Parallel-to-series in throws #2 and #4 - HERE"S HOW:

[Deaf Eddie]

I can't recall how many times I've been asked if there was a way to make the #2 and 4 throws on a Strat be SERIES combos, instead of parallel. The short answer has always been "NOT with the stock 5-way" - and, since that instantly dimmed the hot-rodder's enthusiasm, I never followed up on it.

This weekend, while working on some interesting schemes for a new prototype (for a French guitar manufacture, and, yes, it's gonna be a weird one), I revisited the idea of switching the parallel combos to series combos. That scheme uses a rotary pickup selector and a slider switch (think Jaguar or Mustang) - it's a very retro design. Anyway, that got me thinking about a more "normal" application, for stock-looking Strat scheme.

You'll need to get a four-pole/five-throw, 24 lug Superswitch for this, and a DP/DT push/pull pot (you could use an on/on mini-toggle).



P/P in, all pups are grounded to ground and the mid pup plays in the middle three throws (#2, #3, #4) as always. All stock Strat tones.

PULL the p/p, and in throws #2 and #4 (only) the middle pup does NOT play; AND the bridge and neck pups' ground leads are switched from ground to the mid pup's HOT, running them in SERIES with the mid pup.

The other change from stock here is that I've done the Jimmie Vaughan tone thang, with one pot for the neck and one pot for the bridge. The mid-only throw #3 has no tone pot.

There are more dramatic things you can do with a Superswitch, but this IS the answer to a question that comes up fairly often. I like it because it doesn't get TOO far out - it just replaces the two parallel combos with two series combos - makes yer Strat FAT! Yes, if your mid pup is RW/RP, it makes the series combos a LOT like a humbucker...

[boris bubbanov]

Yow.

I've got all the parts I need (except cloth wire!) to do a couple of these. ( On-on Japanese mini-toggles, not push pulls).

This seems like a very logical objective to try and achieve. Why hasn't anyone taken the time to do this before?

Any recommendation as to which value capacitors would be best, assuming a fairly low output vintage pickup?

Mr. Santa, this isn't December 25th. Why have you come on St. Patrick's Day with such a wonderful gift to all us !??

Much obliged.

[Carzee]

That... beats everything. Is a patent in order here?

[Alpino_321]

This is supercool! How would you adapt this for a Nashville Tele? Basically, what if there's only one tone pot?

[Deaf Eddie]

Any recommendation as to which value capacitors would be best, assuming a fairly low output vintage pickup?

Cap values and brands are always a matter of personal preference. If this was a new build, I'd be tempted to suggest .020uF to start with, and adjust the value if your ear tells you it's necessary.

FWIW, Gibson uses .022uF on MOST of their humbucker-ed guitars, and although Fender uses .047uF quite often on their single coil axes, I have seen Fenders with .022uF.

How would you adapt this for a Nashville Tele? Basically, what if there's only one tone pot?

With just a single tone pot, you'd simply eliminate the neck tone pot from my drawing, and hook the remaining tone pot to the master volume (instead of the 5-way) - just as it is on practically any Tele. No worries! BUT...

There's ANOTHER issue (well, two) for a Tele with this scheme. Since we are lifting the bridge and neck pickups' negative leads (aka "ground lead") FROM ground, you MUST be certain that the negative leads from those pickups have NO CONTINUITY with any metal parts on the guitar.

For the neck pup, that's as simple as the unground/reground mod that is required for the Fender Tele 4-way mod.

Where it might get a little sticky is if your bridge pickup has a metal baseplate that is connected to its ground lead. The metal baseplate, through the pickup's mounting screws, will have continuity with the guitar's bridge - and in many cases that connection also serves as the guitar's bridge/string ground. You'll have to break that connection (just as you do for the neck's metal cover) and run a new and independent ground lead out to the bridge to ground the guitar. This is NOT the case on ALL Tele bridge pups, but it is the case on many traditional and/or vintage style Tele bridge pickups.

And, that's the issue that makes this mod a breeze on a Strat, and a pain on a Tele... but it can be done.

PLEASE NOTE that this scheme would be a straight swap for the pickup combos on a Nashville Power Tele, but the Nashville B-Bender Tele has a 5-way throw with the neck+bridge combo, so the 5-way Superswitch would have to have a few lugs wired differently to get that combo - easily done. Yes, you would STILL have to get the four-pole Superswitch - there's too much stuff that needs to to be switched at once for the stock two-pole switch. And YES, you could wire a Strat that way as well - you'd just lose the mid-pup-alone tone.

Now, if someone wants to take the time to do the unground/regrounds required and do this with the B-Bender combos, I'll edit my drawing to match the Nashville B-Bender tones. The neck+bridge throw (#3) with the series switch thrown would become the neck+bridge (parallel) with BOTH in series with the mid pup, so you would have THREE series tones.

"Deaf Eddie" short hand for that would be (N+B)*M, using the parenthesis just as you would in any algebraic notation to indicate which operation comes first.

