Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
Depends on the guitar and the pickups. There really shouldn't be a hard rule.
Depends on the guitar and the pickups. There really shouldn't be a hard rule.
Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
- Thread starter vinnie1971
- Start date
STLMTLHD79
New member
Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
Dont mean to thread-jack but i have a similar situation. I have a 2000 Fat Strat W/Pearly Gates +. I absolutely love the pickup however, i would like for it to have a pinch more output. Should i bypass the tone pot on it? Does anybody know the stock wiring on these guitars (this one is untouched bone stock)?
Dont mean to thread-jack but i have a similar situation. I have a 2000 Fat Strat W/Pearly Gates +. I absolutely love the pickup however, i would like for it to have a pinch more output. Should i bypass the tone pot on it? Does anybody know the stock wiring on these guitars (this one is untouched bone stock)?
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
I have a 500k volume and no tone in my HSH Phat Cat/SSL6. Works great. I think 500k also sounds great with stax. It's kinda cray with vintage true single coils but can work if you want some ice pick.
I have a 500k volume and no tone in my HSH Phat Cat/SSL6. Works great. I think 500k also sounds great with stax. It's kinda cray with vintage true single coils but can work if you want some ice pick.
Clint 55
OH THE DOUBLE THICK GLAZE!
Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
Controls won't give you any more output. If you stick a double thick mag in there it will increase the output and fill it out. Works insane. Stock strat wiring is tone 1 to the neck, tone 2 to the middle, and no tone on the bridge.
https://www.cermagmagnets.co.uk/alnico-bars-for-hb-double-width---62mm-x-65mm-x-125mm-39-p.asp
Controls won't give you any more output. If you stick a double thick mag in there it will increase the output and fill it out. Works insane. Stock strat wiring is tone 1 to the neck, tone 2 to the middle, and no tone on the bridge.
https://www.cermagmagnets.co.uk/alnico-bars-for-hb-double-width---62mm-x-65mm-x-125mm-39-p.asp
Last edited:
Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
Getting rid of the tone control might make it sound brighter, which some people might perceive as a little more volume. But it isn't really. A magnet swap will do it, but change the tone you like. You can try to raise the pickup a pinch, and if that isn't enough, a boost pedal will certainly work.
Getting rid of the tone control might make it sound brighter, which some people might perceive as a little more volume. But it isn't really. A magnet swap will do it, but change the tone you like. You can try to raise the pickup a pinch, and if that isn't enough, a boost pedal will certainly work.
vinnie1971
New member
Re: Lone star strat upgrade 300k or 500k volume?
Fender used several configurations for the Lone Star Strat. I don’t know what you got there. But the most common configuration is;
250 pots for volume and tone
Bridge tone has 0.022uF capacitor
Neck and middle tone 0.047uF
I believe the American lone star has nice sounding custom shop Texas Specials. The standard ones on my Mexican Lone Star Deluxe are very shrill even with 250k pots and just sound muddy when you roll the tone back enough to kill the ice pick.
Now if you’re configuration is as I have described you could try 300k volume and replace the bridge tone control for a 500k no load tone pot or a TBX pot
I find as long as the 300k pot is within tolerance it’s a nice half way house between 250 and 500k volume. 500k is too much for standard singles and rolling off the tone doesn’t really fix it. The pearly gates is very bright with 500k but that’s my years.
I’ve swapped back and forth few times now. And 300k volume, 250k tone for singles and 500k tone for pearly gates ( mine is not the pearly gates plus it’s the standard pearly gates) and that works perfectly. I considered n load tone for the pg but it’s fine like this -plenty bright and compressed nicely. Not quite as much as Gibson 57s but they are more in the mids.
My PG is noticeably brighter with this set up than my Gibson 57s with 500k pots all round wired 50s style.
I hope this info helps
Here’s the USA lone star wiring which I used to remodel mine - I just amended the pot values and used 0.033uF on the singles instead of 0.047uF. I use my tone controls and 0.047 is too muddy.
I also use a 2k resistor to ground for the auto split
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Fender used several configurations for the Lone Star Strat. I don’t know what you got there. But the most common configuration is;
250 pots for volume and tone
Bridge tone has 0.022uF capacitor
Neck and middle tone 0.047uF
I believe the American lone star has nice sounding custom shop Texas Specials. The standard ones on my Mexican Lone Star Deluxe are very shrill even with 250k pots and just sound muddy when you roll the tone back enough to kill the ice pick.
Now if you’re configuration is as I have described you could try 300k volume and replace the bridge tone control for a 500k no load tone pot or a TBX pot
I find as long as the 300k pot is within tolerance it’s a nice half way house between 250 and 500k volume. 500k is too much for standard singles and rolling off the tone doesn’t really fix it. The pearly gates is very bright with 500k but that’s my years.
I’ve swapped back and forth few times now. And 300k volume, 250k tone for singles and 500k tone for pearly gates ( mine is not the pearly gates plus it’s the standard pearly gates) and that works perfectly. I considered n load tone for the pg but it’s fine like this -plenty bright and compressed nicely. Not quite as much as Gibson 57s but they are more in the mids.
My PG is noticeably brighter with this set up than my Gibson 57s with 500k pots all round wired 50s style.
I hope this info helps
Here’s the USA lone star wiring which I used to remodel mine - I just amended the pot values and used 0.033uF on the singles instead of 0.047uF. I use my tone controls and 0.047 is too muddy.
I also use a 2k resistor to ground for the auto split
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
