anyone else knock their strat pickup switch all the time? EDIT:problem solved!

stonevibe

RaymondLin said:

I swear a saw a kickstarter or something thing on Facebook to fix this not long ago.

It's called a Telecaster... 

thegummy

stonevibe said:

RaymondLin said:

I swear a saw a kickstarter or something thing on Facebook to fix this not long ago.

It's called a Telecaster... 

Nah it's called dexterity lol

ICBM

thegummy said:

Do the people who hit the switch also struggle trying to only play some of the strings without hitting the others?

No, that's a different type of technique. But I do knock the controls when I'm deliberately strumming all six stings at once.

HAL9000 said:

Just looked at a Pacifica I’ve got knocking around and on which I’ve never accidentally hit the switch. On the Pacifica the switch is set slightly (~1cm) further back which appears to be enough to get it out of the way but still leaves it within easy to reach when you want it.

Likewise on my Aria.

stonevibe said:

It's called a Telecaster... 

I hit the switches on those too. And reversing the plate just makes it worse, because then the volume control is right in the way.

The best control arrangement for me is the PRS one with volume, tone, and the toggle switch behind the bridge - that way I never hit anything I don't want to, but it's easy to adjust the volume or flip the switch when I do want to.

thegummy

ICBM said:

thegummy said:

Do the people who hit the switch also struggle trying to only play some of the strings without hitting the others?

No, that's a different type of technique. But I do knock the controls when I'm deliberately strumming all six stings at once.

I wonder if the people who have this problem started out on, or mainly use, a different guitar that doesn't have a switch there and they've got in to the habbit of letting their hand go there.

It seems that if they have the control to only play some strings without playing others they'd also be able to control their hands from hitting the switch, they'd just have to unlearn their habbit.

I've never had the problem but until about 5 years ago I'd only ever played a Strat so I learned to strum with that switch being there.

TTBZ

I started on a strat copy but switched to a Les Paul after a few years and never really went back. I still have my strat but as I said it's just a humbucker and a volume which is placed like they do it on superstrats ie down and forward. I just find I have to be too careful on a normal strat and it hampers my playing especially for anything heavy or aggressive - it's not something I ever have to worry about on literally any other guitar. Even on mine with the knob moved I have to play with my picking hand closed in a fist which feels weird. I've come to realise teles are a better fit for me anyway  

Nerine

Never knock the switch on my Suhr Classic Pro, but yeah, occasionally I find the volume control is not quite where I left it. 

No such issues on my Alt-T. 

axisus

I think it can make a difference if you are a Philip Sayce type player or a Hank Marvin type player.

axisus

barnstorm said:

RaymondLin said:

I swear a saw a kickstarter or something thing on Facebook to fix this not long ago.

https://www.theswitchlock.com/

It's a clever idea but I don't like the look of it. I like a 100% trad look for a strat, I'm not saying I think they should look that way, it's just how  like them personally.

mikeyrob73

Main reason i don’t own a strat. Not the guitars fault it’s mine for being a clumsy heavy handed arsehole 

Bridgehouse

Sounds to me like there’s too many people here with over-vigorous wrist action... *ahem*

Moe_Zambeek

I solve this problem by only ever using the bridge pickup on mine. 

rossi

I dont have that trouble but I did bend a switch 3 way  lever once  on my tele so it angled over towards the lower bout .i think I had dropped the guitar ..It still worked  fine and was out of the way a few  extra MM .I  dont play strats in anger usually teles .

Fez

Occasionally but not enough to be a problem.

simonhpieman

Anyone who said "no" to the original question spent the rest of the set with their pickup selector in the wrong position.

BahHumbug

I did used to knock the switch....when I was 14.  At some point in the intervening 35 years my strumming technique has become less about energetic flailing.....

Devil#20

It won't stop you hitting the switch but if you are just knocking it over it may be a weak detent. If it's an Oak Grigsby then whizz it in the bin and replace it with a CRL switch. Much stronger detent and a more positive feel to it. 

Voxman

No probs with the selector switch ever - but I used to keep nudging the volume knob on my 69 which lowered the volume and was really annoying, but since finding a very simple fix for this on you tube (putting a foam doughnut round the spindle), that's been completely remedied.

xscaramanga

axisus said:

Is there any way to make a switch a bit stiffer??

I've got a Superswitch in one of my Strats which is stiff as hell! I think I got it from AxesRUs. 

It also lets me automatically take the tone controls out of the circuit entirely in positions 2 and 4, which I love.

I hate that the superswitch breaks the connection when you switch though, so the signal is interrupted when changing pickups. If there were a way around that (and the stiffness, actually) I'd have one on in all my Strats.

imalrightjack

I constantly roll down the volume unintentionally.

thegummy

jonnyscaramanga said:

axisus said:

Is there any way to make a switch a bit stiffer??

I've got a Superswitch in one of my Strats which is stiff as hell! I think I got it from AxesRUs. 

It also lets me automatically take the tone controls out of the circuit entirely in positions 2 and 4, which I love.

I hate that the superswitch breaks the connection when you switch though, so the signal is interrupted when changing pickups. If there were a way around that (and the stiffness, actually) I'd have one on in all my Strats.

I've heard that before about the connection breaking but I always use superswitches and have never noticed anything with it.

Is it at gig volume that it's problematic?