Do you really need better pickups in a Strat?

I will list some recommended pickup upgrade kits below for those of you who want to swap out your existing Fender or Squier Strat pickups for something else, but before I do, here's a few words about how pickups in a Stratocaster works.

Standard edition (meaning no special model) Stratocasters by both Squier and Fender have "weak" pickups by nature. The reason for this is because that's part of what gives a Strat its tonal character. In addition, "hot" pickups in a Strat is not always a good idea. What may happen is that instead of getting a "hotter" sound, this can backfire on you and amplify existing noise.

My standard advice to those who think their Strat pickups are "weak" is, have you tried a compressor pedal yet? If your answer is no, this is yet again another instance where a compressor pedal can be your best friend, because using one is a whole lot cheaper and easier than switching out pickups.

As I've said before, I recommend getting the MXR Dyna Comp and trying that out first before even considering swapping out your Strat pickups, because if it's OUTPUT or GAIN that you wanted but are otherwise satisfied with how your pickups sound, that's exactly what the compressor pedal is there for.

Legitimate reasons to get better Strat pickups

Let's say for the moment you've tried the compressor pedal but still aren't happy with the way your pickups sound and want to try something different. That's fine as long as you upgrade for the right reasons.

A list of good reasons to upgrade pickups in a Strat:

• The 60-cycle hum on the 1, 3 and 5 position setting annoys you and you want to get rid of it.
• The existing pickup set you have is either "too muddy" or "too bright" and you want something that promotes a more "even" sound.
• Even with the use of a compressor pedal, the output of the pickups still isn't good enough for your playing style and you want something "hotter".

Rich's recommended pickup sets for Strat guitars

I always recommend getting the set over buying pickups individually because you save a lot of money going that route. If you were to buy pickups individually, you'll literally spend double to triple the price, so again, you're better off just buying a whole set.

Fender Custom Shop Texas Special Strat Pickups

You would think from having "custom shop" in the name that these would be really expensive, but they're surprisingly affordable. When you want that super-bright Stevie-Ray style tone, these are what you want because they're over-wound to produce that super-bite sound. These are not noiseless/hum-canceling pickups, so you'll still have the 60-cycle hum. As long as you're okay with that, the Texas Special set is a good choice.

Fender Hot Noiseless Stratocaster Pickups

For most of you out there, this is probably the set you want. They're affordable just like the Texas Specials, but are noiseless and a lot more "civilized" than the Specials are. You get your "hot" bridge, "warm" mid and neck without any 60-cycle hum. If you have NO IDEA which set of pickups would genuinely be a good improvement over what you have, this is the 'safest' set to go with.

Fender Tex-Mex Stratocaster Pickups

The Tex-Mex pickups are similar to the Texas Specials as far as tone is concerned, but the best part is that these are really affordable. If the price of the Specials is too much but you want something really similar for literally less than half the price, the Tex-Mex is the way to go. These are not hum-canceling pickups, so you'll still get the 60-cycle hum.

Seymour Duncan Everything Axe Set

This is the most expensive set of pickups on the list. They are hum-canceling and the set delivers an amazingly smooth tone, but bear in mind these are not "traditional" Strat-sounding pickups. I don't know how to describe the sound of these other than "sounding modern", meaning not vintage. If you play rock and metal, you'd probably like these.

DiMarzio Area Stratocaster Pickup Set

These aren't exactly cheap either, however you are in fact getting three very distinctly different pickups with this set. "Area '58" is the neck, "Area '67" is the middle and "Area '61" is the bridge - each of which is specifically designed to maximize tonal capability for their respective positions. The Area set promotes a vintage tone and not necessarily a rock/metal sound, and yes, they're hum-canceling.

Any set from above is better than what you have now.

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Beginner's guide to everything you wanted to know about electric guitar necks

Certain guitars "feel like a Fender" while others "feel like a Gibson", but why? What separates those two guitars as to the way they feel?

