Tele VS Strat Why Do The Pickups Sound Different

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Dylan Talks Tone Recieves Commision From Some Of These Links

[@jimmyjames2022]

Glad to see this Strat bridge pup "plate-no plate" comparison. I think it gives it a bit more Tele, but keeps the Strat too.

[@DylanTalksTone]

Thank YOU

[@emsrebel]

For me, the perfect guitar would be a Strat that sounded like a Tele in the bridge. I am super interested in a Strat pickup with the plate on the bottom.

[@hampusnilsson6950]

Would be cool to see a eq spectrum on the audio samples.

[@moddaudio]

People do not like FFTs. (Judging by my channels social engagement and sub scores)

[@scottk3292]

I agree that seeing a frequency analysis would be really cool.

[@scottk3292]

You could add it as a bonus video. I'd watch it.

[@johannalvarsson9299]

Too many other factors in the examples. You need the DI-signal. And even then just picking SLIGHTLY different will have bigger results in the graph than the pickup-differences. There should be some FR-sheets from the manufacturer tho...

[@moddaudio]

@@johannalvarsson9299 It is possible to DI in a MLS signal. You just need to make a piece of metal move between the 2 states without introducing any magnetics into the pickup. You should do it using lab equipment, but there is at least one way to do it on the cheap. I thought about doing this months ago but I decided it was not worth my effort. I get about 1 subscriber per 40 hours of work.

[@jeffreyeagen4896]

It would definitely be interesting having a Strat set of pickups with the metal plate!

[@raoulduke344]

That would be a great experiment. A lot of people find a strat bridge pickup to be a bit thin, so maybe a plated bottom would make it another "guitar that does everything"?

[@sonicd57]

They make these… I bought a strat bridge pu with the plate attached from Revel pickups

[@alcg4105]

The baseplate increase the inductance It is great for upgrading.

[@omnirath]

You also want to connect the bridge pickup to the tone capacitor on the Stratocaster, it’s as important as the baseplate to get a more teleish sound

[@fantomas9240]

Bare knuckle just made a signature set of pickups strat for Rabea Massaad with steel plate for a fater sound. I really dig that.

[@jRo.974]

You attacked the tele with hard strums and gently raked across the strat even on the single note lines. Difference was negligible on the other guitar. 11:58 Self fulfilling prophecy at best. Made up content at worst.

[@NateT0524]

I've been putting base plates on my strat bridge pickups for a while now. Love the tone!

[@rainbowslushy223]

id like to know what a metal plate on a jazzmaster pick up would sound like

[@alessiograziani6355]

most probably full of mids

[@stevenwilliamdewitt]

All my strats have a steel plate on the bridge pickup. Sounds better to my ears. Like you said “more grunt”

[@hippierobbie7891]

That's the sound I've been looking for out of the bridge pick up on my Silver Sky SE. I like the cleanness of the stock neck and middle pickups but they get muddy fast when adding much gain, and find myself grabbing a Tele when more aggressive gain is needed..

[@bonneymaes2757]

Been thinking for years to do that to my strat bridge PU. You convinced me…and even the neck seems cool…more focused

[@sgeggbub1008]

let me know if it's a worthwhile upgrade, I'd love to do this to but I have no idea if it'd even change that much without a proper tele bridge, and I don't have tools to proper mount it, hopefully it doesn't have to be too professionally fit

[@ces69]

@@sgeggbub1008I just a bit of candle wax that I first melted onto the plate by heating the plate with a soldering iron. I allowed to cool and solidify, I then placed it on the pickup and melted the wax again with a soldering iron so that the liquid wax acted like a glue, sticking the plate to the bottom of the pickup as it cooled ! Some “base plates” come with wire already soldered in place, if not you need to do this before the “wax” stage. You will also need to solder the wire to terminals on the pickup which is probably the hardest part if you’ve never soldered before! If this is the case, 😢 I suggest you practice soldering on some spare wire first before attempting!

[@stewsim]

Great comparison video! I’ve used those Callaham base plates for years, and love how it tames down the often shrill Strat bridge p’up, and adds definition and a tad of lower umph.

[@alessiograziani6355]

I installed custom-made pickups on a Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster 70. My central and bridge pickups are set up with a base plate, the bridge pickup has considerably more windings of wire and is connected to the tone knob. The final resulting tone is for sure a little more versatile than the standard Strato bridge pickup, but it does not sound like a humbucker. I find it very good when playing arpeggiated chords with a slightly overdriven sound.

