Fun strat wiring mod

P

pskorz

New member
So I just did a bunch of work on an old squire strat just for fun. Among the work was putting a JB in the bridge and re-wired it. Made it 1 vol/ 1 tone.
so for the hell of it, I did the lead connections for the neck and middle pickups “backwards” for a little added versatility. This gives the following:
1- bridge pickup
2- bridge and neck
3- neck pickup
4- neck and middle
5- middle pickup

so in the 2 pos you get that tele-Esque/sweet home Ala kind of vibe, pos 4 still gets you the traditional “sultans” notch sound. You just have to keep straight in your head that the middle on the switch is the neck and the forward pos on the switch is the middle pickup.
 
You sure you didn't just cock it up? :D

Interesting idea though.:headbang:

I get bridge + neck on mine using the blender mod. I use a five way superswitch to ensure the bridge doesn't come back in when I select the neck.
 
Ha ha. This was actually on purpose.
:D

yeah, there are surely fancier ways of going about it, but for no expensive switches and extra parts it gives some good versatility.
 
Seems to me that just making the middle position for the middle pickup and position 5 for the neck pickup is just easier and more natural.

Why would you want to switch that around?
Is there a technical reason why you would need to switch them up that I am not aware of?
 
Gtrjunior said:
Seems to me that just making the middle position for the middle pickup and position 5 for the neck pickup is just easier and more natural.

Why would you want to switch that around?
Is there a technical reason why you would need to switch them up that I am not aware of?
Click to expand...

He wants bridge/neck.

if I used that position substantially more than middle alone, I’d do a superswitch and replace middle with neck/bridge.
 
Definitely just kind of for fun. It was just kind of a fun thing to do for nothing.
don’t get me wrong, I have guitars with superswitches and push/pull pots to do things the “correct” way.
ultimately I don’t think I’m going to hang onto this guitar, but that really is a good switching scheme IMO.
 
Gtrjunior said:
Seems to me that just making the middle position for the middle pickup and position 5 for the neck pickup is just easier and more natural.

Why would you want to switch that around?
Is there a technical reason why you would need to switch them up that I am not aware of?
Click to expand...

Yep, specifically for the neck/bridge combo. I kind of like that pairing.
 
PFDarkside said:
He wants bridge/neck.

if I used that position substantially more than middle alone, I’d do a superswitch and replace middle with neck/bridge.
Click to expand...

Yes, he wants bridge/neck in position 2.
I was referring to how position 3 and 5 are reversed from the typical Strat wiring. For me, that would introduce a level of confusion I’d rather not have to deal with in a live, “on the fly” situation. Mostly because I know me, and I’d F it up every time.
 
I tell my customers that they are the ultimate decision makers regarding what works for them and glad you found something you like.
Personally, I couldn't live without 2nd position quack. But I also love the bridge neck combination.. if I have a strat where the mid pick up doesn't do much, I'll wire the 3rd position as the bridge and neck and simply give up having an individual middle.

But I've probably done more blends than any other strat mod.. it's so easy and it's great when you have a good middle pickup tone.
 
zionstrat said:
I tell my customers that they are the ultimate decision makers regarding what works for them and glad you found something you like.
Personally, I couldn't live without 2nd position quack. But I also love the bridge neck combination.. if I have a strat where the mid pick up doesn't do much, I'll wire the 3rd position as the bridge and neck and simply give up having an individual middle.

But I've probably done more blends than any other strat mod.. it's so easy and it's great when you have a good middle pickup tone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, with a super switch or something, that’d be ideal-forgo the lone middle pickup and retain the bridge/middle combo.
 
pskorz said:
So I just did a bunch of work on an old squire strat just for fun. Among the work was putting a JB in the bridge and re-wired it. Made it 1 vol/ 1 tone.
so for the hell of it, I did the lead connections for the neck and middle pickups “backwards” for a little added versatility. This gives the following:
1- bridge pickup
2- bridge and neck
3- neck pickup
4- neck and middle
5- middle pickup

so in the 2 pos you get that tele-Esque/sweet home Ala kind of vibe, pos 4 still gets you the traditional “sultans” notch sound. You just have to keep straight in your head that the middle on the switch is the neck and the forward pos on the switch is the middle pickup.
Click to expand...

If you use the unused tone pot as volume pot for the neck you can have the early Broadcaster blend in sounds in the 2nd position.
 
Last edited:
hamerfan said:
If you use the unused tone pot as volume pot for the neck you can have the early Broadcaster blend in sounds in the 2nd position.
Click to expand...

I need to learn how to do that. Years ago I had a strat h s h with a 3 way lever for hums only, and a blend for the single instead of a tone. I loved that setup, it was perfect for me at the time.
 
pskorz said:
I need to learn how to do that. Years ago I had a strat h s h with a 3 way lever for hums only, and a blend for the single instead of a tone. I loved that setup, it was perfect for me at the time.
Click to expand...

Hot wire of the neck pup first to the unused tone pot and then to the switch.
 
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