Greco Strat Early 80s Tone Issues?

[bmarsh]

I have been noticing that my se800, although it sounds great, is considerably warmer than your average strat by a long shot. So much so, that recently at a gig I had to throw a preamp in front to brighten things up as well as bring up the volume. I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this on Greco strats. Are the excel pickups just naturally super warm or do you think this could be a cap issue. I'm reluctant to start swapping caps because I don't want to ruin her tone which is gorgeous. But it would be nice to have some top end sitting on top of the warmth if you know what I mean.

Also what have you guys done to your late 70s early 80s greco strats to change the tone and what were the results? Were the mods an improvement over the stock pickups?

I am reluctant to do too much to make it vanilla sounding because I have an American Strat and enjoy the difference in tone.

Thanks!

 

[LarryC]

I think they're perfect,all 5 positions are excellent,mines a stock '78.I won't be touching the wiring on mine.

 

[Koubayashi]

Hmmm....Is it alder?

 

[bmarsh]

Hmmm....Is it alder?

The grain through the sunburst looks like ash or Japanese sen to me.

 

[japanstrat]

Try some other pickups in it.

There are so many different pickups around now to try and a lot of pretty good sounding pickups can be from the lesser known brands like Tonerider GFS or whatever.

 

[bmarsh]

Thanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated.

Maybe I should clarify...my other strat is a 90s USA Fender w/ Fralins. I'm assuming that if I replace the pickups with modern vintage voiced ones I'm going to end up with two strats that sound the same. Am I wrong? Will the Greco sound way different due to the fact that it's sen, old, nitro and a greco?

So no one else thinks their greco strat sounds considerably warmer than a fender? This is making me wonder if it is a cap that just needs to be changed.

 

[Koubayashi]

Hmmm....Is it alder?

The grain through the sunburst looks like ash or Japanese sen to me.

Japanese sen is common.
Doesn't sound as good as proper alder.

 

[muccax]

hi
i got a set of excels in a greco strat ...... and just like yours the are very creamy in there sound ,,,, i like them a lot ,,,,, great for playing blues
i got one model of excel?pickups that has a number and excel on the bottoms
and a excel pickup with out the numbers ,,,, only excel on the bottoms
the ARE NOT THE SAME SIZE :lol: :lol:
the ones with out the n?mbers are narrower ,,,,, and do not fit a greco/fender cover
the other model fit a fender/greco cover
so it is hard to say what they sound like when there are 2 kind of excel pickups
all the best
otto

 

[japanstrat]

How a pickup sounds in a guitar is not really 100% predictable.
There are pickup/body and neck wood combos that can be generalized tonewise but it doesn't always work out.

As far as Sen Ash goes, I have a Japanese Sen Ash Strat and it sounds very chimey and Strat like for want of a better description.

I have a Fender Vintage '57/'62 pickup in the bridge and it works out well for me.

I also have Alder and Northern and Swamp Ash Strats and I just experiment with what pickups sound good to me.

Like, I have a Duncan JB Jnr in the bridge of my early 80s Fender Northern Ash Strat which weighs a ton and I have 2 Lace Sensors in the middle and neck and I have a Lace Sensor in the bridge of my Alder Fender California Strat.

All the Strats/pickups combos end up having different tone qualities and end up being suited for some music styles more than others.

I don't have any set rules about gear except for what my ears end up hearing.

If the JB Jnr works in my Northern Ash Strat then that's where it stays unless I want to try the JB Jnr in my Sen Ash Strat and if that doesn't turn out that great then the JB Jnr goes back to the Northern Ash Strat.

I have around 5 different types of Strat pickups that I select from and swap from Strat to Strat and see what happens with all the combos and then I usually just settle on some combos or just get tired of swapping pickups and just play.

If I don't like a guitar/pickup combo then I change the pickups and see what that does.

 

[Sigmania]

muccax, I have the same issue with a set of Excels gray wire with no number. I bought them to put in a 1979 SE500 that had no pickups installed when I got it. Like yours they are too big for the openings in the north south aspect and a little short on the east west aspect.

Just wondering if you ever figured out what the difference was in the Excels with and without numbers? Mine came out of an Ibanez 2375 Silver Series Strat from 1977.

Thanks!

 

[JVsearch]

muccax, I have the same issue with a set of Excels gray wire with no number. I bought them to put in a 1979 SE500 that had no pickups installed when I got it. Like yours they are too big for the openings in the north south aspect and a little short on the east west aspect.

Maybe the covers are what's the wrong size - can you try some different covers on them?

 

[Sigmania]

Maybe the covers are what's the wrong size - can you try some different covers on them?

Thanks, but it looks like the Excels and the pick guards were changed around early 1979 to more closely match Fender specs. After that the Excels have serial numbers and are the same size as the Fenders. The Excels I got are from 1977 have no serial number on them and the SE500 is from 1979.

Thanks