Will New Pots, Caps and Switch Make My MIM Strat Sound Better?

[lespaul339]

I once had a butterscotch blonde tele that just didn't do it for me. Beautiful looking guitar but just didn't have that tele sound I was looking for. Couldn't get twang or bite out of that guitar. Pulled the bridge pickup and put a single coil sized humbucker in it. The guitar still sounded like crap. Upgraded the pot's and put orange drop caps in it. Still sounded like crap. Sold the butterscotch blonde.

Long story short I ended up building another tele and putting the single coil bridge pickup I pulled from the shitty tele in it. It sounds awesome. Has all the twang and bite I was looking for. Great for rock, blues, slide, and country tele sounding licks. So just goes to show that you can swap all you want in a shitty sounding guitar and it's still going to sound like shit. Get some good wood that resonates and it's going to sound great. Unfortunately, some guitars just don't have it and some do.

 

[BanditPanda]

"Better" is in your ears alone.
If you mean by " change " you mean "upgrade" then I would say yes.
And as you already know if you move from 250k to 500k then there is a " change " in tonal out put for example.
Why do so many players place a high regard in "orange drop" caps? I don't know but I will presume that it has something to do with making the sound " better "?.
Switches ? Why is Switchcraft the maker of choice? Probably has more to do with performance & durability than sound.
I guess my answer is: If you are upgrading your pick ups then upgrade your pots/caps & switches at the same time.
An upgrade in pick ups will result in a 'improved " sound .

BP

 

[Cadorman]

Strip off the thick white polyurethane paint and use an oil finish or lacquer. Maybe a heavier trem block. Thicker gauge strings and raise the action.

 

[anitoli]

Is the body basswood?

 

[Cadorman]

MIMs are Alder.

 

[JeepO'Caster]

Since 2007 or so, the MIMs have had the same electronics in them that the USA's standards have, or so I thought? Same alder bodies, etc.

 

[Cadorman]

Since 2007 or so, the MIMs have had the same electronics in them that the USA's standards have, or so I thought? Same alder bodies, etc.

Yeah, the neck is different and definitely use cheaper pickups. I changed all that stuff out at the same time since they are so modular.

 

[Wildeman]

Something that absolutely will make it sound better is a solid steel vibrato block, GFS sells them for like 25bux. I'm not shitting you, huge upgrade.

 

[john hammond]

No.

 

[JohnH]

We are not talking about a low-end cheap guitar. MIM's are decent instruments. And they have decent wiring quality.

So, unless you want different wiring features, or it is faulty in some way Id say keep the wiring as it is

But I do think better pickups may be helpful, if what you currently have are the steel-pole ceramic magnet ones as on an MIM Standard. Get some alnico ones if that's the case, and there are heaps to choose from, no need to spend a fortune either.

And do or get done, a full set-up with new strings.

 

[purpleplexi]

Ive always been happy with the results of upgrading caps and pots. Even on pricey Gibsons the stock pieces are a bit rubbish. If low money parts are choking the otherwise good response of the guitar why not change them. Not exactly hard work.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

This my friend may be a good idea! Thanks for suggesting.

I put a jbjr, in the bridge, and a hotrails in the neck, and I think it sounds great, bye the way I did it to 2 of them, and they both played and sounded very good!
Cheers Mitch

 

[Nik Henville]

Hmm...

Nope.

But
practice
just might do it

 

[purpleplexi]

OK I'll practice but I want to be good NOW!

 

[Biddlin]

Just as the title states, please weigh in on this question. Thanks!

Not if you're playin' it. Unless you've got some superchittywire and grungy pots and switch, that stuff doesn't matter much. Pickups are the only relevant electric components. My MiMs have had OK pickups, but I swapped them for Texas Specials, my personal prefernce.
The biggest factor in "better sound" is practice, lots and lots of practice

 

[paul-e-mann]

Not if you're playin' it. Unless you've got some superchittywire and grungy pots and switch, that stuff doesn't matter much. Pickups are the only relevant electric components. My MiMs have had OK pickups, but I swapped them for Texas Specials, my personal prefernce.
The biggest factor in "better sound" ios practice, lots and lots of practice

Biddly old buddy what do you think, the guitar is a dud? I can put expensive pickups in it or cheap and it maintains a tonality I don't love. Like I said earlier in the thread I'm gonna keep what's in it at this point and live with it.

 

[Biddlin]

I'm gonna keep what's in it at this point and live with it.

I just realized, it's the pickguard, mint kills the tone. First off, Strats all sound dead to me if I've been playing one of my Gibsons before hand, but strings can make a big difference, even just raising or lowering the pickups a little can affect it. Screw around and you'll find something you'll like.

 

[Cadorman]

That new SG spoiled you.

 

[Cadorman]

You could add a blender circuit. It really alters the character. I put a set of Fralin pups in mine, so I could get a left handed magnet stagger. I would think any customer builder could do this.

 

[paul-e-mann]

You could add a blender circuit. It really alters the character. I put a set of Fralin pups in mine, so I could get a left handed magnet stagger. I would think any customer builder could do this.

I routed the neck pickup cavity so I could flip the pickup around to get the left handed stagger.