Tone Control Split

A tone control split is one of the easiest modifications you can make to your electric guitar. My hokey sketch above shows the back of two Fender Stratocaster pickguards. The pickguard to the right is a pretty standard wiring setup with a .022uf capacitor.The pickguard to the left is modified with an extra capacitor, giving each tone control autonomy.

To split the tone controls simply cut, or preferably remove the wire that connects the two tone pots. This wire is shown in the diagram above right, between the center connector of the lower tone control, and the right connector of the upper tone pot. Then choose a capacitor that suits what you'd like to do. The lower tone pot controls the neck, neck/middle position in this diagram. And the upper tone pot controls the middle, middle/bridge position.

Say you like the middle, and middle/bridge tone. But the neck tone is a little dark. Use a smaller capacitor, such as .01uf capacitor. Solder it in place as shown in the diagram, above left, and you're ready to rock. Conversely if the middle pickup is too bright, swap out the existing capacitor with a .033uf, or .047uf, cap to darken it up a little.

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