Silhouette Special vs. Albert Lee

[cjl5150]

I remember talking to someone at EBMM and being told that an Albert Lee is more in the vein of a traditional Strat than a Silhouette Special. Does anyone know why that is? I've owned a couple of Silo Specials and they seem like an evolution of a Strat, but never really played an Al. Just wondering what would make it more 'Strat-like'.

 

[musikarero]

I've had both and couldn't recommend one more than the other. The humbucker in the bridge position would make the Special some what different than your normal strat. The AL would have your traditional three single coil pickups, but the over all feel is completely its own. Play them both if you have the chance.....again you can't go wrong with either.

 

[ScoobySteve]

The AL is ash and the silo is alder. Both come with maple necks, and the Silo Spec can be ordered with a RW board. To my understanding the regular SSS Al cannot be ordered with a RW finger board.

Seeing that both Ash and Alder have been in the lineage (and still are) for strats, I wouldn't say that the tone wood is the definitive factor in that strat like tone. The Al and the Silo both use the two point vintage trem system or body-through hardtail design. I have a SSS Silo Spec, and have played an SSS Al extensively, and I'd say that the AL is more strat like, and due in large part to the custom Seymour Duncan pickups.

A couple buddies of mine, and many knuckleheads have changed pups on a SSS Silo Spec, from CS '69s or Texas Specials, Suhr MLs, Lollar Blondes, or Fralin Blues, with outstanding results.

Stock vs. Stock the Al gets there more, but after changing the pups, who knows?

I'd recommend playing both if you can and see which you like more stock, then go from there. The custom single dimarzios on the Silo Spec are definitely NOT what you'd call vintage 50's- early 70's strat tone, but they're quite nice, I like em personally and still use em.

If a rosewood board, or a humbucker in the bridge is a must for you, then the Silo Spec would definitely be the way to go.

 

[DrKev]

Also remember that the HSS version of the Silo Special has the middle selector position wired as neck pickup in parallel with one coil of the bridge humbucker. It's a cross between the standard strat middle position and the telecaster middle position but definitely not standard on any strat. So, from that point of view, the SSS AL is closer to the traditional SSS strat.

 

[cjl5150]

I appreciate the responses, but I guess I was thinking of an SSS setup on both guitars. It seems to me that they are very similar in a lot of ways- 4 plus 2 headstock, tremolo, 10" radius, 5 bolt contoured neck joint, etc. I think the only real differences are the body shape and pickups. That's the source of my curiosity.
In my mind, they are both represent a very real refinement and upgrade to the traditional SSS guitar. And I have no desire to be mired in a 55 year old design when some significant improvements have been made. Amazes me how many players very stubbornly insist on sticking with a few traditional models and won't even consider anything else. But, that's a different thread I guess.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

I'm not sure that I've ever analyzed it.....but when I need straty tones, I tend to use my Al. My sub 1 is modified enough to be very similar to a silo spec (full silo spec pickups and single coil). For some reason, I never even think of the sub for strat stuff. I have it wired more like a strat somewhat with neck, neck/mid, mid, mid/hum, hum.

 

[John C]

It's the size of the body - the AL body is closer in mass to a Strat; the Silo Special is more down-sized which will impact the tone. That being said (and having had 3 Silo Specials, all SSS, all rosewood boards, and all with trems) the Silo Special is still pretty close to an American Standard Strat tone-wise while the AL is in closer to a traditional/vintage Strat (particularly an early 50s ash body) tone wise. It's a bit hard for me to talk about the AL tone as the only AL I've owned (to date ) was the MM-90 version.

 

[DrKev]

At the end of the day, there were so many varieties of strat (body woods, fingerboard, pickups voicings, bridges, saddles) that there is no "one" strat tone that is definitive. The SSS Silo Special and the AL will do a fabulous job of any thing a strat can do. And they be more tune too, all over the neck, and have a better trem.

 

[banjoplayer]

I remember that there were comparisons here like AL=50s Strat and SiloSpec SSS=60s Strat.
But I wonder who here really ever played an original 50s or 60s Strat. I didn´t!

 

[cjl5150]

At the end of the day, there were so many varieties of strat (body woods, fingerboard, pickups voicings, bridges, saddles) that there is no "one" strat tone that is definitive. The SSS Silo Special and the AL will do a fabulous job of any thing a strat can do. And they be more tune too, all over the neck, and have a better trem.

Yeah, what he said

 

[John C]

I remember that there were comparisons here like AL=50s Strat and SiloSpec SSS=60s Strat.
But I wonder who here really ever played an original 50s or 60s Strat. I didn´t!

I used to say that - and yes, I have spent some decent time with a '67 Strat (that I should have bought back in 1985 but that's another story - mid-late 60s Strats were still pretty cheap back then!)

While a Silo Special has the woods of a 60s Strat it has a much more focused voice - it's closest to an American Standard Strat, and frankly each of the three Silo Specials I have owned over the years probably sounds closer to my '79 Fender Lead II (also a smaller bodied guitar) than to a Strat. They have a great voice of their own, but they aren't quite a Strat and I don't think that was EBMM's goal with the Silo Special. As my wife said whenever I played one of those Silo Special - they are twangy in a New Wave (not Country) way.

The Silo Special I should have kept and not flipped - the 2007 in the LE Blue Dawn.

 

[paranoid70]

I used to say that - and yes, I have spent some decent time with a '67 Strat (that I should have bought back in 1985 but that's another story - mid-late 60s Strats were still pretty cheap back then!)

While a Silo Special has the woods of a 60s Strat it has a much more focused voice - it's closest to an American Standard Strat, and frankly each of the three Silo Specials I have owned over the years probably sounds closer to my '79 Fender Lead II (also a smaller bodied guitar) than to a Strat. They have a great voice of their own, but they aren't quite a Strat and I don't think that was EBMM's goal with the Silo Special. As my wife said whenever I played one of those Silo Special - they are twangy in a New Wave (not Country) way.

The Silo Special I should have kept and not flipped - the 2007 in the LE Blue Dawn.

I flipped the same one, great guitar.

I found the neck of the AL is more similar to a Strat than a Silo Special. Actually to be quite honest, I find the SS and the AL to sound quite different than a typical Stratocaster.

 

[Cenobyte]

I replaced my strat with a silo special, they produce similar overall sounds but the stock sss silo special isn't as honky sounding as a strat. You can get some similar types of tones but I think you'd have to change the pickups to DiMarzio Areas or something to get closer to a strat than the stock pickups will do. The pickup spacing is different on the silo, and as mentioned the body is smaller than a strat. I have the Albert lee hh so comparing the 2 doesn't work in my case, although position 2 and 4 get strat type sounds

 

[skerwo]

I also think that the right way to bring a Silo Spec more into stratty tones is changing the pups. The stock pups are nice sounding but not in a typical strat tone. I found that the positions 2 and 4 are far away from what I call the "Knopfler" or "Clapton" sound. I changed the pups and now my SS is so close to a strat that you really hear a strat when closing eyes. Of course there are a lot of different strat tones but for me the 2 and 4 position and the neck-pu are the real deal at a strat and these sounds are trademark. Meantime my SS got this sounds by changing pups.

Rainer