New Strat Build - Pickup Opinions

Don O said:
Nice looking body ninja. Pay attention to that sticker about the neck plate screw length. I put the screw in a vise with about a quarter inch sticking out and then hit it with a good sized hammer. Breaks it off real easy.
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Thanks Don.
I have the same contoured heel on my Warmoth LP and believe I still have a set of the shorter treble side screws for mounting the neck.
 
Starting to gather the electronic bits that I need but I have a conundrum that I need help with. The Warmoth body that I have obtained is drilled for the standard 3 control pot Strat layout. I originally thought that I would be better off with 2 volume pots an a master tone but now I am thinking that maybe a dedicated tone pot for each pickup would be the way to go.

Here's my thoughts:

Initially I had planned on a 500 kOhm volume pot for the neck humbucker (pickup type yet to be determined) and a 250 kOhm pot for the bridge JB humbucker to tame the usually excessive treble. Both would be push pulls to allow for splitting to single coils. There would be a master 500 kOhm tone pot.

Now, I am thinking that I would be better off with a Master volume (500 kOhm) and separate push pull tone controls (500 kOhm) for each pickup as I think I would be more likely to need to have different tone settings than different volume settings.

Any thoughts? Your opinions are always welcome as most of you have more experience than I in these matters.
 
I have obtained an awesome trem bridge assembly and already have some of the other bits in my parts bins (eg. output jack and mounting plate, neck screws, chrome knurled Tele-style knobs, etc).

I am in negotiations over a neck so I will keep that a secret until I have it in my grimy little hands!
 
I might suggest a separate volume pot for each pickup, and a dual-concentric tone control in the third spot.

Dual pots are very cool but not too convenient for manipulating on the fly, at least not without looking.

I tend to work my volume pots more often than my tone pots.
 
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ninjaking67 said:
Starting to gather the electronic bits that I need but I have a conundrum that I need help with. The Warmoth body that I have obtained is drilled for the standard 3 control pot Strat layout. I originally thought that I would be better off with 2 volume pots an a master tone but now I am thinking that maybe a dedicated tone pot for each pickup would be the way to go.

Here's my thoughts:

Initially I had planned on a 500 kOhm volume pot for the neck humbucker (pickup type yet to be determined) and a 250 kOhm pot for the bridge JB humbucker to tame the usually excessive treble. Both would be push pulls to allow for splitting to single coils. There would be a master 500 kOhm tone pot.

Now, I am thinking that I would be better off with a Master volume (500 kOhm) and separate push pull tone controls (500 kOhm) for each pickup as I think I would be more likely to need to have different tone settings than different volume settings.

Any thoughts? Your opinions are always welcome as most of you have more experience than I in these matters.
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It's very simple to wire the 3 pot Stratocaster layout for individual tone controls.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
I might suggest a separate volume pot for each pickup, and a dual-concentric tone control in the third spot.

Dual pots are very cool but not convenient for manipulate on the fly, at least not without looking.

I tend to work my volume pots more often than my tone pots.
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Don and Eclectic,

I hadn't thought of the dual concentric pot idea. Thank you for that. That would be the best of both worlds really. Great Idea!
 
ninjaking67 said:
Robert,
I know how to wire the guitar. I am just looking for opinions on which route to take (2 vol, 1 tone or 1 vol, 2 tone).
I have an Electronics background so the circuit build, wiring, soldering, etc is not the issue. More interested in views on which layout is would be usable.
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Sorry, I didn't fully understand your question.

I find two tones far more useful than 2 volumes.

The push pulls and switches can be tough to put into play - seamlessly - without some practice.
 
Robert Herndon said:
Sorry, I didn't fully understand your question.

I find two tones far more useful than 2 volumes.

The push pulls and switches can be tough to put into play - seamlessly - without some practice.
Click to expand...
I was thinking that 2 tones would be better than 2 volumes, as well. I know I am more apt to set the tone and then not mess with it. I didn't like the idea of having to adjust the tone control every time I switched from neck to bridge p/u.
The dual concentric tone pot would allow separate volume and separate tone control. Since I don't tend to mess with the tone controls that much on the fly, I don't foresee having any issues if they are a little less intuitive to adjust quickly.
I am really thinking that would be the way to proceed. It also will allow me to have a 0.01 or 0.015uF tone cap for the neck and a 0.022uF cap for the bridge.

It's a WIN all the way around!(y)
 
ninjaking67 said:
I was thinking that 2 tones would be better than 2 volumes, as well. I know I am more apt to set the tone and then not mess with it. I didn't like the idea of having to adjust the tone control every time I switched from neck to bridge p/u.
The dual concentric tone pot would allow separate volume and separate tone control. Since I don't tend to mess with the tone controls that much on the fly, I don't foresee having any issues if they are a little less intuitive to adjust quickly.
I am really thinking that would be the way to proceed. It also will allow me to have a 0.01 or 0.015uF tone cap for the neck and a 0.022uF cap for the bridge.

