Check out what Chris Rice did to my Strat!!

leftyaxeslinger · #1 08-08-2008, 07:58 AM

I’ve had this 1990 Strat since about ‘91 and it’s been sort of an experimental guitar for me. It started out as an American Standard but I’ve had all sorts of upgrades done (vintage bridge and steel trem block, delrin nut, staggered Sperzel locking tuners, fret dress - all done by a great pro luthier, Eric Miller in WA- ( http://www.matrixcoffeehouse.com/hog/guitars.htm ). I've had and enjoyed all sorts of pickups in it – Kinmans, Lawrences, Texas Specials, etc.

I decided I wanted to make it a SSH, so I looked into some pickup makers being talked about here on TGP. After a bit of research I decided to go with some BG pickups.
(http://www.bg-pups.com/products.html).

Brian was extremely responsive to my questions and always got back to me quickly via email. His stuff sounds great. I’m especially blown away by his strat sized P90. Great prices too!

Since I already have a Strat with a traditional pickup set up, I decided to do something different here – traditional Strat neck pu, Strat sized p90 in the middle and a PAF style bucker in the bridge.

This is where Chris Rice comes in. First, some background - I bought a Rice Custom T-style guitar (#66 http://ricecustomguitars.20m.com/instruments/leftyaxeslinger.html ) a couple of years ago and it is the best sounding guitar I own. Vol and tone controls work exactly how I want. It’s very responsive throughout the sweep to make a very versatile guitar.

I figured Chris was the one to do the custom pickguard. I emailed him and he agreed to do it. I requested a push pull pot to the split the bucker and for the controls to be master vol/master tone/blender pot.
The bucker is only split on the treble frequencies. The low end is still humbucking, which maintains the volume and bass response. It's a trick Chris learned from the old G&L L-1000 basses, they called it single coil with bass boost.

Anyway, I'm still figuring out all the sounds this thing has in it now. It's only a matter of time until I sell some stuff to be able to get another Rice! The build quality is great but the electronics really blow me way.

Thanks Chris!!

RichieRich · #2 08-08-2008, 08:17 AM

that sc bass boost is sweet

Quarter · #3 08-08-2008, 08:58 AM

Very cool, I'll bet it sounds great! I've used a few different BG-Pups and they did not disappoint, top shelf gear for sure.

So any more info on just how the "single coil with bass boost" mod is wired / done?.

leftyaxeslinger · #4 08-08-2008, 09:08 AM

Maybe Chris can chime in on that one. I have no idea! But it does sound real cool. The single coil bass boost also keeps the volume levels fairly even. There's not a huge noticeable drop in volume when it put the bucker in SC mode!

soulohio · #5 08-08-2008, 09:27 AM

i regret to inform you that you bought an upside down backwards guitar...but it is pretty cool...neat little P90...

gkoelling · #6 08-08-2008, 10:21 AM

Oly white is a favorite.

I've bought a couple Strat sets from Bryan. Great guy, great pups, prices that will keep you coming back for more.

Does the P90 overpower the neck pup when you run them together?

TimH · #7 08-08-2008, 11:25 AM

any chance there's a scematic for that SC bass boost kicking around?

leftyaxeslinger · #8 08-08-2008, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gkoelling

Oly white is a favorite.

I've bought a couple Strat sets from Bryan. Great guy, great pups, prices that will keep you coming back for more.

Does the P90 overpower the neck pup when you run them together?

Yeah, a little, but that's OK because it still has lots of quack. But it's a little meaner and more aggressive, especially with some dit/OD. The P90 on its own is stellar. I'm not sure how close to a real P90 it sounds, because I don't own any P90 guitars. But this thing screams. I'd love to put one in the bridge of a strat.