What is the most useful..

[playas]

...option to have available with a twin humbucker setup and a five-way switch?
It´s currently using a 3-way blade, but I want to have a split option available, and I have a switch I can use.

- Only one of the humbuckers (bridge) has four connectors.

- Full neck, full bridge and both combined will be at the two extremes and in the middle as if it were a 3-way.
I want to have the bridge split in one of the in-between positions, so it will be bridge full, bridge split, both full, (open to suggestions) neck full.

- As this would leave me with one free postion, I was thinking of either neck combined with split bridge in series, which I guess would be like a 3 coil humbucker, or else full neck combined with split bridge wired normally.

Which of those would be the more useful option / is there a better option?
The switch is a Megaswitch E from StewMac.

The switch comes with two full A4 pages of instructions...none of which is an explanation of how the switch actually works, so after having pulled out a multi-meter and gone through range of posibilities for each of the postions, I figured I´d post it here in case it saves anyone else some effort.

I can get by soldering but am no pro, so I would rather not do anything too wild for traceability in the case of mistakes, but as long as I can figure out what needs to go where (and why) I guess most options should be cool.

 

[playas]

Megaswitch E (StewMac)


So after a few unsuccesful attempts to post, I´ll have to describe in words what the switch is hard-wired to do as the page formatting messes up my post no matter what I do.

Postn 1: pins 3 & 4 are connected
pins 7 & 8 are connected.

Postn 2: pins 2 & 4 are connected.
pins 6 & 7 & 8 are connected.

Postn 3: pins 1 & 4 are connected.
pins 5 & 7 & 8 are connected.

Postn 4: pins 5 & 6 & 8 are connected.
pins 10 & 12 are connected.

Postn 5: pins 5 & 8 are connected.
pins 9 & 12 are connected.

 

[Mincer]

My favorite is the Do It All Wiring. This is what works for me, since all positions are hum-cancelling which was important.

 

[Artie]

My favorite is the Do It All Wiring. This is what works for me, since all positions are hum-cancelling which was important.

My favorite is a slight variation of Mincers:

1. Bridge humbucker.
2. Bridge parallel. (quasi bridge single-coil tone)
3. Bridge stud in series with neck screw. (The Slutbucker, virtual 3rd humbucker)
4. Bridge stud in parallel with neck screw. (Quasi Strat notch quack)
5. Neck humbucker.

And, all positions are humbucking. This is how my JB/Jazz Tele-Gib is wired.

Edit: Positions #3 and #4 can be either inside or outside coils, if you don't mind messing with the mag-flip, reverse wiring thing.

 

[ErikH]

I have a Stew-Mac Superswitch and have two humbuckers wired like this. Both have 4-conductor wiring through.

1. Bridge humbucker full.
2. Bridge humbucker split.
3. Bridge and Neck both full in parallel (same as Les Paul middle position).
4. Neck humbucker spit.
5. Neck humbucker full.

The Megaswitch E is really good for all sorts of wiring. Be careful with it though as the solder pads could lift on the PCB if you're not careful (too much heat, etc.).

 

[playas]

Thanks, but the neck is a ´59 with only two conductors so I´m just looking for options available to me with that in mind.

I might just go with full neck and split bridge, unless there is a better suggestion.

It´s actually possible to get that with a standard 5-way, but (I don´t have one and) this is going in a hamer with a carved top and the megaswitch is the only other switch I currently have that will physically fit allowing me 5 positions. Eg. I have another 5-way that will only allow me 4 positions as it won´t physically allow the "neck" position due to hitting the switch screw as a result of the body curve.

I also specifically want to have the middle and two extremes be; both, bridge and neck and if I used a std. 5-way I would have to put the split position at one extreme (as far as I can figure out anyway).

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Depending on your personal taste, bridge & neck full-but-out-of-phase is a pretty cool sound.
I don't use it often but it really hits the spot once in a while.

If it were my guitar, I'd find a 4-conductor 59N. I really like the inside-coils combination on my PRS guitars, and I also find neck pickup split tone more useful than bridge pickup split. (Although bridge split using a resistor is better than a plain old-school split.)

 

[playas]

Depending on your personal taste, bridge & neck full-but-out-of-phase is a pretty cool sound.
I don't use it often but it really hits the spot once in a while.

How would I wire that?

 

[playas]

Anyone?

 

[jmcorey]

You want to send a message to forum member ArtieToo who helped me with my recent Godin Icon wiring.

Send him a message and paste the url of the this thread in the message, asking him for help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[eclecticsynergy]

How would I wire that?

With a standard 5-way, it can't be done as one of the five positions. You'd need to add a push-pull pot with a DPDT switch.
However I'm pretty sure it can be done using a 5-way Superswitch.
ArtieToo would definitely be the guy to ask - that was a good steer from jmcorey.

~
In case you were to get a 4-wire neck pickup...

The 5 very useful combos in the original style rotary wiring of my '87 PRS are:
Bridge full
Bridge full & neck full, parallel out of phase
Bridge full & neck full, parallel
Inside coils parallel
Neck full

This arrangement is ideal for the original PRS T&B humbuckers which are bright in character and not wound very hot.
With these bright punchy pickups splitting the neck is unnecessary and the middle position sounds like a Tele.
The 5-way was changed around 1990 when PRS changed to the HFS, an overwound ceramic bridge pickup.


There is a 5-way blade witch called the Megaswitch P that replicates the newer PRS 5-way rotary without the hassles of developing a custom configuration. The positions are:
Bridge full
Outside coils series
Outside coils parallel
Inside coils parallel
Neck full

The inside coils parallel is bright but full, almost Stratlike. It works very well instead of a neck split tone. Another big advantage is that all positions are fully hum-cancelling, though it requires flipping the magnet in one humbucker (pretty easy to do yourself).

 

[playas]

Thanks

 

[Artie]

You want to send a message to forum member ArtieToo who helped me with my recent Godin Icon wiring.

I'm looking at it now.

 

[playas]

I really appreciate that Artie, thanks.

 

[Artie]

So, I'm not sure what the final verdict was. Are you going to use a superswitch? I believe you want the out-of-phase sound, but not sure if you want that in conjunction with a 5-way, or as one of the 5-way positions. In other words, adding an additional push-pull or switch.

 

[playas]

It´s a 5-way Megaswitch E from Stewart McDonald.



The question is; is to possible have this combination:

- bridge humbucker
- split bridge
- bridge humbucker combined with neck humbucker
- bridge humbucker combined with neck humbucker out of phase ?
- neck humbucker

...with just this switch (and if so how would I wire it)?

 

[Artie]

Ok. I have to chew on this a bit. I hate those Megaswitches because of their non-standard configuration. I don't like making a theoretical diagram when I can't hold the switch in my hand. But . . . let me chew on it.