Dirk Wacker lives in Germany and has been a guitar addict since age 5. Truly a great set if you are looking for that early strat tone. /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. Until then, keep on soldering and always remember: play LOUD! I hope you’re encouraged now to try this simple mod. Full Bridge Humbucking Pickup (No Tone Control) Position 2. Strat: No Tone Control For Neck Pickup. At this time, Western Swing was very popular, and not just in California, where Leo Fender lived and worked. Ive heard it done and I used to play a 3/4 scale strat in my youth with master tone control. Position 1 is the Bridge pickup, Position 2 is Bridge + Middle, Position 3 is just the Middle pickup, Position 4 is Middle + Neck, and Position 5 is Neck. One tone control is for the neck pickup, and one is for the middle pickup. He is also a hardcore DIY guy for guitars, amps and stompboxes and also runs an extensive webpage, The COVID Files: Inside the Mod Garage Shop During Lockdown, How to Get the Most out of Hum-Sing-Hum Wiring, Mod Garage: Trad Strat and Bridge 'Bucker Tones, Mod Garage: 7 Tele Bridge Pickup Alternatives, JBE Pickups Releases the S-Deluxe Chunky Bridge Pickup, 1. This was the lead tone for Western Swing, and back in the good old days of the fifties there was simply no need for a tone control for the bridge pickup. As a side note, it's worth mentioning that Strats from this period had a three-way pickup selector: neck, middle, and bridge. He’s also a hardcore DIY-er for guitars, amps, and stompboxes and runs a website on the subject (singlecoil.com). Simply solder a little wire between the Tone 2 terminal and that open terminal, and ta-da, you've got tone control for the bridge-alone pickup selection. I have a squire strat … Strat style guitar with a single master tone control. Quick Navigation The Pickup Lounge Top Adding a single tiny jumper wire from the neck tone tab to the unused bridge tone tab can give you tone control for neck and bridge pickups (they are not on at the same time). What Leo wanted with the Stratocaster is a pickup position that sounded similar to a steel guitar; something that really, really stood out with a somewhat piercing and shrill sound (typical for pedal steel guitars of the time). Thus, the bridge pickup selection has no tone control wired to it whatsoever. Strat Tone control modification question. This month we will talk about the easiest—but very effective—mod I can think of: giving your bridge pickup a tone control. He hates short scales and Telecaster neck pickups, but loves twang. The Gallery. Leo Fender liked the pedal steel-like lead tone; he described it as “bell-like with shimmering highs” (today you’ll often hear “penetrating highs”). OK, so I have a H-S-S Strat which is wired with a master volume control, a tone control for the middle pickup and a tone control for the neck pickup. In the last fifty-four years, tastes changed a lot, and now few Stratocaster players use the bridge pickup alone because the sound is too trebly and shrill to them. The wires shown from the neck pickup, middle pickup, etc are the "hot" wires. Especially neck and middle. Welcome back to the world of Stratocasters. But I received tons of emails asking for some more easy-to-do mods, so I will show you two more very easy mods for your Stratocaster before we start talking about the anatomy of the pickup selector switch. The smaller capacitor value won't be as dark and may give you a perception of the low mids you're looking for. You can even use humbuckers…..imagine that! You set the amp for your brightest lead sound with the bridge pickup, the middle pickup with its tone control is for rhythm and the neck pickup with a separate tone control is for twangy pseudo-basslines. Position 3: Middle pickup only; Position 4. I am looking to build a strat from scratch and would like to use the Armstrong wiring with one volume and two tone pots. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} Dirk Wacker has been addicted to all kinds of guitars since the age of five and is fascinated by anything that has something to do with old Fender guitars and amps. No. That means you have no tone control over the middle pickup, but it just seems to work better that way. I'm a fan. For example, several American Strats in the 1990s featured what were called TBX tone controls, and many that were delivered with TBX (if not all of them) did have tone control for the bridge-only pickup setting. Fender has produced various 'deluxe' modern American Stratocasters with special features. Next month we will talk about how to rewire your Stratocaster for a master tone plus master volume configuration. However, I would like to have the upper tone control the neck and mid, while the other tone pot controls the bridge pickup. It’s invisible, reversible in ten seconds, and all you need is a short piece of wire and a soldering iron—so this mod is also one of cheapest ever. Tone Control Discussions. Middle and Neck Pickups (Lead and Rhythm Tone Controls) Position 5. It was designed that way by Mr. Fender himself, as in Leo Fender, the guy whom Fender guitars are named after. No announcement yet. The pickup selector then becomes your 'channel switch'. Next month we will talk about the master volume and master tone wiring in a Stratocaster. That’s because the middle pickup is wired directly to the output. Fender has created