Bill Lawernce 5 way tele switchinging harness

[Orville]

I just recently threw in a set of SD Alnico II Pro Tele in my G&L ASAT and I have to say they are awesome! Very vintage sounding. Very musical pickups with great touch sensitivity. Not as hot as the MFD's but that was my aim. A clean boost can make up that difference if needed. I bought a 5 way tele harness with it, and as a wiring novice I was able to follow the directions and solder it up, but I have a question for anyone who is familiar with the Bill Lawrence style 5 way wiring;

The 1st position is Neck pickup only but with "10% less low end". (I believe this harness was wired backwards in some way as every description on the Bill Lawrence 5 way has the 10% less at the 5th position) There is a 01mfd Sprague Orange Drop capacitor wired to the switch but my understanding is that is for the half out of phase. How is the low end output achieved, and can I adjust the amount of low end that is taken out? I only see the .022 Orange Drop on the Tone and the .01 Orange drop. I also had it made with the Stew Mac treble bleed circuit on the vol pot. Can anyone help me out on this?
I am trying to be more of a DIY rather than running off to a tech for stuff that I could do myself and have a sense of accomplishment when it actually sounds good LOL

Here is the 5 way setup with pos. 1 assumed closest to the vol knob

1- Neck -10% low end
2- Neck/middle parallel ( typical tele)
3- bridge
4- Neck/bridge half outta phase
5-Neck at full blast


Thanks !!

 

[freefrog]

Re: Bill Lawernce 5 way tele switchinging harness

Hi,

The 0.01 cap is there for the half out of phase tone. The "10% less low end" are just a side effect, due to the neck pickup being in series with the 0.01 capacitor. More details there, if necessary:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22967-mod-garage-the-bill-lawrence-5-way-telecaster-circuit

This circuit can be "adapted" in several ways: changing the value of the cap would change the frequencies affected (I personally prefer to use a 0.0047 cap in such a wiring but YMMV).

Putting a resistor in parallel with the 0.01 cap would make it roll off less bass but would also affect the HOOP tone, FWIW...

I'll try to do a 5spice simulation about that later. Right now, I'm way too busy. I hope this answer to be useful, nevertheless.

 

[Orville]

Re: Bill Lawernce 5 way tele switchinging harness

Hi,

The 0.01 cap is there for the half out of phase tone. The "10% less low end" are just a side effect, due to the neck pickup being in series with the 0.01 capacitor. More details there, if necessary:

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/22967-mod-garage-the-bill-lawrence-5-way-telecaster-circuit

This circuit can be "adapted" in several ways: changing the value of the cap would change the frequencies affected (I personally prefer to use a 0.0047 cap in such a wiring but YMMV).

Putting a resistor in parallel with the 0.01 cap would make it roll off less bass but would also affect the HOOP tone, FWIW...

I'll try to do a 5spice simulation about that later. Right now, I'm way too busy. I hope this answer to be useful, nevertheless.

Thank you! What would a .0047 do to both the HOOP and bass roll off?
Appreciate your responding.

 

[freefrog]

Re: Bill Lawernce 5 way tele switchinging harness

Thank you! What would a .0047 do to both the HOOP and bass roll off?
Appreciate your responding.

A 4.7nF cap would roll off a bit more bass than a 10nF one but it would generate a half out of phase sound that I personally find less "artificial", closer to the 2d or 4th position on a Strat.

Now and IMHO, the "best" wiring is different for each set of pickups and each guitar so my preference is not engraved in marble.

Anyway and FWIW, a 4.7nF series capacitor (=0.0047µF) is what we can find in Rickenbacker guitars so it's still not an absurd choice when it comes to roll off bass frequencies.

Do what you want on this basis and be happy!

 

[Orville]

Re: Bill Lawernce 5 way tele switchinging harness

A 4.7nF cap would roll off a bit more bass than a 10nF one but it would generate a half out of phase sound that I personally find less "artificial", closer to the 2d or 4th position on a Strat.

Now and IMHO, the "best" wiring is different for each set of pickups and each guitar so my preference is not engraved in marble.

Anyway and FWIW, a 4.7nF series capacitor (=0.0047µF) is what we can find in Rickenbacker guitars so it's still not an absurd choice when it comes to roll off bass frequencies.

Do what you want on this basis and be happy!

That 4.7nF sounds like what I want to hear from this guitar. Thanks! I guess I have to decide if I am in the " a cap is a cap as long as the value is correct" or " there is a difference between PIO and an Orange Drop" camp.