Dan Armstrong devised a parallel/series wiring mod for Strats that uses the ‘middle’ tone control as a blender/mixer. Tighten up your neck. Required fields are marked *, 2015 W. Laburnum Ave, 2nd Floor Moreover, the jumper was created by pushing back more of the cloth from the tone 1 lead wire so it would extend to terminal B2. Strat style guitar with a single master tone control. I’ve never found a wiring diagram for this. With this kit, that's it. If you just joined us on this adventure and need to get up to speed we recommend checking out Part 1 and Part 2. This setup kicks in the single-coil sound any time you pull the knob on the push-pull pot, giving you more tonal flexibility than a standard Les Paul . Tone on bridge pickup wiring problem (STRAT) Discussion in 'Stratocaster Discussion Forum' started by gogirlguitars, Sep 20, 2010. Strat Bridge Tone Wiring Diagram from www.strat-talk.com To properly read a wiring diagram, one has to find out how the particular components inside the system operate. Watto's Strat wiring mod. I notice on the black leads to the pot, there are two blobs of solder. 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). This Standard Stratocaster Wiring Diagram features a Neck tone (0.02mfd) and a Bridge & Middle tone (0.02mfd). Strat Wiring Mods: Bridge Tone Control Wiring - Duration: 4:08. Share. The Fender American Standard Stratocaster is wired so that the bridge-only pickup setting is wired to Tone 2. Welcome, Guest. I did this because my switch is a little different and has the numbers 1-2-3 where the pickups were connected (neck-middle-bridge (at the topmost connection point) and then another series of 1-2-3 which I figured corresponded to where the tone controls connected because there was no tone control connected to 3... Obviously I was wrong. Let’s take this a step further and look at few combinations in how to wire a 5 way switch you can try: 4. Re: Wiring Diagram for Strat - Tone for Bridge Pup Here are a few wiring diagrams in schematic form. Strat Wiring Diagram Bridge Tone from www.guitar-mod.com Print the electrical wiring diagram off plus use highlighters to trace the circuit. Ready to get started? Position 2 Bridge + Middle = Tone 1 or Tone 2, 1.Position 1 Bridge = Tone 1 or Master Tone 2, 2. The best way to make sure your wires stay nice and neat is to use some Masking Tape or Shrink Tubing on your pickup wires like so: Using Masking Tape or Shrink Tubing to keep your wires neat will ensure your pickguard will lay nice and flat. The switch works like a 3-way +2 middle positions.. In our previous article, we discussed the Half Bender Modification. Well, for one, you can have a ‘Telecaster’ type tone in Position 1, then with one flip of the 5-Way switch, full Strat Neck tone: no knob-turning required! Also, I never use the mid p/u by itself–don’t like the hollow sound. It’s because stock Strat wiring leaves the bridge pickup unconnected to a tone control. It makes the bridge pickup so much more useful. These are the things I want I mod. What you end up with is a master tone knob that controls all pickups when the mod is turned on with the bridge tone knob not working at all. What you do see, however, is a common ground point (Volume Pot) where all grounds lead. We’ve wired hundreds of Strat Pickguards due to the popularity of our Prewired Pickguards (they were our best-seller in 2019). Because of this, we sell a lot of Strat pickups. Thanks for posting this. All three pickups on in parallel is also a useful tone, too! The five-way switch gives Strat players plenty of versatility in tone. 7 sound Strat wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 2 tones. Since tone controls are always in-circuit, it follows that the tone capacitor’s value must influence a Strat’s treble characteristics. This unbelievably simple mod will keep all of your Strat controls (switch and pots) in the very... 2. Using a blender pot is another great use for that 2nd tone control on a Strat. First pos-Neck, 2nd pos-Neck/Mid, 3rd pos-Mid/half HB, 4th pos-Half HB, 5th pos, full HB? Sorry if this a redundant question The reverse works as well. With the conventional standard circuit, only one capacitor is used for tone control, but this always means compromises. Have fun with this one! My original neck and middle PU are noiseless. Why? We don’t have the option to use the tone pot on the bridge by itself (position 