How Do You Wire Your Strat?

[kayd_mon]

I prefer:

tone 1 - middle

tone 2 - bridge

no tone control on the neck

 

I never use a tone control on the neck, I usually roll the bridge back a little, and I'll occasionally roll the middle back some. I hate it when the tone is shared.

 

The switching is standard.

 

What do you guys use?

[etawful]

Volume

Tone 1 = Master Tone

Tone 2 = Blender to blend back or middle into positions where they are normally off.

[Belva]

http://www.guitarelectronics.com/product/WDUSSS5L1205

This is what I have on my sc strat. My strat with 3 rails has 3 dpdt on/off/on

switches wired series/off/parallel with a master vol/tone. I get more sounds out of that one than a hooker has crabs.

[cratz2]

I have em wired all sorts of ways:

1. Stock
2. Stock with the second tone on the middle and bridge
3. MV/MT, no third pot
4. MV/Blender, no tone pot at all
5. Volume, Master Tone, Blender (to blend neck and bridge pickups)
6. Like #2 but with an On/Off mini toggle for the neck ala Gilmour
7. Master volume, tone only on the bridge pickup and the 3 way switch only works the neck and bridge pickups.

I really like having the ability to use the neck and bridge positions. It doesn't really sound as much like a tele as you'd think. It basically sounds like a bridge setting, but a little more full sounding. Great for clean tones where you want it to sound bright, but not shrill.

[bluesnapper]

As it came. 5-way switch, tone controls on neck and middle.

 

I love playing with the middle pickup, tone rolled right back and the bridge pickup together - I get a lovely fuzzy sound that way - which is why I haven't hooked the bridge up to a tone pot.

[csm]

I don't. I let Fender wire it for me.

 

(Bridge PU sharing one of the tones controls with the middle unit.)

[sk8centilli]

The way Leo perfected it with G&L: PTB System (see pg. 23)

[WRGKMC]

I don't. I let Fender wire it for me. (Bridge PU sharing one of the tones controls with the middle unit.)

 

Love it. Someone who makes sence.

[Verne Andru]

Mine is a SSS with a Duncan Lil 59'er humbucker in the bridge with 3 push-pulls and a mini-toggle:

Master Volume - PP switches neck/mid between series/parallel
Master Tone - PP turns bridge SD Lil 59'er from single coil to humbucker
Bridge Volume - PP makes bridge pup always on. When always on the bridge pup bypasses the master volume so I can control the volume of the neck/mid and bridge independently.
Mini-toggle - bypasses all pots so signal goes directly to the output jack.

[the_gunslinger]

2 humbuckers, 2 volumes 1 tone. I might actually take the tone pot out and put in a kill switch or something one of these days on my strat.

[mrbrown49]

Mines stock but I may try a toggle at some point to get the bridge/neck combo. They are so many useful tones with the stock setup though I rarely find myself thinking I wish this guitar could do more.

[thermionic geek]

In series with three toggle switches, and a pull phase switch for the middle pickup on the tone control.

[scuzzo]

the strat with the tx mex> tone Neck tone Bridge tx mex bridge is very icy with out a tone
all the others > standard

[IamBurnout]

HSH

 

Middle pickup out of phase.

 

Other controls stock.

 

 

SSS

 

Middle tone rewired to bridge.

[headless]

The way Leo perfected it with G&L: PTB System (see pg. 23)

[Fenderman1991]

I have a fat strat wired volume, tone neck, tone bridge.

[chuck1016]

I prefer: tone 1 - middle tone 2 - bridge no tone control on the neck I never use a tone control on the neck, I usually roll the bridge back a little, and I'll occasionally roll the middle back some. I hate it when the tone is shared. The switching is standard. What do you guys use?

 

 

Mine is exactly the same, except I put a mini toggle in for a neck/bridge position.

[Flatspotter]

1. Master volume
2. Blend volume pot for neck pickup, with push-push switch that puts bridge and middle pickups in series.
3. I don't need no stinkin' tone knob.

