Palm-muting technique on a strat?

[Telliot]

To be honest, all the mods I've made to my Strat (two knobs, superswitch giving me the neck/bridge combo in the middle position) kind of make me want to revert it back to its stock specs and learn to work around its idiosyncrasies. I find myself missing the third knob and middle pickup. It's easy to out-think yourself with these things, I think.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Telliot

To be honest, all the mods I've made to my Strat (two knobs, superswitch giving me the neck/bridge combo in the middle position) kind of make me want to revert it back to its stock specs and learn to work around its idiosyncrasies. I find myself missing the third knob and middle pickup. It's easy to out-think yourself with these things, I think.

My recent experience was just the opposite. I decided to restore my Strat to its original pups, pots, & switch since I bought a new pickguard to load with a modded setup. It's been a while since I had the original Lace sensors in the guitar, so I've been paying it some. That volume knob still gets in my way too much for me to want to have it there permanently.

[dhuber]

My neck pickups have no tone control. If I remember right I ran at 320 K ohm resistor in series with a .02uF cap in series with the neck pickup.

[adifferentbreed]

Pull the volume knob, place a rubber washer larger than the shaft but smaller than the diameter of the knob on the shaft. Push the volume knob back onto shaft. Now you won't change the volume if you accidentally hit the knob with your pinky, yet it still moves freely enough for volume swells...problem solved and no mods required.

[dhuber]

[QUOTE=Telliot;3937967]I had Warmoth make me a guard with one less hole and went to a master tone knob. QUOTE]

I like the Warmoth pickguards. I'm going to order a couple. The problem is while I was at there web site I ended up spending 4 hours. Wow their products look great!

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by dhuber

My neck pickups have no tone control. If I remember right I ran at 320 K ohm resistor in series with a .02uF cap in series with the neck pickup.

Does removing the pickup from the tone control make it sound as if the tone control knob were on 10 for that pickup?

[JoeNeri]

Originally Posted by nadzab

I've never had a problem palm muting on a Strat...

Ditto.

Just practice. Like anything else, if you focus too hard on your fingers not hitting the volume knob, they will hit it.

[blue metalflake]

I've never had any problem switching between Tele & Strat & using the same techniques. Its a matter of getting used to it.

[dhuber]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Does removing the pickup from the tone control make it sound as if the tone control knob were on 10 for that pickup?

If I remember I ran at 320 K or 270 K ohm resistor in series with a .02uF cap in series with the neck pickup. I tried removing the tone control completely, but it sounded like an ice pick. I tried a 220 K resistor in series with a .02uF and it was a bit too warm. In theory a 220 K or 270 K ohm in series with a .02uf cap should sound like the tone control set at 10.

I'm going to replace my pickguards with custom made Warmoth Pickguards, those look great! If you use you're neck tone control I don't recommend the mod but I never adjust my neck tone control. The blue Strat is a Plus model so it has TBX tone in the bridge and middle position. The other tobacco bursts have tone on the middle pickup only. Which equates to tone control on the 2, 3, and 4 position.

You could wire one tone control to all 3 pickups. I think if I did that I'd try a 500 K ohm potentiometer first. I'm 6'4" tall with very long fingers and hands. I hold my pick between my index finger and thumb. I have a lot of finger hanging over the volume control and I will bump it if I palm mute. This has cured the problem.

It works for me.

[Fender-Bender]

I had the same problem. The quick and simple fix is to just pull the volume knob off. You can use a volume pedal (or tele) for swells. I haven't had the knob on for over 2 years now and never miss it.

[gitlvr]

Originally Posted by adifferentbreed

Pull the volume knob, place a rubber washer larger than the shaft but smaller than the diameter of the knob on the shaft. Push the volume knob back onto shaft. Now you won't change the volume if you accidentally hit the knob with your pinky, yet it still moves freely enough for volume swells...problem solved and no mods required.

+1!
Years ago i did something similar for the very same reason. I used a piece of thick cardboard, cut it into a circle slightly smaller than the skirt on the knob, and put a hole in the center. Popped the knob back on over this, and it gave the knob just enough drag to keep it in place when I didn't want it to move, but worked just fine when i did.