[@soulagent79]

I once had an old Japanese lawsuit-era Strat which had brass/steel baseplates on the bottoms of the pickups, which seemed odd to me at the time. Now I know they were probably there for a reason.

[@tolvajakos]

i love your approach and explanation. The single-note playing on the strat pickup with metal plate definitely gives a tele-esque vibe. That twang kind of came through at least through my audio setup. The pickup in the neck position sounds pretty sweet.

[@jessharris5423]

I really like the richer tone, especially evident in the lower runs (8:10-13 vs 8:46-49). Definitely pushes the mids out more, like a tele, but not as much. I have a strat with SD Quarter Pound pickups in the mid and neck, and I'd love to hear what they'd sound like with plates.

[@АнтонНиколаев-ц4х]

Thank you so much, man, for sharing this with everyone! I now know exactly what I'm missing in the sound of stratocaster singles and makes it closer to humbucker, I think. Rail makes the sound more powerful, but darker, not as bright as this one. Therefore, this is the best choice for me. And yes, it sounds like a vintage sound. And if you put a stratocaster single in the neck and with a plate on the bottom and close the lid on top as on the tele. Now I want to find out

[@TonyFf986]

I hear more mids and highs with the plate, it sounds grittier and thinner to me. I hear more bass without the plate. There IS a difference, and to be honest I didn’t expect to tell right away

[@z4570]

A really good explanation for a guy like me that wants a Strat bridge pickup to hav a bit more mids and bass and smoother highs. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[@MourningVulture1]

I can’t believe how big of a difference that made! I’d definitely buy strat pickups with steel plates on the bottom.

[@jklappenbach]

I would for the neck pickup.

[@kremepye3613]

Make them yourself!

[@pageyjjj]

Great comparison. I think KZbin may have slightly lowered the volume of the w/baseplate sound sample.

[@pedrova8058]

the "Q" of the resonance increases (the resonance peak becomes a little narrower, in addition to moving up a little) It makes sense, the plate at the base helps concentrate/redirect the magnetic flux at the top. People use the same trick with inductors (like a wah for example, to increase resonance, o in audio filters) Thanks for the video!! it solved what I already intuited from theory

[@820hurleyj]

I listened twice. A couple of times I heard more low end with the plate, but mainly my best description would be more definition with the plate. BTW - just watched someone else's video about SD Hot Rails vs traditional Strat single coils. He didn't demo them, but basically he was describing the same thing, ie, magnetic field changes. I really enjoy your videos and your explanations. I watched a few more of your videos today. The last two prior to this were about Lace sensors (which I've had and didn't like) and crap - forgot what they're called, but you referred to a single turn coil. Alumin... something.

[@jktolford8272]

Definitely like the sound of adding a plate. Might also be worth trying a bigger plate for S-types w/ swimming pool routing.

[@bryantcochran5065]

I like the sound of the plate on strat pickup in the neck position.

[@tolvajakos]

yeah, definitely a better strat neck pickup sound. kind of getting closer to jazzmaster neck pickup territory to my ears. which is my absolute favorite neck pickup tone although i love P90s. Firebird neck pickup is also a favorite.

[@robert_olen]

Such a cool experiment- loved seeing this!

[@shanewalton8888]

12:05 "The resonate peak, without getting super nerdy" -Too late, Dylan

[@DDE_ADDICT]

Early Squier strats had the metal plates like that, I think 89-94 range, and they sound terrible. However, they were also ceramic magnets

[@blaiseutube]

I hope you have electrical engineering courses online somewhere. Your explanations are so clear and engaging!

[@AlexGroen]

I think Radioshop pickups UK sells separate metal plates you can glue and solder to your strat pickup

[@flapjack413]

Hey Dylan! I was wondering if maybe at some point you might consider making a video on potentiometers... how different values effect your tone, what impact different taper types have on how they work, what effect combining different values would have (for example 1M volume & 250K tone vs 250k volume & 1M tone), etc... I think it could be really useful to people!

[@brentjohnson5171]

Years ago Blade guitars made me a strat with a tele bridge pickup. I had mounted one in what had been my primary stratocaster and I loved it. They built me a custom Dayton as well that was a killer guitar. They dont get the respect they deserve.

