1:38: consider this: your amp also has tone controls. To do a Strat right, you start with the bridge pup and get the tone on the amp to where you want your brightest tone. This isn’t rocket surgery
Here‘s my strat tone guide: Role down the tone around 5 and use some more amp treble if you lack some highs. The strat highs are usually way brighter than the amp highs and that’s where most of the uncomfortable ultra high treble stuff comes from. Never play on 10 except to make it dirtier. Keep at around 8 to 9. And lastly install a master tone and a half blender circuit. That allows you to get every pick up configuration possible and even get really nice tele tones without any trouble. For me that completely changed my way to approach a strat and in a good strat you’ll have one of the biggest varieties of tones of any guitar out there with those few tweaks.
Great advice! I too hardly ever run my guitars volume at full. Plus you can push your amps volume more to get a fuller, warmer tone. Same thing goes with fuzz pedals…I have a mid 90s Powerhouse Strat that has a no tone load knob that can lower the tone on all the pickups…super useful
I played Humbucker guitars for 25 years, then I (just this month) got myself a Strat. I didn’t know what I was missing, the clarity & articulation you get from single coils is on another level. Even like it much better at high gain levels. The pickups in my Strat are “Hot vintage 60 pickups” and they’re surprisingly fat sounding for single coils. Absolutely love them! Have a “seven way switching mod” too for even more versatility. Strats for life 👍🏻🎸.
And I thought I was a telecaster player…. Until I took a chance and got American pro 2 strat … Dark night and I haven’t put it down once in 2 weeks. I love them both 🇺🇸✊
Yeah, people don't realize the headroom you get from single coils. Humbuckers cancel some of it with the hum! You also get better control of distortion pedals when turning down the volume, so you can go from a warmer growl, to a stinging bite with a notch or two on the guitars volume.
Yeah it’s like people are afraid of the classification “low output”. I played nothing but a strat for over a decade and I got all the sounds I needed. The same strat recently got the 7 way switched and it’s even cooler now 20+ years later 😎
@@CMHobbies Yeah, I got myself quite an “Olympic white Vintera modified” Strat, for a £999 rrp guitar it’s quite amazing. Thought 21 frets would bother me “after playing 24 fret guitars for 20 years,” but nope. I can even play The Crush Of Love (by Satch) that use’s the 22nd fret, I just play that part on the second string a octave lower and use pinched harmonics to Match the same notes, sounds awesome. I’m a Strat player for life now, its rejuvenated my love for the guitar for sure.
Mentioned Kingtone so I’m instantly subscribing. Been a proud owner of Kingtone gear since Jesse first started releasing gear. His tone switch is prob my favorite upgrade I’ve done to my strat. Adds so many different possible sound variations that weren’t possible before.
A capacitor parallel to the pickup lowers the resonance frequency. You keep your resonance peek, which is essential for a good tone. This is all you need and it costs just few cents.
I was curious if that 4-input programmable switch was really an adjustable capacitor. I've been looking for it online but I don't know the correct wording for electrical components.
@@hotchow8766 It is the C-Switch from a guy named Lemme. It allows up to 10 different capacities, but is rare and comparable expensive (>50$). The idea was first introduced in the Les Paul Recording, but only with low impedance pickups making it unusable with a normal amp. Practically, I prefer to have a push pull poti and just one capacity. To get a good value for this capacity lay a cable to outside of the electric cavity and exchange the capacities there, until you find the sweet spot. Than you build it back in and have like two "voicings", which is sufficient for most csses (
@@hotchow8766 You can try Lemme Switch for an interchangeable Capacity. The Les Paul Recording was the first implementation but rarely used as it needed amp changes because of its low impedance pickups.
This is not a criticism of the video creator, but oh, my, someone finally created a varitone for strats. Now we get a choice: variable EQ at your fingers or variable EQ on the floor. One nice feature is the dipswitch panel, but the drawback is pick guard removal to get at it. A Chase Bliss Brother provides even more dipswitches (and more capability) you can access in a few seconds, albeit at higher cost. I don't own one but I believe the company is Source Audio (??) that makes an outstanding stompbox EQ with MIDI. Sometimes I prefer turning knobs and other times I like tapping foot switches, but the video and explanations are excellent.
Love my strat with single coils, but to fix the bridge strat being too bright I bought a replacement pickguard with what is called a Voodoo route. Which has a reverse angle pickup route in the bridge position. It makes the high strings a little darker and the low strings less muddy and more defined
Cheapest way to take brightness away is to buy different capacitor for example value 0.1 instead of 0.047. It makes miracles. Sometimes strat can sound too dark so then you should try capacitor value 0.033 or 0.022.
I’m personally blown away by Ibanez AZ wiring setup. I think every strat should be like that. You get regular strat wirings plus amazing new options with a flip of the switch (Humbucker, tele, Gilmore mod, etc etc) really worth looking this up
That's why I love the freeway switches. Has a similar concept but uses basically two "tracks" for the switch to go on, causing it to lean one way or the other. I have the 6-position (bottom row normal tele, top row adds series and out of phase) tele switch loaded in a tele knockoff and a squier jaguar with a johnny marr switchplate to allow for a blade switch.
@@frankzappa951 unless that’s your thing, I wouldn’t. It looks like a strat but doesn’t really sound nor play like one. If you like a strat I’d humbly suggest getting a real strat and If you like Ibanez get a real Ibanez...just based on my experience, but hey we’re all different
im loooking this up now, since im in the midst of finding a new wiring configuration for my strats i dig. is this a strat wiring like an ibanez would be for offering more tonal options youre talking about, or are you referring to actual ibanez guitars?
WOW truly sounds better... I could definitely see this being a ton more useful! I'm mainly a Strat player, so I'm stoked! Thanks for shedding light on it!
It’s a great mod, but I prefer to put a blender pot in that place. It allows you to blend the bridge in with the neck (in position 5) or with all three pickups simulataneously (when in position 4). So you can blend in just a little, or a lot. Fralin pickups offers it as a mod and now I love the bridge positions so much. Sounds amazing.
Get an ARTEC onboard tone control.various models to choose from at $20 a pop.screw this ripoff from multibillion dollar corporate America trying to squeeze out pockets dry w nothing new .it's a re-named ARTEC unit.
I wind pickups for fun. I wound a set for my new strat. 7.2k neck and middle with a whopping 12.4k for the bridge. Freshly charged Alnico 5 poles. I'll be installing them today. I'm expecting some fat punch and some snarling grainy overdriven strat tones. I use a 500k pot to bring out some of the highs that a 250k might drop as the overwound pickups have progressively less treble the more you overwind them. I don't use a treble bleed. I have other strats setup very similar I know what to expect. Seymour Duncan makes a 12.7k single coil pickup if you're looking for some real punch from a traditional strat pickup.
Cool concept, by honestly for under $10 the 1/2 blender wiring fixes the bridge issue. I put it in all my Strats and it is a complete game changer. You basically just dial in a little bit of the neck pickup into the bridge to fatten it up and take a bit off the top. It sounds more like a Humbucker/p90. The s1 switch does a similar thing, but without the adjustability, putting the entire neck pickup in is too much and unusable.
@@karterdowd606 S-1 Switch is the worst thing Fender ever did. It's a tonal sucker and gives you really unusable and muddy sounds. I got one for my strat and having using it for 4 years, now i got it out and muuuuuch better response and feel.
@@karterdowd606 hahaha no bro, It has no load pots. When I'm using a Strat, is because I want Strat sounds, so I EQ it to taste keeping in mind the Strat stuff I want and usually, it doesn't works with the series mode. Maybe you should record a video showing the tones you get using both parallel and series modes!
R.J. you are a master at getting the most out of every pickup position, and seem to know what they are used for,rather than gravitating to the "sweet spot" every time!! Love your playing!!
Strataholic here. HOWEVER, I did not love all positions in my strat until I got a great strat. I think the pickups are likely the biggest factor. I have a nash s-67 with a Lollar “dirty blonde” set. May have to try this in one of my partscasters. Thanks for the vid!