1). He's powered by Jazz Guitar, Vietnamese Food, Hiking, and Beer. We all know how exciting switches are right?! CTS pots, orange drop, all cloth. I virtually always wire the bridge alone to the bottom pot and neck to the middle tp. Well, now our neck and middle pickups share the tone 1 potentiometer and our bridge pickup gets its own tone control. The master tone mod can be used a few different ways. Today, we’ve got some useful Stratocaster wiring tips and mods to share. In pursuit of the holy grail of Strat tone. You will not be sorry you undertook this simple task! For instance , if a module is powered up and it sends out a new signal of 50 percent the voltage plus the technician would not know this, he would think he offers a challenge, as he or she would expect a 12V signal. I put a 22 cap across both tone pots, … Strat style wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 1 tone. Because of this, we’ve got a few tips and tricks up our sleeve to make installation a breeze: If you’ve ever wired a Strat yourself, you might understand the frustration of getting all wires to sit neatly in your control cavity. How is this useful? Bridge tone mod: Master volume, 1 tone for neck pickup and 1 tone for middle and bridge pickup; The bridge tone mod helps control a little of the harshness which Stratocasters can experience when played through the bridge pickup. Fender American Standard Strat Tremolo Bridge Assembly. There’s only “1” Strat Mod that makes any sense – to get the fullest range of tone options –. And you can modify your Strat to get the same tones! Due to the routing of the Stratocaster Body, you might only have a narrow channel to lay your wires. 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. Position 4 Middle + Neck = Tone 1 or Tone 2. Strat style wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 1 tone. This cap doesn’t act like a normal tone cap. Cool eh?! Instead, it makes a Fender Bridge sound more like a Humbucker. Strat Wiring Diagram Bridge Tone from www.guitar-mod.com Print the electrical wiring diagram off plus use highlighters to trace the circuit. Today we are performing a Stratocaster bridge tone mod. Standard Stratocaster wiring for Fender, … NECK-ON SWITCH. Strat style guitar with a single master tone control. We do not offer custom wiring diagrams or wiring help or troubleshooting. Richmond VA 23227 | (804) 358-2699 | 4:08. The bridge pickup got a 500k pot for the tone. DATE SERVICE DIAGRAMS '50s Stratocaster® 013-1002: 06/18/99: Download '60s Stratocaster® 013-1000: 11/01/99: Download '70s Stratocaster® The five-way switch gives Strat players plenty of versatility in tone. Instead of wiring to the Bridge and Neck, you’d wire to the Bridge and Middle. 07-22-2008, 04:01 PM. Hsh Strat Wiring Options The Gear Pagerhthegearpage: 5 Way Switch Wiring Diagram Hsh At wiringall.com Ibanez 5 Way Switch Diagram Trusted Wiring Diagramrhdafpodsco. Sep 20, 2010 #1. gogirlguitars Tele-Holic. I have some of mine so the bottom tone knob just controls the bridge; and on others I have the jumper so the bottom tone knob controls the bridge … It’s no secret that the Fender Stratocaster® is one of the most popular guitar models of all time. For this, we recommend going to a local luthier or tech. At Fralin Pickups, nobody loves tinkering with wiring options more than Lindy himself. Depending on the situation, the sound is muddy or too bright, and the bridge pickup cannot be controlled at all. This simple mod will turn a 5 sound strat into a 7 sound strat! One of the biggest advantages of connecting both sides of the switch via a jumper is that we can better utilize the tone pots. In a standard Les Paul circuit, replace one of the tone pots with a push/pull pot wired to create a coil tap in the bridge pickup. If a guitar’s neck is loose in its pocket, it will be less effective … You would lose the Middle pickup by itself, but you gain the Neck + Bridge combo. I used a 250k YJM High-Speed Volume Pot for the volume control, and a 250k for the master tone control on the neck and middle pickups. The 2x Capacitor Tone Control prewired Kit provides perfect tone control for the Strat with two capacitors. The Lindy Fralin Baseplate is a Steel Plate that installs beneath your Bridge pickup. Author's Note: These blog posts are for educational and information purposes only. I can do these with any of the following options at no