Just sat down with my favorite Strat and a small pile of my favorite Marshalls to "try the tone"!

[Goober23]

DSL40C, '78 2203, Origin 20, JCM 600, SV 20, and for good measure a Bugera 1960 infinium (a 1959 SLP copy I believe so it fits in here with the group)
All were played through a Two Notes Capture into two Reaper tracks panned hard left and Right. the left ir is a baskettweave GM25 with an SM57 on the cap 0 inches away, On the right a Baskett weave GM 25 with am M160 mic 5" from the cone.

I was quite blown away by the SV-20 and I'd have to say it definately edged out the other "Plexi" style amps but that may actually be my brain telling me "it BETTER after dropping 2K on a lunch box sized amp . The Origin was to my ears nearly indentical in tone and "size" of sound. Perhaps a bit less dynamic in the "fart but in a good way these old Plexi's let rip" but excellent no excuses tone nonetheless.
The old 2203 speaks for itself iand is in a league of it's own on the tone front but I'd say it is obviously designed to be tighter in the low end and therefore
a different beast in some respects. That amp has NO reason to be criticized for that because "it brings it"!
The JCM 600 is good but seems a little mushy to my ears but it may be a matter of finding the right settings to run it at (whereas the other mentioned amps were stupid easy to dial in).
The Bugera was right up there with the other "Plexi style" amps (and I just threw it in because it's the closest thing I have to an ACTUIAL '59 SLP 100 watt head). It seems to be capable of tearing your eyes out with brightness but tames down to a beautiful KERRRAAAANNNNGGGGG as all these Plexi and JCM's do.
The DSL though gorgeous in it's own right did sound a little more "Modern" to my ears but I could easily have it as my only Marshall and be happy if I had to.
Good times gooooooood times!


Every one of these amps is capable of amazing tone!

 

[ken361]

Those bugeras are loud lol yeah the SV and SC are very good with a Strat on the neck pup.

 

[PelliX]

lol yeah the SV and SC are very good with a Strat on the neck pup.

Maybe it's just me, but Strats to me are all about the neck and middle pickups. Whenever I consider using the bridge pickup, I end up on a Tele...

 

[scozz]

Maybe it's just me, but Strats to me are all about the neck and middle pickups. Whenever I consider using the bridge pickup, I end up on a Tele...

I used to feel that way too bud, every time I would play my Strats bridge pickup. I just could not get on with it, too bright for my liking.

Then I got another Strat that had a loaded Fender Hot Noiseless pickguard, it also has one of the tone pots hooked up with the bridge pickup.

That’s all the bridge pickup needed imo. Now I’m using the bridge pickup virtually all the time, (big Gilmour fan), I just back off the tone pot to about 5 or so and it sounds great!

Now I’m using 1, 3, 5 positions fairly equally, (2 and 4 occasionally). This has really opened up the versatility of a Stratocaster for me.

 

[Neptical]

Thanks for sharing @Goober23 !
You have quite a nice collection of tone boxes for sure!
Whenever I pick up my HSS Strats ( love my Fender Deluxe w/ S-1 switch) and plug in to my Marshalls, its riff writing for many hours. Add verb,delay, chorus,phaser and flange...it's the way life should be.

 

[ken361]

I used to feel that way too bud every time I would play my Strats bridge pickup, I just could not get on with it, too bright for my liking.

Then I got another Strat that had a loaded Fender Hot Noiseless pickguard, it also has one of the tone pots hooked up with the bridge pickup.

That’s all the bridge pickup needed imo. Now I’m using the bridge pickup virtually all the time, (big Gilmour fan), I just back off the tone pot to about 5 or so and it sounds great!

