Custom Stratocaster Wiring Diagram

[dunk]

I’m a new member to the forum, I’ve used a few guitar wiring diagrams that I’ve downloaded from guitarnuts2 and found them very useful.



I’m wondering if anybody knows of a company, or individual, that would sell custom wiring diagrams based on my specs? I’ve had a look online and I can’t find much.



Any help would be much appreciated,



The mod would be based on the Strat-X v3 wiring diagram



res.cloudinary.com/phx2/image/upload/GuitarWiring/Strat-X3.jpg



Options I would like to have:




S-1 Up



1. Bridge

2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel)

3. Middle

4. Middle & Neck (Parallel)

5. Neck





S1 Down


1. Middle & Bridge in Series w/ Cap

2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel)

3. Neck & Bridge (Parallel)

4. Middle & Neck (Parallel)

5. Neck

[reTrEaD]

Hello dunk . Welcome to GN2

Oct 14, 2024 15:43:30 GMT -5 dunk said:

I’m wondering if anybody knows of a company, or individual, that would sell custom wiring diagrams based on my specs? I’ve had a look online and I can’t find much.

The only one I'm aware of is guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/custom-drawn-guitar-wiring-diagrams/. For a 3-pickup diagram with a superswitch and S-1 they would want roughly $55. However, we might be able to guide you through creating your own diagram, if you're so inclined.

At the very least we can help you more accurately define what you're asking for.  From your description, it sounds like you want typical Strat selections in all 5 positions, when S-1 is up.  Then when S-2 is Down, you want altered selections only in positions 3 and 1.  It's unclear which of the two tone controls should be active in each of the positions, or if you intend to have a single master tone.  Also, you should explain what you mean by "Middle & Bridge in Series w/ Cap".  Does this mean the Middle pickup, Bridge pickup, and a capacitor are all in series with each other?  Or does in mean the Middle pickup and Bridge pickup are in series and there is a cap in parallel with one of the pickups?  (If so, in parallel with which pickup?)  Or does this mean something else?

Position	S-1 DOWN	S-1 UP	Tone Control
5	Neck		?
4	Middle + Neck		?
3	Neck + Bridge	Middle	?
2	Middle + Bridge		?
1	Middle & Bridge in Series w/ Cap	Bridge	?

[dunk]

Thanks for the reply, I had no idea guitarelectronics.com did custom wiring; I will keep this in mind for the future.

Yes, I'd appreciate some guidance in getting this mod finished, I'd be happy to discuss the specs in more detail.

That is right; I would like the typical Strat options when the S1 switch is up. And the "Middle & Bridge in Series w/ Cap" refers to the middle and bridge pickups being connected in series with a capacitor connected in series. This, I believe, is position 2 with the S1 switch down in the diagram below. This is the wiring I'm currently using in my guitar.

res.cloudinary.com/phx2/image/upload/GuitarWiring/Strat-X3.jpg

If you use the wiring schematic above as a reference, tone 1 and tone 2 are numbered the same way, with tone 2 being the furthest away from the switch.

I have added the tone controls in the chart below.

Position	S-1 Down	S-1 UP	Tone Controls
5	Neck	Neck	Tone 1
4	Middle + Neck (Parallel)	Middle + Neck (Parallel)	Tone 1
3	Neck + Bridge (Parallel)	Middle	Tone 1
2	Middle + Bridge (Parallel)	Middle + Bridge (Parallel)	Tone 1
1	Middle & Bridge in Series with a .047uf Capacitor in series	Bridge	Tone 2

I think that's everything; if you require any extra info, please let me know.

[dunk]

Sorry, I did not include a border around the table in my previous post; the switching options are a little more clearly displayed in the table below.

Position	S-1 Down	S-1 UP	Tone Controls
5	Neck	Neck	Tone 1
4	Middle + Neck (Parallel)	Middle + Neck (Parallel)	Tone 1
3	Neck + Bridge (Parallel)	Middle	Tone 1
2	Middle + Bridge (Parallel)	Middle + Bridge (Parallel)	Tone 1
1	Middle & Bridge in Series with a .047uf Capacitor in series	Bridge	Tone 2

[reTrEaD]

dunk , if you elect to create your own diagram, here are the connections necessary on the Superswitch and S-1 switch. The Neck (-) and Middle (-) will be connected to ground (at the back of one of the pots).

