|
Post by solderburn on Mar 19, 2020 1:08:43 GMT -5
I'm sorry if this is a redundant post/request, if so then please feel free to delete it. Cooped up here in my home in California since we've been advised by our local government to stay in due to the virus. Trying to make the most of my time since work has been cancelled... I'm hoping you guys can help me with a re-mod on my Squier Stratocaster Deluxe. I'd like to have a master volume and tone, and 7 sounds. A few years ago I had it modded by a local guitar shop to have a push/push pot on the bottom tone knob so that when the knob is in the up position it makes the bridge pickup always on, so currently it gets 7 sounds. I love the extra sounds that it makes, so I'd like to keep this feature. But ever since i tried playing Strats I've always been annoyed by the intrusive volume knob placement. I'd like to remove the two tone knob set up, and just have one tone knob as a master tone. With the top tone knob out of the way then I'll have a spot to move down the volume knob. I thought I'd give the standard knob placement a try, but after 3 years i still don't like it, especially when i try to palm mute. I plan to use a 3/8'' nylon locking plug to cover the hole, like Dick Dale and many others. Could someone please direct me to a diagram that shows a 7 sound Strat with just a master volume, and master tone with a push/push tone pot that turns on the bridge pickup? I used the search function on this site and saw a lot of similar things, but i didn't find it with a push push, just a toggle switch. I understand they essentially do the same thing, but I'm not an electrical engineer and I don't know how to translate those for my purpose. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Here are some pics to show the current state of my Strat...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2020 4:12:33 GMT -5
Sorry about the JOB .. im in the same boat there..
The Toggle and the Push/Pull Switch Foot print are basically the same. With Toggle there is TWO STATES (cant really call it up or down .. left or right because it all depends on your view point) but with a Push/Pull switch the TWO PINS near the POT are UP STATE, (one bank of three being one side of the switch) and one away from the POT (Near the GROUND TAG) is DOWN STATE
2P2T/DPDT (Two/Dual Pole Two/Dual Throw)
GROUND TAG --- DOWN STATE --- COMMON --- UP STATE --- POT >SWITCH A< GROUND TAG --- DOWN STATE --- COMMON --- UP STATE --- POT >SWITCH B<
.. Maybe just me, im not keen on all that wire looped around and tied up..
|
|
|
Post by reTrEaD on Mar 19, 2020 12:19:43 GMT -5
A few years ago I had it modded by a local guitar shop to have a push/push pot on the bottom tone knob so that when the knob is in the up position it makes the bridge pickup always on, so currently it gets 7 sounds. I love the extra sounds that it makes, so I'd like to keep this feature. solderburn, I think it makes sense to use your present wiring and make a couple of changes to it, to convert to a single tone control, then just move the volume control to the hole left vacant when we remove the pot that's currently being used as the Neck tone. First question:At present you have tone control only for the Neck, Neck+Middle, Middle, and Middle+Bridge. The Bridge (only) position has no tone control. Would you rather have the Bridge (only) position have no tone control, or should the tone control work on ALL positions? Once we answer that, removal and/or rerouting of just a few wires will be all that's necessary.
|
|
|
Post by solderburn on Mar 19, 2020 12:39:01 GMT -5
Thanks for your explanation, angeIsbunny, that makes sense. And i agree, the bundle is unsightly. If i were doing it from scratch then i'd strive for a cleaner job.
Thanks reTrEaD! I'd prefer to have the tone control work on all positions.
I know this is a relatively simple operation, but i must admit that i get a bit overwhelmed when i see all the wires, I like to confer with the experts before i go attaching wires where i think they should go.
|
|
|
Post by reTrEaD on Mar 19, 2020 13:30:45 GMT -5
Okay ...
These are the changes you will make:
Disconnect the end of the White wire from the Neck tone pot, where it connects to the Middle tone pot. Disconnect the end of the Yellow wire from the Neck tone pot, where it connects to the last lug of the Selector switch. Disconnect the Black wire from the Neck tone pot where it is connected to the case of the Volume Pot. Disconnect ALL Black wires where they are connected to the case of the Neck tone pot.
Disconnect the end of the Green wire from the Middle tone pot where it connects to the second-to-last lug of the Selector switch. Then connect the end of the Green wire from the Middle tone pot to the lugs at the middle of the Selector switch (where Red wires are also connected).
