waltschwarzkopf
New member
Hi guys,
I have an old HSS Strat with which I started experimenting not so long ago. It has two stock ceramic single coils (~5kOhm) and a stock hot output humbucker (~15kOhm). Since I am a big fan of Steve Morse I wanted to install a tune-o-matic bridge and make it HSSH configuration, but since that involves routing and some non-reversible mods I started messing around with the pickups and wiring instead. Therefore, I installed one DPDT switch (to select bridge and neck together), replaced the neck single with a humbucker (8kOhm A2) and installed two SPDT switches (to split each humbucker); I kept the 5-way as it was. This gave me a huge amount of combinations. I could “emulate” the combinations of many guitars For example:
• SSS Strat (S-SS-S-SS-S)
• HSS Strat (H-HS-S-SS-S)
• HSH Strat (H-HS-S-SH-H)
• SS Tele (S-SS-S)
• HH Tele/Strat (H-HH-H)
• SH Tele (S-SH-H)
• HS Tele (H-HS-S)
• SSH (S-SS-S-SH-H) my favourite
I think I covered most of them... As I already anticipated, those were too many options, but I still wanted to experiment with the sounds. In addition, I removed one of the tones and made the other master. Then I reinstalled the tone but as a bass control like a PTB circuit. After more or less figuring out what I liked the best, which was the thick sound of the humbucker on the neck for soloing, the highs on the bridge for riffs and power chords and the low volume and gain of the middle (the PU is as low as possible) for strumming. I rewired it again, this time with two DPDT switches (one for neck and bridge together and the other as a “blower”, but in this case is bypasses the controls only but not the 5-way switch), the SSH configuration and the 5-way with the PTB. I forgot to mention that before buying the neck humbucker I placed my current bridge humbucker in the neck; the sound was so thick and loud that the poor new neck humbucker did not stand a chance against it, even in the HSH configuration; so this time the bridge humbucker went in the neck. This was also fun to experiment with, but as I kept on reading and learning, I did one last mod, which is its current state. I removed the humbucker, and installed a single in the neck on the other single in the bridge (tele style), I kept the PTB as it was and wire the switch tele style (S-SS-S). I also rewired the two DPDTs for series/parallel and phase in/out. This is by far my favourite combination; the versatility of “just” two pickups is unbelievable; I used to think that more pickups gave more versatility and sound options… I like the sound contrast between the neck and the bridge, both on parallel reduce volume for strumming and series gives a nice boost for soloing; the phase in/out is interesting to experiment with but I still need to get used to it. I may wire separate tones or separate volumes and leave the bridge raw and use the tone only for the neck. What do you think?
Since these were all “simple” mods, now let us more to the heavy stuff! This was my first guitar (bought in ’99 if I recall), I have played, practiced and gigged with it many times, so the body has many marks that give it a lot of attitude, I could go over the edge and sand the borders to give it a “uniform” worn look. The neck is nice (thin, 21 fret, rosewood), but the frets are wearing out. I bought a cheap maple neck from amazon and I sent it back the way it came, it was trash. Now the most affordable quality neck I can find is a Göldo for about 130CHF, single piece maple, vintage frets and probably thick (http://www.goeldo.de/bodies-und-necks/guitar-necks/1513/vintage-neck-for-strat?c=105). Then put a new white pickguard and leave it at that. Does it seem like a good plan? By the way, I have the wiring diagrams for most of the configurations I tried; I can share them with you if you want them.
Cheers,
Walter
P.P. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM.
--- UPDATE 10.07.2017 ---
I made a minor mod to the tone controls. I removed the PTB (treble and bass) wiring and now have a tone control knob (treble) "greasebucket" style for each pickup. I like the options that it gives me, but the volumes drops too much when I roll off the tone completely from the neck pickup.
I checked the wiring and everything is right, master volume and tone por each pickup. What could be wrong? I have 500K pots (the ones that came with the guitar for those two pickups), I've recently cleaned them and measured the resistance throughout their range adn they are fine. For the greasebucket I'm using the standard Fender values, 0.1uF capacitor between left and middle legs; 0.022uF capacitor in series with a 4.7kOhm resistor from the right leg to ground.
I like to roll off the tone of the neck for soloing and use the bridge for chords, but in this case the bridge is louder. The pickups are stock ceramic single-coils, with DCR ratings of 5.1kOhm on the neck adn 5.3kOhm in the bridge.
