Hey all, here’s an update regarding my Fender EJ Strat; I fitted a 10-way Strat switch. A little history: last summer I sold my Deluxe Strat in order to finance my ‘64 Bandmaster. Although the Deluxe was a very nice guitar, my EJ Strat got played and the deluxe was there looking pretty. Better feel, better sound for the EJ Strat. Also the noiseless pickups in the Deluxe Strat were ok, but not great. But the S1 switch provided humbucker sounds which were killer, and I missed that switching option when playing my EJ Strat. I contacted the guy I sold the Strat if he’d be willing to sell me back the guitar, but he wouldn’t, he just was too pleased with the Deluxe Strat to let it go. Bummer. I discussed the switching options I was after with him, and he pointed me into the direction of the Free-Way switch. So during the X-mas holidays I ordered one, and this weekend I heated up my soldering iron and replaced the original 5-way switch with the new 10-way switch. I’m not a soldering hero, but if I can do it, consider it very doable. It’s just a bit smaller and a little more narrow than a regular 5-way switch. There was a minor discrepancy compared to the original EJ Strat wiring scheme (EJ = neck and bridge pickups to dedicated tonepots, middle pickup no tone control / Free-Way wiring scheme = neck and middle pickups to dedicated tonepots, bridge pickup no tone control). Initially I followed the F-W wiring scheme, but I couldn’t get used to the non controlled bridge pickup. Since I was unsure if messing with the wiring on my own initiative would impact other switching options, I sent an email message to Free-Way, asking them for advice. Within 15 minutes they replied with an appropriate answer to my question, and attached the corresponding wiring scheme I was after. Perfect!!!
So, what’s gained now? Are all 10 switching options just as useful? No. The neck and middle in series are too dark for my liking, but I don’t play jazz, so what do I know? ;-)
Personally I was after the middle and bridge in series option. But I must say that there are more interesting switching options as a bonus. Neck and bridge in parallel (like the telecaster middle position for your Eagles covers), neck and bridge in series (little darker humbucker sound than middle and bridge in series), and all three in parallel (sort of quack in between the regular Strat positions 2 and 4, interesting enough for me).
Are 10 positions too much not to get lost? Not really. They found a smart way to keep track on what you’re switching. When you push the switch blade to the bottom of the body, you access your regular 5 Strat sounds. Pull the blade with a short click a little upwards, and you get sort of second bank with the additional 5 switching options. I’d say: if you can handle a gear stick, you’ll be fine with this one as well ;-)
I have no clue about the durability of the switch, it’s in my guitar now for a couple of days and does fine so far, I’d expect it to be in service for the coming years.
I was about to post some pictures, but don’t seem to be able to upload those unfortunately. Anyway, you guys don’t miss a lot, my soldering skills are barely fit for purpose (not that nice and tidy). There’s a nice YouTube demo by this guy Darrel Braun. Google is your friend, if you might be interested.
Next week I’ll have time to shoot some iPhone demos and if they’re worth it, I’ll upload them at YouTube and post a link here.
Cheers,
Chris
So, what’s gained now? Are all 10 switching options just as useful? No. The neck and middle in series are too dark for my liking, but I don’t play jazz, so what do I know? ;-)
Personally I was after the middle and bridge in series option. But I must say that there are more interesting switching options as a bonus. Neck and bridge in parallel (like the telecaster middle position for your Eagles covers), neck and bridge in series (little darker humbucker sound than middle and bridge in series), and all three in parallel (sort of quack in between the regular Strat positions 2 and 4, interesting enough for me).
Are 10 positions too much not to get lost? Not really. They found a smart way to keep track on what you’re switching. When you push the switch blade to the bottom of the body, you access your regular 5 Strat sounds. Pull the blade with a short click a little upwards, and you get sort of second bank with the additional 5 switching options. I’d say: if you can handle a gear stick, you’ll be fine with this one as well ;-)
I have no clue about the durability of the switch, it’s in my guitar now for a couple of days and does fine so far, I’d expect it to be in service for the coming years.
I was about to post some pictures, but don’t seem to be able to upload those unfortunately. Anyway, you guys don’t miss a lot, my soldering skills are barely fit for purpose (not that nice and tidy). There’s a nice YouTube demo by this guy Darrel Braun. Google is your friend, if you might be interested.
Next week I’ll have time to shoot some iPhone demos and if they’re worth it, I’ll upload them at YouTube and post a link here.
Cheers,
Chris
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