Strat wiring snafu

[tjcurtin1]

I replaced the pup selector switch on my CV Squier a while back, and only just noticed that BOTH tone controls are in effect when it is in the neck/middle position. Otherwise it's first tone pot for the neck and middle pups, and second tone pot for the middle and middle/bridge positions (and no tone pot on the bridge position alone). Any helpful thoughts...? Of course, I thought everything LOOKED fine after the upgrade....

[mrmudcat]

Hey brother go to link below....vvvvv........I would personally mod-wire it for a bridge tone control also since you will be doing it again.....just saying!!:socool

http://guitarnuts.com/wiring/menu.php



P.M. me if ya need any help and ill try to be as prompt in a reply as life allows me!!:AOK

[tjcurtin1]

Thanks for the help, Muddy. BTW, is there any problem that anyone knows of in having the wiring 'messed up' this way? Will it degrade sound/tone? Or is it just the case that those pups together go thru both tone pots. I'm being lazy here in asking - I don't really feel like taking everything apart and messing with it unless I have to...

[duhvoodooman]

No, that won't degrade your tone. Just keep one of them dimed and use the other to control the tone in that position.

[tjcurtin1]

Ah, just what I was hoping to hear - thanks DVM!

While I'm at it, is there no wiring scheme that would give tone control to all three strat pups? Or is it just impossible for some reason?

EDIT: see this thread:

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/18577-Why-can-t-a-strat-be-wired-so...?highlight=

[tjcurtin1]

So, I'm just getting to fixing this wiring problem, but the wiring looks fine as it is... the only thing I can think is, does it matter which way the 5-way switch is oriented? I mean, if you turn it 180 degrees does it make any difference? Otherwise, I'm mystified... Thanks to you wiring gurus!

[Bookkeeper's Son]

That's normal for a Strat - there isn't anything wrong with your wiring. Look at this:

http://www.cnjradio.net/fendergits/SD0131000CPg4.pdf

[tjcurtin1]

Wow - is that true of all strat standard wiring, or is it particular to this 60's strat diagram? Is there a way to separate the tone controls or does this have to happen this way? What happens if you add the bridge pup to the lower tone control - does it also in some positions run through both tone pots?

[Bookkeeper's Son]

I'm fairly sure that the controls work that way on almost all stock Strats. I learned about that weirdness when I rewired my Squier Affinity Strat, which is the same way. Sorry, but I can't help you with alternate configurations - but I'll wager that someone here will.

[Duffy]

There are several ways to wire a stratocaster. The more versitile and complicated ones require someone with the knowledge of exactly how to do them. Some, so called, techs have a hard time doing a regular strat wiring job. A real good tech will usually know how to do the optional ways.

I have almost all my strats wired up like Mudcat was saying, with the bottom tone control wired to the bridge pickup. This is because I use the bridge pickup a lot and like to have control over its tone. On mine tone control next to the volume control works when the switch is on the neck pickup and the neck/middle pickups combined, the other tone control works on the middle/bridge pickup combined and the bridge switch positions. The middle switch position is on the middle pickup with no tone control, the middle pickup is "wide open" like the bridge pickup on your strat - no tone control.

It is easy to have control over the middle pickup too and I might try that soon.

You can also have it wired so that all three pickups are on at once, and there are even more ways to wire the pickups.

[tjcurtin1]

Duffy, B's Son - thanks guys, that was helpful. Kept me from spending another two hours staring at the wiring to see what was wrong! Wiring is complete for the bridge pup on tone which I can already see will now make the bridge pup useful to me.