Three volume Strat

[BOZ]

How do I wire up my strat for three volume knobs?

[TomN]

It's really hard to do without getting any bleed through and to actually keep the volumes indendent of each other.

Do you want just 3 volumes and no 5 way switch, or the 3 volumes in addition to the 5 way.
The problem is, if you still have the 5 way, when you are in a position that uses two pickups, both their volumes will effect the master volume.
Kind of like a Les Paul in the middle.

You can reverse the in and out on the volume, but this creates the bleed through and other weirdness.
In general, I wouldn't recommend it if you expect good results.

[BOZ]

I want to keep the 5 way.

I played a friends strat a while back that was set up this way and didn't notice anything funny with it. Seemed to work like a charm. I don't have any need for those tone controls and having the ability to adjust the volumes of the different pickups made for some great tonal combinations, not to mention just having the ability to go from clean to nasty at the flip of a switch.

[TomN]

Okay, if you are keeping the 5 way you should be all set.
Just keep in mind that when you are in a position that uses two pickups, like Bridge & Middle, both the bridge and middle volumes will be masters.
Other than that there shouldn't be any problems.

Oh yeah, how to do it.

Run the pickup hots to the input to their own volume pot first. Then run the output of each pot to where you would normally connect the pickup on the switch. Then run the output of the switch to the output jack.

If that's too cryptic and you need a schematic let me know and I'll draw something up for you.

[BOZ]

OK, I think I got it. I'll let you know how it goes.