the most popular way to use the extra outputs with its multiple tone controls on the Fender Stratocaster. [self-published source] [self-published source] The Strat Plus Deluxe was introduced in 1989 with pickup and tremolo variations. This is the easiest guitar to play with your fingers, For the guy who can't decide between a Strat and a Tele - Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster, Help with guitar setup (it's more than just adjustments), Nickel plated vs pure nickel guitar strings. "Soft V" Neck Profile. Terms Of Use. If all of this sounds too scary to do on your own, every good guitar tech knows how to do this ridiculously simple modification. This is also the reason why a lot of people are buying replacement pickups for the Strat’s bridge position: they’re looking for a warmer tone with decent high-end. It's routed to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th position of the pickup selector instead. The problem is, the middle pickup aren't controlled by any tone pot and is always in open/full. Hello. The five-way switch gives Strat players plenty of versatility in tone. In other words, yes you can afford to pay a tech to do this because it hardly takes any time or effort to do. The other side connects your master volume and two tone controls (blue is Tone 1 above and red is Tone 2). Otherwise, put the 250k back in for the master volume and a resistor to the bridge pickup. Applied Whammy Bars 101. In the photo above, you see four terminals on top and four on the bottom (one is hidden from view on the bottom, but trust me, it's there). Contact him at info@singlecoil.com. Wherever it connects, you know you've got the "correct side" of the switch and know where to solder in that the small wire. Even with the tone control fully opened, a little load is added to your bridge pickup, especially with the standard 250k pots, to smooth things out. The tone is great, and the price is better! This way you’ll receive an additional tonal possibility, because you can switch between the stock tone (without tone control) and the new option (with tone control). Re: Is the middle pickup on a strat useful? Guitar Wiring. The bridge pickup is "always on 10" no matter what you do with either tone knob. All Rights Reserved There's nothing bad about it at all. Taylor Grand Theater Urban Ash Demo - PG Gear Spotlight. All it takes to get tone control on the bridge-alone setting it to solder a very small wire between two terminals. Thanks Wired here on your choice of guards! If you want to control your bridge pickup using the front tone control, along with the neck pickup, simply connect the piece of wire one terminal further to the one labeled “to neck tone,” and you’re done. Does anyone know if that schematic has been posted or where I could find it. Strat with a push/pull switch on the neck tone control to allow neck+bridge and neck+middle+bridge pickup combinations. Front Coil of Bridge Pickup and Middle Pickup (Lead Tone Control) Position 3. But as you will see, it’s still a very effective, useful and flexible modification. Strat players have long struggled with over-bright bridge pickups, prompting aftermarket pickup … If you want to add even more flexibility, you can route this connection to a simple On/Off SPST switch, or a push/pull or push/push pot with an SPST or more common DPDT switch—the same as we did with the seven sound mod. So adding a tone control for the bridge pickup is a good idea because it has a double effect: Try this mod before you replace your bridge pickup. YOUR CHOICE of pickup and pickguard colors! The middle knob becomes the master tone knob, and for those of you who were in a predicament like me, this adds a tone control for the bridge. */, Copyright ©2020. The '50s and 60's wiring doesn't have the tone knob connected to the bridge pickup. Each pickup is unique in structure and performance. When you take apart your Strat and look at the switch, you'll see this in plain sight. To understand why Fender did this, you have to take a look at the past. This mod is really easy to do. However, I know of no Squier Strat that has Tone 2 wired for the bridge-only pickup setting. I think the bridge tone mod is one of the best mods you can do to a strat. Stock (OEM) Guitar Wiring Diagrams. If when you take apart your Strat you're confused as to which terminals to connect together with that small wire, just follow the wire from the Tone 2 pot to the switch. The original wiring is designed for 1950s clean playing. 7 sound Strat wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 2 tones. I read that this delta tone circuit tone pot should control the middle and bridge pickups but in this case, the tone pot only has effect on the bridge pickup. I used the mini strat bridge pickup and controls on my homemade lapsteel- without the pickup selector but with the volume and master tone control. Example 2 Often, you can find the tone-split mod together with the BPTC mod for even more flexibilty— many Strat players favor this one. With the middle pickup volume. It was designed that way by Mr. Fender himself, as in Leo Fender, the guy whom Fender guitars are named after. