HELP!! tone pot not working on Squier CV 50's Strat

ellangus

I have a Squier CV 50's Stratocaster on which the second tone pot (the one nearest the bridge) does nothing when turned and the middle pickup is selected.

The other tone pot works fine on the neck pickup and the volume works fine too.

the pickup selector switch works as it should.

It was wired as this:
http://support.fender.com/service_diagrams/squier/Squier_ClassicVibe50s_Strat_SISD.pdf

I've tested the pot with a multi meter and it seems fine, I've also tried a different pot - still nothing.

I've just re-wired it like this:
http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Gibson_50s_wiring_on_a_Stratocaster

Still exactly the same.

Any clues anyone??

ICBM

Do you have the link wire between the tone pots? Without that the middle pickup tone pot won't work.

For what it's worth, that article is misleading - there is *no* difference in the sound of the guitar when the volume control is full up. It does change the treble-loss as you turn the volume down, but saying "the overall tone gets stronger and more transparent" is pure BS.

ellangus

Yep link wire between the tone pots is intact.

Actually I'm back to the original  wiring now  http://support.fender.com/service_diagrams/squier/Squier_ClassicVibe50s_Strat_SISD.pdf - still nothing.

ICBM

If you've tried more than one pot it's probably not that.

What type is the switch - Oak Grigsby? I've had several of those where the contacts don't quite meet the rotor in one or two positions, and need to be very carefully bent into place before they will work properly.

A quick way to test this is to swap the tone control wires on the switch. If the middle pickup tone control now works on the neck pickup and the neck pickup tone control doesn't work on the middle, that's it.

ellangus

No, it's the original switch which is one of those crappy import jobbies with all the lugs on one side

ICBM

In that case even more likely to be the switch...

If you can get at it, try soldering the rivetted terminals to the PCB tracks. Sometimes they make a poor contact.

ellangus

cheers @ICBM I'll check the switch out