additional charge: Traditional Stratocaster: Tone 1=Neck, Tone 2=Middle, No Bridge Tone Control. This wiring is great for Strat players who want a simple and easy operation. It’s easy to do. Didn’t even need an extra wire! Tyler Delsack is the Manager of Fralin Pickups and spends his time editing and maintaining the website, designing graphics and ads, and making pickups. Now each pickup’s tone can be adjusted when we select either the pickup by itself (position 1,3, and 5)  or when in the “in-between” positions (2 and 4). If you wanted a different tone layout, you could simply reverse the way the 5-Way Switch wiring to get a Neck & Middle Tone and a separate Bridge Tone: This variation allows you to keep the standard functionality of a Fender Strat while experimenting with different tone values for your Bridge Tone. The 2x Capacitor Tone Control prewired Kit provides perfect tone control for the Strat with two capacitors. Any the middle pickup is connected to each blob of solder. So they will be out of phase which will make them sound even thinner. The simplicity of this qualifies this mod to make this the best easy strat wiring mod. By jumping B2 to B3, we open up some new possibilities. The strat bridge pickup has a much thinner sound. When the mod is turned off the tone knobs do work as expected. You can use our Blender Pot to achieve this. Notice the A-F points. For those who want to tinker, even more, our Half-Blender wiring is another great option too. We see a lot of guitars straight from the factory come with a Shielded Pickguard and Ground Jumpers. Notice any jumpers? I have no use for a tone! The middle tone is wired for the neck pickup and the bottom tone is wired to work for the middle and bridge pickups (a stock strat does not have tone for the bridge). It’s a HSS strat with the standard wiring in it, 5-way switch and 250k pots (volume and 2 tone controls). Stratocaster Wiring Harness, HH, 2 Volumes, 1 Tone $ 60.00 – $ 100.00 “Robert Cray” model Stratocaster Style Wiring Harness $ 65.00 – $ 85.00 “Eric Johnson” model Stratocaster Style Wiring Harness $ 65.00 – $ 85.00; Stratocaster Wiring Harness, for 2 humbuckers, 1 Volume, 2 Tones $ 65.00 – $ 105.00 The “neck and bridge on” setting is very similar to a Telecaster’s middle position, which is something a Strat won’t do as stock. Position 1 Bridge = No Tone. Santa Barbara, California. Over the past 30 years, he’s developed quite a few mods that take the Strat to the next level, without getting too technical and crazy. If anybody would know it would be y’all. Is there a way to blend a reverse wound Strat middle pickup with a regular wound bridge pickup via a tone control for a fatter type of Humbucker sound? Click diagram image to open/view full size version. At under $15 and a super-easy installation, you can take your standard 5-Sound Strat into new sonic territory. Honestly, all that one is doing is moving wires from one lug of the 5-way switch to an adjacent lug. Hsh Strat Wiring Options The Gear Pagerhthegearpage: 5 Way Switch Wiring Diagram Hsh At wiringall.com Ibanez 5 Way Switch Diagram Trusted Wiring Diagramrhdafpodsco. If you love your Blender Pot but miss having two tones, you can opt for a 2 Tone Cap Modification.The 2 Tone Cap Mod is a Push-Pull mod that allows you to achieve one tone cap in the ‘down position,’ and another tone cap in the ‘up position.’. We wanted to go through a few variations of the Stratocaster wiring, as well as some mods you can make to your Strat to super-charge it. I also carefully bent the tone switch contact on the middle pickup slightly away from the bridge tone contact so the bridge tone pot only works on position 1 & 2 otherwise the neck & middle tone pot is connected in parallel with the bridge tone on position 2. I followed this tutorial, however the wiring isn't quite right. A blender pot allows you to blend (mix) the neck pickup or the bridge pickup into the signal which will provide you with 2 extra sounds, namely: bridge/neck (very Tele like) as well as all 3 pickups on simultaneously. Because that's the way Leo Fender himself designed the Strat's electronics originally. This wiring harness will give you the clearest signal possible with even and balanced volume/tone roll off. The reverse works as well. Currently have a CV60 with a set of Rose Mariposa pickups. To wire this up, follow the above Blender Pot wiring diagram and replace