Who here has a rear routed Tele with a 4-way blade switch?

[Cagey]

You might just need to find a different manufacturer. MAybe a different company's 4-way switch would have a different design and not give you this problem

I went looking for that solution last night for him, and didn't have any luck. They're all copies of each other.

Schaller makes blade switches that will fit in shallower control cavities, but I'm not sure that would solve the problem and they don't do a 4-way anyway. it's 3 or 5 or keep going.

 

[PumpinIron]

You might just need to find a different manufacturer. MAybe a different company's 4-way switch would have a different design and not give you this problem

I went looking for that solution last night for him, and didn't have any luck. They're all copies of each other.

Schaller makes blade switches that will fit in shallower control cavities, but I'm not sure that would solve the problem and they don't do a 4-way anyway. it's 3 or 5 or keep going.

Yep, Warmoth told me the 5 way blade switches work, which is funny, because if that was the case, you'd think the 4-way would work as well!

Either way, I'm going to swap it out for a 3-way. I'm sure I could make this work, but having that series option isn't as big of a deal to me as having the guitar put together well.

 

[Cagey]

Hmm. I've installed 4 ways in Warmoth bodies before. Just did one recently, but I can't remember who for or what it was. Stupid deflicted brane. But, it was probably a Tele which means it probably had a control plate, so we're not comparing apples to apples. And I've put 3-ways or toggles in my carved top Teles, so they don't count.

I just can't help but think a 5-way would want more slot than a 3-way, and I don't think there's any difference in the slot anyway, so a 4-way should work unless the top's too thick.

 

[PumpinIron]

That's what I thought... How could a 5-way work, but not a 4-way? I suppose it's possible that each switch has a different amount of throw in it per position, but I don't have all these different switches next to me, so there's no way of me knowing.

 

[stratamania]

I just looked at two of my Teles, one has a 5 Way Superswitch and the other 4 Way Switch and both are Fender switches. They are both mounted to control plates.

I do not see any difference between them in terms of clearance at each end of the throw between the barrel knob and the mounting screws. If they were mounted on anything any thicker they would quickly have the issue the OP describes above.

 

[Cagey]

I guess that means there is different spacing between switch positions, but the overall mounting/operating dimensions remain the same. So, we're back to too thick a top. Which means a 3 way or 5 way is probably also going to have problems.

 

[stratamania]

I have been looking around on the web and found some folks that had a similar problem with a rear mount and a 4-way switch when previously a 3 way worked.

Here are the specs for the Warmoth rout.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/TeleRearRout.aspx

I am not sure if thinning the body down would cause a problem with structural integrity.  But perhaps the 3 way has a slightly shorter throw at the extreme end of the range. (The only one I have is in an old body in the attic so not easy to check)

Perhaps a different knob, such as a strat knob may just clear at either end. The other alternative would be to lengthen the metal in some way so the barrel knob is a tad further away from the body.

At this point I would be inclined to try a strat knob on the switch, or get a 3 way with the needed clearance and either forego the series option for both pickups or try and incorporate a push pull on one of the pots to work in conjunction with the 3 way for the option.

Or perhaps mounting screws for the 4 way with a different head that is lower to the body would give the clearance needed.

 

[Logrinn]

I'm pretty sure the 4-way has a longer throw meaning it can hit the ends of the slot, especially when the slot is thicker as on a wooden body. Less risk on a thinner control plate. The 5-way on the other hand has the same shorter throw as the 3-way, just two additional positions in between the other positions.

So a solution would be to use a 5-way which would give you the switching options from the 4-way that you're after plus one additional sound combination.

 

[PumpinIron]

Not a bad idea with the 5-way switch! I wonder what extra sound I could get out of it with that extra position.

 

[Logrinn]

I wonder what extra sound I could get out of it with that extra position.

With a super switch, the sky's the limit :icon_thumright:

 

[stratamania]

I wonder what extra sound I could get out of it with that extra position.

With a super switch, the sky's the limit :icon_thumright:

See my earlier post that the 5 way superswitch is similar in dimension and throw to the 4 way. So he will be back to the same problem.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=28477.msg404122#msg404122

 

[Fat Pete]

Just in case this is in the 'so obvious you missed it' category, is there copper shielding between the switch and the body?

Also, while I'm stating the obvious, remember that a standard 5-way switch won't do what a 4 way switch does (+1), because it's electrically the same as a 3-way switch, just with additional 'stops'. Superswitches are different animals.

 

[Logrinn]

A search on the interweb reveals that this seems to be a fairly common problem, not only related to Warmoth's bodies.

A couple of searches also reveals that the length of the slot needed for several switches (4-way as well as 5-way) are 1-11/16th".
But also that the length seems to differ from different manufacturers.

And that many people having this problem solves it by lengthening the slot with a Dremel. This will of course be somewhat tricky when you have to do it on a finished body instead of on a control plate.

 

[Hendrix]

That's what I thought... How could a 5-way work, but not a 4-way? I suppose it's possible that each switch has a different amount of throw in it per position, but I don't have all these different switches next to me, so there's no way of me knowing.

in my case , the  5-way a short of "work " , but not fully into it's 1 and 5 position , but the pickup can be select , also the switch cap need to raise up to go into  1 and 5 position.

may be it because it is Carved top ?

at same build post , the Carved top soloist has no problem .

 

[Sovereign_13]

What if - and I'm just brainstorming here - you put something in the slot in the switch tip to space it a little further off the body?  I don't know if you'd compromise how well the tip was on the blade - maybe a glue or epoxy that would both fill up some of the slot and stick to the blade?

Alternatively - still brainstorming - you could maybe sand/Dremel the bottom of the switch tip down a bit?  I can't tell from your pictures if the tip is contacting the mounting screws or the body itself.  Removing some of the bottom of the tip might let you get your full throw if it's the body that's in the way.

 

[stratamania]

It really is not the length of the slot, it is the clearance at the screw. If you take the barrel knob off 1 and 5 is probably accessible. Making the slot longer does not make the length of the switch part that the knob connects to longer.

 

[Hendrix]

I draw a section to show what I do .

 

[stratamania]

Well done Hendrix.

 

[rgand]

Hendrix' solution looks good. Modifying the slot slightly and raising the knob would do wonders. You could also use flat head screws and just countersink them.

A separate switch for parallel/series is easy. Look at my avatar photo, the button close to the bridge pickup is a push on/push off switch like you find on amplifiers. It works well and is low and easy to get to. You could do the same with a push/pull pot as suggested by Stratamania.

 

[PumpinIron]

Well done Hendrix, I will give your way a try and see if it works!