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by adifferentbreed

Pull the volume knob, place a rubber washer larger than the shaft but smaller than the diameter of the knob on the shaft. Push the volume knob back onto shaft. Now you won't change the volume if you accidentally hit the knob with your pinky, yet it still moves freely enough for volume swells...problem solved and no mods required.

I did this with a piece of thick leather and it worked great!

Thanks!!

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by dhuber

If I remember I ran at 320 K or 270 K ohm resistor in series with a .02uF cap in series with the neck pickup. I tried removing the tone control completely, but it sounded like an ice pick. I tried a 220 K resistor in series with a .02uF and it was a bit too warm. In theory a 220 K or 270 K ohm in series with a .02uf cap should sound like the tone control set at 10.

I'm going to replace my pickguards with custom made Warmoth Pickguards, those look great! If you use you're neck tone control I don't recommend the mod but I never adjust my neck tone control. The blue Strat is a Plus model so it has TBX tone in the bridge and middle position. The other tobacco bursts have tone on the middle pickup only. Which equates to tone control on the 2, 3, and 4 position.

You could wire one tone control to all 3 pickups. I think if I did that I'd try a 500 K ohm potentiometer first. I'm 6'4" tall with very long fingers and hands. I hold my pick between my index finger and thumb. I have a lot of finger hanging over the volume control and I will bump it if I palm mute. This has cured the problem.

It works for me.

I am going to wire the tone control to serve all 3 pickups the next time I change strings or get my locking tuners. I think that my strat has tone controls in positions 2,3&4 as well...which I don't like. I like having tone controls on all positions.

[charlie chitlin]

Originally Posted by nadzab

I've never had a problem palm muting on a Strat...

That's what I'm thinkin'!
I never even noticed.
I do the same thing when I'm driving.
Ooooh, look...there's something there....better not run into it.

[ValveFan]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

Does removing the pickup from the tone control make it sound as if the tone control knob were on 10 for that pickup?

Pretty close, but no, the tone control circuit still loads the pickup a bit. That's why there's no-load pots. With a no-load pot set at 10 the tone cap and pot are effectively completely removed from the circuit.

"I am going to wire the tone control to serve all 3 pickups"
The blender set up gives you a master tone for all three pickups, and the...blender... D'oh! Which is a pretty cool set up IMHO. Just sayin'.

[Jelly]

warmoth also have the tom delonge volume knob position as another ($15 dollar extra) option on replacement pickguards. it just moves the volume knob closer to the 5way switch, so you can still have a vol and two tones.

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by Jelly

warmoth also have the tom delonge volume knob position as another ($15 dollar extra) option on replacement pickguards. it just moves the volume knob closer to the 5way switch, so you can still have a vol and two tones.

Hey! Now I didn't know about that! That may be a good option as I've come to like having separate tone controls for the neck and middle pickups. Makes switching from a soft tone to a bitey rocking tone much easier.

Thanks for that info!

[Jakedog]

I'm holding my strat right now, and palm muting the heck out of it. can't figure out how the volume knob would ever get in my way? I'm nowhere near it... can't see how it's an issue...

Now the middle pickup, that gets in my way a lot. But it sounds so good I leave it in there...

I guess I do roll the volume off a little sometimes, by accident, when I'm strumming really hard, kind of punk rock flailing around...

[nadzab]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

I'm holding my strat right now, and palm muting the heck out of it. can't figure out how the volume knob would ever get in my way? I'm nowhere near it... can't see how it's an issue...

Now the middle pickup, that gets in my way a lot. But it sounds so good I leave it in there...

I guess I do roll the volume off a little sometimes, by accident, when I'm strumming really hard, kind of punk rock flailing around...

I'm with you.

[Count]

I'm holding my strat right now, and palm muting the heck out of it.
Ditto, no problem palm muting as I'm nowhere near the volume knob. Just move further up the strings, with practice you don't need an anchor point for your little finger. Try playing reggea, dropping your palm after the upstroke is easier than on a downstroke, when you've got that right change to downstrokes and it will come to you easily.