"Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

B

bluesaster

New member
Anybody managed to successfully wire according to that particular Mega Strat-scheme? Have tried twice, soldered, desoldered, waisted a lot of time and nerves - however without any success...meanwhile I assume there might be a fundamental mistake in that illustration... if somebody could help - would you be so kind so send me a photo and...how does that wiring scheme sound?
Thanks Harry
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Thanks a lot. By the way...James, the guy from TheJamesMachine", who illustrated the "fixed diagram", himself has never succeeded and meanwhile has left the project; another question - might be silly for you...but...any idea how to solder the right side of the 5-way-switch above (X 8 ilustration)? From which point of view the push-/pull-switch should be regarded - there are 6 contacts to be soldered...I always wonder viewing wiring schemes where to find the top and bottom to follow the instructions...hoewever..thanks a lot in advance...!!!
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

hermetico said:
I thought that the diagram was clear!
If you face the pot like in the diagram you can't have any issues!

About the blade switch, see that light grey bar on the right, is the side plate of the switch, just stand the switch in that way and there is no confussion.
Click to expand...

...OKAY...BUT a question remains... the position "C", "M", "N", "N" of the blade switch really need not to be soldered to anything? That means they remain empty...i.o.w. without soldered contact/link?
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

hermetico said:
The LEFT SIDE in this diagram YES.
We only need a pole.
Click to expand...

Great advice Hermetico, thanks, will try that this weekend. Result
will follow; meanwhile have a nice weekend buddy! Best regards from Austria, Harry
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Hate to revive a dead thread - maybe not so dead but "mostly" dead.

Yes I have successfully wired a mega strat. The main thing to remember is that the jumpers on the five way switch go from neck to bridge and bridge to neck. I wired the hot side of the pickups to one side of the switch (to eliminate confusion) and the jumpers and ground to the other side. Everything works as advertised.

Don't worry if it don't work. I was disoriented by the original schematic and I redrew it. As I did, I understood how it's supposed to work. Thanks to Craig's Guitar Tech Resource for the design (very clever use of the five way).

If anyone is interested in my drawing (which I further modded by adding a "greasebucket") let me know. As I just joined this forum to publish this, I have to find my way around to download the images. Hope to post again in a few.

Izzy
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

bluesaster said:
Anybody managed to successfully wire according to that particular Mega Strat-scheme? Have tried twice, soldered, desoldered, waisted a lot of time and nerves - however without any success...meanwhile I assume there might be a fundamental mistake in that illustration... if somebody could help - would you be so kind so send me a photo and...how does that wiring scheme sound?
Thanks Harry
Click to expand...

Can you attach such a schema?
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Originally Posted by bluesaster View Post
[QUOTE="bluesaster]Anybody managed to successfully wire according to that particular Mega Strat-scheme? Have tried twice, soldered, desoldered, waisted a lot of time and nerves - however without any success...meanwhile I assume there might be a fundamental mistake in that illustration... if somebody could help - would you be so kind so send me a photo and...how does that wiring scheme sound?
Thanks Harry[/QUOTE]I had the same experience as bluesaster -no success wiring the Guitar Craig Megastrat.
MofFh.gif


So far as far as I can tell there is no one posting here or anywhere else on the net (another forum details another unsuccessful attempt) who wired this successfully except one person who changed the original wiring but hasn't explained exactly how?

Here is the original diagram by Guitar Tech Craig. Can someone with the wherewithall tell if this wiring scheme would actually work, or perhaps redraw it without so many wires branching into "Y's" rather than leading to specfic places? (e.g. the green wire from the middle pickup).

gpIzq.jpg
 
Last edited:
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Whoa, who needs THAT much switching? It would take forever to remember all of those settings.
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

jacksontrader said:
Whoa, who needs THAT much switching? It would take forever to remember all of those settings.
Click to expand...
Although this is a moot point if Craig's wiring scheme doesn't actually work (please see post before last
MofFh.gif
)...

From my personal point of view the switching would actually be cool and intuitive because there are a few of my very favorite non-standard options, and I like what they blend into here.

Four of the listed non-standard options and their specific blends are mainly what I would probably be using for the most part (aside from the normal strat positions, which require no memorization) IF I could get this thing to work, which evidently the majority of those who have tried and lived to tell the tale on the internet have not succeeded to do.
 