@@888jimm …great take…same here. I have 3 strats each is very different. In fact if i have a particular song in mind i go for the strat that plays that song the way i want to hear it.
My years of experience is I finally found the best sounding strat which whatever pickup I threw ini, always sounded great. Of course each and every pickup sounds different but they all sounded great, so the choice depends on the taste and or music style. I ended up with a cheapo alnico from an online store around $20/set (the seller said it was pulled out of a squier CV so it still is quality stuff) and sold all my fralins and lollars. I still don't know why this particular strat sounded great. There are endless debate about tone woods, electronics, wiring etc. But since have a great strat, I'll just enjoy playing my guitar...
Being able to switch between true bypass and treble bleed, is a cool feature, and the Albert King setting sounds amazing. I usually rewire the middle tone on Strats to the bridge and have the neck and middle share, or let the middle go without. But I might need to try this switch anyways.
4:17 Yeah, the loss of highs, when you roll back the volume... I thought a lot about this, because I personally don't like the sound of a treble bleed (for MY playing!). The best (and easiest) way to fix this problem for me was to take out the log-pot (which is normally used in strats) and put in a lin-pot instead (often used in guitar models like Les Paul or SG). It gives you much more control, and the volume (and also the highs) don't go down so fast. I'm really happy with this solution. Doesn't seem to be very common though. What you guys think about it? Greetz from Germany (and sorry for my bad English...)
In my own Strat ( Treble PU wired to the lower tone control) I have installed the Kinman Treble Bleed, which works very different from normal Treble Bleed circuits. Nearly neutral when I roll down the volume pot ( for example when the guitar cable is directly plugged into the amp) . But when I play with my Fuzz pedal on, which adds some extra crispness when the guitar volume is rolled back, the Kinman Bleed doesn't destroy this. I can't explain why, but I'm happy about that. In my opinion the Kingtone switch is an interesting thing too... Greetz back from Germany too 🙂
Depends on style The treble drop can be great for mix control Sometimes it’s better to drop some treble and vol vs just volume Just volume doesn’t sound as dynamic across the mix
Hey Helios, I’ve been doing the same thing with my Strats for about 30 years. I think the original logarithmic potentiometers were good back in the days before pedals, because with the logs, not much is happening between 1 and 8, and then from 8 to 10 you get this dramatic volume boost. So, back then, that was your rythme and lead sounds. We’ve advanced since then, and now I put only Linear potentiometers in my Strats. They provide a really stable, steady volume increase from 1 to 10. I took my Fender ‘57 Strat reissue to a guitar repairman for some minor alterations, and that idiot replaced all the Linear pots that I had personally wired in, with Log pots, because, you know, a Strat is supposed to have Log pots. I was absolutely furious. I had that guitar wired exactly the way I wanted it, and the guy I give it to, to fix it, f*cked it all up! I also have a Squire Strat that I modded with Lace Sensor pickups, Graphtec bridge pieces and three LINEAR potentiometers. Now my Squire Strat is the guitar of my dreams, and the “real Fender”‘57 reissue with the Logrithmic potentiometers just pisses me off so bad I won’t even play it anymore. Besides, the only thing that sounds good on that guitar is the neck pickup, that has a beautiful warm, full tone. The other two pickups just have way too much treble. Screw it, I’m not going through the trouble to re-mod the ‘57 back to the way I had it, I’m just going to sell it. I’m perfectly happy with the Squire. Brand names don’t mean that much to me. Like, look at the new Beatles Get Back movie; Lennon is playing an Epiphone Casino when he could be playing the superior Gibson ES-300 that the Casino was modeled after. He just liked the Casino. I’ve got a very valuable 1974 Gibson SG, and I just recently bought a used Epiphone SG model 61 for half of the new price, and I like it so much I’m going to sell my “real Gibson” SG. And that Epiphone SG, like all Gibsons, has Logrithmic pickups on it. I love it.
The in-line direct wiring of this mod is reminiscent of the Effects Modules by Lee Jackson. The contrast offered by the King Tone gives a fully configurable accessory for strats. That alone gives this circuit more value; without any modification of original Fender wiring scheme(s). The demo was full of very tasty licks, and gives the listener a real-time audio source to compare between each position. Well done, except for the assimilated pronunciation of your last name. Be proud of who you are. Thank you for posting.
My volume is always on 10 because of the loss of tone when turned down. Alex Lifeson says he plays on 7 or 8 so he can just go to 10 for his solos. Now that is a great option
My strat has treble bleed on all pickups. Use tone controls. Treble pickup connected to tone control also. Works for me. John Benson 63 pickups. John put in in my strat since he lives nearby.
I bought my first Strat in 1984, and a friend of mine who is an amazing guitarist and repairman offered to re-route the middle pickup tone control to the bridge. The bridge pickup was improved 100% over the stock mode. When I play other Strats now, the bridge pickup is always too bright. This device looks like a great alternative, thanks for the info.
I actually use almost exclusively the bridge pickup. You have to set the tone knob just right, around 4-5 for me. I sometimes crank the tone knob to pop out more like a slight boost/eq kind of thing. A hint of compression at the beginning of the chain can be useful too. The treble bleed is interesting though, thanks for the info!
I put a freeway 6 way switch in my G and L tele and it’s really cool…. I am a fan of all the “thinner” tones in my Squier Cyclone, Jaguar, and Duosonic… and I like every position in my Strat… I also dig “buckers” as in my Epiphone Les Paul and my Gretsch… more tones, more joy!
I really like G&L Legacy's. Leo Fender's Passive Treble and Passive Bass tone controls as well as treble bleed come stock even in Tribute Models. That tone control system changed the strat game for me. Also I have the Kingtone Si Fuzz and Octaland. Great pedals.
I've been playing G&L Legacy's for years. I own 5 vintage Les Paul's, Customs and Standards but I prefer my Legacy's. The only issue I have is hitting the 5 position switch when I play. The Legacy is my favorite. I own all 3 bolts G&L's. My amps are a Fender Blues Deluxe and Blues Junior all USA made. Los Angeles
I was suprised, when I first watched this. I was blown away, regarding the negativity. Jesus. Lol! This guy is great player! Seems to have his tone, dialed in. So. Why the negative remarks? Really? All respect to him. :)
Hi RJ, That's an interesting little gizmo there. On my two Strats, I have treble bleeds, and the brdge pickups are connected to the bottom tone control. It's worked fine for me so far. I'm not into trying to sound like other guitarists, but I really did like that midrange type tone that you were getting toward the end of the video. I can see it being a great tool for you as a session guitarist for getting your guitar to sit in the mix better in certain situations. Great video. LOVE YOUR PLAYING!
Just ordered a Kingtone Switch (CLASSIC) for my ‘74 CBS Strat because I heard what you said about the bridge pickup and thought, “yeah, that sounds like my issue”. I found your video looking for an alternative to the mid-boost knob that uses a battery to sound like Eric Clapton -but I didn’t want to deal with changing the battery
VERY cool. That #5 and #6 especially, but all are cool. Interesting option to have a select-able treble-bleed as well. Thanks for this, great video RJ.
I am a TV Jones fan ; he makes the best pickups there are , also if you want a thinner , brighter sound with your humbuckers ; he has a whole scale of pickups which can solve your problem you have with your pickups. So I have solved my problem with my Strat that sounded too bright and too thin with a set of Starwood pickups . He made those pickups with a little P90 characteristics in it and some higher output. Now I have a sound that's incredible : full , warm with enough brightness and very dynamic . It keeps sounding like single coils , it doesn't come near the humbucker sound. I must admitt it's not the cheapest way but now I have an incredible sound in my Strat . It's now fit for all styles of music if you edit your sound with your tone and volume pots. And it's keeping the Strat sound
I know that all this means is that we have similar tastes in what we’re looking for from Strat tone-but man, that’s awesome. Edge of Breakup did a video on this switch, and I was curious, but now it feels like a no-brainer.
