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How should I wire the tone control on my Strat?

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  • How should I wire the tone control on my Strat?

    I've got a Strat copy that came with no tone control, but I'm going to add a 10 nF (0.01 uF) tone control for it so that I can get Woman Tones out of it. With my guitar being routed for a single knob, I'm stuck between two options. Either put the neck and middle on a single tone control but leave the bridge without one, or put all 3 on one tone control. This would be on a concentric pot.

    I like the idea of having a master tone control because it would let me tame the bridge pickup, but on the other hand, I find being able to go from a rolled off neck tone to a bright bridge tone in the flick of a switch extremely useful.
    8
    Master Tone (All 3 on one knob)
    75.00%
    6
    Neck and Middle on one Knob
    25.00%
    2

  • #2
    Also I'm debating putting a no-load pot in for the tone control, is it a big jump in brightness when you go into the no load position? I want to make a no-load pot myself so it doesn't have a detent, but I don't want a big jump in brightness at 10.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Driver Blues View Post
      is it a big jump in brightness when you go into the no load position?
      It is noticeable and can cause a slight "pop" when rolled off. How "big" it is will depend on other parameters : inductance of the pickups used + capacitance of the whole wiring & cable+ input impedance of the first "host" (setting altogether the frequency, amplitude and Q factor of resonant peaks) + tone stack of your amp (with or without bright cap) + its settings + spectrum of the loudspeaker(s) - whose peaks and dips will align or not with the resonant frequency of the pickups... not to mention the guitar of course: most of my Fender or Fender style guitars have a no load tone control and I often mount such things for other people. In some cases I had to add resistive loads to correct an excessive brightness (of the bridge PU, most of the time).

      EDIT - There's graphs in the topic below. But they don't take in account the variables that I've evoked above and whose existence makes generalizations impossible.

      Tone Pots - including 'No-Load' pots To go with the tone capacitor, the Tone Pot is the other component of a simple treble-cut tone control. The usual assumed know


      A side note about concentric pots: they can tend to turn altogether IME because the upper knob presses on the low one. To take in account IMHO. YMMV.
      Last edited by freefrog; 09-14-2023, 11:02 PM.
      Duncan user since the 80's...

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      • #4
        I use 250k no load tone pots that I make myself. The jump between 10 and 9 isn't very drastic. If you use a higher value pot, it's even less perceptible.
        The things that you wanted
        I bought them for you

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        • #5
          I've never found that jump very big at all. Small enough, in fact, that it wasn't worth it for me.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #6
            If you know your tone position preference, why not use a toggle instead?

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            • #7
              Count me in on not hearing a difference between "no-load" and tone on 10. Then again, I'm old.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Lucius Paisley View Post
                If you know your tone position preference, why not use a toggle instead?
                It don't have room to drill for another hole.

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                • #9
                  Of the two options you've listed, I think I'd go with the master tone control. If you need it, you have it then.
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                  • #10
                    TBX. Done!
                    aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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                    • #11
                      I'm not sure you'll get Woman Tone with 0.010 uF in a Strat, but doesn't hurt to try it.

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                      • #12
                        Tone control on a Strat bridge is not very useful to me, but I tend to use my tone knob either on 10 or less than 5. If you only have one knob, using the tone control to take a little brightness off the bridge pickup doesn't make too much sense if you use the other positions more than the bridge alone
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                        • #13
                          I like the TBX, and I also like a master tone. My 82 Strat came with a master tone (and the 2nd tone knob is actually a 2 position rotary switch!).
                          Administrator of the SDUGF

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