Highly Suspect: What type of HSS Strat + mods does Johnny Stevens use?

a picture would be nice for future reference, but the one i saw is 100% not an original, professional or elite(or even standard) those are new lines and his looks old and beat to shit. more than likely its an older mexican or japanese he has modified since the one in pictures ive seen(aged white) has 21 frets, if you want a year id i have to have a clean picture of the serial number

as for pick ups the only way youll find out is to ask him lol, theres no sites with the info and with the black parts it's more than likely a set of aftermarket pick ups and aftermarket scratchplate maybe seymour duncan or dimarzio since thats what most people drop in strats. as for mods he has a toggle switch so it maybe a kill switch, but since i have no context ot could be anything the guy from bloc party has an 8 bit toy in his guitar

the pots i have no clue, he has one and it looks like a normal fender witch hat, and coil split is more of a preference so he may have it may not pretty hard to tell

honeslty unless he does a rig rundown/interview about his gear youll probably never know any of these for sure, other than the fact he has a humbucker in his guitar, and runs with no master volume knob

if you want something close to his, get a mexican hss strat, and start from there, but beware all these mods will DECREASE the value of the guitar, if you get a mex strat you are looking at 750-900 total investment if you have someone else install the parts, i saw you are in the chicago area, go to chicago music exchange(cme) and try out a bunch of hss strats, also if you go there go to their bass-ment, their shop is down there and you could aska tech how much the mods would cost, im just giving a ball park number based on what my local shop charges and what i know from talking to guys who work at CME.

I've been trying to figure out the same thing since I became a fan of Highly Suspect a few years ago.

I do wanna say it's a MIM that's been heavily modded. Probably was a stock blonde that he threw a black HSS pickguard and probably changed the pickups to Duncans of sorts. Other than that, just the stickers and markings, maybe lost a knob or two. And it's beat to shit lol.

The white one is a stock MIA model that he changes the bridge to a Duncan. Idk which model tho

EDIT: Blake beat me to it. Honestly, get a used HSS MIM Strat (or SSS then change it to HSS), and change pickups. The bulk of his sound is his amps (cranked Fenders/new Supros) and his pedals anyways, so the guitar could be anything that can push an amp just enough give it a nice crunch.

I've enver paid mroe than $500 for any MIM fender.... no one should, its madness

i can justify the 800 for a classic player i love them but i wont buy a mex standard new, 600 is way to much. good thing is they still run 300-400 used in good conditions

I have a bunch of them, classics, signature models and that baja... $500 tops... for the baja I think... 300-400 as you say is the right price

No problem, but a mexican hss strat is a good starting point and to get it similar to his id just try to find out what that switch he has is, pick ups in a mex strat are pretty good and will sound close to his as long as he isnt using a super hot bridge

Considering this, I'll probably seek out a setup that's something along these lines: * Fender MIM Strat (link) * Duncan Vintage Strat Neck & Middle (link) * Duncan JB trembucker (link)

As far as amps go, there are A LOT of options. I know he uses a Fender Bassman and Supro Thunderbolt Plus, but would these be my best options? I really only need 15-25W not 45W. I also prefer something with 2-channels. What would you guys recommend?

I would argue looking for a cheaper MIM on CL or Reverb, as you can find killer ones for less than $525 even in that finish. Plus it'd give you more money for the Duncans. Not sure if I'd go for a JB, maybe a Custom 5 or Custom Custom, as the JB is better for hot-rodded 80s stuff and the other too have less gain but can still push. Otherwise not a bad plan.

Amp wise, look at the other Supros. The Dualtone is 24W and 2 channels and sounds killer cranked. The Orange Tiny Terror (head+cab or combo) could also get you those tones. Will you be using pedals as well?

check guitar centers used, i got my strat for 325, and they have just about any thing to fit ur fancy

its black on black but this a prime example http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Fender/2008-FSR-Standard-Stratocaster-HSS-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc or this for 400 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Fender/2004-Standard-Stratocaster-HSS-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar.gc

the Rocker32 is a great amp and also check out the bassbreaker 18/30, its a got an 18 watt and 30 watt channel, and with his amps you listed it might be worth a try, but wattage doesnt = volume, take a Hiwatt custom 50 and that thing will make will make a twin reverb(85 watts) look like a bitch. the Rocker32 is a gigging amp and will get really loud really quick most tube combo's are gonna get loud quick unless its a little practice amp, but its a solid amp and i definitely say if you can afford it get it. just make sure if you are in an apartment or have bitchy neighbors not to get carried away don't want any noise complaints.

id say try a few tube amps thats what ive done,try stuff you usually wouldnt like maybe blackstar or laney

also i looked up a video of them live, id say keep the hss strat stock, and a good tube amp like the orange with some drive and little reverb should get you close to his sound and i think the switch on his strat is a kill switch

Good suggestion. I was looking at the Dualtone and the Orange Rocker32.

I currently use an OCD and Clovenhoof together which isn't bad. I know he likes to use a TubeScreamer and Big Muff together. Considering getting an H9.

That should be fine, OD-wise. I know he uses a Bluesdriver, a Carbon Copy, the H9, and Digitech Whammy, and a couple others as well.

The Dualtone and Rocker 32 will work well. Can't go wrong with either tbh

Squier basses are a great bang for the buck id even throw the squier jag bass with the full size neck in the mix since its a pj similar to his bass and or a pj bass since he uses a pj http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/Vintage-Modified-Precision-Bass-PJ.gc

as for amp the rumble is a good bedroom amp but id also look used for a rumble 40 if you can, its a bit bigger and with bass as most things in life bigger is better