How switch-freak are you?
- Thread starter Liko
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PFDarkside
of the Forum
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I also used to be crazy about switching. I was hell-bent on rewiring my Les Paul to Jimmy Page LP specs, and putting various options in Strats. I've since come to realize that the JP was not worth the headache for me, and that I really only need two push-pulls. One to split BOTH pickups at once and one to flip the phase of the neck pickup. That simplifies the wiring a lot, since the series/parallel option is the most involved.
For Strats, I've come to appreciate a simple 5-Way with tone on the neck and bridge. EQ correctly, and set the pickup heights right, and it'll give you an awesome array of tones. Maybe add a hotter bridge if needed....
I also used to be crazy about switching. I was hell-bent on rewiring my Les Paul to Jimmy Page LP specs, and putting various options in Strats. I've since come to realize that the JP was not worth the headache for me, and that I really only need two push-pulls. One to split BOTH pickups at once and one to flip the phase of the neck pickup. That simplifies the wiring a lot, since the series/parallel option is the most involved.
For Strats, I've come to appreciate a simple 5-Way with tone on the neck and bridge. EQ correctly, and set the pickup heights right, and it'll give you an awesome array of tones. Maybe add a hotter bridge if needed....
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I wanted to see, at one point, what all the fuss was about. If I really can't hear a difference between one coil of a humbucker split vs the other, there is no reason for it, and it is just in the way. I went through that with all kinds of switch craziness until I settled on a few things I like (HH, master volume & tone, 5-way with splits).
I wanted to see, at one point, what all the fuss was about. If I really can't hear a difference between one coil of a humbucker split vs the other, there is no reason for it, and it is just in the way. I went through that with all kinds of switch craziness until I settled on a few things I like (HH, master volume & tone, 5-way with splits).
HotHead
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I "Gilmour" modded my Strat. A simple on/off switch that turns on the neck pickup, so in positions 4 and 5, you get neck+middle+bridge and neck+bridge respectively. Neck+middle+bridge sounds pretty bad, at least for what I want. Imagine position 4, but much "quackier". Neck+bridge sounds great for clean and solos, almost like a Tele, depending on the pickups.
I "Gilmour" modded my Strat. A simple on/off switch that turns on the neck pickup, so in positions 4 and 5, you get neck+middle+bridge and neck+bridge respectively. Neck+middle+bridge sounds pretty bad, at least for what I want. Imagine position 4, but much "quackier". Neck+bridge sounds great for clean and solos, almost like a Tele, depending on the pickups.
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regan
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I have a 70's stereo white falcon which has 6 switches, so what's that 6x5x4x3x2x1=720!!??**! WTF options?
I reckon around 717 of those options were a pile of........ well you know.
I took the original harness out put a couple of tv jones in there 2 vol one tone and a 3 way switch and that works way better.
All but one of the switches are now for show.
I reckon that makes me very little switch freak
I have a 70's stereo white falcon which has 6 switches, so what's that 6x5x4x3x2x1=720!!??**! WTF options?
I reckon around 717 of those options were a pile of........ well you know.
I took the original harness out put a couple of tv jones in there 2 vol one tone and a 3 way switch and that works way better.
All but one of the switches are now for show.
I reckon that makes me very little switch freak
DeadandBuried
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
On my band guitars the less I have to touch the better. For the sound its a straight up plug-in-and-go type rhythm sound. Only changes in sounds come from switching channels on the amp.
For teaching guitars I sometimes use the volume to clean up and get different tones, although its more of what guitar suits the style and sound I want rather than switches and stuff.
On my band guitars the less I have to touch the better. For the sound its a straight up plug-in-and-go type rhythm sound. Only changes in sounds come from switching channels on the amp.
For teaching guitars I sometimes use the volume to clean up and get different tones, although its more of what guitar suits the style and sound I want rather than switches and stuff.
Juanhanglo
Active member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I am a superswitch junkie.
I use a superswitch, a dpdt switch, a Clapton mid boost, 4 lace sensors, and a dimarzio air Norton s for a pretty cool variety of my favorite tones.
I set the pickups from neck to bridge as follows in an HSH pattern
Lace hot gold
Air norton s
Lace hot gold
Lace red
Lace hot gold. (The last two are slanted like a strat and are split along the original start position )
The dpdt switch alternates between the following:
A standard strat 5 way setup using the bridge hot gold. This is a standard Clapton setup with a slightly brighter/thinner bridge position.
And the ibanez rg 2 humbucker switching using the airnorton s and the red/hotgold PUPS as a humbucker as follows:
Neck bucker
Neck parallel
Both buckers
Inner coils parallel
Bridge bucker.
I have grown to really like this one! The air norton s is located where it would be in a 24 fret guitar. This split with the red sensor has a cool sound that is somewhere between a tele middle and a strat bridge and middle position
This all goes through the Clapton mid boost/TBx setup.
