Why doesn't the tone control work for the bridge-only pickup on my Stratocaster?

Why doesn't the tone control work for the bridge-only pickup on my Stratocaster?

It works on a few, approximately 1% of Stratocaster guitars whether made by Fender or by Squier, or Affinity, Fender Japan, Fender Taiwan, Fender Mexico, American (circa 1991) or Fender China and more have no tone control on the bridge pickup. The tone controls do work for the other four switch positions.

Does this mean your Stratocaster is defective?

No, just a design that was only meant to please the inventor, Mr. Leo Fender.

Leo wanted a pickup position that sounded similar to a steel guitar. So now, the bridge pickup selection has no tone control wired to it whatsoever and no one at Fender Corp. since then has seemed to notice. They have failed to hear what guitarists for years have asked. Can we simply have a tone control on our bridge pickup?

Next time your guitar goes in the shop for any "tweak" whatsoever, ask the tech to put the tone back on the bridge for you. Most likely he'll do it. It's an easy fix. Stop in and see Haywire Custom Shop when you're in Myrtle Beach and we'll fix yours while you wait. 15 minutes and it's done.

The fix is in the highlighted area

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A Volume Balance Control On An Electric Guitar

The Other Volume Balance, Fade or Pan Control On Your Electric Guitar

In addition to the standard volume control on an electric guitar there is another way to change volume output level. An electric guitar has a hidden volume output control built into it much like a "Fader or Pan Knob" in a stereo system. Players almost never use it because they can't find it-but it's right there. Here is a tip and something we do often in the Custom Shop at Haywire Guitars. If you want to lose or gain a bit of volume in your guitar in a specific area, whether playing live or in a studio, then try this: lower one or both of the pickups. The farther away the strings are from the pickups the "lower" the volume output will be. When the pickups are farther away from the strings the lower the volume will be on that pickup. The pickups will not "pick up" the string vibrations as well and thus - giving you lower volume output. Why is that a good thing?  Raising and lowering a pickup is considered an important and viable adjustment for "equalizing" volume output between two or more pickups. One analogy is to think of the pickup as a microphone and the string as a vocalist. The farther the singer gets from a mike-the lower the volume and less they will be heard.

Each pickup on your guitar has an elevator screw on either side that when turned will bring it closer or farther from the bottom of the strings where it picks up (electrical impulses transferred into) sound. Adjusting the side screws can be used to make an "over-all" change by turning both screws or just one screw on one side of the pickup. The pickup may be raised or lowered depending on how much the player wants to affect the volume and/or tone. The volume can be lowered on one side while being increased on the other side simply by turning the adjustment screws opposite directions. A tone difference will be heard as well.  In that case you'll notice a distinct tilt in the pickup. If a player feels when he moves his selector switch to change to a different pickup selection that there is a noticeable volume change he can simply raise or lower any pickup to compensate for the difference.  Quite often I'll hear a player remark, "This front pickup sounds great-but my back pickup is weak, do I need to buy a new pickup"?  The answer is clearly,"NO".  It's akin to returning your new car to the dealership for a refund because the seat is too far away from the steering wheel. Learn how to make the adjustments that sound good to you. Empower yourself a bit. Learn how to do it so you don't have to rely on someone else.

So, again............the proximity of the pickups from the strings will allow the guitar another source of volume control and sound texture you didn't know was available! Think of this as and extra balance, pan or fade control. This adjustment acts much like a volume control. The pickups on electric guitars are adjustable for height because players want control to either raise or lower "action" but the side adjuster screws of the pickups have another "surprise" benefit which is to change the volume if you choose as well as getting them out of the way to afford lower action. Try it!

Proper pickup adjustment is not as "optional" as you may think but rather, personal. You'll find the sound of the pickups is a bit truer when adjusted to your ears. It's one more way to change your sound to what YOU like as a player......and the best news is: you can do it yourself !

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