[@marknielson2099]

Bare knuckles makes Strat pickups with the plate attached, bought a set ( no plate on the middle pup) and they sound great. Go for it!

[@haveagoodone5830]

Now THAT is the kind of videos I love this channel about! I've got a question though. I have a certain DM pickup that has a rap of being great but getting too muddy. It has a dielectric baseplate. What would you expect in the sound if I installed a steel plate underneath? What difference would you expect if I isolated it from the screws and if provided contact with the screws? Also, how far it should be from the coil?

[@windowsoflife]

Very informative demo. Thanks!

[@gstube1]

I think it's a great idea, it's a nice option for Stratocats who want another option . How about a steel cover around the top like a Tele neck or paf?

[@polarkgr1]

It definitely has a different sound. I think you might be on to something, and think it might be worth exploring further. I think it could lead to some interesting and amazing places if you experimented with these plates added to full sets of each version of your Strat pickups, standard, hot, p-90, and Bonneville. for experimental purposes maybe just do the plates and attach/detach them as you did here, but I would also be curious what and how much of a difference the full tele style wax potting might make. I think this could lead in some interesting directions. I am certainly interested to see where this could lead.

[@bradleyknopp7303]

p90s have a plate on the bottom also already.... and older style mounted soap bar ones.. actually end up having 2 metal plates below them..

[@stug5041]

I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’d love a removable bottom plate with some kind of bracket so I could add and remove it at will - would happily purchase 3 of those!

[@jedishaw6771]

Ive been winding my own pickups for years, my strat pickups are not the same design as other peoples, but they always have metal plates on the bottom.

[@Casey3-P-O]

I think it sounds great and you should make them. Why not? Especially if a lot of people show interest. I love the Tele bridge pickup so much, but I love the Strat neck and middle pickups, so thats a great combo I think. I currently have a hot rail in my strat, but I'd love to try one of these. I also think this pickup might sound really good in a Mustang or Jaguar.

[@edstraker2625]

Thanks for the honesty. I needed to br brought back down to earth. WE sometime make too much of our stuff, elevate it and give it attributes and qualities it could never have. But, it is really fun!

[@tomisham9900]

I thing they both sounded great but prefer the sound with the plate and I think I would play my Strat more with a pickup that had the plate. I thought about putting a Tele bridge pickup in my Strat just for the fun of it.

[@RobbieF]

Darn. I missed the premiere at 4:00 EDT ... was doing chores and lost track of time. Love the magnetic field diagram!

[@michaelcarter382]

Another great informative video. What if the plate on the neck was doubled in thickness? Maybe even made a bit wider even?

[@johnoakleymusic]

So what about the metal covers then? Aren’t they affecting the field too? Do they have less effect because they’re thinner plating than those base plates?

[@scottmartinezguitarandbass]

Hey brother - super interesting video! Thank you. As someone that's made tele single coil and regular "strat style" single coils, I find this incredibly intriguing. You know what would be cool? Just include a plate upon request, and figure out some way to attach it if somebody wanted to tweak their tone a bit. Would that be something you could super-glue on maybe? I think being able to add it yourself would be really cool - though with wax potting that might make things a bit dicey. Maybe you'd have to forego wax potting the pickup for that? Anyway, just some rando thoughts. I think I'm going to play with this. I build custom guitars, and it might be kind of cool to play with plate sizes on some of those too just for fun. Using it on pickups besides the bridge is a cool idea as well. Sometimes I find the neck pickups a bit too "boomy", maybe adjusting some of that midrange would help.

[@saddle8bag]

Interesting. Sounded thinner and less distorted to me with the plate. Hard to tell just strumming random things and playing on different parts of the neck could have that effect. Yannow what would be interesting is making a ferrous bar that sits over the strings too. Probably get in the way, but it might be kind of fun just to see how maximizing the permeance would affect the sound

[@birdman316]

"watch out twangbanger....here comes dylan"!! great comparison sounders brother! are the magnets strong enuff to hold the plate on should one decide to add the plate to the existing bridge pup in a strat? imagine the "tonal rabbithole" with this plate on various fave bridge singles in a strat woooo!

[@ces69]

Just use a bit of melted candle wax!

[@glennw3909]

I have a strat with single size p90 (looks like traditional strat singles vs actual p90 soapbar). I’d love to put some plates under these! My vote is +1 for plates.

