Pre-Wired Guitar wiring harness | HSS Coil Split Stratocaster kit | Right Handed
Please use the tabs below to read through the information about this Pre-Wired harness kit. From a run down of what the kit does, to important fitting information and full specs. Order times I usually make harnesses to order, due to the variety of spec options that could be chosen across the whole range. The current turnaround time for a harness orders is around 5-7 working days depending on quantity of orders in at the time and your order will be updated accordingly when it is dispatched. This turnaround time doesn't include the transit time. Thanks for your patience whilst I get your harness made! Model Description This is the 'HSS' harness for Strats with a Single coil neck, single coil middle & humbucker bridge configuration. Guitars with a mixture of Humbuckers and Single coils can offer a particular issue when it comes to wiring, the pot choice compromise! Do you opt for the more traditional Single coil choice of 250k pots, which can lead to a dark sounding humbucker position. Or a 500k pot which will get the best from the humbucker but could lead to an overly bright single coil sound. Some players may well prefer either of those anyway, but if you'd rather reduce the compromise and try to help each pickup sound it's best, then this harness may be of some help to you! It does use a 500k pot for volume, but the single coil runs alongside a 470k resistor meaning the humbucker will 'see' it's preferred 500k pot rating, and the single coil will 'see' closer to it's preferred 250k pot rating. The for the tone pots, each pickup has it's correct spec pot value of 250k for single coil neck and middle and 500k for bridge humbucker. Needless to say, I'm not claiming this to be THE solution for everyone, but it has proved to be really popular for an awful lot of players who have seen/heard the benefits of this set-up. This specific HSS kit features a push/pull bridge humbucker tone pot, prepped for coil split. But a neat little extra, it is also prepped for the 'partial' coil split mod too, so you can wire it as a standard coil split, or as the partial coil split mod depending on your preference. Please ensure your bridge humbucker pickup has 4 conductor wiring, to allow for coil splitting. Solder your humbuckers series link wires to the eyelet number C1 if you want a standard coil split, where there is simply a jumper wire soldered to ground. Or, solder your humbuckers series link wires to eyelet number C2, if you want the partial coil split mod. Where instead, there is a 2.2kOhm resistor soldered to ground. I thought about adding this as a selectable option, but seeing as the CTS 450 series push/pull pot is a DPDT switch, I can prep for both, meaning you could simply wire your HB series link wires to either side of the switch depending on your personal preference for coil splitting. Standard kit - Master Volume Tone 1 - Neck Single Coil and Middle Single Coil Tone 2 push/pull - Bridge Humbucker (pull up to coil split) With push/pull 'down' Position 1 - Bridge Humbucker Position 2 - Middle Single coil in parallel with the Bridge standard series humbucker Position 3 - Middle single coil Position 4 - Neck Single Coil and Middle single coil Parallel together Position 5 - Neck Single Coil With push/pull 'up' Position 1 - Bridge humbucker coil split Position 2 - Middle Single coil in parallel with the Bridge humbucker coil split Position 3 - Middle single coil Position 4 - Neck Single Coil and Middle single coil Parallel together Position 5 - Neck Single Coil Product Options With or without Treble Bleed? First up, what does it do? Without a 'treble bleed', when you roll down the volume pot it will naturally lose some of the treble frequencies through the sweep. Strat players in particular might be familiar with this as they are susceptible to it. So, A Treble Bleed kit takes the 'high' treble tone frequencies out of the circuit at the volume pot, and puts them back in the circuit as the signal leaves the volume pot. This means the treble frequencies are prevented from naturally bleeding out of the circuit as your turn your volume pot down. The result is a smoothed out treble and a more uniform tone from 1 to 10. Reducing the treble drop out as the volume pot rolls off. Some guitar players wouldn't be without a treble bleed, and many have never used one on their guitars. Truth is, it is very much personal preference. If you like the idea of retaining treble as you roll your volume pot down, then a treble bleed is for you! For the standard spec, I use a ceramic .001uF capacitor with a carbon film 120kOhm resistor parallel wired. Bridge/vibrato claw ground wire I have decided to make this option available, as many of you may be using this wiring kit on a new, partscaster type build for example. If you are fitting this kit into your existing guitar, and re-attaching the guitars original bridge (hardtail strats) or vibrato claw (vibrato equipped strats) ground wire then simply select without. If you have had to remove the original perhaps, or it’s for a new build altogether and would find having a ground wire pre soldered, simple select with! I supply a 1ft length of Gavitt 22awg wire. Hope this option helps with your specific project. Wiring diagram and wiring info Pre-Wired kit general fitting guide - HERE Wiring Diagram - HERE Jack socket wiring guide - HERE Soldering ground