Wow. What a great variety of good sounds! Though I always have mixed feelings about treble bleed. I’m one of those guys that think the tone change when the volume is rolled off is a feature, not a bug.
Exactly why 99% of guitarists use the vol pot to take the edge of the bridge pickup, rather than mess with the tone knob. It makes perfect sense to play at 80% vol. and have that reserve there for when you WANT intense highs and more loudness.
Yeah depends a lot on the guitar to my ears. Sometimes the treble bleed makes the tone too thin and other guitars get waaaayyy muddy when you turn down at all.
R.J.s electronic products demonstration skills are unmatched. KingTone has solved and created the greater Strat single coil pallette! A lot of R & D went into this amazing unit, the proof has been shown here. I subbed when RJ demonstrationed Fenders "Mustang Micro" guitar inline headphone amplifier! Dude is the best at Guitar electronics. Thanks RJ, you've help cure the Tonal EQ of single coil Strats with KingTones $100 unit.
"Hi I'm RJ Ronquillo, you'll notice when the knob is in position 1 i'm better than you. In position 2, I'm still better than you but with preserved highs. In position 3, I'm better than you at playing Hendrix..."
Just bought my first REAL Fender Strat, a 2015 USA HSS Fat Strat with the Shawbucker in Bourdeaux metallic and can't wait to mod it. I love your tone, style, techniques, licks, riffs and vibe RJ, it's very inspiring! Keep it up Bro!
For me, I just transfer the middle pickup tone control to the bridge and leave the middle pickup open (this is essentially the Eric Johnson wiring). I find more quack in the in-between positions and the bridge highs is tamed. Also, this mod is easily reversible
Another option is to have neck and middle connected to one control and the bridge connected to the other. I do like your Eric Johnson solution. I'm a big fan of the middle pickup and removing the load from the tone control might bring out a little more chime.
@@5000rgb I'm not a fan of the middle pickup so I like the idea of removing the tone from it since I don't like position 3 anyway and then having the symmetry of one tone for 4-5 and one tone for 1-2 with no overlap between them. That's what I would do if I didn't already go further and make the middle position bridge+neck on one of my Strats and all 4 coils (2 in bridge humbucker) on the other one.
All 3 of my Strats are wired this way. I just like the middle pup's sound raw (no tone circuit). I find the Bridge harsh no matter the pup. The 3 Strats have Fender '59, '62 & Tex Mex pup's.
Different strokes for different folks! I switch between a flatpick and flesh of my fingers to get plenty of sound variation on my strats! Tuck the pick up into my palm when fingerpicking works for me. This good video will probly appeal to the gearheads among us! Old school, I don't depend on effects pedals to get nice strat tones unless the producer wants that.
I had a 1990 Strat for years. I put a Lace Sensor silver in bridge. It was a powerful full sound. I played that guitar for almost 30 years, the only guitar I ever needed. I had a fret job done on it a few years ago, gold frets. The sound became harsh & glassy. I had them replaced with nickel frets but it was never the same after that. I put standard strat pickups in & although the guitar sounded absolutely awesome it still didn't have the sound I'd happily used for 30 years. I sold it. Since then I've bought 2 LP's, had an SG, I have a Musicman Silhouette an Epiphone Sheraton with Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays fitted & I have a 1992 Strat Plus Deluxe. These guitars sound great but nothing comes near the 1990 Standard Strat that I'd fitted Lace Sensors on, silver in bridge which some would say was the wrong place yet nothing I've played my own or others guitars since can beat the tones that ol' guitar gave me.
I love them either. I downgraded my strat with a singlecoil sized humbucker, it sounded to compressed. Changed it back for the stock single coil. I love the bridge in a Telecaster even more.
I like having the options sonically to reach into gainier territory w my strat so I hardtailed the trem and have the hss setup... blending the dirtier bridge pup into the singles is the magic for me
I have that switch and his SRV switch and they're great. The SRV switch gets you close to the El macambo, Tokyo live tone. I didn't mess with the dip switches either, Just drop in and play.
Great demo of a great little piece of gear. I am a strat lover and in my opinion everything Jesse builds is perfect for the strat guy like myself. Have a couple of his pedals and about a year ago put one of these in my strat. Really allows you to tweak the tone to your liking. Personally, I like the Hendrix setting for the neck/neck-mid settings and then switching to the 4 or 5 circuit on the knob for the bridge, especially with gain up. Great secret weapon.
That's freaking awesome! I really hate my Strat's bridge pickup and I've been considering a humbucker but I've been struggling to get a good blended tone on my Tele with a H/S configuration. This little rotory switch seems like it would solve all my problems and several others!
I don't get the problem, just roll back the tone control, it works just fine. For the switched treble bleed all you need is a push pull switch/pot, 1/8 watt resistor, and a capacitor. It's how I have my guitar set up, and cost me less than $5 for the components.
I bought one of these Kingtone switches and have tried it on 3 of my stage strats... it was muddy sounding on each strat I had put it in. The usual strat pickups I use when I am on stage are... 56 vintage reissue (not available unless you buy the Fender custom shop strat), 59 pure vintage pups($160.00) and the 54 custom shop pups (at $269.00) I also tried this switch on a set of tex mex pups for $99.00...it was No Bueno! Another $100.00 down the drain. To date, my shelf of non useable, expensive and supposedly great guitar devices, is getting way to crowded...God, I am such a sucker when it comes to guitars, amps, pedals and well, all musical equipment. YIKES!!! On a positive note, I recently listened to a new amazing guitar pedal (I hope it's amazing) that seems to end all this brightness and muddiness and gives your guitar a crunchy and delicious warm tone. It's a Klon Centaur copy, called Warm Audio Centavo and it sells for $179.00 at most music stores or guitar shops. I think I am going to buy it...Hey, I told you I was a sucker for guitars and equipment. Anyway, I am hoping that this pedal doesn't wind up on my shelf of useless devices. Just my 2 cents worth. Peace
Stratocaster's for life brother, thanks for sharing this, I'm just getting into doing most my own repairs, and set ups, and looking to learn all I can about beefing up the Strat.
I'm a Strat owner who likes my Strat because I'm primarily an LP/other HH configured guitar guy, and sometimes, the Strat just hits a particular clean 'itch' for me that no amount of cil-splitting scratches for me.
I always wire the bridge and neck pickup to the same tone pot. That way I can individually dial in the tone for each pickup independently regardless of the pickup selector position. It takes about 10 minutes to do this modification.
Been true since the beginning, you can make a Strat sound very Les Paul like while a Les Paul can’t even begin to get Strat like. Love both by the way. Great Video
I have a "Tone Monster" compresor/expander, and I wouldn't do without it. HOWEVER, when I put it in my tele, I took it apart, and made it only full expand, or full compress with a switch and got rid of the knob. The one in my strat still has the knob, and it was using it my strat that made me realize I always used it, full one way or the other, even with the knob. That's just me, and how it worked out for me. Good product.
Sounds great and thanks for a pertinent treble bleed demo. But the best part of this demo was your playing--it's awesome to see you take inspiration from a tool and in turn inspire the audience!
Yes - oooo‼️‼️‼️ StratoHolic is now where i landed and not so enamored now with alot of the limitations i find with the traditional Les Paul features .
Thanks for the demo. In a weird way, it reminded me of a Gibson L6 with the chicken switch I had in HS. Could get any sound out of one guitar. Sorry I sold it. I just may update my Squire Strats with this Kingtone Switch. TY
After a million years of playing guitar I have finally learned the hard way that you have to treat the Electronics in a Guitar as "one" entity, as soon as you add or take-away even a wire the sound changes, just look at it and the tone changes. If you can patiently solder this switch in then it may be worth a try. I came full circle and ended up with CTS pots, 2 caps(one for neck one middle) no tone on Bridge and it sounds beautiful. Even the wire you use to connect the parts together can change the sound. I once used a thick piece of copper wire to connect a tone pot and it made it sound horrible so bsck to the cloth wire and standard 60s wiring( but I learned a sh!+ load of stuff along the way). Cool vid RJ , the switch doez sound good with fuzz , be cool to hear it clean(at-least it looks easy to connect) thanks.
i used to hate strats as I could never get a decent sound out of them. Not the case now as I have three of them and I love the bridge pickups and use them all the time.. Spent time working with the amp, a fender Hot Rod Deluxe and changing the settings around the strat. love it now..