There are basically five things that determine how a guitar feels.

1. Weight of the instrument when standing
2. Body shape
3. Neck fingerboard radius
4. Neck scale length
5. Nut width

As for weight, that's easy to figure out. Either the guitar is heavy, light or just right depending on what you want. The true test of a guitar's weight is how it feels when you have it strapped on and standing with it for at least 15 minutes. Either it will feel right or it won't.

As for shape, a number of factors come into play here. Stratocaster guitars have a cut on the back of the body to better fit your shape while the Les Paul and the Telecaster do not. Shape also counts for positioning, such as where things like the bridge, switchgear, volume and tone controls are.

Aside from weight and shape, most players judge a guitar on how the neck feels, which has a lot to do with scale length, fingerboard radius and nut width.

Scale Length

A scale length is defined as "the maximum vibrating length of the strings to produce the sound". On an electric guitar, this measurement starts at the bridge saddle and ends at the nut, also known as the zero fret.

On a Fender Stratocaster, the standard scale length is 25.5 inches.

On a Gibson Les Paul Standard, the standard scale length is 24.75 inches.

Fingerboard Radius

Guitar players get really confused as to what fingerboard radius is and how it matters concerning how a guitar neck feels.

The fingerboard radius is the arc of the fingerboard. A lower number means the board is rounder where the frets are. A higher number means the board is flatter.

Typical modern-spec Fender neck: 9.5-inch radius

Typical vintage-spec Fender neck: 7.25-inch radius

Typical Gibson neck: 12-inch radius

The radius is the biggest reason why Fender guitar necks feel so much different compared to a Gibson.

What does the radius mean to you as a player?

This is very easy to understand.

Flatter radius fingerboards are better for soloing. If you want a guitar with the "fastest" neck that allows your fingers to go from fret to fret in the easiest way possible, flatter is better.

Rounder radius fingerboards are better for chord playing. The tradeoff to a flat fingerboard is that it makes it more difficult to play full-handed chords on. When you play a full-handed barre chord for example, the neck will dig into your fret hand at the pinky area when you play, and you might even experience some hand strain. On a guitar with a rounder fingerboard, like a Fender guitar, there's much less strain on the hand with full-handed chord playing.

"I like to solo. Does that mean I need a guitar with a flatter-radius fingerboard?"

Not necessarily. You may find that you can perform solos just fine on a neck with a rounder fingerboard.

You will know if you need a guitar with a flatter radius fingerboard if you keep "fretting out" (string bends end up 'squeaking' on the higher frets) even after setting up and intonating the guitar properly.

Nut width

The nut width is literally the width of the nut, as in the part of the guitar where the neck ends, the strings sit, and before the headstock begins.

Modern-spec Fenders and Gibsons have almost the same nut width. The modern-spec Strat is 1.685-inch and the Gibson 1.695-inch. Barely a difference, but the Gibson is slightly wider.

Vintage-spec electric guitars usually have skinnier nuts. On a Fender for example, vintage-spec nut width is usually 1.650-inch, and that's a significant difference compared to modern-spec. When you play a vintage-spec guitar, the strings are literally closer together and you'll notice it. And no, that's not always necessarily a good thing because depending on how you play, your fingers may "bunch up" on strings from time to time when playing chords or soloing.

Only Fender and Squier truly "feel like Fender"

Not even G&L who makes the Legacy guitar (as well as the Comanche) truly feels like a Fender because that model uses a 12-inch radius fingerboard. Yes, it looks almost identical to a Fender Stratocaster, but you'll instantly notice the 12-inch radius fingerboard the moment you start playing one, and you may not like it if you were expecting that Fender feel. This is not to say G&L makes a bad guitar, as they do make fantastic stuff, but they do have the 12-inch radius on the fingerboard and that's important to know.

When you want the real Fender feel, you have to go Fender or Squier and that's the only real way to get it.

