Strats

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Foreword Phostenix' Guitar Wiring Diagram Library Modified TBX Tone Control 5-Way SHOop 5-Way SSOop Strat-O-Teles The Splender Strats Strat-X Strat-X2 Strat-X2 Plus Strat-X3 Teles 2 Pickup Teles 3 Pickup Teles Esquire Teles HH Guitars HSS Guitars HSH Guitars HHH Guitars Custom Wiring Setups Recent Additions Other Guitar Wiring Sites Comments Thread

Strats Don't miss the subpages for Strat-X wiring setups. If you don't see the Strat-X links in the sidebar to the left, click the arrow next to the word Strats. Here are a bunch of wiring options for 3 pickup Strat style guitars. Strat with Import 5-Way Switch Here's a typical Strat wiring setup using an imported 5-Way switch. 5-Way Switching: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge – Tone 2 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck – Both Tones 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Here's another version with the tone pots wired differently. 5-Way Switching: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Here's a version with a bridge humbucker and a push-pull tone pot to get the Bridge pickup as a single coil. click for larger version Strat with Master Volume & Master Tone Standard Strat 5-way switching, but with only 1 Tone control. click for larger version Fezz Parka Tone Mod with Neck/Bridge Blend This is a very popular Strat setup. The 2nd tone pot gets wired as a blend pot to mix the Neck & Bridge pickups together. Then, the remaining tone pot gets wired to the wiper of the volume pot. 5-Way Switching: 1. Bridge - Add Neck Pickup with Blend Pot 2. Middle & Bridge - Add Neck Pickup with Blend Pot 3. Middle 4. Neck & Middle - Add Bridge Pickup with Blend Pot 5. Neck - Add Bridge Pickup with Blend Pot click for larger version Strat Plus Deluxe with Modifed TBX Tone Control and Neck/Bridge Blend Here's variation of the Neck/Bridge Blend setup with my modified TBX Tone Control (with pot mod, also) that gives you treble cut / no load / bass cut with one knob. It helps to thin out the Blue & Red Lace Sensors when you want a more traditional Strat tone. 5-Way Switching: 1. Bridge - Add Neck Pickup with Blend Pot 2. Middle & Bridge - Add Neck Pickup with Blend Pot 3. Middle 4. Neck & Middle - Add Bridge Pickup with Blend Pot 5. Neck - Add Bridge Pickup with Blend Pot TBX Tone: Center to CCW – Treble Cut Center Detent – No Load Center to CW – Bass Cut click for larger version Strat with Switchable Blend Knob Here's a variation on the Strat with a blend knob theme. It uses a push-pull pot to connect the Blend control into the circuit. This allows you to set the Blend control where you like it and switch it in or out as needed. The Blend control can be added to Positions 1, 2, 4, and 5. 5-Way Switching: Push-Pull Down (Standard Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge – Add Neck w/Blend Pot 2. Middle & Bridge – Add Neck w/Blend Pot 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck – Add Bridge w/Blend Pot 5. Neck – Add Bridge w/Blend Pot Blend Pot: Fully Clockwise – No Blend Fully Counterclockwise – Full Blend click for larger version Strat with Switchable Blend Knob - Version 2 With this wiring setup, the Blend control will only be added in Positions 1 & 2. 5-Way Switching: Push-Pull Down (Standard Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge – Add Neck w/Blend Pot 2. Middle & Bridge – Add Neck w/Blend Pot 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck 5. Neck Blend Pot: Fully Clockwise – No Blend Fully Counterclockwise – Full Blend click for larger version Strat with Switchable Blend Knob - Version 3 With this wiring setup, the Blend control will only be added in Positions 4 & 5. 5-Way Switching: Push-Pull Down (Standard Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck – Add Neck w/Blend Pot 5. Neck – Add Neck w/Blend Pot Blend Pot: Fully Clockwise – No Blend Fully Counterclockwise – Full Blend click for larger version 7-Way Strat with Toggle Switch Here's another popular Strat setup. Add a toggle switch to get 2 additional choices - the Neck & Bridge pickups in parallel and all 3 pickups in parallel. 7-Way Switching: Toggle Down (Normal Strat Switching): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Up: 1. Bridge & Neck – Tone 2 2. All 3 Pickups – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version 7-Way Strat with Push-Pull Volume If you prefer a push-pull (or push-push) pot instead of a toggle switch, here's that version. 7-Way Switching: Push-Pull Down (Normal Strat Switching): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge & Neck – Tone 2 2. All 3 Pickups – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version 7-Way Strat with Push-Pull Volume If you prefer a setup where the Bridge pickup has no tone control, here's that version. 7-Way Switching: Push-Pull Down (Normal Strat Switching): 1. Bridge – No Tone 2. Middle & Bridge – Tone 2 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck – Both Tones 5. Neck – Tone 1 Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge & Neck – No Tone 2. All 3 Pickups – Tone 2 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck – Both tones 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version 9-Way Strat with On/On/On Toggle After the 7-way Strat setup, the next popular pickup choice to add is the Neck & Bridge pickups in series. Here's a way to get those 3 additions plus 1 more by adding a single toggle switch to the standard 5-way Strat wiring (total of 9 choices). It uses a 3 position On/On/On toggle. 