Custom wiring SSS Strat - comments please
Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:11 pmSo I have three single coil pickups (N M B), and for controls a selector switch space, 3 pots and 3 slider switches (DPDT). I play pop, surf, rock, blues and rhythm jazz, roughly in that order. I am thinking of wiring along the lines -
Selector - use tele 4 pos switch to get N, NB in parallel, NB in series, and B.
My three switches then would control the MID pickup's connection-
MID Off/On, MID Polarity Reverse and MID Solo (which cuts out the N and B signals).
Pots - basically Leo Fender's PTB (passive treble bass) set up, but each pot being a SPDT push / pull where
VOL push = 250K pull = 1M value: in effect, a warm/bright switch
TREBLE CUT push = 22nf cap pull = diode clipping: in effect a LPF / brown tone switch
BASS CUT push = 3.3nf (gentle) pull = 1.5nf (rabid): gives different depth of bass cut for surf vs distortion effects
That gives 13 pickup combinations and 8 controllable tone options, over 100 tones in all. Of which about 10 are likely to be useable and then its up to the skill of the player and the sound of the amp!
I also usually do the GuitarNuts thing of star grounding the signal cold (-) wires and isolating them from earths (like the trem, pickup claws and pot bodies) using a 330nf cap.
Pickups ATM are AGI Don Lace N-150 and S-150 with SD Vintage Rails at the bridge. Tempted to move the rails to the neck and put in a SD Antiquity II Surf at the bridge, that will need to wait awhiles.
Selector - use tele 4 pos switch to get N, NB in parallel, NB in series, and B.
My three switches then would control the MID pickup's connection-
MID Off/On, MID Polarity Reverse and MID Solo (which cuts out the N and B signals).
Pots - basically Leo Fender's PTB (passive treble bass) set up, but each pot being a SPDT push / pull where
VOL push = 250K pull = 1M value: in effect, a warm/bright switch
TREBLE CUT push = 22nf cap pull = diode clipping: in effect a LPF / brown tone switch
BASS CUT push = 3.3nf (gentle) pull = 1.5nf (rabid): gives different depth of bass cut for surf vs distortion effects
That gives 13 pickup combinations and 8 controllable tone options, over 100 tones in all. Of which about 10 are likely to be useable and then its up to the skill of the player and the sound of the amp!
I also usually do the GuitarNuts thing of star grounding the signal cold (-) wires and isolating them from earths (like the trem, pickup claws and pot bodies) using a 330nf cap.
Pickups ATM are AGI Don Lace N-150 and S-150 with SD Vintage Rails at the bridge. Tempted to move the rails to the neck and put in a SD Antiquity II Surf at the bridge, that will need to wait awhiles.