What mod can I do to utilise the extra tone knob on a strat?

axisus

I've always preferred one volume one tone on guitars and that's the way my strat is. The spare tone I used as a blend for Bridge and Neck pickups and quite liked it for a while, but to be honest I just never touch it now. 

I'm just wondering if there is anything else I can do with it that is more interesting?

I have an S1 switch somewhere that I have never used. Are they any good? Also I'm pretty sure I have some kind of 'double pot' in a drawer that was for something or other (?)

I seem to recall that Guitar fetish sold mod boards to go into a guitar - anyone got experience of them?

Any other options?

Sesh

Bass tone know like some G&L's? 

DartmoorHedgehog

Volume control for the other guitarist/bassist/drummer (delete as appropriate)

Keefy

DFA control.

Disconnect it completely from the circuit. If you are asked to turn down, make a big thing of turning this knob anti-clockwise. Also works when people who know less than they think ask for ‘a bit more at 3.5k’ or whatever.

Sporky

Sesh said:

Bass tone know like some G&L's? 

Yes - these are enormously useful things.

GoFish

Came here to suggest a blend - now recommend a one-knob bitcrusher in there to really surprise people.

ICBM

Bass cut is very useful, but only if you like bright/thin sounds.

If that doesn’t sound useful I would get a new pickguard made with only two holes, which allows you to move the volume knob down slightly where it’s less of a total pain in the backside.

Don’t even think about an S1 - unreliable, noise-prone crap.

axisus

ICBM said:

Bass cut is very useful, but only if you like bright/thin sounds.

If that doesn’t sound useful I would get a new pickguard made with only two holes, which allows you to move the volume knob down slightly where it’s less of a total pain in the backside.

Don’t even think about an S1 - unreliable, noise-prone crap.

Actually I didn't mention but I want to keep the guitar looking 'standard' with three knobs. I would do that on others, but not this one.

LastMantra

Dimmer switch for the LEDs?

ICBM

axisus said:

Actually I didn't mention but I want to keep the guitar looking 'standard' with three knobs. I would do that on others, but not this one.

In that case, maybe a series blender?

steamabacus

How about a second tone control option like the Fender 'greasebucket' circuit* (can give some useful slightly nasal lead tones) - maybe switch it in and out of circuit with a push/pull?

[* Just a specific combination of resistors and capacitors on a standard pot.]

downbytheriver

Wire bridge and neck like a Tele. Use the third knob to fade the middle pickup in and out. This way you can have neck and middle or all three pickups on together - two new sounds you can’t get with standard switching. Also adds different aspects to the 2 and 4 sounds. You can’t get middle only (who cares?). Actually you probably could if you turn the main volume down and the middle volume up - just be careful with the circuit design. 

tanihhiavlt

Rothwell HLK or the Scott Henderson VTB, blends in the bridge on any setting.

So all 3, and a tele middle position.

english_bob

ICBM said:

Bass cut is very useful, but only if you like bright/thin sounds.

I've got this on my G&L S-500. It's got fairly hot ceramic pickups in it, so it's helpful to be able to trim some bass off the neck pickup to get it back in to more "normal" Strat territory, or to make fuzzes sound less woolly.

I mean yes, obviously, a bass cut makes any sound brighter and thinner than it would be otherwise, but both of those (particularly "thin") are dirty words in the guitar tone lexicon, and potentially make a bass cut sound like a "make-worserer" knob.

Funkfingers

axisus said:

S1 switch … Are they any good?

For a few months, yes. After that, like the Chinese curse, you will be living in interesting times.

ICBM said:

Don’t even think about an S1 - unreliable, noise-prone crap.

The S-1 switch is reliable in the sense that it is predictable that it is going to become unreliable in the short- to medium-term future.

•

Most of the classic electric guitar control components that have been in use since the Forties and Fifties were chosen because they were military surplus. i.e. Dirt cheap and proven in combat situations. Hence, sufficiently robust to cope with the abuse meted out by touring musicians.

maltingsaudio

I use the 2nd  tone on mine as volume for the piezo bridge

Keefy

maltingsaudio said:

I use the 2nd  tone on mine as volume for the piezo bridge

Burn the witch!

ICBM

english_bob said:

I mean yes, obviously, a bass cut makes any sound brighter and thinner than it would be otherwise, but both of those (particularly "thin") are dirty words in the guitar tone lexicon, and potentially make a bass cut sound like a "make-worserer" knob.

True. I didn't mean it like that as you probably guessed! 'Thin' can be usefully cutting in a mix or remove muddiness, and 'bright' can add sparkle to otherwise more middy pickups.

I have a (non-standard) rotary bass-cut control on my Rickenbacker bass too, it's very useful with fuzz which can otherwise just sound too mushy and overblown.

bloodandtears

This thread has got me thinking about one of my current guitars, its a H-S-H config (albeit the neck is a single sized rails Dimarzio Air Norton S).

I have it wired as V-T-T; one tone for the bridge and the other tone controls the neck and middle pickups...  I am thinking perhaps I change it to V-V-T, basically having one volume for the bridge and one for the neck/middle and a solitary master tone; thoughts??

ICBM

bloodandtears said:

I have it wired as V-T-T; one tone for the bridge and the other tone controls the neck and middle pickups...  I am thinking perhaps I change it to V-V-T, basically having one volume for the bridge and one for the neck/middle and a solitary master tone; thoughts??

It can be done, if you prefer the faff of adjusting two volume controls .

Lewy

It's not the cheapest but I'm a big fan of the KingTone Switch which is a rotary switch that goes in that second tone knob position and allows you to switch in and out a treble bleed (and has mini dip switches for what type of treble bleed you want) and then has positions which add varying degrees of capacitance. The first few clicks make things sound progressively warmer and more "vintage" and the last couple give you some usable honky sounds. Combined with different pickup selections there's a lot of different tones available.