9-Way Switching: Toggle Switch Center (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Switch Up: 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Neck & Bridge in Series w/ Middle Parallel 5. Neck & Bridge in Series Toggle Switch Down: 1. Neck & Bridge (Parallel) 2. All 3 Pickups (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck click for larger version 9-Way Strat with On/On/On Toggle and HOoP Switch I really like what happens when you put pickups half out-of-phase on a Strat, so I've added another toggle switch to the 9-Way Strat to put the Middle pickup half out-of-phase, which affects positions 2 & 4. It takes away the quack & beefs up the sound of those in-between positions. 9-Way Switching: Toggle Switch Center (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) – Both Tones 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Switch Up: 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Neck & Bridge in Series w/ Middle Parallel 5. Neck & Bridge in Series Toggle Switch Down: 1. Neck & Bridge (Parallel) 2. All 3 Pickups (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck click for larger version Strat with Half Out-of-Phase Option Using Push-Pull Tone Since I like the sound of Positions 2 & 4 on a Strat with the Middle pickup Half Out-of-Phase, I came up with this wiring setup that gives you the option to have normal Strat switching or have Positions 2 & 4 Half Out-of -Phase. It requires a 5-way Super Switch, but this setup also has the ability to assign the tone pots to whichever positions you prefer. 5-Way Switching: Switch Down (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 Switch Up: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge HOoP -– No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck HOoP - No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat for Paulius 5-Way Switching: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle – Tone 2 3. Neck & Bridge – Tone 2 4. Neck & Middle – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat with Neck/Bridge In-Series Option in Position 1 This setup uses a push-pull (or push-push) pot to change the standard Strat wiring so that position 1 can be the Neck & Bridge in series. Position 2 also changes to be the Neck & Bridge in series with the Middle pickup in parallel. Push-Pull Down (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Neck & Bridge in Series 2. Neck & Bridge in Series w/ Middle Parallel 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck click for larger version Strat with Neck/Bridge In-Series Option in Position 5 This setup uses a push-pull (or push-push) pot to change the standard Strat wiring so that position 5 can be the Neck & Bridge in series. Position 4 also changes to be the Neck & Bridge in series with the Middle pickup in parallel. Push-Pull Down (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Neck & Bridge in Series w/Middle Parallel 5. Neck & Bridge in Series click for larger version Strat with Middle/Bridge In-Series Option in Position 1 This setup uses a push-pull (or push-push) pot to change the standard Strat wiring so that position 1 can be the Middle & Bridge in series. Position 2 also changes to be the just the Middle pickup - a duplicate of Position 3. Push-Pull Down (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck Push-Pull Up: 1. Middle & Bridge in Series 2. Middle 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck click for larger version Strat with In-Series & 500K Volume Option with Treble Bleed This setup uses a push-push (or push-pull) pot to change the standard Strat wiring so that position 1 becomes the Middle & Bridge in series and Position 5 becomes the Neck & Middle in series. Positions 2, 3 & 4 become just the Middle pickup. When the push-push pot is down, Tone pot 1 is active and the 500K Volume pot has a 470K ohm resistor in parallel with it. When the push-push pot is up, Tone pot 2 is active and the 500K Volume pot doesn't have the 470K resistor in parallel with it. Push-Push Down - Tone 1 - 250K Volume (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) 5. Neck Push-Push Up - Tone 2 - 500K Volume: 1. Middle & Bridge in Series 2. Middle 3. Middle 4. Middle 5. Neck & Middle in Series click for larger version Strat with Series/Parallel Option This setup uses a 5-Way Super Switch to change positions 2 & 4 from being pickups in parallel to pickups in series. The Super Switch also allows some more flexibility with the tone pot connections, like having no tone pot for the in-between positions (2 & 4) for more quack/chime. 5-Way Switching: Toggle Up: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle Parallel – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Neck & Middle Parallel – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Down: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle Series – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Neck & Middle Series – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat with Series/Parallel Option This setup uses a 5-Way Super Switch to change positions 2 & 4 from being pickups in parallel to pickups in series. This version has no tone pot for the Bridge pickup. 5-Way Switching: Toggle Up: 1. Bridge – No Tone 2. Bridge & Middle Parallel – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Neck & Middle Parallel – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Down: 1. Bridge – No Tone 2. Bridge & Middle Series – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Neck & Middle Series – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat with Series/Parallel Option This setup uses a 5-Way Super Switch to change positions 2 & 4 from being pickups in parallel to pickups in series, but Position 4 is the Neck & Bridge pickups, not the usual Neck & Middle pickups. 