EJ and JV Strat wiring diagram question

[harrysmo]

I would assume that since the Eric Johnson and Jimmie Vaughan Signature Stratocasters function in the same way- the middle pickup has no tone control and the bridge pickup is wired to the T2 tone control pot, that the wiring diagram would be pretty much the same. Not so according to the Fender website. The pickup wiring to the selector switch is completely different for both. I am confused. Shouldn't they be the same?

[scooteraz]

In essence, yes. From the Fender website, Eric Johnson wiring here and Jimmie Vaughn here.

What you will notice different from your assumption is that the connections to the tone pots occurs only when the appropriate pickup is selected (the pickups do not go to the tone pot first, the 5-way actually switches the tone pots in and out. Otherwise, both models are wired functionally identically. The difference you noted was merely which lugs the wires physically attach to. The lug layout on a 5 way switch is easily confused.

[thaus]

scooteraz is correct. I actually don't mind not having tone control on the middle. It seems to have a nicer tone wide open like that on my EJ mind you, it could be the pup too!! I generally never play the middle but with my EJ, I've been using it more than before!

[harrysmo]

Thanks scooteraz. Great explanation.
And thaus, I'll go further and state that Fender should change the wiring configuration in all future standard strats to be the same as the EJ's. It's a much more usable and (most importantly) toneful layout. A real improvement over (gasp!) vintage. Remember- during Leo's tenure at Fender the strat never received a 5-way switch.
I never really used the middle pickup on my other strats except for position #2 & #4, same as most strat players. However it is my favorite now. I use it to get a raw acoustic tone and it sounds great with finger-picked arpeggios kind of stuff. The in-between tones sound extra "clucky" too, especially the neck/mid position, very articulate. Probably since that position always had two tone knobs to go thru to get a sound it's nice to hear it "open up". The fact that the pickups themselves are incredible for a production strat helps too