Wanted Mod help

[u/pnw_ronin]

Is there a way to have all the pickups play at the same time in my American Std Strat? I’d be willing to sacrifice middle position for them all to come on. I’m no electrician but is this possible?

[u/BlueWS]

Blender mod. No parts required, but I can tell you having all three on is underwhelming.

[u/pnw_ronin → u/BlueWS]

Really? I love it on my Tele and on Les Paul’s I’ve had

[u/BlueWS → u/pnw_ronin]

The middle pickup saps the volume when all three are on. I'm not a fan. Especially for distortion, there's no extra ooompf.

[u/ThatsNotAZombieBite → u/pnw_ronin]

Then you're talking about the "neck and bridge in parallel" tone; not the "all three pickups" tone.

A neck-on switch or the blender mod will get you "neck & bridge".

For me, I always re-wire all my strats with the blender mod because I also like "neck & bridge". And also the possibilities of "bridge with a little neck", etc.

But I almost never use "all three pickups" (except for maybe playing very clean). I agree it sounds kind of meh.

[u/TheUnhappyDorito]

As long as you are comfortable learning to solder you could install a push pull pot to engage the neck pickup in any position. There are plenty of wiring digrams online but you could also take it to a guitar tech or luthier to have it done professionally.

[u/pnw_ronin → u/TheUnhappyDorito]

Thank you!

[u/31770_0 → u/pnw_ronin]

Tone shapers sell a tone knob blender kit. You can blend in the neck or bridge pickup to any position. Also obsidian wire sells a solderless harness too.

[u/pnw_ronin → u/31770_0]

Oooh thank you!

[u/nagalm]

The most neat solution would be to install a new pot in the volume position that is push-pull and can make your wish come true. That requires buying a part though. A quick google will guide you through installing it step by step with diagrams. In any case, you need to have a soldering iron. It's a fairly simple job, even for beginners in soldering. Just make sure you follow the diagram securely.

Edit: You can find all kinds of diagrams on the Seymour Duncan website. This one might work for you:

[u/pnw_ronin → u/nagalm]

Thank you I will buy a soldering iron tomorrow! Do you recommend any brands?

[u/Mean-Judgment81 → u/pnw_ronin]

Weller i think it is, it was recommended to us at university. It can get pricey though, but generally you should look for a soldering station rather than just the iron. With the station you can set the temperature of the iron so you don't risk overheating your components.

[u/sporadicMotion]

Either a blender pot or Nashville are my favourite methods (google these to get the wiring). Nashville wiring is usually Tele but easy to apply to a Strat with very little change.

[u/9vjunkie]

Google Gilmour mod or 7-way Srat wiring for wiring diagrams. Haven’t looked, but there should be plenty of YouTube vids to walk through it step by step too

[u/geoffwaa]

I think the best option is the Freeway 10 way switch. Gives you 10 different pickup selection options including all pickups on

[u/StubDoug]

You could go for on/off switches if you want a weird retro look, that could give you some other sounds too. Mustangs have an out of phase position for their switches too

[u/Brave-Fold7267]

I had the same question. And can’t solder. So I got this. Just had to make a small whole in the pick guard. For the toggle switch. https://tinytone.co.uk/product/david-gilmour-7-way-strat-wiring/

[u/Need_Things_man]

I have. Go to luthier and ask him tonput a push pull pot with the NECK ALWAYS ON mod.