Strat wiring with a difference

[ChrisB]

I wonder could one of our wiring experts help me with this.

I have a strat with stock neck and middle and a DiMarzio HS-2 wired for single-coil in the bridge ala Eric Johnson. I have the bottom tone connected to the bridge pup.

Now I don't use the middle tone and was wondering is there any way to do this.............

When the middle tone is at anywhere but 0 the HS-2 is the way i have it now but when the tone is at 0 it engages the full humbucking function of the pickup. In other words, how can I wire the two wires I have taped off to the middle tone to allow full output when the tone is middle tone is rolled off completely.

Many thanks in advance for any help,

Chris.

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

It sounds like you're describing essentially what Peavey did with the T-60. The tone control uses two lugs. You attach the red/white wires to the unused "other" lug. In the Peavey diagram, the red wire is equivalent to SD's red/white wires:

With the tone control on "10", the pup acts as a single-coil. As you roll the tone down, the pup slowly morphs into a humbucker.

I think thats what you mean.

Artie

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Perfect, I think that is exactly what i was looking for. I will try it out tomorrow.

Thanks so much Artie :bigthumb:

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

There's something you have to watch out for though. A tone control can be wired in either of two ways, and they both work just the same:

cap first, followed by the pot to ground, or
pot first, followed by the cap to ground.

For that setup to work, you must use the "cap first, pot to ground" sequence.

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

This is my wiring at the moment.

I take it I need to make a few changes then to do what I want.

Sorry to trouble you again but could you step through what needs to move etc

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Its going to be a bit more difficult in that situation because you're sharing a cap with two tone controls. I did this real quick just to show the basic concept, but this still has problems:

The thing is, for this to work, each pup must have a dedicated tone control. You can't switch one pot from one pup to another. So those tone controls would have to be connected directly to the pup you wanted to control/split.

I'll see if I can come up with something.

Artie

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Basically, you just have to decide, which two pups do you want to have tone controls/splitters. Then its a simple matter of moving the wires to the appropriate spot.

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Thanks Artie, much appreciated.

I only need the bottom tone to work on the bridge pup, I don't need a tone control on the middle or neck. The other tone control will only have to bend in the extra coil on the bridge. Hope that helps you.

Thanks again

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Ok, that changes things a bit, and actually makes it easier. What you want is a simple "spin-a-split" mod. Lets break this down like this:

You have two tone controls. You can dedicate one to the bridge, and add the morph-a-split option to it. That still leaves you the other tone control for the neck/middle, if you want.

Or, you can connect one tone control to the bridge only, and use the other pot for the dedicated spin-a-split mod. That way, they'ld be separate functions, with separate knobs.

Which do you prefer? They both have ups and downs.

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

OK, if i keep the other tone as is for the neck/middle can the bottom tone for the bridge pup function as a normal tone as it currently does but only when rolled to 0 the humbucker coil is in circuit.

If not, the second option with dedicated controls for the bridge pup would suit me best.

Thanks Artie.

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Yes, exactly. Remember, what the T-60 wiring does is, combine the functionality of a tone control with the spin-a-split mod. So it doesn't take anything away.

Give me a sec, and I'll post another diagram.

 

[Artie]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Ok, I think this does it:

Notice that tone control R3 connects to both #3 and #4.
The little Cyan line goes from the center lug of R2, to the pot case. (ground.)
And the red/white wire of the bridge pup goes to where I have the red line.

I probably should have mentioned . . . I've had T-60 owners, in the Peavey forum, ask me how to undo this mod. :laugh2:

You may or may not care for it. But what the heck . . . give it a shot.

Artie

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Strat wiring with a difference

Artie, above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you so much.

I will need to order a cap or two and then I will try it.

Thanks again.