Fender Strat pickup history question. . .

[kayakerca]

What is the history of the phasing of Stratocaster pickups? North up on all 3 pickups to '59? South up on all 3 pickups '60 - '64? CBS onward, RWRP S-N-S?

Input on the phasing history from those that have spent some time on this would be much appreciated.

[copperheadroads]

No rw/rp at all . They never introduced a 5 way switch till 1978 & then still didn't use rw/rp .... after 1960 i thought the poles stayed south.

[rjb]

They never introduced a 5 way switch till 1978 & then still didn't use rw/rp ....

And this is the reason they finally got around to it... I think.
Back then, you had to use a guitar pick, match book or tape to hold the switch in the "in between" positions.

[Jim Darr]

Back in the old days, we used to take the spring out of the std Strat 3-way so it would get the in-between sound. Sometimes we would even put extra notches in the detent plate. Then Fender finally introduced the 5-Way and we ended up doing a lot of switch swapping.

[Mick Bailey]

And rather conversely, I've retrofitted 3-way switches to factory 5-way guitars for a few customers who think the 5-way destroys the purity of the original design and who never use position 2 and 4.

[Jim Darr]

And rather conversely, I've retrofitted 3-way switches to factory 5-way guitars for a few customers who think the 5-way destroys the purity of the original design and who never use position 2 and 4.

Never use the 2 & 4 position!!!??? Isn't that like buying a Ferrari and only driving it in the parking lot!!! LOL

Mick, I do know what you mean... guitarists are a picky bunch, and what one likes, the other hates. Good point.

[copperheadroads]

never use position 2 and 4.

here's your sign !!!

[kayakerca]

Back to a segue from my OP. . .

When did wire manufacturers start manufacturing per-tinned cloth insulated wire, the type we use for leads on some pickups? I have a customer that asked me to install a $1,000 1962 Strat pickup in a '62 Strat he is bringing back to year correct parts. While the pickup AND cloth lead wire certainly have what looks like 50 years worth of patina, the lead wires are pre-tinned wire. I would not have thought they would have been manufacturing pre-tinned wire of this type back in the early '60's.

Thoughts? ? ?

[12xu]

Personally, I hate those positions.

I actually disconnect the middle on a some of my strats and use neck+bridge.

[big_teee]

Personally, I hate those positions.

I actually disconnect the middle on a some of my strats and use neck+bridge.

You can reverse the switch pickup wiring for bridge and middle
1 Middle
2 Middle and bridge
3 Bridge
4 Bridge and Neck
5 Neck
I've done this for a few players that mainly use bridge and neck pickups.
Would be a bit tricky to get used to, I would think?
T

[rjb]

You can reverse the switch pickup wiring for bridge and middle

Cool. Nice, simple, useful mod. Who needs more than one "quack" position anyway?

Would be a bit tricky to get used to, I would think?

Nah, not if its your main "axe" (bleah, I hate that word).

No more tricky than Bill Lawrence's "half out of phase" wiring for Tele.
1 Neck with series capacitor (thinner tone)
2 Half-out-of-phase (quack)
3 Bridge
4 Bridge + Neck
5 Neck

I've got a Tele with a fake Strat position; maybe some day I'll have a Strat with a fake Tele position....

-rb

[rjb]

When did wire manufacturers start manufacturing per-tinned cloth insulated wire, the type we use for leads on some pickups? I have a customer that asked me to install a $1,000 1962 Strat pickup in a '62 Strat he is bringing back to year correct parts. While the pickup AND cloth lead wire certainly have what looks like 50 years worth of patina, the lead wires are pre-tinned wire. I would not have thought they would have been manufacturing pre-tinned wire of this type back in the early '60's.

Thoughts? ? ?

Thought:
Say your suspicion is correct, and pre-tinned cloth lead wire did not exist in the early '60s.
Do you want to be the person to tell the emperor that he is naked?

-rb

[Mick Bailey]

I'm pretty sure fabric-insulated tinned wire goes back at least to the 1930s. There were some prewar TVs (late 30s) that used it, and the mid-30s RCA AR-60 transmitter.