For any who are interested.
Luthier: Steve Curtis at PMT in Manchester.
I got my strat back from the luthier on saturday, and am MORE than happy with the compound radius, jumbo frets and waxed fretboard combo he did for me.
1989 US Fender Strat. Maple Neck, Super-Vee locking trem system(fits all stratocaster guitars with no modifications).
NECK: I had Jumbo frets fitted to this guitar. Also I got him to change the fretboard radius from 9.5in into 9.5 to 12.5 so I could bend with a lower action up the top of the neck. I also got him to wax the fretboard rather than refinish it because the finish on maple necks (front side) gets a bit sticky for me in hot conditions. Had him leave the back of the neck however. It's a 20 year old guitar, so feels WELL worn in. The neck is now perfect for me. The fretwork is immaculate and the flatter radius at the higher end is so much better for fast runs and overbending.
PICKUPS: At the same time I had the GFS Lil Killer taken out of the GFS pickguard set I bought and had a Kent Armstrong "hot rails" type stacked humbucker put in there.
Initial reaction: I think I may have accidentally stumbled upon my favourite pickup for live work on a strat. Although it's hotter than the Pearly Gates in my Charvel 475 (13k as opposed to 8.35k) it's a lot quieter. Both guitars have 500k pots in them, but the PG seems to have a tendency to want to feed back a little in the low-mid band at higher gain whereas there is no hint of feedback at all in this armstrong until I move to a place near the amp when I want it to feed. Uber cool.
As the description below would suggest, it has a nice amount of bottom and mid to it. It is, however TIGHT, whereas the GFS Lil Killer was bottom heavy but too loose for my taste. Also I have a friend who has a JB Junior in his strat and that is way too harsh in the mids to my ear. The KA is smooth but has the percussive tightness I require on the attack.
A couple of surprises:
1:It sounds excellent clean on both the full 'bucker mode and the tapped SC mode. Obviously the amp helps, but I wasn't expecting it to sound as clear as it does. There is chime.
2: Coil tapped with grit is convincing and relatively quiet compared with what I'm used to hearing from a single coil. It does a relatively good Blackmore style sound. This is the first coil tapped HB I have encountered that does this.
I'm hoping to get some recording done on the X3 this week, so we'll see how it pans out here too.
Here's the summary from the WD music website.
"CERAMIC / D.C. =13K- A hum-cancelling, single coil sized pick-up. A lot louder than a standard Strat®, single-coil, this works great in the bridge positon of a Strat®, especially with high gain. A big emphasis on bass and mid frequencies. A simple way to thicken up the bridge position tone. Turn your Strat®, into a Rock machine! Black with black rails. 4 core cable for optional coil tapping."
Dunno if this blog is going to be of any interest. lol.