Mick at beginning: "Going down a rabbithole" Me: Lol he always says that, this is just pickups" Mick: "I have 3 pick guards to pick from, and new switch tips to choose from" Me:....oh I see
The face u made after hearing blue with the new pickups really does tell the story, dosen't it? Seemed like u almost got choked up a bit :) nice vlog mick, hope your journey is awesome and the outcome is to your satisfaction.
Swinging back round to this video since I’m back in the same bot of modding the strat! I have to say, the best part of this video is how passionate Mick is about all this. I love that! Hoping to get some answers on pickups after seeing this again!
Mick, this is wonderful. I got my first Strat when I was 16, and brand new 73; a few years later had the good fortune to acquire a gorgeous 62 (from the original owner), stolen in 91, alas; today's Strat is a mongrel assembly of assorted parts, but it's still a joy to play these beasts...
@@waxman9526 I have a klon clone I made myself and it does the same thing with a bunch of fuzz faces I also made myself and a strat with volume rolled down. In my opinion the secret lies on the bias of the fuzz faces (when they are biased too low they won't clean up at all) and the headroom, definition and dynamic range of the amp. Most klon clones will do their thing, only the ones with a "bass" mod, like the tumnus, won't help cleaning up the mud out of the fuzz.
I can't decide which I like more, your guitars or your watches. You truly have great taste. Thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge and passion in this forum/setting. You and Dan are the best.
Try sanding the back of the pot with 220grit paper. Flow solder onto the pot. Wrap the wires together and tin them. Then load your iron with solder, hold the wires on the pool on the back of the pot, and hold the iron on all of it. Should flow well and be a solid connection. The sanding really helps.
This vlog just makes me want to start a high end guitar parts and electronics store called: The Rabbit Hole. Love the content Mick! Can't wait for the next one 😁
@@ThatPedalShow Oh! Thank you for the clarification. They both sound great to be honest. But the Ellis sound just a bit better, more transients and sustain. I've always enjoyed the sound of your Blue Strat, but with the new pickups it sounds like a totally different beast. Cheers
I forgot the tip I learned years back, use a bit of 220 A/O sandpaper to rough up the back and sides of the pots a bit. That always works, making life easier to solder up! Keep up the good work - and many of us have met the black dog also, you are NOT alone as you've since discovered.
This was absolutely wonderful to watch... definitely not boredom. Mick, Blue sounded absolutely fantastic and I rewound and fastforwarded and rewound and fastforwarded and I can't hear a difference between the old '61 and Blue. I think it's now down to how they feel under your fingers. Great work.
That was like hanging with a good friend, talking guitar stuff. A couple of points I’d have put across had it not been a monologue: 1. The experiment is inherently flawed as when you pick up blue or the transit van it is to compare to the vintage one, and it seems that is on your mind rather than just enjoying playing. That said - and point no. 2 - a distinct grin comes across your face when you kick in the Klon on top of the fuzz while playing blue. Having followed TPS and the strat journey - that was a beautiful moment to behold. Keep this going Mick, it is an honour to be invited along for the ride!
Ancho Poblano PUs with treble bleed wiring in my Fender CS strat sound awesome!! Changing vibrato to Wudtone CP 50 (narrow string spacing 54 mm) and Highwood saddles (10.8mm) for better playability&tuning stability. Whole guitar was also CRYO tuned which really "ages" the guitar in a sense of a feel and SOUND! Highly recommended!! On the other hand I can also recommend Mark Foley pickups, which are exact pre-CBS replication and you can check demos on Fret Junkies YT channel. Cheers!
Mick, please do a vlog or a TPS episode on pickup height. People say even slight adjustments make a big difference in tone. What I hear is mostly difference in volume, unless you get really close to the strings in which case the sound does seem to change. It would be great to hear some examples of different pickup heights, ideally with volume adjustments, to compensate for the volume drop once you move the pickups further away.
2 very very special guitars. I started off thinking I was going to have to over-ride the "hearing with my eyes" thing, but quickly realised I was just listening to 2 fabulous instruments.
...Ron Ellis Pickups, 350 US$, Mark Foley Vintage Bridge 150 US$, Crazy Parts Aged '64 Celluloid Vintage Bevel Pickguard, 150 US$, the smile on the face of Mick playing Blue at 36:20...priceless!
I thought there’s no way I’ll watch this whole thing. Then I watched the whole thing. Lovely content. I really appreciate the “boring stuff” because it’s so much of what I’ve been dealing with and I feel less crazy about it.
Just needed to see your face whilst playing Blue with fuzz/ overdrive to realise that this experiment had at least some level of success. No audio required! 😁
Cool stuff. One of the things I admire about you is your honesty. Like a good scientist, you are quite comfortable admitting you don't know. Every day since I asked the wood question, I have been thinking about it and watching tons of videos to try to gather more information so that I can give you a good honest reply, but the more I learn the more I realise I just don't know. I will offer up a reply at some point, hopefully soon. In the meantime, thanks for another thought-provoking upload, as always. Enjoy your new set-ups. Now I'm off to the local guitar shop, before they close, to buy some new strings. :)
I stumbled upon TPS looking for pickups to put in my strat. I had already settled on the Antiquity Texas hots (what was in blue) and was plenty happy with them..... until I heard that sunburst strat...... super glad Mick is helping me find another set of pickups haha
I'm thinking had you not had the use of that '61 you would now be THE happiest bunny down the rabbit hole this week, but what a difference those Ellis pickups have made to Blue. They can certainly handle the gain on the bass strings especially much better than the previous pickups and those new Fenders in the black Strat too. They maintain that even string separation that lets the character of the Strat still come through without the mush you normally hear in the low end....its got bite but with clarity....you hear all the notes. When I hear good vintage Strats the thing that always hits me is the response from the bass strings, old guitars aren't about the high end, its the lows especially that set them apart from a newly made guitar....well to my ears anyway. I have a set of Hamel pickups in a Tele that do the same thing, none of the ice pick just great clarity, string separation and a beastly low end response. If that's what you are looking for like me then you will be pretty damn pleased, you certainly looked it. Good stuff, look forward to the next installment so to speak...