Now remove the Neck tone pot and move the Volume pot into the vacant hole.
Connect the Black wire from the Push-Pull on the tone pot to the case of the Volume pot.
Any other loose ends Black wires connected to the rest of the circuit, should also be connected to the case of the Volume pot.
|
|
|
Post by solderburn on Mar 19, 2020 13:39:44 GMT -5
THANKS ReTrEaD! Will do, and I'll report back once I'm done. You're a huge help! Stay well my fellow Nutz.
|
|
|
Post by solderburn on Mar 19, 2020 19:39:53 GMT -5
Just did a tap test, everything seems to be working exactly as it should. Just need to restring it. Guys, this is soooo cool! I'll finally be able to plink out the palm muted lead melody on the surf tune Baja as played by the Astronauts. That troublesome volume knob would totally get in the way and kill my vibe. Staying true to my username, during the operation I only got a very minor solderburn, which doesn't even hurt, i guess it only burnt dead skin. Thank you so much reTrEaD! Your directions were super easy to follow, i really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and taking your time to help me with this project! Today has been bittersweet though, just as i was finishing rewiring i got a phone call letting me know that my two younger brothers have been laid off. We all work at the same place, an environmental lab, they're both couriers, and I'm also a courier and janitor there. I'm surprised i didn't get the boot as well. Who know's what's next though. This virus/shutdown is the weirdest thing that's ever happened in my life time. I hope all of you stay well, and your lives aren't interrupted too much due to the current events. Small burn on middle finger... Finished wiring... Plugged with 5/16 inch hole plug from home depot...
|
|
|
Post by reTrEaD on Mar 19, 2020 22:49:56 GMT -5
Thank you so much reTrEaD! Your directions were super easy to follow You're welcome. I've gradually developed some skills at organizing step-by-step instructions. That doesn't come naturally to me because of the way my thought processes work. But I've learned to define all the tasks, then order them in a logical progression. Sorry to hear about your brothers. The next few months will be difficult but I think we'll see a return to business as usual in the not too distant future. Meanwhile, family and friends will be more important than ever before.
|
|
|
Post by sumgai on Mar 20, 2020 0:58:51 GMT -5
'burn, I too am sorry to hear of your brothers' plight. I'm retired, so it's not hitting me so squarely in the face, but I don't think we'll be able to go for the next 6-8 weeks without stepping out and buying a few necessities. I anticipate that many places might be closed, or havae reduced hours - that'll make the shopping trip more than a little irksome. The reason I replied is that I want you to look at your soldering job in the middle of your most recent images. Compared to your first images, the pot now has at least three additional solder blobs, am I correct? Well, two of those are gonna give you trouble. Look at the one closest to the camera.... see how it smoothly blends into the metal of the pot? And how there's no brown ring around it? The others don't look like that, do they. That brown cruft is flux, and it didn't heat up enough to "burn away" and leave a nice surface for the solder to adhere to. This results in what we call a "cold solder joint", one that at some future point in time will go sour on you. It may be physically strong, but electrically, it's where Mr. Murphy is hiding in plain sight. And you know what Murphy's job description looks like, right? Retouch 'em with the iron.... and not yourself, that doesn't help matters any!! HTH sumgai
|
|
|
Post by solderburn on Mar 20, 2020 1:28:16 GMT -5
Thanks sumgai, for your sympathy, and for your helpful hawk eye!
I will retouch those joints very soon. I'm grateful for the heads up. I didn't know how to spot so called cold solder joints, i only knew that sometimes they looked dull instead of nice and shiny. Now i know better.
And it makes me feel good that the one solder joint that i did is actually the only good one. You see, the other joints with the brown halos are either factory or from when i originally had the 7 sound mod done by a local guitar shop, but given the points that they're at, I assume it's factory! This guitar was made in Indonesia.
And i can see how at first glance that it looks like it's the same pot in the same place in the before and after pics, it's actually not. In the first pic we are seeing the neck pickup tone pot, which was removed altogether, but in the finished pic we're seeing the volume pot that was moved into the spot that the neck pickup tone pot was previously in. Believe it or not, those cold solder joints that you so helpfully pointed out were ones that were already there, but hard to see in the first set of pics. In the finished picture the solder joint in the middle with the two black wires is actually by me, per reTrEaD's directions.
Thanks for everything. I learn so much whenever i visit this forum!
|
|