*looking for the right sound*

[INDiElifestyle]

i'm a indie/emo artist who finds some guilty pleasure in hardcore punk. right now i'm playin my standard strat and want to to some upgrading. i want something with a warm vintage sound that can still be crunchy.
it was suggested i try a telecaster neck with a gibson burstbucker 2 at the bridge, but i'm really just shooting in the dark. any advice would be VERY much appreciated.

[rgr]

A Tele neck won't just bolt onto a Strat body, they are shaped different where they go together. I'm not sure how that would give you a change in tone either, they are very similar necks. Pretty much any humbucker in the bridge will give you a warmer, crunchier sound, there are so many out there it's hard to tell you where to start, but a DiMarzio Norton would be a good place, and I think you can get them cheaper than the Gibsons. But, you'll probably have to have your Strat routed and the pickguard cut for a full-size humbucker, oh yeah, you will probably want to change the volume pot from 250K to 500K. DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan also make single-coil size humbuckers that will mount in with no modification, the Duncans are also made to work fine with 250K pots, so they will involve the least work, not sure if the DiMarzios are made to work with 250K or 500K pots.

Hope this helps,
Roger

[Strat Man Dwight]

I'm with RGR, but think that the Telecaster neck "pickup" will do nothing for your Strat, besides NOT FIT, except with a custom made guard. Sure, go for a bridge Humbucker. But again you might be changing pickguards. Number of mounting holes for the HB will vary from one style to the other. A Hot Rod Fat Strat pickguard is nice, and the SD "Pearly Gates" that usually goes with them is great. I have 2 - one with a rosewood neck, the other maple. Both are modified - more on that later. A Richie Sambora USA pickguard will accomodate a variety of humbuckers as well. DiMarzio Fred and SD Gerge Lynch "Screamin' Demon" are also good choices that I have used. IMO the Gibson squared-off, covered pups will only go into aftermarket, non-Fender guards. Been there as well, with EMG's ... my son's main squeeze.

Okay for REALLY fat sounds that will blow the doors off any Roadhouse or bigger venue, while keeping "normal" Strat tones, try a simple rotary switch which will install in one hour and give you a total of 11 sounds.

I don't post here about this stuff, because I'm not sure what amounts to excessive promotion. It should be fair to say that I recommend and have reviewed a 9 sound rotary switch for Fat Strats on Harmony Central under pickups, maker: Deaf-Eddie. And the other review on HC by Ricky boy explains what the newer 11 sound rotaries do for a Strat, which is what I think you're lookin' for. All the tone we need bro, that's my opinion. Strat man Dwight

[lyconxero]

If I were you, I would go check out dimarzios website (www.dimarzio.com) and read up on their hum-cancelling strat replacement pickups. The cruiser and the chopper are my favorites.