# Moving Strat volume knob & filling the hole



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

I’m planning to get a Strat, but I can’t stand where the volume knob is, so I’m going to ditch a tone control and move the volume down a spot. But this will leave a hole. 

Anyone have a good idea about how to fill the hole? I saw this the other day, but unfortunately Shyboy didn’t get back to me when I asked what it was. Any idea what this is taking up the place of the usual volume knob?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Any help here?
metal hole closures - Google Search


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Fill? Dont even need to do that - just put some tape on the inside of the guard.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Yeah, use one of them metal hole caps. If you want to make it more invisible:

- put tape over top of hole
- flip pickguard over
- fill hole with epoxy
- when dry remove tape and sand/ buff as needed. 
- you can paint or if PG is white just use white epoxy


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

Go in reverse and drill your own holes, using your current pickguard as a template and a new blank pickguard.
(I've never shopped on EYPARTS [China], but I'm sure there are equiv. Canadian suppliers.)


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@Budda The "expression" on your dog's face is just killin' me!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

greco said:


> @Budda The "expression" on your dog's face is just killin' me!
> 
> View attachment 242484


I probably made her move her head by making sound, and she wasn't terribly happy about it. She's just glad there's no high pitched oscillation happening.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

It is like she is saying:

"Seriously, you and your forum friends had to interrupt my piece and quiet because of a pickguard...a stupid, plastic %$T%^&$ pickguard!!"


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

greco said:


> Any help here?
> metal hole closures - Google Search


Ah, perfect... and only $0.91 at Home Depot! Thanks! I figured they would have had a fancier name than “hole plug”. 



Budda said:


> Fill? Dont even need to do that - just put some tape on the inside of the guard.


I remember seeing yours in another thread, but I think I like the more “finished” look of the metal hole closure.  For your Strats, do you change the wiring to one master volume and one tone? The one I’m looking at has a tone control for bridge & middle and a separate one for the neck, which I think I’d always leave up all the way anyway. I’m tempted to see if I can just stuff that unnecessary tone pot somewhere in the cavity and scoot the volume down a hole for a soldering-free easily-reversible experience. Not sure if the wiring would accommodate that adjustment though. 



Granny Gremlin said:


> Yeah, use one of them metal hole caps. If you want to make it more invisible:


The epoxy is a neat idea, but I seem to have a habit of getting restless and not keeping my guitars forever. So reversible is important.



CathodeRay said:


> Go in reverse and drill your own holes


This would be ideal, but sadly more expensive than $0.91. Warmoth has some nice custom options too, but the international aspect adds a lot of extra cost. 

Thanks all for the suggestions!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

IMHO, Strats are one of the few guitars that have the Volume control in the right location. So just out of curiosity, why don't you like it there?


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## Smylight (Jun 28, 2016)

CathodeRay said:


> Go in reverse and drill your own holes, using your current pickguard as a template and a new blank pickguard.
> (I've never shopped on EYPARTS [China], but I'm sure there are equiv. Canadian suppliers.)


I quite often buy from EyParts. Great prices on pickguards, faster shipping than we're used to from eBayland China. Just know your stuff so you won't pay inflated prices on (some) other items. Alll in all, I'd wouldn't be hesitant to buy a pickguard from them, I've bought maybe a dozen with no problem whatsoever.


Pierre
www.torvisse.com


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

mhammer said:


> IMHO, Strats are one of the few guitars that have the Volume control in the right location. So just out of curiosity, why don't you like it there?


I like to palm-mute and sometimes strum closer to the bridge. The volume knob is always in the way. With previous Strats I’ve owned, the volume knob becomes loose because I’ve hit it so much with my hand.

I get that some people like it super close, but I’ve become pretty adept to volume swells on a Tele with the volume control considerably farther away. And apparently I’m not the only one that doesn’t like the volume so close.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

troyhead said:


> Not sure if the wiring would accommodate that adjustment though.


You can make it work. Interesting concept, BTW.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

troyhead said:


> I like to palm-mute and sometimes strum closer to the bridge. The volume knob is always in the way. With previous Strats I’ve owned, the volume knob becomes loose because I’ve hit it so much with my hand.
> 
> I get that some people like it super close, but I’ve become pretty adept to volume swells on a Tele with the volume control considerably farther away. And apparently I’m not the only one that doesn’t like the volume so close.


Question asked and asnwered.

So I gather you'd relocate the Volume to where the 1st Tone pot currently is? If you have the pinky for it, then more power to ya.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

troyhead said:


> And apparently I’m not the only one that doesn’t like the volume so close.


You can say that again!


troyhead said:


> And apparently I’m not the only one that doesn’t like the volume so close.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

@troyhead master vol master tone.