5-Way Switching: Toggle Up: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle Parallel – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Neck & Bridge Parallel – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 Toggle Down: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle Series – No Tone 3. Middle – Tone 1 4. Neck & Bridge Series – No Tone 5. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Fender Strat Deluxe 2010 Using Standard 5-Way Super Switch The 2010 Fender Strat Deluxe wiring is based on a custom 5-way switch that is a combination of a standard Strat 5-way switch & a half Super Switch. But, this wiring setup can be replicated with a standard 5-Way Super Switch. S-1 Up (Normal Strat): 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge (Parallel) – Tone 2 3. Middle – Tone 2 4. Middle & Neck (Parallel) – Tone 1 5. Neck – Tone 1 S-1 Down: 1. All 3 Pickups in Series – Tone 2 2. Middle & Bridge in Series – Tone 2 3. Neck & Middle in Series – Tone 2 4. Neck & Bridge Half Out-of-Phase – Tone 1 5. Middle & Bridge in Series Out-of-Phase w/ Neck in Parallel – Tone 1 click for larger version 3-Way Strat with Blend Knob to Add Middle Pickup For those who like the way a Tele switches and don't use the Strat in-between positions often, here are some setups that use a Tele style 3-way pickup selector switch wired to give the typical Tele pickup choices. This version uses one of the tone pots to blend in the Middle pickup when desired. The normal volume pot acts as a master volume, so this setup won't allow you to have the Middle pickup by itself. click for larger version 3-Way Strat with Master Volume and Independent Middle Pickup Volume This 3-Way Strat is wired so that the 2 volume pots are independent of each other. Now, you can get the Middle pickup by itself. click for larger version 3-Way Strat with Toggle Switch for Middle Pickup One more take on the 3-Way Strat. It does away with the in-between Strat positions and just has a toggle switch to switch between Tele style switching with Tone Pot 1 and the Middle pickup by itself with Tone Pot 2. click for larger version Strat with Custom 3-Way Switching 3-Way Switching: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle – Tone 2 3. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat with Custom 3-Way Switching 3-Way Switching: 1. Bridge – Tone 2 2. Bridge & Middle in Series – Tone 2 3. Neck – Tone 1 click for larger version Strat with Robbie Robertson Type Wiring This setup uses a 3-way Tele style pickup selector switch wired for the typical Tele choices, but the "Bridge" pickup is actually the Middle & Bridge pickups wired together in series. Tone Pot 1 is connected to the Neck pickup and Tone Pot 2 is connected to the "Bridge" pickup. The middle position has both tone pots connected. click for larger version Strat with Series Blend Pot This wiring setup uses a Blend control to change Positions 1 & 5. As the Blend control is rotated from fully counter-clockwise to fully clockwise, Position 1 changes from being the Bridge pickup by itself to being the Middle & Bridge pickups in series. Position 5 changes from being the Neck pickup by itself to being the Neck & Middle pickups in series. A side effect of this is that Positions 2 & 4 also change. As the Blend control is rotated from fully counter clockwise to fully clockwise, Position 2 changes from being the Middle & Bridge pickups in parallel to being the Middle pickup by itself. Position 4 changes from being the Middle & Neck pickups in parallel to also being the Middle pickup by itself. 5-Way Switching with Series Blend: Blend Pot Fully Counter-Clockwise (Standard Strat): 1. Bridge 2. Middle & Bridge in Parallel 3. Middle 4. Middle & Neck in Parallel 5. Neck Blend Pot Fully Clockwise (Series Mode): 1. Middle & Bridge in Series 2. Middle 3. Middle 4. Middle 5. Neck & Middle in Series click for larger version Strat with 50's Tone Pot Wiring In an effort to reduce the loss of highs that usually occurs when you roll back the volume pot a little, the tone pot can be wired to the wiper of the volume pot instead of the "input" lug of the volume pot. This is how Les Paul guitars were wired in the 50's, so it is commonly referred to as 50's Tone Wiring. click for larger version Strat with 5-Way Rotary for Pickup Selector Switch This setup has no 5-way lever style pickup selector switch. It uses a 5-position rotary switch in place of Tone Pot 2 to select the pickup choices. click for larger version HH Strat with Master Volume / Master Tone / Spin-A-Split This wiring setup uses the Seymour Duncan Spin-A-Split idea to vary the coil split from full humbucker to a single coil using a pot instead of a switch. Since the Strat only has space for 3 pots, I've set this up for a Master Volume, Master Tone, and one dual gang pot to control the split of both pickups simultaneously. I've also wired this so that when you split the pickups, you get the outside coil of the Neck pickup & the inside coil of the Bridge pickup. With standard Seymour Duncan pickups, this will give you hum cancelling when both pickups are on & split (South coil of the Neck with the North coil of the Bridge). 3-Way Switching: 1. Bridge 2. Bridge & Neck 3. Neck Spin-A-Split: CW for Humbuckers CCW for Neck Outside Coil & Bridge Inside Coil click for larger version