2 P90s and a Strat walk into my Tele...

So I already posted over in Tele Technical (before I realized this area was a thing) and the consensus was that GFS Mean 90s are awesome, which is good because I was really considering getting those anyway.

I haven't seen a guitar configured like this, and I'm hoping it's just because I'm really original and not because it's hellish to wire up...:wink:...If I go Mean90—Strat—Mean90, how do I wire that up? Would it sound really crazy combining the Strat pup with the Mean 90? (i.e. in the bridge and middle position)

I like being able to get that typical Fender sound out of the middle position (for worship stuff it's a nice neutral sound), so that's why I want to put the strat pickup in the middle, but now I'm looking around for a diagram or a picture or anything really and coming up empty.

So...am I in over my head? Or would it be wired just like a typical Nashville Tele or something and I'm just being pessimistic?

P90 are single coils so you could wire it just like a Nashville or strat

Of course that's not the only way and you don't get the 2 p90 in parallel with that setup

My guess is that the Mean 90's might be pretty dark with 250k pots. You might consider the GFS Dream 90's, or maybe one in the neck and a P90 in the bridge. The D90's will probably sound best with 250k pots. FYI, When I turn the 500k tone knob on my XV-585 down to ~7 (about equal to 250k pots load), the GFS neck p90 still has decent highs. Not sure a Mean 90 would. In either case, a low capacitance cable will let more highs through.

I have a buddy who did this configuration in his Strat. (P90- strat - P90). Wiring to the switch will be the same... What pots he used, I dunno. I can put you in touch with him if you like. The in between positions sound pretty unique (in a good way). Overall, it sounds excellent.

Sweet. So what if I just do a 500k, will that mess up the response for the Strat pickup?

To be precise, the Q at the resonance will be sharper/higher. So, it will sound sharper. You could use 500k's, and wire a 500k resister over the middle pickup (from the switch lug to ground), or even leave the middle pickup off the tone pot, and use a variable 500k resister over it. Tune it to your liking. You can wire a Super Switch for any tone configuration/routing per switch position. Since your rewiring anyway, you might as well replace the switch for ~$25.

Could I wire my existing switch to be Bridge, Means in Parallel, Middle, Neck+Middle, Neck?

I assume a standard Tele 5 way is like a Strat. For 2 and 4 it just shorts the adjacent p/up positions together. So no, you'd have to switch the N and M connections or get a Superswitch. You get use to the altered positions (or at least my friend did, an old trick before complex switches) if you don't want to do more soldering and pay for the SS.

Could I wire my existing switch to be Bridge, Means in Parallel, Middle, Neck+Middle, Neck?

I think using a standard strat switch for this you would have to do

Position 1 Bridge
Position 2 Bridge, neck parallel
Position 3 Neck
Position 4 Neck, middle parallel
Position 5 Middle

Which might not be all that bad..

I think using a standard strat switch for this you would have to do

Position 1 Bridge
Position 2 Bridge, neck parallel
Position 3 Neck
Position 4 Neck, middle parallel
Position 5 Middle

Which might not be all that bad..

That is how I have all my 5-way switches wired even the ones with Humbucker in the bridge. It is very nice. You get that inbetween Tele config in position 2

Yeah B + N is great on a Strat as well as a Tele, N + M can be a little muddy to my ears, tho maybe not w such different p/ups together. ngr, you might want to try both M + N and B + M to see which you like better , both will sound different then the normal combos. N + B definitely should be good.

Well, I don't mind the N+M on my current setup...two strat pickups. I'll try that configuration! Thanks for all the help, guys, I appreciate it. I'll make sure to post pics and maybe clips when I get it all together.