I would definitely just get a new guitar that has a higher probability of being a good mod platform. Hmmm... If only there was a brand well known for such things...
|
|
DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
|
Post by DefJef on Jun 25, 2018 14:46:01 GMT
What rtm says could be true but it's a lot of fun finding out. I seem to remember looking at Hudsons a few years a go and had a feeling they were Australian though I may be wrong there. I have cheap Squier Strat that sounds bad. I took the ceramics off it and replaced them with very cheap Chinese Alnicos and it still sounds bad. Those Fender pickups may do the job of telling you the truth about your Hudson and if it sounds fine after replacing them then I'd stop right there. Having said that there are plenty of really good value cheaper brands that make excellent pickups from the likes of Ironstone, Vanson and Irongear. Check 'em out.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2018 15:03:19 GMT
Get Ironstone Silver pickups for Strat and be in tone heaven! I love mine to bits!
Buy yes ST-62MN would be my recommendation as those Roswell pups might suit your taste! I would get the ST-62MN.
|
|
3,968 posts
|
Post by salteedog on Jun 25, 2018 15:05:06 GMT
the sound isn't great because of the cheap ceramic pickups. .... How did you arrive at this conclusion? I'm not disputing it as it is for sure a possibility but there may be other reasons why the sound isn't great and it may benefit you to rule those out prior to shelling out a lot of money on a new guitar or pickups.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Jun 25, 2018 15:12:09 GMT
If you are set on the pick-ups you want, get them. Upgrade your old guitar and keep the old parts. If it's not good enough, downgrade it, sell it, get a Harley Benton and upgrade it with your pick-ups of choice.
If you wish to have a particular model because it looks better than the old one you're bored with, well… go for that. Maybe you won't need to upgrade. I have seen people rave about the ST-62, maybe they're right. I'm happy with mine but I know nothing. I wouldn't be surprised if the Roswell are just good enough for the job
The neck of the ST-62 is not very modern. I understand it sort of divides people, so it's a matter of what your comfortable old neck is. The bridge on the ST-59 / ST-62 is nothing special. There's a Wilkinson bridge on the ST-70 and a two-point system on the ST-90.
|
|
|
Post by gino24 on Jun 25, 2018 20:20:57 GMT
Thankyou for all the replies i think i am going for the new guitar. I have watched some reviews and like the sound of the rosswel pickups. What strat model would you advise. They all have different advantages from what i can see.
- The st-70 has the wilkinson hardware. - The St-90 has a ash body and a 2 point trem - the st-59 has a alder body en better pickups
The choice is really hard because every model has something good about them.
Is there a difference in necks between them ?
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2018 22:05:31 GMT
- The st-70 has the wilkinson hardware. - The St-90 has a ash body and a 2 point trem - the st-59 has a alder body en better pickups Yeah go for the ST-62MN has all great about it! But I do get your point. I love using the trem and the one on ST-90SA was soooo good! I really miss that guitar. But I love the sustain and playability of the ST-62MN! Eventhoguh the ST-90 has a fat trem block it did not sustain as good as the tiny thin trem bkock of the ST-62. Another myth busted Im affarid fat trem blocks are for body builders not gentle guitar players as my self need me guitar to be as light as a feather.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Jun 26, 2018 3:38:01 GMT
Thankyou for all the replies i think i am going for the new guitar. I have watched some reviews and like the sound of the rosswel pickups. What strat model would you advise. They all have different advantages from what i can see. - The st-70 has the wilkinson hardware. - The St-90 has a ash body and a 2 point trem - the st-59 has a alder body en better pickups The choice is really hard because every model has something good about them. Is there a difference in necks between them ? Some of the reviews on YT are of the older model with Wilkinson pick-ups. The switch occurred sometime in 2017 and reviews or demos kept being made of the older one so you have to look at the label on the pick-up covers to know what you are listening to. This person shows the Roswell and says the Wilkinson were slightly better (more difference in tone between middle and neck). Basswood is lighter. A heavier body is an advantage if you have to hit people annoyed at your playing with it. The alternative is to practice more. I'm not sure what the various vibrato systems really bring. Everyone says 2-point is "better" but they don't say how. I have come to consider the word "better" as terribly suspicious unless it is followed by some more detailed qualification. Anyone who wants to like something or justify an expense says it's "better" and leaves it at that. "I paid real full price for a real Fender and it has a 2 cm thick piece of metal inside, so it must be worth it, right?" The Wilkinson has a name and a bigger block which according to some changes the world (they are usually the brand or price worshippers who know things before trying them out) and to others makes little difference. This guy tried it out and decided the difference it made was not worth the hassle. Luckily, the video gives ample comparison possibilities so we can here it. The block in the ST-62 is quite thin, something about 5-6 mm.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Jun 26, 2018 4:57:20 GMT
I did some more research:
Pros and cons of 6-point vibrato: Distributed fixation to the body - lower risk of cracks or damaged screws. Tighter contact to the body - better sound? More screwing around required :-( Allegedly better sustain (not sure about that).
Pros and cons of 2-point vibrato: Simpler to make and assemble, so cheaper to make (fewer screws)? Can be sold with higher margin because it's newer ;-( Simpler to set-up? Can be set floating while parallel to body - is this an advantage? Sharper string angle at the saddles is a negative point. Allegedly designed to pivot better (knife edge design) and reduce friction. Allegedly smoother movement and better stability. More strain on the body can result in cracks around the screws.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Jun 26, 2018 5:49:29 GMT
The ST-20 has a "modern C" shape which I take to be thinner than the rather bulky feeling neck of the ST-62. Surprisingly, I don't mind the round C of the ST-62, in spite of it being quite different from the much thinner one I learned with. The ST-59 has a "soft V" which Cory Mura found "very comfortable". All others are most probably the same as the ST-62 but some have 21 frets only (the ST-57, ST-59, ST-62DLX and ST-70).
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Jun 26, 2018 7:00:29 GMT
- The st-70 has the wilkinson hardware. - The St-90 has a ash body and a 2 point trem - the st-59 has a alder body en better pickups Yeah go for the ST-62MN has all great about it! But I do get your point. I love using the trem and the one on ST-90SA was soooo good! I really miss that guitar. But I love the sustain and playability of the ST-62MN! Eventhoguh the ST-90 has a fat trem block it did not sustain as good as the tiny thin trem bkock of the ST-62. Another myth busted Im affarid fat trem blocks are for body builders not gentle guitar players as my self need me guitar to be as light as a feather. So there is a definite difference in the 2-point vibrato bridge, whatever it is you found there. How was it "soooo good"? Was it smoother, more accurate, more stable in tuning? I was quite disappointed to see HP42 bitch at the small blocks of the new Ibanez AZ as if it were an obvious flaw. These are premium guitars at the top of what Ibanez offers in terms of technique, selling in the 1200-2000€ range. Surely these guys wouldn't save a couple of € on metal if it could make a positive difference and thinking they did is mere refusal to let go of a false belief. The quality of a vibrato bridge is more likely in its design to avoid friction or the tightness of its construction (it shouldn't vibrate - I know it sounds wrong…). The ignorant are easily tempted into believing that sturdier, heavier is better. A closer look often contradicts this. Mobile phone manufacturers are known to have added useless weight to their expensive models in order to give an impression of quality. It sells. This video shows that the thinnest guitars (the Ibanez S in this case) can have more sustain than heavy ones:
|
|
|
|
Post by blindwilly3fingers on Jun 26, 2018 9:23:04 GMT
What is all this fixation about how a trem is fixed? 🔨 🔧
|
|