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Post subject: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:07 am
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Hi all. I have a Strat (previously a Squier) that has two humbuckers. It was wired with one volume and two tones. I'm also upgrading the electronics with CTS and Switchcraft stuff and Orange Drop .22uF capacitors.

I don't get why the one volume setup. Surely it would be better to have two volumes....one for each pup? So when you are in the Middle position of the 3-way lever switch and both pups are on....you can manipulate the volume controls for each pickup, thereby changing the sound....a la a Gibson Les Paul, 335 or SG.

Also, I hardly ever touch the tone controls on my 335 or LP. WFO all the time. So why have two?

So now on this Strat with the 2 HB configuration...... I'd like to wire it somewhat like my 335 which is wired from a '57 Gibson schematic. Except the Fender will only have one tone.

How do I do this?

I cannot find a wiring diagram of this....perhaps I am missing it somewhere.

Does anyone have access to such a diagram?

Would I wire it like the '57 Gibson except bring both caps from the volume pots, to the same lug on the Tone pot?

Also......what is the correlation between the3-way toggle and the 3-way lever switches. i.e. Which lug on the toggle would be the lug on the lever.....for each hot wire from the pickups?

I sure hope I have made sense. Someone must have wired a 2 humbucker Strat this way with success.

Thanks folks. Your help will be much appreciated as I am doing this as a favor for a friend-no charge. I've also replaced the tuners with Gotoh Kluson vintage style tuners and swapped out the pot metal saddles with nice vintage style Strat saddles, polishing the frets and setting the truss rod, intonation and action, the saddle/string radius and I'm hoping to get a really nice player when I'm done.

If it turns out great I will do the same wiring etc to an Ibanez RS I am heavily modding for myself....scalloping the neck and fitting 2 mini humbuggers from a Les Paul Deluxe. Believe it or not, this is slated to be a blues guitar.

I appreciate your time.


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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:29 am
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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:38 am
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Stratmagler you are faster tne me....


So many question .....

Why one volume two tone ? It is the way Leo Fender built it in 1950 and I don't read too much complain about that over decade.
The custom wiring you are looking for ? Somebody should make a sketch for you .......

Lever switch / toggle....

You tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avxbn_ElHMI


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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:55 am
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Having two independent volume controls on a two-pickup Strat (or "SLO") makes perfect sense, at least to me. I think such a configuration would be much more versatile than the Strat's traditional layout, whether single-coil OR humbucker. A good example of this arrangement is found on Gibson's Flying V -- dual pickups with a dedicated volume control for each and a master tone control.

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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:42 am
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I'm not seeing the point myself. Surely adjusting the tone pots adjust the tone of the PUPS, and therefore their individual impact on the over all tone, with more control than swapping the volume of the two. And then what happens if you want the same tone only louder?

I accept I am comming from an SSS perspective and haven't used HH seriously in 20+ years. I have a guitar in my Aria with more tone switching variations than I can count and it is all just far too complicated to manipulate for playing live.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:49 am
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John Sims wrote:
......... it is all just far too complicated to manipulate for playing live.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.



+ 1000


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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 5:06 am
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John Sims wrote:
I'm not seeing the point myself.

OP wants it, that's the point.
The wiring configuration would also permit that stuttering pickup switching that Strats don't do

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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:06 am
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stratmangler wrote:
John Sims wrote:
I'm not seeing the point myself.

OP wants it, that's the point...


Absolutely, and fair enough. Every each to his own.

I think it is helpful to discuss the alternatives though as there is little worse than a "Seemed a good idea at the time" taking a lot of effort and then not actually achieving an advantage.

But we need innovators and people wanting to try things left of field. If it ultimately confirms that the original way is best, or not, it is all an adventure.....so perhaps I should have said "If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is" ;-)

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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 1:20 pm
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You could do the stuttering thing on a Strat/Tele using a kill pot
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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 1:23 pm
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There are several wiring options, different people prefer different configurations for different reasons.
Example 1 - If you have a volume pedal, then independent volume controls are perfect, as they allow for any blend variation.
Example 2 - If you don't have a volume pedal, some might prefer a master volume after the switch and 2nd volume for the bridge. This will allow for volume "swells" using any of the 3 pickup options.

Leo ran with a single volume and two tone as it provides for the greatest configurability in tone. It is consistent with the Jazzmaster, Jaguar, and other models that have more complex control configurations... even when there are 4 pots and 5 switches, I don't think any have independent volume controls other than some of the Tele models that more mimic the LP controls.

If you want something different, it's your guitar... make it the way you want it and enjoy it!

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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:04 pm
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Thanks so much for all the info guys.

Given my time frame.....and the fact that I don't have the luxury of experimentation....I think I will go with the stock wiring. The only thing I need to do for that is order a black tone knob from Stewmac as I got Vol, Vol, Tone in anticipation of my plan.

To me the biggest thing I am seeing is the 3-way wiring....the jumper. Watching the video that Stratele52 posted ....it came clear that this might be where I run into issues.

Here is what I wanted to do.

Crappy Diagram A is stock vintage Gibson wiring. A .22uF cap goes from each center lug of the volume pots to the bottom lug on a tone pot.

In Crappy Diagram B....I was planning on taking the caps off each volume pots center lug....and sharing them on the bottom lug of a single tone pot.

Image

While I will likely forego this....does anyone have a view as to whether it would work well?

I suppose a lot depends on the pickups. On vintage Gibson's with good pups and the Lollar Low Wind Imperial's, which is what I have in my LP and 335 now.....there is a slight difference in output on each pup.

The crappy Squier HB pickups in this Strat might be very even sounding, therefore I might not notice much when I roll off one or the other of the Volume knobs while in the Middle position. Which is what I was going for.

In the Middle......roll off the neck pickup a teeny bit and it sort of blooms a bit with it becoming a bit brighter ....more of the bridge pickup......or rolling off the bridge volume......blooms while becoming a little darker perhaps. Not really a tone change from the tone controls, although you can manipulate those too......but a tonal change because of the pickup used/where it is located.

Thanks folks...tired so I hope I'm making sense.....10-12 hour days, and some Saturdays and Sunday's thrown in, doing mostly brutal on your feet all day rigging work, takes it's toll by Friday. Then I'm just getting right again, and it's Monday again. :D Roll on retirement!

Oh Stratmangler...thanks.....I had seen that but was hoping to find the configuration in my diagram B. I will likely use that one you posted though.

Retroverbial...also thanks....I'll go look at a Flying V diagram.

Thanks everyone....much appreciated.


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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:30 pm
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The bottom half of your drawing would not work... it would have both pickups tied together through the capacitors, so the high frequencies would bleed across.
It might be an interesting effect, but no... The single tone pot should be on the output side of the switch, with the two pickups and volume controls isolated on the input side.

Also, the position of the connections to the volume pots makes a difference.
Wired as shown, with the switch in the middle position, both pots will act as a master volume. Yes, they will blend the pickup signals up and down, but turning either one all the way down will ground the output, thus silencing both pickups.
To correct this, reverse the "PUP" and "C" leads. This will ground the pickup output rather than the output to the amp:

The pickups connect to the open lugs on the volume pots... this is a Flying-V circuit.
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Post subject: Re: Wiring question.
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 2:43 pm
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Thanks CB91710. That's very specific info...you know your stuff!


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