Last edited:
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Sorry everybody. I posted, lurked and saw no interest so I forgot about it and moved on to a kick-ass LPjr with a couple of pushpulls. Thanks to Rockerdude for asking for help. Now on with the show.

How about a step by step?

OK, first some vital info.

The 5 way is a Fender #0991367000. The view is with the exposed terminals facing you and the plate is facing away. The terminals away from you, starting at the left, are H1, B1, M1 and N1. The

terminals near you, again starting from the left, are B2, M2, N2 and H2.

If you are using a different switch, you will have to map out which terminals are which. And if you are recycling a 5 way switch, make sure that none of the terminals are jumpered to one another.

The push-pull switch is oriented pot down, the terminals facing you. The terminals are, starting at top left, 1 and the terminal to the right is 2, below 1 is terminal 3, to the right of 3 is

terminal 4, etc.

Volume and blend pots are 250K linear taper(B) and tone pot is 250K audio taper(A).

1) Solder ground wires -

from terminal 1 on pushpull to right terminal of volume pot;

from right terminal of volume pot to case of volume pot;

from left terminal of blend pot to case of blend pot;

from case of volume pot to M1 of the 5 way;

black (or common) wire of middle pickup to M1 on 5 way;

from ring terminal of jack to case of tone pot;

from case of tone pot to case of blend pot;

from case of blend pot to case of volume pot.

2) Solder capacitor between right terminal of tone pot to case of tone pot.

3) Solder a wire from tip terminal of jack to middle terminal of tone pot.

4) Solder a wire from middle terminal of tone pot to middle terminal of volume pot.

5) Solder hot wire of neck pickup to #4 terminal of pushpull.

6) Solder common wire of neck pickup to #3 terminal of pushpull.

7) Solder common wire of bridge pickup to #5 terminal of pushpull.

8) Solder a wire from #5 terminal of pushpull to middle terminal of blend pot.

9) Solder hot wire of middle pickup to M2 terminal on 5 way.

10) Solder a wire from M2 terminal on 5 way to right terminal of blend pot.

11) Solder hot wire of bridge pickup to B2 terminal on 5 way.

12) Solder a wire from N2 on 5 way to #6 terminal on pushpull.

13) Solder a wire from N2 to B1 on 5 way.

14) Solder a wire from B2 to N1 on 5 way.

15) Solder a wire from left terminal of volume pot to #2 terminal of pushpull.

16) Solder a wire from left terminal of volume pot to H2 on 5 way.


Don't forget any grounds on the body of the guitar - they get soldered to the case of any of the pots. All the pots are grounded.

If you followed the steps and your solder joints are sound, you have wired the Mega-Strat.

I have done two of these, one a 99 MIM with Fat 50's neck, American Strat Mid and Texas Special Bridge pups. I tell you what, that thing is a tone monster. Might be considering a Clapton kit in it soon. The other is a '08 Crafted in China Squire with some dynamite pickups. That's the one that was the test monkey, and the first time I wired it, it no work. That's when I decrypted that schematic and found that I had jumpered the 5 way wrong. That is the key - that 5 way.

Good luck and good tunes.

Izzy
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

BTW Rockerdude Thanks for the interest.

"If it ain't metal, it's crap." Dee Snyder
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

This is the direct tranlation of the original drawing.
Note that the common poles were in the wrong position in the original.
I am still analyzing the diagram. I am positive with natural neck position (position 5 in the original), it seems to give what the diagram says.
I need to review the rest to understand why it seemed to fail in June 2006.

Mega_Strat.jpg
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Well, it's a very tricky design and takes a while to understand what it's going on behind but, I fully rely that this is doing exactly the combos that were listed in the original diagram.
The original diagram works everytime that you understand which lug is which lug.
I think that the issue that most of people had with this diagram is related to the position of the common lugs. In this diagram, it seems to correspond to the old Fender switches.
If someone directly solders its modern Fender 5-way as shown in the original drawing, this will lead him to unexpected results, because he will be assigning the hot output to the neck's lug (instead of the common), etc. Everything shifted so, go figure!.

The diagram that I've attached is the right "translation" for modern 5-ways.

More info in my blog's entry:
http://hermeticoguitar.blogspot.com.es/2012/11/wiring-diagram-guitar-tech-craigs-mega.html
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

If you wire it as shown in the hermetico diagram posted 11/11, the pushpull will operate in reverse of what is expected. Using my terminal mapping method (in the step by step posted above) terminals 1,2,3, and 4 are connected when the pushpull is down; terminals 3,4,5,and 6 are connected when the pushpull is up.