4 ปีที่แล้ว +5
Strat fan to another, it is quite easy to recognise that when you play: whoever picks a Strat and runs it through a Fuzz Face instantly takes part in a historical flow, which is of course greater then our own selves. You know how it blows our minds every time we plug and hear it, along decades. This could sound a bit mystical, but it is naturally just culture, education, habits, memory, sensibility, preferences etc. All of that to suggest you should absolutely try the set of signature pickups Seymour Duncan claims to have fairly reproduced from his experience hand wounding himself customised pickups for Jimi Hendrix. I believe they should be at least a flavoursome step in this inspiring Strat quest of yours. I know you want to try it. You know it too. And Dr. Freud certainly knows it as well… why else would you stick that Fuzz Face there as the first dirty sound you tried? After all, Hendrix is the common link between you, King Mansa Kankan Musa and King Arthur. That is why every Strat is a potential mix between Orpheus Lyre and Excalibur. Awesome job with the Strat Vlog, looking forward to the next one! Cheers!
Awesome Video Mick keep it going.... all the varieties sound great!! And stay out of your head.....The mind can be a treacherous place to travel alone!!! Keep on Rockin' my Bruddah from across the pond!!
Pete Thorn's '64 burst is just about the definition of a perfect sounding strat to me. I could type pages about my journey with this strat stuff... In short, we are all mental cases.
There was a point when you were playing where you broke into a big smile. You could absolutely tell that has connected with you and giving you more of what you are looking for.
I enjoyed the vid (nice and laid-back). From someone who has done way too much soldering in their life I can give you real tips that will make life easier. First, use resin core solder. Anyone saying otherwise is either out of touch or parroting a person who is out of touch for at least 50 years. The other two semi-common options are no-core (not for this purpose) and acid core (not appropriate for this work and you need a mask). Get what is known as eutectic solder (the most common variety is 63% tim / 37% lead, may be marketed as 60/40). The non-lead solders are more finicky and less durable in an environment with mechanical stressors (vibrations). Second, use the right iron for the job... don't crank the temperature. 63/37 solder will reflow properly between 600F and 650F (315C and 345C). I give a range because all irons are different, but use the lowest temp that consistently melts the solder on contact. Any weekend warrior trying to use standard lead solder above 700F (especially with water soluble flux) is asking for trouble. You need the proper temp and adequate thermal mass to properly melt the solder while not immediately boiling off or buring the flux (resin). Apply heat to the landing area where the wire is temporarily held in place, not the wire directly, and then apply the solder directly to the joint. By applying the solder to the tip for transfer (what I'll call the hobbyist approach) the flux burns off unless you are extremely fast and is the reason it is difficult to get a proper reflow. Direct application of solder takes practice because it seems like you need three hands at times. The worst case for is trying to solder to the back of a pot.... you'd like to heat this up in 10-15 seconds so as to not damage anything, something you can't do with your typical 7W iron from the hobby store (you will need a good 25W at minimum). Please note, even when applying solder directly you need a bit on the tip. Likewise, you can add a little solder to the joint (for the flux) to clean it up a bit. Make sure the tip is clean and tinned. If the tip is oxidized or contaminated it needs to be cleaned and tinned (there should be solder coating the tip). A good spot to start is a wet sponge with a hot iron. Quickly swipe across or plunge in / out once or twice. The next step would be a steel wool or similar. I'd leave grinders to the pros. Finally, get some good resin flux so you can easily reflow solder already in place and after the resin core has been burned off. Higher resin content tends to reflow longer and can be easier to use at the expense of a sticky mess to clean up, so I'd look for a lower resin content flux pen (highest resin content in a product labeled water soluble). Yes, I did say pen... they look and work like paint markers. Ultra low and no resin flux products are a disaster waiting to happen and are really only appropriate for professional production environments. Unfortunately this is a rather personal choice... much like pickups. Cheers!
This is exactly why I watch "That Pedal Show", the way you two dive into rabbit holes and keep sparking that passion for playing! As a student luthier, this is exactly why I'm studying to watch people enjoy music!
That's the 1st time I have seen you really smile with blue since you have had that vintage start in your life. Having pickups that are wound by someone who really cares I think may also give a little enjoyment and buzz tbh. Having anything made by someone with the love of doing it will always add a few percent (Hippy dippy alert). sounds great!
The Ron Ellis pickups sound great! Ron Ellis's are around 1000 bucks on eBay and otherwise a normal person basically can't get them. 200 for the CS Fat 60's, they sound very good. Thanks for the video, it was fun to watch and fantasize.
This is fascinating Mick. I had a Strat journey myself about 5 years ago and the wild thing is that I ended up with the following: -62RI with Duncan pickups (A2 and A5, not antiquity) -John Mayer Strat (all stock) -Reverse headstock 69 style (same as yours!) with Fender CS69 pickups and upgraded hardware. I didn’t go down the rabbit hole of vintage reproduction parts, it’s all Fender issue stuff. I’ve always loved the sound of Blue, I’ve been itching to swap from the standard a Duncan’s to the Antiquity Texas Hots for that reason! Best of luck on your journey, in the end I hope it ends up at a point that you make even more great music!