wires to pot casings - HERE Wiring FAQs - HERE Fitting information I have intended for my wiring harnesses to be as simple as possible to install to your Stratocaster, but in this section you'll find some important fitting notes that will hopefully help you assess whether the kit is suitable for your exact Strat or what is required to allow it to fit correctly. This kit features a push/pull pot, which has a couple of important details to consider for install compared to installing standard pots. Firstly, cavity depth. Your Strats control cavity must be a minimum of 30mm depth where the pots are situated for the push/pull pot housing to physically fit. Secondly, the soldering method required to solder your series link wires to the small solder eyelets on the push/pull pot PCB can be quite tricky due to the tight space and small components. So I would personally recommend this kit to someone who is more comfortable with soldering guitar parts. Can I fit this kit myself? This ultimately comes down to whether you own the equipment needed to correctly and safely install the kit, or how comfortable you feel working on your own guitar. I do feel that installing a pre-wired guitar harness is do-able for many guitarists but only if the correct tools are used and care is taken to ensure you do not damage the kit, your guitar or yourself! There are detailed installation guides here on my website, as well as simple to follow wiring diagrams all to help make the process as easy as possible and in my experience, these have helped thousands of my customers carry out their own install. But if for any reason you have concerns about fitting the kit yourself which is entirely understandable, then I'm sure you'll agree that it is likely best to have a professional fit the kit and help ensure your purchased kit, and your beloved guitar are both looked after and worked on correctly. If you are local to me (Stourbridge, West Midlands) I take on guitar work no problem at all so will certainly be able to help install your Signature Series harness. Will the pots/jack fit my pickguard and jack plate? The components I use in my Signature Series wiring kits are for the most part, USA imperial specification. If you're fitting this harness to a far east built guitar such as a Squier or similar brand, then you may have to widen the holes in the pickguard to accommodate for these imperial measurement pots. Or alternatively, purchase a new pickguard that is already suited to the US spec components. The CTS pots and Pure Tone multi contact jack have a mounting thread shaft diameter of 0.369" / 9.38mm so I recommend for ease of install a pickguard and/or jackplate with 0.394" / 10mm pot/jack mounting holes. You can easily widen the holes in the Pickguard too if you would prefer, I recommend doing this safely with a step cutter drill bit. I also offer this as a service so if you would like me to widen your plate for you, do please get in touch and we can organise this additionally. If you’re buying this kit for a USA or Mexican made Strat, then chances are it will be a direct, no modifications install process for you. Centre to centre measurements between components are - Centre of Switch to volume pot - 48mm Centre of volume pot to centre of tone pot 1 - 45mm Centre of tone pot 1 to tone pot 2 - 45mm These measurements for my mounting boards/templates were taken from a USA Fender Stratocaster pickguard. Yours may vary from these measurements. If it is a minimal difference, then don’t worry. I allow for some ‘wiggle’ room in the wire lengths between components to help the product fit a wide variety of models. If the measurements are drastically different to these, then please get in touch with your centre to centre measurements and I will adjust to suit your instrument more closely. What control knobs will fit? The kit uses CTS Split shaft pots which have a adjustable split shaft diameter of 5.95mm w/ 24 splines. You will need control knobs that suit these measurements. Do not attempt to force fit smaller, metric/import spec control knobs onto the imperial USA spec pots, doing this can damage the pot. If you do require a US spec control knobs, I do carry a selection of popular options in stock and they can be viewed in the Control Knob category on the store. Which switch tip will fit? Much like with the control knobs, the CRL switch used in this kit is USA spec, with imperial sizes. Therefore you need a switch tip which will fit a CRL switch, which measures 0.185" / 4.72mm If you do require a US spec switch tip, I do carry a selection of popular options in stock and they can be viewed in the Switch Tips category on the store. Specs/Parts included - 1x CTS '450' Series +/-10% Tolerance short shaft pots - 500k split shaft - 1x CTS '450' Series +/-10% Tolerance short shaft push/pull pots - 500k split shaft - 1x CTS '450' Series +/-10% Tolerance short shaft pots - 250k split shaft - 1x .022uF 'Yellow Mustard' type tone capacitor - 2x RS Pro 470kOhm Resistors -1 1x RS Pro 2.2kOhm Resistor - 1x Pure Tone multi contact jack socket (nickel finish) - 1x CRL spring loaded 5 way lever switch - 1x Keystone Electronics 7313 connection terminal lug washer #8 - Gavitt USA made cloth covered 22AWG wire - 20AWG Tinned copper ground - Soldered using R-Tech Premium Lead-Free (Sn95.5Ag3.9Cu0.6) 22swg Solder wire RoHS Compliant - For optional treble bleed - It will be a ceramic .001uF cap with a carbon film 