the Master Tone with this Push-Pull Pot Modification. Easy mod #1 - Wiring in a tone control for the bridge-only pickup setting. As is just physically swapping (or soldering at the switch) the neck and middle pickup so you have the Tele neck+bridge parallel tone. When you use your finger or the actual circuit together with your eyes, it’s easy to mistrace the circuit. Simple guitar wiring: DIY mods to expand your guitar's tone Issue 112 April 29, 2010 ... a popular Strat mod is the option of using the neck/bridge pickup combination. All it takes is some simple work with a soldering iron. TOP NOTCH !A+++. I’ve never had a need for tone control pots, so I took both out of my Strat. The Shielding on the back of the pickguard is connecting everything. Your email address will not be published. My question is, with my existing 5 way switch, can I possibly get this setup? To start, we’re going to discuss the standard Stratocaster wiring that comes on most modern Fender Strats: This Standard Stratocaster Wiring Diagram features a Neck tone (0.02mfd) and a Bridge & Middle tone (0.02mfd). You don’t need both. This wiring harness will give you the clearest signal possible with even and balanced volume/tone roll off. However now my middle pickup sounds bad. 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. This Gilmour wiring mod is extremely simple to do and adds an extra dimension to your Strat. is that the cause? Strat with a push/pull switch on the neck tone control to allow neck+bridge and neck+middle+bridge pickup combinations. This mod gives up the #4 Quack position. You don’t see any jumpers between the parts because it’s the shielding that connects them all. Position 4 Middle + Neck = Tone 1 or Tone 2, 2. Unlock the tone that greatly influenced.7-Way Strat wiring diagram using a volume CTS push pull pot. This modification uses the same Blender Pot, but wires it a bit differently: Unlike the Standard mod, the Half Blender only works in Positions 1 & 2 of the switch: the Bridge, and Bridge + Middle Positions. Another great use for this wiring diagram would be for Strat owners who want to get that Telecaster Neck + Bridge tone but don’t want to use the 7-Sound Mod we discuss in another article. This opens up the tone of … This is one of the most fun and useful switching systems I have ever used, and is the best HSS wiring scheme I … For more useful Push Pull Pot Mods, check out our in-depth article here. I hope you found this article helpful, and as always, let us know what you think below! The final thing I want to do is a couple of wiring mods. Standard Strat wiring from Fender has NO tone control for the bridge pickup. Well, for one, you can have a ‘Telecaster’ type tone in Position 1, then with one flip of the 5-Way switch, full Strat Neck tone: no knob-turning required! Announcing the Eric Steckel Signature “Candy” Humbucker Set. Standard Stratocaster wiring for Fender, Squier and pretty much any other company that makes a Strat copy dictates that the bridge-only pickup selection has no tone control wired to it. The simplicity of this qualifies this mod to make this the best easy strat wiring mod. Posts: 604. Fantastic pickups and quality workmanship ! In the stock Stratocaster wiring, the bridge pickup has no tone control, while the middle and neck pickups each have an individual tone control. I can’t say enough about the tone , output and quality ! By simply adding one wire to your Strat's 5 way switch, you can connect the bridge pickup to the second tone control, allowing you to tame it. It makes the bridge pickup so much more useful. 2. Depending on the situation, the sound is muddy or too bright, and the bridge pickup cannot be controlled at all. i put in a new seymour duncan in the bridge. Switches For the sake of brevity, we are only going to be focusing on Fender Strats with three Single Coil pickups, or, ‘SSS’ Strats, but this wiring also can apply to HSS strats as well! Copyright © 2020 Seymour Duncan. This is a pre-wired stratocaster wiring harness upgrade for American or Mexican Fender Stratocasters. Lindy rewound some pickups for me a few years ago and he did an amazing job. Your email address will not be published. Take a look at the following image of a Strat – notice how each part connects to ground once. When the mod is turned off the tone knobs do work as expected. Adding a … Hand wired with the highest quality parts