Great vid! Contrary to other people’s views I felt Black sounded brilliant on a cleaned up fuzz... Blue, however, sounded flawless with the Fuzz Face and Klon up to 10. Always great content from TPS
Mick, you're saving me a lot of money. I have the same guitar as you; AVRI 62, so I will wait until the end of these vlogs (if you're ever done with it) and I'll start buying stuff. Anyway, I'm lucky and got the chance to have Mark Foley pickups on mine. The PRE-CBS 60s sounds immense on the neck position for vintage sounds. Big Iron Low Winds sound like a modern strat should sound. Hopefully I can play more of his PRE CBS sets :) Richie Peters aka Fret Junkies works with him and plays all of sets with outstanding tones. He's also a DBII fan :D
What a glorious tone from all three Strats. From the color of the PG's it looks like you put the Ron Ellis set in Blue and the Fat 60's in Blackie. FWIW, I have a set of Fat 60's myself. They have a bit of a low-mid hump so I would recommend changing the bypass cap to a 0.022 uF to reclaim a bit of balance.
This vlog series has been my favorite thing you've done. Just an honest experiment in trying to find the right combination of parts to make blue feel the best it can. Been waiting for it's continuation for a while now
I'm gonna be honest and say I've never been a strat guy (although always liked their cleaner tones). However, Blue looks and sounds epic! You might just have converted me! Thanks for sharing your journey.
Yes tone tape make a welcome reappearance just when I thought you’d forgotten this most important of components! 😂😂😂😂😂. Seriously I’m in for the journey and this is great fun. Also really pleased your well-being is on the up.🤘🏻🎸👍🤘🏻
I wise man once said: “there are no answers. Only better questions. And everything matters”. This wise man is ....freaking Mick! Yeah! I’m going to watch this series. Great one!
The first tones in the video made the Blue and Vintage Strat sound nearly identical. Nice and warm. The Black was quite a bit more brighter. I'm guessing Ron Ellis pups cost more $ than Fender CS 60's.
It’s great to see you blissin’ with blue again Mick. Thanks for sharing your story of recovery, I’m putting myself back together after a major depression, and TPS has played a part in helping me stay connected in this world through the shit fight that it’s been. Given the extraordinary depth and dimensionality of the 61, the Ellis pups definitely get blue closer - is it possible to compare the frequency content on a spectrum analyser plugin, perhaps? Nerd out 🤓
Ha! Maybe Stuart, I'd have to get somebody help me with that. But honestly, the sound bit is just 2D really. The sound and the feel is the 3D part where it all makes sense. I'm not sure waveforms and scopes tell you much about the final 2 per cent of what matters at the end of the day (the most important bit.) :) Glad to hear you are in a better place. Always forwards, but don't be thinking too much about the future. (Works for me. :0)
@ThatPedalShow Cheers! The scientist in me thinks a spectrum analyser might unveil something of the 61’s mystery, the musician in me is learning to live from note to note.
I find Blue to sound more... Vulnerable. More delcate, and the 61 to sound more unaplogetic, more confident. Like blue is a shy girl, and the 61 is a dude with an i dont care attitude I dunno... Great video Mick! Thanks!
I have found through experimentation that those big 60- style aluminum shield plates make a huge tonal difference--it's like rolling off your tone knob one or two ticks. The smaller 50s style (which only shield the pots and switch) take away fewer highs (and noise). I think this is one of the reasons (among others) that 60s Strats tend to be darker than those from 50s even with underwound pickups. Sometime in the late 60s, Fender got rid of the big shields and used the foil sticker type, which I think contributes some to the brightness of late 60s/70s Strats.
Very interesting Kenneth, thank you. I think Blue might benefit from a shield. I’ll try that down the line. I’m also hearing that values closer to 300k for the pots wasn’t uncommon. So a little more from the pots, and little less from the guard. And on it goes! Hahahaha
Aluminum shield a must, Mark your pickups cover from under side of pickguard, pen, sharpie,ect, for reference, same positions . You should here the diff, a browner more softer top end shimmer. Makes no sense trying to achieve the vintage sound with out the part, or adleast repro of it. Just my 2cents of thought.
It sounds really close to the 60s one! (At least though video and not in person). I really love how Blue sounds. I would say stop there, but I really want to see what else you do to it. lol
To my ears Blue sounded huge. A lot more bite then before. You're getting close to the 61 but still it's different in the midrange. I especially heard the difference with all that dirt on it. That being said I still think it sounded unreal good. The American Vintage black strat was the thinnest one of them all but defiantly sounded great. All in all though I found the differences subtle and all 3 sounds great. Obviously, the 61 has a little more mojo in it and I can see why you're trying to get that sound in Blue.
Blue sounds extremely gorgeous in the top end. Bite without being harsh. There's some extra dimension that the other two didn't have that sounds incredible. Of course the hands have something to do with it...
OH MAN! the cheeky little grin when you played blue into the fuzz full out was righteous. I really think youve brought that guitar into new grounds. And if i do say so myself, i think blue sounds better than the vintage! cheers mick
tip: use a hotter soldering iron. especially for the back of pots. when you run hotter and shorter, you put less heat into the components and the solder flows better. the look on your face says you did good. they were all good. for me - blue on the day but vintage on the fuzz show was.... sounds: the black one seemed a bit tighter than vintage, perhaps had a slightly more prevalent mid.. blue was sweeter than black but all were great and very close. thanks and remember "just for today"
Mick, I can't think of anything more important than the amazing, uncontrollable, childlike smile that comes across your face not long after 36:00. Flashes at first, then full on joy of getting to know an old friend in a new way. Better questions indeed. If the point is feel, and emotional connection, well, there's one window to that very thing. I thought the playing was absolutely brilliant, and then you started to feel it, and it got better. (yes, better). If one is to head down a rabbit hole, that feeling is a pretty wonderful prize along the way.
blue has a harmonic content that the other two dont, sort of a singing harmony.. other 2 perhaps have better note definition at times. 61 is a bit raunchier at times than the others.
This was great! I now see why I could have multiple Stratocasters in my life. For me, watching this, I felt like, I’m always hearing Mick Taylor, regardless of which Stratocaster you are playing. However, just as each human being is a complex multifaceted emotional entity, that is difficult to convey in one singular way, it’s why we have different tools for different jobs. Each guitar helps bring out more or less of a certain emotion. As I said, one guitar might bring out the more stinging direct cutting version of Mick, while the other is better suited to the mellower introspective version. It’s funny how I use the word “suited” because a guitar is like a piece of clothing. People use clothing to help them express visually to the world how they are feeling that day. In the same way, you can choose the guitar (even if it is the same make and model, but with different woods and appointments that make it sound different) to better express aurally how you are feeling.