YOU CAN GET A DELESLIE VARTONE 6 POSTION SWITCH FOR THE SAME MONEY. JUST NEED TO REPLACE 1 TONE TO INSTALL IT, OVER LAP YOUR TONE WIRE ON THE SWITCH. PUT A TRIBLE BLEED ON YOUR VOLUME. DRAGONFIRE CUSTOM WERKS, I HAVE A 60'S TELE WITH THE TRIBLE BLEED ON THE VOLUME.
The bridge pickup is supposed to be used in a drive/gain/overdrive mode normally. So depending on amp/eq/pups and multiple other things it can sound amazing. Also finger picking sounds good in bridge mode.
Great mod and great demo. Such a simple idea. I play a strat, it's a really versatile guitar. I bought a PRS with coil tapping but it never sounds right in 'single coil' mode and humbuckers are louder (obviously) so it mucks up the levels when playing at gigs. The mod you've demo'd retains the original strat tones, gives the warmer sounds without increasing volume, is easy to switch sounds and it's a relatively easy mod to make. Thanks, amazing!
I have a 1993 strat and I only ever use the bridge pickup. If I want more crunch for heavy stuff I use my Epiphone SG. Strats are the best though and nice playing R.J
It is almost like in the 3, 4, 5, & 6 selections it cuts the highs and boosts the mids a bit giving it more of a P-90 or PAF style warmth instead of the bright jangle or twang we are accustomed to with Fender single coils. I like that it mellows out the tone without depreciating the articulation of the notes. Some treble cut circuits tend to wipe out the topend too much taking away the clarity of bends, pinches, and tapped harmonic notes. This is a very subtle adjustment that adds a ton of character without it becoming a tonal detriment. I now wonder what it might do if used with lipstick and P-90 style single coils? Thanks for the demo.
The bridge pickup shows the most dynamics out of any position. Especially on the right amp settings. The brightness can be used to your advantage to be far more dynamic
I bought an old Edwards HSS LP style guitar with no pickups and in need of restoring. I might get this, having Albert and B.B setting for humbucker mode. I love tonal variation for one guitar. Especially now that I've curbed G.A.S.
RJ, your demo is crystal clear info. I appreciate your presence on TH-cam. One niggle: would have loved a clean tone contrast demo. Otherwise, perfect.
If you want a strat to be a workhorse that does everything(including hi gain)..you need quality aftermarket pickups and a blender pot.....i use kinman or dimarzio noiseless sets with the last tone pot wired as a blender one.....all the tones you can possibly want in more options than the original strat setup and zero noise.....you get a strat,a superstrat and a bit of tele in one guitar.....
Im going to give this some serious consideration...I like the way it bumps up the midrange making it sound full and adding harmonic complexity without losing the pick attack characteristics singles enjoy.
I love the kingtone switch! Had it in my jazz/parts-caster while I still had it, sold it only because I could not get on with the scale length and small ish frets. It had a widerange bucker in the Bridge, jag in middle and strat in the neck. The variations in tones were endless. And treble bleed /or true bypass for sparkly cleans and then position 3 and onward for really fat overdrive sounds. It's great, I'm just researching if it will work with active pickups, since I have a fishman classic bucker equipped guitar, and I want it to have even more sounds that it has now. Great video RJ!
Just got this installed in my plain jane MIM Jimmie Vaughan Strat, and to quote Christopher Walken, "WWOWW!" Like R.J. I just left the dip switches in the default position, and it sounds fantastic on every setting.
I love Stratocasters as I’m a rock blues guitar guy and just installed the Free-Way 5-way/10 position Pickup Switch by StewMac and love the sounds I’m getting out of my 2010 American Standard Strat.
Check out theclapton strat… had mine about 20 years, the middle boost pot and high output pickups mean you can start with everything turned right down then turn up a bit of what youneed.
The sound of the neck pickup with a big fat clean amp or some rich light overdrive is one of the most magical guitar sounds ever
Nah a bridge humbucker on a 7/8 string with tons of gain
@@maJastoLhell no - you oughta get your ears checked.
@@CHlEFFINBeginners stuff
What about us weirdos that think BOTH are magical? 😁
Best blues tone ever!!!
Strats - you either love them or hate them. But if you hate them you're wrong.
Bury me with my strat I say.
I think Telecasters are way better. Come at me, bro!
🤣🤣🤣
@@EazyDoor
My first love was definitely a Strat, but I started cheating with a Tele.
lol!
RJ… I came back after 2 years to hear this again.
Great video and fantastic riffing bro! 🎸
1:38: consider this: your amp also has tone controls. To do a Strat right, you start with the bridge pup and get the tone on the amp to where you want your brightest tone. This isn’t rocket surgery
Apparently wording metaphors correctly is.
The point is NOT to need to mess with the tone controls on your amp mid song
@@codysearle366 rocket surgery is a famous joke, obfuscating the two metaphors. He did it on purpose.
Cody Searle formally known as a malaphor
@@THECONDUITSMUSIC malapropism and malaphor. Nice. 👍
Here‘s my strat tone guide:
Role down the tone around 5 and use some more amp treble if you lack some highs. The strat highs are usually way brighter than the amp highs and that’s where most of the uncomfortable ultra high treble stuff comes from. Never play on 10 except to make it dirtier. Keep at around 8 to 9. And lastly install a master tone and a half blender circuit. That allows you to get every pick up configuration possible and even get really nice tele tones without any trouble.
For me that completely changed my way to approach a strat and in a good strat you’ll have one of the biggest varieties of tones of any guitar out there with those few tweaks.
Great advice! I too hardly ever run my guitars volume at full. Plus you can push your amps volume more to get a fuller, warmer tone. Same thing goes with fuzz pedals…I have a mid 90s Powerhouse Strat that has a no tone load knob that can lower the tone on all the pickups…super useful
The tone control doesn't affect the bridge pickup on the majority of strats.
good call
I have a blender mod on my strat currently and it is amazing!
Doesn't do much for the bridge pickup.
I played Humbucker guitars for 25 years, then I (just this month) got myself a Strat. I didn’t know what I was missing, the clarity & articulation you get from single coils is on another level.
Even like it much better at high gain levels. The pickups in my Strat are “Hot vintage 60 pickups” and they’re surprisingly fat sounding for single coils. Absolutely love them!
Have a “seven way switching mod” too for even more versatility. Strats for life 👍🏻🎸.
And I thought I was a telecaster player…. Until I took a chance and got American pro 2 strat … Dark night and I haven’t put it down once in 2 weeks. I love them both 🇺🇸✊
Yeah, people don't realize the headroom you get from single coils. Humbuckers cancel some of it with the hum! You also get better control of distortion pedals when turning down the volume, so you can go from a warmer growl, to a stinging bite with a notch or two on the guitars volume.
Yeah it’s like people are afraid of the classification “low output”. I played nothing but a strat for over a decade and I got all the sounds I needed. The same strat recently got the 7 way switched and it’s even cooler now 20+ years later 😎
@@CMHobbies Yeah, I got myself quite an “Olympic white Vintera modified” Strat, for a £999 rrp guitar it’s quite amazing. Thought 21 frets would bother me “after playing 24 fret guitars for 20 years,” but nope. I can even play The Crush Of Love (by Satch) that use’s the 22nd fret, I just play that part on the second string a octave lower and use pinched harmonics to Match the same notes, sounds awesome.
I’m a Strat player for life now, its rejuvenated my love for the guitar for sure.
