3 Pickup Teles 5 way wiring diagram question

[6v6]

I tried this wiring diagram:

guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/8882

Position 1, 2 and 4 sounded great but 3 and 5 neck and bridge sounded awful/strange, like a weak hollow honking tone not suitable for anything!

None of the Tele diagrams there have this set up 1) bridge 2) bridge and middle 3) middle 4) middle and neck 5) neck with single volume and one tone control

like a strat but with only one tone control.

Can anyone point to a website which has a wiring diagram with this specification utilising a 5 way super switch?

[newey]

6v6-

The link has about 5 diagrams, which one did you use?

Eliminating a tone control is not likely to be the source of your problem.

but 3 and 5 neck and bridge sounded awful/strange,

I thought 3 and 5 would be middle and neck?

All of the diagrams you linked to use either a "half Superswitch" or a full Superswitch (or Megaswitch equivalent). What type of switch are you using?

None of the Tele diagrams there have this set up 1) bridge 2) bridge and middle 3) middle 4) middle and neck 5) neck with single volume and one tone control
like a strat but with only one tone control.
Can anyone point to a website which has a wiring diagram with this specification utilising a 5 way super switch?

What you describe is the standard Strat wiring, which can be done with a regular Strat switch. It doesn't need a Superswitch. But a Superswitch can certainly be used, if that's what you have. I doubt you'll find a diagram for it, however, as the whole point of using a Superswitch is to have other wiring options that aren't possible with the regular 5-way switch. Using a Superswitch is a bit of overkill.

In the usual Strat wiring, one pole of the switch is used to switch the two tone pots, but with a master V and T you don't need to do that. The single tone pot is wired off of the volume control, not off of the switch. You can consult virtually any guitar wiring diagram that uses a master V and T to see how this is done. Generally, wire from the CCW lug of the Volume pot to the wiper of the tone pot, then wire the tone cap to the CW lug of the tone pot and the other end of the cap to ground (usually on the shell of the pot).

As for wiring the Superswitch like a regular Strat switch, you'll only use 2 poles of the Superswitch. Wire both commons of the poles you're using together, then wire them to the Volume pot CCW lug. On one pole, the middle pickup "hot" wire will connect to lugs 2,3 and 4. On the other pole, the neck "hot will connect to lugs 4 and 5, and the bridge "hot" to 1 and 2. The ground wires from each pickup are then wired together to your grounding point.

[6v6]

The diagram is the one in described in the subject of the post which is the fourth one scrolling down in the link "3 pickup Tele 5 way" and yes the swiching is not logical
which makes operation confusing

The wiring I have done is correct and replicates the diagram.

[MattB]

It sounds like your neck pickup might be out of phase. Neck and bridge in series certainly shouldn't sound weak or honky. This thread describes an easy way to test:

guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/4938/testing-phase-screwdriver-pull-test

[6v6]

I tried the test using Reaper, the bridge and neck appear in phase the middle is RWRP.

Bridge is Bare Knuckles Yardbirds, middle is John Sur V60LP neck is 1974 neck strat pickup

[newey]

Jun 20, 2022 7:00:54 GMT -5 6v6 said:

The diagram is the one in described in the subject of the post which is the fourth one scrolling down in the link "3 pickup Tele 5 way"

OK, got it. I'm with MattB, sounds like the neck is out of phase, assuming you are getting both N and Br pickups at those settings. While the screwdriver pull-off should tell the tale, it can sometimes be hard to interpret those results. I'd try reversing the leads on the neck pickup to see if that solves the problem. Given that you are using 3 different pickups from 3 different manufascturers, OOP is the most likely culprit.

If, however, you have already decided to scrap that plan and go with regular Strat wiring, I described how to do that with a Superswitch. If you need a diagram, let me know.

[6v6]

Thank you - please send me a diagram - meanwhile i wil investigate further

[MattB]

Only half the superswitch is shown. Use one wafer and leave the other empty.

[6v6]

Thank you for the diagram.

