10-Way Switch in a 3-Pickup Telecaster
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Recently I released a Telecaster Video titled: Powerhouse Telecaster Build! Beautiful Aberration.
The link to the video is in this video description.
• Powerhouse Telecaster ...
In the video I built a three pickup telecaster on a holy grail body. I was really pleased with how it turned out with a Superswitch 5-position pickup selector. I added two non-traditional telecaster pickups configurations of Middle and Bridge Pickups without Tone Control and the Neck and Bridge Pickups in Series.
A viewer in the comments told me about the Freeway blade switches and suggested I look at them. I have installed four of the Freeway toggle switches in other builds and like their products.
I was amazed to find a blade switch called 5B5-01 10 position Free-Way Blade switch. The switch has built in circuitry that allows 10 prewired possibilities for your Stratocaster but in this case a three-pickup telecaster. The switch is $48.78.
Link to the switch in the description of this video:
stewmac.sjv.io...
The first bank of five positions is wired in the same manner that a typical Stratocaster five way switch would be wired with three pickups.
The second bank of five positions is wired to provide some really cool additional combinations of:
6) all three pickups in Series.
7) all three pickups in parallel.
8) Neck and Bridge pickups in series.
9) Neck and Bridge pickups in parallel.
10) Neck and Middle pickups in series.
The switch blade has what I would describe two lanes. You can rock the blade of the switch from the left to the right. TO the left is positions 1 through 5 and rocking the blade to the right this gives you the lave for positions 6 through 10. Kind if ingenious.
My new favorite wiring for a telecaster is a four-way switch with the fourth position being the two pickups in series. It is a powerhouse of a position with a lot of tone and a lot of volume.
I ordered the switch and set about building out a new wiring harness that I could swap out in the telecaster build as an upgrade.
Building out and working with the switch was actually fairly easy. You just need a soldering iron with a pointed tip so you can easily solder the leads on the switch.
Just take you time and follow the easy to read diagram that Free-Way provides on their website.
I was so happy the first time I plugged this into my little bench amp, and EVERYTHING worked perfectly the first time.
I was excited to plug it into a larger amp to see what she sounds like now.
I am amazed at the palate of tones, sounds, and varying volumes that now come out of this guitar. If you have not seen the first video I ordered and installed the bridge, middle, and telecaster neck pickup all from the Seymour Duncan line of Quarter Pound pickups. This guitar was already pretty badass to start with. Now it has three great pickups fully exploited.
I also took advantage of having the neck off and installed a US Fender Roasted Maple neck that I had done fret work on and replaced the plastic nut with a GraphTech Tusq-XL nut made for a Stratocaster/telecaster. I think she is much prettier now as a guitar.
I would love to have that for my number one Strat, especially after this demo.
glad to read you like it. Soon you'll have shoebox full of 3 way Tele switches on Reverb :)
Free-Way stuff is the bomb -- and Alasdair Bryce is great to work with. My Halo Clarus 12-string came with one of their 10-way blade switches and I was immediately hooked. I'm going to put one of their 6-way toggles in my G&L Doheny at the next string change.
I installed ne of these in my Strat and I'm going to get a 6 way one for my Tele. They're amazing things and you can wire them up different ways so that the extra 5 positions do different things.
Mine is wired up so that position 6 is bridge in series with middle, 7 is all 3 pickups, 8 is neck and bridge in series, 9 is neck and bridge parallel and 10 is neck in series with middle.
I can't recommend them enough.
Me too! I am like blown away at what I could get sound wise in a Tele with this thing. Amazing.
Nice work! I have this 10way in my strat, with 2 reverse wiring switches as well and its nice to be able to get the extra configs. My tele has 2 pickups, a 5way and a reverse switch. Just a note, your tele here sounds like you have the action so low its significantly choking off the notes on strums. IDK you may have your reasons.
I need to lower the pickups. The quarter pound pickups are really hot.