For what Im doing, everything stays on 10.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

If I had a guitar with a hole & a switch didn't get in the way I'd install a "Producer Switch"--which is what Lee Sklarr called it on one bass.
If the producer on a session was after him to change his sound he would flip the switch & ask who it was then--and quite often they liked it...


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

zontar said:


> If I had a guitar with a hole & a switch didn't get in the way I'd install a "Producer Switch"--which is what Lee Sklarr called it on one bass.
> If the producer on a session was after him to change his sound he would flip the switch & ask who it was then--and quite often they liked it...


Hahaha!! That’s great. I would do a similar thing I’d call a “phantom turn down” when a sound guy would ask me to turn down my amp. I’d pretend to adjust some knobs, play again and ask, “Is this okay?” Often it was okay.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I wonder if anyone makes "low profile knobs" for Strat players like yourself. Of course, it also requires a matching "short shaft pot". In other words, something that doesn't stick out very much from the pickguard, for players who don't mind that location _in principle_, but would rather not smash their hand against it.

Could be a new product market.

Hmmm.... Started entering "low profile guitar..." into Google and it completed "knobs" for me and coughed up a number of threads from the last dozen or more years on other forums concerning that request/query. I guess it's a more common problem than I thought.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I plugged the existing hole with a mini switch for the HB.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

CathodeRay said:


> Go in reverse and drill your own holes, using your current pickguard as a template and a new blank pickguard.
> (I've never shopped on EYPARTS [China], but I'm sure there are equiv. Canadian suppliers.)


Yes guitar parts is great to deal with.
I’ve found their pick guards match up with us specs - but I’ve never tried a strat guard from them.

My vote to close the hole is a momentary kill switch - Tom morello style.

Tom Morello Guitar Gear Rig: Rage Against The Machine - Guitar Gear Finder

Nathan


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

@troyhead Any decisions?


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

greco said:


> @troyhead Any decisions?


Yeah, I’m going to go with the 91 cent solution. And if that doesn’t look great I’ll get one of those guards @CathodeRay suggested, as I wasn’t aware you could get one with everything cut out except the holes for the knobs.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

troyhead said:


> Hahaha!! That’s great. I would do a similar thing I’d call a “phantom turn down” when a sound guy would ask me to turn down my amp. I’d pretend to adjust some knobs, play again and ask, “Is this okay?” Often it was okay.


You realise that half the time they know what you're doing but are all like ' Fuck another one of these assholes; fine whatever. Suck button engaged." So careful with that smuggness. Soundguys invented that trick so we're hip to it.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Dick Dale likes "the 91 cent solution" too, except that he likes the stock Strat volume location and foregoes the tone pots.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> You realise that half the time they know what you're doing but are all like ' Fuck another one of these assholes; fine whatever. Suck button engaged." So careful with that smuggness. Soundguys invented that trick so we're hip to it.


If the sound guy is going to intentionally make you sound worse than you're already making yourself sound, they should quit. Fuck that.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

just buy a new pickguard for $20 from warmoth. that's what i did. mine should be finished thursday night.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

troyhead said:


> Ah, perfect... and only $0.91 at Home Depot! Thanks! I figured they would have had a fancier name than “hole plug”.


Well, if you want something fancier, add the word “butt” to the front of your search words.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

that's why I like G&L, they put the vol knob about 1/2" lower and it's not in the way, like a strat

I noticed John Mayer's PRS Silver Sky does the same 

is there room to redrill the vol hole a bit lower? or custom drill a new guard


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Granny Gremlin said:


> You realise that half the time they know what you're doing but are all like ' Fuck another one of these assholes; fine whatever. Suck button engaged." So careful with that smuggness. Soundguys invented that trick so we're hip to it.


Yeah, I get that and it can be a jerky thing to do. I only do it if I am in a situation where I can barely hear myself already and turning down further would mean I can’t hear at all. At that point, it wouldn’t matter how good the sound is or not because it’s going to be half wrong notes anyway.


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2019)

troyhead said:


> it’s going to be half wrong notes anyway.


That's why one should play the same mistake twice so that everyone thinks that it's intentional. lol


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

troyhead said:


> unfortunately Shyboy didn’t get back to me when I asked what it was


On Instagram? He did. He replied it was a Shyboy. For details on the volume knob you’re best to call him.


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

Get one from Warmoth and delete the "Volume" control hole.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

BMW-KTM said:


> Get one from Warmoth and delete the "Volume" control hole.


Or get one from allparts. I was browsing guards yesterday while getting strings.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

BMW-KTM said:


> Get one from Warmoth and delete the "Volume" control hole.



that's exactly what i did, and it worked out great. that said, i do wish you could choose the bevel. a shallower angle would show off the plys better.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

troyhead said:


> Yeah, I get that and it can be a jerky thing to do. I only do it if I am in a situation where I can barely hear myself already and turning down further would mean I can’t hear at all. At that point, it wouldn’t matter how good the sound is or not because it’s going to be half wrong notes anyway.


