Simple Strat Scheme

[newey]

Thinking about this for a future Strat build, trying to keep the switching simple and intuitive. This has certainly been done before, nothing new or earth-shattering here. I think it should be OK, and if it is, I'll stick it in Schematics.

[sumgai]

newey,


Gonna have to give that one a pass, amigo. While it seems like putting the phase switch after the Vol pot should be do-able (it sure looks like a simple transposition), the problem arises in that when you engage OoP, you are now attempting to control the volume via what is now the negative lead going to ground.  As ashcatlt would like to remind you, you have just created a rheostat, and no longer have a potentiometer in the circuit.  Look again: the permanently grounded third terminal is effectively useless in OoP mode because the wiper is already at ground potential.  The wiper is making no significant change to the volume level until a certain point, and then.... whammo!  Almost like an on-off switch.  

To make a ChrisK-ism of it, your voltage divider isn't.  Or he might've said "We Engineers call that bad ju-ju. "

If you simply swap the two components, all will be well in newey-ville.

HTH

sumgai

[reTrEaD]

newey, aside from the phase switch issue, there are two other issues worth noting.

Like an LP with 2 volume controls, if more than one pickup is selected and one of the volume controls is turned all the way to zero, it will kill all sound. Not a deal-breaker but something to be aware of.

You might want to use the phase switch on the Neck or Bridge pickup, rather than the middle. Parallel Out-of-Phase isn't a wonderful sound but it's less problematic (weak) when the pickups are as far apart as possible. Also, if the middle pickup is RWRP, you won't get hum-canceling when the middle pickup is OoP. But you would get hum-canceling between the Neck and Bridge if one of them was OoP.

[newey]

I had considered the phase on N or Br, and that does probably make more sense. Hadn't considered the phase switch/vol issue, so will redo that as well.

[thetragichero]

typed this up hours ago but never posted:

if you're going with separate volumes (i'd imagine you'd want to wire like a jazz bass) anyway, why not use no load pots for the neck and bridge and eliminate two of the three switches? 3 knobs and 1 3-way switch (heck, might as well use dpdt on-on and a no load pot for the middle while you're at it) is pretty sleek controls
could replace a switch with a series option

[JohnH]

You can have phase after a volume, just need to keep the pickup and volume ungrounded before the phase. Two wires pu to vol, two wires vol to phase, then the phase decides which output goes to ground or hot, or neither if in a central off position . Volume case can be grounded though. I have a set-up a bit like that on my LP.

[newey]

Tragic asked:

f you're going with separate volumes (i'd imagine you'd want to wire like a jazz bass) anyway, why not use no load pots for the neck and bridge and eliminate two of the three switches?

Because flicking a switch is easier than twisting a pot (not that I'm likely to be doing anything on any stage anywhere, mind you). I had mostly thought of the 3 volume pots in the case of using dissimilar pickups. I also like that one can easily see what the switch settings are, no need to try to turn the pot to see if it's WFO or not.

[reTrEaD]

Oct 28, 2019 15:10:00 GMT -5 newey said:

Tragic asked:

f you're going with separate volumes (i'd imagine you'd want to wire like a jazz bass) anyway, why not use no load pots for the neck and bridge and eliminate two of the three switches?

Because flicking a switch is easier than twisting a pot (not that I'm likely to be doing anything on any stage anywhere, mind you). I had mostly thought of the 3 volume pots in the case of using dissimilar pickups. I also like that one can easily see what the switch settings are, no need to try to turn the pot to see if it's WFO or not.

White Folk Only? Dude, that's racist!

[newey]

No, an old auto racing abbreviation for full throttle- "wide F#$%*ng open"

No Pepe Peace Frog memes here . . .

[sumgai]

I'd be highly surprised if I was the only one here who understood the reference (abbreviation).