Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 16 2009 08:22 PM
Oh man, I just modded my Strat (an '02 Highway One) with a "neck on" switch and I'm absolutely amazed at how good it sounds! By replacing the lower tone pot with a push-pull type (i.e., one with a built-in double-pole, double-throw switch) and wiring the switch to turn the neck pickup on regardless of the setting of the 5-way switch, you can add two new pickup combinations: 1) neck plus bridge and 2) all three pickups. Here's a diagram showing the wiring: http://www.guitar-mod.com/wiring/neck_on_howto.gif
The mod took about an hour to do and required only the 250K push-pull pot (made by Fender and costing about USD$15.00) and a couple of lengths of wire. You'll probably want to place all of the washers that come with the pot plus the one from the existing pot underneath the pickguard so that the knob sits as low as the original did. Mine is actually about 1/32" (0.8mm) above the deck and this is a good thing -- I don't have enough strength in my old hands to pull the knob out but I can lever it up with my pick 
So try it -- I think you'll like it!
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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scotstandard
Joined: Nov 09, 2008
Posts: 1140
Davenport Iowa
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Posted on Feb 16 2009 11:47 PM
Im not a strat guy but if i were I would want that. I love the tone of neck and bridge, thats all i have been using lately.
— Give me reverb or give me death!
facebook.com/onenightstandards
https://www.youtube.com/scotstandard
scotstandard@yahoo.com
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NoisyDad
Joined: Mar 04, 2006
Posts: 215
West Hartford, CT
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 09:42 AM
I did the same mod to my two strat-like objects - I used a micro-switch, though. Neck/bridge is the combo I use the most with them.
Then it dawned on me that since I was trying to get a Jaguar-like sound, I should just get a Jaguar. Now the Jag is all I play...
— http://www.aquatudes.com
http://www.facebook.com/theaquatudes
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 10:02 AM
NoisyDad (love your handle) --
Yeah, I know what you mean but in my case, I already have a Jag (a beautiful Candy Apple Red CIJ '62 RI with AVRI pickups) so I wasn't going for imitation. The neck-on mod gives me two new tones that are definitely Strat -- but different. The neck/bridge adds solidity to the piercing bridge tone and moderates a bit of the "icepick" edge. With all three on, I get the "quack" of the bridge/middle RWRP with more "meat" to it. Sort of like the difference between a Mallard and a Muscovy 
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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revmike
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3852
North Atlantic
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 10:26 AM
I did a similar thing with my strat, that didn't rquire any rewiring. I moved the middle pick up to the neck position & the neck p-up to the middle. The wires were long enough. The 5 way switch is set in position 2 for the new neck and bridge p-up.
Rev
— Canadian Surf
http://www.urbansurfkings.com/
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 01:57 PM
rev - the KISS man  added bonus, you keep the hum canceling with N+B position....
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 04:48 PM
Good solution! Elegant, as they say. My only quibble would be that the new neck pup is still RWRP and that gives a cluck-ier tone than my more solder-intensive mod does.
I've also considered the "Strat Lovers" mod (http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/stratlovers.php) that adds a second push-pull pot to swap the phase of the neck pot. That seemed too complex before I opened the beast to do this mod but now that I've bearded it in its den, I may decide to add it at some point.
The next addition, though, is the "Greasebucket" circuit. I've ordered the requisite caps and resistors from Allied Electronics (kinda surprised that they were still around) and they should be here in a few days. I've also got a steel trem block on order from Guitar Fetish and will probably do both mods in one session. My already pretty-darned-good gitter is turning into a <u>killer</u> axe!
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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DeadRanchHands
Joined: Apr 15, 2008
Posts: 1281
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 06:51 PM
If you want to keep it as simple as possible, you can wire the third pot as a volume for the neck pickup, and the second pot as a master tone. That way you can blend in the neck pickup with either the bridge or bridge/middle settings. No extra switches or parts required.
— http://www.reverbnation.com/thedeadranchhands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZEW74mHjQk
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newey
Joined: Feb 06, 2009
Posts: 10
Ohio
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 10:31 PM
This can also be done by rewiring the neck tone control as shown here:
ChrisK's Free Neck On Switch
This is a simple mod, involving removing one wire and adding 2 more. This is from the Guitar Nuts 2 forum. (I'm a staff member there, in the interests of full disclosure).
Adding the push/pull pot is probably the most workable solution if one wants to avoid adding any holes and doesn't want to sacrifice the existing V-T-T pot arrangement.
— If I wax pot my pickups, will they work underwater?
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seafoam_johnny
Joined: Jul 27, 2007
Posts: 1099
4 faces. (Where the buffalo roam)
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Posted on Feb 17 2009 11:12 PM
Previously posted but here's a close up of the push/pull strat mod with Jag neck/bridge pickups for the 7 way strat switching.
