OK, my total ignorance of anything beyond a simple three-way switch is gonna show here...
Just got a very nice Classic Player 50s strat, and one of the USPs is that position 4 on the switch is actually neck + bridge as opposed to the traditional neck + middle.
It's actually a very interesting position... But I'm also a massive neck+middle fiend and while it can be hit by nudging the switch in between positions 3 and 4, I'd rather have that on position 4.
Now... Could the switch be wired in such a way that position 3 is not middle p/u on its own (which I never ever use), but neck+ bridge instead, while 4 would be neck+middle? Would also be OK if 4 is neck + bridge, and 3 is neck+middle if that's easier.
I'm just not familiar at all with that "stacked" 5-way switch...
This is the wiring:
Thanks a lot in advance for any insight you can offer!
Click here to see me butchering some classic solos!
Comments
(Or even three pickups plus one tone control, if you wanted - basically any combination of four things can be connected at once.)
It's a bit difficult to explain, but if you look at the diagram you should see that there are four connections at the extreme outer ends that are are all linked together and back to the volume control - these are the switch rotors. There are then four banks of five connections each which are the ones which are what you're selecting - they go in the opposite order from what it looks like, ie the ones closest to the neck are active when the switch is in the bridge position.
On bank 1 you need tags 1, 2 and 3 for the bridge pickup, and tag 4 for the middle.
On bank 2 you need tags 3, 4 and 5 for the neck pickup, and tag 2 for the middle.
Then you need to decide which tone controls you want active in each position... if you're with me so far you may be able to work out how to do that .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
My head hurts... Will try and figure it out though.
Just clarifying, by bank 1 do you mean the one closest to the left switch screw hole in the diagram above? And then counterclockwise for 2, 3 and 4?
All the '0' terminals are connected to the volume control, then the (up to) four things you want connected in each position go to the tags with that number. It's obviously easiest to dedicate two poles to each of the tone controls, and the other two to the pickups.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I think this could do it:
The only thing that puzzles me is that it seems that the position "names" are reversed vs the usual strat denomination (i.e. neck is actually 1 and not 5, etc). But given the existing wiring and what the various positions do, that's the only thing that makes sense.
@ICBM if you have a sec, does the above look OK to you? (the little oblong shapes are the actual tabs and not jumpers, I just couldn't be arsed with drawing rectangles )
Steve's method will work as well, since you don't want to have the two tone controls active in any position.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
High cohesion, low coupling (I used to be a software developer.)
But the real beauty of these switches is that once you see how they work, even very complex wiring combinations are easy to work out.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I shall have fun doing this (although I hate making/soldering little jumpers)
Mechanically speaking, the lever switch action is a rotation about a central hub. Obverse it sideways on whilst moving the switch tip. You should soon see what is happening.
I should have remembered from rewiring one a few years back that they love to twist the wires through eyelets (literally a full couple of turns, with the strands all tangled up). Absolute pig to make new clean connections. I reckon next time I might just start afresh with new pots/switch!
But all fine and dandy now. Thanks everyone for your help!