Strat Wiring must be the most modded wiring of all. It’s not that the original wiring isn’t great, there are just so many other possibilities. When I worked as a guitar repairer I re-wired a lot of Stratocasters. There are so many options, so many things that can be changed. A lot of players have their favourite versions of wiring up these fantastic guitars.

What I did find when I as modifying other peoples guitars is they would often come back to something close to standard wiring in the end. After trying multiple switching in every combination, series, parallel, coil tapping, humbuckers … it goes on, they often returned their Strat so something very close to the way Leo Fender originally did it back in 1954. There is a lot to be said in favour of simplicity.

Here I’m simply going to show you the standard way of wiring a Strat and add one simple and useful modification – that cheeky little red wire. I can’t recall ever being asked to remove this modification to a Strat’s wiring, there’s simply no disadvantage.

Here is the diagram using the colour code for my own single coil pickups.

Strat Wiring Diagram

Strat wiring plus simple tone mod — Strat Wiring

How Strat controls work

The heart of Stratocasters is the 5 way switch. Interestingly it wasn’t until 1977 that Fender fitted them as standard. Before that it was a 3 way switch and players had to ‘balance’ it between 2 positions to get that famous in between Strat tone. We’ve got it easy these days. Position 2 or 4 on a 5 way is such an iconic Stratocaster sound – you can spot it anywhere.

That sound with 2 pickups on is often incorrectly called ‘out of phase’ – here’s a blog explaining what it really is.

Here is a Stratocaster control plate. It looks straightforward but why are there 2 tone controls? Must be treble and bass yeah? Well no, it’s a bit more complicated than that. This is a passive system (no battery) so the tones just cut treble giving your sound less highs, they can’t boost bass. The middle knob marked tone is the control for the neck pickup and the end one for the middle pickup.

With the switch in the position shown the neck pickup is selected and the middle knob acts as a tone. If this 5 way switch was 2 clicks on it would select just the middle pickup and the end tone know would be engaged.So you can pre-set a tone setting for a pickup. I guess it was considered a step up from the Telecaster’s single tone control for the whole guitar.

That’s great but it means with a standard stratocaster there is no tone control for the bridge pickup. If ever there was a pickup that needed a bit less treble its the strat bridge pickup. If you refer back to the wiring diagram you can see a little red wire on the switch connecting 2 legs together. Adding that little wire with mean that the tone control for the middle pickup will also work for the bridge pickup.

It’s the simplest of all Strat Wiring mods but a very useful one and a good place to start if you’re new to experimenting with wiring.

What is SSS, HSS and HSH?

SSS – means 2 single coil pickups so a simply a standard Strat configuration.

HSS – That’s a Strat but with a humbucker (H) in the bridge position. The reason you might want a humbucker is for a fatter bridge pickup sound. Standard Strat bridge pickups can sound a bit weedy. All the Strat bridge pickups I make have a little bit more power to offset this but a humbucker may well suit you better anyway. This makes for a very versatile guitar but retaining the simplicity of the original design. On stage there is so much going on that complicated switching options can often work against you.

HSH – You’ve guessed it – there’s a humbucker in the neck and bridge positions. This is often used with coil tapping. The idea is to have both Gibson and Fender sounds in one guitar. Usually positions 1 and 5 of the switch will give either bridge or neck humbucker on their own. Positions 2, 3 and 4 will be combinations of the middle single coil pickup and the humbucker with 1 coil switched off (coil tapping) or series/parallel etc. There are so many options and combinations possible and some spectacularly complicated wiring to figure out to make it work.

For some of the more complicated wiring options the conventional 5 way switch just isn’t enough. There is a type of switch commonly called a ‘super switch’ that gives these extra options. It looks the same from the outside and is the same to operate but under the hood there’s a lot more going on. This switch allows you to wire up just about all the options imaginable. Maybe I’ll write more about them some other time.

Do I turn it all up full?

