False assumptions about gear

[Offshore Angler]

Ernie Ball strings are slinkier than "regular" strings.

[melody]

You know, I had my surgeon to implant a brass nut, and I can't tell any difference in my sustain.

[Kap'n]

Ernie Ball strings are slinkier than "regular" strings.

True when the alternative was this



I've got a box lying around somewhere.

[Gravity Jim]

Here's what I honestly think is the biggest gear assumption:

Anyone, regardless of tin ear or inability to tap two measures of 4 in time, who accumulates enough of it can call themselves a musician.

[NeoFauve]

True when the alternative was this



I've got a box lying around somewhere.

The package design tempts me to try some.

The silent movie graphics, on a guitar string pack, might be pre-ironic or something.
I do like the look.

[Kap'n]

Anyone, regardless of tin ear or inability to tap two measures of 4 in time, who accumulates enough of it can call themselves a musician.

I'm living proof.

[Don]

Here's what I honestly think is the biggest gear assumption:

Anyone, regardless of tin ear or inability to tap two measures of 4 in time, who accumulates enough of it can call themselves a musician.

I'm "a guy who plays guitar" rather than "a musician" (i probably stole that comment from Kap'n!). I like it that way.

[refin]

Ernie Ball strings are slinkier than "regular" strings.

Actually---that seems to be the case with me.
I've always felt the tension of EB to be less than others.

[hudpucker]

Same here. I use EB's because they're noticeably..uh....slinkier than say, D'Addarios.

They're certainly easier to bend than D'Addarios.

[boobtube21]

I switched from EB's to D'Addarios a couple years ago just to see what everyone liked about those. Never did notice a distinct difference, but seemed to like the DA's better anyway, so I just kept using them.

As far as slinkiness, maybe there's a variance in the ratio of core:winding thickness between brands on the heavier strings? Maybe the windings are larger diameter on the EB's which makes it softer on your finger, thus SEEMING slinkier? Surely there'a an explanation for this...

[Gravity Jim]

Here's the crazy thing about human perception... D'addario's feel "slinkier" than anything else to me!

[Don]

I don't have a real preference between the two. I guess I lean towards D'Addario though. I think their 10 packs are more readily available. I had an e-mail exchange with one of the D'Addarios a few years ago. He lived in my area as a child and knew my town and surroundings well. Maybe that made me feel some loyalty to the product?

[Gris]

I'm 'addicted' to the DA color coding... :)

[refin]

Your bridge pickup must be a higher K rating than the neck.

[Don]

Has anyone mentioned the myth that a Strat "quacks" in positions 2 & 4 because the middle pickup is out of phase?

I remember when I was a teen, pulling a Strat apart, realizing all 3 pickups were the same and wondering what the secret was!

[Rickenjangle]

Don, I don't think that one is a myth - it is my understanding as well, that one of them is wired reverse polarity. I'm not sure you could see that just by looking at the pickups but, electrically, that is what attenuates the hum that you would normally get with a single coil pickup, and hollows out the sound to create the so-called 'quack.'

[refin]

Actually,anytime you get two pups close together,the "quack" happens.Example,my Epi SG/LP has 3 pickups I put in there,and any two close together have that sound.Even a SG Special with 2 P-90s (Townsend) hints at quack in the middle position,because the pups are a little closer together.

[elicross]

I was under the impression that you actually get *more* "quack" with a non-RWRP middle. That seems to be the case with my Squier Strat, which has GFS 60s Repros with a non-RWRP middle.

[Offshore Angler]

American Fenders are "expensive".
LOL! Good thing you don't play keys!!!!!!!!
Price a Nord.

[Offshore Angler]

I was under the impression that you actually get *more* "quack" with a non-RWRP middle. That seems to be the case with my Squier Strat, which has GFS 60s Repros with a non-RWRP middle.

Out of phase = either RW or RP, but not both.

[elicross]

Out of phase = either RW or RP, but not both.

Interesting. I guess mine could be one or the other, but not both. It would have to be both to be hum-canceling in 2 and 4, right?

[elicross]

American Fenders are "expensive".
LOL! Good thing you don't play keys!!!!!!!!
Price a Nord.

Yeah! A lot of musicians (keyboard players, woodwinds, brass, strings) seem to have it worse than we do when it comes to the cost of a really good instrument. The prices of some synths/workstations puzzles me...they're just big hunks of solid-state electronics.

[Don]

Don, I don't think that one is a myth - it is my understanding as well, that one of them is wired reverse polarity. I'm not sure you could see that just by looking at the pickups but, electrically, that is what attenuates the hum that you would normally get with a single coil pickup, and hollows out the sound to create the so-called 'quack.'

On a regular old Strat, all 3 pickups are the same and they "quack" (or whatever you'd like to call the Strat's in between sounds). It's the proximity of the two pickups that causes that sound. The RW/RP idea came later simply to reduce noise. It has little, if any, effect on the amount of "quack" that you hear.

[Rickenjangle]

Ah...well I learned something new today! Thanks!

[Offshore Angler]

Don, I gotta call you on that one. I've changed from a RWRP to a straight RW, and the quack went from "yeah, OK, I guess so" to "That's what I'm talking about!". Since I built the pickups with my own two hands I feel fairly qualified to speak about them.

[Don]

Don, I gotta call you on that one. I've changed from a RWRP to a straight RW, and the quack went from "yeah, OK, I guess so" to "That's what I'm talking about!". Since I built the pickups with my own two hands I feel fairly qualified to speak about them.

Straight RW is an entirely different subject.

Reverse wound pickups have a different type of "quack" when combined with other pickups that has nothing to do with traditional Strat sounds.

[refin]

"Staggered polepieces give that vintage sound."

[elicross]

"Staggered polepieces give that vintage sound."

Yeah, that's a total myth -- they have to be beveled, too!

[Offshore Angler]

Strap locks never fail.

[Don]

Strap locks never fail.

Two members of my band recently installed Schaller Straplocks on their guitars. One set upside down and the other set sideways!!!