Josh Muz I knew one growing up here In the states. Every single one I’ve heard of thereafter was British. But it makes sense that it would be common with ozzies
Having just completely rewired my Strat (okay my Pretendocaster...) following the Seymour Duncan diagram, the guitar wouldn't work. (Aarrgh!) 4 days later and much foul language issued, I discovered that SD's diagram didn't show the need for the critical 'jumper' wire on the 5 blade switch. Now she's working. Phew.
Hi Mick great vlog, its such a long journey finding that tone we hear in our own head but the ride is fun and frustrating at the same time. I hope you get close to what you want soon mate. I'm glad to hear you're on the right path with your depression mate, my girlfriend suffers a lot with it and it can be very very difficult so keep going mate, you're smashing it!
Thanks Mark. I’ve discovered a few things that have transformed how I see absolutely everything, not just the depression. It’s been a real revelation (and not in a religious way, just for the record). I wish you and the missus well. There is a better way. :0)
That's great Mick, i'm really happy for you! Everything depends on how you look at and see things, its very underrated. Thank you very much mate. All the best and just keep doing what you're doing.
@@ThatPedalShow Mick - You've alluded to the few things you've discovered / books you've read a couple of times. I (along with many others I suspect) would be really interested to hear what they are if you're willing to share? Great vid by the way. What I took from it is that top-end boutique pickups are better than Fenders. No rocket science there! I do dare you to try Rocketfire Total 60s though. I've a/b'd them against Ellis and preferred them. Very tasty! All the best and looking forward to the next installment.
@@ThatPedalShow Are you still keeping up with the running Mick? Strava can be a great platform to try out, I have found that to help me a lot with my running
Just put a white pickgard , pickup covers and knobs in coffee with the pouch of grain for a week or so. Just gage the yelow brownish colour you prefer. Not expensive.
![Strats, Pickups & Rabbit Holes - Blue Is Finally There! Maybe. [Mick's Strat Vlog] That Pedal Show](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JSFjihiy2VE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Strats, Pickups & Rabbit Holes – Blue Is Finally There! Maybe. [Mick's Strat Vlog] That Pedal Show](/img/tr.png)
![Three New Strats For Mick?! [1961, 1970, Fender Custom Shop & AVRI Compared]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WOMHUQeHGRQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Mick’s Gibson ES-335 Gets New Pickups & Loom [Hardest Pickup Swap Ever?]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Out2LP6Tafc/mqdefault.jpg)
I didn’t know I needed 40 mins of strat pickup content, but here we are! Would watch another 40 mins! Thanks Mick!
Thanks Andy!
I was about to write the same that the only bad thing about this video is that it isnt 3 hours and comes with free hifi - speakers
@@ThatPedalShow I want my own Strat journey now...just have to dig my self out of the fuzz pedal rabbit hole...
And I don’t even play a strat. 😁 still I watch.
I'll second that! It's an addiction to be sure....... but a really fun one just the same!
Mick at beginning: "Going down a rabbithole"
Me: Lol he always says that, this is just pickups"
Mick: "I have 3 pick guards to pick from, and new switch tips to choose from"
Me:....oh I see
The face u made after hearing blue with the new pickups really does tell the story, dosen't it? Seemed like u almost got choked up a bit :) nice vlog mick, hope your journey is awesome and the outcome is to your satisfaction.
I was going to post something similar. Can't recall Mick ever making guitar faces before this vid. He's clearly feeling blue again.
Exactly! I was asking myself, why would he even want to do more changes. That smile said ‘I found it!’ Good luck on your continued journey, Mick!
Matthew May 8
@36:23 if your wanting the time stamp
Found the comment I was gonna leave right near the top. Rock faces I dont recall seeing before. Very good sign
That was PHENOMENAL playing!!! Blue was my favorite! Amazing stuff, Mick and much appreciated. 🙏
It's bloody good through my ears. I'll take the blue sound. The bite from the bridge pickup is amazing.
Thanks for taking us on this journey with you. It is nice to see that it's important to you.
Swinging back round to this video since I’m back in the same bot of modding the strat!
I have to say, the best part of this video is how passionate Mick is about all this. I love that!
Hoping to get some answers on pickups after seeing this again!
You both were inspiration to all strat players around the globe... peace and love!
I thought the best part was when he said that piece of Ash could have sunk a battleship...;-)
Mick, this is wonderful. I got my first Strat when I was 16, and brand new 73; a few years later had the good fortune to acquire a gorgeous 62 (from the original owner), stolen in 91, alas; today's Strat is a mongrel assembly of assorted parts, but it's still a joy to play these beasts...
My conclusion about the strat journey is that I need a Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature amp. What a glorious sound!
Vinicius Guedes Amen!!
I have one and let me just say... yes, you NEED one! 😉
I have the combo version, a fantastic amp. So touch sensitive, never regret.
5 grand but damn every time I hear it with that Klon it’s worth saving for.
@@waxman9526 I have a klon clone I made myself and it does the same thing with a bunch of fuzz faces I also made myself and a strat with volume rolled down. In my opinion the secret lies on the bias of the fuzz faces (when they are biased too low they won't clean up at all) and the headroom, definition and dynamic range of the amp. Most klon clones will do their thing, only the ones with a "bass" mod, like the tumnus, won't help cleaning up the mud out of the fuzz.
I can't decide which I like more, your guitars or your watches. You truly have great taste. Thank you for sharing so much of your knowledge and passion in this forum/setting. You and Dan are the best.
