Like the DX7’s “FM Tine Piano” sound, which never seems to go totally out-of-fashion, the Strat’s “out-of-phase” or “in-between” pickup combinations are timeless. Who could even imagine ’80s pop hits without liberal doses of both. That trademark Strat sparkle comes from combining either the bridge and middle pickups or the neck,and middle combination, neither of which was truly out-of-phase (although more recently, Fender has begun wiring the middle pickup with reversed polarity). If you find yourself drawn to that particular tone — or maybe asked by the producer to provide it — but you don’t want the part to sound too ’80s, here’s a cool little tip that you’ll thank us for. While playing your part through an amplifier or using a modeling module like the Line 6 POD (with some toothsome chorus effect, of course), take an omnidirectional mic and place it close to the guitar’s strings, pointing toward the middle pickup. Mix that sound (which won’t be very loud, but will have lots of tasty overtones) with the amplified signal and you’ll find that it sits nicely in a mix, often eliminating the need to add an acoustic guitar part.
Essentially, you’re just looking for the high-frequency “acoustic sound” of the pick on the electric guitar strings. And a little goes a long way, providing a glossy tone that adds just a little extra zing to chords or even single notes. An omnidirectional mic works best because it isn’t prone to muddying up because of proximity effect. If you don’t have an omni available, use your most sensitive condenser mic and then roll off all the lows, either via the mic’s low-cut filter or your console’s EQ. You’re really only interested in frequencies above 500Hz. While this little trick works great on those Strat parts, you can also use it on almost any guitar to add a bit more presence without resorting to tweaking the high frequencies on your mixer, which would add unwanted noise.