A 10 Way Strat Switch

Mudcrutch

Have just watched this latest YouTube video by Darrel Braun about a ten way Stratocaster switch.

I’m gonna have to try one.
https://youtu.be/H1iCOo26bec

monquixote

I've had two Strats that had extra pickup positions and in all cases the extra positions were crap.

andy_k

And I thought the 5 way on my Esquire was overkill.

Funkfingers

monquixote said:

I've had two Strats that had extra pickup positions and in all cases the extra positions were crap.

Harsh but (mostly) fair.

I am usually an advocate for Freeway selector switches. The ten-way Stratocaster version does not do anything I would want that cannot be achieved with a CRL sprung five-way selector switch and a mini toggle mode switch.

If you need a humbucker sound from an S-type guitar, install a humbucker on it. Job done.

SteveRobinson

Funkfingers said:

If you need a humbucker sound from an S-type guitar, install a humbucker on it.

It's the only way

Mudcrutch

I watched the video and thought it interesting enough to try one,Not just slag it off without giving it a go.
Apparently It's made in England so I would expect it to be a quality part and not some POS Asian made part. Will definitely try one. Interesting that the patented by a guy in GB and granted in 2007, so more than half the patent life has already expired. I wonder why it took so long to bring it to market. Hopefully because they were perfecting the design and manufacturing process of the part. It looks very cool and well thought out.

DartmoorHedgehog

Mudcrutch said:

I watched the video and thought it interesting enough to try one,Not just slag it off without giving it a go.

Sounds reasonable enough...

Mudcrutch said:

It's made in England so I would expect it to be a quality part and not some POS Asian made part..

... but then you dismiss everything made by everybody in an entire continent

Seriously though, it does look like a nice tidy solution if you need 10 positions and don't want to add another toggle switch. Personally I play 2-pickup guitars and pretty much never even use the middle position on those, so a 3-position switch is overkill for me   But somebody can probably make use of this.

Mudcrutch

Im going over to the John Robson YouTube let’s have a beer & talk guitars Live stream now.

ICBM

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Mudcrutch said:

It's made in England so I would expect it to be a quality part and not some POS Asian made part..

... but then you dismiss everything made by everybody in an entire continent

It is unfortunately true that it seems to be impossible - for unknown reasons, they're equally capable people - for any far-east manufacturer to make basic things like switches, jacks and pots that are actually as good as the old US manufacturers like Switchcraft, CRL, CTS etc. I really wish this wasn't the case, but it is... even the ones which look like almost exact copies use slightly flimsier parts and materials. I find it frustrating and annoying - it's not rocket science to just do it right.

DartmoorHedgehog

ICBM said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Mudcrutch said:

It's made in England so I would expect it to be a quality part and not some POS Asian made part..

... but then you dismiss everything made by everybody in an entire continent

It is unfortunately true that it seems to be impossible - for unknown reasons, they're equally capable people - for any far-east manufacturer to make basic things like switches, jacks and pots that are actually as good as the old US manufacturers like Switchcraft, CRL, CTS etc. I really wish this wasn't the case, but it is... even the ones which look like almost exact copies use slightly flimsier parts and materials. I find it frustrating and annoying - it's not rocket science to just do it right.

Probably because there is a market for cheap stuff - people seem to expect something for nothing and anything well-made is seen as over-priced (not saying I'm not guilty of this as well sometimes), and mass-manufacturers (who are often in China because that's where a lot of mass-manufacturing is going on these days) are filling the demand.  If people demand cheap stuff I don't think we should blame the manufacturers for making stuff cheaply.

But I know what you mean @ICBM - ideally nobody would make anything that is less than good and we'd all be happy to pay what that cost.

axisus

Personally I think that a strat has plenty of sounds as it is. I don't see the fascination of trying to squeeze more theoretical sounds out of a strat, most non guitarists just hear the 'sound of a guitar' whatever pickup you select anyway.

Philly_Q

As I said on @Hootsmon's Brian May thread today, I'm not at all keen on complicated wiring or push-pull pots or mini-switches - but when it's all on one switch like this, it's quite appealing.  And the sounds are good.

Funkfingers

The Brian May Red Special circuit is tedious to solder up but a doodle to operate. Each pickup is either on or it isn’t. Combinations are either in phase or they are not.

The pre-wired scratchplate assembly illustrated in Hoots’ thread was hamstrung by the use of mini toggle DPDT on/on switches rather than sliders. 

timmypix

I've had the S1 switch on an American Deluxe Strat (does the same job) and my brother-in-law has the Freeway 10-position switch on one of his Strats.
I find the Freeway much easier and more intuitive than I remember finding the S1 - I think that lends itself more to a single job, as it's just a smart push-push really - but again, the extra sounds aren't anything to write home about and remembering what's where is nigh-on impossible without having a cheat sheet to hand.

Headphones

I've used the "les paul" type for a few years now.  As a switching option/MMI it works wonderfully.  However, it's always noisey for the first few switching actions of use.  This is true for the two that I have.  This doesn't speak well for either build quality, or longevity (wheresoever it's built).

My Strats are configured with a push pull switch to put the mid pickup in series with the earth, this gives either the standard five (down) or NM series, M, M, M, BN series.  This is simple and easy to use and offers the useful versions from the ten way, I suggest.

FelineGuitars

Freeway are part of NSF controls that has been based in Yorkshire and running for over 100 years.

They used to have quite a big automotive parts operation called Lucas that used to be quite big when the UK had a car industry, that people over a certain age will remember.

Philly_Q

FelineGuitars said:

Freeway are part of NSF controls that has been based in Yorkshire and running for over 100 years.

They used to have quite a big automotive parts operation called Lucas that used to be quite big when the UK had a car industry, that people over a certain age will remember.

That's very interesting!  Wasn't there Lucas Aerospace at one point?  The name sprang to mind, at least.

Caffeine_Vampire

I've fallen back in love with my Freeway switch.

ICBM

FelineGuitars said:

Freeway are part of NSF controls that has been based in Yorkshire and running for over 100 years.

They used to have quite a big automotive parts operation called Lucas that used to be quite big when the UK had a car industry, that people over a certain age will remember.

I'm not sure that's a recommendation...

Those of us of a certain age will also recall the phrase "Lucas, Prince Of Darkness" .

Funkfingers

FREEWAY UPDATE
The side to side “bank” switching on my Freeway 3B3-01 switch just failed. 

It is possible that this was self-inflicted. It came to my attention just after I had changed the selector switch lever cap.

On the other hand, if pressing on a switch cap is sufficient to mess up the internals of the switch, you have to wonder whether it is robust enough for a live performance environment?

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

FREEWAY UPDATE
The side to side “bank” switching on my Freeway 3B3-01 switch just failed. 

It is possible that this was self-inflicted. It came to my attention just after I had changed the selector switch lever cap.

On the other hand, if pressing on a switch cap is sufficient to mess up the internals of the switch, you have to wonder whether it is robust enough for a live performance environment?

If it's definitely buggered and you want to post-mortem it in the interests of finding out why, I would be very interested to see pics of the insides...