Strat mod

[M29]

Hello,

I have never gotten used to having a volume control so close to my right hand on my Strat and I decided to eliminate it. I absolutely love my Strat and it is my go-to guitar but when I strum I (still) sometimes hit the volume and sometimes the selector switch. I like the freedom of the Gibby style guitars in this respect.
I am going to go with one volume and one overall tone control. I have a new mint/black/mint colored Strat pickguard with no 5 way hole and no volume control hole to work with. The volume will now be in the next-over tone position. I think I am going to re-angle the 5 way selector so it is more parallel with the neck as well.
Anyway...I am thinking about putting a push-pull in the tone position and was wondering what you all would think is the best option to add with the push-pull? All three single coils? Neck/Bridge?......

Thank you for your time and help.:help

M

 

[markb]

Add the neck or bridge (your choice) for a fake tele tone. I put in a deaf eddie Fatocaster swtich and this is the only extra sound I use so I'm thinking of pulling it and just using a mini switch in the rear tone position. It will also give you all three pickups parallel in one of the quack positions.

www.deaf-eddie.net for diagrams, see the "fun with push pull pots" section.

 

[M29]

Thanks Mark. :happy

M

 

[marnold]

Yep, I'm with Mark re: the neck-on mod. That way you can get both the neck-bridge and the all-three options.

 

[Spudman]

Ditto here. That would be a cool mod for sure.

 

[Jipes]

Interesting link Mark thanks a lot :AOK

 

[kiteman]

I fixed mine with a custom made pickguard. It's mint green though you can't really see it.

 

[M29]

Thats it kiteman! Man that walnut is sweet, what a piece of wood. It looks like there will be plenty of room with that volume control gone.
Did you use push pulls?

M

 

[kiteman]

Thanks, no push pulls, just vol and tone. Got a super switch but set up where I have now is B - BM - BN - NM - N.

I'm not ready to try coil splitting and phasing.

EDIT: The PG was made at Terrapins Guitar.

 

[duhvoodooman]

The neck-bridge "faux-Tele" combo is a popular one. My personal favorite, however, is being able to add the bridge in series to any of the other combos. And you still can get the B-N combo with it, it just sounds bigger & fuller because they're in series rather than in parallel. And the B-M series combo is what I like to call "super-quack"--you get that characteristic "quack" sound of the bridge/middle combo, but with a much bigger & fuller character. One of my favorite Strat tones.

 

[markb]

The Fat-o-caster switch I fitted gives a combination which is bridge/middle in parallel with the neck added in series. I call this "the quack of doom"

 

[deeaa]

I hear you loud and clear. Check my strat project:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/strat/strat.htm

I wanted the vol knob lower so I won't hit it and I wanted the PU switch on the upper horn. While at it, I also increased the pickguard to strings gap by thinning the plank on the top and a few other small mods.

MUCH better than a standard strat now. Mind you, it has since been converted to using only an EMG85 bridge and SA on neck and white pickguard.

When it had three PU's it was wired so that the mid P94 had its own volume, so was not part of the 3-way switch scheme but could be mixed in when need be or played with just it on, or any combination basically.