Strat alt wiring options

english_bob · February 28

stickyfiddle said:

Given the 4-way Tele switch exists, I’m actually slightly surprised no one makes a 6-way Strat switch, to let you add B+N at the final position beyond neck only.

There's also the Freeway 10-way switch to consider. Gives you neck and bridge in series or in parallel and some other options without losing and of the stuff you already have:

wiring diagram for free way switch 5b5

stickyfiddle · February 28

Crikey that's mad! Quite impressive but far too complicated for me on stage I think...

LionAquaLooper · February 28

english_bob said:

stickyfiddle said:

Given the 4-way Tele switch exists, I’m actually slightly surprised no one makes a 6-way Strat switch, to let you add B+N at the final position beyond neck only.

There's also the Freeway 10-way switch to consider. Gives you neck and bridge in series or in parallel and some other options without losing and of the stuff you already have:

My strat has the S1 switch that does these series/parallel combos but I've found the multitude of pickup combos just gets in the way *of playing and don't really add anything significant that I can't get from the standard strat 5 pickup combos. The only thing I like from it is the neck and bridge in tandem. YMMV.

english_bob · February 28

stickyfiddle said:

Crikey that's mad! Quite impressive but far too complicated for me on stage I think...

It does seem like it would be a bit like driving a truck.

LionAquaLooper · February 28

Whoever invented that 10 combo configuration must have been like "well it can be done, therefore it must be done. Something new to add to a strat!".

Yorkie · February 28

The first thing I would do is do a zero-hour test to see if I liked the sound: swap middle and neck pickups, switch to position 2 and have a play. Then if you like it you can start thinking about a 'neck add' push-pull, a blender pot or a superswitch.

LionAquaLooper · February 28

Yorkie said:

The first thing I would do is do a zero-hour test to see if I liked the sound: swap middle and neck pickups, switch to position 2 and have a play. Then if you like it you can start thinking about a 'neck add' push-pull, a blender pot or a superswitch.

I'd be tempted to just leave it that way and to hell with blender pots and extra switches!

If you don't care about losing bridge+mid position:

Position 1 = bridge
Position 2 = neck and bridge
Position 3 = neck
Position 4 = neck and mid
Position 5 = mid

ICBM · February 28

Yorkie said:

The first thing I would do is do a zero-hour test to see if I liked the sound: swap middle and neck pickups, switch to position 2 and have a play. Then if you like it you can start thinking about a 'neck add' push-pull, a blender pot or a superswitch.

(Edit - doh, no, I was thinking of swapping pickups to get RWRP or not in the two positions.) Yes, you can just swap the wires at the switch to try that.

Really, if you never use the middle pickup at all, just get the Megaswitch E - it will do exactly what you want with no other complications.

stickyfiddle · February 28

ICBM said:

Yorkie said:

The first thing I would do is do a zero-hour test to see if I liked the sound: swap middle and neck pickups, switch to position 2 and have a play. Then if you like it you can start thinking about a 'neck add' push-pull, a blender pot or a superswitch.

Easier said than done if the loom has been made properly, since the middle pickup wires aren't long enough to move it to the neck position. You *can* unsolder them at the pickup eyelets and swap there, but that carries a significant risk of damaging the pickups, if you're unlucky - usually fixable, but not something for the inexperienced really.

Really, if you never use the middle pickup at all, just get the Megaswitch E - it will do exactly what you want with no other complications.

Yeah this is where I'm likely headed. II'l try one of the quicker fixes first but if I like the sound then it's a no brainer imo.

Then my other Strat is getting Brent Mason-ed I think. At least one firebird pickup will be involved...

Yorkie · February 28

I've got bridge and neck enabled on both my strats. It came as standard issue with the Ibanez, and once I knew I liked the sound I added push-pulls to the Fender.
Good luck,
Jon

Funkfingers · February 28

I am of an age where I have tried a fair number of the alternative Stratocaster wiring concepts. Usually, I go with the simple conventional five-way switch. Sometimes, I add the Gilmour Mod neck pickup switch. Sometimes, I employ a Superswitch so that position 3 is neck and bridge combined in parallel rather than middle pickup by itself.

How the Neck + Bridge selection sounds depends on which pickups are involved. 2 x vintage style Stratocaster single coils can be lacklustre. Duncan APS-1N + Twangbanger never quite lives up to expectations. DiMarzio Chopper + Fast Track 1 is altogether more interesting.