It's a WIN all the way around!(y)
Click to expand...

I prefer the 0.01uf box-type capacitors, even hooking them up parallel and Don O is experienced with even lower values....

Try a 0.01uf on the neck and a .015uf on the bridge.
 
Robert Herndon said:
I prefer the 0.01uf box-type capacitors, even hooking them up parallel and Don O is experienced with even lower values....

Try a 0.01uf on the neck and a .015uf on the bridge.
Click to expand...
I love the thump of a bridge JB but I already find them to be overly bright and typically have my bridge tone control set at 5 - 6. I am not sure I want a 0.015uF for the JB's tone pot as it will probably have me setting the tone control at 2 or 3.

Maybe I would be better off having a 0.047uF for the JB????
 
ninjaking67 said:
I was thinking that 2 tones would be better than 2 volumes, as well. I know I am more apt to set the tone and then not mess with it. I didn't like the idea of having to adjust the tone control every time I switched from neck to bridge p/u.
The dual concentric tone pot would allow separate volume and separate tone control. Since I don't tend to mess with the tone controls that much on the fly, I don't foresee having any issues if they are a little less intuitive to adjust quickly.
I am really thinking that would be the way to proceed. It also will allow me to have a 0.01 or 0.015uF tone cap for the neck and a 0.022uF cap for the bridge.

It's a WIN all the way around!(y)
Click to expand...

That does sound like a winner. I can't have a master anything - need separate vol and tone for each pickup (makes normal Strats very frustrating to play) and it sounds like you are the same and have a solution. Looking forward to see how this thing turns out.
 
ninjaking67 said:
I love the thump of a bridge JB but I already find them to be overly bright and typically have my bridge tone control set at 5 - 6. I am not sure I want a 0.015uF for the JB's tone pot as it will probably have me setting the tone control at 2 or 3.

Maybe I would be better off having a 0.047uF for the JB????
Click to expand...

0.047uf....That's a super dark cap!!!!

A .022uf is dark enough to make any tone setting less than '5' unusable.
 
ninjaking67 said:
I suppose I could just readjust the EQ on the amp but I want to have the jangly, trebly tone when I am in single coil mode.
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On my Mom's Von Herndon Stagecrafter, I split the Artec GVH59 in the bridge for her. Its a 24.75" scale guitar, and I used a 0.0.01uf box-type capacitor, but it twangs like a Fender with 500k pots.
 
ninjaking67 said:
I love the thump of a bridge JB but I already find them to be overly bright and typically have my bridge tone control set at 5 - 6. I am not sure I want a 0.015uF for the JB's tone pot as it will probably have me setting the tone control at 2 or 3.

Maybe I would be better off having a 0.047uF for the JB????
Click to expand...

I had a JB and a Jazz in my Jackson. I agree; they are pretty bright. I removed them when I did my mega mod to my Jackson.

However, one thing I did that helped tame them was to use a 250 K Ohm volume pot. I stuck with a 500 k ohm tone pot with a .022 cap for the tone. This worked pretty well.

When I did my mod to the guitar, I ended up putting a Seymour Duncan Trembucker in the bridge and I put a Seymour Duncan ‘59 bridge pickup in the neck.

As for the question about setting your controls as V-T-T or V-V-T, I think I’d consider how often you try to blend pickups with a typical Gibson layout. If you find that you normally run both pickups wide open when you have them both selected, the V-T-T arrangement is probably best. But, if you find that you like to adjust the relative volume of each pickup when you blend them, then maybe the V-V-T setup is better.

I like to blend a lot, which was part of the reason behind the “Les Paul-ization” of my Jackson.
 
smitty_p said:
I had a JB and a Jazz in my Jackson. I agree; they are pretty bright. I removed them when I did my mega mod to my Jackson.

However, one thing I did that helped tame them was to use a 250 K Ohm volume pot. I stuck with a 500 k ohm tone pot with a .022 cap for the tone. This worked pretty well.

When I did my mod to the guitar, I ended up putting a Seymour Duncan Trembucker in the bridge and I put a Seymour Duncan ‘59 bridge pickup in the neck.

As for the question about setting your controls as V-T-T or V-V-T, I think I’d consider how often you try to blend pickups with a typical Gibson layout. If you find that you normally run both pickups wide open when you have them both selected, the V-T-T arrangement is probably best. But, if you find that you like to adjust the relative volume of each pickup when you blend them, then maybe the V-V-T setup is better.

I like to blend a lot, which was part of the reason behind the “Les Paul-ization” of my Jackson.
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Smitty,

If I go with separate volume pots I will use a 250kOhm for the bridge JB. That should help tame the bright bridge tone. I still think that I will go with the dual concentric pot to give 2 tones.
 
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