Classic Stack Plus Strat Wiring Question

G

Gransen

New member
Hello! Longtime lurker, new user & first-time poster here.

The last thing that I want to do is upset everyone with my first post, so I'll say YEP, I SEARCHED THIS SITE AND THE INTERNET BEFORE STARTING THIS THREAD...!!!

I recently bought a used 2000 Ibanez SA160 (H-S-S w/5 position "international" blade) with some Seymour Duncan JB's in the bridge and Classic Stack Plus Strats in the neck (stock middle), and a bad wiring job. I'm trying to wire it up right, and I'm a bit lost.

I want to split the bridge pup. I'm okay with splitting the neck pup too, but there's no need.

Bridge = (Black to pole 1A), (red and white to pole 1B), (then green and bare to ground).
Middle = (White to pole 3A), black to ground AND pole 3B also to ground).
Neck = (White to pole 5A), (black to ground), (pole 5B open).

Pole 0A to Volume, Pole 0B open.

(1) The "all the way back" position and the bridge pup is humbucking. No question here.
(2) The next notch up and it's bridge single & and middle.
(3) Middle only.
(4) I LIKE TOAST.
(5) Neck "humbucking" or whatever a Stack is officially doing when the red wire ain't doing jack squat. (Is it "humbucking" or "noise cancelling," and should I care if there's a difference...??? Fifteen years after buying my first guitar, and I still don't care. Maybe I should...)

What's position #4 doing...???

Next question, what happens if I stuff that red wire from the Stack into one of them switch poles...??? I'm thinking "Pole 0B," which is currently open. But that seems just as wrong as 5B, which is also open.

Thanks!
 
Re: Classic Stack Plus Strat Wiring Question

I decided to go for it and just wire it up. This is now the strangest guitar that I own...

The Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge are extremely "muffled" compared to the Classic Stack Plus Strat in the neck; to the point where I thought for a moment that the switch is backwards! The Classic Stack Plus sounds A LOT like a bridge humbucker (very clear and bright) and the JB sounds A LOT like a neck humbucker (muffled and warm). But it has to be wired properly because the "I LIKE TOAST" position sounds exactly like what I expected...it's oddly out of phase with, like, three coils active, and two of them fighting each other. (Never really been a fan of out-of-phase stuff...maybe in limited doses at best.)

On a clean channel or under low gain, the Classic Stack sounds like a really super awesome Strat bridge pickup, and under high gain it sounds like a pretty sweet bridge humbucker. The JB sounds like a less-articulate bridge humbucker. It's like having two different bridge pups!

Does this sound right...??? I've never owned nor played JB's or the Classic Stacks, so I didn't really know what to expect (and it was bought sight-unseen not knowing what I was getting!!!). And now I'm trying to figure out if I like it or not. I've always believed that "warm in the bridge and bright in the neck" is the wrong way to set up a guitar, because it's fighting the natural tendencies of how the harmonics are presented to the pickups. That's what this thing sounds like now.
 
Re: Classic Stack Plus Strat Wiring Question

This sounds right for the Classic Stack. It is chimey and bright, and sounds great in the neck position. The JB you have doesn't sound right to me. I'd try wiring it directly to the jack to make sure it is working properly. It should not sound muffled in any way at all.
 
Re: Classic Stack Plus Strat Wiring Question

if there are 500k pots, those classic stack + are gonna be very bright which would make the jb in the bridge sound dark in comparison. is the jb significantly louder? it should be, if it isnt there is a wiring issue
 
Re: Classic Stack Plus Strat Wiring Question

Thanks Mincer.

The "muffled" sound boils down to an audible illusion! The issue is that it's just not as chimey as the Classic Stack, and that fact gets turbo charged because I'm addicted to gain in my amp, so it just comes across to me as being muffled WHEN COMPARED TO THE NECK PUP USING THAT MUCH GAIN. But clean channels make it instantly sound like a nice healthy bridge humbucker. Then when I get used to that sound and go back to some crunch, it sounds just right.

I'm able to compare that "just right" sound in the JB to some Duncan Invaders (passive) in a PRS SE 7 string, and a 1985 Ibanez Roadstar II with stock pickups, and yep, the JB is right there.

The JB is much much better sounding to me than the stock DiMarzzio's in my Ibanez Iron Label (really bright, and no tone knob, wtf...???), and the stock Ibanez Quantums in my S670QM (too "glassy," like it's set for "automatic reverb" or something).

As far as the wiring question for future readers, the red wire from the Classic Stack would go to pole 5B. Sometimes I forget the basic rules: "0A & 0B are the two commons and used as outputs." Duh. Here's a drawing of the poles in a non-Fender 5-position select switch, bearing in mind that it's reversible...


1A - 3A - 5A - 0A - 0B - 1B - 3B - 5B

<------------Bridge / Neck------------>

Bridge Pickup = (Black wire to pole 1A), (red and white wires to pole 1B), (then the green wire and bare to ground).
Middle Pickup = (White wire to pole 3A), (black wire to ground AND pole 3B also to ground).
Neck Pickup = (White wire to pole 5A), (black wire to ground), (pole 5B open OR the red wire goes here).

Using this diagram, position #4 (one notch before the neck pup selection) has two options: (1) red wire disconnected = neck "humbucking" and middle single coil out-of-phase, or (2) red wire to pole 5b = neck "humbucking" and in series with the single coil.

The way that it sounds on my setup with the red wire from the Classic Stack Plus Strat is definitely different, and seems to have a place in my music taste. The middle single coil is a bit bluesy sounding like you would imagine a middle single coil from a 20 year old low-end Ibanez would be, and that gets added to a nice chimey sounding Stack...sort of like adding Swiss Miss cocoa powder to the morning coffee: they don't seem to go together when you think about it; but you know what, that's pretty tasty...!!!

Final verdict: I own 8 functional guitars (12 total) and now I like 3 of them! That's pretty good, isn't it...!?!
 
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