Strat wiring help before I decimate the worlds population of pots

Tavernor

Evening all! It’s been a while. I’ll make this fairly concise but I’m already making a hash of that.

long story short, have a strat with the toggle switch mod which allows the neck to be turned on so you get BMN and BN combinations extra. I dialled it in ages ago and it’s been a pick up and play guitar so not messed around with it’s tone settings. Anyway, when I did try to I realised the five way selector wasn’t working properly and neither was the second tone control for the middle PU. Took it to a very guitar savvy mate with a new dimarzio switch and a few pots (admittedly cheap ones).

After that everything worked apart from the neck tone (which worked before). I’ve decided to learn to fish so got more pots (he swapped all three) and made an absolute catastrophe of a job on an old strat copy, the other half’s soldering iron was duff so pretty sure I fried four pots there.

lesson absolutely not learned I decided to fix the good guitar (armed with a variable temperature *rubs knees* iron) which works a treat in theory. 

Many pots later I have no pots working bar the volume. I find it easy to believe the dud iron fried pots in the cheap guitar but harder to believe my, honestly quite tidy soldering, fried a bunch more today.

Then I remembered you lovely people with your infinite knowledge. I’ve got the diagram my mate worked off and I have since so thought if I posted it guys may spot if anything could be askew. The pots I bought were only a few quid each but surely they can’t all have been dud? Can buy more expensive if that really makes a difference. Girlfriend needs bed now so I must post the picture and leave! Like a crab fisherman leaving his traps, I will return tomorrow hopefully to find lots of crabs (advice)

manythanksinadvance

D

Tavernor

Well this isn’t working

Tavernor

https://ibb.co/g6fXSc

Tavernor

that’ll have to do. Any advice would be superb my night owls

Funkfingers

The seven sounds circuit modification schematic diagram is well known. Remote diagnosis of your issue will require photographs of the actual wiring in your actual guitar, actually.

Tavernor

So diagram if followed correctly will definitely work? Sorry if my whittering was such a simple answer! 

Tavernor

Are cheap pots super unbelievably unreliable, often not working at all?

Funkfingers

Tavernor said:

So diagram, if followed correctly, will definitely work?  

Yes. I use the same general idea (with a few additional tweaks) on my own Stratocasters.

The wiring in your guitar may deviate from the traditional circuit - both now and before your guitar savvy mate modified things. 

If all three original pots were replaced, there are several things that could have gone wrong during reassembly that would cause a tone control to cease working. Melting the innards of the pot are one. Connecting the capacitor between the two tone pots incorrectly is another. (Hence, my request for photographs of your guitar wiring.) 

Tavernor

Very much appreciate the help; I’m at the better half’s right now with the strat in question at mine - I’ll be back Sunday so can post pictures of the actual wiring then. Guitar sounds amazing bar my fingers when it’s singing so do want to sort it. New pots arriving midweek so hopefully al fixed soon! 

Tavernor

https://ibb.co/kfpeSc

https://ibb.co/bHVm7c

https://ibb.co/cNKeSc

Tavernor

Right! That’s the current nest, maybe NSFW. When it was back together everything worked bar the two tone pots, lifting the plate off to take the photos the ground and red wire from the jack were unattached sonice quickly soldered red to tone one and the ground to the volume pot. Now there is nothing! I’m in a hurry to walk the dog so may have gone wrong there. Anyway, assuming the jack wires are regimed to the correct place if they are wrong. Is everything else right and I’ve just been frying pots or am I the weak link Wiring wise? 

Tavernor

Ah, just seen red wire from jack should be middle lung of volume, I’ll quickly do that now...

Tavernor

Okay, with jack sorted everything works bar neck tone - which is exactly as it was after my very tech savvy mate out the new set of pots in. The ones in were done in a major hurry with new ones in the post so if I’m going to solder everything absolutely perfectly when they arrive

Tavernor

Forgive my numerous mistakes writing all of that in a hurry. Hopefully you guys can translate my autocorrect errors in reading

Tavernor

Fresh eyes noticed capacitor on tone one was on the wrong lug. Now everything works! I’ll still put in the new pots when they arrive and generally tidy up but all very fun. Did the jumper mod so tone controls bridge and middle too. Quick question, should I put a capacitor on the other tone pot? Don’t know why there is one on two rather than three. Both .22 and I have a few spare.

Funkfingers

Tavernor said:

Quick question, should I put a capacitor on the other tone pot?

Only if you require different capacitor or pot resistance values for each control.

Tavernor said:

Don’t know why there is one on two rather than three.

Reason #1 - The two tone controls share the same path to ground. Therefore, one capacitor suffices.

Reason #2 - Sharing one capacitor between two pots two saved Leo Fender a few cents on every Stratocaster produced. 

Tavernor

Funkfingers said:

Tavernor said:

Quick question, should I put a capacitor on the other tone pot?

Only if you require different capacitor or pot resistance values for each control.

Tavernor said:

Don’t know why there is one on two rather than three.

Reason #1 - The two tone controls share the same path to ground. Therefore, one capacitor suffices.

Reason #2 - Sharing one capacitor between two pots two saved Leo Fender a few cents on every Stratocaster produced. 

Superstar, thanks. Very last question (for now..), the new pickguard is *extremely* flush to the bridge. I know it’s easy enough to shave - had a play on an old one.

Before I butcher it though, does it effect tone or sustain if the two are in contact? I’ve got a new bridge in the mail so I’ll wait till that arrives but, surprisingly, google isn’t coming up trumps with various search word combinations, it’d be a useful thing to know.

ICBM

If the bridge is rubbing against the pickguard it will affect the tuning stability when you use the trem.

Tavernor

It’s kitted out with a lubed bone nut, roller trees and it will be a roller bridge so tuning should be pretty stable. Hear what you’re saying though, if something’s worth doing it’s worth doing right so I’ll shave the guard accordingly.

Tuning aside though, does it effect tone or sustain? I’m more curious than anything. I’d play about but I’ve only got one set of strings spare and saving them for when the bridge arrives.

ICBM

I doubt it would affect the tone, but if there’s any contact there at all which produces friction when the bridge moves it will *definitely* affect the tuning stability no matter what’s at the other end, so you need to fix it anyway.