Blue’s back!! They all sound great 👍🏼
Try sanding the back of the pot with 220grit paper. Flow solder onto the pot. Wrap the wires together and tin them. Then load your iron with solder, hold the wires on the pool on the back of the pot, and hold the iron on all of it. Should flow well and be a solid connection. The sanding really helps.
This vlog just makes me want to start a high end guitar parts and electronics store called: The Rabbit Hole.
Love the content Mick! Can't wait for the next one 😁
I think "The Rabbit Hole" is already a Fuzz pedal theme park but you can probably still do that.
next door to a pub called The Cork Sniffer 😄
I’ve already registered ‘The Pick-Up Joint’ :-)
CharcoaI dibs on ‘The Gas station’
I'll be customer no matter what continent your on
I can’t wait to watch this. it’s been a horrible few days personally... this is my escape and “me-time”.... thanks Mick, as always
All best to you. Hope whatever it is gets better!
@@ThatPedalShow thanks mate
Your Blue strat now sounds spectacular. No need for a vintage strat my friend. Yours now sounds amazing. Now I need a set of Fat 60's for mine.
Just to be clear, it’s the Ellis pickups in Blue and the Fat 60s in the black one at this point. Cheers!
@@ThatPedalShow Oh! Thank you for the clarification. They both sound great to be honest. But the Ellis sound just a bit better, more transients and sustain. I've always enjoyed the sound of your Blue Strat, but with the new pickups it sounds like a totally different beast. Cheers
That Pedal Show dude!!! The Ellis pickups are great!!
I watch you guys every week, every show. For me you you make a change, musically and mentally. Don't wanna go too deep into this in public.
We feel you Mikael, thank you!
Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this vlog. Really great work Mick, well done.
I forgot the tip I learned years back, use a bit of 220 A/O sandpaper to rough up the back and sides of the pots a bit. That always works, making life easier to solder up! Keep up the good work - and many of us have met the black dog also, you are NOT alone as you've since discovered.
This was absolutely wonderful to watch... definitely not boredom. Mick, Blue sounded absolutely fantastic and I rewound and fastforwarded and rewound and fastforwarded and I can't hear a difference between the old '61 and Blue. I think it's now down to how they feel under your fingers. Great work.
Thanks for the work and effort you put into getting this on the airwaves. Totally worth it!
That was like hanging with a good friend, talking guitar stuff. A couple of points I’d have put across had it not been a monologue: 1. The experiment is inherently flawed as when you pick up blue or the transit van it is to compare to the vintage one, and it seems that is on your mind rather than just enjoying playing. That said - and point no. 2 - a distinct grin comes across your face when you kick in the Klon on top of the fuzz while playing blue. Having followed TPS and the strat journey - that was a beautiful moment to behold. Keep this going Mick, it is an honour to be invited along for the ride!
Very nice sound.
Almost impossible to get a better sound than what the blue strat was getting. Blog over. :)
Ancho Poblano PUs with treble bleed wiring in my Fender CS strat sound awesome!!
Changing vibrato to Wudtone CP 50 (narrow string spacing 54 mm) and Highwood saddles (10.8mm) for better playability&tuning stability. Whole guitar was also CRYO tuned which really "ages" the guitar in a sense of a feel and SOUND! Highly recommended!!
On the other hand I can also recommend Mark Foley pickups, which are exact pre-CBS replication and you can check demos on Fret Junkies YT channel.
Cheers!
Blue just grew wings Mick. That’s the best it’s ever sounded ✌️❤️
Mick, please do a vlog or a TPS episode on pickup height. People say even slight adjustments make a big difference in tone. What I hear is mostly difference in volume, unless you get really close to the strings in which case the sound does seem to change. It would be great to hear some examples of different pickup heights, ideally with volume adjustments, to compensate for the volume drop once you move the pickups further away.
Whatever you put into Blue sounds best of the two imo. Closest to the real vintage, but also it's got it's own thing going on.
2 very very special guitars. I started off thinking I was going to have to over-ride the "hearing with my eyes" thing, but quickly realised I was just listening to 2 fabulous instruments.
...Ron Ellis Pickups, 350 US$, Mark Foley Vintage Bridge 150 US$, Crazy Parts Aged '64 Celluloid Vintage Bevel Pickguard, 150 US$, the smile on the face of Mick playing Blue at 36:20...priceless!
Hahaha!!! Yeah. Please don’t add it up. The wife might be reading. :0)
@@ThatPedalShow 😂😂😂😂
I thought there’s no way I’ll watch this whole thing. Then I watched the whole thing.
Lovely content. I really appreciate the “boring stuff” because it’s so much of what I’ve been dealing with and I feel less crazy about it.
My shitty opinion: Pickups in Black > Blue by a thin margin. BUT man, that 1961 is RELENTLESS.
One of my favorite episodes. Probably because it comes across as so personal. Thank you for sharing your journey with us! Can’t wait for more.
Just needed to see your face whilst playing Blue with fuzz/ overdrive to realise that this experiment had at least some level of success. No audio required! 😁
I even got a little choked up watching that!
@@jesseyasaitis9036 Me too :)
Cool stuff. One of the things I admire about you is your honesty. Like a good scientist, you are quite comfortable admitting you don't know. Every day since I asked the wood question, I have been thinking about it and watching tons of videos to try to gather more information so that I can give you a good honest reply, but the more I learn the more I realise I just don't know. I will offer up a reply at some point, hopefully soon. In the meantime, thanks for another thought-provoking upload, as always. Enjoy your new set-ups. Now I'm off to the local guitar shop, before they close, to buy some new strings. :)
They also sound similar through my authentic vintage class A analog hand wired 1960s computer ;-)
Blue sounds fantastic.... leave it alone! Lol 👍
I stumbled upon TPS looking for pickups to put in my strat. I had already settled on the Antiquity Texas hots (what was in blue) and was plenty happy with them..... until I heard that sunburst strat...... super glad Mick is helping me find another set of pickups haha
I'm thinking had you not had the use of that '61 you would now be THE happiest bunny down the rabbit hole this week, but what a difference those Ellis pickups have made to Blue. They can certainly handle the gain on the bass strings especially much better than the previous pickups and those new Fenders in the black Strat too. They maintain that even string separation that lets the character of the Strat still come through without the mush you normally hear in the low end....its got bite but with clarity....you hear all the notes.
