def a topic I'm excited to spout off about as if I know something (I don't)
love the fender clean tone... but it's not to say it can't be done w/o it.
that said: lotta really good country players play straight in, but the dan armstrong orange squeezer really nails down that compressed spanky tone with sparkly highs. can't recommend it enough. country tone in a box and does a lot more too. and hey: mark knopfler supposedly used one as well as skunk baxter.
also "that classic country tone" typically involves slap delay
from james burton(elvis) to chet and less to hellecasters... whole lotta slap back.
afa make a strat sound like a tele... check out steve morese or eric johnson below. neither uses a tele and morse is using a marshal and peavey here(demo below). He is spot on about the tecnique having more to do with it than anything IMO and both are about as good as it gets for tone also IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuXPBoTz2Oc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEAAOY2J5Wo
afa changing pickups... I think you could get a lot closer with a $2 spdt switch...
the main thing dif with a tele is the neck and bridge on at once. on a strat, you can get this combo by wiring in a switch prior to the 5 way selector from the bridge pu hot wire... one way goes to 5 way, other goes direct to #3 lug on vol pot, bridge hot goes to the middle.
this way you can flip the switch to turn on the bridge pu in the 4 and 5 positions and this can really get you some good tele tones
the phase will be a bit dif but you'll get to the church on time.
literally cut one wire, replace one wire and add a third and your there.
afa eq: def don't scoop the mids?