A lot of players do but I feel they’re missing out on a lot of tones. Try backing off the volume and tone to about 8 and setting the amp sound to that. It really is worth trying it. As you turn the volume down your sound looses a little treble. This can really smooth things out and give you an easier tone to work with. With your volume at 8 you also have somewhere to go if you need that bit extra for a big solo.

Now I’m at the end of this blog I realise there are a lot more diagrams to draw and a lot of wiring options to discuss. Not just for Strats, there are modifications that can be done on any guitar.

For more Strat stuff and a listen to my own Strat pickups here’s my YouTube Strat Pickup demo playlist.

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HS Strat wiring diagram — HS Strat Wiring Diagram

Pickup String Spacing — HS Strat Wiring Diagram

updated 3 April 2023

You often come across the terms HSS in reference to guitar pickups but what does HSS mean? And while we’re at it, What do HSH and SSS mean too?

It’s all about the pickup configuration in a guitar (usually a Strat style guitar).

Put simply it means Humbucker, Single coil, Single coil and refers to the pickup configuration in an electric guitar.

Traditionally Stratocasters had 3 single coil pickups SSS – single, single, single. But there are other options – replacing the bridge pickup for a humbucker – HSS, humbucker, single, single. Or replacing both bridge and neck for humbuckers – HSH, humbucker, single, humbucker. I’m sure you get the point.

Why would you want a bridge humbucker?

Surely Fender know what they’re doing so why mess with it?

Well, the Stratocaster first went into production in 1954 and has barely changed since. Although the guitar is the same, music certainly isn’t. Changing the bridge pickup for a humbucker can give you way more options.

What is the difference between humbucker and single coil tone?

Humbuckers are generally more powerful and have a fuller tone. They will push an amplifier into overdrive more easily. The humbucker sound is fatter and less percussive.

If you’re interested here is how humbuckers work.

This is a great configuration but for rock players the bridge pickup can be a bit thin and weedy sounding.

There is a place for every tone but a lot of players do prefer having a bit more power in the bridge position.

SSS Strat with Lace Sensor pickups — SSS Strat

What’s the solution?

With the advent of replacement pickups players started fitting humbuckers in the bridge position. It can involve some routing (not always) but it really fattens up that bridge position sound. The HSS (humbucker, single, single) Strat was born.

HSS guitars are hugely versatile. You get the best of both worlds. All the lovely clean single coil tones but with a fat lead tone when you need it. It’s like combining a Strat with a Les Paul and can really open up possibilities.

By now you’ve guessed HSH – humbucker, single, humbucker . This is another hugely versatile set up but we’re getting further away from the original Strat tones here. This is really popular with rock players from the. 1980’s on. The neck position humbucker gives those lush thick fat lead tones associated with Gibsons – think ‘Still Got The Blues’.

With all these extra tonal options come more wiring possibilities. Humbuckers have 2 coils. That gives the option to have those coils wired in series (conventional humbucker) or in parallel- similar to a single coil tone.

There’s also the option of coil tap where one of the 2 coils is turned off.

How those wiring options sounds is going to be the subject of another blog/video.

What is a swimming pool route?

If you have a conventional Strat type guitar it does require a bit of woodworking to fit a humbucker at the bridge position.

Here is what a Strat looks like under the pickguard. As you can see a humbucker won’t fit in that small cavity.

Strat Body routed for SSS — SSS Strat Body

But some Strats have what is known as a swimming pool route. With this type of body any pickup configuration will fit. SSS, HSS, HSH, you just need to change the pickguard. It looks like this:

Strat body with swimming pool route — Swimming Pool Route

There is a school of thought though that this ruins the sound of a Stratocaster. I’m not getting into that discussion here.

So What does HSS mean?

Well, it’s simply an option for pickups on (usually) a Stratocaster type guitar.

There are so many tonal options with a Strat, so many changes you can make. if you are getting into modifying (modding) guitars then a Strat is a perfect platform for experimenting.

Here are the options for my Strat pickups. And here are my humbuckers. There are too many variables to discuss here but if you have any questions about which combination will work best for you just get in touch.

I hope this has been helpful and answered What does HSS mean?

What does HSS mean?