Replacing pickups, need advice on pots and caps.

[mreli]

Hello everyone.

This is my first time posting on the forum and I gotta say I'm pretty new to the guitar world, so excuse any gaps in my knowledge.
I own a Fender Player Strat HSS and my plan is to completely change all the pickups and pots. So, I used the pickup finder on the Seymour Duncan website, listened to a lot of youtube clips, and finally decided on the configuration that seems very versatile.

• Bridge - JB Model TB-4
• Middle - Custom Stack Plus Strat (STK-S6)
• Neck - Cool Rails

Now I need to decide on which pots and caps I should buy. I definitely want a 500k for the humbucker, but for the middle and neck, I'm completely lost. The same goes for caps. I know that Strats generally use 250k but these two pickups are stacked, so maybe 500k with 22nF caps all the way? and a 5-way super switch to do a humbucker coil split in one position? I will be using the services of a guitar tech since I don't have the tools or the expertise required.

I appreciate any advice/recommendations.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Eli

 

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!

What would you like the 2 tone knobs to do? Some like it traditional (neck & middle) and some like more modern (neck + middle, and one for the bridge).

 

[Clint 55]

2nd a tone knob on the bridge. You'll be good to go with all 500k pots and a 22nf cap. The stack and the little hum are good with 500k. I recommend audio taper for the tones. For the volume, linear is usually good, unless you play mainly with distortion and like to roll back the volume to clean up, then audio is good. That should be a good pickup scheme.

Which position do you want the split for?

 

[mreli]

Welcome to the forum!

What would you like the 2 tone knobs to do? Some like it traditional (neck & middle) and some like more modern (neck + middle, and one for the bridge).

I would go for the modern option, neck + middle, and one for the bridge. Honestly, I didn't even know traditional Strats use the tone knobs for the neck and middle.

 

[mreli]

2nd a tone knob on the bridge. You'll be good to go with all 500k pots and a 22nf cap. The stack and the little hum are good with 500k. I recommend audio taper for the tones. For the volume, linear is usually good, unless you play mainly with distortion and like to roll back the volume to clean up, then audio is good. That should be a good pickup scheme.

Which position do you want the split for?

So I should get 3 Seymour Duncan 500k pots and two 22nf caps?

In my mind, I envision the positions like this: 1. bridge - 2 coil split bridge, 3. middle, 4. middle + neck, 5. neck. Can this be done?

 

[Mincer]

So I should get 3 Seymour Duncan 500k pots and two 22nf caps?

In my mind, I envision the positions like this: 1. bridge - 2 coil split bridge, 3. middle, 4. middle + neck, 5. neck. Can this be done?

I would do the 3 500k with that setup. As far as your switching, I like that idea, but I think you might need a super switch to get position 2. You might consider either an S1 switch (or standard push/pull) in the volume pot to split the humbucker at any time.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I would use 3 500k audio pots with .022mf cap.
Your desired positions can be done with the 5-way super switch.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I just saw Mincer's post. His idea of using the p/p pot will eliminate the need for a super switch and keep the wiring much more simple, plus it allows for a lot more tonal options.

 

[mreli]

Thank you for the replies. I'll go with the all 500k 22nf and a push-pull pot for coil split on the humbucker.

 

[Mincer]

Thank you for the replies. I'll go with the all 500k 22nf and a push-pull pot for coil split on the humbucker.

Let us know how this project comes out....it sounds fun!

 

[eclecticsynergy]

You can also have the bridge split automatically in position 2.
This can be done using a standard switch; doesn't need a Superswitch.
It also can easily be combined with a push-pull that would give you the bridge split in position 1 when you want it.