Telecaster 4 way switching for pickups in series

Devil#20

Having recently done this on my test bed tele I had to butcher the lever by notching the sides out so that the first position would slot into the detent properly. Wasn't happy having to do this and it was down to the slop (ie. backlash between the lever and the sweeper). Anyway, I've decided to bin off the 4 way and replace it with a 3 war CRL switch and put a microswitch between the tone and volume knobs to override the 3 way to select series. This way you can just use it as a normal tele for the most part and occasionally when you need the series you can just flip the switch. Has anybody done this because I need a wiring diagram of how to do so. I found one but it doesn't look right to me or it's confusing to see exactly how they've wired it up. I need one proven to work from somebody who's done it. 

ICBM

Better to use a push-pull (or push-push) pot and avoid buggering the plate.

Wire it like this -



'Up' is series on that diagram, so if you're using a pull-pot and you want the pulled position to be series, do it with the pot body at the top of the pic.

Devil#20

Just dug out a cts push pull pot and quick depth measurement looks like it'll be OK. Sounds like a better plan. 

CasperCaster

There is a diagram on the Fralin site, which I posted on your other thread a couple of weeks ago! 

Funkfingers

Alternatively, consider the Freeway 3B3-01 six-way switch. (Two banks of three positions.) With a "Strat-voiced" neck/Rhythm position pickup, steel bridge saddles and a strategically placed .01uF capacitor, the parallel, half-out-of-phase sound is well worth having.

Devil#20

CasperCaster said:

There is a diagram on the Fralin site, which I posted on your other thread a couple of weeks ago! 

You did. I need to dig it out again because ISTR I wasn't sure about something on it. I think it showed an additional capacitor in the circuit (as well as the 0.047uF) that it had no details of. I've saved it somewhere. It might be the cap that @Funkfingers mentions. 

Devil#20

CasperCaster said:

There is a diagram on the Fralin site, which I posted on your other thread a couple of weeks ago! 

I dug it out again and the thing that confused me was where the cap was connected and Earthed. Normally, I'd Earth it on the volume pot lug that earths to the volume pot itself. Drawing the circuit out as a circuit diagram it looks like it can be done both ways so the diagram you've shown me looks correct so I'm sticking with that one but leaving the cap where it is currently.  

Funkfingers

Devil#20 said:

CasperCaster said:

diagram on the Fralin site

I think it showed an additional capacitor in the circuit (as well as the 0.047uF) that it had no details of. I've saved it somewhere. It might be the cap that Funkfingers mentions. 

There are several T-style circuit diagrams on the Fralin site.

One of them has a second resistor, connected in parallel with a 500k volume pot. This is so the bridge position single coil “sees” 250k whilst the neck position humbucker gets the full 500k.

The capacitor to which I referred was specific to the half-out-of-phase pickup combinations on a Freeway 3B3-01 selector switch.

Circuits exist to provide the half-out-of-phase sounds via a five-way, four-pole Superswitch. 

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?

Funkfingers

Fixed it ... eventually. 


Meanwhile, for the benefit of the incurably curious, here are pics of the innards of the Freeway 3B3-01 six-way selector switch.

The PCB tracks.
https://i.imgur.com/qFbRiqK.jpg

Lever positions, labelled as per the official NSF/Freeway schematic diagram.

1 - Bridge pickup only
https://i.imgur.com/HUG2XWW.jpg

2 - Bridge and Neck, in parallel, in phase
https://i.imgur.com/dSAsZud.jpg

3 - Neck pickup only
https://i.imgur.com/YaPG1kK.jpg

4 - Bridge and Neck, in parallel, out of phase
https://i.imgur.com/O9ZjdGx.jpg

5 - Bridge and Neck, in series, out of phase
https://i.imgur.com/IVm7GMI.jpg

6 - Bridge and Neck, in series, in phase
https://i.imgur.com/FUfYOZs.jpg

ICBM

Clever, but it does look a bit flimsy and as if it would be easy to disturb the operation, as you’ve found...

I won’t ask you to take the mechanical section apart! I suspect that might be a bit risky if you ever want it to work again.

The PCB etch reminds me of a Sinclair calculator circa 1979 .

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

I won’t ask you to take the mechanical section apart.

I did look under the sliding black plastic block but did not photograph it.

There is a metal peg on the side of the selector lever that engages with a hole on the back of the black block. Together, these raise and lower the block to engage one or other of the “banks”.

ICBM said:

… that might be a bit risky if you ever want it to work again.

Took me two attempts to get it right. (Despite over four decades of fiddling with guitar electronics!) Even now, I shift selections with great trepidation. I do not entirely trust the thing not to go wrong again.

The switch is staying in my Squier Telecaster for now while I evaluate the six sounds. If/when I decide that I could live with fewer options, I shall decide what switch design to try next. (Front runner is Schaller Megaswitch M, circuit SS3.)



UPDATE: Freeway switch still working properly despite efforts to provoke it into failure.

Georg_Figel

You can also use the toggle to change the middle position: Switching between series or parallel. My Richie Kotzen Tele has that instead of a tone knob.

Devil#20

Funkfingers said:

The switch is staying in my Squier Telecaster for now while I evaluate the six sounds. If/when I decide that I could live with fewer options, I shall decide what switch design to try next. (Front runner is Schaller Megaswitch M, circuit SS3.)



UPDATE: Freeway switch still working properly despite efforts to provoke it into failure.

You're essentially doing what I'm doing with my Squier tele (ie. messing about with different switching configurations) so be interested in getting your opinion. 

I've only tried 4 way switching with the series option. I used a 4 way Oak Grigsby which was useless. Too much slack in the switch meant I had to notch the blade to get it to drop into the detents for 1 and 4 positions and it was hit and miss even then. Binned that idea off and was going to use a DPDT between the Tone and Volume but in the end I listened to @ICBM and opted for a 3 way CRL and a CTS push pull pot instead. I quite like the series selection and it gives a bit more grunt as expected. 

I was surprised when I opened up the tele that the neck was routed to take a humbucker so at some point I'm going to have a go with one of them but other stuff to try on the SS config. 

It's actually not a bad guitar now. I put copper shielding foil throughout. I also took the neck off sanded it and tru-oiled it and it's miles better now. I levelled, dressed and polished the frets and replaced the tuners with some Kluson DeLuxe vintage tuners. I've obviously lost the headstock decal now and don't know whether to put a Squire one back on or just put a partscaster or something else on it when I next change the config and then nitro over it. Anything but a Fender Telecaster decal on it anyway because then it becomes a fake. It's obvious if you know what you're looking at that it isn't but if I ever move it on I wouldn't want someone trying to sell it on as a Fender Tele. My plans to put it back to standard at some point have now gone out of the window as a consequence. Ah well. It only cost me £70 in the first place and it was as in 'unplayed' condition. 

axisus

I tried it once. I didn't think the extra sound was worth it. Uninstalled a day later.

Funkfingers

What you get from the two pickups connected in series depends on which pickups you have.