I hate my Sheraton's sound

[whitespike]

Enjoys the feel of the instrument to play. Doesn't enjoy the sound it produces. Would like to alter the sound by changing pickups. Wants a clearer, lighter sound, of which Fenders are good examples. Anything unclear?

 

Thanks, thats exactly right! Love the way it plays but the tone is underwhelming. I think it's easy to understand. And from what I gather, a fairly common criticism of this guitar. Cheers.

[whitespike]

Enjoys the feel of the instrument to play. Doesn't enjoy the sound it produces. Would like to alter the sound by changing pickups. Wants a clearer, lighter sound, of which Fenders are good examples. Anything unclear?

 

Thanks, thats exactly right! Love the way it plays but the tone is underwhelming. I think it's easy to understand. And from what I gather, a fairly common criticism of this guitar. Cheers.

[SNick]

Sorry if this has been covered. I love the way the guitar plays, but I just hate the sound. In fact, I don't like humbuckers at all.

 

Really i like a fender sound. Any pickups that come close?

 

Simple answer - You bought the wrong guitar. Sell the guitar and look for exactly what you really want. Your just wasting your time and money.

[AlanH]

With a pair of '57 Classics or Seymour Duncan '59s, a nice valve amp and possibly new pots and caps your Sheraton will come alive IMO. If you like the way it plays and it sounds warm and rich acoustically then you won't be throwing good money after bad.

 

Expand your tonal palette beyond the thin Fender sound and discover what real tone is.

 

 

SD '59s come in a very reasonably priced two-pack, BTW.

[wiggy]

Does anyone make a full H/B sized version of the Fender wide range humbucker as fitted to their Coronado hollow body? If so that might be just what you're looking for - a Fender voiced slimline semi.

 

"" Edit ""

 

Just found that the Coronado used DeArmond humbuckers so perhaps something voiced similar?

[Stevie Nazarenie]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it... a treble booster can really add chime to a neck humbucker.

[whitespike]

Simple answer - You bought the wrong guitar. Sell the guitar and look for exactly what you really want. Your just wasting your time and money.

 

You're entitled to your opinion, but I have read countless threads about people changing pickups on guitars. I think your "simple" answer is rather "simpleton" in nature.

 

Fact is, the guitar is perfect otherwise.

[whitespike]

With a pair of '57 Classics or Seymour Duncan '59s, a nice valve amp and possibly new pots and caps your Sheraton will come alive IMO. If you like the way it plays and it sounds warm and rich acoustically then you won't be throwing good money after bad.

 

Expand your tonal palette beyond the thin Fender sound and discover what real tone is.

 

 

SD '59s come in a very reasonably priced two-pack, BTW.

 

Thanks for your input! Believe me, I have been in bands for 18 years now, and I used to sell guitars and set them up for a living. I have owned and heard far beyond the "thin" Fender sound. That just so happens to be what I like. I don't like humbuckers and never have.

[AlanH]

 

 

Fact is, the guitar is perfect otherwise.

 

I have an idea for you as I really think you ought to try better humbuckers. Why not go to a major store and try out some of the Gibson archtops like the 335 or the Midtown series. If you like what you hear you can rest assured that you can get that Sheraton pretty close to that sound. What's more, aftermarket pickups like the SD '59s come with 4 conductor wires so you could split the coils as well.

 

Edit:

 

OK, I retract the above. I made this post just as you replied to my earlier one and can see you're not keen on humbuckers at all. With all the experience you cite it does beg the question as to why you bought the Sheraton in the first place though.

 

Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do.

[whitespike]

I have an idea for you as I really think you ought to try better humbuckers. Why not go to a major store and try out some of the Gibson archtops like the 335 or the Midtown series. If you like what you hear you can rest assured that you can get that Sheraton pretty close to that sound. What's more, aftermarket pickups like the SD '59s come with 4 conductor wires so you could split the coils as well.