When I hear good vintage Strats the thing that always hits me is the response from the bass strings, old guitars aren't about the high end, its the lows especially that set them apart from a newly made guitar....well to my ears anyway. I have a set of Hamel pickups in a Tele that do the same thing, none of the ice pick just great clarity, string separation and a beastly low end response. If that's what you are looking for like me then you will be pretty damn pleased, you certainly looked it. Good stuff, look forward to the next installment so to speak...
Strat fan to another, it is quite easy to recognise that when you play: whoever picks a Strat and runs it through a Fuzz Face instantly takes part in a historical flow, which is of course greater then our own selves. You know how it blows our minds every time we plug and hear it, along decades. This could sound a bit mystical, but it is naturally just culture, education, habits, memory, sensibility, preferences etc. All of that to suggest you should absolutely try the set of signature pickups Seymour Duncan claims to have fairly reproduced from his experience hand wounding himself customised pickups for Jimi Hendrix. I believe they should be at least a flavoursome step in this inspiring Strat quest of yours. I know you want to try it. You know it too. And Dr. Freud certainly knows it as well… why else would you stick that Fuzz Face there as the first dirty sound you tried? After all, Hendrix is the common link between you, King Mansa Kankan Musa and King Arthur. That is why every Strat is a potential mix between Orpheus Lyre and Excalibur.
Awesome job with the Strat Vlog, looking forward to the next one!
Cheers!
Awesome Video Mick keep it going.... all the varieties sound great!! And stay out of your head.....The mind can be a treacherous place to travel alone!!! Keep on Rockin' my Bruddah from across the pond!!
I hear you brother. Compulsive thinking is a serious mental disease. You know what I’m saying!
The smile when you played Blue speaks volumes. Perhaps you should stop now?!?!?!?
By far the best part of that pedal show. Love this, love this, love this.
In this section, blue bested both the others to my ears
Pete Thorn's '64 burst is just about the definition of a perfect sounding strat to me.
I could type pages about my journey with this strat stuff...
In short, we are all mental cases.
There was a point when you were playing where you broke into a big smile. You could absolutely tell that has connected with you and giving you more of what you are looking for.
I enjoyed the vid (nice and laid-back). From someone who has done way too much soldering in their life I can give you real tips that will make life easier.
First, use resin core solder. Anyone saying otherwise is either out of touch or parroting a person who is out of touch for at least 50 years. The other two semi-common options are no-core (not for this purpose) and acid core (not appropriate for this work and you need a mask). Get what is known as eutectic solder (the most common variety is 63% tim / 37% lead, may be marketed as 60/40). The non-lead solders are more finicky and less durable in an environment with mechanical stressors (vibrations).
Second, use the right iron for the job... don't crank the temperature. 63/37 solder will reflow properly between 600F and 650F (315C and 345C). I give a range because all irons are different, but use the lowest temp that consistently melts the solder on contact. Any weekend warrior trying to use standard lead solder above 700F (especially with water soluble flux) is asking for trouble. You need the proper temp and adequate thermal mass to properly melt the solder while not immediately boiling off or buring the flux (resin).
Apply heat to the landing area where the wire is temporarily held in place, not the wire directly, and then apply the solder directly to the joint. By applying the solder to the tip for transfer (what I'll call the hobbyist approach) the flux burns off unless you are extremely fast and is the reason it is difficult to get a proper reflow. Direct application of solder takes practice because it seems like you need three hands at times. The worst case for is trying to solder to the back of a pot.... you'd like to heat this up in 10-15 seconds so as to not damage anything, something you can't do with your typical 7W iron from the hobby store (you will need a good 25W at minimum). Please note, even when applying solder directly you need a bit on the tip. Likewise, you can add a little solder to the joint (for the flux) to clean it up a bit.
Make sure the tip is clean and tinned. If the tip is oxidized or contaminated it needs to be cleaned and tinned (there should be solder coating the tip). A good spot to start is a wet sponge with a hot iron. Quickly swipe across or plunge in / out once or twice. The next step would be a steel wool or similar. I'd leave grinders to the pros.
Finally, get some good resin flux so you can easily reflow solder already in place and after the resin core has been burned off. Higher resin content tends to reflow longer and can be easier to use at the expense of a sticky mess to clean up, so I'd look for a lower resin content flux pen (highest resin content in a product labeled water soluble). Yes, I did say pen... they look and work like paint markers. Ultra low and no resin flux products are a disaster waiting to happen and are really only appropriate for professional production environments. Unfortunately this is a rather personal choice... much like pickups.
Cheers!
This is exactly why I watch "That Pedal Show", the way you two dive into rabbit holes and keep sparking that passion for playing! As a student luthier, this is exactly why I'm studying to watch people enjoy music!
I watched the whole process. I think in the end all the guitars sounded great. Great outcome !
That's the 1st time I have seen you really smile with blue since you have had that vintage start in your life. Having pickups that are wound by someone who really cares I think may also give a little enjoyment and buzz tbh. Having anything made by someone with the love of doing it will always add a few percent (Hippy dippy alert). sounds great!
The Ron Ellis pickups sound great! Ron Ellis's are around 1000 bucks on eBay and otherwise a normal person basically can't get them. 200 for the CS Fat 60's, they sound very good. Thanks for the video, it was fun to watch and fantasize.
This is fascinating Mick. I had a Strat journey myself about 5 years ago and the wild thing is that I ended up with the following:
-62RI with Duncan pickups (A2 and A5, not antiquity)
-John Mayer Strat (all stock)
-Reverse headstock 69 style (same as yours!) with Fender CS69 pickups and upgraded hardware.
