Recently, i've been trying to improve the sound of a couple of my instruments, as you know the time makes you feel things differently and your taste about tone changes..
The more i play, the more i record stuff,..the more i know exactly what i want to hear and feel from my guitars and at that point i start to know what to do to get that feel and tone.
My main "strat" is that olympic white Suhr classic chambered, it's always my first choice for live performances. Since i have this guitar, it has been modified a couple of times, the latest mod was the pickups change for the Suhr Fletcher-Landau's, i was looking for a fatter and fuller sound and these pickups gave me that.
I like "strats" to sound fat and a little dark, i really hate the bright and trebly sound in the attack that you get with mapple strats or some vintage rosewood that sound too thin. My first like were SRV and jeff beck, later came Mike Landau into my references..so i guess my ears want to get to that direction.
So, after the PU change, i was almost there but there was still a bright mid in the attack that i had to compensate with boosters. I started to check out forums after i read a scott henderson interview in wich he said that the trem block could improve the tone of your guitar quite a lot..
There was 2 mods that could help me to find what i was looking for, the block and the saddles.
On the Suhr discussion forum, i met Mark Overfield from the UK who had the same problem and he recommended me to get in touch with Sandy Peek at KGC (killer guitar components) and talk about a custom made trem block.
Since i put that block on the guitar, i got more bottom end, sustain, fatness and overall warmth so, big improvement on the Suhr that was already a fantastic instrument but now it has more of that vintage flavour.
So, thanks to Mark and Sandy for their help and collaboration!
you can visit Killer Guitar Components website here : KGC
Here is the second mod i made on the Suhr, Raw Vintage saddles.. ;-)
See you there, ;-)
Steev