selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

[Quicksilver689]

Guys,

I have a Schecter C-1 Classic which *supposedly* uses a 5-way megaswitch of some kind (but I honestly don't know) - its' wiring diagram can be found here. Can anyone confirm what kind of 5-way switch the C-1 Classic actually uses (Schecter Tech Support doesn't even know for sure - they told me that they "just receive them from their supplier")?

I have been looking around for other wiring capabilities, and I really like the idea of having positions 2 & 4 having either both outer or both inner coils together in parallel (which the current wiring scheme does not allow for). Can anyone confirm that the Schaller "P" Megaswitch will provide what I'm looking for as sold here at StewMac? If not, what is the best (and hopefully, easiest and most cost-effective) selector switch that I should buy? Or can I accomplish that with the stock 5-way switch in my C-1 Classic?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

What I'm wanting to accomplish is this:

Guitar wiring diagram with 2 humbuckers, 5-way 4-pole lever switch, one volume and one tone control. Same 5 pickup configurations as the PRS 5 way rotary switching. Note: If you are using standard humbuckers (seymour Duncan, Gibson, etc.) you must mount the pickups with the screw pole coils as shown in the diagram to get "Inner" and "Outer" coils in switch positions 2, 3 & 4. Custom 5-way switching:

• 1. Bridge Humbucker
• 2. Outer Coils Parallel-Neck(N)+Bridge(S)
• 3. Outer Coils Series-Neck(N)+Bridge(S)
• 4. Inner Coils Parallel-Neck(S)+Bridge(N)
• 5. Neck Humbucker

What is the best choice for a switch to accomplish this? Will my stock Schecter C-1 Classic 5-way switch accomplish this? If not, will the "P" Megaswitch accomplish this, or do I need a 5-way 4-pole "superswitch" for this? I've read a lot of forum complaints that the "P" Megaswitch does NOT actually accomplish this, even though all sale listings say that it does. Please help me clarify this.

Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

It looks like all you need to do is flip the bridge pickup 'round.

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

?? To get the desired wiring in my 2nd post? There's more to it than that...

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

Looks like you're going to need a SUperSwitch to do that, but I'm not familiar with the 5-way in your guitar.

It may or may not have automatic bridges between certain connections - it's hard to tell from the diagram (but then I just got up)

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

?? To get the desired wiring in my 2nd post? There's more to it than that...

I'm just going by the link in your first post. That suggests that the current setup is:

1) Neck series
2) Neck-most coils in parallel
3) Neck-most coils in series
4) Bridge-most coils in parallel
5) Bridge series

Flip the bridge pickup around and you'll get the combos in your second post. And the Megaswitch P instructions specifically state that you need to do this. In fact, look at the schematic you posted in your second post - the adjustable pole pieces on both pickups are at the bridge end.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

And look at the combinations listed at that Stewmac link for the Megaswitch-P:

Positions:
1 Bridge pickup
2 Inner pickup coils, parallel
3 Outer coils, series
4 Outer coils, parallel
5 Neck pickup

Coinkydink? I think not. 1-5 are reversed compared to the Schecter schem, but the combinations would be the same if you flipped the bridge pickup, and the connections match.

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

hmmm....interesting, Sporky...

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

I ended up just going ahead and buying a 5-way 4-pole superswitch and some stranded 22-AWG wire, that way I can get practically any pickup combination I want.

On a side note - can anyone tell me what the difference is between these two situations? In the descriptions, it sounds like they're trying to accomplish the same thing, but maybe I'm missing something:

...and also, does anyone have any experience comparing using the middle position for both humbuckers in series (like above) vs. using the outer coils in series as shown below? If so, how different does it sound?:

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

Same effect, different wiring.

But seriously, all you need to do is flip the bridge pickup.

 

[Quicksilver689]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

That may be true, but I've read at the guitarelectronics.com website and elsewhere that basically, if you do that, then the polarity will be wrong, because one pu will be flipped and the other one won't...any truth to that?

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Re: selector switch questions...for all you wiring gurus...

I can't see how the signal polarity is going to be affected - the pickups detect up and down movement, not side to side.

Conceivably you'd need to adjust the pole pieces for even response.

It'd be such a quick and easy change that I'd be inclined to try it to find out.