Strat Without Pots

[ready2go]

Is it possible to assemble a strat with no pots (just a 5-way switch)? How would it be done?
I'd like to know if this is possible not necessarily for practical purposes, but to gain knowledge.

Thank you in advance.

[ChrisK]

Sure!

Just don't connect the tone pots to anything. These are stand-alone "overlay" circuit sub-sections that shunt high frequencies to ground.

Connect the wire that comes from the 5-way switch section that selects the pickup(s) that used to go the the top terminal on the volume pot directly to the output jack. The volume pot is in between the selected pickup(s) and the output jack, and you must connect around it if you remove it.

Done is.

[ready2go]

Ok, I'm a bit slow and still not 100% sure.

The output jack has two wires, ground and hot. Do they both get connected to the same spot on the switch?
Also, what should happen to the tremolo claw ground wire?
I'm assuming that the wires from the pickups that went to the volume pot wouldn't have to be connected to anything...

[gumbo]

A simplifid version of Chris' reply is basically:-

Disconnect everything going to the tone pots...

Bridge out the vol pot...

Everything else stays the same.....

Make sure your amp isn't on 11 when you plug in your guitar...

...well, that's sort of simpler...well.....

[ChrisK]

The output jack has two wires, ground and hot. Do they both get connected to the same spot on the switch?

No, one is the output signal and the other is the ground/common/signal return.

Also, what should happen to the tremolo claw ground wire?

An excellent question. Aha, the issue of the vibrato/string ground connection.

I'm assuming that the wires from the pickups that went to the volume pot wouldn't have to be connected to anything

Another excellent question.


So, you've picked up on the fact that there are other wires involved, but not addressed in my first response. The need for such ground and signal reference points are usually assumed to be understood by those discussing electronics. As a result, they often don't appear in an explicit manner on schematics. They are either indicated thru symbols or just assumed,

Without just stating that an introductory read of basic electronics would be in order (which is "basic" to understanding electronics), I would say that all basic circuit components have at least two wires, the signal, and the return. (You can have just one wire, it's called an antenna, but the other connection to it is the earth (er, the "ground", global or local) and (here we go again) is assumed to exist.)

Each pickup in a Strat generally has one wire connected to a switch terminal and the other connected to the back of a pot shell, which is subsequently connected to ground/common/signal return.

Likewise, each pot or pot/cap circuit also had a connection to this ground reference point.

Also, the output jack has a signal and ground connection.


Since the ground connections are usually made thru the back shells of the pots (which are interconnected either via an aluminum shield on the pickguard or thru wiring), if the pots are removed these connections still need to be in place.

Without any pots, the pickup ground/common/return wires (usually black on Fender single coil pickups), the vibrato claw wire, and the ground connection to the output jack must be connected together and insulated with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing.

This can be done and connected to the 5-way lever switch frame (which will be in electrical contact with any shield under the pickguard) unless one is using a ground isolation method such as "Shielding the Beast" (search about). Then one should follow guidelines therein.

On guitars with cavity shields, these also should be connected to the ground/reference point as discussed above.

Additionally, the vibrato/strings claw have a wire thus connected.

[ready2go]

Thank you for being patient with me and being extra thorough. You made everything very clear.

[ChrisK]

Well, think of it as being somewhat like plumbing.

Everything needs both a water feed line and a drain (a goes'into and a goes'outa).

It's like a battery, one has to connect both the plus and minus terminals.

It does get just slightly more complex ;D, but it really is like plumbing.