Direct-Through Strat Mod - Toggle Switch

Direct-through switch is a guitar mod, popular in Stratocasters and Fat Strats. It's designed to send the pickup signal directly to the jack, by omitting all pots. It makes the tone brighter and more dynamic.

Usually, it's made from a push-pull pot, what is good if you don't want to lose any function of the Stratocaster tone control. It this article, I would like to show you a little bit different version of this great guitar mod. It's a direct- through SW based on an quick to use toggle.

Diagram:

How a Guitar Tone Potentiometer Works?

A common guitar tone control is a low-pass filter. It's made from pickup resistance and tone capacitor capacitance. It's called also a RC filter.

A tone pot in a guitar is used as a variable resistor (only two lugs are used). It's placed after or before the tone cap. The more resistance is on this path, the smaller amount of treble will bleed out to the ground. The diagram shows how it work's in three different knob positions:

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How a Guitar Volume Potentiometer Works?

Every pot used to control guitar's volume is basically a voltage divider. It's used to control how much resistance will be between the fist and the middle lug, and between the middle and the third lug. This system affects how much voltage will pass to an output. The diagram shows this thing according to knob positions.

As you can see, the less resistance is between the lugs connected to the hot wires, and more resistance is between the hot path and the ground, the louder a guitar sound. When the volume potentiometer's knob is on „10”, a guitar signal has a clear way to go.

Link to more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer

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Varitone Project Mk2

This time, my 12-position guitar varitone project is a little bit more complicated. It's still a quite simple circuit, but with a few new configurations. I added a stand-by position – as „0” - and I tuned the filters more for nice „woman tones”. I prefer this version for rock crunch and overdrive/distortion tones. The previous varitone works great for me on clean and bluesy crunch guitar sounds.

Terminator's Guitar Wiring

Do you remember Terminator movies? Do you remember Terminator's character? He's a cool, reticent, strong and effective killing machine.

What kind of guitar this dude play? I'm sure it's not a jazz box or an ukulele.

Before I will write something more about the guitar, I need to tell you about the Terminator's rules:

1. The best guns are simple, effective, loud and powerful.

2. Kung-Fu and Karate sucks. It's better to just throw an enemy against a wall. A simple, strong punch also works well.

3. To solve a problem with a bad guy, you need to eliminate him (kill).

...He's just a simple, no-compromise dude.

So, how the Terminator's way of life affects his guitar preferences?

Fat Strat Mod (Fender + Charvel)

This Fat-Strat (HSS Stratocaster) modification project is based on functions of classic Strat and Charvel guitar wirings. The target of this construction is to get well known, vintage Strat single-coil pickup vibes, and hot, crisp, dynamic humbucker tone, typical for single-pot Charvels.

Diagram:

How to Install a Varitone (Wiring Options)

A varitone switch can be installed as a part of a guitar wiring in two ways: before the volume control, or after it. It really has a matter for your guitar tone. This article will help you choose the right way.

Before we start analyze the first way of wiring, let's look at my  > varitone project <. As you can see, it has two connections with the rest of a guitar wiring: the hot conductor (from hot path) , and the guitar wiring ground contuctor (to ground). 

Varitone wiring 1 – before the pot

Varitone Project - 12 Positions

The varitone is a multi-position guitar tone switch. It's a great thing for DIY guitar electronics enthusiasts, because every position of this tone controller can be designed almost independently. It means, that it allows you to crate many different guitar tones.

In this post, I would like to show you my own project of the varitone. It's got 11 low-pass filters.

10 Great and Simple Guitar Riffs

Some old school music makers, who knows how to rock:
(unranked)

Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy

The Troggs - Wild Thing

Saxon - Wheels Of Steel

Black Sabbath - Iron Man

AC/DC - Highway To Hell 

Eric Clapton - Cocaine

The Doors - Hello, I Love You

ZZ Top - La Grange

Johnny Cash - San Quentin

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4-Conductor Humbucker Connections

I made a diagram, which shows how 4-conductor guitar pickups (humbuckers) are configured. It can help you understand how many kinds of guitar p-up wiring (like coil-split, series, parallel) works.

Buckethead Signature Les Paul Wiring

Buckethead's white Les Paul is a very special and original guitar. It's got some awesome, uncommon for LP's electronics, like „arcade” style kill-switches (red push-buttons) and a bridge humbucker coil splitter. The guitar got also beautiful finish and custom neck profile - go to Gibson's website for more info. 

In this post, I would like to show you a wiring project, made especially to reach all functions of the Buckethead's signature Gibson guitar. You can use it to modify some traditional Les Paul, or even SG.

Diagram:

Dick Dale Stratocaster Wiring

Dick Dale signature Stratocaster guitar is a very uncommon Fender's construction. It's got only one pot (as a master volume control), a 3-way pickup selector and a special toggle switch for activating the bridge and the middle pickup only. It's a very handy and "crisp sounding" configuration. Surf guitar enthusiasts know what I mean.

Diagram:

Some Quotations About Making Music (Basie, Hendrix, Parker, Pavarotti)

Count Basie

It's the way you play that makes it. What I say is, for Christ's sake, you don't have to kill yourself to sing. Play like you play. Play like you think, and then you got it, if you're going to get it. And whatever you get, that's you, so that's your story.

Jimi Hendrix

I don't really live on compliments. As a matter of fact, they have a way of distracting me. I know a whole lot of musicians, artists out there who hears the compliments and thinks 'wow, I must have been really great' and so they get fat and satisfied and they get lost and forget about their actual talent and start living in another world.

Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.

Charlie Parker

Hey man, it's just music. It's playing clean and hitting the pretty notes.

Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.

You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.

Luciano Pavarotti

I think an important quality that I have is that if you turn on the radio and hear somebody sing, you know it's me. You don't confuse my voice with another voice.

With Wikiquote help.

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On-Board Effects Loop Control

I would like to show you, how to make an on-board effects loop control (switch), as a part of your guitar wiring. It's something known by my from the Jerry Garcia's axe – Tiger.

The loop control will allow you to switch on and off some effect pedals by the toggle in your guitar body. It will also give you a possibility to shape the tone in a very unique way. The loop switch is placed before the volume pot, so you will be able to use it to control the pedal chain output. It means a lot of new, cool tones.

Diagram: