Mid and Neck single coils in parallel as standard?

[RandomHero]

My 7-stringer's got a H/S/S pickup configuration, with your standard 5-way switching.

I was wondering if there was any way to make it so that when the switch was in position "4," the mid and neck single coils are in parallel, as standard.

I was considering one of StewMacs "E" model megaswitches for some new switching combos, and combining it with an EMG-SPC. Does anyone have experience with the "E" Megaswitches? It looks like it has some -very- interesting switching capabilities!

[wolf]

Random Hero
Wouldn't the standard 5 way switching be:
1- Humbucker
2- Humbucker & Middle
3 - Middle
4- Middle and Bridge and
5- Bridge

How does the 5 way switch currently switch the pickups?

Maybe you could get what you want with the switch that is already in your guitar.

[RandomHero]

Currently, the switching is as follows, with the numbers I refer to the positions as.

1- Bridge HB
2- Bridge HB + Mid SC
3- Mid SC
4- Mid SC + Neck SC
5- Neck SC

I am without doubt going to install an EMG-SPC so I can get humbucker-like tones out of my neck pups. However, the standard 5-way connects all combinations of pickups in parallel. I'm wondering if there is a way to get it to connect the mid and neck pups in series instead, while leaving the rest of the switching as parallel.

As far as the "E" model megaswitch goes, I was just wondering about what sorts of tones that gets out of its unconventional combinations; it looks like it would be interesting to pair with an SPC, as well, and maybe instead!

[wolf]

I think I could make a diagram for this switching:
neck only,
neck and middle in series,
middle only,
middle & bridge in parallel,
and bridge only
provided you are using the standard Fender 5 way switch (or some variation thereof). There would be no need to get a new switch. You might have to settle for a master tone control instead of seperate tone controls for middle and neck positions.

Yes, I suppose the super-switch would give you all kinds of sound combinations but let me make a vaguely valid analogy.
Here is a color selection chart on my website:
www.1728.com/colrchr2.htm

It literally can display 16,777,216 text colors AND 16,777,216 background colors for someone choosing website colors. That means there are literally 281,474,976,710,656 possible color combinations (roughly 281 trillion) someone could try. Granted, the super-switch won't give you 281 trillion sound choices but still, is it worth going "overboard" to get all kinds of outrageous combinations?
As you know, I designed and built a switching system to get 94 sounds from a 3 humbucker guitar:
www.1728.com/guitar3.htm
I really don't think it was worth the effort - but maybe that's just me.

[GuyaGuy]

keep in mind that putting yr neck + mid pu in series will double their output so you may want to change a tone pot to a vol pot for the neck + mid.

that's a problem of combining SCs and HBs, whether you're making 2 SCs a HB, cutting a coil, or simply plaing a SC/HB guitar: the HB tends to overpower the SC--or in this case a HB of lower impedance values.

i used to love guitars w/ crazy wiring and lots of switches, but a lot of that kind of wiring can get too big for its own britches.

as it were.

(recently i read an interview w/ leo fender. the interviewer asked him why he chose the 5-way switch which doesn't allow certain combinations. his answer was basically "we used what we could find." )

[wolf]

GuyaGuy
About Leo Fender's guitars having limited switching options, his saying "we used what we could find" sums it up nicely. Fender and Gibson make some pretty nice guitars - yet they won't spend an extra few bucks to make those guitars soar into the stratosphere with all the tonal possibilities that are potentially inside of them. Well, I guess that's why we have sites such as these.

[wolf]

Random Hero
I've thought it out and it can be done with the switch you presently have in your guitar except for position 4.
Instead of Middle coil in parallel with the Bridge pickup, you'd get Neck and Middle in series and the Bridge pickup would be in parallel with those. (This is the equivalent of the middle switch position in a Gibson Les Paul or SG. Not a bad choice). If you like this, then I'll draw up a diagram.

[CheshireCat]

wolf said:

Granted, the super-switch won't give you 281 trillion sound choices but still, is it worth going "overboard" to get all kinds of outrageous combinations?

Well, a SuperSwitch would definitely be effective in this regard. I'll play with it.

I mean, just because you have a SuperSwitch doesn't mean you have to go over the top. ;D

wolf said:

GuyaGuy
About Leo Fender's guitars having limited switching options, his saying "we used what we could find" sums it up nicely. Fender and Gibson make some pretty nice guitars - yet they won't spend an extra few bucks to make those guitars soar into the stratosphere with all the tonal possibilities that are potentially inside of them. Well, I guess that's why we have sites such as these.

Ergo, the advent of the S-1 Switch.

Chesh