SRV KWS Strat Comparison

[stbreal]

what pickups are in the kws strat i need to know so i can get some 

[JThundered]

what kind of tuners are on the SRV headstock?

[megamicron]

Man, I want to buy your poster

[Strat10100]

can guitar pickups be changed from one guitar to another. anybody?

[gr8bluesgtr]

@Strat10100 Yes, but you need to know how to solder.

[sirgaryo]

i think you're spot on dude, both guitars are awesome , just like the players themselves , but , to my ears anyway , the Stevie Ray model is like Stevie Ray himself , simply the best !!! ;-))

[Gfonzarelli3rd]

Prefer the sound of the pickups in the KWS over the Texas specials in the SRV. I like the punch!

[roundaboutwrongway]

Almost Boogie Chillin' at the start

[claus433]

Amp in this video? Thank U. Have a great sound!!

[TheGreengod420]

where did you get that strap

[bulldog111111]

srv...guitar center $1400 no intrest

[rapeyadog]

i kinda prefer the SRV strat :)

[guitar62751]

Great demo ! 10 stars !

Thanks for posting this !

Stu

[fferrarajr]

Appears to be more clarity in the KWS strat..to my ears.

[emdblues]

from which song is that part at 4:36?

[evolutionmb]

liked the KWS guitar much more than the SRV. Replacing the pups made a huge difference, but the KWS model osunded incredible!!

[maxwellph]

Are the SRV pickups quiet? The N3 noiseless pick ups in my deluxe are absolutely silent. I like that.

[Gham847345]

Although I'm not all that taken with the looks of the KWS I thought it sounded great. I have large hands but unfortunately it's all palm and normal fingers.Makes these 2 a little tough of a fit,I prefer the 60's classic player

[toddy01bass]

beautiful, beautiful sound.

[REaton03]

what kinda pickups did you put in the kws strat?

[fbender722]

Slider's Vintage Pickups are the absolute best. Check 'em out. You will be blown away.

[desertroott]

I gotta say man, both guitars sound great. However, I have played the new SRV strat and I was not that impressed. In addition, I OWN some mcon-o-wah pickups and they blow anything I have ever played off the shelf. I took my strat with the mccon-o-wah p/u's in to the guitar store and they simply excelled and I gathered a crowd. If you want the SRV/Hendrix sound nothing compares to the bell-tone pickups from mccon-o-wah IMO. Stick with the KWS strat. Nice picking though! Keep posting! Thanks!!

[gingercat777]

My vote goes for the KWS with those pups there's more note separaton, closer to that SRV sound....get someone to play them both for you and stand back and get a subjective opinion

[BigBerto90]

I liked both guitars very much. However, maybe it's just me, but I liked the KWS's sound better mainly because I noticed that one was played with a little more "umph!" while I got this feeling that you were holding back a little with the SRV. Again maybe it's just me. This could have something to do with the fact that I believe 80% of one's sound comes from the hands. Haha! Anyways, it was an interesting video and thank you for your lessons!

[McConOWah]

To be more specific, when I say wood types, I mean that the quality of the wood used in an American strat body & neck, are far superior to those of a Mexican one. Also, the trem. block, and tuners/hardware on the USA model are heavier, and more dense, which all adds to the roundness, and quality of tone. (Keep that in mind when you shop for p/ups etc.) The guitar construction is just as (and even more important) in your decision process! Happy Holidays all.

[McConOWah]

Thanks for the video Anthony; to those of you that like the KWS's sound thanks. To those of you that don't thanks to you too! I believe that you should always have your own opinion and not blindly follow anyone just because. Now, onto business: any Pre-CBS strat is louder than a modern one. My p/ups are not overwound, in fact they are underwound in comparison. (Same Specs as Pre-CBS)

Wood types and differences in coating makes a world of difference here. Great video Anthony, thanks again.

[EricClaptonFan24]

Your amazing, all i have to say haha.

[iamtheav8r]

I'm wondering if you've ever played a G&L Legacy and if so how it compares to these guitars?

[MoongrassNoel]

i had this guitar in 2000 but i changed the pickguard cos i didnt feel i did SRV justice so but gold anodized

[Edwinthe7th]

What’s the big deal with graph tech saddles? Not trying to be a dick I just don’t know.

[gr8bluesgtr]

@Edwinthe7th Good question. Simply put, strings break far less often when using GraphTech saddles because the edge the pass over is far mor slick than metal. Now, if you don't do a lot of bending, it's probably not an issue, but anyone that starts to pickup the SRV/Hendrix/KWS etc... style of playing will probably break strings fairly often without them.

[grubnetseor]

@gr8bluesgtr Very true, I have experienced the difference. I broke the higher strings very very often. They even started to call me stringbreaker. With the graphtech saddles I seldomly break a string.

[stevierayDOM18]

@gr8bluesgtr I saw Kenny last night in Foxboro, Mass. He signed my strat and after the meet and great, he pulled out this strat and it sounded awesome. What pickups did you use in your KWS strat?