I didn’t go down the rabbit hole of vintage reproduction parts, it’s all Fender issue stuff.
I’ve always loved the sound of Blue, I’ve been itching to swap from the standard a Duncan’s to the Antiquity Texas Hots for that reason!
Best of luck on your journey, in the end I hope it ends up at a point that you make even more great music!
Blue sounds amazing!
Great vid! Contrary to other people’s views I felt Black sounded brilliant on a cleaned up fuzz... Blue, however, sounded flawless with the Fuzz Face and Klon up to 10. Always great content from TPS
Mick, you're saving me a lot of money.
I have the same guitar as you; AVRI 62, so I will wait until the end of these vlogs (if you're ever done with it) and I'll start buying stuff. Anyway, I'm lucky and got the chance to have Mark Foley pickups on mine. The PRE-CBS 60s sounds immense on the neck position for vintage sounds. Big Iron Low Winds sound like a modern strat should sound. Hopefully I can play more of his PRE CBS sets :) Richie Peters aka Fret Junkies works with him and plays all of sets with outstanding tones. He's also a DBII fan :D
Yes! Mark’s pickups get a lot of love from some very serious players. Nice one!
Yay you've finally done it, downloading to watch now....Thanks Mick, a lot of us have been waiting on this
Blue sounds lively again. 👍
PS: Amazing how blue has the darkest fingerboard ....
Blue is special
36:23 the moment you realized it was worth it.
What a glorious tone from all three Strats. From the color of the PG's it looks like you put the Ron Ellis set in Blue and the Fat 60's in Blackie. FWIW, I have a set of Fat 60's myself. They have a bit of a low-mid hump so I would recommend changing the bypass cap to a 0.022 uF to reclaim a bit of balance.
Correct!
This vlog series has been my favorite thing you've done. Just an honest experiment in trying to find the right combination of parts to make blue feel the best it can. Been waiting for it's continuation for a while now
I use my heros pickup! Im a big big Extreme and Nuno Bettencourt fan. And the Bill Lawrence 500xl is a wonderful sounding pickup
Holy smokes, TPS 3 days in a row!
I'm gonna be honest and say I've never been a strat guy (although always liked their cleaner tones). However, Blue looks and sounds epic! You might just have converted me! Thanks for sharing your journey.
Yes tone tape make a welcome reappearance just when I thought you’d forgotten this most important of components! 😂😂😂😂😂. Seriously I’m in for the journey and this is great fun. Also really pleased your well-being is on the up.🤘🏻🎸👍🤘🏻
Lead-free solder I find sticky like treacle, bugger I didn't get soldering tips from Chris while I was there, got plenty on making deluxe clones😁
I wise man once said: “there are no answers. Only better questions. And everything matters”. This wise man is ....freaking Mick! Yeah! I’m going to watch this series. Great one!
We'll give 'Everything matters' to Analog Mike. Thank you OK!
And we have yet-to-hear, the other set of Ron Ellis Pickups ? = more Questions ??? (who am I kidding) We Love It !
The first tones in the video made the Blue and Vintage Strat sound nearly identical. Nice and warm. The Black was quite a bit more brighter. I'm guessing Ron Ellis pups cost more $ than Fender CS 60's.
The moment when you turn the klon off, that smile, it says a lot :) would like to hear you thoughts now about blue vs the '61? Is it a lot closer?
We'll get into that in the next episodes. Still clear water between the two, but in a much less depressing way now. Cheers!
It’s great to see you blissin’ with blue again Mick. Thanks for sharing your story of recovery, I’m putting myself back together after a major depression, and TPS has played a part in helping me stay connected in this world through the shit fight that it’s been. Given the extraordinary depth and dimensionality of the 61, the Ellis pups definitely get blue closer - is it possible to compare the frequency content on a spectrum analyser plugin, perhaps? Nerd out 🤓
Ha! Maybe Stuart, I'd have to get somebody help me with that. But honestly, the sound bit is just 2D really. The sound and the feel is the 3D part where it all makes sense. I'm not sure waveforms and scopes tell you much about the final 2 per cent of what matters at the end of the day (the most important bit.) :) Glad to hear you are in a better place. Always forwards, but don't be thinking too much about the future. (Works for me. :0)
@ThatPedalShow Cheers! The scientist in me thinks a spectrum analyser might unveil something of the 61’s mystery, the musician in me is learning to live from note to note.
This strat journey is like a guitar adaptation of "Moby Dick"
Oh god. Drums.
A TPS episode every day so far this week?? Amazing!
My word ! More inspiration, more questions. I am thinking there is more love flowing when you play blue 😉
I find Blue to sound more... Vulnerable. More delcate, and the 61 to sound more unaplogetic, more confident.
Like blue is a shy girl, and the 61 is a dude with an i dont care attitude
I dunno... Great video Mick! Thanks!
I have found through experimentation that those big 60- style aluminum shield plates make a huge tonal difference--it's like rolling off your tone knob one or two ticks. The smaller 50s style (which only shield the pots and switch) take away fewer highs (and noise). I think this is one of the reasons (among others) that 60s Strats tend to be darker than those from 50s even with underwound pickups. Sometime in the late 60s, Fender got rid of the big shields and used the foil sticker type, which I think contributes some to the brightness of late 60s/70s Strats.
Very interesting Kenneth, thank you. I think Blue might benefit from a shield. I’ll try that down the line. I’m also hearing that values closer to 300k for the pots wasn’t uncommon. So a little more from the pots, and little less from the guard. And on it goes! Hahahaha
the new pickups sound very nice.
Aluminum shield a must, Mark your pickups cover from under side of pickguard, pen, sharpie,ect, for reference, same positions . You should here the diff, a browner more softer top end shimmer. Makes no sense trying to achieve the vintage sound with out the part, or adleast repro of it. Just my 2cents of thought.
