Strat wiring question

T

take2

New member
Ok, so I love my G&L Legacy so much that I thought I would emulate the wiring on a Fender strat that I have. The problem is that the bottom tone knob only has variation in tone between 9 and 10 - everything below 9 sounds the same. I had a tech do the work so the pots were changed according to a Legacy that he had drawn a schematic for. He said that each pot is a different value - I think 250, 500, and 1meg??? Does this make sense and why doesn't it seem to work the same as on the Legacy?
Any feedback would be appreciated. :eyecrazy: :scratchch
 
Re: Strat wiring question

isn't there a wiring diagram on G & L's site? (look for the schematic link near the bottom of the FAQ)
I'm pretty sure there was ... if not, there should be something on the G&L fan site.

having played both Fenders and G&Ls, the G&L wiring seems like a neat idea in theory, but to me, the Fender wiring sounds better in practice, especially with the bridge wired to the tone pot
 
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Re: Strat wiring question

Thanks Curly, I just copied that diagram and I'm going to take to the guy who did it just to make sure.
If that doesn't work I'll have to try just wiring the bridge pickup to the tone pot.
thanks again!
 
Re: Strat wiring question

Check the taper on the 1 meg pot, you'll want to be sure it's a linear taper. Also double check the wiring... the bass tone control is easy to wire incorrectly if you aren't used to reading the schematic drawings... I know because I actually wired it backwards the first time I wired a guitar with the G&L circuit. And finally double check the cap values.

I, too, prefer the G&L circuit over the Fender circuit. I liked it so much on a strat that I converted my SG from individual tones to a master tone circuit G&L style.
 
Re: Strat wiring question

Mike, I think you may have the answer - I took it to the tech I use and he mentioned the audio taper vs linear taper thing but was convinced that it should be audio taper which is what he used. I'll have him change it to linear taper and see if that does the trick. I was there last night and we went through this thing several times to no avail - I even brought my real G&L to compare - He was convinced it was because the G&L pickups were rated at 7-ish ohms vs the strat pickups which are rated at 6-ish ohm - that didn't make a lot of sense to me because it seems like I should still have a 0 - 10 adjustment of tone regardless.....
BTW - is the bass tone pot the only one that needs to be linear or should the treble pot be linear as well?
Thanks again.
 
Re: Strat wiring question

take2 said:
Mike, I think you may have the answer - I took it to the tech I use and he mentioned the audio taper vs linear taper thing but was convinced that it should be audio taper which is what he used. I'll have him change it to linear taper and see if that does the trick. I was there last night and we went through this thing several times to no avail - I even brought my real G&L to compare - He was convinced it was because the G&L pickups were rated at 7-ish ohms vs the strat pickups which are rated at 6-ish ohm - that didn't make a lot of sense to me because it seems like I should still have a 0 - 10 adjustment of tone regardless.....
BTW - is the bass tone pot the only one that needs to be linear or should the treble pot be linear as well?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Taper is always a matter of preference, and I prefer to use linear taper on all tone pots. I find that the roll-off is much smoother than audio taper. I still use audio taper for volume pots.

The tone knob should work across the entire range, regardless of pickup. Some pickups might generate more perceived change, depending on the voice. For instance, you might notice the affect of a bass cut more with a neck pickup than with a bridge pickup. Regardless, you should hear a change in the tone across the entire sweep of the tone pot.

What value capacitors were used? If the capacitor on the bass tone pot is too high in value that could also contribute to all the roll-off happening between 9 and 10.
 
Re: Strat wiring question

"Check the taper on the 1 meg pot, you'll want to be sure it's a linear taper."
I may be way too late on this but actually for it to work properly you need to use what is called an antilog pot. it has the complete opposite taper of a regular audio pot. even a linear pot will cut the bass too quickly. you can buy an antilog 1 meg pot direct from g&l for about 7 dollars.
 
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Re: Strat wiring question

What a great forum - just received notice that this thread had been revived and none too soon. Really appreciate the new info - I am going to order the parts from G&L because, while I have been using the strat that I altered to the G&L scheme, its never been quite right - I have essentially just left the bass tone on full whereas with the real G&L I roll it back a bit. The converted fender has just never played nice with me on that.
Thanks again!
 
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