| Author: | FretGrinder (registered user: 56 posts ) |
| Date: | Sun, May 13th, 2012 @ 11:24 ( . ) |
Here's a mod I did recently to a Squire Strat. I would not recommend this for a vintage Strat. Keep'em stock. I moved the Tone control from the middle PUP to the bridge PUP. I really like it, but if you use a strat to cover songs that used a strat then you might not like this. Your milage may vary. I think this mod does three good things First per the original design the tone on the middle pickup seems redundant and sounds too much like neck pickup. So this adds an additional useable voice Second the middle pickup being farther from the bridge and parallel to the bridge really screams and in a good way (without the excessive harshness like the bridge). Third the tone control on the bridge realy helps to tame down that harshness.(which I think comes from the slanted PUP) If you feel you really need the tone control on the middle pickup you can just put a short jumper connecting the tone control connections at the switch. But now one tone control will affect both PUP. Try the middle PUP with out the tone control first. You might like it. Lastly a disclaimer. I'm more in the clean, crunch, blues camp. Don't know how this will work for the high distortion guys. I perfer the 9.5 gauge set from DAddario for a strat, but they are hard to find. Makes the strat seem like 10's on a Gibson scale. 9s are too soft for me. FYI more free information. In addition to the tone control switch. I also replaced the pots with 500K alphas, (I know they are not the most expensive but they work OK for me) and for each tone control I used .02mF 715 400v Orange Drop caps. (I also install the cap with the outer foil connected to ground) Fender likes to gang up on the tone control pot and only use one. I prefer that each pot has its own cap. I also purchased additional tremolo springs and used all 5 to pull the bridge to the face. Then tighten up the claw. This seems to add almost a reverb like quality to the non-amplified guitar, be sure to use the back plate too so your clothing doesn't damp the tremolo springs. If you do this, be forewarned, that when the bridge is in full contact with the face of the guitar you either have to shim the neck or get longer bridge piece screws. I used a 1/2" piece of 60 grit sandpaper folded so its about 1/4" by 2" inserted so the neck tilts toward the bridge more. If you don't know what I mean then find someone who does. |
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