So, you finally woke up. Why so late?! There are millions of Strat clones.
Mentioned Kingtone so I’m instantly subscribing. Been a proud owner of Kingtone gear since Jesse first started releasing gear. His tone switch is prob my favorite upgrade I’ve done to my strat. Adds so many different possible sound variations that weren’t possible before.
A capacitor parallel to the pickup lowers the resonance frequency. You keep your resonance peek, which is essential for a good tone.
This is all you need and it costs just few cents.
I was curious if that 4-input programmable switch was really an adjustable capacitor. I've been looking for it online but I don't know the correct wording for electrical components.
@@hotchow8766 It is the C-Switch from a guy named Lemme. It allows up to 10 different capacities, but is rare and comparable expensive (>50$).
The idea was first introduced in the Les Paul Recording, but only with low impedance pickups making it unusable with a normal amp.
Practically, I prefer to have a push pull poti and just one capacity. To get a good value for this capacity lay a cable to outside of the electric cavity and exchange the capacities there, until you find the sweet spot. Than you build it back in and have like two "voicings", which is sufficient for most csses (
@@moskitoh2651 is this a low pass filter?
@@endoalley680 No, the tone blend is the low pass filter. It also cuts down the resonance peak, while the capacity shifts the resonance peak.
@@hotchow8766 You can try Lemme Switch for an interchangeable Capacity.
The Les Paul Recording was the first implementation but rarely used as it needed amp changes because of its low impedance pickups.
This is not a criticism of the video creator, but oh, my, someone finally created a varitone for strats. Now we get a choice: variable EQ at your fingers or variable EQ on the floor. One nice feature is the dipswitch panel, but the drawback is pick guard removal to get at it. A Chase Bliss Brother provides even more dipswitches (and more capability) you can access in a few seconds, albeit at higher cost. I don't own one but I believe the company is Source Audio (??) that makes an outstanding stompbox EQ with MIDI. Sometimes I prefer turning knobs and other times I like tapping foot switches, but the video and explanations are excellent.
You read my mind!
Love my strat with single coils, but to fix the bridge strat being too bright I bought a replacement pickguard with what is called a Voodoo route. Which has a reverse angle pickup route in the bridge position. It makes the high strings a little darker and the low strings less muddy and more defined
That’s what Jimi’s strat had because the angle was reversed.
On another note… Your lighting is looking great. Really well dialed in man! 🤘🏻
Interesting til i heard the price 🤣
Agreed. I appreciate the effort he puts into the visuals. 4k and good lighting is a great combo.
How much?
@@mahoganymarco9199
There is just something magical when some one really nails the tone on a strat and is just wailing on it… the look of it even, is pretty magical
I don't know what it says about me but I clicked on this video to check out the gear, but now all I can think about is where to get those rings.
I do too much wrenching. I’d just destroy them in short order.
Clocks and Colours possibly?
Lol Anthony; too much. The rings are a whole vibe tho...
Looks like siver and topaz. Seen it for sale in Mexico and the southwest. If that is what it is it is reasonably priced.
you gotta be able to carry that weight- otta yr leeg
Cheapest way to take brightness away is to buy different capacitor for example value 0.1 instead of 0.047. It makes miracles. Sometimes strat can sound too dark so then you should try capacitor value 0.033 or 0.022.
I’m personally blown away by Ibanez AZ wiring setup. I think every strat should be like that. You get regular strat wirings plus amazing new options with a flip of the switch (Humbucker, tele, Gilmore mod, etc etc) really worth looking this up
That's why I love the freeway switches. Has a similar concept but uses basically two "tracks" for the switch to go on, causing it to lean one way or the other. I have the 6-position (bottom row normal tele, top row adds series and out of phase) tele switch loaded in a tele knockoff and a squier jaguar with a johnny marr switchplate to allow for a blade switch.
Ibanez switching is great!! Ibanez pickups sound crappy tho lol
I’m gonna get me one of them Ibanez Strats one day.
@@frankzappa951 unless that’s your thing, I wouldn’t. It looks like a strat but doesn’t really sound nor play like one. If you like a strat I’d humbly suggest getting a real strat and If you like Ibanez get a real Ibanez...just based on my experience, but hey we’re all different
im loooking this up now, since im in the midst of finding a new wiring configuration for my strats i dig. is this a strat wiring like an ibanez would be for offering more tonal options youre talking about, or are you referring to actual ibanez guitars?
WOW truly sounds better... I could definitely see this being a ton more useful! I'm mainly a Strat player, so I'm stoked!
Thanks for shedding light on it!
It’s a great mod, but I prefer to put a blender pot in that place. It allows you to blend the bridge in with the neck (in position 5) or with all three pickups simulataneously (when in position 4). So you can blend in just a little, or a lot. Fralin pickups offers it as a mod and now I love the bridge positions so much. Sounds amazing.
I wonder if that blender pot will work in a Mexican Deluxe Roadhouse that has factory active pickups?
That sounds pretty interesting to add some definition to the neck pickup!! Where can I find info about this mod? Thanks!
Get an ARTEC onboard tone control.various models to choose from at $20 a pop.screw this ripoff from multibillion dollar corporate America trying to squeeze out pockets dry w nothing new .it's a re-named ARTEC unit.
@@thefuneralparade thank you 🙏👽🙏👽🙏👽
I wind pickups for fun. I wound a set for my new strat. 7.2k neck and middle with a whopping 12.4k for the bridge. Freshly charged Alnico 5 poles. I'll be installing them today. I'm expecting some fat punch and some snarling grainy overdriven strat tones. I use a 500k pot to bring out some of the highs that a 250k might drop as the overwound pickups have progressively less treble the more you overwind them. I don't use a treble bleed. I have other strats setup very similar I know what to expect. Seymour Duncan makes a 12.7k single coil pickup if you're looking for some real punch from a traditional strat pickup.
Cool concept, by honestly for under $10 the 1/2 blender wiring fixes the bridge issue. I put it in all my Strats and it is a complete game changer. You basically just dial in a little bit of the neck pickup into the bridge to fatten it up and take a bit off the top. It sounds more like a Humbucker/p90. The s1 switch does a similar thing, but without the adjustability, putting the entire neck pickup in is too much and unusable.
I'm pretty sure a small capacitor across the neck pickup output wires would warm the sound up and cut the treble a bit too.
I mean I like using S-1 switches. If you mess with it when all pickups are activated you can get a crazy quack sound
@@karterdowd606 S-1 Switch is the worst thing Fender ever did. It's a tonal sucker and gives you really unusable and muddy sounds. I got one for my strat and having using it for 4 years, now i got it out and muuuuuch better response and feel.
@@nandoholgado3050 I mean if they’re muddy fuck with your amp EQ and guitar tone knobs. It will clear up if you can get the right settingings
@@karterdowd606 hahaha no bro, It has no load pots. When I'm using a Strat, is because I want Strat sounds, so I EQ it to taste keeping in mind the Strat stuff I want and usually, it doesn't works with the series mode.
Maybe you should record a video showing the tones you get using both parallel and series modes!
A long-awaited video on Strat improvement. Thank you , R,J.
R.J. you are a master at getting the most out of every pickup position, and seem to know what they are used for,rather than gravitating to the "sweet spot" every time!! Love your playing!!
Really liked this clip..intelligent educational an to the point ..I subscribed after a few minutes of watching
Strataholic here. HOWEVER, I did not love all positions in my strat until I got a great strat. I think the pickups are likely the biggest factor. I have a nash s-67 with a Lollar “dirty blonde” set. May have to try this in one of my partscasters. Thanks for the vid!
Isnt it interesting that we can have 8 strats ( me too ) and they all sound different....my Clapton Strat being my favorite thus the "good Strat" :)
@@888jimm …great take…same here. I have 3 strats each is very different. In fact if i have a particular song in mind i go for the strat that plays that song the way i want to hear it.
