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I bought a 'used Strat Plus' from 1989 because I thought it sounds very good.
I wonder how it compares to other strats for Shadows' sound. On the internet people say that the gold lace sensors sound not as 'open' as the normal strat pickups. But I, being used to a Lespaul, think that the sound is already very Shadows-like.
Maybe someone has the experience with both kinds and can tell more about the differences between those pickups?
I could always buy different ones...

I also have a 1989 Strat plus which I bought new and am fortunate to own a 1968 American Strat that I also bought new. (or rather my dear old dad bought for me when I left school).

Both very good guitars but I could never get the Plus to sound anywhere near as good as the 68 for Shadows sounds - perhaps not surprising really.
In those days my hearing was still very good, not like it is now.
I changed the Lace Sensors for a set of Seymour Duncan alnico pro 2 and it was a good improvement but still not as good as the 68.
The next change I made was to the 2 point trem unit. I removed it and fitted the 6 screw vintage style which to my ears really did sound much better.
The final mod was to remove the Wilkinson roller nut and fit a bone one.
At that point I was happy with the instrument. It still sounds a little different to the old 68 but does now have that vintage vibe and serves me well as a working / gigging guitar.

It would probably have been easier just to get rid and by another guitar but I did learn a lot from doing the modifications.

Good luck with it!

Pete

HI Pete, thanks for you quick reply. I will probably not do the modifications that you did, as I also use the guitar for all kinds of sixties rock, and it sounds good for that. Also, the former owner replaced the vibrato unit with a Wilkinson, which works better than the original. But your story gives me an impression how this guitar compares to a good Shadows' sound. Great.
Btw., did you restore the wood behind the nut?

Yes, I had a luthier make it for me and it looks fine.
About 6 months ago I removed the neck and fitted a maple one to see if I would like the sound.
Even with my poor hearing it makes a considerable difference to the sound. It seems to be snappier with more clarity in the mids.

Pete

I once owned a fiesta red Strat Plus with gold lace sensors. It was a fabulous guitar and I regret selling it.
It did a great early Shads sound and was good on modern stuff too. At the time I was listening to too much bad advice, which I sorted out by doing and trying things practically, using the right pieces of equipment. Knowing what I now know I'm certain that the Strat Plus should have stayed.

Hi Dave, thanks, I'm glad you told me your story of the strat plus; this is more like the experience I'm having with this guitar, and it convinces me not to make too many changes. I only put a mini-latch in the back, (to be able to tune to open G) instead of the factory fitted tremsetter. I'm playing a lot more guitar than with my LesPaul nowadays!
Sorry for your loss..
(Pete:) mine already has a maple neck/fretboard (one piece).

I have a 63 strat which gives a very good Hank sound.Out of interest I plugged my friends strat plus into my amp without changing any settings and it has a completely different sound character.I tried eq variations but I think it would take a completely different setup to get back to the Shadows sound. I suspect the main differrences are due to the pickups.It was quite surprising how different they sounded.

Thanks Stuart, how would you describe the difference in sound?

Stuart: I totally agree with you and that's why I changed the parts on mine. Doing so got me where I wanted to be.

Cheers,
Pete

negninegaw wrote:Thanks Stuart, how would you describe the difference in sound?

Its difficult to define but I have always thought that the original strat has a unique and very recognisable sound possibly influenced by the staggered pole pieces and overly strong pole piece magnets. The Hank tone quality was just not there with the strat plus. It gave what I can only describe as an "ordinary" guitar sound like any other brand of guitar might give. I don't mean to be disrespectful , it is a very good guitar but did not produce the same classic Hank sound so easily as the original strat does.