There are also some style differences between my step by step and the aforementioned diagram (tone pot wiring, inversing the pushpull from left to right) but that is a more readable diagram than the original.

The hermetico diagram should still work, but the results will be reversed.

Been there - done that.
 
Last edited:
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Izzythecat said:
If you wire it as shown in the hermetico diagram posted 11/11, the pushpull will operate in reverse of what is expected. Using my terminal mapping method (in the step by step posted above) terminals 1,2,3, and 4 are connected when the pushpull is down; terminals 3,4,5,and 6 are connected when the pushpull is up.

There are also some style differences between my step by step and the aforementioned diagram (tone pot wiring, inversing the pushpull from left to right) but that is a more readable diagram than the original.

The hermetico diagram should still work, but the results will be reversed.

Been there - done that.
Click to expand...

You are wrong, mate.
You should look at the pot as if it was mounted in the pickguard and, therefore, what is usually down in the pull/push is now up.
Just flip your pot and you will understand it.
:cool2:

Also, it doesn't matter if I choose rigth column or left column for wiring. This was more convenient for my drawing and alters nothing.
The tone is wired according to the '50s mod, that gives a more smooth way to roll off trebles when the volume is being rolled off. Nothing wrong here, just other take.
:naughty:
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

I don't want to get in a pissing match. I am well aware on the orientation of a diagram of a pushpull; is it not the same as the orientation of the tone and blend pots.

If i am wrong how come I have two operating "megastrats" and you got this...

" I am still analyzing the diagram. I am positive with natural neck position (position 5 in the original), it seems to give what the diagram says. I need to review the rest to understand why it seemed to fail in June 2006."

Sorry everybody but I am gone.
 
Re: "Mega Strat wiring" by guitartechcraig.com

Izzythecat said:
I don't want to get in a pissing match. I am well aware on the orientation of a diagram of a pushpull; is it not the same as the orientation of the tone and blend pots.

If i am wrong how come I have two operating "megastrats" and you got this...

" I am still analyzing the diagram. I am positive with natural neck position (position 5 in the original), it seems to give what the diagram says. I need to review the rest to understand why it seemed to fail in June 2006."

Sorry everybody but I am gone.
Click to expand...

I am not seeing this as a pissing match and, I think you take offense very easy. My only intention is to clarify anything and don't lead the OP to confussion.
:1:

Simple exercise:

Print the original diagram and my diagram.
Flip the original diagram and compare both pull/pushes.
Do you really find any Difference?

If so, let me know.

If we stand a pull/push pot, with shaft facing ceil and lugs facing you and, we name with letters the pot's lugs and with numbers the p/p's lugs, we have:

A B C
1 2
3 4
5 6

right?
If we fip it to mount it on the pickguard and those lugs are still facing us, we have:

6 5
4 3
2 1
C B A

This is exactly how it's being represented in my diagram.


If you face a pot (without pull/push) with the lugs facing you and the shaft pointing cell, if we name the lugs as:

A B C

When you mount the pot in the pickguard, with the lugs facing the bottom of this page, the thing looks like:

C B A

This corresponds to the pot side of the volume pull/push and to the blend pot, in my diagram.


but if you rotate that mounted pot to make the lugs to point the top of this page instead, you will have again

A B C

This corresponds to the tone control, in my diagram.

And YES, I never used the Megastrat wiring because I find it not interesting for my own needs. I prefer more structured ways to provide alternate combos, as in Mike Richardson's designs or my own ones. I personally will never memorize what should I have to do to obtain combo X with that wiring mod.
But, even if I never used it, I've done several hundred of wiring designs, of any kind and, I've experienced all coil combinations in my axes so, I know how to design a wiring and I can understand what others did. Tricky designs just take more time to analyze and, that's all about my own comment that you are sarcastically quoting in your answer. Last time I've analyzed such a design was during 2006 so, you can figure out how fresh was my mind about a design that doesn't excites me, at all.
I am not exempt of mistakes, still a human being, mate.:banghead:
So, if you find some, just pop it up and we will discuss it.

If after doing the simple exercise that I am propossing above you still find that I made something wrong. Please, specify what's wrong and why.

:scratchch

Once again, not a pissing match, but a clarifying post.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top