[@christopherfidler3019]

hey Dylan I believe the Fender Hellecasters (MIJ) have a plate underneath the bridge pickup. cool video.

[@richclayton5785]

I love that you have the Pink Schecter hanging on the wall. I got lots of flack for buying a pink guitar.

[@anthonyludington8320]

Lol this is the third or fourth time this week, I've googled a guitar question and ended up on your channel. 😂

[@brusselssprouts560]

Strat pups always sound just a little too bright for my ear, and the plate seemed to take that shrillness away, so yeah I would consider that as a mod.

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

I'm going to come back to this with headphones.

[@BigSh00tsie]

Same. I didn’t really hear a difference.

[@jayclark725]

I had Seymour Duncan make a strat "stacked" double coil pickup with a base plate and it makes a lot of difference to me for the bridge. It is actually their BG1400 base design but for a strat. I tend to like the sound of a telecaster in the bridge position so it suits me. The stacked double coil tends to remove a little more top end and boosts the output as well as reduce hum. This was a very cool experiment. Since you have that guitar it would be cool if you could extend the base plate on the strat to the size of a tele and see how much more that changes things. Any idea what would happen if you mounted steel plates to the sides of the pickup route and test various heights (assuming you had the room between the pickup and the route)?

[@theincredulousr]

Would be interesting to try this on cheap pickups that are overly trebly and see if it moves the sound to a more pleasing position. Wouldn't cost anything to stick a bit of metal across the bottom if you are relatively handy or know someone who is.

[@secondaryaccount2379]

The entire teason I use a single is for the twang. I prefer a Tele bridge for this reason. SO.... yes, were I in the market (I'm currently not), I could really go for a set with steel baseplates.

[@ScottfromBaltimore]

Headphones. I expected more mids with the plate. I heard what I expected.

[@scottk3292]

I heard a whole lot more low end without the plate. Before adding the plate, it sounded like the traditional rock EQ setting, with reduced mid range and accented highs and lows. After adding the plate, it sounded to me like those lows were strongly reduced.

[@Pandamasque]

Fascinating. I like the sound with the plate.

[@johnp6269]

Dylan you are the pickup Wizard!!!!!! If the strat and tele had a baby.

[@nikolagenov8881]

Great video! I prefer the no-plate sound.

[@andoros.7017]

demonstrated by this demo, adding the baseplate seemed to quiet the pickup (whether because of EQ shape or other factors). In your opinion (or fact?), what are the primary factors that make telecaster bridge pickups *generally* louder/more powerful than strat bridge pickups since the baseplate appears to have a converse effect?

[@chipcrooks557]

The pick up with the base plate was more focused.. way better sound imo

[@gillesthibodeau7078]

It was not a day & night difference. I had to use good headphones to ear clearly that the pickup + steel plate was brighter, louder and the mid more in the front. Maybe the body makes a bigger difference. Lighter on a tele. I tought using a strat pickup on my tele would make it sound like a strat. Not really as I just noticed! At the neck, the sound was warmer and more pleasant! I would like a pickup at the bridge sounding warmer-richer and not as bright as tele pickups usually sound. More strat type with rich mids. Thanks for that very interesting experience.

[@Shiznitt_]

Interesting. The plate seems to fatten up the midrange just a little bit. I like how it breaks up with the amp

[@tianprice6879]

I would definitely buy a set of these with the plates. Sound amazing.

[@waynegram8907]

DYLAN, so the plain steel baseplate or copper plated Steel baseplate will Shift the midrange peak to the left or right? plus the baseplate adds more bass chug thump?

[@JH-ks9oi]

I had my "coy-dog" I called it, sometimes the "Strele", a 72 Strat body, repro Tele neck, block filled the trem bridge, put the ashtray in it and 52 Tele pick-ups.. It was a crappie 72 body I didn't care what Bill did to it.. Course he got the idea from Ian Moore's tech, but the damn thing was unpredictable tuning wise

[@chazstewart4865]

Might try experimenting with this myself...... not drunk enough yet though. Love this kinda content.

[@timothyrodriguez5170]

Loved it created awesome ton3s would love to hear position 2 with that plate

[@douglasaxtell]

G&L MFD pickups have a plate on the bottom. These are the last pickups that Leo Fender designed. They sound like a P90. Search for G&L S-500 to hear them.

