Esquire cocked wah mod....on a Strat

paulnb57

One of my many projects currently on the go is a Strat, it will be 3 single coils and a 5 way switch, I'd like to add the Esqire cocked wah mod to this guitar when I wire it up.......would it be possible to wire as a standard Strat and have a mini switch or pull pot to switch in the wah function? So that the wah effect could be used with any standard strat pickup selection? If so how? A simple diagram would be nice!

Thanks!

Paul

randomhandclaps

As far as I can recall the cocked Wah mod on an Esquire simply sits on the line between the pickup and the volume pot and is inactive until the selector switch completely the link to ground.  As all the pickups on a Strat run off the single volume pot I don't see why tagging the mod to tab 3 of the volume pot, then off to your toggle and then connect one half of the toggle/switch/pull pot to ground wouldn't function exactly the same. 

ICBM

I would do it by converting one of the tone controls into a master tone and using the other one for a variable cocked-wah sound.

All it is is a smaller value tone cap than normal (.0047uF instead of .047 or .022uF), so there's no reason you can't make it variable in the same way.

koneguitarist

Not sure if just a cap will work, as it's done with a 3.3k resistor and a .01 before going through the .005?

ICBM

The diagrams online all just seem to show a single cap, no extra resistor. It's the vintage Esquire 'neck' setting that uses the extra parts.

This is what I had read…

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/The_Eldred_Esquire_Wiring

That shows just the 4700pF (.0047uF) cap.

gavin_axecaster

There are two cocked wah schemes that Tele players use - the "Eldred" mod developed by ex Fender Custom Shop boss Mike Eldred that just uses a 0.0047cap and the "Arlo" mod (named for it's originator Arlo West), which uses the 0.0047 cap plus a 0.010 cap in series with a 3.3k resister.
(Diagrams linked above are my re-drawings of diagrams found o nTDPRI)

impmann

In my experience the 'Arlo' sounds better - but that's with a Pine Tele/Esquire

paulnb57

So, how would I incorporate the Arlo mod into a Strat? Assuming I would like to keep standard Strat 5 way wiring, could I piggyback the mod to have cocked wah on each pickup selection. I can follow a schematic, but am far too retarded to work it out myself, I really admire folk who understand electricity!

ICBM

You could still do it with the second tone pot if you connect it in series between the switch and the volume pot. (Making the other tone control a master tone, or for whichever pickups you want it on.)

If you wire it so the switch is connected to the centre terminal, the counterclockwise terminal to the .0047uF cap to ground, the .01uF cap and 3K3 resistor between the centre terminal and the clockwise terminal, and the clockwise terminal to the volume pot, what you will get is a progressively introduced Arlo circuit as the control is turned down.

koneguitarist

@ICBM I might try that, do you think A 250 or a 500 would make much difference or could a 1 meg pot give more range for this type of circuit?

ICBM

koneguitarist said:

@ICBM I might try that, do you think A 250 or a 500 would make much difference or could a 1 meg pot give more range for this type of circuit?

Not sure - the larger the pot value the closer to the 'true' Arlo circuit it will be, since the pot track is in parallel with the .01u/3K3 when the control is fully down so will bypass it very slightly - but it may make little or no practical difference.