Ultimate SC Strat

[Herby]

I wanted to post this with a proper title so everyone would have relevant access to it.
An idea I had a while back that (with a 'lot' of help) took off and became a phenomenal wiring scheme.
Created by my friend Vinnie Monte-Irvine.
An excellent scheme and I'm loving every minute of it.
I used CTS pots. Couldn't find a 1M CTS DPDT push pull so I settled for a 500K. It works great for me but you may opt for a 1 Meg for the bass cut. If the CTS pots are too confusing I can post a cross-reference pic.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

That looks like a pretty cool setup. Wiring is my weak point, but something that gives more versatility out of a standard strat setup is very welcome I'm sure. Thanks for sharing and I'm going to bookmark this thread for future use

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Seems like I neat idea, but I've got a way to "declutter" it, in a way. If you're anything like me you like to be at the very most two motions away from any tone on your instrument with minimal knob twisting to get there. But anyway, I think your diagram would see a decent bit of improvement if you make it so that the bass cut would only apply to the series settings.

Strats aren't that bassy to begin with, so the standard Strat wiring positions wouldn't see entirely all that much benefit from a master bass cut, but given the relatively hot tones gotten from a series 2nd and 4th position on account of the distance between the coils, they could definitely be helped with a bit of a bass cut, and that way you wouldn't have to adjust the pot to add bass back in once you leave those positions.

Also, if it is at all possible for you to find a 1meg push/pull for the bass cut, you might find it just a tad more usable. But if you are enjoying it with the 500k pot, it shouldn't make all that much of a difference.

What pickups are you using?

 

[Herby]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

I have 1 meg push pull pots on order but they're Alpha pots. Not as smooth as CTS pots. Can't find 1 meg CTS DPDT push pull pots.
A note about CTS push pull pots: They're not as forgiving with heat because of the thin, small traces. Don't linger with the iron.
Pickups are Alnico 5 vintage flat. Middle pickup is reverse wound.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

That is a cool setup. I would probably find the 5 I would use the most and wire that to a super switch...and just use a master tone.

 

[Herby]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Hehe... yeah, but I'm having such a blast with all the different settings that I don't know which five I would choose. I haven't been this inspired to play in a very long time

 

[Herby]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Seems like I neat idea, but I've got a way to "declutter" it, in a way. If you're anything like me you like to be at the very most two motions away from any tone on your instrument with minimal knob twisting to get there. But anyway, I think your diagram would see a decent bit of improvement if you make it so that the bass cut would only apply to the series settings.

Strats aren't that bassy to begin with, so the standard Strat wiring positions wouldn't see entirely all that much benefit from a master bass cut, but given the relatively hot tones gotten from a series 2nd and 4th position on account of the distance between the coils, they could definitely be helped with a bit of a bass cut, and that way you wouldn't have to adjust the pot to add bass back in once you leave those positions...

That's a great idea. Up front I'm not sure I know how to make this happen. I only had the idea and Vinnie came up with the plan... What would I have to do to put a fixed bass cut circuit in line with the HB positions only? What would be needed to get the same results as the bass cut (full cut) scheme in the drawing (full cut is perfect with 500K pot for HB)? If this could be done then I could hook up a separate tone to the SC bridge pickup and eliminate one push pull switch...

where's Vinnie? He's the genius behind all this...

 

[Toejam]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Kinda similar to the G&L PTB (Passive Treble and Bass), but that's got 250k volume, 500k treble cut and 1M bass cut, with extra switching options.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Yes, that's what I was thinking. The G&L PTB system works great for me, with or without the "sweet switch".

Personally I'm not a fan of a bunch of pull-pots.

Bill

 

[Toejam]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

I love the PTB on my Legacy. Not a huge push/pull fan on Strats, but I can see how some people like them.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

I love the PTB on my Legacy. Not a huge push/pull fan on Strats, but I can see how some people like them.

I prefer push/push pots on my Strats, that way I don't have to even think about trying to grip it, I can just give it a good whack and it does its job. And yes, I am aware of the double meaning in that last sentence.

 

[Toejam]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

Lol Push/push is a little more interesting. I don't mind push/pull on certain guitars, though.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

I prefer push/push pots on my Strats

Indeed, unless you use the Tele knobs with the little hex lock, push pull just doesnt really go with strat knobs

Downside, though : with push-push, you don't know for sure what it is set to until you hear it

 

[Mincer]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

The other thing about push/push is that they are flimsy. You'd think by now they'd come up with a more robust version. I use an S1 on a Strat, which is an elegant, if expensive (and overkill-ish) solution.

 

[Herby]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

"Joey Voltage" Assured me (in a different thread) that it doesn't matter where in the pickup chain the cap goes. The effects will be the same. This makes putting a dedicated series cap in line without affecting any other position possible. I'll be experimenting with this in the next few days. If this works like I think it should then I can add a cap in line with the series neck/middle and series middle/bridge selections isolated from any other selections and thus balance out the series selections with the SC and parallel selections without having to use the bass cut pot to compensate and therefore removing one step in switching.

 

[Herby]

Re: Ultimate SC Strat

...I'm getting there. I just want to wear out my strings before tearing into this again since I have to remove them before I can get to the pick guard. Too bad Strats aren't rear loaded...
My other Strats have 'Rose Systems' and are easy to lift the bridge out with strings attached...