Superswitch brand recommendation

Winny_Pooh

I've a music man with a switch that is giving problems in one position & bending the pins towards the contacts have not sorted the issue. I believe it's a Schaller, should I buy another one or can anyone point me towards a more reliable option?

ICBM

CRL

Winny_Pooh

Thanks

gavin_axecaster

CRL don't make a "superswitch". Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean?

The Schaller is called a megaswitch. Is that just ego or does it have more switching options than standard 3/5 way switches?
https://www.allparts.com/EP-4276-000-Schaller-Model-E-5-Way-Megaswitch_p_4933.html
I'm not sure how that one works so not sure if one of the Oak Grigsby would be a viable alternative.

 Oak Grigsby make a single wafer superswitch and a double wafer superswitch.
StewMac have an OG double wafer with the terminals turned inward so it more easily fits a Tele control route.
http://www.stewmac.com/Pickups_and_Electronics/Components_and_Parts/Switches/Oak_Grigsby_Super_Switch.html
SIngle wafer for less than I can buy them trade.
http://www.toneshapers.com/switch-5-way-oak-grigsby-2-pole-superswitch.html

ICBM

gavin_axecaster said:

CRL don't make a "superswitch". Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean?

Yes they do.

https://www.banzaimusic.com/CRL-5-Way-Super-Switch.html

Oak Grigsby do them as well, but I've found the quality slightly lower than CRL.

gavin_axecaster said:

The Schaller is called a megaswitch. Is that just ego or does it have more switching options than standard 3/5 way switches?

The Megaswitch has preset different options from the standard 5-way. There are a couple of ways that you can wire them up to do different things. They are far less versatile than the CRL Superswitch though.

The problem with the Superswitch is working out how to wire it all up to give the options you want, since it's a pure 4P5T switch with no fixed wiring.

gavin_axecaster

Interesting - never seen that before and no sign of it on the Electroswitch website.
Does it have the spring like 3 and 5 ways?

Funkfingers

Winny_Pooh said:

music man / Schaller

Those PCB switches can be very clever but they tend not to be very robust.

The twenty four contact 4-pole Superswitch that ICBM described is now also available in a narrow format. (Basically, the spacers between the contact plates are shorter.) These can be persuaded into the regular control cavity of a Telecaster without modification. They should fit the EBMM guitar too.

The pickup coil permutations offered by the stock PCB switch can be replicated on the CRL Superswitch. You can probably find the correct schematic diagram on the DiMarzio Support web pages. These will even have the correct conductor colour codes.

martinw

Funkfingers said:

Winny_Pooh said:

music man / Schaller

Those PCB switches can be very clever but they tend not to be very robust.

I've had a Schaller Megaswitch-P in my Stormshadow since 2011. The internet told me the same thing, so I've been expecting it to fail for years, which it stubbornly refuses to do. It's done hundreds of gigs and rehearsals, not to mention hours of amp testing and practise.

ember447

martinw said:

Funkfingers said:

Winny_Pooh said:

music man / Schaller

Those PCB switches can be very clever but they tend not to be very robust.

I've had a Schaller Megaswitch-P in my Stormshadow since 2011. The internet told me the same thing, so I've been expecting it to fail for years, which it stubbornly refuses to do. It's done hundreds of gigs and rehearsals, not to mention hours of amp testing and practise.

Sorry to resurrect an old post....but can you show how you wired up the schaller megaswitch-P? The schaller website isn’t too friendly for noobs like me

prowla

I've got a couple of Freeway switches; they're quite flexible in the wiring options.

https://www.freewayswitch.com/

Funkfingers

ember447 said:

can you show how you wired up the schaller megaswitch-P?

Which one of us are you asking?

I have a Megaswitch P in a PRS SE Custom 24. I have photographs of its control cavity stored in my computer. (I’m posting this via my smartphone.) 

The official Schaller schematic diagrams illustrate where the connections go on the switch terminals. They take little account of the other controls that might be in your particular guitar. More importantly, the diagrams take no account of pickup output conductor insulation colour codes.

CasperCaster

gavin_axecaster said:

Interesting - never seen that before and no sign of it on the Electroswitch website.
Does it have the spring like 3 and 5 ways?

I bought some a few years ago, and no, they don't have a spring. It's a perfectly decent switch, but my thoughts at the time were that it really wasn't different to the Oak switch.

I've had a few circuit board type switches from Schaller (Mega Switches) and also Gunther Eyb/Goldo variants (I prefer the latter over Schaller due to the dimensions of the blade). I think they have the best action of all blade switches. If you overheat the boards whilst soldering you'll have trouble, but if you treat it appropriately they are fine, and certainly no reliability issues in use. I can't say the same for some of the traditionally constructed Superswitches I have had. I think a lot of the bad rep for circuit board switches is down to the really cheap ones found in entry level guitars, or because people approach wiring them wrong - go in with a 60W soldering iron and glob a huge amount of solder on and leave the iron in contact with the board for an age and of course its going to get ruined.

One thing that all Superswitches suffer from is the break-before-make action, which is unlike traditional 5-way switches. That brief silence and/or click between positions annoys the hell out of some people and doesn't bother others. If you want the versatility a Superswitch offers then that is the compromise. Accept it, or keep a standard switch and don't expect the same level of versatility, or perhaps cover your guitar with a multitude of extra switches...

As an aside, Schaller also make some of their Mega Switches as rotary versions, presumably for PRS owners. 

Funkfingers

CasperCaster said:

If you overheat the boards whilst soldering you'll have trouble … go in with a 60W soldering iron and glob a huge amount of solder on and leave the iron in contact with the board for an age and, of course, it’s going to get ruined.

I got my Megaswitch P cheaply for precisely that reason. Its previous owner had overheated the track adhesive at some point. 

My solution may have involved superglue, careful pre-tinning of the contacts and swift soldering of the pickup and ground wires.