[bigtonemusic]

sorry if this Q was already asked but were you playing mostly in the neck pickup position? bottom was cut off on my screen.

[wrigleyx]

i have a KWS in white, love it, killer. I've tried an SRV and...yes, better, but not the same price but, yes the SRV is awesome. But my KWS is my fav' guitar :)

[carlmacedo]

I put the McCon-O-Wah Belltones in my SRV strat. I think it sounds much better in that body than the Texas Specials did. Nice video BTW.

[steveo27545]

Yeah SRV wins you can hear it with your own ears.

The only starts I own are SRV or at least have the neck.

I got one for less than 600 on ebay, it had been re-fretted.

Hey I break strings more on my strat maybe need them saddles you talked about.

I purchased one the first year it came out, the date on the neck don't match the year model.

The older model had really good pots and wires, there really good guitars, the Fat neck is cool, but it's the radius and frets that make it so great

[ArielsSmartyPants]

The KWS sounds harsh and while I'm sure the pickups sound better than the originals, they seem much to over wound for this guitar. The SRV on the other hand sounds balanced and smooth like fine wine :)

[seicheberlin]

the srv has the whole bandwidth, whereas the kws sounds kinda dull with chords and is lacking upper mids.

it also sounds different because you play better on the SRV :)

[lemi413]

well ... i want them bouth ... ;-)

[jtseem]

Amp settings?

[plgplgplg]

Part of what made SRV's sound great was the clean Bell Sound. KWS, Chris Duarte etc don't seem to be able to play within that parameter, Even this demo seems to show that the KWS is dirtier.

[illini3332]

Nice Comparison. It would be great if you could do a lesson on Life Without You by SRV on that new strat of yours. Theres nowhere to find a good lesson on the song and its one of hit best IMO. Any chance of that??

[steveo27545]

@illini3332 4/4 key of A.

Great song

Stevie rock the house with this one, then again he rock with them all , its one of my fav's as well I can do a chord chart for you .

I may have one, all I use are these charts with lyric's and numbers instead of chords so you would need to know the major scale

[hawg427]

I agree, the SRV sounds a little clearer. On the Fender website they really make it sound likr the KWS pups are fantastic. What gauge strings do you use? I use 11's on my USA Strat.

[GregPruden]

Those pickups on the KWS are AWESOME.

Where did you get them?

[jjulch]

I noticed at my first gig just how noisy the hum is on the single coils. Do you just live with it or do you use some kind of noise supressor? Would you consider fender's or another brand's noiseless pickups or mini humbuckers?

[jjulch]

I noticed at my first gig just how noisy the hum is on the single coils. Do you just live with it or do you use some kind of noise supressor? Would you consider fender's or another brand's noiseless pickups or mini humbuckers?

[tonetrain]

The KWS has so much more balls. The SRV sounds weak in comparison. But considering I see the SRV's for below a grand on my CL, its a good mid price guitar. I wouldn't really consider it a "high end" strat, lets leave that to the CS strats. You can pick up a non masterbuilt CS strat for about 1400-1500 anyways.

[lukefit1]

not a good comparison considering the KWS has upgraded pick ups, they both should be compared with the stock pick ups.

[wrigleyx]

@lukefit1 yes, because the "harsh" tone that we can hear here, well, i defenitly don't have that with my KWS, my KWS is way more creamy.

[86scirocco8v]

I liked the KWS better, it sounded louder, and a little bit "hotter". It could be the pickups.

[mongoose979]

i personally like both but i think the pickups in the kws sound sweet, does anyone have a link ?

[roccckkerrr]

kws just sounds i guess harsh in comparison

[standindarkness]

@roccckkerrr only the pickups...i wish he did a stock kws

[sebah1991]

Great lessons, great demos! I really apreciate you doing this for the youtube guitar community. keep up the good work

rock on

[ilPitproductions]

theres a lot of difference in favour of the srv!

[pablonoxi]

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE your tone.

[777josu]

Thanks for the comparison, Anthony! That's just what I was looking for! I love my KWS strat but also love the SRVs...hope I can get one someday.

[Guitarman1192]

does anyone know how to get the jim hendrix echoplex sound from a line 6 dl-4 like philip does?

[toyama14]

i love your guitar <3

[bebop4u]

I like the SRV it sings and also has more highs to work with without sounding thin

[thedonace213]

ahh...sad i sold my srv strat....oh well my '56 CS Time Machine is pretty nice, i think if you like the neck on the SRV you might also like the 10/56 neck. Also, I hear that the Texas Specials in the SRV are different than their production ones that sell separately.

[megajames3000]

srv all the way that sounds just like him

[darahs]

Hey, just a question what is graph tech satles? :D

great video,

[blakmagik4]

I prefer the SRV by quite a bit. it's very warm and meaty.

[metalvocalistwanted]

im surprised to find i think the KWS sounds better. but like u said its probably the upgraded pickups \\m//

[ifu06572]

i see what you mean. The SRV is more like cream and the KWS one is like whole milk.