[Matter-Eater Lad]

First I put a humbucker in the bridge. Take the Tones out. Move the Volume to the outermost Tone position. 5-way

[Alecto]

- Volume
- Neck Tone
- Bridge Tone (middle pickup without a tone control)

I also add a mini-switch to turn on both outside pickups so I can get neck + bridge and all 3 together. And yes, I use all 7 combinations.

[V]

Um...well it's not done yet, but I am working with my local (awesome) luthier to create this strat setup:

(I would do it myself, but I now live in a small apartment and don't have the right tools for this job)

 

Ok, so that's slightly different from the final design, but has the same functionality. The wiring goes like this:

 

Neck and Mid Pickup are controlled by one of two 4-way telecaster pickup selectors (wired as mid/parallel/neck/series). This is group 1.

 

Bridge and um...other bridge are wired the same exact way to the second 4-way tele switch.

 

The Jaguar Control plate is wired the same way as a Jaguar bass pickup selector. So, one switch is on/off for pickup group 1, another switch is on/off for group two, the third switch is series/parallel between the two group outputs.

 

In the most recent design the mini-switch is eliminated and the third knob is retained for use with a 4-way rotary switch. This is wired for the same configurations as the 4-way tele selectors, but it controls only the series/parallel/coil choice on the humbucker.

 

The two remaining knobs are volume knobs for each group.

 

These are also both push/pull pots. Pulling on either pot will send the output that it controls to a second jack on the guitar. So, you can operate the guitar in either mono (up to all 5 coils in series or parallel or combinations of some in parallel some in series); or you can use it for stereo operation and send the two pickup groups to two separate amps.

 

In the latest design, the second jack is mounted on a custom plate along with the first jack (which occupies the same space as the current jack plate).

 

 

It's way more complicated to explain than it is to use, I think, but this should afford, I believe, 151 mono output combinations.

[Fred Buzz]

Um...well it's not done yet, but I am working with my local (awesome) luthier to create this strat setup: (I would do it myself, but I now live in a small apartment and don't have the right tools for this job) Ok, so that's slightly different from the final design, but has the same functionality. The wiring goes like this: Neck and Mid Pickup are controlled by one of two 4-way telecaster pickup selectors (wired as mid/parallel/neck/series). This is group 1. Bridge and um...other bridge are wired the same exact way to the second 4-way tele switch. The Jaguar Control plate is wired the same way as a Jaguar bass pickup selector. So, one switch is on/off for pickup group 1, another switch is on/off for group two, the third switch is series/parallel between the two group outputs. In the most recent design the mini-switch is eliminated and the third knob is retained for use with a 4-way rotary switch. This is wired for the same configurations as the 4-way tele selectors, but it controls only the series/parallel/coil choice on the humbucker. The two remaining knobs are volume knobs for each group. These are also both push/pull pots. Pulling on either pot will send the output that it controls to a second jack on the guitar. So, you can operate the guitar in either mono (up to all 5 coils in series or parallel or combinations of some in parallel some in series); or you can use it for stereo operation and send the two pickup groups to two separate amps. In the latest design, the second jack is mounted on a custom plate along with the first jack (which occupies the same space as the current jack plate). It's way more complicated to explain than it is to use, I think, but this should afford, I believe, 151 mono output combinations.

You will need a Olympic size swimming pool route for that. And a mile of wiring, which will probably cause a lot of noise. I think I'll stick with the standard Fender wiring.

You could consider designing a dedicated microprocessor for all that, that's what Gibson did with the "X", or is it "Ten"?

[dabbler]

1. Master volume

2. Neck & Middle tone

3. Bridge tone

I tried putting the mid and bridge together but I found that the setting I wanted for the bridge was too different from the mid pup.

[DaleH]

Tone 1 middle
Tone 2 neck / bridge

That way you have tone controle of all pickups being used in all five postions.

[wagdog]

Master Vol

Master Tone

 

Usually I have a push/pull in the bottom control to turn on the bridge in series with whatever the 5-way has selected. Middle/bridge in series does a pretty convincing humbucker tone, 'specially w/some dirt on it.

 

I found having 2 tone controls to be too much to think about while playing line. 1 vol, 1 tone (all pickups connected to it) is just much easier.