Strat Blender Mod questions.... | Moe’s Tavern 2.0: A Guitar Forum

fiveaces
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Strat Blender Mod questions.... Mar 20, 2020 22:06:30 GMT -5

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Post by fiveaces on Mar 20, 2020 22:06:30 GMT -5

[My apologies for mis-posting in the wrong catagory]

Well, "shelter in place" time is a great time for some overdue guitar projects!

I finally modded my American Series Strat with the "Blender" mod (using the existing "No-Load" T2 pot) & absolutly satisfied with the results.
It adds that N+B pickup combo and allows various amounts of blend in between!

Question 1: Technically, if the selector switch is in either the Bridge (Pos1) or Neck (pos5) setting, the N+B pups are in parallel when the Blender pot is fully counter-clockwise(set at "1"). So... given that senario, then Sw.Pos 1 or 5 will sound identical, correct?

One thing I did detect is a slight loss of brightness of the bridge pickup because T1 (not a "No-Load" pot) is now a Master Tone.
So...
Question 2: Can I replace T1 (now functioning as a Master Tone) with a "No-Load" pot so that I can regain that brightness on the bridge PU? Will it also increase the treble/brightness on the Neck & Middle pickups or cause any negative effects?

Any input or comments cheerfully accepted!

Play On!

Last Edit: Mar 21, 2020 21:00:16 GMT -5 by fiveaces

fiveaces
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Strat Blender Mod questions.... Mar 22, 2020 12:13:03 GMT -5

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Post by fiveaces on Mar 22, 2020 12:13:03 GMT -5

Anyone know an easier way to test wiring mods on a strat without having to remove strings & then restring every time just to try it?
I want to try & change the Master Tone mod I did, but it's like going through the whole process again.....

fiveaces
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Strat Blender Mod questions.... Mar 27, 2020 23:08:53 GMT -5

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Post by fiveaces on Mar 27, 2020 23:08:53 GMT -5

Well, since I haven't got any input, and now-a days there's not much work or socializing to speak of, I decided to experiment and do the similar blender mod on my Strat XII, with a few exceptions, and find out for myself.

The Strat XII original Tone controls were wired such that T1 was for the Neck PU & T2 controlled the Middle PU. The Bridge PU had no Tone control so it was always as bright & as Treble as it can get!

Modified it as follows...
- Volume remained as a Master Vol.
- T1 is now Tone control for Neck & Middle PUs.
- T2 is "No-Load"pot which, when set "1 thru 9", allows variable blend of Neck & Bridge PU's. But when set to "10", allows normal function of Bridge or Neck PU when selected.

What I like about this mod was it still retained that original brightness of the bridge pu, yet gives you control to tone the bridge down by blending in the Neck PU as desired. That was what I felt I lost when I originally modified my American Series Strat.

Given the above results, looks like I have 2 options to consider for changes on my AmSe Strat....
#1 - Rewire T1 from a Master Tone Control to make it for the Neck & Mid PUs only. (as I did to my Strat XII and I'll know what to expect)
#2 - Leave T1 wiring as is (full Master Tone control) but replace it with a No-Load pot. That will return that extra brightness to the Bridge and may add a little more tone range to the Neck & Bridge PUs, too.
.....or?