Fender fat 50's sound too bright

I have a 2013 American Standard Strat. it's a lovely guitar and one I have waited my whole life to be able to afford. the problem with it is that the pickups sound way too bright, either when set at the height Fender recommends, they even sound too bright when lowered.
is it just the pickups or is there any way of reducing the brightness?

 

Turn the tone down? I had them and did not hear that.
What amp are you using?

 

I have a gorilla TC-80.

 

Youre pickups are fantastic. Try another amp before you do anything else?

 

I will when I can afford one.
as it is only a single (clean) channel amp, I run a marshall jackhammer to add a bit of drive.

 

I have the same guitar. I run it through 100w Marshalls. I absolutely love the Fat 50's. Try
volume knob at 8.5, middle tone knob at 8 and lower tone knob at 4. I must have felt the same way initially because I keep that lower knob at 4; it keeps it nice and smooth for me.

 

If all 3 of the pickups are too bright, you’re going to have change the way you set the amp. Usually it’s only the bridge pickup that is too bright, which can be fixed by rewiring the guitar like a Jimmie Vaughan Stratocaster. That would give a tone knob to tame the bridge, and you wouldn’t have to worry about the middle and neck pickups becoming muddy…

 

The bridge pickup is wired to the lower tone knob, So I can turn it down a little.
but sometimes it still seems a little too bright.

 

I had the same problem. I thought cos they were called "Fat 50's" they would be beefy and thick. For me they were really bright. If I have to mess with the tone and volume on my guitar to tame my pickups, they are not the pickups for me. I ended up getting rid of them and getting the CS 69's. Much better!

 

I might change them at a later date.
thanks for the help.

 

As far as pickups on a Strat go, the only ones I seem to like are Texas Specials and that's about it, except for a bridge humbucker.

Not to knock American Standards and Deluxes (they're fabulous guitars), but I just find them all to sound sterile for me. It's like the wood is too hard and the tone always lack dynamics. Currently I have an American Special (TS single's), and it sounds spectacular. It could be made out of the same wood for all I know, but it doesn't feel like a rock. My last USA Standard was the last one I'll buy, that thing weighed 9.6 lbs - that's more than my Les Pauls!

I did have one of those ('56?) Reissues. That one weighed 7.2 lbs and it felt a bit too light. It sounded incredible - just like the old Strats with that boxy resonant tone. But it lacked sustain, and the necks are too narrow so that the E strings pull off the fret ends.

 

Another way to tame a bright guitar is with the cable, due to capacitance. Try a longer cable.

 

Should I consider lowering the pickups? if so, by how much?
as for using a longer lead, I use a 10ft studio quality lead from my guitar to the first pedal in my chain, and another lead the same from my last pedal to my amp. is that not long enough?

 

It might just be that you don't like the single coil sound. The fat 50's aren't meant to sound like a humbucker...just a little bit "fatter" than a regular vintage style single coil. You can certainly try lowering them a bit. Lowering them a tad can get rid of a little harshness. Just go a tad at a time. It doesn't take much. I generally have my pickups set a touch lower than Fender's measurements. But I like the single coil sound...you might not.

 

Sell it and buy a Les Paul.

 

I unfriend you.

 

lol!

 

there are relatively cheap but high quality pickup alternatives as well...Toneriders, GFS...have darker variations of classic strat pickups...I've been happy with and still use GFS strat pickups-

 

I'm thinking what you have there is a really great guitar with great pickups. You don't yet have a great amp, but one day you will. Why don't you take your quitar to a shop and ask to try out a couple of good tube amps? Marshall JVM , Fender HRD, Vox AC30, Orange. Granted you cant get one yet but it would be a fun afternoon and it might let you see if you really don't like your guitar tone.

If you do decide to change those pickups, you will get a good price for them.

But, if you want a work-around, this idea with the cable could lead to a cheap reversible fix. A very small capacitor across your guitar output jack can bring the electrical part of the pickups tone down from bright single coil to a thicker tone without going dull. If done by cable length, it is the length from the guitar to the first active box that counts. Or just add a cap, which costs a few cents. Try 1nF, 1.5nF, 2.2nF and 3.3nF. You can add it to the jack, or wire it into the jack plug on the cord.

 

Could never bond with fat strats.