Free-Way Switchers

Caffeine_Vampire

At the recommendation of a member here, I recently installed a Free-Way 10 way switch on my favourite Strat giving me lots of lovely series/parallel options. I’m very happy with the mod with 2 exceptions - There’s some noise when I’m flipping between pickups at volume, nothing that would bother a paying audience but enough to make me pull faces. Any ideas on how to tame the switch click? Also, I’m very close to getting the ‘fat Strat’ sound that I love with the 3 series options but I’ve lost just a little too much of the high end to be able to cut through the way I’m used to be able to do it with a Strat. Messing with amp/pedal eq’s gives me too much top end when I switch back to the regular 5 way and I can’t seem to find a compromise balance. No regrets doing the mod but it’s so close to what I’m after that it’s frustrating. I can’t drive because of health issues so being able to take a jack of all trades guitar to gigs is a must atm. Any advice?

ICBM

You’re going to have to live with it. Both those problems are inherent to series/parallel switching and the change in pickup impedance/inductance it causes - it’s not the switch itself.

Caffeine_Vampire

@ICBM Yeah, you’re right. Still no regrets about installing it though. My Strat has gone from versatile to stupidly versatile. I’m starting to find the eq balance that works for all switching options. Weirdly, adding a little fuzz beneath my o/d pushes it into some very useable places. 

Funkfingers

The same issues crop up if you do the variation on the Brian May Red Special circuit that offers the choice of series or parallel modes. 

Caffeine_Vampire

@Funkfingers I guess you gotta try these things. I’m finding ways to make it work for me, I’m just in a slightly different ballpark to the one I expected to be in. 

prowla

I still haven't got mine on my Ric yet; I need to sort out the bridge first...

Caffeine_Vampire

@prowla It’s a good mod, just takes a little effort dialling in. 

prowla

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@prowla It’s a good mod, just takes a little effort dialling in. 

Yep - it's going to be like a normal 3-way selector but with single-coil/humbucker for each position.

Caffeine_Vampire

prowla said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

@prowla It’s a good mod, just takes a little effort dialling in. 

Yep - it's going to be like a normal 3-way selector but with single-coil/humbucker for each position.

I’m doing similar on one of my Tele’s. 

Caffeine_Vampire

2 independent o/d pedals have solved my problems.