I may modify a fender s1 switch to get more of a stealth look and lose the dpdt.
I also intend to play around with a few different lace sensors as the bridge sensors are a bit lacking for me, mainly the hot gold one.
My other is a superswitch, two dpdt switches, a set of lace hemibuckers, and a hot gold middle.
I do a basic 5way HSH thing here with 1dpdt to split both buckers to single coils and the other to turn the bridge on/off.
The super switch comes in to play to assign the tone pots to certain positions. Tone1, 500k, to neck and bridge. Tone 2, a 250k, to the middle. No tone controls for the in between positions.
I have never had a need for series or out of phase wiring.
I am a superswitch junkie.
I use a superswitch, a dpdt switch, a Clapton mid boost, 4 lace sensors, and a dimarzio air Norton s for a pretty cool variety of my favorite tones.
I set the pickups from neck to bridge as follows in an HSH pattern
Lace hot gold
Air norton s
Lace hot gold
Lace red
Lace hot gold. (The last two are slanted like a strat and are split along the original start position )
The dpdt switch alternates between the following:
A standard strat 5 way setup using the bridge hot gold. This is a standard Clapton setup with a slightly brighter/thinner bridge position.
And the ibanez rg 2 humbucker switching using the airnorton s and the red/hotgold PUPS as a humbucker as follows:
Neck bucker
Neck parallel
Both buckers
Inner coils parallel
Bridge bucker.
I have grown to really like this one! The air norton s is located where it would be in a 24 fret guitar. This split with the red sensor has a cool sound that is somewhere between a tele middle and a strat bridge and middle position
This all goes through the Clapton mid boost/TBx setup.
I may modify a fender s1 switch to get more of a stealth look and lose the dpdt.
I also intend to play around with a few different lace sensors as the bridge sensors are a bit lacking for me, mainly the hot gold one.
My other is a superswitch, two dpdt switches, a set of lace hemibuckers, and a hot gold middle.
I do a basic 5way HSH thing here with 1dpdt to split both buckers to single coils and the other to turn the bridge on/off.
The super switch comes in to play to assign the tone pots to certain positions. Tone1, 500k, to neck and bridge. Tone 2, a 250k, to the middle. No tone controls for the in between positions.
I have never had a need for series or out of phase wiring.
Liko
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
6 2-position switches is 2^6 = 64 tonal options assuming each switch is completely independent of all others. If all switches are 3-position (i.e. every coil in a triple-bucker setup individually controlled with two "on" options, i.e. off/in-phase/OOP or off/series/parallel) that expands to 3^6 = 729 options.
6 2-position switches is 2^6 = 64 tonal options assuming each switch is completely independent of all others. If all switches are 3-position (i.e. every coil in a triple-bucker setup individually controlled with two "on" options, i.e. off/in-phase/OOP or off/series/parallel) that expands to 3^6 = 729 options.
Liko
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
Thanks for the opinions, all. I hear the concerns from the "less is more" crowd, and that's one reason I'm not giving up the 5-way for something like individual pickup selection. The basic idea is to make the coil selection a "secondary" set of controls both in position and ergonomics, that change the effective pickup configuration of what is otherwise a basic Strat control set. You set the coils you want for a song or a set, as intuitively as I can make it, then you leave all that alone and concentrate on the "primary" controls while playing.
Thanks for the opinions, all. I hear the concerns from the "less is more" crowd, and that's one reason I'm not giving up the 5-way for something like individual pickup selection. The basic idea is to make the coil selection a "secondary" set of controls both in position and ergonomics, that change the effective pickup configuration of what is otherwise a basic Strat control set. You set the coils you want for a song or a set, as intuitively as I can make it, then you leave all that alone and concentrate on the "primary" controls while playing.
Securb
One of Jerry's Kids
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I have a couple of switch heavy guitars and some very straight forward axes. My HH Strat is cool because it has a ton of switching but looks stock. It has a super switch for coil splitting and a push pull for phase. This Japanese Iceman is so far from stock it is not funny. The three toggles are for coil split neck, coil split bridge and a phase switch.
I have a couple of switch heavy guitars and some very straight forward axes. My HH Strat is cool because it has a ton of switching but looks stock. It has a super switch for coil splitting and a push pull for phase. This Japanese Iceman is so far from stock it is not funny. The three toggles are for coil split neck, coil split bridge and a phase switch.
regan
New member
Re: How switch-freak are you?
I used to love switches!! I still like some of the 80s kramers or charvels that have on off switches for each pup vs a blade.. But, being so picky about the looks of my guitars, I resort more to discreet methods now like push pull pots..
I used to love switches!! I still like some of the 80s kramers or charvels that have on off switches for each pup vs a blade.. But, being so picky about the looks of my guitars, I resort more to discreet methods now like push pull pots..
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