ONE last note (personal opinion): the series mod is the most effective on regular ol' single coil pups. If you have some hot-rails or other single-coil-sized humbuckers already loaded, OR, your axe has Lace Sensors or other oddball pickups, this mod will be less effective at broadening your tonal palette. It will still work, of course, but it just won't kick tonal bootie like it does with "normal" Strat (or Tele ) pups.

[Alpino_321]

Thanks, Deaf Eddie! Have you written any books about guitar wiring? If not, is there one you would recommend? I've seen a couple around but I doubt they get into "outside the box" mods like this or else people would talk about them more.

[Deaf Eddie]

No books by me. I do have a bunch of schemes - drawn out in a style similar to this one - posted on my web pages.

I haven't READ or USED these, but from what I hear, you can't go wrong with Dan Erlewine's Trade Secrets, and our own Terry Downs has a good DVD for novice hot-rodders in his Fundamantal Soldering Skills.

[Alpino_321]

Thanks again, DE. I just bookmarked your site and fired up the printer. Woo-hoo!

[Deaf Eddie]

The B-Bender scheme:



Don't forget about the ground issues mentioned above.

Y'know, it's worth a mention that Fender gets pretty close to these schemes on the Strats with the S1, so it's not like this is earth-shaking new stuff.

[Alpino_321]

Originally Posted by Deaf Eddie

The B-Bender scheme:



Don't forget about the ground issues mentioned above.

Y'know, it's worth a mention that Fender gets pretty close to these schemes on the Strats with the S1, so it's not like this is earth-shaking new stuff.

Well, speaking for myself, THIS is exactly what I've been looking for for a long time and you showed it to me and always answer my "wiring noob" questions. So, for that if nothing else, thanks Deaf Eddie! You rule!!!

[JCollins]

One of the wiring changes I made, about a month ago, was to install a 4P5T switch in a Strat, and replace the parallel positions with series, but also use the blender pot. In the bridge only position, the blender added the neck, in parallel. In the bridge/middle series position, the blender added the neck, in parallel. In the middle only position, the blender added the neck, in parallel. In the middle/neck series position, the blender added the bridge, in parallel. And finally, in the neck only position, the blender added the bridge, in parallel.

Everything works, but how does it sound? Well, I suspect these pickups, though not hot, are a might too hot for this application. The pickups are Fralin/Callaham pickups, and the bridge pickup has a baseplate. The series positions are fat, but lack zip.

[Deaf Eddie]

Many people are surprised by how "warm" the series combos sound, and the new-found bass content makes the pups seem as if they have lost some brights. The hotter the pickup, the fatter the series tone.

EVERY Strat I own has a series option or two wired in (not this mod, but another of my gems), and I find the tones quite usable.

It's similar to the complaint that when humbuckers are coil-shunted, it makes the pickup sound a little weaker. Yup, it does - that's how it works. Change this, and it changes that. It's, like, physics!

[KC]

might give this a shot one of these days -- I've got a Jerry Jones Singlecut 3-pickup with the 2 & 4 positions in series (only) and I dig the power & punch of those sounds. Slightly weird switching back to the 1,3,5 positions, though, which are a lot weaker. The JV strat might could use a little of this. Thanks!

[JCollins]

Actually, I had done the series thing, years ago, on a different Strat that had pickups that were less hot than the ones I have, now. The series sounds, back then, were pretty good, and certainly usable. The series wiring with these particular pickups is not so inspiring, and I think it is because they are just a little too hot for this application.

[Rob DiStefano]

interesting stuff for sure ... makes me appreciate the simplicity of a switchless esquire even more.

[FuzzFace]

Hi,

Would it be possible to have the Strat Series wiring with the middle pickup connected to the second tone control as well?

[Deaf Eddie]

No.

[Mike Simpson]

I wish I had found this thread when I was working on my 3 P-90 Tele...

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/just-pick...ml#post2569696

I might rewire it to have a series option as the parallel is not what I expected, cool but not what I expected.

[redaxeguitar]

I like the ideas above, but can't do it at the moment. I have a different snag I need to work out. I don't remember having this trouble before, but I need a diagram to wire a tele 4 way switch into a strat on the br/m (#1 pot vol for br/m) with the neck direct to the center pot (as volume) and the third pot as global tone. I also need this mod to work so that when using the br/m pups with the neck rolled all the way off, it doesn't shut off all output and when using the neck alone the br/m volume doesn't shut off all output. Any ideas? I have the switch in and the br/m wired so everything works but either vol. pot shuts it all down. Hmmm.... Don't remember having this problem when using this switch before...

[Deaf Eddie]

If I understand your question, you want the volumes to be INDEPENDENT.

Reverse the "in" and "out" lugs - make the middle lugs the INs, and make the end lugs the OUTs. Vintage Gretsches have their pup volumes wired this way, as do Rickenbackers and most MIK Epis that I have seen.