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JC
Joined: Oct 13, 2008
Posts: 98
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 06:27 AM
I find the neck+bridge(+reverb) combination very useful. My Strat (or "Strato" as we call them here) has one of this mods done.
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 07:04 AM
Interesting! With Jag pups in the neck and bridge does it really sound 'Jaggy'? I'd always assumed that the tailpiece was responsible for the Jag's chimey sound since the Jazzmaster's pretty similar with totally different pickups.
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 10:08 AM
Woodsurfer
My only quibble would be that the new neck pup is still RWRP and that gives a cluck-ier tone than my more solder-intensive mod does.
is that something you observed or something you read on the internet? 
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 03:58 PM
is that something you observed or something you read on the internet?
While there are a lot of things one can pull out of the cloaca of the internet, in this case, it's direct experience coupled with some extrapolation. At least on my Strat which has a reverse-wound, reverse-polarity pickup in the middle position, it clucks when used in combination with either the bridge or neck pickup. If you physically swap the neck and middle pickups without changing the wiring, it should still cluck when in position 2 -- the now neck/bridge combination. I'd be happy to be proved wrong if reality trumps logic in this case.
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 04:08 PM
I think the extrapolation is where it goes wrong. I think it's just the proximity of the pups which makes it cluck. and the lesser proximity which lessens / does away with the cluck in N+B config. that's my limited experience at least, plus I dont see a reason why electrons would behave different in a RWRP pup - the signal ones at least.
the only thing that matters being, of course, whether you' re happy with the sound. but if hum bothers you and you hardly use on of the other inbetween settings, you might wanna try a rewire.
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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seafoam_johnny
Joined: Jul 27, 2007
Posts: 1099
4 faces. (Where the buffalo roam)
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 05:27 PM
Woodsurfer
Interesting! With Jag pups in the neck and bridge does it really sound 'Jaggy'? I'd always assumed that the tailpiece was responsible for the Jag's chimey sound since the Jazzmaster's pretty similar with totally different pickups.
-- Woody
Kinda disappointing in terms of sounding jaggy (lack of jag tail piece, lack of short scale neck, lack of correct pots, etc. and add cheapo Jap jag pickups) but is interesting tonal wise. But not jaggy as I would have liked.
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 05:37 PM
Ah, okay. I cast a circle of art and called forth demons from the Goetia to do my bidding and discover the secret of cluck. Well, actually, I Googled "pickup cluck" and, buried under the responses having to do pickup truck clutches, there was a neat little treatise entitled, "What IS Quack, Anyway" (http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:c0c7Mz7CQpwJ:www.deaf-eddie.net/drawings/quack.doc+pickup+cluck&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us). You are dead on, sir. I stand corrected.
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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Woodsurfer
Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA
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Posted on Feb 18 2009 07:01 PM
seafoam_johnny sez:
Kinda disappointing in terms of sounding jaggy (lack of jag tail piece, lack of short scale neck, lack of correct pots, etc. and add cheapo Jap jag pickups) but is interesting tonal wise. But not jaggy as I would have liked.
Can't speak to the other factors but I'll tell ya, when I swapped the Japanese pickups in my Jag for the American Vintage versions, it made all the difference in the world. The other big thing (for the Jag) was switching to D'Addario Chromes .011's.
-- Woody
— It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.
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Timster
Joined: Mar 25, 2009
Posts: 5
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Posted on Apr 03 2009 07:04 AM
Sounds like a tempting project.
Is there a wiring diagram on the web for this mod?
— <a>StratNeck.com</a>
Last edited: Apr 03, 2009 08:02:43
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Doctor_Morbius
Joined: Oct 26, 2008
Posts: 608
This Planet Earth
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Posted on Apr 03 2009 07:28 AM
Good thread. There are a couple of interesting mods here I would like to try. I've used a neck-on toggle, which is very simple. I've also used a blender pot to blend in the amounts of neck or bridge depending on if one is in position 1, 2, 4, or 5 on the switch. I would like to try a solution where the N & B are hum canceling as that's my favorite position on a Strat.
This is a pretty easy mod provided one has a couple of no load pots. I use a no load pot on the master tone and one for the blender. I also do a star ground.
Here's a link to a PDF that shows the wiring. If you've been wanting to try a new project this could be fun.
http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/pdf/WiringDiagram_Strat_Blender.pdf
Here are a couple of my swappable loaded pickguards in the works. The top pic has a master volume, master tone, blender pot and star ground. The second pic is the same sans the tone pot. Who needs a stinking tone pot anyway, right? DD never used one.  Wire nuts are used to make the pickguards swappable.
image
image
— Cats 'n' Strats, 'cause that's how I roll - I eat reverb for breakfast!
Fenderus Collecticus
Strat Blender Pot Modification HERE
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