New Electronics for Strat.

[apl]

One time he said he had to learn twenty songs or something. Took him one night.

 

[elenore19]

Unless you are doing something unusual with the switching, that switch is overkill. THIS is a more appropriate switch, if all you want is standard strat switching. The standard for pots is 250k audio taper pots. You certainly do NOT want linear taper pots. The human ear does not perceive volume changes in a linear fashion, but in a logarithmic fashion. Audio taper pots match that logarithmic taper - at least to some degree. There are a couple different tapers, but most people can't hear the difference between any two audio tapers. THESE are the standard pots for a Strat. Standard value for caps on a strat is .022 μF (that's micro farad). Use whatever you want - they are all perfectly acceptable and you will never hear a difference between them. I don't much care for orange drops, as I've had a few too many with loose leads. Also, they are much larger physically than they need to be, which makes it more difficult to keep things neat. They are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but I can get other cheaper caps that are more consistent, so I do.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

So I shouldn't get the switch or pots from guitar fetish?
It sure would be nice to be able to buy everything from the same site.

Thanks for the input though

 

[Light]

So I shouldn't get the switch or pots from guitar fetish?
It sure would be nice to be able to buy everything from the same site.

Thanks for the input though

I'm on record as not thinking much of Guitar Fetish, as they have some business practices of which I disapprove. That being said, some lines of Alpha pots are perfectly acceptable - hell, I have a few in my amp. One word of warning, however - if your guitar has American pots, the Alpha pots are NOT direct replacements physically (they are, electronically) - they are metric sizes, so your old knobs will not fit. Also, if you are getting a pickguard which is sized for American pots, the Alphas will be a bit sloppy in the guard. It's not actually a big deal, but it's a bit annoying, and at least in theory could lead to your pots wearing out quicker (because they are not properly supported - no data on this, but it does make some sense intellectually). (Allparts sells a little stepped washer/bushing to fix this, but don't bother with it). That said, if you are dealing with a Squire or Asian built Strat, the Alpha pots are probably in there already (though they may not have the Alpha name on them).

I have no idea about the switch Guitar Fetish is selling, but at a guess it is a cheaper Asian made part (like the Alpha pots), and the Asian made switches I've seen all suck. The switch I linked to at Allparts, the packaged Fender switches, the switches Ernie Ball and Dimarzio sell, and the switches you can get from WD (NOT the Dirt Cheap switch - the other one) are all the exact same switch from the same manufacturer (Oak-Grigsby, if I remember correctly), and it is a very fine switch. The switch I was recommending against was the one you linked to in your OP. It's a fine switch (also made by Oak-Grigsby), but unless you have a particular need for it, it is more than you need. All you need is a good quality, standard 5-way switch. Hell, you only need half of it, but since you can only buy whole ones...

In both cases, what I linked to were the standard high end parts for a Strat. In both cases, they are exactly what Fender uses on their high end instruments - CTS pots, and the Oak-Grigsby switch. While you are at it, make sure you change the jack, as that is the one thing where you will get the biggest improvement - the jacks used on cheap instruments are total crap, and wear out in about 1/10th the time of a good Switchcraft - don't skimp on this, as the good Switchcraft jack is only about $3.50 retail. (Well, that's what I charge.) Allparts has that too.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[elenore19]

I'm on record as not thinking much of Guitar Fetish, as they have some business practices of which I disapprove. That being said, some lines of Alpha pots are perfectly acceptable - hell, I have a few in my amp. One word of warning, however - if your guitar has American pots, the Alpha pots are NOT direct replacements physically (they are, electronically) - they are metric sizes, so your old knobs will not fit. Also, if you are getting a pickguard which is sized for American pots, the Alphas will be a bit sloppy in the guard. It's not actually a big deal, but it's a bit annoying, and at least in theory could lead to your pots wearing out quicker (because they are not properly supported - no data on this, but it does make some sense intellectually). (Allparts sells a little stepped washer/bushing to fix this, but don't bother with it). That said, if you are dealing with a Squire or Asian built Strat, the Alpha pots are probably in there already (though they may not have the Alpha name on them).

I have no idea about the switch Guitar Fetish is selling, but at a guess it is a cheaper Asian made part (like the Alpha pots), and the Asian made switches I've seen all suck. The switch I linked to at Allparts, the packaged Fender switches, the switches Ernie Ball and Dimarzio sell, and the switches you can get from WD (NOT the Dirt Cheap switch - the other one) are all the exact same switch from the same manufacturer (Oak-Grigsby, if I remember correctly), and it is a very fine switch. The switch I was recommending against was the one you linked to in your OP. It's a fine switch (also made by Oak-Grigsby), but unless you have a particular need for it, it is more than you need. All you need is a good quality, standard 5-way switch. Hell, you only need half of it, but since you can only buy whole ones...

In both cases, what I linked to were the standard high end parts for a Strat. In both cases, they are exactly what Fender uses on their high end instruments - CTS pots, and the Oak-Grigsby switch. While you are at it, make sure you change the jack, as that is the one thing where you will get the biggest improvement - the jacks used on cheap instruments are total crap, and wear out in about 1/10th the time of a good Switchcraft - don't skimp on this, as the good Switchcraft jack is only about $3.50 retail. (Well, that's what I charge.) Allparts has that too.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

Alright, thanks. Good to know. I think I'll order my electronics from allparts then.

Thanks again for the info.
Always appreciated.
-Elliot