and cleanest solder connections from a professional guitar tech. 7 sound Strat wiring diagram with three single coils, 5-way lever switch, 1 volume and 2 tones. When you use your finger or the actual circuit together with your eyes, it’s easy to mistrace the circuit. Honestly, all that one is doing is moving wires from one lug of the 5-way switch to an adjacent lug. I have some of mine so the bottom tone knob just controls the bridge; and on others I have the jumper so the bottom tone knob controls the bridge and the middle pickups. I used the diagram show below. I had Lindy and his experienced tech’s rewind a 1958 pickup I had in my 58 strat , along with my 50th anniversary Tele neck position pickup I replaced with a Lindy Fralin, and it’s been there ever since ! 4. I am sure the anticipation has been killing you. 5. It’s because stock Strat wiring leaves the bridge pickup unconnected to a tone control. The Seven-Sound Strat Modification is an easy mod that you can make to your guitar to give you more tone versatility, and despite its name, you can make this mod on any type of guitar that has three pickups and a five-way switch. Not to launch a protracted Strat-vs.-Tele battle, but I love the whole notion of “Tele-fying” a Strat via wiring, control layout, and pickup choice. In my 5-year-old voice: “But, I want to have a tone on all my pickups… waaaah.” Well, you may not be able to have an independent tone for each pickup (we only have two), but we do have a nice, easy solution that just may make you drool uncontrollably. Given it's location next to the bridge, the bridge pickup is found to be a bit too shrill or "ice-pick" like for some players. All rights reserved. For $12, this is a great mod for those who want a slightly thicker and more powerful Bridge tone, without having to rewind the pickup to hotter specifications. Here is a Middle/Bridge tone mod for those that may be interested ... Last edited by Doctor Morbius; 07-22-2008, ... Join Date: Jan 2007; Posts: 15932; Share Tweet #9. The mini toggle adds two extra switch positions on top of the classic 5 positions - Bridge/Neck and Bridge/Middle/Neck. And you can modify your Strat to get the same tones! This is called Star Grounding, and is the best practice for grounding your Strat. Standard Stratocaster wiring does not put tone control in the bridge pickup, which makes the bridge too bright for me. Advertisement. Next, all you have to do is kick back and play! He is the expert when it comes to quality pickups and rewinding. Wiring Configuration Options I typically wire these with a bridge-tone mod, so that Tone 1 controls neck and middle pickups, and Tone 2 controls bridge. For instance, in the above wiring, we have Tone 1 connected to B1 (bridge), but we can also connect Tone 1 to B2 or B3 as well. What the five-way switch does not provide is a way to select the Bridge + Neck pickup, or a way to select all three pickups at once. A coil tap lets you access just one of a humbucker’s two coils. Really like the classic Strat tones from these pups and having the bridge pup wired to the tone pot really opens up the bridge pup (and eliminates a little ice pick). FIG 1 (Standard Strat Wiring) 1. The downside to this wiring is that the only way we can use a tone on the bridge pickup is in position 2 (bridge + middle). On "modern wiring", where the bridge and middle or combined, I first find it cumbersome when switching from br/middle to and from nk/middle, because I have to adjust the lower tone pot, and second, I hear greater clarity with just one pickup assigned to a tone pot. Position 2 Bridge + Middle = Tone 2. REV. Notice anything different? Stratocaster Wiring Diagrams This is a common modification used to free up the second tone pot location for an additional switch or optional control. This is a common modification used to free up the second tone pot location for an additional switch or optional control. Ok, so why would we do this? When it’s rolled fully back you get an HSH configuration – the middle pickup combining in series with the neck and bridge in the front and back positions. So what’s a guitarist to do? For this, we will have to modify stage #2 (output stage) of our 5-way pickup selector switch. Wiring in a tone control for the bridge-only pickup setting. For those in the know, the Blender Pot is one of the most potent mods you can make to your Strat. How is this useful?