My top 2 choices for your guitar would be plain old Gibson Burstbuckers. The basic ones. My second choice would be Lollor Imperials. Both of these have a great PAF type sound. The Gibsons are my favourites because they're a bit microphonic and a little more open. The Lollors are smoother and a bit more focused.

I don't like overwound, hi output, pickups so both of these are very traditional sounding and may not be your cup of tea.

Rain

Wookie - Yup - I change strings every week or so on the LP. (The strat seems to need new strings every 2 or 3 days for some odd reason, no matter how much I use it or not). 


:)

 The tech at my local GC is actually pretty good at what he does and he does it a lot. Every time I'm in there he is working on a guitar. 45.00 is what they want here at my local GC. A local luthier here will do it for around 65.00,so that price seems a bit high to me as well.

 Basic truss rod and bridge intonation adjustments are a piece of cake. I always looked at it like I turned the rod, if I don't like it I'll turn the rod back,same goes for the bridge intonation. Anything I do can be changed or undone to my liking. Small 1/4 turns or less on the rod theres not much to worry about. If you really mucked it up the tech is still there charging what he always does ;). Overtightening a rod can break a neck, so small turns and if after a small turn nothing happens it might be something else.

 

I guess that, after years playing the strat as is, refusing to modify anything on it, I've finally entered a phase of wanting an instrument that is customized a bit - while remaining as traditional as possible.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys, I'll check those out.

As to why the strings die so quickly - remember earlier this summer I mentioned my sweat corroding the pick-ups on my new Les Paul in a matter of a few weeks? Acidity.

What puzzled me is why they last longer on the LP. But, it makes sense - the strat having less natural sustain and resonance, it's bound to sound totally dead relatively quicker. It's like playing a plastic guitar w/ muffled strings.

Rain


As to why the strings die so quickly - remember earlier this summer I mentioned my sweat corroding the pick-ups on my new Les Paul in a matter of a few weeks? Acidity.

.

I do remember but you stated that it didn't seem to matter how much you played it..that's why
I thought you may think something is wrong with the Strat and that made me curious.
And two or three days...?...man that's unheard of for me.

I've known dudes with the "acid hands". Do you wipe down the strings after each use? Maybe some talc on your hands before a session could help keep it under control. Not sure if that would be worse for the strings though.

I haven't changed the strings on my yammie for a couple months now... but that's because I'm cheap. They need replacing at this point though. Bought myself a ten pack about a year ago and I think I have seven or eight sets left. In my gigging days I'd play them until they were almost rotting off the guitar and if I broke one (which happened often) I'd "fix" them by hand. My fingers are like jewelers pliers now from years of doing it.

Beepster


I've known dudes with the "acid hands". Do you wipe down the strings after each use? Maybe some talc on your hands before a session could help keep it under control. Not sure if that would be worse for the strings though.

So did those dudes have strings that lasted for two or three days whether or not they played
the guitar?
Is it being said that the body chemistry is so acidic that the strings are being killed when they
are installed on the guitar?
Excuse me....I just can't seem to sort out what it is being said.

I do wash hands before and try to keep the strings clean, but nothing seems to work.

Similarly - a couple of days after we bought the Jeep (brand new) we noticed that there were not stains but strange white-ish traces on the inside of the door on my side - around the handle. It's like I'm shedding layers of skin or something. Easily cleaned, but still, annoying. As someone who showers twice a day and constantly keeps his hands clean, that sucks.

And that's w/ me having been in the car maybe 2 or 3 times - so having placed my hand there may 6 times to open/close the door. So you can imagine what happens to the strings when I play a guitar for a few hours. 

To be honest, when I put fresh strings on the strat, it's because I have plans for it and will most likely play it for at least 5 or 6 hours in a row. Don't know if that makes it more understandable...

Anyway, I've modified my diet a bit, and cut back on coffee, but I'm still overly acid it seems. I guess I'll have to talk w/ a physiologist eventually.

As a reminder - I've posted it before - but that's the kind of damage we're talking about. That's what my sweat did to the LP Junior bridge in a matter of few months.