Since the Squier Bullet Special was essentially modelled after Fender's Tom DeLonge Blink 182 Strat (stripped down Strat with a single, bridge position Seymour Duncan Invader, 1 volume control), I've somewhat planned to upgrade to an Invader even when I'd ordered it from Musician's Friend, last summer. Then last month, I "just had" to order me a Fender So-Cal Speed Strat, again from Musician's Friend, and decided to leave well enough alone, there, since the So-Cal Strat sounds tons better than the Bullet Special.
In playing around with various "soundscape" ideals, however, I discovered that the So-Cal Strat can seriously "growl like a tiger," if I tune all of the strings a whole note down from standard. At the same time, with standard tuning, it'll go from "singing oh so sweetly," playing on the high strings, to "growls like a tiger," playing on the low strings. Which leaves me with the dilema of wanting to do both, but without having to always down tune and up tune. Which is where my Bullet Special could come in handy.
With the current (stock) humbucker, the Bullet Special will never be able to hold a candle to the sound of the So-Cal Strat. Now, the Seymour Duncan Invader is still an idea, but what about something like a TV Jones MagnaTron? Of course, at this point, I'm open to suggestions, of other passive humbuckers that I may not be thinking about. The Bullet Special ain't all that bad a guitar, but for wanting the "sings oh so sweetly/growls like a tiger" it could be better. Once I have the Bullet Special upgraded, then I can experiment between it and the So-Cal Strat, as to which one gets standard tuned, and which one gets down tuned.
Matt in Indiana
In playing around with various "soundscape" ideals, however, I discovered that the So-Cal Strat can seriously "growl like a tiger," if I tune all of the strings a whole note down from standard. At the same time, with standard tuning, it'll go from "singing oh so sweetly," playing on the high strings, to "growls like a tiger," playing on the low strings. Which leaves me with the dilema of wanting to do both, but without having to always down tune and up tune. Which is where my Bullet Special could come in handy.
With the current (stock) humbucker, the Bullet Special will never be able to hold a candle to the sound of the So-Cal Strat. Now, the Seymour Duncan Invader is still an idea, but what about something like a TV Jones MagnaTron? Of course, at this point, I'm open to suggestions, of other passive humbuckers that I may not be thinking about. The Bullet Special ain't all that bad a guitar, but for wanting the "sings oh so sweetly/growls like a tiger" it could be better. Once I have the Bullet Special upgraded, then I can experiment between it and the So-Cal Strat, as to which one gets standard tuned, and which one gets down tuned.
Matt in Indiana