Dave_Mc · February 28

Yeah the Megaswitch is probably the easiest, least invasive way. Just bear in mind, it won't sound exactly the way it does on a Tele, it's quite a bit more "bland" on a Strat, for want of a better word

stickyfiddle · February 28

Dave_Mc said:

Yeah the Megaswitch is probably the easiest, least invasive way. Just bear in mind, it won't sound exactly the way it does on a Tele, it's quite a bit more "bland" on a Strat, for want of a better word

Yep that’s understood. Not expecting it to be identical but if it’s at least useable that’d be brill.

Dave_Mc · February 28

stickyfiddle said:

Given the 4-way Tele switch exists, I’m actually slightly surprised no one makes a 6-way Strat switch, to let you add B+N at the final position beyond neck only.

They do. https://www.premierguitar.com/diy/mod-garage/mod-garage-breakthrough-electroswitchs-new-6-way-strat-switch ; Problem is it's longer so you have to mod the scratchplate slightly...

Dave_Mc · February 28

stickyfiddle said:

Dave_Mc said:

Yeah the Megaswitch is probably the easiest, least invasive way. Just bear in mind, it won't sound exactly the way it does on a Tele, it's quite a bit more "bland" on a Strat, for want of a better word

Yep that’s understood. Not expecting it to be identical but if it’s at least useable that’d be brill.

No worries, just making sure! It should be at worst usable, I would guess.

Just noticed the Freeway was mentioned- I agree with the assessment that not all of the extra sounds are good. And it's a bit of a pain to wire, at least compared to a standard 5-way. You could argue it's less faff than a bunch of push-pulls, though- so if you do like all of the extra sounds and want it to be as seamless as possible, it's worth considering.

But basically if you know you never use the middle pickup alone, as @ICBM rightly said the Schaller Megaswitch is the easiest. I just don't like it because I do like the middle position alone!

Yorkie · February 28

When I was researching alternative switching options I read that the different superswitches had durability issues. So in the end I went the push-pull way, adding series switching too. Ironically, series is the one setting that hasn’t yet made it into one of my recordings

ICBM · February 28

Funkfingers said:

How the Neck + Bridge selection sounds depends on which pickups are involved. 2 x vintage style Stratocaster single coils can be lacklustre. Duncan APS-1N + Twangbanger never quite lives up to expectations. DiMarzio Chopper + Fast Track 1 is altogether more interesting.

That’s very useful to know - I have those pickups in my Aria... currently just with a standard 5-way switch.

Dave_Mc said:

But basically if you know you never use the middle pickup alone, as @ICBM rightly said the Schaller Megaswitch is the easiest. I just don't like it because I do like the middle position alone!

Me too. The frustrating thing for me is that I would happily sacrifice the bridge/middle setting on a standard SSS Strat to get bridge/neck - but if you use a hotter bridge pickup, like a Tele bridge, then the bridge/middle starts to improve... there’s just no perfect Strat/Tele hybrid, it’s a circle that can’t be squared.

So I’ve ended up with a HSH PRS which can't do any of those sounds perfectly, but all of them well enough.

maltingsaudio · February 28

Mod given to me by David White works really well

Funkfingers · February 29

ICBM said:

Funkfingers said:
DiMarzio Chopper + Fast Track 1 is altogether more interesting.

That’s very useful to know - I have those pickups in my Aria... currently just with a standard 5-way switch.

I went the Schaller Megaswitch E route because the middle pickup on my guitar is the loathsome DiMarzio Cruiser Neck. (I dislike this pickup almost as much as you dislike the Duncan Vintage Rails.)

Dave_Mc · March 2

ICBM said:
Dave_Mc said:

But basically if you know you never use the middle pickup alone, as @ICBM rightly said the Schaller Megaswitch is the easiest. I just don't like it because I do like the middle position alone!
Me too. The frustrating thing for me is that I would happily sacrifice the bridge/middle setting on a standard SSS Strat to get bridge/neck - but if you use a hotter bridge pickup, like a Tele bridge, then the bridge/middle starts to improve... there’s just no perfect Strat/Tele hybrid, it’s a circle that can’t be squared.

So I’ve ended up with a HSH PRS which can't do any of those sounds perfectly, but all of them well enough.

I wouldn't really want to lose any of the standard 5 Strat tones for bridge + neck... to my ears neck + bridge on a Strat is less useful than any of those.

I agree with you about there being no perfect Tele/Strat hybrid, but funnily enough I prefer the bridge/middle on a Strat to a Tele bridge combined with a Strat middle!

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