Andy40's STA-1HT

[Andy40]

Fair enough, Simon.

You'll also note from the photo that the factory drill hole for the earth wire happens to come out right where the G string comes through. Its not a major drama, but its not preferable. It would be better if the factory had the earth wire hole come out closer to the pick guard or just left it for the Kit punter to put in.

I found this on the interweb regarding the wiring a tone control to the bridge pup, any reason this wouldn't work?

[DrNomis_44]

Fair enough, Simon.

You'll also note from the photo that the factory drill hole for the earth wire happens to come out right where the G string comes through. Its not a major drama, but its not preferable. It would be better if the factory had the earth wire hole come out closer to the pick guard or just left it for the Kit punter to put in.

I found this on the interweb regarding the wiring a tone control to the bridge pup, any reason this wouldn't work?

I reckon that should work fine, in that pic you posted, the middle diagram is how the pickup switch is wired for the Eric Johnson Signature Strat, he uses a .1uF tone cap instead of the usual .022uF though, I personally can't see why the bottom diagram wouldn't work and if you wire up the selector switch that way then you should have the tone control nearest to the volume control working on both the neck and middle pickup, and the other tone control working on the bridge pickup.

[Andy40]

Thanks Doc for the confirmation. I'll give it a go....that's the genius of the strat....its easy to work on. hat tip to Leo.

In other news...welcome to the goodie room...

[DrNomis_44]

Thanks Doc for the confirmation. I'll give it a go....that's the genius of the strat....its easy to work on. hat tip to Leo.

In other news...welcome to the goodie room...

I agree, Leo Fender was a genius when he created the Strat, it's a guitar that is very easy to modify for different pickup configurations due to the detachable scratchplate, you can also replace the neck with a new one if need be too, I think that's one of the reasons why the Strat has remained popular for so long.


You've got some nice goodies there, I'll be interested in hearing what those Classic Blues pickups sound like, those Toneriders should be cool too.

[WeirdBits]

Yep, that's the usual way to add a tone for the bridge pup. Either have a bridge tone instead of middle tone, as per middle layout, or have it as a tone for both bridge and middle using the last option.

[GregLane]

Hi Andy
I'm watching your build very closely as the GAS has set in and I am planning to do a STA-1 but with totally upgraded electrics. I will be seeking stacks of advice on electrics recommendations from the group next year. Anyway have another job to do first. Keep up the great work.

[Ghaynas]

I think he meant the standard Fender capacitor value .047 μF/uF/MF(microfarad) rather than the indicated .047 mF (millifarad) value.

I was thinking about microfarad, I still have a bit of confussion in my ideas about the electronic side, I though it was a too high value, thanks for the explanation. So .047 microfarad can be used too with single coils and 250k Pots.

[DrNomis_44]

I was thinking about microfarad, I still have a bit of confussion in my ideas about the electronic side, I though it was a too high value, thanks for the explanation. So .047 microfarad can be used too with single coils and 250k Pots.

In some electronic schematics .047uf can also be expressed as 47nF too.


So:

.022uF = 22nF

.047uF = 47nF

.1uF = 100nF


You can pretty much use any value from maybe say .010uF (10nF) to .1uF (100nF) for a tone cap with single-coils and a 250k tone pot, the larger values will just take off more highs and the tone will become more bassy.

[Simon Barden]

I reckon that should work fine, in that pic you posted, the middle diagram is how the pickup switch is wired for the Eric Johnson Signature Strat, he uses a .1uF tone cap instead of the usual .022uF though,

0.047uF is the standard factory capacitor value for a Strat. 0.022uF is the standard factory capacitor value for a Les Paul. So going to 0.1uF on a Strat isn't quite the big jump you thought it was, Doc (it's about the same as going from 0.022uF to .047uF on a LP).

Of course these values can all be adjusted up or down to suit personal taste, but too much change either way will result in a tone control that either does almost nothing, or else goes dull very quickly. So if you are the sort of person who only likes to use the tone control a bit and is never going to turn the tone control all the way down, then maybe going for a slightly less than standard capacitance value will suit you, and give you a tone control that works for you over more of its travel.

As long as you can get at the tone capacitor (hard on a Strat, easier on a Tele or a Les Paul style guitar), then you can simply hold another capacitor in place across the existing one's connections to give an increased capacitor value and see what effect it has (use crocodile clips, two dabs of solder or someone else holding the capacitor on). Capacitors in parallel have a total capacitance of the sum of the individual capacitors. So if you've got a 0.022uF tone capacitor fitted, holding another 0.022uF across it will give a value of 0.044uF and make the tone darker. Holding a 0.047uF capacitor across it will give a total of 0.069uF and make the tone darker still.

One needs to be aware that the tolerance values on capacitors varies according to their quality. The very best ones can be ±1%, cheap ones can be +80%/-20% (I hate to say it but the ones supplied with the BPG kits, and just about all other kits, are likely to be at the wider tolerance end). The cheaper capacitors' values also vary more due to changes in temperature than the (more expensive) tighter tolerance capacitors. +80%/-20% actually means that the centre of the capacitance value distribution bell curve is at +30%, so a cheap ceramic capacitor rated at 0.022uF is more likely to have an actual value nearer 0.029uF, and will sound darker as a result.

Tolerance values can be very important if you ever get to test out different types of capacitor in a guitar. Unless you first check that all your capacitors have a very similar capacitance value beforehand (a lot of multi-meters have a capacitance test setting), then any perceived differences in tone are more likely to be down to differences in actual capacitance due to variances in manufacturing tolerance, than that due the different types of capacitor.

Capacitors can also be 'microphonic' if the distance between the capacitive surfaces is allowed by their design to vary though vibration (as this is exactly the principle used by a capacitor microphone). I'm not 100% sure whether you'd ever really hear this as it's the tone that's being modulated at the same frequencies as the guitar is making, but it might manifest itself as a slight 'haze' around each note (if you have golden ears).

The standard Sprague Orange Drop capacitors that are most people's go-to replacements are either ±10% (225P series) or ±5% (715P Series). The 225P series ±10% tolerance 100V rated Orange Drops are the ones most commonly found on eBay and music shops web sites (including StewMac). They are a good compromise between price and performance, are pretty stable at normal temperatures and should be non-microphonic. Really, they are all the capacitor you are going to need on a guitar (or bass).

[Ghaynas]

Wow Simon, what a lesson about guitar building, now I have clearer the work of the capacitor. I had though using the Orange Caps that you mentioned because what you have said about them I have eard in other places too and they're not too expensive.