 

That's a great idea. I am assuming splitting the coils gives a single coil option? Would you do this with a push/pull knob added on each tone knob?

 

Thanks, thats a good idea. If it works like you say, maybe I can have a lot more versatility.

 

I really do love this guitar otherwise, so any idea to get the tone where I need it is great!

[AlanH]

Thanks for your input! Believe me, I have been in bands for 18 years now, and I used to sell guitars and set them up for a living. I have owned and heard far beyond the "thin" Fender sound. That just so happens to be what I like. I don't like humbuckers and never have.

 

See my previous post above for reply. Passing ships and all that.

[AlanH]

That's a great idea. I am assuming splitting the coils gives a single coil option? Would you do this with a push/pull knob added on each tone knob?

 

Thanks, thats a good idea. If it works like you say, maybe I can have a lot more versatility.

 

I really do love this guitar otherwise, so any idea to get the tone where I need it is great!

 

You could do all that and more with re-wiring. You could even independently wire each '59 pickup so you get "out of phase" options using whatever switch/pot you decide to use. That would be more akin to getting the 2 and 4 strat positions than having single coil wiring. Best to google image some witing diagrams and the Seymour Duncan site has plenty of diagrams too.

 

I can personally recommend the SD '59 as I have one in the neck of my Charvel. It's blues tonal heaven!

 

Good luck as I say.

[whitespike]

I have an idea for you as I really think you ought to try better humbuckers. Why not go to a major store and try out some of the Gibson archtops like the 335 or the Midtown series. If you like what you hear you can rest assured that you can get that Sheraton pretty close to that sound. What's more, aftermarket pickups like the SD '59s come with 4 conductor wires so you could split the coils as well.

 

Edit:

 

OK, I retract the above. I made this post just as you replied to my earlier one and can see you're not keen on humbuckers at all. With all the experience you cite it does beg the question as to why you bought the Sheraton in the first place though.

 

Good luck with whatever it is you decide to do.

 

I bought the Sheraton because I played a friend's, and while I didn't like the sound, I loved the feel. I planned on putting in pickups from the start. Just didn't know what.

[matthewk]

I just spent a good three hours with my Surf 90 Sheraton and I can tell you it's a great combination. There is a bark in those pickups which sounds like the Sheraton did with humbuckers, but it's now clear and sharp. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that it's the sound of the physical guitar itself, and the Surfs are bringing it out with more single coil clarity. Bear in mind that I have the Frequensator tail and those behind the bridge strings do add a kind of brassy ringing quality to it - not the case with the stock hardtail.

It's not remotely a Fender sound - everything else I play is Fender related and it sounds nothing like my Teles or my Jag - but it has clarity like a Fender. What's amazing to me is that I am actually rolling the tone controls off, which I never do with a Gibson style guitar usually. I even prefer the neck position to the bridge. I've played a "real" Les Paul a few times and that has a kind of similar bark.

So the Surf 90 Sheraton is giving me single coil clarity, but sounds nothing like any other guitar I have. Overdrive brings a very controllable growl to the tone, at the right setting I can play clean and then dig in to make it snarl.

The rest of the story is a 1972 Twin Reverb (master vol silverface) and a cheap Delta Labs overdrive which is surprisingly good.

[whitespike]

I just spent a good three hours with my Surf 90 Sheraton and I can tell you it's a great combination. There is a bark in those pickups which sounds like the Sheraton did with humbuckers, but it's now clear and sharp. My guess, and it's only a guess, is that it's the sound of the physical guitar itself, and the Surfs are bringing it out with more single coil clarity. Bear in mind that I have the Frequensator tail and those behind the bridge strings do add a kind of brassy ringing quality to it - not the case with the stock hardtail.

It's not remotely a Fender sound - everything else I play is Fender related and it sounds nothing like my Teles or my Jag - but it has clarity like a Fender. What's amazing to me is that I am actually rolling the tone controls off, which I never do with a Gibson style guitar usually. I even prefer the neck position to the bridge. I've played a "real" Les Paul a few times and that has a kind of similar bark.

So the Surf 90 Sheraton is giving me single coil clarity, but sounds nothing like any other guitar I have. Overdrive brings a very controllable growl to the tone, at the right setting I can play clean and then dig in to make it snarl.

The rest of the story is a 1972 Twin Reverb (master vol silverface) and a cheap Delta Labs overdrive which is surprisingly good.

 

 

Thanks for the review! I'm getting close to ordering those. DId you just replace the pickups or the wiring/pots as well?

[whitespike]

Here's a pretty cool demo!

 

[matthewk]

Thanks for the review! I'm getting close to ordering those. DId you just replace the pickups or the wiring/pots as well?

I had already replaced the wiring and pots in an attempt to get the humbuckers to clear up. Made little difference - the only issue would be if yours is noisy or has an actual problem.

The main factor is the difficulty of accessing the wiring - some would say that if you are going to go to the effort of getting the wiring out to attach the new pickups, you may as well replace the pots for a couple of extra dollars.

I don't have a decent microphone or otherwise I would do you a demo myself - it would be pointless trying to record through my computer.

[dem00n]

Invest in a soldering iron.

 

..or some new fingers.

[vomer]

Whitespike, I'm late in to this thread, but here's my 5 cents: I too had a muddy Sheraton, and swapped out pups and electrics for (currently) GFS Dream 90's. Much clearer than the stock humbuckers. And, I don't much like humbucker tone so I can appreciate your preference. I don't know if I should have gone with the Mean 90's though, I find the Dreams a little bland and a bit too twee in the middle position. Mind, I did leave the 500K (replacement) pots in so it is bright with single coils- you might be better off with lower value pots.

 

But in terms of Fender tones, it's not going to get you as close as a solid body with a 25.5" scale length.

[whitespike]

Whitespike, I'm late in to this thread, but here's my 5 cents: I too had a muddy Sheraton, and swapped out pups and electrics for (currently) GFS Dream 90's. Much clearer than the stock humbuckers. And, I don't much like humbucker tone so I can appreciate your preference. I don't know if I should have gone with the Mean 90's though, I find the Dreams a little bland and a bit too twee in the middle position. Mind, I did leave the 500K (replacement) pots in so it is bright with single coils- you might be better off with lower value pots.

 

But in terms of Fender tones, it's not going to get you as close as a solid body with a 25.5" scale length.

 

Thanks for your accessment. Does it come stock with 250K pots?

[vomer]

Thanks for your accessment. Does it come stock with 250K pots?

 

No, sorry for any confusion. The Sheraton has 500K pots as stock, I replaced mine for 500K CTS pots when I first changed the pickups out to GFS Vintage 59 humbuckers which were an improvement but I decided to go for single coils, so put the Dream 90's in. Some people go to 330K pots with P90's.

[Blueman335]

No, sorry for any confusion. The Sheraton has 500K pots as stock, I replaced mine for 500K CTS pots when I first changed the pickups out to GFS Vintage 59 humbuckers which were an improvement but I decided to go for single coils, so put the Dream 90's in. Some people go to 330K pots with P90's.

 

On the Duncan site, some of us 250K's on our bridge HB's and P-90's for the warmth, but we all use 500K's on the neck.

[whitespike]

Traditionally what is used on fenders and on gibsons with p90s? 250, 330, or 500k?

[whitespike]

For those of you have changed over the hardware to chrome, what did it cost? I'm kinda strapped, but I want to see before I order gold pickups.

[Blueman335]

For those of you have changed over the hardware to chrome, what did it cost? I'm kinda strapped, but I want to see before I order gold pickups.

 

Bridge, stop bar, tuners; that runs into money, more than you want to spend. Just wipe down the gold hardwrae after you're done playing and it looks good for years.