# Strat tone simulator pedal



## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I was obsessing about the sound of my guitars - as I do - and a thought occured to me.

We have pedals that simulate amps and even musicians overdriven/distorted sounds (dimebag, trower, hendrix, etc), but why aren't there pedals that simulate classic guitar tones, or pedals that can simulate pick-ups (not sure which makes for sense in this regard)?

If I could get a humbucker to sound like hendrix's strat from little wing, I would be in heaven,

I imagine a pedal with switches that allow you to key in your actual guitars pick-up and another set of switches to indicate the pick-up you want to simulate. 

If we can get those classic and clean tones, perhaps the distorted overdriven tones would come naturally once another pedal is turned on...

Just a thought and a curiosity as to why this doesn't already exist (perhaps it does???)


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Digitech RP355/500/1000
All have pickup simulators in them. You can make a tele sound like a les paul and vise versa. 
You cannot simulate the middle pickup, or the middle combo sounds on a guitar without the middle pickup. 
But in your editing mode, chose pickup simulator-single coil or humbucker. 


It also has an acoustic simulator. But it's not that great.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

With the new FX units today, you can make them sound like almost anything in the guitar genre and some, even outside of that.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

All you need is a Roland VG-99 or one of the new Boss GP-10s to get those kind of features. Here's a video with an overview of the GP-10:

[video=youtube;zJLBRuewG0A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJLBRuewG0A[/video]

BTW this video only scratches the surface.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Buy a variax?

Or be smart and buy lots of guitars and switch them up 

We're stubborn, it wouldn't sell.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Dude just get a Strat....no arsenal is complete without one.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

With the price of those pedals hovering around the $500 mark, wouldn't it be more practical to get a strat instead?


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Kenmac said:


> All you need is a Roland VG-99 or one of the new Boss GP-10s to get those kind of features. Here's a video with an overview of the GP-10:
> 
> [video=youtube;zJLBRuewG0A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJLBRuewG0A[/video]
> 
> BTW this video only scratches the surface.


Thanks. Cool unit, but seems way more involved then an average pedal. I'm more interested in hitting a pedal and getting this tone with a les paul:

[video=youtube;03yPUlBE5OU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03yPUlBE5OU[/video]


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Budda said:


> Buy a variax?
> 
> Or be smart and buy lots of guitars and switch them up
> 
> We're stubborn, it wouldn't sell.


I didn't even know what a variax was until now. shame on me.

Definitely cool. The reason I actually got to thinking about this kind of pedal is because when I started playing my LP with the SD humbucker-sized pups I just had custom made to sound like Albert Lee's single coils - the strat-like sound was lost (likely due to the massive difference in body materials and weight).

So, if something exists that I can just plug in and make the LP sound close to the clean sound in the video I posted, then the would be sweet.

Otherwise, I'll just have to buy a strat. And you will have to explain _that_ to my wife (it was your idea, pal).

- - - Updated - - -



JBFairthorne said:


> Dude just get a Strat....no arsenal is complete without one.


I'm trying to downsize. I have been for a while. I just can't do it.

- - - Updated - - -



Chito said:


> With the price of those pedals hovering around the $500 mark, wouldn't it be more practical to get a strat instead?


Yeah, I'm not sure I would fork out $500 for those pedals. They do sound good, but it's not likely. I've been working on a two-pedalboard thing for the last month or so, and this would just throw it off.

I'm _really_ trying to think of an alternative to buying another guitar.


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

IMO, a simulator will only bring frustration because a Strat's tone can be so different depending on the pickups you use. 

Listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny, then to David Gilmour's tone on the Wall and finish that off with something like Texas Flood. They're all very different tones. For Lenny, you'll need a vintage, lower output pickup. For the Gilmour stuff, a slighty higher output set works well but then, when you get into something like Texas Flood, a blues type set is what you need. 

I struggled to get a nice clean, in between tone (positions 2 and 4 on the pickup selector) with the higher output sets but it just didn't work. No amount of emulation can go into that level of detail. You'll get filters that approximate the strat tone and they're usually based around a mid cut. 

The Godin LGX used to have a pull tone knob that supposedly made it sound like a strat. It didn't work very well IMO and I yanked it out. A good coil split will sound better. 

Jon Moore made a pickup set for me a while back and it sounded very convincing in single coil mode. Very nice for clean tones.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

adcandour said:


> Thanks. Cool unit, but seems way more involved then an average pedal. I'm more interested in hitting a pedal and getting this tone with a les paul



You will not be able to get that sound with a LP type guitar. Plain and simple. 

Thats a Strat in the neck/middle mode. Until the solo, that's all neck single coil. 
Gotta have that middle single.


If you are married to the LP shape but not the brand name then this is your axe, you may have to split the humbuckers though. 


http://www.rondomusic.com/product7423.html


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

I found a concept drawing for such a pedal as adcandour is looking for...










