Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix

zjokka
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Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix Nov 9, 2005 8:59:10 GMT -5

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Post by zjokka on Nov 9, 2005 8:59:10 GMT -5

hi all,

I've come across Dan Armstrong's Super Strat mod a few times, but it's just about that strange little -won't-tell-you-all phrase in the introduction:

You can wrest six wiring combinations from a pair of pickups. Three pickups, however, allow for a whopping 35 combinations. As alluring as this sounds to Strat players, it's a problem to access so many colors in a practical way. For over 20 years, I've applied my twisted mind to the question of how to switch three pickups. I experienced many an "aha!" during this time, including [glow=red,2,300]a "secret switch" for Jimi Hendrix[/glow] , the 9-way switching for Fender's The Strat, and the "stock parts only" project for Guitar Player in Feb.'87.

users.adelphia.net/~cygnusx_1/armstrong_jpeg.html

Does anybody know anything about this switch? Did he have a series switch?

ZJ

wolf
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Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix Nov 9, 2005 10:14:51 GMT -5

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Post by wolf on Nov 9, 2005 10:14:51 GMT -5

zjokka
It seems that Dan Armstrong mentions the secret switch but doesn't say exactly what it does.
Incidentally, here's a better drawing of that diagram you posted:
www.dominocs.com/ToneWorks/armstrongstrat.html

That secret switch may be one of the 12 settings that Dan Armstrong mentions in his rewiring article. Who knows? It may be a "bridge on" or "neck on" pickup switch.

Are you planning on rewiring a 3 single coil guitar with Dan Armstrong's schematic?

zjokka
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Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix Nov 10, 2005 17:42:18 GMT -5

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Post by zjokka on Nov 10, 2005 17:42:18 GMT -5

hi wolf,

typed a long posting went googling, found this:

There are two other alterations to Jimi's guitars that may or may not have happened. Jess Hansen of the Jimi Hendrix Archives stood onstage at Jimi's last concert in Seattle. He clearly remembers seeing another toggle switch on the back of the black Strat, located approximately where the neck joins the body. Jimi manipulated this switch throughout the evening, though its effect, purpose, or permanency, is not known. Bill Lawrence, one of the world's foremost experts on guitars and their electronics, says he suggested a design to Jimi for rewiring his Stratocasters. Dan Armstrong, another fine craftsman who learned much of what he knows from Lawrence, may have actually done the work. (Lawrence was not certain whether it happened, and Armstrong did not respond to our repeated queries.) Whatever, it may have been a one-time modification, since Goldrich, Barrett, and Stickells - those most immediately responsible for Jimi's equipment - know nothing of such a rewiring of the stock instruments with which they kept Jimi supplied.

www.geocities.com/abexile/jimisgear.html

well, well....

ZJ

Last Edit: Nov 10, 2005 17:48:11 GMT -5 by zjokka

RandomHero Administrator Indignant Upstart Posts: 517 Likes: 2	Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix Nov 10, 2005 20:09:09 GMT -5 Reply Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by RandomHero on Nov 10, 2005 20:09:09 GMT -5 Curiouser and curiouser...
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Dan Armstrong's "Secret Switch" for Jimi Hendrix

Post by zjokka on Nov 9, 2005 8:59:10 GMT -5

Post by wolf on Nov 9, 2005 10:14:51 GMT -5

Post by zjokka on Nov 10, 2005 17:42:18 GMT -5

Post by RandomHero on Nov 10, 2005 20:09:09 GMT -5