Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

[blueman335]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

Certainly a bad location for the volume, judging by the fact that this design flaw keeps coming up for discussion. Only reason for a pot that close is for those tedious and boring volume swells (which probably weren't even thought of in the early 1950's). And not having a tone control to take treble off the bridge PU was another pot-related blunder. But Leo wasn't a player himself and couldn't think of everything. Had he gotten more testing before the final design, he may have slanted the bridge PU the other way, so that it would actually have a usable tone (as Hendrix later discovered). The pot locations & bridge PU slant were probably based on cosmetics more than anything else. Now that we're so used to seeing them that way, correcting them looks odd.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

The Strat only has two flaws, and they both relate to the bridge pickup:

1. Bridge pickup angled the wrong way
2. Bridge pickup has no tone control

Aside from that, it is a perfect guitar. Anyone who whines about the location of the volume pot or middle pickup getting in the way should switch to drums.

 

[B2D]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

When I play a strat, tend to pick with my hand closer to the neck pickup because I will bump the volume knob otherwise. When the volume knob is a little bit further away, I pick closer to the bridge and get more attack which is more of my sound, I think. I never do volume swells, but I don't like it to be too far away so I like to have it in that "super Strat" spot which falls between the volume's original location and the 1st tone knob.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

All you have to do to add tone to the bridge is add a wire between the pot & pickup. Its a simple fix. I have done it on mine and I do believe that all "New" Strats come wired this way.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

All you have to do to add tone to the bridge is add a wire between the pot & pickup. Its a simple fix. I have done it on mine and I do believe that all "New" Strats come wired this way.

They don't.

The other really cool thing to do is the G&L Legacy wiring, which turns the two tone knobs into treble and bass controls for both pickups. This is especially handy if you have a humbucker-equipped Strat. Being able to roll off the low end opens up a big spectrum of tones.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

i hate the stock postion on my strats volume controlls... i keep a few of my starts stock but i'm starting to order custom and blank pickguards... and cut the controlls for how i want to see it...

my 1988 American Standard i plan to redo the pickguard layout completely with 2 humbuckers, 2 pots, and a Gibson style toggle... but my Custom Shop strat is staying bone stock... i'll live with the knob where Leo wanted it

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I think a lot of players wear their guitars so low that it negatively affects their playing. Might look cool, but often puts both your fretting and picking hands in awkward positions. And SURPRISE--you start hitting the controls.

I dunno. Good enough for Clapton. Good enough for SRV. Good enough for Hendrix. Good enough for Henry Garza. (And a whole lot of other great strat players!)

Personally, the controls on a Strat are P-E-R-F-E-C-T. I use a G&L Legacy, which uses the Leo Fender-designed Passive Treble and Bass (PTB) controls. The tone controls are global, affecting all pickups in all switch positions. NEVER had a problem hitting the Volume knob with my picking hand; and I've owned a strat of one kind or another since 1971.

Strat ergonomics are the best.

Bill

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

It is in the perfect place if you actually use it.......I like playing with dynamics and the volume control is another useful feature to accomplish it.

 

[jimijames]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

The Strat only has two flaws, and they both relate to the bridge pickup:

1. Bridge pickup angled the wrong way
2. Bridge pickup has no tone control

Aside from that, it is a perfect guitar. Anyone who whines about the location of the volume pot or middle pickup getting in the way should switch to drums.

Well, the thing about the angle of the bridge pickup - the strat was designed in the 50's right? Well, back then, a bright, trebly guitar tone was desirable - hence one of the reasons the telecaster was so popular. People don't complain about telecasters having the bridge pickup angled the wrong way, why is it so with strats? It's because music has changed since the original design - the rise of the 3 and 4 piece bands require a guitar sound that fills more sonic space, space that was already occupied during early country and rock n' roll when people were playing with 11-person bands that had horns and the like, and really competing to be heard - remember, even with studio work most of the advanced stuff was still only 4-track (or at least that's what I've been told, I read a B.B. king article that said he started recording with a band and just one mic)

I do agree with the no tone control thing though, that was a bit of an oversight - but the reason leo inluded the tone control (read this in a guitar player magazine article) was to get that hollow-body w/ flatwounds jazz tone. This tone was easier to get on the neck and middle pickups, and the player could always switch to the bridge if they wanted a brighter sound.

For modern stylings, yes it would be better to have a reverse-angled bridge pickup and tone control, but at the time, the strat made perfect sense as it was.

