Mike Richardson's Strat wiring.. with master tone?

[Deleted]

Hi guys,

Apologies if this has been asked before, I'm guessing it has.



What I'd like to do is wire my Strat up using the above diagram but with a master tone control. Is it as simple as attaching the Bridge + to the same lug as the Neck + on the neck tone pot via a jumper wire from the Bridge lug on the superswitch, or will this result in a tone control that only affects the Neck and Bridge pickups (or even something else entirely)?

I've tried drawing up a diagram that combines Mike's wiring with existing master tone diagrams, but because this is so different from the factory wiring I just ended up getting very confused. Any pointers would be much appreciated!

[newey]

Baldwin-

Hello and Welcome!

The MR Strat scheme is a perennial favorite hereabouts. While it probably can be reworked with a master tone control, it's not going to be as simple as switching a few wires around.

MR has separate bridge and neck tones which are wired "across" their respective pickups. There is no mid tone pot. To get a single tone pot to affect all three pups, it will need to be wired off one of the common lugs of the switch or, more usually, wired off the master volume (which is in turn wired off the common lug of the switch). Which then leaves you to figure out where the B+, N- and N+ wires need to go.

It's frankly making my head spin. But there's probably a fairly straightforward solution, and someone will be along with it.

[Mike Richardson]

Just wire a tone control to the volume pot like you would on a Tele or any similar guitar. You can leave the other as is, or do something else with it entirely. I promise your guitar will NOT blow up.

[ChrisK]

My vote would be to leave the bridge tone control in place across the bridge only, and use the neck tone control for the master tone.

This is my take on Mike's design.

Mike Richardson wiring with phase

[Deleted]

Thanks for all replies.

Just to clarify, I want the final setup to have only two pots, both for ease of use and to move the volume pot away from the Bridge pickup.

Just wire a tone control to the volume pot like you would on a Tele or any similar guitar. You can leave the other as is, or do something else with it entirely. I promise your guitar will NOT blow up.

That sounds fairly simple at least. Would removing both tone controls go something like:

• Leave B+ on switch lug (top left in diagram)
• B- goes straight to ground (i'm assuming this was implied anyway as it was left out)
• Leave N- on switch lug (bottom right)
• N+ goes straight to volume, which is followed by the master tone pot.

...is that at all close?

[Mike Richardson]

Yup.