Your only other option is to custom order a neck where you can get that 9.5-inch or 7.25-inch fingerboard radius neck. Otherwise, the vast majority of electrics are 12-inch radius on the fingerboard or greater.

So there you go. I think that covers everything you would ever want to know about electric guitar necks, or at least enough to know what to buy and more importantly what not to buy.

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Why you need a mixer, and 5 good mixers for under $100

Recording a single instrument to your computer is easy, but it can become difficult quickly if you don't have a mixing board, otherwise known as just "mixer".

A mixer's job is really simple - to allow multiple instruments or microphones to be plugged in so you don't have to constantly keep switching cords from one instrument to the next.

It's best to use a mixer that's small so it doesn't take up half your desk, and use one that has a good layout that's easy to use.

Below are 5 mixers under $100 that are all good.

• Behringer Xenyx 502 - I own this mixer personally, as do many others. Small, easy, feeds audio without complaint and gets the job done. Oh, and the best part? It's cheap.
• Behringer Xenyx 802 - This is the same thing as the 502 except with more inputs where you have 6 instead of 4. Useful if you want a mixer to record a band with.
• Behringer Xenyx 1202FX - Yes, I know I'm listing a lot of Behringer stuff here, but it's just that good. Just like the 502 and 802, except this one has 12 channels.
• Soundcraft Notepad 124FX - The additional option on this one is that it has built-in effects you can use. How many? Over 100 of them. Very cool.
• Alesis MultiMix 8 - Not as feature-packed as other mixers, but it does have 12-segment LED meters which gives you more precise control over sound levels. There are some people who would take many-segmented meters over other features, and if that's what matters to you, the S-8 definitely delivers.

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Do you shop by headstock?

What is the difference between a Fender and a Squier guitar headstock?

The obvious differences is that the colors, tuning keys and truss rod entry points are different. The non-obvious difference is that the countries of origin are different.

However what all guitar players see first is the logo, and that's shopping by headstock.

I admit that for a time I did shop by headstock, but after a while I started shopping by dimensions, feel and sound instead. The overall look of a guitar does matter to me, don't get me wrong, but when I took the other factors into consideration, that's when I decided on the Squier brand.

Squier is to the best of my knowledge the only guitar company other than Fender itself who is 100% legally licensed to recreate Fender designs to exacting detail. In other words, a Squier Stratocaster is a "true Stratocaster" in every sense of the term.

The Squier Bullet Strat for example is for all intents and purposes "modern vintage Fender spec". 21-fret neck, 25.5-inch scale, 9.5-inch fingerboard radius, 6-post vintage-style bridge, etc. It's all there and is absolutely a Stratocaster.

Fender has put a ton of effort into improving the Squier line of guitars, and for the most part has been very successful at it. When you buy a Squier Stratocaster or Telecaster these days, you're getting something good (assuming you like Fender-style guitars). And besides which, a Squier is the absolute closest thing - if not exact same thing in some instances - to a Fender without the Fender price tag.

Think about that the next time you're shopping by headstock.

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Where's the solo?

I watch a lot of YouTube videos just like so many other people do. And like a lot of musicians, I watch a ton of music videos.

A comment that you're sure to see on almost any popular rock song video where the song was made prior to 1991 is, "they don't make guitar solos like they used to", or something that sounds very similar.

The guitar solo was a staple of rock music for three decades, that being the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Then in 1990 the whole grunge thing kicked in, and bands of the time basically said, "screw the solo, we don't need it". Things were like that for a long time.

Guitar solos did make a comeback, but not in the way rock music fans expected. What happened is that they ended up being really boring or just so technical that you couldn't enjoy them. Basically what happened is that a ton of today's famous rock/metal players are taking hair metal solos and giving them a "dark edge", so to speak. The end result is this technical nonsense that has zero feeling to it whatsoever.

So the question isn't, "Where's the solo?", the question is, "Where's the good solo?"

Hopefully it will come back.

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