Hi

This is going to sound ******* stupid to a lot of yous out there but....

Having played acoustic for 20 yrs recently bought a Strat (MN) and getting to grips with a new playing concept for me - electric !!

Now - as I am fumbling my way around amp and tones and pedals there is one very very fundemental thing I am bothered by --

On the Srat the tone knobs seem to do very little !! (I know there will be the rolling of the eyes at this but bare with me ... I am new to it)
There is very slight differences with the first tone knob on the neck pickup turning it from 0 to 10 and (IMO) no change qat all with the 2nd tone knob on the bridge pickup turning it from 0 to 10.

What the **** am I doing wrong - ?????

Lots of thanks

Tinman

Forgive me, but if you are new to it... I assume you are selecting the correct pickup on the 5 way switch before trying the pickup's tone pot?

Its not impossible the bridge pickup is not wired to the tone pot at all (i.e. 'vintage spec'), in which case the 2nd tone control would be wired to the middle pickup.

They don't make a massive difference, rather just take the edge of the tone, making it smoother. You should certainly be able to hear a distinct difference between 0-10.

Hi Tinman. Now just to get this out the way



Just kidding its a very valid question for a person new to that guitar. I was told how to work one so you have the same benefit.

1 with the pickup selector switch all the way to the right as you look down on the guitar. All the way to the left, if your a lefthanded player. The middle control knob should work the tone of this setting. It is the pickup nearest the neck.

2 With the selector switch in the middle possition the bottom tone control works this possition. It is the middle one of the three pickups

Only some guitars have a tone control for the slanted pickup nearest the bridge.

If you take a small screwdriver, plug your guitar into an amp and tap (lightly) the metal cylinders poking out of the pickups. You will hear a dull thunk, which tells you what pickups are switched on in which selector possition.

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No no and no

Robert 911 and Nikininja thanks for taking the time to reply to me - its good to have forums like this to ask even the most stupidest and inexprienced questions without feeling dumb --

I'll take your advice and try when again when I get home from work --
its better to ask the question than to forever remain in the dark.

Cheers guys

Tinman

My sentiments entirely sir.

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No no and no

Don't worry- ask away- we've all been there!

Strats have Tone controls?????????

No such thing as a stupid question if you dont know the answer.

After some experimenting this is how I figure my tone controls on my 2009 MIM strat work for each posiition on the pickup switch:
(contols=tone controls)
positon 1 (bridge pup): both controls OFF
position 2 (bridge+mid pups): bottom control ON, top control OFF
position 3 (mid pup): bottom control ON, top control OFF
position 4 (mid + neck pups): both controls ON
position 5 (neck pup): bottom control OFF, top control ON

I'm assuming from that, that the bottom control is wired to the mid pup, and the top control is wired to the neck pup.
Depending on your particular model, it may be slightly different, but AFAIK, this is the standard setup.

Welcome to the world of electrics Tinman!

Depending on the style you favor, judicious manipulation of your tone knobs will come in handy. One of my favorite "go to" effects is one of my Wah Pedals. Instead of pumping the wah to make the guitar sing, it can be fixed in one position to act as a high feedback tone cotrol. It can be shrieking high so rolling back on the guitar's tone balances it out.

I still remember how excited I was when I got my first electric... a red Silvertone Les Paul copy I ordered out of the Sears Catalog. I didn't really understand anything at first either and just left all four knobs (2 vol + 2 tone) on 10.

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"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

I have been playing for 39 years and still dont use my tone controlls (mosty because i really dont know how)