Advice on wiring HH Strat with P90s

[Centaur150]

Hi all!

Mostly, I’m playing punk rock, classic rock, and some blues or clean tones. I’m working on modding a Squier Sonic Stratocaster HH 2 knobs into a more versatile setup.
- Tonerider Hot 90 pickups (bridge + neck), humbucker-sized
- 1x 500k log volume pot with treble bleed (1nF cap + 150kΩ resistor)
- 1x 500k no-load tone pot with 0.022µF tone cap
- Switch 3 positions

1. Will this wiring (treble bleed + no-load tone) be enough to keep things bright and defined, especially when rolling back volume?

2. Is 0.022µF the right value for the tone cap with P90s and 500k pots?

3. I considered a push-pull pot for series/parallel, but I’m not sure if it’s really worth it on these pickups. Has anyone tried that combo with P90s?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Boreas]

Welcome aboard!

I would say those components would be a good starting point. Except for the treble bleed and no-load pot, that is what I used for the soapbars in my Thinline and I am very happy.

 

[Centaur150]

Thanks a lot! so no-load pot is not necessary according to you.

But for the treble feed, I think it is important as these pickup are quite hot and I might need to decrease the volumes to play good clean as single coils.

 

[Boreas]

Thanks a lot! so no-load pot is not necessary according to you.

But for the treble feed, I think it is important as these pickup are quite hot and I might need to decrease the volumes to play good clean as single coils.

WRT the no-load pot - no, it isn't necessary, but it may be a good addition. I just didn't think about it when building mine.

 

[Centaur150]

Anybody has a positive feedback on parallel/serie push pull with P90 ? Because I need to find a extra flat pot to fit in my Squier as I don’t want to drill the body… thanks)

 

[Boreas]

Anybody has a positive feedback on parallel/serie push pull with P90 ? Because I need to find a extra flat pot to fit in my Squier as I don’t want to drill the body… thanks)

Have you considered a 4-way Oak/Grigsby switch instead? Same footprint. But I have never tried it with P90s. They are a different animal than SCs.

 

[Centaur150]

Not really but good idea) just need to find a right diagram… would serie be a good plus for P90 ?

 

[Centaur150]

Ohhh, I just noticed that the P90 I want to buy have metal covers. It will be tricky for me to install this on a 4 way switch…

 

[Dutch Treat]

Welcome! Push-pull to give series/parallel works great with p90's. Squier uses this exact setup on the Stratosonic. Pretty sure you'll love it.

 

[Zepfan]

Not sure about the Tonerider P94 pickups.
I have experience with the GFS Mean90 and the SD Phatcat pickups. The metal covers are grounded through the pickup base plate & ground wire.
I've done series/parallel with regular P90's and it wasn't desirable, too much of a good thing. P90's have a fat tone making a series option uncalled for.
Never used a treble bleed circuit on any pickup. Never needed one.
P90's & P94's tend to have a midrange grit to them unless you get the ceramic bar mag type or the alnico rod pole type.
I like my P90's & P94's with 500k linear pots(volume and tone) with .022 caps.