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. Simply solder a piece of wire between the two terminals shown, as shown in red, and your rear tone control will affect the bridge pickup as well as the middle pickup—easy, no? There have been several models of Stratocasters over the years that do in fact use the Tone 2 knob (the one near the bottom of the guitar) to affect the bridge-only pickup selection. On the majority of Stratocaster guitars whether made by Fender or by Squier, when you select the bridge pickup alone, neither of the tone controls affect the sound. The middle pickup, based on a '63 Strat pickup, uses specially treated alnico magnets and is reverse wound to cancel hum when used with the neck or bridge pickup. With the push/pull switch down, the controls provide standard Strat … In his spare time he plays country, rockabilly, surf and Nashville styles in several bands, works as a studio musician and writes for several guitar mags. (Neck), Tone 2. Of course, the strat middle pickup is commonly used in association with the bridge or neck pickup, and it’s pretty much standard practice to split the coil of a neck or bridge humbucker when used with the middle single coil in the ‘2’ and ‘4’ positions on the pickup selector switch. He was a confessed Western Swing fan, so this was the sound he had in mind when he developed the Stratocaster concept. If you ever feel the need to even things up, simply install a jumper wire to allow the bridge and middle pickups to share the same tone control. Privacy Policy | 3 Pickup Guitar. I love that tone. Do you need TBX for bridge-alone tone control? The special "soft V" neck profile (the shape of the neck in cross section) on the Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex Strat is sculpted to Vaughan’s own exacting specs, with a distinctly comfortable fretting-hand feel that takes the more pronounced sharpness of a ’50s "V" profile and "softens" it into a somewhat more rounded shape. The Strat-O-Blaster is designed to enhance the sounds of any Strat type guitar which uses 3 pickups. Switching for Neck / Middle / Bridge The switch you want to use for this circuit is a DPDT on/on/on switch. Honing Your Axe. Standard American and Mexican Strat pickguard 2002 & Newer fit. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing, On PremierGuitar.com, "Sponsored Content" refers to articles, videos, or audio recordings that are produced or curated by an advertiser but that. I’m sure many of you will find what you’ve chased for so long. I mainly use the notch positions. My strat is set up HSS, and I have recently started using the middle pup in combination with the humbucker w/o tapping it, and I like it. This is a common modification used to free up the second tone pot location for an additional switch or optional control. This strat has a delta tone circuit and the bridge pickup was replaced with SD hot rails. Guitars. Design Modules. Before a pickup swap, you could try adding a .010uf capacitor to the tone pot. (Mid) Switching: Special 5-Position Blade Configuration: HSS POSITIONS Position 1. 18. As you know, the standard Stratocaster has a master volume and two tone controls, one for the middle and one for the neck pickup, but none for the bridge pickup! The Fender Stratocaster showed up around April 1954 as a follow- up to Leo Fender’s first genius strike: the Esquire/Telecaster guitar. Guitar Schematics. Go to this page, scroll down to DPDT Switch, and look at Diagram D (a totally different type of switch than the one used in the previous diagram). Chances are good that this will do it for you, and save you some bucks! The original Stratocaster wiring had a master volume control, a tone control for the neck pickup, and a tone control for the middle pickup. Strat style wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 1 tone. The bridge pickup has no tone control. Add a master tone control. You can dial in a lot of different tones with the tone control, especially when using a tonecap with a much smaller value than the stock 0.022uF. This is the wiring you all know, with the bridge pickup without a tone control, and an individual tone control for the middle and the neck pickup. The Strat Plus was produced from 1987 to 1999 and was equipped with Lace Sensor pickups, a roller nut, locking tuners, a TBX tone control and a Hipshot tremsetter. This was the lead tone for Western Swing, and back in the good old days of the fifties there was simply no need for a tone control for the bridge pickup. Is there anything bad about wiring in tone control for the bridge-only setting? Middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity. Suggestion Box. Reference Articles. Strat - SSS Modern This wiring is called “modern” because Fender began using it in the 1980s, as opposed to the 1950s. Middle Pickup (Lead Tone Control) Position 4. How would you compensate with a tone control to take the brightness off a Strat neck pickup on a 500K volume pot. Yes, most. Standard Strat wiring from Fender has NO tone control for the bridge pickup. The EJ strat's bridge pickup should have the bottom tone control attached to it. No. What Leo wanted with the Stratocaster is a pickup position that sounded similar to a steel guitar; something that really, really stood out with a somewhat piercing and shrill sound (typical for pedal steel guitars of the time). Also note that there’s some quite interesting history behind the Strat’s pickup switch. Harmonious Notes. Wire a master tone and use the other tone pot as a 250k volume for the neck and middle pickups.
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