SuperSwitch Connections
	Section a	Section b	Section c	Section d
Common	Vol CW lug	Vol CW lug	Bridge (-)	Vol CW lug
Throw 5	Neck (+)		Ground	T1
Throw 4	Neck (+)	Middle (+)	Ground	T1
Throw 3	S-1a Common	S-1b Common	Ground	T1
Throw 2	Bridge (+)	Middle (+)	Ground	T1
Throw 1	Bridge (+)		S-1c Common	T2

S-1 Connections
	Section a	Section b	Section c	Section d
UP		Middle (+)	Ground
Common	SuperSwitch-a Throw 3	SuperSwitch-b Throw 3	SuperSwitch-c Throw 1
DOWN	Neck (+)	Bridge (+)	47nF Cap --> Middle (+)

[dunk]

I've only been following wiring diagrams so far, but this is fantastic, thank you.

I'll do some more research on how super switches work and try and make this diagram.

Are there any reliable computer programs that I could use to create guitar wiring diagrams?

I've been using Microsoft Paint so far, and I want to be able to properly lay out my designs.

[stevewf]

One tiny thing I'll add about noise - pops and clicks while playing.

If you've got a single coil bridge pickup with magnetic pole pieces, there's a good chance that those pole pieces will be electrically connected to the coil's innermost wraps (the "start" wraps). Usually, that's ok, even desirable.

If, however, you then include that bridge pickup as the "2nd" coil in a series pair, then those magnetic pole pieces will be connected to the series link. Still, not a problem in and of itself.

But, if then you cause the (grounded) strings to touch the pole pieces of the bridge coil, you'll short that coil, changing the guitar's sound. Even that is probably no biggie; usually (at least when I play), the actions that cause the strings to touch the polepieces are quick and short-lived - my palm comes down onto the strings sharply to mute them and in doing so, pushes one or more string onto its polepiece. So the change in sound is not really a concern, since the strings are all muted anyway.

What is a concern, though, are the pops and clicks that I get when the strings first contact the magnets.

I just now discovered this problem in a guitar that I (thought that I'd) finished a couple days ago. Now I'm gonna try to flip the schematic and make the neck coil the one that's "floating"; maybe there's less string contact there. Another alternative is to get a pickup whose polepieces are not connected to the coil wire. Ceramic pickups come to mind, though of course any pickup swap will result in a change in sound.

I noticed that the current schematic has the bridge coil "floating" so that it can be the 2nd coil in a series pair. You might wanna make sure that its polepieces aren't connected to its signal wires before making it the 2nd coil in series.

[kitwn]

I've only recently discovered the 4-pole, 5-way Superswitch and have been playing about with what it can do.

The following diagram isn't quite what you're looking for but might throw some ideas into the pot.

My aim was to get a coils-in-series connection and the much desired neck & Bridge in parallel connection without any additional switches. This wiring provides the following connections:

1: Bridge & Middle - series.

2: Middle & Neck - series.

3: Bridge - single coil.

4: Bridge & Neck - parallel.

5: Neck - single coil.

RV1 & RV2 are conventional master volume and tone, RV3 adds series resistance to the series connected pairs to adjust the relative volume of these louder connections.

3.4.& 5 give you what amounts to a 3-way telecaster wiring. 1 & 2 add two series, humbucking options. You can have the various combinations on any switch position you want, I chose this arrangement to have what may well be the most commonly used lead/rhythm pair at 1 & 5 so you can just smash the switch from end to end between them.

[dunk]

Thanks, I am going to give this a go on my telecaster

[dunk]

Thanks this is good info, I currently use a series parallel mod in my Strat partcaster.

I will keep this info in mind, when deciding how close to put the strings to my pickups.