4 way switch and three single coils

[johnnyj]

Hi guys,

for my new strat build i plan to have 3 true single coils (eric johnson signature set, all 2 conductor) and would love to use a 4 way switch for them (eg oak grigsby). reason for that is that i never use the middle position in strats and would like to eliminate this position for more ease of switching. so the target setup would be:

1 - neck
2 - neck + middle
3 - middle + bridge
4 - bridge

unfortunatly i dont find any wiring diagrams or even photographs of the 4 way that shows both sides. do anybody have experience with this switch and could tell me if this is possible and maybe even how to wire this?

thanks and best
johnny

 

[stratamania]

You can find a number of pictures etc of this switch in an earlier Tele build thread I did. The wiring you want to do is possible.

Natural Ash Tele

If you saw the out of the box thread yesterday the discussions of tea and a T type guitar continues in this work in progress diary thread. I will try and give some tips as I go so it may be useful to someone at some point. Here is the out of the box thread for reference...

unofficialwarmoth.com

Also you can see it here.

Fender 4-Way Tele Switch

Original Fender Special Switch 4-Way

www.thomann.de

 

[stratamania]

Here is a quick diagram.

Explanation

B0 to A0 jumper wire in red - jumpers the commons of the switch
Wire from A0 in Red to V this output goes to the input lug of the volume pot
Purple line: hot wire from bridge pickup and jumper B1 to B2
Orange line: hot wire from bridge pickup and jumper B3 to B4
Blue line: hot wire from middle pickup and jumper A2 to A3

It will give you (using 1 as the bridge position per Fender and other standard numbering)

1 - bridge
2 - middle + bridge
3 - neck + middle
4 - neck

Of course, another option if you used a 5 way super switch you could also achieve having in the middle position neck and bridge.

 

[Rick]

Or a switch from freeway would get you there.

 

[stratamania]

Or a switch from freeway would get you there.

I think he is looking for a switch that just does what he wanted and eliminating other options.

 

[johnnyj]

hey guys, yes, indeed i am looking for less options instead of more. more options result on stage for me always in having the wrong selected . especially the freeways needs some practise with that many positions you have.

thanks alot stratamania for the diagram, this is perfect and will help me for sure! hope to get this wired in the next weeks once the parts arrive.

 

[cromulent]

OP, you *may* want to consider adding a neck/bridge position in lieu of middle-only, which is a tasty tone rarely found on strats.

 

[stratamania]

@johnnyj cool, let us know how the solution for three single coils and a four way switch you asked for works out. It is quite a different use of a 4 way than you see used on a two pickup tele.

 

[johnnyj]

hi guys,

meanwhile adapted the wiring by stratamania for my new build. works sucessfully, many thanks for the diagram.

 

[stratamania]

Good to hear.

Curious, did you utilize it in the rest of the wiring or adapt the switching in some way?

 

[johnnyj]

i used your diagram for the switch part and used another 5 way 1 vol 1 tone diagram for the rest of the wiring (even if i had to improvise a bit, since i use a shadow kill poti as vol). i will soon post in my build thread more details about the guitar, it is going to be finished soon.

 

[stratamania]

i used your diagram for the switch part and used another 5 way 1 vol 1 tone diagram for the rest of the wiring (even if i had to improvise a bit, since i use a shadow kill poti as vol). i will soon post in my build thread more details about the guitar, it is going to be finished soon.

OK, great, glad the switching is working for you and that you got it incorporated to the rest of the wiring.