I don't think it matters if the pickups are from different manufactures after all they, are all just six magnets surrounded by a coil of wire

I have noticed that the neck pick up winding is a reversed winding version on the 3 pick up tele 5 way compared to the bridge but not on the diagram you sent

I didn't spot that before

I will try reversing them and see if I can hear a difference

[6v6]

Glad to report back reversing the connection has improved matters vastly, however the tone using position 3 and 5 neck and bridge parallel/series does sound a tad nasel for my tastes

- is that what should be hearing? Having said that I rarely use the middle position on its own on a conventional strat.

[newey]

Jun 21, 2022 6:44:58 GMT -5 6v6 said:

I don't think it matters if the pickups are from different manufactures after all they, are all just six magnets surrounded by a coil of wire

It does matter because magnetic polarity and winding direction affect phasing. What one manufacturer calls a "north coil" is not necessarily the same as another manufacturer, and winding direction matters as well.

If two pickups have the North poles of their magnets pointing in the same direction, but are wound in the opposite direction, they will be out of phase with each other unless the connections are reversed on one.

If two pickups are wound in the same direction, but have their magnets pointed in opposite directions, they will likewise be out of phase with each other unless the connections are reversed on one or the other of the two.

Not sure why you are getting a "nasal" tone with the N and B pickups. You should hear a difference between the series and parallel combos of N and B.

[6v6]

There is a difference in tone between the two positions

The neck and the bridge polarity is south to the strings, the middle north

Both neck and bridge have the ground wire (black) on the left looking down

Therefore both should be clockwise, I can see where the magnet wire enters/exits the

coil on the 70's neck pickup but the yardbird bridge magnet wire is obscured by tape

to protect it from damage.

[newey]

Jun 21, 2022 12:47:59 GMT -5 6v6 said:

The neck and the bridge polarity is south to the strings, the middle north

Did you test this, or are you going by what the manufacturers said?

If swapping the neck wires resulted in a more normal sound, then the neck was out of phase. QED.

As for the wires, wire colors are arbitrary from one manufacturer to the next, and the fact that both black wires are "on the left" doesn't tell us winding direction. It is often hard to tell that from just looking at a pickup.

[Deleted]

Why not record the sound on YouTube and play then back.
Say what you don't like in each position and see if we can do each one to get it right for you .

There is no correct way to do things. It's down to your personal taste. After l I like Bjork singing some heavy metal I can not stand the singer

[ashcatlt]

When you say “nasal”, I immediately think maybe you’re just getting more of the bridge pickup in the mix than you’d really like. You might try adjusting pickup heights to see if you can balance that out better.

[6v6]

The tele pickup I have followes this spec:

51-64 42 PE 9200 CCW 7.5 A5 South

According to this website (and bare knuckles have confirmed this) it is out of phase with the neck cw south but

works fine with the middle

I think I will go with the strat wiring diagram sent before in that case

www.skguitar.com/SKGS/sk/pickup_specs.htm

[6v6]

Well I tried that (tele 5 position 3 pickup 1/2 5way super switch) however the position combining neck and middle was weak and horrible, which must mean out of phase.

I can live with not having that option and was wondering there was a diagram offering 1)bridge 2) bridge and middle 3) middle 4)neck using a 4 position switch?

I did not like having one position on the switch that had a naff tone.

[6v6]

Sorry - not thinking this through clearly I reversed the neck wires and all is well - each position sounds as expected

[Deleted]

It's a basic switch so if you don't like middle and Neck (N+M) then swap Middle that connects to the 4th position and put the bridge

A0 & B0 Output
A1 Bridge , B1 Not Connected
A2 Bridge , B2 Middle
A3 Not Connected, A3 Middle
A4 Bridge, B4 Neck
A5 Not Connected, B5 Neck

Or
A4 Neck, B4 Not Connected
A5 Neck, B5 Bridge

You can have it in any order you want just marry them up
Even Robin the Frog could do it

[6v6]

Thank you to everybody for all the help - got there in the end!