Now I’m using 1, 3, 5 positions fairly equally, (2 and 4 occasionally). This has really opened up the versatility of a Stratocaster for me.

have a tone pot on american pro II its pretty decent

 

[junk notes]

 

[Goober23]

Thanks for sharing @Goober23 !
You have quite a nice collection of tone boxes for sure!
Whenever I pick up my HSS Strats ( love my Fender Deluxe w/ S-1 switch) and plug in to my Marshalls, its riff writing for many hours. Add verb,delay, chorus,phaser and flange...it's the way life should be.

Every Strat I have is immediately wired so the bridge pickup is connected to the middle tone knob it makes them amazingly versatile.

 

[PelliX]

I used to feel that way too bud, every time I would play my Strats bridge pickup. I just could not get on with it, too bright for my liking.

Yeah, I find some stock pickups on Strats are a little thin, it's already a 'thin' sounding guitar somehow. The Bare Knuckles pickups on mine sort of address that "issue", but I'm generally more neck or neck+middle for the SRV stuff. Sometimes all three pickups, but hardly ever just the bridge.

That’s all the bridge pickup needed imo. Now I’m using the bridge pickup virtually all the time, (big Gilmour fan), I just back off the tone pot to about 5 or so and it sounds great!

Same, though as you probably know, Gilmour was also a big user of Telecasters in the studio and of course the legendary "Workmate" Esquire, which had the neck pickup added. A fair deal of what he would use the #0004 for live, was done on a Tele/Esquire on the album. The Workmate is just one of the most amazing instruments to me. Recently I was playing Money and I ended up on the LP for the solo, but I've been thinking about getting a mid-range PRS with a few more frets in the dusty zone. It won't be the same as the Bill Lewis he has, but easier to play around the 22nd.

 

[Kinkless Tetrode]

On its own the strat bridge position can be not so nice, but it usually sits in rock mix nicely.

I always run a tone control on a strat's bridge position pickup, though. Even if it's a humbucker.

 

[Maxbrothman]

I was quite blown away by the SV-20 and I'd have to say it definately edged out the other "Plexi" style amps but that may actually be my brain telling me "it BETTER after dropping 2K on a lunch box sized amp . The Origin was to my ears nearly indentical in tone and "size" of sound.

Same pre-amp sections. Doubling wattage is +3dB. A 100W is two more power tubes. No amp is exponentially better in tone the bigger the brother. Like the differences between Epiphone and Gibson, paying four to five times more doesn't get four to five times better the tone. It is somewhere in the 5% - 15% ballpark if even that. 100W Marshall is usually a wild gorilla running on a rampage on the stage, destroying the gear and killing guitarists while eating all the microphones. A 50W is like one that rips both drummer's arms off and plays the drums with them. A 20W might leave one of the drummer's arms still on and play the drums with just one ripped off.

 

[PelliX]

I might quote that from time to time....

 

[Smellytele]

DSL40C, '78 2203, Origin 20, JCM 600, SV 20, and for good measure a Bugera 1960 infinium (a 1959 SLP copy I believe so it fits in here with the group)
All were played through a Two Notes Capture into two Reaper tracks panned hard left and Right. the left ir is a baskettweave GM25 with an SM57 on the cap 0 inches away, On the right a Baskett weave GM 25 with am M160 mic 5" from the cone.

I was quite blown away by the SV-20 and I'd have to say it definately edged out the other "Plexi" style amps but that may actually be my brain telling me "it BETTER after dropping 2K on a lunch box sized amp . The Origin was to my ears nearly indentical in tone and "size" of sound. Perhaps a bit less dynamic in the "fart but in a good way these old Plexi's let rip" but excellent no excuses tone nonetheless.
The old 2203 speaks for itself iand is in a league of it's own on the tone front but I'd say it is obviously designed to be tighter in the low end and therefore
a different beast in some respects. That amp has NO reason to be criticized for that because "it brings it"!
The JCM 600 is good but seems a little mushy to my ears but it may be a matter of finding the right settings to run it at (whereas the other mentioned amps were stupid easy to dial in).
The Bugera was right up there with the other "Plexi style" amps (and I just threw it in because it's the closest thing I have to an ACTUIAL '59 SLP 100 watt head). It seems to be capable of tearing your eyes out with brightness but tames down to a beautiful KERRRAAAANNNNGGGGG as all these Plexi and JCM's do.
The DSL though gorgeous in it's own right did sound a little more "Modern" to my ears but I could easily have it as my only Marshall and be happy if I had to.
Good times gooooooood times!