It's counter-intuitive but yes, turn down! The main cause of muddy indistinct stage sound is phase issues due to too much volume comming at you from all directions. 

Think of it like this. Guitar is coming at you from behind, vs the monitors in front of you (as well as the one on the other side of the stage), vs the bass (part of your signal) only wrapping around from the front of house mains (all sorts of phase crazy that). On top of that you have the other guitar coming at you diagonally, then from the same monitors... It all piles up into one sonic traffic jam.

To fix it you need to minimise or remove as many of those as you can. You can't do anything about the FoH, but you can either turn down the amp(s) OR, not put guitar(s) in the monitors. The latter is my preference (as a musician): put all amps behind the drummer; nothing but vocals and kick in the monitors (barring anything weird and ampless like horns and DI'ed keys) - then you can crank the amps all you want. Doesn't work for quiet clean/low watt players (for that you need to go the other way). Another solution is in ear monitors, but they better be good ones or you end up cranking them and buggering your hearing (also takes some getting used to singing with your ears plugged up, if that applies).


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

DaddyDog said:


> On Instagram? He did. He replied it was a Shyboy. For details on the volume knob you’re best to call him.


I must have missed that. Instagram notifications aren’t that great.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

You could always buy a pickguard with the pickup holes and no pot holes. then drill to suit


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Mod complete. So much better for me! I can still feel the hole plug with my pinky, so there’s a small chance that at some point I might get a new pickguard and drill new holes as some have suggested. But I’ll probably get used to it and leave it. The fact that Dick Dale has these on his guitar as @mhammer pointed out (albeit in different spots) makes me like it all the more. 

The mod is reversible in 2 minutes with no soldering, as the other tone pot for the neck is indeed under there as well, fully turned up. The very annoying thing was that the ground wires on all the pickups were cut to exact lengths to attach to the volume pot. So I had to desolder those and add a little extension. 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!!


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

troyhead said:


> I like to palm-mute and sometimes strum closer to the bridge. The volume knob is always in the way. With previous Strats I’ve owned, the volume knob becomes loose because I’ve hit it so much with my hand.
> 
> I get that some people like it super close, but I’ve become pretty adept to volume swells on a Tele with the volume control considerably farther away. And apparently I’m not the only one that doesn’t like the volume so close.


A good friend can't play a Strat unless he does what you're doing first - it just gets in his way.

I'm fine with it myself but I do have a little trouble with my PRS as I accidentally change volume if I get too broad with my swing.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Good job. Neat.


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## Ayr Guitars (Oct 24, 2016)

Good work! I’ve seen various solutions to this - including stickers or a $0.05 plastic screw hole cover or some type of plug. That one looks good. 

I really dislike the Strat volume location as well. I purposely designed my “longboard” Strat with 2 knobs for that very reason. And I’ve had some pickgisrds cut with no pot holes drilled so I can place my own. I have a couple in my parts box, but I think they might be humbuckers.


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Ayr Guitars said:


> And I’ve had some pickgisrds cut with no pot holes drilled so I can place my own. I have a couple in my parts box, but I think they might be humbuckers.


If you happen to have an 11-hole parchment guard for S-S-S, let me know!


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

With everything on the pickguard, Strats are so easy to mod. If you want a Strat but not the control arrangement, change it. Easy, peasy. Good luck doing that with a Les Paul or ES-335. I just got used to the control location, but Strats aren't my go-to guitar anyways.

All these Clapton Strat threads have me thinking I might want to make a guard with the mid boost and fancy tone control. As long as I don't have to use power tools or cut into wood, I'm fine with doing mods on guitars. Funny, given that, you'd think Strats would be my favorite guitars.


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## Smylight (Jun 28, 2016)

nnieman said:


> Yes guitar parts is great to deal with.
> I’ve found their pick guards match up with us specs - but I’ve never tried a strat guard from them.
> 
> My vote to close the hole is a momentary kill switch - Tom morello style.
> ...


I've bought about a half-dozen 62-spec and they fit like old gloves. You can order with or without pot holes.


Pierre
www.torvisse.com


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## Smylight (Jun 28, 2016)

About pot holes... we have way too many of 'em round here in Winterland. So send a SASE and we'll try to get some to you. ;-)


Pierre
www.torvisse.com


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## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

Smylight said:


> About pot holes... we have way too many of 'em round here in Winterland. So send a SASE and we'll try to get some to you. ;-)


My street has enough already, but thanks for the offer.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Approved!


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