Pots for these 3 Pickups?

[GuitarMadCap]

I’m going to do a 5-way Strat wiring setup on my WGD with these pickups:

Vintage Stack Tele (Neck)
Classic Stack Plus Strat (Middle)
59 (Bridge)

I’m thinking the top pot will be a 250K volume for the 2 single coil pups.

The middle pot will be a 250K tone for the 2 single coil pups.

The bottom knob will be a 500K stacked pot volume/tone for the humbucker.

I don’t plan on needing a coil tap on the 59 by itself so I think I should go with 2-conductor.

On the 4th position down (Classic Stack/59) will the humbucker go to single coil? If not, what will this mean for the sound? Will it be much louder than the other 4 options on the switch? Will it sound ok?

I’m sorry if these questions are silly. I only have experience with 2 HSS guitars and I never looked to see how they were wired.

 

[stratamania]

I don’t plan on needing a coil tap on the 59 by itself so I think I should go with 2-conductor.

The correct terminology is a coil split.

On the 4th position down (Classic Stack/59) will the humbucker go to single coil?

No, it will not.

You would need a 4 conductor to have the possibility of splitting a humbucker and if you want it to auto-split in position 2, bridge and middle ("fourth position down") you would need a 5 way super switch wired appropriately.

If not, what will this mean for the sound?

It will be a full humbucker with the classic stack.


Having a split in that position is unlikely to give you a strat type quack in any case. But what it means sound wise is subjective, whether it is a useful combination to you.

Will it be much louder than the other 4 options on the switch? Will it sound ok?

No.

The bridge pickup on its own will be the loudest position.

Steve Morse on his Y2D model uses a bridge humbucker in combination with a single coil in one position. Also, the green strat in my signature is wired like that. So it is a sound that is more than okay and useful. But again, it depends on what you are looking for.

 

[GuitarMadCap]

Thanks for taking the time to go over all of this. I’m not trying to get the Strat quack in the 4th position so I’m thinking I’ll go with a regular switch. I’ll try to find some audio clips of that sound first.

How do I see the green Strat in your signature? I’m a fan of green Strats!

 

[GuitarMadCap]

I don’t think I will need to split the coils in the Bridge HB in the 4th position down. Although, I think it could be cool to play the neck with the bridge and possibly all 3 pickups at the same time. Will a 5-Way Super Switch work for these options.

 

[Spud]

Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski: This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.

 

[stratamania]

How do I see the green Strat in your signature? I’m a fan of green Strats!

Click on either the picture in my signature or the link to the photo gallery. The build thread is also linked in the signature. But here they are.

Photo Gallery of GOM Sept 2022

Green Mahogany Strat Build Thread

Have a look also at the Welcome to the Forum link, that will take you to a sticky thread that has many links to useful information and builds etc by myself and others.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

I think it is wrong to generalise that Strat pickups require 250k pots and humbuckers require 500k. Seymour Duncan normally provide that information with their products, but IMO it’s not always true. In this case the “stack plus” pickups are not as bright as true single coils, and the Duncan 59 humbucker will be brighter in a strat than it would in a Gi*son. It may be worth trying both 250k and 500k pots with your selected pickups.

As an example, to me it seems reasonable to wire the 5-way pickup selector straight to a 250k master Volume and 500k master tone control. For my own taste I’d be inclined to use 500k pots all round for both volume and tone, but you would need to try it out to see if it suits your preference or not.

 

[somebodyelseuk]

500k all round has worked for me for the last 30 years - HSS with '59 and a pair of Vintage Stacked.
They're all bumhuckers with DCRs above 8k, afterall.

I choose my pots based on the pickup's 'physics', rather than what they look like.

 

[stratamania]

I have 500K volume and tone in the Green Strat. It is HSS in format but really HSH with a Red Devil in the neck, Pearly Gates bridge and a SD single coil in the middle.

 

[GuitarMadCap]

500K all around it is. If it’s a little too bright, I can always turn down the tone knob a little or adjust the amp. Thanks for the help. Y’all are awesome!

 

[Rick]

500k

 

[GuitarMadCap]

Click on either the picture in my signature or the link to the photo gallery.

I dropped my phone on the treadmill and when I picked it up my phone was sideways changing the orientation of the forum. I can now see links and pictures in everyone’s signatures. Strange but cool that I now know.