I have an old HSS Strat with which I started experimenting not so long ago. It has two stock ceramic single coils (~5kOhm) and a stock hot output humbucker (~15kOhm). Since I am a big fan of Steve Morse I wanted to install a tune-o-matic bridge and make it HSSH configuration, but since that involves routing and some non-reversible mods I started messing around with the pickups and wiring instead. Therefore, I installed one DPDT switch (to select bridge and neck together), replaced the neck single with a humbucker (8kOhm A2) and installed two SPDT switches (to split each humbucker); I kept the 5-way as it was. This gave me a huge amount of combinations. I could “emulate” the combinations of many guitars For example:
• SSS Strat (S-SS-S-SS-S)
• HSS Strat (H-HS-S-SS-S)
• HSH Strat (H-HS-S-SH-H)
• SS Tele (S-SS-S)
• HH Tele/Strat (H-HH-H)
• SH Tele (S-SH-H)
• HS Tele (H-HS-S)
• SSH (S-SS-S-SH-H) my favourite
I think I covered most of them... As I already anticipated, those were too many options, but I still wanted to experiment with the sounds. In addition, I removed one of the tones and made the other master. Then I reinstalled the tone but as a bass control like a PTB circuit. After more or less figuring out what I liked the best, which was the thick sound of the humbucker on the neck for soloing, the highs on the bridge for riffs and power chords and the low volume and gain of the middle (the PU is as low as possible) for strumming. I rewired it again, this time with two DPDT switches (one for neck and bridge together and the other as a “blower”, but in this case is bypasses the controls only but not the 5-way switch), the SSH configuration and the 5-way with the PTB. I forgot to mention that before buying the neck humbucker I placed my current bridge humbucker in the neck; the sound was so thick and loud that the poor new neck humbucker did not stand a chance against it, even in the HSH configuration; so this time the bridge humbucker went in the neck. This was also fun to experiment with, but as I kept on reading and learning, I did one last mod, which is its current state. I removed the humbucker, and installed a single in the neck on the other single in the bridge (tele style), I kept the PTB as it was and wire the switch tele style (S-SS-S). I also rewired the two DPDTs for series/parallel and phase in/out. This is by far my favourite combination; the versatility of “just” two pickups is unbelievable; I used to think that more pickups gave more versatility and sound options… I like the sound contrast between the neck and the bridge, both on parallel reduce volume for strumming and series gives a nice boost for soloing; the phase in/out is interesting to experiment with but I still need to get used to it. I may wire separate tones or separate volumes and leave the bridge raw and use the tone only for the neck. What do you think?
Since these were all “simple” mods, now let us more to the heavy stuff! This was my first guitar (bought in ’99 if I recall), I have played, practiced and gigged with it many times, so the body has many marks that give it a lot of attitude, I could go over the edge and sand the borders to give it a “uniform” worn look. The neck is nice (thin, 21 fret, rosewood), but the frets are wearing out. I bought a cheap maple neck from amazon and I sent it back the way it came, it was trash. Now the most affordable quality neck I can find is a Göldo for about 130CHF, single piece maple, vintage frets and probably thick (http://www.goeldo.de/bodies-und-necks/guitar-necks/1513/vintage-neck-for-strat?c=105). Then put a new white pickguard and leave it at that. Does it seem like a good plan? By the way, I have the wiring diagrams for most of the configurations I tried; I can share them with you if you want them.
Cheers,
Walter
P.P. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM.
--- UPDATE 10.07.2017 ---
I made a minor mod to the tone controls. I removed the PTB (treble and bass) wiring and now have a tone control knob (treble) "greasebucket" style for each pickup. I like the options that it gives me, but the volumes drops too much when I roll off the tone completely from the neck pickup.
I checked the wiring and everything is right, master volume and tone por each pickup. What could be wrong? I have 500K pots (the ones that came with the guitar for those two pickups), I've recently cleaned them and measured the resistance throughout their range adn they are fine. For the greasebucket I'm using the standard Fender values, 0.1uF capacitor between left and middle legs; 0.022uF capacitor in series with a 4.7kOhm resistor from the right leg to ground.
I like to roll off the tone of the neck for soloing and use the bridge for chords, but in this case the bridge is louder. The pickups are stock ceramic single-coils, with DCR ratings of 5.1kOhm on the neck adn 5.3kOhm in the bridge.
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