120kOhm resistor parallel wired. RoHS Compliant components are used throughout pre-wired assemblies. All components used in this assembly are being used for their intended purposes stated in the guidelines by their relevant manufacturer. Any use outside of stated or recommended guidelines is entirely up to the customer, but sales support/warranty/refunds are then extinguished. For a run down of the manufacturers and product data sheets you can click HERE Please note - wiring kit does not include new control knobs/switch tip/control plate etc but does include the pot/jack mounting nuts and washers and switch mounting screws. Why these spec parts over others available? Simply put, component choice has been one of the most important parts of my product development. I have worked on guitars for many years, and built these kits professionally since 2015, and as a result have been able to see and experience working on the majority of components available on the market. In my findings, A/B testing and more, I have found the components I decided on for my Signature Series to be the most reliable, best tolerance and great functioning parts to use to help customers get the most out of their instruments. I use CTS '450' series premium spec pots as they have a tight tolerance, and will consistently provide me with accurate value, as well as very solid build quality. I use trusty 'Mustard' style polyester film 'tone' capacitors as in my opinion they simply can't be beat for great value, solid construction, solid lead-outs, super tight tolerances and reliable tone/function. I would personally much rather use a trusty Mustard for example over something like a paper in oil, as from experience that are so much more reliable to use. This is from carrying out a lot of A/B testing, both tonally, as well as armed with the multi-meter for testing values and actual tolerances, as well as handling them to test construction quality for long lasting reliability in use. I use the brilliant 'Pure Tone' Multi Contact Jack sockets as they are incredibly reliable, due to their additional contact points for both tip and sleeve. I use CRL, Oak and Switchcraft brand switches across the range as these are built very well, with care will last for many years to come and have long since provided me with reliable use professionally. All kits are wired up with quality USA made Gavitt wire, it's great to work with, super consistent gauge and provides me with a very reliable quality item for my kits. I totally understand that with anything guitar, it is subjective, but I have, with an open mind, thoroughly tested a broad variety of components over the years and these have all become the items I trust to use every day. Harness FAQ's I've been proudly making, developing and installing my pre-wired guitar harnesses since the beginning of the Home of Tone back in 2015 (time flies when you're having fun right!). Although I feel I do my best in covering as much information as possible across the various product listings, fitting guides, wiring diagrams and more, I thought it might be helpful to put together an FAQ's page that covers some of the general additional questions I get asked. You can view these Harness FAQ's HERE 'Ground Bug' deal! Looking forward to installing your new wiring, but a little worried about making the ground connections to the pot casings? First time soldering and hear the horror stories of frying pots, or just simply want to neaten up your installs? Then the awesome 'Ground Bug' will help with any of these concerns, beginner or pro modders alike. The Ground Bug is a pot washer that fits between the pot casing and the pickguard/body and has a number of lugs (much like with the main signal connections on the pot for example) to which you can very easily solder your ground wire connections too. Completely removing the worry and risk of soldering a pot casing, something I know many guitarists complain about having to learn to do. I have been stocking Ground Bugs for a while, and they really are the perfect match for a pre-wired harness as they further help you with your installs. So I have set up a 10% off Ground Bug deals when purchased with a Home of Tone Signature Series pre-wired harness. This is an automatic discount code, so all you need to have is a Signature Series kit, and a Ground bug in your cart, and the discount will automatically be applied to the bug for you! Click HERE to view the Ground Bug listing Do you make custom harnesses? I'm afraid I do not offer a custom harness service. Only kits developed, tested and listed on my website are the available kits. So no custom schematics etc. If you happen to be local to my office, then I do carry out custom work in house, but in regards to shipped out pre-wired harnesses I do not offer custom kits. I am however happy to use different pot values or cap values within reason if you have a specific requirement that differs to the specs listed above. If this is relevant to yourself then please get in touch to discuss further to ensure the request is possible. GPSR Manufacturer: James' Home of Tone, Laburnum Street, Stourbridge, DY8 4NX, UK. Email: james@homeoftone.co.uk EU Authorised Representative: Global Trade Department (NI) Ltd, Office 834, Unit 6, 100 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 6AG, Northern Ireland. Email: contact@globaltradedept.com
Without ground wire, With new pre-soldered ground wire