A few people I talk to agree. Some others agree less. I might try it down the road... cheers!
Time for "That Strat Show"? I'd subscribe! love this, like everything you guys do. Thank you!
It sounds really close to the 60s one! (At least though video and not in person). I really love how Blue sounds. I would say stop there, but I really want to see what else you do to it. lol
To my ears Blue sounded huge. A lot more bite then before. You're getting close to the 61 but still it's different in the midrange. I especially heard the difference with all that dirt on it. That being said I still think it sounded unreal good. The American Vintage black strat was the thinnest one of them all but defiantly sounded great. All in all though I found the differences subtle and all 3 sounds great. Obviously, the 61 has a little more mojo in it and I can see why you're trying to get that sound in Blue.
The joy was all over your face playing blue with the fuzz face. Glad it seems like a positive change 😁 Eagerly awaiting the next vlog
Blue's sounding really good!
Blue sounds extremely gorgeous in the top end. Bite without being harsh. There's some extra dimension that the other two didn't have that sounds incredible. Of course the hands have something to do with it...
OH MAN! the cheeky little grin when you played blue into the fuzz full out was righteous. I really think youve brought that guitar into new grounds. And if i do say so myself, i think blue sounds better than the vintage! cheers mick
tip: use a hotter soldering iron. especially for the back of pots. when you run hotter and shorter, you put less heat into the components and the solder flows better.
the look on your face says you did good. they were all good. for me - blue on the day but vintage on the fuzz show was....
sounds: the black one seemed a bit tighter than vintage, perhaps had a slightly more prevalent mid..
blue was sweeter than black but all were great and very close.
thanks and remember "just for today"
Yes. Long time ago....;) Will you make new videos: Our gear? The vintage Strat, Tele, the black Strat etc.
Mick, I can't think of anything more important than the amazing, uncontrollable, childlike smile that comes across your face not long after 36:00. Flashes at first, then full on joy of getting to know an old friend in a new way. Better questions indeed. If the point is feel, and emotional connection, well, there's one window to that very thing. I thought the playing was absolutely brilliant, and then you started to feel it, and it got better. (yes, better). If one is to head down a rabbit hole, that feeling is a pretty wonderful prize along the way.
Blue sounds great! Percussive and expressive. Same ballpark as the vintage. I like it more. Black less my taste.
Absolutely love the smiles start at 36:03 and continue through out the playing of blue. Sounds brilliant Mick!
Dude, you gotta get a shield on those scratch plates brother. No joke. Everything matters.
My Strat people are divided on it. Certainly sounds different.
blue has a harmonic content that the other two dont, sort of a singing harmony.. other 2 perhaps have better note definition at times. 61 is a bit raunchier at times than the others.
dont really know what to make of all this, its interesting but I don’t know.
will follow it and see.
This was great! I now see why I could have multiple Stratocasters in my life. For me, watching this, I felt like, I’m always hearing Mick Taylor, regardless of which Stratocaster you are playing. However, just as each human being is a complex multifaceted emotional entity, that is difficult to convey in one singular way, it’s why we have different tools for different jobs. Each guitar helps bring out more or less of a certain emotion. As I said, one guitar might bring out the more stinging direct cutting version of Mick, while the other is better suited to the mellower introspective version. It’s funny how I use the word “suited” because a guitar is like a piece of clothing. People use clothing to help them express visually to the world how they are feeling that day. In the same way, you can choose the guitar (even if it is the same make and model, but with different woods and appointments that make it sound different) to better express aurally how you are feeling.
Thanks Tim, what an eloquent way of putting it. Cheers!
They don’t sell these separately yet but CS 60/63 pickups are my favorite if you can find them.
Fact: if your name is Simon, it probably means you're British.
David R Or Jewish. :D
Tens of thousands of them over here in australia. Damn common name actually
Josh Muz I knew one growing up here In the states. Every single one I’ve heard of thereafter was British. But it makes sense that it would be common with ozzies
Subscribed!
I found that tinning the back of the pot makes it easier to solder the wires, you probably did that but you didn't show it.
Having just completely rewired my Strat (okay my Pretendocaster...) following the Seymour Duncan diagram, the guitar wouldn't work. (Aarrgh!) 4 days later and much foul language issued, I discovered that SD's diagram didn't show the need for the critical 'jumper' wire on the 5 blade switch. Now she's working. Phew.
Eeeee. It may have done, but just as a really thin black line.... annoying! Glad you got it sorted though!
Hi Mick great vlog, its such a long journey finding that tone we hear in our own head but the ride is fun and frustrating at the same time. I hope you get close to what you want soon mate.
I'm glad to hear you're on the right path with your depression mate, my girlfriend suffers a lot with it and it can be very very difficult so keep going mate, you're smashing it!
Thanks Mark. I’ve discovered a few things that have transformed how I see absolutely everything, not just the depression. It’s been a real revelation (and not in a religious way, just for the record). I wish you and the missus well. There is a better way. :0)
That's great Mick, i'm really happy for you! Everything depends on how you look at and see things, its very underrated.
Thank you very much mate. All the best and just keep doing what you're doing.
@@ThatPedalShow, Mick, may we have those book titles? It sure sounds like they're both worth a read! Thanks!
@@ThatPedalShow Mick - You've alluded to the few things you've discovered / books you've read a couple of times. I (along with many others I suspect) would be really interested to hear what they are if you're willing to share? Great vid by the way. What I took from it is that top-end boutique pickups are better than Fenders. No rocket science there! I do dare you to try Rocketfire Total 60s though. I've a/b'd them against Ellis and preferred them. Very tasty! All the best and looking forward to the next installment.
@@ThatPedalShow Are you still keeping up with the running Mick? Strava can be a great platform to try out, I have found that to help me a lot with my running
Just put a white pickgard , pickup covers and knobs in coffee with the pouch of grain for a week or so. Just gage the yelow brownish colour you prefer. Not expensive.