[@shiftystylin]

Why not just make a baseplate kit? Seems a lot of people like the pickups with plates... I have a set of Fender Yosemite's that aren't wax potted so wouldn't mind a kit to try it out with!

[@rondelio8562]

Maybe not hotter, but yes, the overall eq of the output is different. Wouldn't the addition of the plate change the magnetic field? That would help explain since a Tele bridge pup is connected to the bridge plate, which would add to the output of the pickup both in tone and actual output, yes??

[@maxwellpowell4306]

I have a question (potential video), I have a tele where the neck pickup is cut out of the tone circuit and to me it sounds like there's more high-end bite. Is there anything to this and why? Thanks

[@slowfinger2]

Hi. The word you were looking for instead of sustain could be compression.

[@Bimmer2047]

i have a plate on a set of fender "Original 57/62". i added the plate just to the bridge pickup and every one i play with asks me how i get my stat bridge pickup to not sound so thin. and i also have the rear tone pot wired to the the bridge and i roll it back to 7-8 with a .022 orange drop cap. it works for me!!

[@jameskesler1930]

What about a comparison of tele pickup with and without the plate in both neck and bridge pick-ups?

[@robertbaker5445]

Some people turn the bridge tone down on a Strat to tame how harsh it can be. That seems like a more elegant solution.

[@shanesearle5131]

Hi Dylan i fine this very interesting i have a seymour duncan hot rail in my Tele and i have that bottom plate earthed and fixed to the bottom of the cavity so in other words there a gap between the pickup and the plate This has made my Tele sound like a Tele on steroids but sound awesome most people the play it are so impressed with the tone I have noise gate set through the amp whats your thoughts on this Kindest regards Shane From OZ

[@Noscrap909]

Wouldn’t a frequency response test like that used by audio manufacturers be the most accurate way to evaluate pickups ?

[@myeyesarewaiting]

i think it'd be a good alternative to over-winding the bridge pick up slightly. Instead put a baseplate on...

[@stevem.1853]

Similar thing going on with the Jaguar pickups "claw"?

[@gabrielnunes5448]

The plate is a interesting solution for neck single coil on 24fret guitars, I will try it with aluminum tape and see what will happen, thanks for the idea 🤸

[@Youtubemademeaddahandle]

What effect might a graduated thickness of an additional bottom pate make relative to the poles affected. Could the plate orientation be reversed to bias mid frequency change of either the higher or lower pitched strings.

[@copperaudio9664]

The plate sucked out some of the lower midrange and top end sparkle. I liked it better without the plate.

[@Tonetwisters]

The Tele bridge/PUP plate makes a big difference in my humble opinion. Putting on a metal bottom plate on the Strato PUP adds highs ...

[@kentharding5874]

I'd buy em! Send me the info how to order. Thanks .

[@ny7294]

To my ears , it helps to de-Strat the pickup a bit. I always find traditional Strat bridge pickups to be rather harsh .

[@thseed7]

Love this concept

[@r.l.g.iii.3028]

Written with respect... Bravo mr.dylan bravo..... you get an atta-boy :)

[@johnm3946]

Those mustang pick ups need that metal plate

[@myeyesarewaiting]

what would be more interesting would be how much similar a strat pickup would be without a base plate but wound to telebridge pickup dimensions and specs...

[@MFKitten]

Random hypothesis: this counteracts the metal bridge plate's interruption of the magnetic field.

[@paulgordon6949]

Ill never understand why they dont sell a strat with a ht bridge and tele bridge pick up. I mean im sure they have done at some point but you dont usually see them. So you get a comfy strat body with tele bridge and strat neck pickup - the perfect guitar, no?

[@lelin70]

Lundgren pickups BJFE has a copper plate under the bridge pickup, makes the strat sound ”fatter” on the bridge

[@jessekitts3976]

I'm going to need to do this to my mustang...

[@ThePlanarchist]

Fascinating. Thanks.

[@timothypotter2137]

I like it, you may be onto something I would check out.

[@ot4kon]

Less twang. Is better to have more and tame it later with tone control than to add later the top end. Mod one tone control to affect the bridge.

[@brian76541]

One thing I never liked about the strat was the where the center pickup is located and it was never comfortable to play. Telecaster is much more playable imo.