Every one of these amps is capable of amazing tone!

That's crazy, I literally just did the same thing!! Like, finished up about 30 minutes ago. I've got a pals sv20 and I spent about an hour going back and forth between it and my 78 2203 with my Strat. I think the sv20 is a home run and if I could swing it, I'd buy it from my buddy and I'm convinced I will own one someday. Different amps, of course, but I still prefer my 2203. Like you said, a league of it's own. I LOVE Strats and Tele's into that amp. And my LP. And my old Charvel. And my Squire Baritone. And... you get the point.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Love my MIM Strats bridge position, with the JBJR in that location, into both the Dsl40c’s, or the Origin 50H.
I do engage the tone switch on the Dsl40c’s,, and mostly play on the red ultra 2 channel, but the green crunch channel is also a favorite..

Cheers
Mitch

 

[G the wildman]

Every Strat I have is immediately wired so the bridge pickup is connected to the middle tone knob it makes them amazingly versatile.

What does that do that the stock tone pot does not do?

G

 

[PelliX]

What does that do that the stock tone pot does not do?

G

There are a few ways to wire it all up, but generally this means a dedicated pot for the bridge pickup + the normal tone control.

 

[Goober23]

What does that do that the stock tone pot does not do?

G

Unless Strats made after 2004 or so (the last American three single coil Strat I bought new was a 50th anniv American series and I believe THAT one had the bridge pickup already wired for a tone pot. ANy Mex Strats I have and I tend to prefer Mex Strats were NOT wired for the tone pot so I tend to jump pin 1 over to pin7 on the switch if memory serves).

 

[G the wildman]

Both of my Strats function the same. One volume pot. Then the middle pot dedicated to the neck. Then the last pot does the bridge and middle.

I can’t see anything wrong with that or what I would gain by changing it. But these things are all very personal.

G

 

[paul-e-mann]

I used to feel that way too bud, every time I would play my Strats bridge pickup. I just could not get on with it, too bright for my liking.

Then I got another Strat that had a loaded Fender Hot Noiseless pickguard, it also has one of the tone pots hooked up with the bridge pickup.

That’s all the bridge pickup needed imo. Now I’m using the bridge pickup virtually all the time, (big Gilmour fan), I just back off the tone pot to about 5 or so and it sounds great!

Now I’m using 1, 3, 5 positions fairly equally, (2 and 4 occasionally). This has really opened up the versatility of a Stratocaster for me.

I just built a Fender 5E3 and Strat sounds best in it, bridge pickup too, just plug it into the normal channel and good to go!

 

[TheLoudness!!]

Yeah, I find some stock pickups on Strats are a little thin, it's already a 'thin' sounding guitar somehow. The Bare Knuckles pickups on mine sort of address that "issue", but I'm generally more neck or neck+middle for the SRV stuff. Sometimes all three pickups, but hardly ever just the bridge.



Same, though as you probably know, Gilmour was also a big user of Telecasters in the studio and of course the legendary "Workmate" Esquire, which had the neck pickup added. A fair deal of what he would use the #0004 for live, was done on a Tele/Esquire on the album. The Workmate is just one of the most amazing instruments to me. Recently I was playing Money and I ended up on the LP for the solo, but I've been thinking about getting a mid-range PRS with a few more frets in the dusty zone. It won't be the same as the Bill Lewis he has, but easier to play around the 22nd.

I liked Gilmour the best on the Animals album. It changed my life hearing it for the first time. That was a Tele with a humbucker in the neck if I remember right. Then it got switched back to a single coil at some point.