How to tame OOP blade switch setting?

thornev

New member
Now that I've played my new SD Quarter Pounder Tele pickups with the 5-way Super Switch, one of the settings, the neck & bridge out of phase, is too extreme. Can someone tell me how to tame it? Maybe a capacitor somewhere? I know there's a 4-way diagram that has a half out of phase (HOOP) setting, but I don't understand the wiring enough to know how to emulate it. Help anyone? See attached images for how I have the wiring now (position 2 is the extreme OOP) and 3 samples with HOOP (two are the same but one is drawn more clearly).
 

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  • bill lawrence 5-way with HOOP.png
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Here's how Bill Lawrence did it.
https://infinityguitarworks.com/2022/01/14/the-bill-lawrence-half-out-of-phase-telecaster-mod/
But I don't know how to translate that switch's wiring to my Super Switch. Surely somebody here can help...please?

UPDATE: It looks like one cap goes between the common lugs for neck negative and opposite side of switch's common. And then I guess the other cap goes between a tone pot lug and its ground. That's easy if that's how I would do it on a Super Switch. Can someone verify?
 
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Looks like it's just a 0.01uF cap to ground on the neck hot lug that is the out of phase positive. Someone else will have to check me on that.
 
After much studying, I think I get it now. What confused me is that 2 different 5-way switches have their lug numbering completely opposite. The StewMac 5-way I purchased has the lugs numbered 5 to 1 ("Baby!") when the switch is stood upright. But a Fender 5-way has the lugs numbered 1 to 5 with the switch in the same position. Regardless, when the switch is in position 5, the number 5 lugs on all poles is active; with the switch in position 4, all number 4 lugs on all poles is active, et cetera. So now when I see the wiring on a switch, and lugs are soldered together, when the switch is in the positions where the lugs are soldered, whichever pickups are connected to those lugs, the pickups become activated.

And now I understand that getting a 180 degree OOP effect is established by switching the positive and negative leads on one of two pickups. And to get a HOOP effect, which is a 90 degree phase difference, a capacitor would be required - where, I'm still unsure, but I'll figure it out. I've seen a resistor added into the circuit which is another addition about which I want to understand. Resistors affect voltage so it probably has something to do with amplitude of the effect. Feel free to comment to augment my education.
 
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