@@robertdiehl1281 - Correct 💯.... The thing I like about the Clapton strat is is I end up in a gun fight..... I brought one🤣🤣
@@888jimm explain that about the clapton strat gun fight
My years of experience is I finally found the best sounding strat which whatever pickup I threw ini, always sounded great. Of course each and every pickup sounds different but they all sounded great, so the choice depends on the taste and or music style. I ended up with a cheapo alnico from an online store around $20/set (the seller said it was pulled out of a squier CV so it still is quality stuff) and sold all my fralins and lollars. I still don't know why this particular strat sounded great. There are endless debate about tone woods, electronics, wiring etc. But since have a great strat, I'll just enjoy playing my guitar...
Being able to switch between true bypass and treble bleed, is a cool feature, and the Albert King setting sounds amazing. I usually rewire the middle tone on Strats to the bridge and have the neck and middle share, or let the middle go without. But I might need to try this switch anyways.
That Albert setting was choice!
4:17 Yeah, the loss of highs, when you roll back the volume... I thought a lot about this, because I personally don't like the sound of a treble bleed (for MY playing!). The best (and easiest) way to fix this problem for me was to take out the log-pot (which is normally used in strats) and put in a lin-pot instead (often used in guitar models like Les Paul or SG). It gives you much more control, and the volume (and also the highs) don't go down so fast. I'm really happy with this solution. Doesn't seem to be very common though. What you guys think about it? Greetz from Germany (and sorry for my bad English...)
In my own Strat ( Treble PU wired to the lower tone control) I have installed the Kinman Treble Bleed, which works very different from normal Treble Bleed circuits. Nearly neutral when I roll down the volume pot ( for example when the guitar cable is directly plugged into the amp) . But when I play with my Fuzz pedal on, which adds some extra crispness when the guitar volume is rolled back, the Kinman Bleed doesn't destroy this. I can't explain why, but I'm happy about that.
In my opinion the Kingtone switch is an interesting thing too...
Greetz back from Germany too 🙂
Depends on style
The treble drop can be great for mix control
Sometimes it’s better to drop some treble and vol vs just volume
Just volume doesn’t sound as dynamic across the mix
Hey Helios,
I’ve been doing the same thing with my Strats for about 30 years. I think the original logarithmic potentiometers were good back in the days before pedals, because with the logs, not much is happening between 1 and 8, and then from 8 to 10 you get this dramatic volume boost. So, back then, that was your rythme and lead sounds. We’ve advanced since then, and now I put only Linear potentiometers in my Strats. They provide a really stable, steady volume increase from 1 to 10. I took my Fender ‘57 Strat reissue to a guitar repairman for some minor alterations, and that idiot replaced all the Linear pots that I had personally wired in, with Log pots, because, you know, a Strat is supposed to have Log pots. I was absolutely furious. I had that guitar wired exactly the way I wanted it, and the guy I give it to, to fix it, f*cked it all up! I also have a Squire Strat that I modded with Lace Sensor pickups, Graphtec bridge pieces and three LINEAR potentiometers. Now my Squire Strat is the guitar of my dreams, and the “real Fender”‘57 reissue with the Logrithmic potentiometers just pisses me off so bad I won’t even play it anymore. Besides, the only thing that sounds good on that guitar is the neck pickup, that has a beautiful warm, full tone. The other two pickups just have way too much treble. Screw it, I’m not going through the trouble to re-mod the ‘57 back to the way I had it, I’m just going to sell it. I’m perfectly happy with the Squire. Brand names don’t mean that much to me. Like, look at the new Beatles Get Back movie; Lennon is playing an Epiphone Casino when he could be playing the superior Gibson ES-300 that the Casino was modeled after. He just liked the Casino. I’ve got a very valuable 1974 Gibson SG, and I just recently bought a used Epiphone SG model 61 for half of the new price, and I like it so much I’m going to sell my “real Gibson” SG. And that Epiphone SG, like all Gibsons, has Logrithmic pickups on it. I love it.
The in-line direct wiring of this mod is reminiscent of the Effects Modules by Lee Jackson. The contrast offered by the King Tone gives a fully configurable accessory for strats. That alone gives this circuit more value; without any modification of original Fender wiring scheme(s). The demo was full of very tasty licks, and gives the listener a real-time audio source to compare between each position. Well done, except for the assimilated pronunciation of your last name. Be proud of who you are. Thank you for posting.
My volume is always on 10 because of the loss of tone when turned down. Alex Lifeson says he plays on 7 or 8 so he can just go to 10 for his solos. Now that is a great option
My strat has treble bleed on all pickups. Use tone controls. Treble pickup connected to tone control also. Works for me. John Benson 63 pickups. John put in in my strat since he lives nearby.
I bought my first Strat in 1984, and a friend of mine who is an amazing guitarist and repairman offered to re-route the middle pickup tone control to the bridge. The bridge pickup was improved 100% over the stock mode. When I play other Strats now, the bridge pickup is always too bright.
This device looks like a great alternative, thanks for the info.
I actually use almost exclusively the bridge pickup. You have to set the tone knob just right, around 4-5 for me. I sometimes crank the tone knob to pop out more like a slight boost/eq kind of thing. A hint of compression at the beginning of the chain can be useful too. The treble bleed is interesting though, thanks for the info!
I put a freeway 6 way switch in my G and L tele and it’s really cool…. I am a fan of all the “thinner” tones in my Squier Cyclone, Jaguar, and Duosonic… and I like every position in my Strat… I also dig “buckers” as in my Epiphone Les Paul and my Gretsch… more tones, more joy!
I really like G&L Legacy's. Leo Fender's Passive Treble and Passive Bass tone controls as well as treble bleed come stock even in Tribute Models. That tone control system changed the strat game for me.
Also I have the Kingtone Si Fuzz and Octaland. Great pedals.
Yep! Thoroughly agree. The G+L Legacy (mine's the Indonesia Tribute) is amazing!
I've been playing G&L Legacy's for years. I own 5 vintage Les Paul's, Customs and Standards but I prefer my Legacy's. The only issue I have is hitting the 5 position switch when I play. The Legacy is my favorite. I own all 3 bolts G&L's. My amps are a Fender Blues Deluxe and Blues Junior all USA made. Los Angeles
Think I owned the Legacy Special for 10 years or better before *I had to sell it. Miss that girl.
I was suprised, when I first watched this.
I was blown away, regarding the negativity. Jesus. Lol!
This guy is great player! Seems to have his tone, dialed in.
So. Why the negative remarks?
Really?
All respect to him. :)
A friend made me a PTB harness for my Strat, and it’s phenomenal.
A bought a guitar from the early 1970s . One of it's standard switches adds a capacitor across the bridge pickup to act as a low pass filter.
Hi RJ,
That's an interesting little gizmo there. On my two Strats, I have treble bleeds, and the brdge pickups are connected to the bottom tone control. It's worked fine for me so far. I'm not into trying to sound like other guitarists, but I really did like that midrange type tone that you were getting toward the end of the video. I can see it being a great tool for you as a session guitarist for getting your guitar to sit in the mix better in certain situations. Great video. LOVE YOUR PLAYING!
This little gadget just reminds how important it is to have an EQ pedal in your pedalboard
Just ordered a Kingtone Switch (CLASSIC) for my ‘74 CBS Strat because I heard what you said about the bridge pickup and thought, “yeah, that sounds like my issue”. I found your video looking for an alternative to the mid-boost knob that uses a battery to sound like Eric Clapton -but I didn’t want to deal with changing the battery
VERY cool. That #5 and #6 especially, but all are cool. Interesting option to have a select-able treble-bleed as well. Thanks for this, great video RJ.
I am a TV Jones fan ; he makes the best pickups there are , also if you want a thinner , brighter sound with your humbuckers ; he has a whole scale of pickups which can solve your problem you have with your pickups.
So I have solved my problem with my Strat that sounded too bright and too thin with a set of Starwood pickups . He made those pickups with a little P90 characteristics in it and some higher output. Now I have a sound that's incredible : full , warm with enough brightness and very dynamic . It keeps sounding like single coils , it doesn't come near the humbucker sound.
