Scott Henderson Strat Wiring

jaymenon

With a four pole double-wafer superswitch this wiring scheme reportedly allows the in-between positions (2 and 4) on a Stratocaster to be independent of the tone controls - and therefore makes these positions brighter and louder.

Has anybody actually done this and does it work?

https://i.imgur.com/eIWDg9R.jpg

My little schematic incorporates a neck pickup on-off on a DPDT switch... 

Here's a more magnified picture

https://i.imgur.com/J5qUN1E.jpg

(please ignore the geometry of the pickups (they're the wrong way round)

Funkfingers

That circuit will work - both the original and your variation with the DPDT switch.

I have not tried it for the simple reason that it brings two disadvantages that would annoy the bejeezus out of me.
1) For the way I use tone controls, the neck pickup needs one pot to itself. The bridge and centre pickups share the second pot.
2) Unless the pickups are severely hot or mellow, I see no advantage to disconnecting the 2 an 4 positions from the tone circuitry.

The one exception to my sweeping generalisation would be EMG-SA pickups.

ICBM

It will work, but I have no idea why you would want that either!

In particular, making the already thin and plinky bridge+middle sound even brighter is one of the worst things I can think of doing to a Strat. With standard Strat pickups the extra loading of having both tones connected in the neck+middle position is also an advantage as it makes the two in-between sounds more usefully different from each other. (One of the drawbacks of the Eric Johnson wiring is only having one tone control there.)

That said, I prefer a single master tone control anyway.

Funkfingers

jaymenon said:

… Stratocaster … brighter and louder.

Probably worth asking, what make/model of guitar and pickups are you working on?

One way to have the advantage of "brighter and louder" is to fit a Fender No-Load tone pot on the bridge/middle pickups. This, at least, provides the choice of in circuit or out.


Quick Interweb reading suggests the Henderson uses Suhr Martin Landau pickups. These are described as having smooth top end. I infer Alnico 2 rod magnets. Hence, the possible desire for increased clarity from selector switch positions 2 and 4. 

tanihhiavlt

is Scott still using the the Suhr SSSC - if so the middle pickup isn't reverse wound as it messes with the dummy coil.

My Suhr is fitted with the SSSC, v60s and the VTB Scott was using in 2005 - currently it's got an HLK in it - which I like but meant replacing the v60s and deactivating the SSSC... I'm looking to set it to a 50s wiring with no tone on the bridge, dedicated tone for neck and middle.

ICBM

tanihhiavlt said:

... I'm looking to set it to a 50s wiring with no tone on the bridge, dedicated tone for neck and middle.

Interestingly I discovered when I played in a 50s/60s-style rock'n'roll band, that Leo was right all along - the best sounds are just the three individual pickups, and you don't want a tone control on the bridge... it's only with more modern music and amp sounds that you need one.

tanihhiavlt

I kinda agree - I'm guessing the challenge for the OP is to discover if an SSSC is used - the wiring must be parallel, whereas if the middle coil is RW - the wiring would be series? 

Lebarque

Yes, I've done the Scott Henderson wiring. Does what it says on the tin.