to jump in this debate. I was raised on heavy, long-scale, double humbucker pickups running through shit-loads of effects, which of course requires a lot of wiring and fine tuning to get the right "feel" and "sound"
however, when I began to play in jam bands, in blues bands, in reggae bands, and got out of the Steve Albini side of distorted guitar oriented music, I discovered the joy of the Strat. I initially also never could get into the strat or any single-coil set ups because as has been pointed out several times over on this thread, when it comes specifically to effects and over-driven guitar work, the Strat can be tricky, but have we all forgotten the pioneer inovator of guitar noise and feedback?
So we are all talking out of our asses if we suggest with any integrity the an effects chain is lost or wasted on a Strat, and that Strats and single-coils are for clean channel playing. True, the Strat is superb for clean channel, and if you have the purity of Jerry Garcia and want to buy surplus NASA equipment to produce absolute clarity at a 1/2 mile, well then a Strat can do it.
However, we also know that with a bit of effort you can get great distorted sound from a strat or a single-coil. I discovered this myself when I started playing Strats in reggae bands, and then later jam bands, and I was in those situations desiring perfect clean sound, however the distortion in me also found expression through the Strat.
Now.. that I have properly wired, adjusted, toned, and tuned my Strat and other single-coil guitars, I must admit that I adore them. Yes, when I want a wall of distorted or some heavy open chords I get my double-humbuckers which I have gutted to just growl, however, when I want something more intricate, or say something with subtle play with a delay and distortion, then I've noticed the Strat can pick up the subtle nuances more accurately and creatively. Also, while the humbuckers can make some serious noise, volume, and distortion while maintaining the over-all integrity of the note and tone, if you opt to play at a slightly lesser gain and volume, you can actually get MORE versatility on the Strat then with the humbuckers, it just takes a bit more technical and mechanical effort and preparation. So distortion on a single-coil may be a bit more calculated, but this should not negate its potentiality.
That being said, if you want a lot of chunk go for the Jazzmaster and gut it, I even suggest going all out and buying the Tony Iommi Gibson pick ups, they keep their integrity even when tuned down three whole steps and with high gain!! However, the Strat and other single-coils should not be demonized by the noise guitar community, it has a lot of potential given the right amount of effort.
I like the strat over the Jaguar in this regard, the Strat is a lighter, more ergonomic guitar over the Jaguar when it comes to the single-coils, and I love the Jazzmaster for being the heavy hitting Fender that can take the Pepsi challenge against any metal head Gibson
or, we could follow Kurt's genius and get the the best of both worlds with the Jagstang