Me, I'll take the strat anyday with 2 modifications:
- Hotter bridge pickup
- Master tone and blender control instead of 2 tones

And for the record, Yay on volume control placement.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

that standard placement of the Fender strat knob gets in my way as i tend to palm mutt on the bridge a hell of a lot... The only time it does not feel like it's getting in the way is if i have a shim in the neck and teh bridge up higher but that is not the bets set up for me... it sits right where i want my little finger to rest on the pickguard... i never use teh tone pots on most of my guitars besides a few... so having a single volume works for me... or a single volume and a single tone...

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

They do. Bottom tone does Middle and bridge.

per Musicians Friend:

Fender American Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar Features:

• Solid alder body (urethane finish)
• Modern C-shaped maple neck with rich, deep neck tint, glossed neck front with satin back
• 22 medium jumbo frets
• 3 hot American Strat single-coil pickups
• Delta-tone™ no-load circuit (includes high output bridge pickup and special no-load tone control for middle and bridge pickups)
• Bent steel Fender saddles
• Copper Infused Cast Strat® Bridge Block (steel with copper- 100% metal) for Increased Mass and Improved Tone
• Thinner undercoat for improved body resonance
• American 2-point trem
• Rosewood or maple fretboard
• Staggered machine heads

Ah ok ... sorry. I should have said the Mexican Standards don't - they're still neck tone and middle tone.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I'm about to go x-v-t

the pickguard im slowly putting together as i get the pickups is wired miniswitch-v-t. miniswitch does series-parallel on the bridge humbucker

 

[blueman335]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

The other really cool thing to do is the G&L Legacy wiring, which turns the two tone knobs into treble and bass controls for both pickups. This is especially handy if you have a humbucker-equipped Strat. Being able to roll off the low end opens up a big spectrum of tones.

Is the low-end tone control for passive PU's? If so, where can you get them? This is a great idea. The bridge should have a tone control that reduces treble, and the neck should have a tone control that reduces bass. That's where you need them, so you can avoid a tinny bridge and a boomy neck.

This should be standard with neck HB's. They're rarely (if ever) too bright, but often too bassy.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

One small wire and soldering iron fixes number two.

The Strat only has two flaws, and they both relate to the bridge pickup:

1. Bridge pickup angled the wrong way
2. Bridge pickup has no tone control

Aside from that, it is a perfect guitar. Anyone who whines about the location of the volume pot or middle pickup getting in the way should switch to drums.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

They do. Bottom tone does Middle and bridge.

per Musicians Friend:

Fender American Standard Stratocaster Electric Guitar Features:

• Solid alder body (urethane finish)
• Modern C-shaped maple neck with rich, deep neck tint, glossed neck front with satin back
• 22 medium jumbo frets
• 3 hot American Strat single-coil pickups
• Delta-tone™ no-load circuit (includes high output bridge pickup and special no-load tone control for middle and bridge pickups)
• Bent steel Fender saddles
• Copper Infused Cast Strat® Bridge Block (steel with copper- 100% metal) for Increased Mass and Improved Tone
• Thinner undercoat for improved body resonance
• American 2-point trem
• Rosewood or maple fretboard
• Staggered machine heads

My 93 Strat Plus came wired this way.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I think the standard design should be master vol master tone occupying the holes where tone 1 and tone 2 are presently.

 

[Frantic_Rock]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I say, yay.

It's close and useful to adjust while you are playing (using quick movements). It also allows for "violining" with the pinky finger. Helps to have long fingers and big hands though. You can simply make the knob tight - so it is not easy to roll down. I actually have some pickguard plastic still stuck under mine on my EJ - so it makes rolling it down accidentally almost impossible.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I agree that it is much easier to do swells than on a Les Paul, SG, Es-series, etc...... but volume pedals are easy with any guitar. Well except an acoustic

I say, yay.

It's close and useful to adjust while you are playing (using quick movements). It also allows for "violining" with the pinky finger. Helps to have long fingers and big hands though. You can simply make the knob tight - so it is not easy to roll down. I actually have some pickguard plastic still stuck under mine on my EJ - so it makes rolling it down accidentally almost impossible.

 

[baritone]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

I think the standard design should be master vol master tone occupying the holes where tone 1 and tone 2 are presently.

This is what I've been thinking of doing to my Strat. The standard placement of the volume knob has been annnoying me lately.

 

[tc]

Re: Strat volume knob location: yea or nay?

Well no, its true they don't, but who really wants to play something heavy on a 7.25 neck with vintage frets, single coils, and a vintage bridge regardless of the pot position ?

Well, I'm sure there's this one fat dude from Sweden who'd unleash the fury on this post lol!

BTW I'm still waiting on that pink strat porn Millsart!