I must admitt it's not the cheapest way but now I have an incredible sound in my Strat .
It's now fit for all styles of music if you edit your sound with your tone and volume pots.
And it's keeping the Strat sound
I know that all this means is that we have similar tastes in what we’re looking for from Strat tone-but man, that’s awesome. Edge of Breakup did a video on this switch, and I was curious, but now it feels like a no-brainer.
Rad, cheers Seth!
Strats rule. Most versatile instrument ever. Thousands of mods and insanely comfortable to play. The GOAT
Wow. What a great variety of good sounds! Though I always have mixed feelings about treble bleed. I’m one of those guys that think the tone change when the volume is rolled off is a feature, not a bug.
Exactly why 99% of guitarists use the vol pot to take the edge of the bridge pickup, rather than mess with the tone knob. It makes perfect sense to play at 80% vol. and have that reserve there for when you WANT intense highs and more loudness.
Oooh definitely!
Couldn’t agree more. Don’t need more than a Tele layout.
RJ is one of the best guitar players the black community has ever produced.
Yeah depends a lot on the guitar to my ears. Sometimes the treble bleed makes the tone too thin and other guitars get waaaayyy muddy when you turn down at all.
R.J.s electronic products demonstration skills are unmatched. KingTone has solved and created the greater Strat single coil pallette! A lot of R & D went into this amazing unit, the proof has been shown here. I subbed when RJ demonstrationed Fenders "Mustang Micro" guitar inline headphone amplifier! Dude is the best at Guitar electronics. Thanks RJ, you've help cure the Tonal EQ of single coil Strats with KingTones $100 unit.
I love the Vari tone type switches.I have used some in basses.You're a terrific player and enjoy your content.
Wow! That makes all the difference!!! I’m definitely going to get that!!! Great video!
"Hi I'm RJ Ronquillo, you'll notice when the knob is in position 1 i'm better than you. In position 2, I'm still better than you but with preserved highs. In position 3, I'm better than you at playing Hendrix..."
😂
Lol
😂😂
🤣🤣 Ronquillo kills
for real 🥲
Just bought my first REAL Fender Strat, a 2015 USA HSS Fat Strat with the Shawbucker in Bourdeaux metallic and can't wait to mod it. I love your tone, style, techniques, licks, riffs and vibe RJ, it's very inspiring! Keep it up Bro!
I use Villex passive mid-booster jack, which is great to cut through the mix. Especially nice in 2 and 4 position!
You are the BEST demo provider on the tubes. Everything you demo I want. Now to get your talent…lol. Another great one man; keep it up!
For me, I just transfer the middle pickup tone control to the bridge and leave the middle pickup open (this is essentially the Eric Johnson wiring). I find more quack in the in-between positions and the bridge highs is tamed. Also, this mod is easily reversible
Just jump the wire so you have tone control on bridge and middle.
Another option is to have neck and middle connected to one control and the bridge connected to the other. I do like your Eric Johnson solution. I'm a big fan of the middle pickup and removing the load from the tone control might bring out a little more chime.
@@5000rgb I'm not a fan of the middle pickup so I like the idea of removing the tone from it since I don't like position 3 anyway and then having the symmetry of one tone for 4-5 and one tone for 1-2 with no overlap between them.
That's what I would do if I didn't already go further and make the middle position bridge+neck on one of my Strats and all 4 coils (2 in bridge humbucker) on the other one.
All 3 of my Strats are wired this way. I just like the middle pup's sound raw (no tone circuit). I find the Bridge harsh no matter the pup. The 3 Strats have Fender '59, '62 & Tex Mex pup's.
@@chuchuchip I like how it is more spanky it is on the neck-mid and glassy on the mid-bridge. Neck-mid is my go-to position now because of the wiring
Different strokes for different folks! I switch between a flatpick and flesh of my fingers to get plenty of sound variation on my strats! Tuck the pick up into my palm when fingerpicking works for me. This good video will probly appeal to the gearheads among us! Old school, I don't depend on effects pedals to get nice strat tones unless the producer wants that.
I had a 1990 Strat for years. I put a Lace Sensor silver in bridge. It was a powerful full sound. I played that guitar for almost 30 years, the only guitar I ever needed. I had a fret job done on it a few years ago, gold frets. The sound became harsh & glassy. I had them replaced with nickel frets but it was never the same after that. I put standard strat pickups in & although the guitar sounded absolutely awesome it still didn't have the sound I'd happily used for 30 years. I sold it. Since then I've bought 2 LP's, had an SG, I have a Musicman Silhouette an Epiphone Sheraton with Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays fitted & I have a 1992 Strat Plus Deluxe. These guitars sound great but nothing comes near the 1990 Standard Strat that I'd fitted Lace Sensors on, silver in bridge which some would say was the wrong place yet nothing I've played my own or others guitars since can beat the tones that ol' guitar gave me.
My old 93-94 japanese squier strat has a humbucker at the bridge so it is the most used pickup on the strat.
On the contrary I love the bridge position in the strat and not so crazy about all the others :D
I love them either. I downgraded my strat with a singlecoil sized humbucker, it sounded to compressed. Changed it back for the stock single coil.
I love the bridge in a Telecaster even more.
@@dannycia9295 yep, i had malmsteen yjms and preferred the true single coil. Oh yeah tele bridges are the best. I love them even better than strats.
I like having the options sonically to reach into gainier territory w my strat so I hardtailed the trem and have the hss setup... blending the dirtier bridge pup into the singles is the magic for me
@@ericwarrington6650 yeah I can see that
@@DogwithtwoBones the tele bridge pickup and the strat neck pickup are the two greatest in the guitar industry
I have that switch and his SRV switch and they're great. The SRV switch gets you close to the El macambo, Tokyo live tone. I didn't mess with the dip switches either, Just drop in and play.
Great demo of a great little piece of gear. I am a strat lover and in my opinion everything Jesse builds is perfect for the strat guy like myself. Have a couple of his pedals and about a year ago put one of these in my strat. Really allows you to tweak the tone to your liking. Personally, I like the Hendrix setting for the neck/neck-mid settings and then switching to the 4 or 5 circuit on the knob for the bridge, especially with gain up. Great secret weapon.
Honestly, the treble bleed is my favorite. Everytime you went back to bypass, I was happier except for volume roll off with treble bleed
That's freaking awesome! I really hate my Strat's bridge pickup and I've been considering a humbucker but I've been struggling to get a good blended tone on my Tele with a H/S configuration. This little rotory switch seems like it would solve all my problems and several others!
Quick tip here: if you don't like the bridge pick up it only means you need to move your amp master volume and guitar volume up to 10.
I don't get the problem, just roll back the tone control, it works just fine. For the switched treble bleed all you need is a push pull switch/pot, 1/8 watt resistor, and a capacitor. It's how I have my guitar set up, and cost me less than $5 for the components.
There is not a tone control for a bridge pickup on an original strat wiring. You are better moving one tone knob to the bridge or use global tone.
I bought one of these Kingtone switches and have tried it on 3 of my stage strats... it was muddy sounding on each strat I had put it in.
The usual strat pickups I use when I am on stage are... 56 vintage reissue (not available unless you buy the Fender custom shop strat), 59 pure vintage pups($160.00) and the 54 custom shop pups (at $269.00) I also tried this switch on a set of tex mex pups for $99.00...it was No Bueno! Another $100.00 down the drain. To date, my shelf of non useable, expensive and supposedly great guitar devices, is getting way to crowded...God, I am such a sucker when it comes to guitars, amps, pedals and well, all musical equipment. YIKES!!!
