New video: the Super Switch

[aarontunes]

Behold:

 

[supertruper1988]

Awesome! I mentioned it on the YouTube comments but if you are using a super switch in a rear routed body you have to trim the second wafer. It won’t fit in the recess for them.

 

[electric__steve]

The Schaller Megaswitch M has the same 4-pole-5-throw capabilities of a super switch, but it’s much thinner. Thinner than a regular 5-way, really, it’s a PCB with solder pads and doesn’t have any tabs sticking out. I just installed one in a Tele, works great. You’ve got to be a bit more careful wiring it up as everything is pretty close together,

Personally I’m a fan of the super switch. The aforementioned Tele is wired:
Neck
N B Parallel
Bridge
N B Series
N B series and out of phase

 

[aarontunes]

Awesome! I mentioned it on the YouTube comments but if you are using a super switch in a rear routed body you have to trim the second wafer. It won’t fit in the recess for them.

I know PRS uses a super switch where instead of there being two wafers side-by-side, they are more like end-to-end.

I wonder where they get them, and if they would fit any better.

 

[stratamania]

I know PRS uses a super switch where instead of there being two wafers side-by-side, they are more like end-to-end.

I wonder where they get them, and if they would fit any better.

5-Way Blade Switch Surface Mount Stacked Wafer – PRS Guitars West Street East Accessory Store

5-way blade switch. Mounting (nickel/gold) hardware included. Comes with black switch tip only. Fits US made models 2011 or newer.

us.prsaccessories.com

 

[Don O]

And then there is the SD Hyper switch. Programmable through your phone.

HyperSwitch™ | Seymour Duncan

The Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch™ is a powerful active 5-way blade that is compatible with most passive pickups and configured via your smartphone.

www.seymourduncan.com

 

[ghostrider]

And then there is the SD Hyper switch. Programmable through your phone.

HyperSwitch™ | Seymour Duncan

The Seymour Duncan HyperSwitch™ is a powerful active 5-way blade that is compatible with most passive pickups and configured via your smartphone.

www.seymourduncan.com

We were so preoccupied with whether or not we could, we never stopped to ask if we should.

I think this product is really cool from an intellectual standpoint, but is it really practical? Maybe I'm just set in my ways, but I would definitely prefer to pick a configuration and just stick with it.

 

[aarontunes]

5-Way Blade Switch Surface Mount Stacked Wafer – PRS Guitars West Street East Accessory Store

5-way blade switch. Mounting (nickel/gold) hardware included. Comes with black switch tip only. Fits US made models 2011 or newer.

us.prsaccessories.com

Ah...straight from the "source". PRS is more and more seeing the light in selling their parts aftermarket....but yowza: they ain't cheap!

Seeing that pic has jogged my memory.

It's not that the two wafers are physically oriented end-to-end, but that the contacts are oriented end-to-end rather than side-by-side as on the Fender style.

If that makes sense.

Nevertheless, it still might be a better fit in Warmoth bodies. Somebody give one a try and let us know!

 

[aarontunes]

We were so preoccupied with whether or not we could, we never stopped to ask if we should.

I think this product is really cool from an intellectual standpoint, but is it really practical? Maybe I'm just set in my ways, but I would definitely prefer to pick a configuration and just stick with it.

Most things that require a phone app are an immediate "no" from me. Nothing kills my buzz more than some crappy phone app that only works half the time.

It's the reason I sold my Captor X.
It's the reason I have sold many a pedal.
It's the reason I don't buy guitar gear that uses a phone app any more.

 

[Don O]

We were so preoccupied with whether or not we could, we never stopped to ask if we should.

I think this product is really cool from an intellectual standpoint, but is it really practical? Maybe I'm just set in my ways, but I would definitely prefer to pick a configuration and just stick with it.

I’m in the same school. Pretty neat tech part, but would I really use it? Nope. I like simple. I’ve wired many guitars and some I forgot what the controls do. One of my guitars I wired a toggle switch in the cavity to switch between 50s and modern wiring. I can’t remember which guitar it is in though.

 

[stratamania]

It's not that the two wafers are physically oriented end-to-end, but that the contacts are oriented end-to-end rather than side-by-side as on the Fender style.

They both Fender and PRS look similar to me in orientation etc. So not sure what you mean.

@Don O et al here is a thread where the Hypersonic got some discussion.

Seymour Duncan Hypersonic Switch

Seymour Duncan have just released details on a new 5 way switch which you can reconfigure many ways with a Bluetooth app. Here is a playlist with installation and how to operate it. You can check out more details and videos at the below link...

unofficialwarmoth.com

 

[electric__steve]

some I forgot what the controls do.

I've got a couple Freeway switches, and I can't remember what the 5 alternate positions do. I know a bunch of them are series, but as for which pickups? No idea. I tend to use the alternate position 1 a bit as I like the sound. I'm pretty sure it's Bridge in series, but I don't know if it's neck or middle.

With that said, I've thought about wiring up a guitar with HHH or HSH pickups, and having every position on the switch be two individual coils in series. Something like this:
Neck North and South
Neck North + Middle South
Middle North and South OR Neck North + Bridge South
Middle North + Bridge South
Bridge North and South

Can't do that with a superswitch, having every pair of coils in series. The Hyper thing might be able to do that.

Most things that require a phone app are an immediate "no" from me.

What's even better is when the product doesn't sell well, so the manufacturer removes the app and turns off the servers, and now your gizmo doesn't work at all!

With that said, if the Hyper doesn't require "the cloud" and if you only need the app to configure it, it would get a definite "maybe" for me. Gotta have a battery though, which is a hassle that most guitarists don't like. Makes me wonder why phantom power for guitars isn't a thing. Well, it's probably incredibly unsafe. Swap two wires and boom, you've got 48V DC on your strings.