Here are some of my favorite wiring mods. They can be done with basic soldering skills. Some are easy, some are more complicated. There are many mods described on the web and in books. These are some that I have done on customer's guitars.
Parts are available from many source on the web. Allparts is a good site since minimum orders are $10, they have lots to choose from and you can find them in most music stores.
Quieting the Beast - This mod eliminates hum from a guitar with single coil pickups. This is an amazing mod that can be a little complicated. It requires both shielding and rewiring to remove ground loops. It removes the hum from guitars with single coil pickups, but you can use this with any guitar. The GuitarNuts website shows how to do it with strats, teles and basses. Shieding material is available from Monte Allums.
Maintain Treble at Low Volume - Often when the volume is turned down, the treble falls off. This mod maintains the treble level at low volume. This simple mod, standard on the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, can be done quickly and easily. Some just add a capacitor to the volume lugs on the volume control. Others add a capacitor and a resistor.
Les Paul Volume Mod - Allows independent volume control in the middle position. On some Les Paul guitars, when the selctor switch is in the middle position, either volume control modifies the volume for both pickups. This mod allows each pickup to be controlled independently.
Deaf Eddie Five-Tone Tele Mod - Deaf Eddie, Guitar Wacko!!! This mod creates 5 tones from a 2 pickup Tele without changing the looks of the guitar. The website even has an MP3 of what it sounds like. With the Five-Tone Tele scheme, you can select between:
NECK (plain ol' neck pup)
BRIDGE and NECK in SERIES (very Gibson-ish)
BRIDGE and NECK in PARALLEL (plain ol' Tele #2)
BRIDGE and NECK in SERIES/OUT OF PHASE(YIKES! What a stinger!)
BRIDGE (plain ol' Tele bridge)
Four-Tone Tele Mod - This mod is similar to the Five-Tone except you do not get the out of phase option.
Mike Richardson's Ten-Tone Strat Mod - A great mod that does not change the look of a strat. This is what it does ("+" is parallel, "*" is series):
Mode switch down
1. Bridge
2. Bridge + Middle
3. Bridge + Neck
4. Middle + Neck
5. Neck
Mode switch up
1. Bridge + Middle + Neck
2. Bridge * Middle
3. Bridge * Neck
4. Middle * Neck
5. Bridge * Middle * Neck
Seymour Duncan Wiring Diagrams - Shows how to wire almost any combination of single coil pickups and humbuckers together in practically ever style of guitar.
Fender Wiring Diagrams - Not really mods but a great resource for wiring guitars.
Strat Bridge/Neck Blender Mod - A blender pot allows you to blend (mix) the neck pickup or the bridge pickup into the signal which will provide you with 2 extra sounds, namely: bridge/neck (very Tele like) as well as all 3 pickups on simultaneously. If the 5-way is in the neck position, it blends in the bridge pickup. If the 5-way is in the bridge position it blends in the neck pickup. You can dial in as much or as little as you want. For example, one of Lindy Fralin's favorite ways to use blender wiring is add just a little bit of the neck pickup to warm up the bridge pickup.