On a positive note, I recently listened to a new amazing guitar pedal (I hope it's amazing) that seems to end all this brightness and muddiness and gives your guitar a crunchy and delicious warm tone. It's a Klon Centaur copy, called Warm Audio Centavo and it sells for $179.00 at most music stores or guitar shops. I think I am going to buy it...Hey, I told you I was a sucker for guitars and equipment. Anyway, I am hoping that this pedal doesn't wind up on my shelf of useless devices. Just my 2 cents worth. Peace
Stratocaster's for life brother, thanks for sharing this, I'm just getting into doing most my own repairs, and set ups, and looking to learn all I can about beefing up the Strat.
This is essentially a over priced Varitone switch
Thank you for being the one to say it. I was thinking about making one
I'm a Strat owner who likes my Strat because I'm primarily an LP/other HH configured guitar guy, and sometimes, the Strat just hits a particular clean 'itch' for me that no amount of cil-splitting scratches for me.
I always wire the bridge and neck pickup to the same tone pot. That way I can individually dial in the tone for each pickup independently regardless of the pickup selector position. It takes about 10 minutes to do this modification.
Been true since the beginning, you can make a Strat sound very Les Paul like while a Les Paul can’t even begin to get Strat like. Love both by the way. Great Video
I have a "Tone Monster" compresor/expander, and I wouldn't do without it. HOWEVER, when I put it in my tele, I took it apart, and made it only full expand, or full compress with a switch and got rid of the knob. The one in my strat still has the knob, and it was using it my strat that made me realize I always used it, full one way or the other, even with the knob. That's just me, and how it worked out for me. Good product.
Thank you RJ! This is comprehensive, succinct, and to the point-very helpful.
This man plays fabulous. Haven't heard of him until yesterday and now a fan.
Great demo! Strats are incredible guitars!
Sounds great and thanks for a pertinent treble bleed demo. But the best part of this demo was your playing--it's awesome to see you take inspiration from a tool and in turn inspire the audience!
I actually love my Strats wired up with no tone pot on the bridge pickup. Like they came from Fender in the 50’s and 60’s. 5 way switch of course.
Yes - oooo‼️‼️‼️
StratoHolic
is now where i
landed and
not so
enamored now
with alot of the limitations i find
with the traditional
Les Paul features .
Nice and useful little tweaky thing... thanks for sharing 😊
Thanks for the demo. In a weird way, it reminded me of a Gibson L6 with the chicken switch I had in HS. Could get any sound out of one guitar. Sorry I sold it. I just may update my Squire Strats with this Kingtone Switch. TY
After a million years of playing guitar I have finally learned the hard way that you have to treat the Electronics in a Guitar as "one" entity, as soon as you add or take-away even a wire the sound changes, just look at it and the tone changes. If you can patiently solder this switch in then it may be worth a try. I came full circle and ended up with CTS pots, 2 caps(one for neck one middle) no tone on Bridge and it sounds beautiful. Even the wire you use to connect the parts together can change the sound. I once used a thick piece of copper wire to connect a tone pot and it made it sound horrible so bsck to the cloth wire and standard 60s wiring( but I learned a sh!+ load of stuff along the way). Cool vid RJ , the switch doez sound good with fuzz , be cool to hear it clean(at-least it looks easy to connect) thanks.
i used to hate strats as I could never get a decent sound out of them. Not the case now as I have three of them and I love the bridge pickups and use them all the time.. Spent time working with the amp, a fender Hot Rod Deluxe and changing the settings around the strat. love it now..
An overwound bridge pickup with a base plate is an absolute game changer for a Strat.
Takes it to more of a Tele level.
YOU CAN GET A DELESLIE VARTONE 6 POSTION SWITCH FOR THE SAME MONEY. JUST NEED TO REPLACE 1 TONE TO INSTALL IT, OVER LAP YOUR TONE WIRE ON THE SWITCH. PUT A TRIBLE BLEED ON YOUR VOLUME.
DRAGONFIRE CUSTOM WERKS, I HAVE A 60'S TELE WITH THE TRIBLE BLEED ON THE VOLUME.
The bridge pickup is supposed to be used in a drive/gain/overdrive mode normally. So depending on amp/eq/pups and multiple other things it can sound amazing. Also finger picking sounds good in bridge mode.
Great mod and great demo. Such a simple idea. I play a strat, it's a really versatile guitar. I bought a PRS with coil tapping but it never sounds right in 'single coil' mode and humbuckers are louder (obviously) so it mucks up the levels when playing at gigs. The mod you've demo'd retains the original strat tones, gives the warmer sounds without increasing volume, is easy to switch sounds and it's a relatively easy mod to make. Thanks, amazing!
I have hsh...sh59 and a 1955 middle and a dimebuckers....upgrades are always encouraged
I have a 1993 strat and I only ever use the bridge pickup. If I want more crunch for heavy stuff I use my Epiphone SG. Strats are the best though and nice playing R.J
It is almost like in the 3, 4, 5, & 6 selections it cuts the highs and boosts the mids a bit giving it more of a P-90 or PAF style warmth instead of the bright jangle or twang we are accustomed to with Fender single coils. I like that it mellows out the tone without depreciating the articulation of the notes. Some treble cut circuits tend to wipe out the topend too much taking away the clarity of bends, pinches, and tapped harmonic notes. This is a very subtle adjustment that adds a ton of character without it becoming a tonal detriment. I now wonder what it might do if used with lipstick and P-90 style single coils? Thanks for the demo.
The bridge pickup shows the most dynamics out of any position. Especially on the right amp settings. The brightness can be used to your advantage to be far more dynamic
I bought an old Edwards HSS LP style guitar with no pickups and in need of restoring. I might get this, having Albert and B.B setting for humbucker mode. I love tonal variation for one guitar. Especially now that I've curbed G.A.S.
Next you should try the freeway 10 position switch. I plan to install it on my Samick Strat soon.
RJ, your demo is crystal clear info. I appreciate your presence on TH-cam. One niggle: would have loved a clean tone contrast demo. Otherwise, perfect.
If you want a strat to be a workhorse that does everything(including hi gain)..you need quality aftermarket pickups and a blender pot.....i use kinman or dimarzio noiseless sets with the last tone pot wired as a blender one.....all the tones you can possibly want in more options than the original strat setup and zero noise.....you get a strat,a superstrat and a bit of tele in one guitar.....
I have been putting a preamp I build in all my strats. Great unit.
Wow, that bridge pup. I had a custom shop ‘68 that had a great bridge pup. I miss that one
Im going to give this some serious consideration...I like the way it bumps up the midrange making it sound full and adding harmonic complexity without losing the pick attack characteristics singles enjoy.
Nice option. Thanks for the demo and love your playing bud.
I know you dont have the same choice of tones at your finger tips but you can use a eq pedal to do similar things
Love my 2003 Inca Silver Lone Star Strat with a maple neck. It plays like a dream ✨
I love the kingtone switch!
Had it in my jazz/parts-caster while I still had it, sold it only because I could not get on with the scale length and small ish frets. It had a widerange bucker in the Bridge, jag in middle and strat in the neck.
The variations in tones were endless. And treble bleed /or true bypass for sparkly cleans and then position 3 and onward for really fat overdrive sounds.
It's great, I'm just researching if it will work with active pickups, since I have a fishman classic bucker equipped guitar, and I want it to have even more sounds that it has now.
Great video RJ!
Just got this installed in my plain jane MIM Jimmie Vaughan Strat, and to quote Christopher Walken, "WWOWW!" Like R.J. I just left the dip switches in the default position, and it sounds fantastic on every setting.
I love Stratocasters as I’m a rock blues guitar guy and just installed the Free-Way 5-way/10 position Pickup Switch by StewMac and love the sounds I’m getting out of my 2010 American Standard Strat.
I’m sold. Ordering today. Thanks for your constant great contributions to my tone journey.
I think that might be the best widest sound ranging strat I've ever heard in my life.
I need this for mine. Sometimes I don't want treble bleed and sometimes I do. Excellent tone!
Check out theclapton strat… had mine about 20 years, the middle boost pot and high output pickups mean you can start with everything turned right down then turn up a bit of what youneed.
AND YET , another great demo, thank you.