Is my weird idea feasible?

DeeTee

I'd like to mod a Strat so that I can drop in replacement scratchplates easily. That way I can have a few different pickup options available. Want actives today? Drop it in.

Given that all of the electronics on a Strat rest on the scratchplate, my basic idea is to fit quick connectors at the input jack. My concern is the grounding. I don't know enough about wiring to work this out. How would I incorporate this? Or is the whole plan faulty?

ICBM

DeeTee said:

I'd like to mod a Strat so that I can drop in replacement scratchplates easily. That way I can have a few different pickup options available. Want actives today? Drop it in.

Given that all of the electronics on a Strat rest on the scratchplate, my basic idea is to fit quick connectors at the input jack. My concern is the grounding. I don't know enough about wiring to work this out. How would I incorporate this? Or is the whole plan faulty?

Easy - connect the ground wire directly to the jack and not the volume pot.

You can fit a phono plug and socket in the control cavity, so you don't even have to undo the jack plate.

However, actives do make it more difficult because you will need a TRS jack and a 3-conductor connector.

DeeTee

You mean RCA connectors? Would that work ok? I had been envisaging something like Gibson/Kinman/EMG use. I could see RCA being a bit bulky.

Bennyboy-UK

Ernie ball did this with the original silhouette as standard - good idea, although I’m not sure how many punters bought multiple loaded scratchplates in the end?

DeeTee

I didn't know that actually, thanks! I'm just trying to avoid getting a whole new guitar just because I want HSS, or single coil size buckers, or filtertrons, or... etc etc

TTBZ

Someone on here did it with banana connectors and it made me want to do the same to mine so I can swap between single H or SSS as I please, depending how 80s I'm feeling at the time haha.

FatPete

This was part of the idea behind one of my projects. No separate jack socket, so just the earth to worry about and that works well enough just making contact around one of the scratchplate screws.

A couple of physical considerations - 1, a 22 fret neck with an overhang would make things more difficult getting the plate on and off. And 2, you might want to consider doing something to avoid stripping out the screw holes. I used threaded inserts and machine screws, but you might get away with wicking in some thin superglue as reinforcement.

In practice I only ever use this in one configuration - partly because the Creamery Sonic 6s are really nice, partly because the black looks better - shallow, I know.

DeeTee

That's a really good tip about the screws, thank you. How would I go about wicking the glue in?

The project looks great, by the way! 

drofluf

@FatPete really impressed with the photo. How did you do it?  

I can’t see the join!

prowla

I've use a couple of options for solderless wiring:

1. Some micro screw terminals - there are loads of them on ebay. The are a bit fiddley to solder wires to the fixed sid, but the pins are at the right pitch for pots.

2. Some single pole inline gold pins & sockets which are often used in RC model cars & suchlike. You can insulate them with heat-shrink sleeving.

3. Another option would be a multi-pin socket arrangement, like on some computer motherboards.

rossi

DeeTee said:

That's a really good tip about the screws, thank you. How would I go about wicking the glue in?

The project looks great, by the way! 

I wick thin superglue from model plane shops into my paulwonia bodied tele that is basically held together by paint and superglue .

FatPete

drofluf said:

@FatPete really impressed with the photo. How did you do it?  

I can’t see the join!

Thanks! That photo - and more like it - were in mind from early on in the project. In a way there almost isn't a join to worry about because it actually is photo(s) of the guitar in front of a mirror. Camera on a tripod, guitar position marked, as long as I didn't actually cut across the scratchplate, the work was done before it got into Photoshop.

prowla

A smidge of soap on the screw makes it smoother.

Fez

This really isn't in the spirit of GAS we need excuses to have more guitars not technology which means not needing so many.

More seriously there are a number of connection systems which you can use to achieve a quick change of scratchplate.