I'll get me coat.

Neil


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## DrHook (Oct 28, 2013)

You can get very close with a 3 pickup Les Paul using the middle position, it gives you that strat quack.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

djmarcelca said:


> You will not be able to get that sound with a LP type guitar. Plain and simple.
> 
> Thats a Strat in the neck/middle mode. Until the solo, that's all neck single coil.
> Gotta have that middle single.
> ...


Thanks. That LP is not bad. Perhaps I can have a space routed out of an LP I own?

I still find it hard to believe that this can't be done. I will have to sit through all the videos (I've had time to check out about 5 mins of each and didn't see anything yet).

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DrHook said:


> You can get very close with a 3 pickup Les Paul using the middle position, it gives you that strat quack.


That's good to know.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Coil split and suck it up?


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Budda said:


> Coil split and suck it up?


Does that work? I've played guitar for a while, but I'm pretty ignorant to all the things the guitar world has to offer. 

I had the LP I sold to a forum member not too long ago with coil splitting - but it was a unique jimmy page tone. I didn't even think to try for that strat sound, cause I always knew I was going to move it.


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Listen to a bunch of samples of Lindy Fralin P-92. I think one in the neck position of your Les Paul might do it.

I don't like the output drop of split humbuckers - they don't sound like a good single to me.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

adcandour said:


> Thanks. That LP is not bad. Perhaps I can have a space routed out of an LP I own?
> 
> I still find it hard to believe that this can't be done.



It can't be done (easily) because this is the basic difference between 2 humbucker type guitars and 3 single coil type guitars.

The sparkle parallel sound of the wide spaced single coils in a Strat is unique to that set up. 
The fat growl is unique to a humbucker. 

To make one sound like the other you require to split the humbucker or re wire to parallel. 
this is fine for making a 2 humbucker guitar sound like a 2 single coil guitar. (LP vs Tele)

The third middle pickup has its own sonic imprint and the physical space between the coils give the sparkle in position 4 (mid/neck) and quack in position 2(bridge/mid) 

Routing or carving an existing body to accept a third single coil is easy enough. A fosner drill bit is good for pickup routing. The wire holes go from the neck tenon all the way to the bridge hb. 

But a standard 3 way toggle can't do position 2/4 of the five way switch. 
You'd have to wire in 3 mini switches for the voicing you desired. Or a 5 way blade or rotary switch. As well as push/pull pots for series/parallel of the humbuckers. 


For a project of this nature, I'd get a doner guitar or guitars from the pawn shop for reasonable prices, then route the middle single coil in, then remove the 3 way toggle and put in a 5 way rotary switch in the hole after fishing the new wireing through to the pot cavity. 

Wiring an auto split coil coil for position 2/4 is widely available online if you don't want to do it with a push/pull switch.


This isn't that difficult of a project but it would have some cool challenges.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

LydianGuitars said:


> IMO, a simulator will only bring frustration because a Strat's tone can be so different depending on the pickups you use.
> 
> Listen to Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny, then to David Gilmour's tone on the Wall and finish that off with something like Texas Flood. They're all very different tones.


Could that not be because they are playing through different amps, pedals, etc? While each guitar with different pickups can and will sound at least a little bit different, wouldn't the other things in the daisy chain make the bigger difference?


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

Steadfastly said:


> Could that not be because they are playing through different amps, pedals, etc? While each guitar with different pickups can and will sound at least a little bit different, wouldn't the other things in the daisy chain make the bigger difference?


In my experience, its more than just the amp. I cannot get a tone similar to "Lenny" unless I plug in the Strat with the lower output single coils. The Strat with the blues set simply cannot get there, regardless of the amp.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

smorgdonkey said:


> I don't like the output drop of split humbuckers - they don't sound like a good single to me.


This times a million. I tried to make my Les Paul sound like a Strat with wiring mods before and there's no doubt you can get close... but plug in a nice Stratocaster alongside of it and all of a sudden those split tones sound weak. It's fun, to me anyway, to put together complicated wiring setups like you would need here, but the end result imho for what you're looking for isn't worth the effort.


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Here is my solution from the 80's for getting strat-like tones from a non strat.







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Bridge(DiMarzio Super Distortion) pickup can be: humbucker series, humbucker parallel, rear single coil. Combine with middle DiMarzio(?) single coil and voila>almost strat-like.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I got a Tele and put an HB in the neck position. Thought this would be my go-to Swiss army knife guitar.

It wasn't. I've come to the conclusion that Strats and Teles and LPs and SGs and ES's and Gretschs and Rickys and the etc. etc. all exist for more than the unique looks.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

LydianGuitars said:


> In my experience, its more than just the amp. I cannot get a tone similar to "Lenny" unless I plug in the Strat with the lower output single coils. The Strat with the blues set simply cannot get there, regardless of the amp.


Thanks for the clarification. I see how that makes sense about the lower output single coils.


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